Last month my son turned the big 13! It's hard to believe that he is a teenager now. 

My son had an exciting year last year. He took his first trip on an airplane in November and it ended up being a long airplane ride to Israel!  In December he turned 13 and had his Bar Mitzvah.

Calling him Little Man doesn't seem so appropriate anymore- does it? I'll have to rethink what to call him on my blog now! 

In November my husband and son went to Israel for 12 days. Bug and me stayed home and had a lot of girl time while the guys were away.

It was a miracle that the guys got to go. We felt it was a God's timing as he approached his Bar Mitzvah. Most importantly it made the Bible really come alive to him and to experience the land that our Rabbi Yeshua our Lord and Savior walked. What a privilege and blessing for my son to make aliyah(going up to-Jerusalem).  I love hearing my son say things like, "Mom we were there in Israel while reading the Bible" or seeing pictures of Israel and relating to it by being in the land.

He was able to read his Bar Mitzvah portion at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. That was very special to him and his father. It is something he will never forget.

 

He is no longer under the chuppah for the children's blessing and can hold one of the chuppah poles now.

He can now wear a tallit. He found his tallit and matching kippah in Jerusalem. Finding his tallit in Jerusalem makes it even more special to him. He recited the tallit blessing in Hebrew before putting it on.

 I love this picture of him putting on his tallit for the first time. His dad looks pretty proud of his son.

Look at those big smiles from my guys. 

 

Little Man lead the liturgy and gave a sermon. He had worked hard on his sermon and the Hebrew for 8 months. It was a lot of hard work for him. Of course as a mom I'm real proud of him.

He taught on Genesis 45: 1-15, Ezekial 37: 15-28, and Luke 24:13-31. The portion was perfect for his trip to Israel.  

One thing he added to his sermon after coming back from Israel was a quote from Mark Twain:  

"[It is a] desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds-a silent mournful expanse… A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action… We never saw a human being on the whole route… There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of the worthless soil, had almost deserted the country."

My son seen how the nation of Israel is now flourishing in many ways.  His Bar Mitzvah portion impacted him being in the Land of Israel and comparing the quote. He seen God's hand on the land and His people. I loved how he shared his relationship with Yeshua to the congregation too.

He loves Yeshua with all of his heart and loves the nation of Israel and her people. He hopes to one day join the IDF an be part of Israel.

Afterwards we celebrated with cake, chocolate fountain, all kinds of wonderful food, family, and friends. 

I love watching my son growing up and embracing Yeshua as his Lord and Savior!

Bug had her Bat Mitzvah on October 18th. This has been a long road of learning Hebrew for Bug. Having learning disabilities and a struggling reader has made the preparation interesting. She did it and I am so proud of her. We had to really customize her Bat Mitzvah and that is the beauty of it as it was an extension of her and her style. Having a child with Autism, SPD, and the list could go on makes learning interesting. Learning another language adds a whole new meaning to learning disabilities. Learning Hebrew at home for the most part has been an amazing journey. 

I have to put a plug in for one product as this hasn't been an easy journey for Bug. She had to work twice as hard to get to this day. I'm not getting paid or asked to sponsor this product . I just believe in sharing something that has enhanced our learning and I have seen the results to get to this day. We were at the point of thinking that it would be impossible for Bug to do a Bat Mitzvah. Then I stumbled on a Hebrew program that turned it around and I had hope that it was possible for Bug to do a Bat Mitzvah.

If you are wanting to learn Hebrew I would highly recommend Cap iT! Hebrew. I seen the light bulbs go off for Bug while teaching her Hebrew using Cap iT!. My son has completed all three courses and is doing extremely well in Hebrew. He reads Hebrew and is starting to comprehend more of what he is reading now. Now he just needs an outlet to speak it more so he can understand when someone is speaking Hebrew to him.

I will share the links of my reviews at the end of this post.

Bug did her Bat Mitzvah with another girl in our synagogue. We started out the service with the girls walking around with the Torah.

That's daddy and grandpa bringing out the large Torah scroll and the girls bringing out the smaller Torah's.

 Grandpa lead the Torah procession.

 Bug is looking pretty happy walking around with her bright purple Tallit.

She had some amazing helpers. Her Torah portion was B'Resheet (Genesis) 1:1 and 1:26. She didn't do the whole portion as it would of been two much for her.

We pre-recorded some of her presentation so it wouldn't overwhelm her. We had a friend recite the Torah blessing before and afterwards. Another one read some information out loud about HaShem's amazing creation that Bug put together. Which of course centered around different insects and honeybees.

 My little girl reading her portion.

 My proud, "Daughter of the Commandments". She is walking back to where I was sitting and gave me a big hug! Look at that smile on her face.

 Our Synagogue's Torah Scroll.

