History repeats itself

As a little girl growing up I spent many weeks in Israel. My father came from a place called Kfar Bilu. Here we call it a mushav!  in english i have no idea at this time what you would call it! Many years ago there were chickens, cows, horses and orange trees. We used to come to visit the family and spend hours on tractors and playing with the animals. My uncle and aunty still live here and it is here that we are staying until we head to Jerusalem on Sunday to begin at the institute. Although there is not really much agriculture  left, there is still a tractor!! Watching Noam on the tractor with his cousin Motty ( or as Noam says it OTTY) brought back many amazing memories from being a child visiting Israel!

Not only is Noam's language and behaviour changing for the better daily ( and we haven't even gotten down to business yet) His life experiences are fascinating him and his reaction to what he experiences for me is a beautiful one to watch.

Shalom Israel

After lots of anticipation, nerves and excitement we have arrived in Israel!!
Noam was a star on the plane!!! Lots of WOW's lots of chit chat and best of all lots of SLEEPING!! YEY for Noam. The most exciting part for him was landing in Hong Kong! Once we landed we got a big AGAIN. In HK we spent and interesting 11 hours! walking walking and more walking! We had a ball but to be honest after about 4 hours i was ready to fly on. Noam took on a role of 'model' for the time we spent there, i am not sure i am able to count how many times he had his picture taken by random people! strange and a little nerving.
Then onto Israel with ELAL. One amazing part of flying into israel with ELAL for those of you who haven't been is when the plane lands there is applause from all aboard... Noam was no different just louder and topped up with many 'mummy' , mummy' WOW! He had everyone around him in tears of laughter!
I have to say that the help i received from Qantas was outstanding!! from ELAL, well lets just say welcome to Israel!!

I now find myself sitting at my family waiting for the next part of this amazing journey to begin... On sunday we head to Jerusalem. I can't wait!!

There is lots of buzz around our place at the moment! Getting ready to go is reminding me what it felt like to get married! So much preparation, talk and excitement and then the big day! Life changing, amazing and defiantly scary! For those of you who know Naish there is nothing scary about him. For those of you who know Noam, well the big flight and a change in routine blah blah blah for me is scary!

The internet has been my saviour since giving birth to this amazing child! Not a night has gone bye over the past five years where i haven't sat and 'google' something to do with Down Syndrome, Vitamins, special diets and lots more (admittedly i have been known to make a few purchases on ebay or buyinvite!) Tonight has been no different!  The good news is, thanks to google i am now aware that Hong Kong International airport has children's play areas and big big big television screens scattered through the departure lounges just for kids.

Bring on the the 11 hour Stop over......
Stay posted people as the big day arrives so will the exciting posts about flights, airports and Israel!!
more importantly 1st of May is our first day at the institute!!

till then
see ya!!

This trip would not be possible without the support and donations of many amazing people! There are honestly no words to describe our gratitude to those of you you who have contributed! This once in a life time opportunity has only been made possible thanks to YOU! Back home i will be leaving Mika and Shuly with Naish. I can't begin to describe how much this hurts and how much I wish this cold be a journey we was a family share together! Reality is that it will be Noam and my Journey but all of our futures! HOw grateful i am to know that Naish and the kids have the support of so many family and friends  .Without them this trip would also not be possible! THANK YOU!

Preparing Noam for the trip doesn't come with ease. Sometimes I wonder if all the fear is only my fear! We have done lots of talking about flying and being away. He seems excited but how much he understands is anyone's guess! When reality kicks in will the separation be to much or will he rise to the occasion??
Thanks to my beautiful friend Kim ( my rock over the past 5 years ) who is making Noam a 'social story' for the trip I can only hope that he rises to the occasion!

In the meantime it need to get myself healthy and organised! (the winter cold has kicked in.)

What am I looking for?

I could write a book about feelings, emotions and the Journey that began a little more than 5 years ago! (18-11-05 to be exact) with almost 2 weeks until Noam and I head off, everyday brings another emotion I never knew existed!  Over the past few weeks i have had many people wish us all the best! The comment of the year seems to be ' I hope you find whatever you are looking for'!

What am i looking for?
There are so many things that I wish for this trip!
I wish to be challenged and inspired!
I wish to spend time with my son and get to know more about this amazing person i have brought into this world.
I wish to understand how his mind works.
l I wish to give Noam the skills and determination to be the person he wants to be!
I wish for him to experience, explore, develop and understand

Sometimes being a mother is just not enough on it's own to help your child grow and succeed!  

Where we are heading

Where we are heading... Check it out for a more detailed explanation of what we are working with

www.icelp.org

Three weeks before the big trip!

So I have no idea about how to go about this blog stuff but i am sure i will learn fast! 3 weeks to go and we are getting ready! I told the kids today that Noam and I were going away! hmmmm not sure how that went down! I told Mika  that I was taking Noam to Israel to see lots of doctors!! He  was so scared to go to bed incase i wasn't going to be there in the morning! Poor kid. The fear was taken away with the excitement of the idea of me buying lots of gifts and sending them to 'his mail box'. One very happy little boy!
As for Noam he was excited about going on a plane! That thought was overshadowed by the Phenergan taking affect which resulted in some strange tongue movements and a play with daddy's hair before passing out in bed!! YEY for phenergin bring on that 20 hour flight!!!
And Shuly, well she was more worried about the boys getting a chocolate biscuit when all she got was a bottle!