Mitzvah in Hebrew means "good deed". The Jewish community celebrates a day called Mitzvah Day where they divide up in the community and perform good deeds together. My Aussie family decided to go to the op shop (thrift store) down the street from our house for some sorting, organizing, and rearranging. I met up with them there after church, had a quick bite to eat, and got to work. I helped create a toy department and organize it - infant toys, stuffed toys, figurines, baby dolls and accessories, etc. Michelle and Jen paired and banded at least 100 pairs of shoes, Daniel organized the children's clothes, and Ben did his part by quietly playing with whatever was laying around. It was hot and hectic (there were at least 25 bodies running around this small shop), but the owner of the shop was entirely grateful. This op shop is a special shop because the profits go to running the shop but then the rest go to students who can't afford Uni costs. After the op shop we went to the synagogue to do some baking. The items we made were going to be sold at the barbecue later as a fundraiser. We made Oreo truffles, but other people made brownies and chocolate chip cookies. The Oreo truffles were an absolute ooey gooey oh so yummy mess. After the baking we hung out outside for a bit watching the kids run around and such. Then we went inside the synagogue for a quick recap on what happened during the day. This was my first time being in the synagogue and I don't know what I was expecting, but it looked so normal. People shared what they did and their experience. The other people there went and sang at a nursing home, helped at a vegetable garden, and made scarves, headbands, brooches, and shrugs for the girls at a homeless center for women and girls. After this, we ate dinner and then headed home. It was a super fun day of doing mitzvahs with my Aussie family!
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| At the Op Shop |
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| Making Oreo Truffles |
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| Inside the Synagogue |
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| Barbecue |
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| Love My Mitzvah Day Tee |
Ben has been going through this "I love Nikki" phase. He follows me around, always wants to sit on my lap or as close to me as he can, asks if I can bathe him and put him to bed on the weekends (instead of mom or dad), always wants to hold my hand, and pretty much does anything and everything I tell him to. It's really cool to be able to explore this more fun and loving side of our relationship because a lot of times I feel like I'm just telling him what to do all the time. I love watching my relationship with little Benjamin keep developing and growing. And I love seeing what a difference the way I handle behavior (the way UNCG taught me) makes on his behavior when he is with me. The following series of pictures are from a huge play I had with Ben before Mich's end of year school concert. It was an absolutely beautiful time with Ben Ben.
Michelle is coming up on the last couple weeks of her Kindergarten/Prep year. Her school put on an end of year concert featuring the prep, year 1, and year 2 students. They acted, sang, and danced. It was honestly the greatest primary school production I have ever seen. The kids knew exactly what they were supposed to do and did it. It was entertaining and very adorable. The production was titled "Groovy Movie Specatacular". Each class got a song to sing and a song to dance to related to a specific genre. Michelle's class focused on the fantasy genre. Each child got a couple lines about fantasy stories. They then all together sang and did motions to Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious. Next they all danced to Under the Sea. The finale number was to Jai Ho. Michelle knew her lines and the moves to all of the songs she was a part of. She did a fabulous job and you could tell she had really been paying attention during rehearsals and practicing at home. It was just too good!
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| Opening Number |
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| Reciting Lines |
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| Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious |
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| Under the Sea |
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| Finale - Jai Ho |
This weekend has really reminded me that I have sweet, fun loving, silly kids who love me and amazing host parents who include me on family outings and events. I complain every now and then, but all in all... I have the best host family ever!!! =D
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