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!

The rain can't stop me!

It's been raining here, and although we're so thankful for the rain, I can't help but long for summer. I can imagine Ziva enjoying the beautiful playgrounds, taking long evening walks, having BBQs with friends... ahhh...

I'm also in super woman mode (it would be nice if the weather matched my enthusiasm)- I want to decorate our home, work on Ziva's scrapbook, make baked goods every day, become a pro photographer and be a stay at home mother all at the same time. First things first, I tell myself.

Today, I was a photographer. Wow, it's so fun to say that.

I had the privilege of taking 3-months portraits of our adorable little neighbor, Max! He's really a cute one! We spent 2 hours-talking, comforting, changing clothing, arranging backgrounds and, of course, snapping pictures that will hopefully be cherished forever. I loved it, and I really loved getting to know another neighbor on our street!

Here are some of my favorites from the session! (It's really hard to choose! You can see more of the work my husband and I have done at www.facebook.com/sigalaphotography)

Avia Baila

I know I haven't posted anything in awhile. I've been wracking my brain to think of something to follow the last post. How do you go from writing something so crazy to, "Today Ziva and I went to the Malcha Mall and met up with some of our best friends..." I guess the truth is, that's life. Something incredibly scary and dramatic can happen, but soon afterwards...you have to move on.

There is so much beauty in the world, that my husband and I can't help to be optimistic. I think that is part of the reason we like photography so much. It's a chance to share how we see the world.

Tuesday morning, I arranged my FIRST portrait session. I've been talking about getting into portraits for a long time, and I finally decided to take the plunge. My amazingly talented husband has been teaching me how to use the camera, sharing ideas with me and we actually watched an online photography class together. When I told him I might be interested in doing portraits and maybe assisting him at weddings, he was totally into it. I thought it was really cool of him to be so encouraging and excited, even though this has always been his thing. I think we could make a great duo!

We set up the shoot in our new living room. It worked out really well because we have 4 windows that let through the perfect natural light. I asked Yehoshua to set up an umbrella light just in case--- and to look more professional, of course. (We didn't end up using it at all!) I put Ziva's crib mattress on the floor against our cream colored wall. Then used a boppy pillow and blankets for the rest of the set up. The only technical thing I remember (I'm so not technical about photography yet) is that the ISO was 200, and that was possible because of the beautiful natural light we had. Yehoshua was home, so he was able to give me pointers and encourage me along! I was pretty nervous about how it would turn out!

Avia Baila Eidelshtein was born January 14, 2011 at 9 1/2 lbs, what a chub! This precious little girl has such a sweet and calm demeanor, unless she's hungry- then she knows how to scream for her food! I had fun hanging out with her mother, Sara, while I got to capture her newborn cuteness. Her Kiddush is this Shabbat, and we are looking forward to celebrating with the Eidelshtein Family and our new community!

Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot.