In November we found out that some close friends were going to be out here as well. We’ve always wanted to visit the “Holy Land” and we enjoy traveling with other people so this seemed like the excuse we needed. What ensued was a 7 day chaotic rush to get passports (for all 6 of us), buy plane tickets ($6500 total!) and find a place to stay. We ended up securing a 2 bedroom apartment 2 days before we left. It’s $2300 for our whole stay.

We had am intentional 9 hour layover in Amsterdam but besides that our trip over was pretty uneventful. Also over here are Kami’s brother’s family (Jeremy, April, Kelsey, Jack, Sydney, Elli, Kaira)  and the Mowry’s (Stephen, Tiffany, Angus, Desmond, Ivy). They are 2 of the business partners who I do Epipheo with.

Originally, our plan was to just live life over here and do some touring about, since we have never been here before. After seeing the first few sites, though, it became pretty apparent that sightseeing out here wasn’t so much what we were excited about. Arranging transportation, (we do not have a car out here) to arrive just to see a stack of cathedrals all fighting over the same rock, doesn’t seem to hep us progress in many of our spiritual goals. At this time we were also presented with the opportunity to join an UlpanOr which is a really intense Hebrew training school. Normally it’s pretty expensive but Jeremy and Stephen had worked out a deal for us to make them an Epipheo and they would give us a substantial amount of training credits.

Studying Hebrew

So, that’s our life here. We eat, we work, we study Hebrew and we learn. One of our primary goals for coming over was to spend time immersed in the Jewish culture. We have observed that much of the Jewish culture and belief system has ingrained in it, very deeply, a blueprint for life, family, and business. Historically, we have had very little exposure to Toraic beliefs and practices as most churches we were raised in focused 90% on New Testament. We will be back in mid-January with 3 weeks before Kami’s due date (the airport permission paper required a little fudging). If it was not for Kami’s due date we had considered staying for 2+ months. So far it’s been great, challenging and valuable.

WesternWall

Here are a few practical goals while we are here:

• Build a solid enough foundation in the Hebrew language that we can continue Hebrew with the children back in the states.
• Ben would like to spend some time reading the Old Testament at the Western Wall in front of the temple mount (20 minute walk from our house)
• Ben and Kami plan on going to Yad Veshem (Holocaust Museum)
• We would like to spend the day with the family at the Dead Sea (45 minutes drive with rental car)
  

  Kosher Pickles

• We would like to develop some business contacts in Tel Aviv. So far we have been quickly accepted and have a meeting scheduled with 15 different entrepreneurs this Monday.
• Learn from the cultural and Toraic rhythms that reinforce a healthy family and spiritual culture.  These guys have been at it for a while.
• Establish a bit of a foundation for potential return trip.
• Ben wants to buy a juicer and consume as many pickles as possible.

You can view more pictures on our Facebook Album HERE.

Over the next couple of weeks we will be posting some thoughts and specifics on this trip over at bencrawfordlife.com

93 miles at Frying Pan Creek

If we met you on the trail, please shoot us a note so we know how to contact you and leave comments so we know how you did!

This video was sped up 400% so the entire process took place under 6 minutes. Not bad for kids that can’t reach above the counter.

Please accept our humble apologies for the tardiness of this years x-mas card but due to budget cuts and overall recessional depression we have had some staffing difficulties at crawfordlife.com. It also does not help that the median age of our team is 12.  Without to much ado, here is just enough info to make you feel like you are a part of our lives without too much to make you feel un-comfortable.

Family: Our family has made some big changes for 08. One of the biggest is that we have decided to start homeschooling our kids. Whoooaaaa…..hold on a sec. We know what you are thinking and we have not become one of THOSE families ……… yet. To date, Kami does not wear a fanny pack and our kids are allowed to eat refined sugar.  Our decision to home school was based upon a desire to create more freedom and provide a more conducive learning environment to the purpose of our children’s education and development.

In June, our living situation changed dramatically when we had the Rubatinos (Jeff, Rainbow, Lavinia, & Sunshine) move in with us. Rainbow has been a great help  with the children’s education and also cooks and does laundry which leaves only the cleaning for Kami. Community living has it’s fair share of bumps but overall has been a really valuable experience and it looks like we will carry on with the “experiment” into 09. Stay tuned for our 3 part documentary into our home life which will be released on crawfordlife.com whenever we get around to it.

Ben: Has had some pretty dramatic shifts in growth and development due to his involvement in the 12 step process. He has continued the process of blogging his experience and thoughts which was a discipline even he is surprised he has stuck with.  He is currently working on some new business ideas which are too numerous and convoluted to mention here but updates will be available if you are into that type of thing. He summited Rainier, for the second time with his brother, in September and just recently went x-country skiing for the first, and possibly the last, time.

Kami: Has a little bit more of a grasp of what it means to manage a household of 6, than she did a year ago. Enough so that she has expressed interest in managing a household of 7!!  One of the biggest changes for Kami in 08 has been the introduction of a weekly schedule (or “rhythm” as we refer to it). Built into her schedule are times for when to wake up, daily family AM meetings, date nights, going to the zoo, the library and her favorite time of the day: an hour and a half of uninterrupted reading and prayer.

Dove: is 7. This year she learned how to swim and has been reading paragraph books. She has been a great older sister and takes care of her younger siblings. She enjoys helping with the cooking and enjoys drawing. She loves taking pictures and uploading them to her blog. One of her favorite events are date nights with her dad. She currently resides in a tent.

Eden: is 6. She is the quietest of the bunch. She gets along really well with her brothers and sisters and likes building forts and playing “animals” with her siblings. This year she got her ears pierced on a date with her father. She just recently learned how to swim without a life jacket and she wants to learn to play the guitar. She likes going to the museum and Kentucky.

Seven: is 4 (yeah we know, it’s confusing). This last month he was counting “one, two, three, four, five, six, seven……………………………….that’s me, eight, nine…”.  Seven can be found more often than not wearing his spiderman outfit. He enjoys swords, guns, legos, and copying his sisters.  He has been working on his letters and numbers and can spend hours a day coloring. He usually tapes his art around the entire house but prefers to display it in his parents house. Every night he prays that he will be able to “protect his sisters.” He likes going on guys night out with Dad when there are no girls.

Memory: …..is trouble. 2 years old and she is the spiciest of the bunch. This girl is able to hold her own. She enjoys bossing around her older sisters and brother as well as her parents. She just recently learned how to use the “potty” and has learned that the more frequently she goes the more chocolate chips she will receive. She likes jumping, running away, and saying “no” to offers of a hug.

09: Family Camp I on Whidbey Island during July, maybe moving to a bigger house, carrying on our family mission of Discipleship and Growing the Body of Christ, Great Wolfe Lodge, Neighborhood movie nights on the side of our house during the summer. Kami and Ben are looking to grow closer together as a couple as they learn how to relate as spouses and parents in a more healthy way.

CRAWFORDlife.com

Check our site for updates and news on what our family is up to.

Merry Xmas and Happy St. Patricks Day!