Hanukkah Party

This past Sunday evening, Bill, Sandy, Ian, Chelsea, Faulkner, along with Jeff and Jennifer, made the drive down to good old Greenville to attend our very first Hanukkah party. We had a blast! We had lots of good conversation, plenty of laughs, a couple of games of dreidel and way, way too much food to eat! The only bad thing about the whole evening was that it did not last long enough.
Hopefully, this was the first of many more gatherings to come!

A Week of Birthdays!

Clemmie and I both had birthdays this past week. I turned 45 on Tuesday, while Clemmie celebrated her 11th birthday on Saturday. Both of us had extra special birthdays this year, thanks to our family and friends. On Tuesday, Bruce took me to Montgomery and we went to the Eastbrook Flea Market and then he treated me to a steak dinner at Longhorns. On Thursday, my sweet friends, Jen and Sandy, along with Ian, Faulkner and Chelsea, treated me to a terrific lunch of homemade chili and birthday cake and ice cream. After lunch, we played two rounds of "Apples to Apples". I had so much fun and also received a beautiful, soft and cuddly, brown blanket for a present, as well as, one of Chelsea's handmade cards.
On Sunday afternoon, the Cauthens, Jennifer, Sarah, Zane, Madeline and Adrianne joined us at the Brunswick Lanes for an afternoon of bowling, in celebration of Clemmie's birthday. Clemmie had a great time and I think that everyone else did as well. She also received some wonderful gifts such as a very soft blue blanket, a manicure set, and a Taylor Swift CD.

It was a really terrific week of birthdays at the Croley house. Now to prepare to host my first ever Hanukkah party!!

Shavua Tov!

Gingerbread houses and cookie swap

Clemmie went to bed last night with a sore throat and woke up this morning still feeling bad. By lunch time she was feeling a good bit better, so I took her to her CHEF 4H cooking class @ 3:30. They had a cookie swap.....Clemmie took chocolate chip cookies that she made.....and they also made gingerbread houses. Go over to Clemmie's blog to see some pictures of her house. The link to her blog is http://rubyrose-naturegirl.blogspot.com/ I know that I am her Mom, but her gingerbread house is too cute!

Clemmie's braces

This week Clemmie got her top braces. She did not have a lot of pain and I thank God for that. She will go back on the 16th of Dec. and may get the bottom braces then. It will all depend on how much her top teeth have moved. I am posting some before and after photos of her....she will probably want to kill me, but I just think that she is so beautiful...both with the braces and without them. If you enlarge the "after" photo, you will see that she chose to get pink and lime green. Too cute! The last photo is Clemmie telling me ..."No more pictures, Mom!"

Visit with Rabbi Greenbaum

Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum was in Alabama this week and we were blessed to be able to travel up to Birmingham both days to visit with him. My time spent listening to him teach and then just talking with him still seem surreal. We met him last year, but this year's visit was so much more personal.....I was able to seek his advice and guidance and he was so willing to listen to me (little 'ole Tammy from south Alabama). I really just can't put into words just how I am feeling. I feel that I have made a friend for life......someone that I can call or email anytime.

Ready for the Sabbath!

Rabbi Greenbaum is Coming!

I have been waiting for this week for so long and now it is almost here. My "Rabbi", Reb Avraham Greenbaum, will be flying into Alabama on Tuesday, Nov. 11. He will be here for 2 days and I am so excited. Reb Avraham will be speaking in Birmingham on the 11th and the 12th. We will be going up early on Tuesday to pick up the keyboard that we rented for him. He plays and sings so beautifully! We will be there to greet him on the 11th and will most likely be with him all day on the 12th. This should give us so much time to soak up all of his wonderful teachings and to ask and get answers to many of our questions. Rabbi Avraham is so welcoming to Jews and Gentiles alike. I will try to post photos and details of our visit on Thurs. or Friday. Can't you just feel my excitement! LOL

Shavua Tov!

I Voted!

Right after lunch, Bruce and I made the journey down the road to our polling place. I feel that this is possibly the most important election that I have ever participated in.
I am very concerned about the outcome ....but I also know that ultimately it is in God's hands...so I voted...but I put my trust in Him!