 This Torah Scroll came from Poland and is estimated to be around 300-400 years old. It is in need of some repair and it's starting to show as it is getting pretty fragile.

 Of course we had a honeybee theme for the celebration downstairs. The other girl had a candy theme - it was a good fit.

 We had lots of honey, honey stix, and honey candy to share with the guest.

 It was important for Bug to share her love of bees and insects. So we set up a display table downstairs. My little beekeeper had to show of her passion of being a backyard beekeeper.

 She wanted others to see products from the beehive.

 Then we showed the tools and a beehive box that you need to keep bees.

My beautiful little girl is pretty happy with everything. We served her favorite foods Macaroni and cheese, cake, and lots of challah bread. (With honey and even a few creamed honey's).

Cap It! Hebrew

http://reneek-littlehomeschoolontheprairie.blogspot.com/2013/09/cap-it-get-ready-to-read-hebrew.html

http://reneek-littlehomeschoolontheprairie.blogspot.com/2013/09/cap-it-learn-to-read-hebrew-and.html

http://reneek-littlehomeschoolontheprairie.blogspot.com/2013/12/cap-it-hebrew-reading-program-level-2.html

 http://reneek-littlehomeschoolontheprairie.blogspot.com/2014/04/read-fluent-hebrew-siddur-edition-level_30.html

Little Man was immersed awhile back. He wanted to identify with the death, burial, and resurrection with his Messiah Yeshua. He went into the Mikveh on August 17th. He talked about wanting to be immersed quit awhile back. The day finally came. Our Rabbi recorded him giving his testimony of how he excepted Yeshua in his heart.

Which I love his conversion testimony. It brings tears to my eyes. He was very angry one day with me and stormed into his room. A while later he came out to me with a tear stained face and tears still in his blue eyes. He said. "Mom I am sorry for getting so angry at you. Do you forgive me." During the course of the conversion he," informed me that he cried out to the Lord and asked him to come and live in his heart." "He explained to me how he believes that Yeshua died for his sins and that he knows he rose again." It was the most wonderful day to see  my son except and explain God's plan of salvation to me.

 Dad got the joy of helping him with his immersion.

 What a joy for any parent to watch their child declare his belief.

 Since I had surgery and then the West Nile I didn't order him a cake. If you remember Bug had a nice ladybug cake. He understood and he got to choose something. Much to my surprise he requested a plain cake with icing that he could decorate himself.

He had a blast decorating and sharing his cake. We even let him have a piece for his breakfast the next morning! He was surprised we said, "Yes, but just this one time."

Our Bug took the plunge in the Mikveh. What is a Mikveh? Mikveh is a Hebrew word meaning, " is a bath used for the purpose of being immersed"baptised". Bug was immersed with the death, burial, and resurrection of Messiah Yeshua(Jesus). It happened on the 28 Tamuz 5771, known as July 29, 2011. What a joyous moment this was for our family.

What makes it more precious is how Bug did it prior to the event. She has asked us about being baptised before. She couldn't always explain it to us or it would be some information. We just were not sure that she really understood it. She was seeing her friends at the Synagogue do it. We didn't want her doing it just because they are doing it. Also water is a big thing for her. She is afraid to put her head in the water and even in the water she would cling to you so tight in a death grip.

Well she heard that we had another Mikveh coming up and told Daddy that she was ready. She explained it to him. Daddy told her that he would talk to the Rabbi about it. She didn't think Daddy was going to do it. She took things in her own hands and after service one Shabbat she went up to the Rabbi and told him, "I want to get baptised" She told him that she knows what it means and explained in detail what it means to her. She also informed him, "that Yeshua (Jesus) lives in her heart." Well how can you deny her that.

So prior to the immersion they recorded every ones testimony to show before they got immersed. Bug was very detailed and when asked if she can name one commandment she said, "no, I will tell you 3 commandments." and she did. Then she decided that she wanted to sing the Shema (Deuteronomy 6 :4-9) in both Hebrew and English. It was adorable.

She did good getting in the water. Daddy got the privilege of doing it. She wanted to go under herself and she made it 3/4 up to her head. What a big step for her.

My only problem, Daddy stood on the wrong side and I didn't see it. Which in the big scheme of it. That is okay because what really matters is that she did it. They recorded it and I will see it later. I am just proud of my little girl. Everything is such a struggle for her and she was so brave and she loves Yeshua with all her heart.

We had a cake made for her to celebrate. She truly out did herself making this cake. It was more than I expected. We call her Bug for a reason. She loves ladybugs and bugs!

Look at that smile! Remember Moms never stop praying and teaching God's word to your babies. Even those who are mentally challenged. God meets them where they are at. HE blooms in their hearts and gives them a understanding of who HE is. Have a blessed week.

"Through immersion into his death we were buried with him; so that just as the Messiah was raised ffrom the deat, likewise we too might live a new life."

Romans 6:4