The Wall Bloggers

For our preschool, every week, the kids are supposed to bring an object that begins with the letter of the week. A week ago, Adrianna and I discussed things that start with D. When she thought about "Dad" starting with D, she decided she wanted to make a "drawing" of "Dad" (2 D's!). She used a special Color Explosion paper, that created the interesting effect. I think her drawing turned out neat (but then, I am her proud mother).

I want to post an update to the block party post from a few days ago... On Saturday morning, while we were just waking up, we heard an ambulance rush to a nearby house. We later got word that our neighbor, John, who showed off his new scooter to us at the block party, passed away in his sleep on Friday night. We are lifting up his widow, Marge, in prayer. I think his quick passing was a great shock to her and their family. I am so grateful that we were blessed to see John's lively spirit just last week at the party.

So I've been postponing writing about this, because I was hoping to get pictures off my mother-in-law's camera to add to the post. Alas, I do not yet have the pictures, but I will write the post anyway. Three years ago, God placed upon my heart the desire to know my neighbors better. And so, I ventured into a huge unknown, and printed up invitations to a block party we would have in our cul-de-sac. I spent the next two weeks agonizing over whether people would actually attend. I feared failure, and knew that I would take it as personal rejection. As it turned out, people actually came. My father-in-law brought his smoker, and smoked up some yummy meat, and neighbors all brought side dishes and desserts. The neighbors seemed to enjoy each other, and actually liked being at a party together. The next year, we did the same thing, with similar results. Last year, however, we could never figure out a date that worked, and we just let the summer pass without making any plans ...

One of the blessings of living in our small town in NM is that fresh produce abounds here. Apparently many fruit trees love this climate (pears, apples, peaches, plums, apricots). And people take the time to grow vegetables in their gardens. And after they grow them, they share -- with coworkers, neighbors, friends. We have gotten fresh fruits and veggies from all these places, and it feels so community-like. Enjoying the produce of the land feels like taking a step towards the simplicity of life. It sure it easy to see God's hand in creation when it is my hand picking the peach from the tree. I sure do not want to let any of it just spoil, when I see the labor my friends put in to the cultivating. God knew how my heart longed for connection to a community, and I am so grateful that He brought us here.

I do not think anyone likes goodbyes. My friend Jennifer and her family moved away at the end of June. That was just about enough friends leaving for me for a long while. But I guess God had other plans. My friend Emily, who just moved home in May, after being away at college, is leaving again. I know she's following her heart, and she's desiring to follow God's path for her. But that doesn't mean I want her to go. We spent a lovely "goodbye" morning together, riding the bus to town together, meeting up with another of our good friends and her son. The loveliness of it made it all the sadder, though. It served to remind me that we will not be able to do that again together for a while. Emily is such a fun addition to an outing -- playing with our kids, delighting us with conversation, and being up for anything. Capturing that first shot, of Emily handing Adrianna bread for the ducks, was actually an accidental picture, but it states so much more than ...

When Scott and I bought our house, over four years ago, it was in fairly decent condition. But, as with all houses (especially one 35 years old), there are always projects that need to be done. One of the projects that reminded me of its necessity every day was our bathroom. The former owners put in a new sink and shower, which work quite nicely. But their newness only served to draw attention to the old -- formerly white -- vinyl floor. And for a reason unbeknown to us, the heater vent had been jammed down into itself at sometime in our house's history. Over time, the lower wall corner by the shower had been getting wet, and growing soggy and crumbly. This left us with three bathroom projects that needed completion, and which were nagging at me. As I described it to Scott, I did not mind cleaning Adrianna's bathroom, but I did mind cleaning ours, because it never seemed clean, even after I just finished cleaning it! All that background leads up to Labor Day weekend. I k...

Since there is now a gymnastics class that meets at our YMCA, I decided to sign Adrianna up, to see if it is a sport she might be interested in. We went for the first class a few weeks ago. Adrianna cried/screamed for most of the class. She has been very emotional about everything lately, but I think this first gymnastics class was especially hard for her, because there were many people milling around (it was a special grand opening party), balloons everywhere, loud noises, etc. So last week, while I drove her for our second attempt at class, I could tell she was getting anxious again. I tried lightening the mood with goofy songs, but to little avail. I told her I would drop her off for the class, and go into the YMCA. I thought that if she knew I was gone, she would be able to pull herself together and have fun. She started screaming when I dropped her off. I watched through a side window, while she tried to hold on to her emotions, but kept falling into fits of screaming. I ...