Now........ we wait for the results!

Charlotte's Web

Today, Clemmie and I went to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival to see "Charlotte's Web". We had a wonderful time. It was such a delightful production. After the play, we went to Zaxby's for lunch and then made a stop at TJ Maxx before heading home. It was a great day!

"BEREISHIS "...... Moshav video

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."

I thought that this would be appropriate, since it was this past week's Torah portion.
It is also my favorite Moshav song!

Hope that you all enjoy!

Shavua Tov!!

Our Lulav and Etrog!

This is our Lulav and Etrog. We have used them each day of Sukkot except for Shabbat. I love the smell of the etrog. Bruce wants to save the seeds and hopefully grow our own tree. He also plans to root the willow and the myrtle.















As you can see by this photo, Buddy has totally been a part of our Sukkot celebrations. Each time that we have gathered in the sukkah, he was never far away! See him right behind Alex. He especially loved the fact that we ate two meals each day in the sukkah. LOL

Spending Time in the Sukkah!

Sukkah Pictures!

The Season of Our Joy!!

Hopefully, I will snap some photos of our sukkah and post them soon. I hope that everyone who celebrates Sukkot is having a great time. We have really enjoyed the time spent in our sukkah so far!

Chag Sameach!

Happy Rosh Hashanah !

For those readers, who are not familiar with this holiday, here is a brief description.

...In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a sabbath for you, a remembrance with shofar blasts, a holy convocation. -Leviticus 16:24

Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first and second days of Tishri. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, "head of the year" or "first of the year." Rosh Hashanah is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. This name is somewhat deceptive, because there is little similarity between Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days of the year, and the American midnight drinking bash and daytime football game.

There is, however, one important similarity between the Jewish New Year and the American one: Many Americans use the New Year as a time to plan a better life, making "resolutions." Likewise, the Jewish New Year is a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning the changes to make in the new year. More on this concept at Days of Awe.

The name "Rosh Hashanah" is not used in the Bible to discuss this holiday. The Bible refers to the holiday as Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the day of remembrance) or Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar). The holiday is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25.

The shofar is a ram's horn which is blown somewhat like a trumpet. One of the most important observances of this holiday is hearing the sounding of the shofar {click on shofar to hear sound} in the synagogue.

This info was copied from :
http://www.jewfaq.org /holiday2.htm

Giving Cats Equal Time!

Madeline-Jillian




Joe Good




Ducktape




Abner




Sutty




Abbygail



I have posted pictures of our dog, Buddy, numerous times. Since, I was in a "picture-taking" mood yesterday, I decided that maybe I would share some photos of our cats. I admit...... some of them do have very unusual names!

Happy Birthday to Bruce!

On Saturday, my wonderful husband, Bruce, celebrated birthday number 43. We had a terrific day! Our day started with Sabbath services at shul, followed by a delightful afternoon spent with our dear friends the Cauthens. We went home with them and had lunch, at which time they surprised Bruce with a birthday cake.




Following lunch Alex, Clemmie, Ian, Chelsea and Faulkner played a rather "intense at times" game of monopoly. They had a really good time and would have certainly played longer, but we had to be back at shul by 7:30 for a special performance. If I remember correctly Ian was the winner of yesterday's game!



As a joint venture between both synagogues, the play "The Gates are Closing" was presented. Bill did an outstanding job as "Murray, the Hazan"! Ian, also, had an important part....as he was in charge of lighting and any other prop needs that came up. The programs for the production were done by Sandy and she too did a great job!
This play really made me think and actually shed a tear or two. After a short, but rather tasty nosh, we all gathered again for a Selichot service. This was my first ever Selichot service and it a was very moving.
We got home around 11:30pm .......it had been a very long day, but we had a total blast and would not have changed a thing about the day. For me, a day cannot be more perfect than spending it with my family and friends, worshipping G-d together, sharing a meal together, and playing and laughing together!
Yes, it was a perfect day! Thanks Cauthen Family!

Shavua Tov!