On Saturday morning Josh, Hannah, and I were able to attend the Bar Mitzvah of a friend of hers. It was very interesting and a learning experience for us since none of us had ever attended one before.
Ben and his family are part of a Reformed Jewish Synagogue - which means, among other things, that they have a female rabbi, and subscribe to some other non-traditional ideas. Reading through their text, which had all of the prayers/blessings/songs written in both Hebrew and English, along with commentary, was really fascinating. Because they are translated directly from the Hebrew, some of the words were different than the King James version and had added meaning to us - they actually enlarged our understanding of certain scriptures. Other things we didn't necessarily agree with.
Ben did awesome reciting his memorized section of the Torah and his personal commentary was really interesting. One of his favorite sections is found in Genesis - specifically the story of Adam and Eve. He talked about how the Serpent was probably jealous of Adam and Eve and the things they could have (bodies, relationships, children, etc), and that is perhaps what motivated him to try and tempt them.
The service was long - almost three hours. I don't know if that is typical or if it was different because it was also Ben's Bar Mitzvah. Either way, we appreciated the invitation and the opportunity to learn a little more about the Jewish Faith.
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The kids had their second to last soccer game today. The final game is in two weeks. It has been gorgeous weather for sitting out on the field. No complaints about that, but I will be glad to reclaim the dinner hour again (and not spend several days a week carting kids to practice).
The little girls have been so, so adorable. They've stopped trying to break into the fridge every chance they get. Makes my life easier. We've started a new bedtime routine wherein they take turns putting each other to bed. We take both of them to one of the bedrooms (they sleep in different rooms) and read our stories and say their prayers. Then one girl will solemnly tuck the other girl's covers around her and give the sweetest kiss. They just love it and look forward to having their turn to say goodnight to their sister. It's like playing "mommy" but it's real to them.
Speaking of playing pretend - Natalie loves to come up and say, "You're the baby and I'm the mommy". Or maybe "You're the princess and I'm the King". She gets a kick out of us pretending to be something else.
Kenna has been counting down to her fourth birthday. It's still two months away, but she is SO excited. With her birthday sandwiched between two holidays, I need to still find the energy and time to make it special for her; make her feel like a princess.
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