Christmas in Bethlehem! 12/6/13

Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Christmas tree out side of the Church of the Nativity. One of the few places that you can see Christmas in Israel.

The Shepherd's Field in Bethlehem. 

Sabbath in Jerusalem 12/6/13

We were able to go to a Sacrament meeting in Jerusalem while my Dad was here. After our meeting we went to all of the sacred spots in Jerusalem.

This is just outside the BYU center.

The kids love to turn the olive press.

Gethsemane

Garden Tomb

Golgotha

Orson Hyde's Park

Sword fighting with Grandpa in Orson Hyde's Park.

Grandpa and Jonathan at the view point on the Mount of Olives.

Nazareth 12/1/13

It's sad but we hadn't realized that we had never made it to Nazareth. So while my Dad was with us we made it to Nazareth and went to the Basilica of Annunciation. It was really beautiful and it was fun to walk around inside the Church and it's grounds.

I am glad that we have finally been to the city of Jesus' Childhood.

Daddy/Daughter Fun at Dead Sea/ Masada 12/2/13

Chris stayed home with Tristan, and my Dad and I headed to the Dead Sea and Masada.

We had a great time hiking about the top of Masada, and for once I was able to see from end to end.

After Masada we headed over to the Dead Sea. Dad helped me to dig about till we found a little of the Dead Sea mud. 

We had fun floating about and it wasn't to chilly once you got in the water, surprising since it was December.

Once my Dad's legs floated up to the top he couldn't pull them back under him. I had to swim over to him and help push them down so he could walk out of the water. So Funny!

Megiddo 12/1/14

While my Dad was here we finally got to visit Megiddo the sight where Armageddon will be. John revealed in Revelations 16 that the final battle between good and evil will be fought here. 

Olivia's New Doo 1/20/14

Olivia asked Mom to cut her hair short so that we wouldn't have to keep brushing through the tangles. This is the hair cut that she ended up with.

She also had to go and get glasses, because she was getting headaches at school from her school work.

We now have two kids in optics.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Hardings 2013

This year finds us yet again in Israel. We have had a neat time while we have been here.

Chris has been busy this year with work, his calling as the Young Men’s president and being a member of the school board.  He enjoys it all and has grown from each new experience. He and Candice were able to escape reality for a whole week and visit France and Italy. They went to a grundle of museums and ate way too many pastries, and had a splendid time. It was a vacation that they will always remember.

Candice is enjoying her time here is Israel and loves being a stay at home mom. She has learned to bake while overseas and has become quite good at it (although not a professional). She had a hard time letting Michael go off to school this year but has really enjoyed the solo time with Tristan.

Jonathan is about to turn ten in January. He is enjoying the 4^th grade, and has really grown up a lot this last year.  He continues to be a book worm.  He has read all of the Percy Jackson books, and the Heros of Olympus series. Jonathan also loves to read nonfiction books about earthquakes, planets, outer space, and anything else he can get his hands on. He also remembers all sorts of interesting information from his reading. He loves Greek mythology and can tell more facts about the gods than you would ever want to know

Olivia is seven and is in the 2^nd grade. She loves her teacher, and has been doing great in school. Olivia has had 2 best friends while here in Israel. Both girls have been from Germany, her first friend left during our first year here. Her new best friend Katie leaves at the end of this month, Olivia is devastated. Olivia is a very girlie girl but she is still able to hold her own with her 3 brothers. She begs her mom to give her a sister, but hasn’t been lucky so far.  She loves to write stories and her teacher says she is extremely good at it for a 2^nd grader.

Michael is six years only and in kindergarten. He is a social butterfly and the teacher says he is loved by all of the students, but mostly the girls. Two of them have declared that they plan to marry him. Michael loves school and has done really well. He is enjoys building things with his blocks putting things together.

Tristan is two and growing by leaps and bounds and says the funniest things.  He enjoys being a big boy and sleeping all by himself in his bedroom at night.  It has been so nice to have him potty trained these last eight months.  He enjoys going to nursery and learning to color and sing and play with his friends.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!