Dearest neighbors,

Dearest neighbors,

Thank you for being SO welcoming and sweet! We can't believe that we have not been alone for even ONE Shabbat meal since we've gotten here. Not only that, but thank you for the multiple car rides, helping us bring our oven and dryer to the new apartment, a space heater, baby acamol, picking up diapers, bringing over wine, brownies and full-on meals while we were unpacking, calling to make sure everything is going well and overall, just being awesome. We are endlessly thankful, and hope to be just as good neighbors for all of you.

Sincerely, Yehoshua, Rebecca and Ziva Sigala

That pretty much sums up how we feel about living in Efrat. We are really happy here, we couldn't ask for anything more... except, well...maybe not having to pay our 3,200 nis arnona bill for the past year in our Jerusalem apartment. (Which really has nothing to do with Efrat, I just need to vent a little...) It's really ridiculous, in my opinion- and they don't let you pay in payments. It's a really big blow right now, especially with all of the furniture we still need to buy for our new apartment. It's one thing to live out of your suitcases with a mattress on the floor when you are newlyweds, but with a baby, it's proving to be pretty difficult. I'm trying my best to focus on what's good, because THANK G-D, there is so much good right now. When you live in Israel, you know there are sacrifices~ you can't always have spirituality and physicality in abundance at the same time. While we are striving for a healthy balance of both, I guess it's only natural that there is a little bit of struggling involved. Today, for instance, would've been a really convenient time to own a car. We just ran out of diapers, Ziva was crying because her 3rd tooth is coming in, Shua was about to run to catch the bus to work, I was supposed to meet my friend Leah up the hill and it was POURING RAIN! Here I am, stuck in my apartment....Ziva fell asleep with a "cloth diaper" on (I made it out of burping cloths). Those are the times it gets discouraging, and I start to think of how nice it would be to feel comfortable financially. Most people in America wouldn't dream of talking about such things with their friends, let alone on a public blog--- but hey, I'm Israeli now, and I've found that when I'm more open and honest with people, I feel much more true to myself.

I'm trying to focus on the simple pleasures in life, and it really gives me a sense of serenity and a consciousness that Hashem will take care of everything for us.

Things I'm loving right now-
baking challah, making my daughter laugh, getting kisses from her, listening to the beautiful piano playing from upstairs, hot coffee, staying cozy inside while it's raining!

... I know that I always end my posts with a happy note. Sorry if it's annoyingly optimistic, but it's really how I feel after it's all said and done!