Home Again, Home Again...Lickety Split

Well, not quite "Lickety Split"...but after 3,245 hours on the road, we are finally home. We had a great time and really, the kids were great in the car - but its nice to be home.

Here are some highlights:

• Christmas Eve service at my brother's church (well, its God's church, but he's the pastor) with our nephews as Wise Men and Shepherds, niece as an angel and a "real" baby Jesus - the best part was when Uncle Scott said something about there being a baby Jesus and Lora, who's been on my lap the whole time perks up and says "There's a baby up there?"
• Chili and presents at Scott and Debbie's house on Christmas Eve- not as crazy as it was the last time we were all together at Christmas - I'm happy the kids are getting older.
• Will's face when he saw the box of 64 Pokeman we got him on Ebay - I'm guessing they're direct from China and full of lead - but he'll have fun before the brain damage sets in.
• Christmas Day eating outside next to Scott and Debbie's pool, praying that neither of my kids would fall in and drown since they can't swim.
• Disneyland with the kids for the first time...we went during the absolutely busiest week of the year - but, who knew that if you have a blind child you get a little pass that gets you to the front of every line...we considered renting Lora out to other families.
• Seeing Kyra Sedgewick at "The Grove" shopping center in Los Angeles....at least according to me it was Kyra Sedgewick and no one else can prove otherwise.
• Eating brunch with the whole family at a great resturant in Laguna Beach, right on the water and then playin in the tide pools after...don't tell anyone that I brought a shell home with me - I'm sure there's an APB out for me.
• The people who's house we were staying in coming home one day earlier than we were expecting...walking in on Mark laying in their bed watching a movie with the kids and me sitting on their toilet reading a book...us awkwardly slinking off to our own rooms, them trying to sleep in sheets we hadn't washed yet.
• Mark and I then sneaking out of their house at 5AM, packing the car as quietly as possible, dressing the kids and leaving all without waking them up...then meeting my parents for one last breakfast before hitting the road.
• Driving around San Francisco with the kids showing Will all the places we used to go, stopping briefly in a souvenier shop, buying sweatshirts and play cable cars (the best part was Lora picking up a toy and saying to me, "Mom, are these novelty toys?") and then eating at our favorite Mexican resturant in San Rafael, Panchitos - the first place Will ever had refried beans (at about 8 months) which are still his favorite thing.
• Spending New Year's Eve with Mark and the kids in the Travelodge in Novato - watching Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve and all of us snoring by 11:30.
• Arriving home to a mess of shredded paper and pee-pee pads on our dark green area rug...just Zoe's way of expressing her frustration with us being gone for 10 days....we did have someone taking care of her, but I think she missed us.

We had a wonderful time - it couldn't have been better but I'm happy to be back in my own little house, on my own little corner of the world...vacation is fun, but home is better.

Living the Dream

I had a dream last night that Mark got a call to a church in Colorado and he told me that we were moving there...I looked at him, in my dream, and said "What about Mosaic? What about all the planning, work and connections that have been made?" He looked at me and said, "I'm bored. I need a new challenge. We've done it already." Its funny, because I woke up with this horrible feeling this morning and even though I know it was just a dream - I've been kind of melancholy this morning as I work in Mosaic...

For all my complaining about this place - and I do complain sometimes - I still love it...I love the families that come in - Karen and Scott were in this morning with their kids and their parents from Port Orchard...the parents from the Chinese school that meets upstairs on Saturdays...a couple chatting on the stage, maybe a new romance budding...I met Mike this morning who works for both Amazon and is also an usher at the 5th Avenue Theatre...Chris and Robert both came in for their "regulars" (20oz White Chocolate Mocha and 12oz Americano with room respectively)...Tammy and her "small mocha" that thankfully didn't taste like a dog's butthole to her today...a Demitasse room full of kids and their parents...and at 12:30 we have a flute recital...it really is an amazing thing to see and I know you probably get tired of hearing about it - but I'm so excited and happy to be here, on this corner of the world, a barista for the kingdom...so maybe when I was asleep, it was a nightmare an now I'm living the dream....

My Dad has caught the Christmas Fever

A friend showed us this website tonight and its really fun...I couldn't think of anyone better than my dad to make an elf...its hilarious! Enjoy..if you're interested in making your own family members into elves, its www.elfyourself.com

To see my dad as an elf, click the link below....
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9631095701

Thankfulness...

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, as I'm sure you know the pictures are of Will and Lora serving at our church's Thanksgiving lunch...I love Thanksgiving. I think I like it as much, if not more than Christmas. Christmas tends to stress me out more, the gift giving boggles my mind and always leaves me feeling like I picked all the wrong presents...Thanksgiving is all about good food, family, relaxing...the cooking can be stressful, but nothing else is.

This year, we are staying home. We typically have gone to the Oregon Coast with my in-laws but aren't this year. We're having Mark's parents and our friends Nooshin and Paya over for lunch. I'm really excited because my friend Nooshin is from Iran and I don't think she's ever experienced a traditional American Thanksgiving. My husband would love for us to deep fry the turkey but this year, I'm going to brine it over night and then use Emeril Legasse's recipe which includes basting ever 20 minutes or whatever...I'm breaking out on my own - and it may be a flop, but we'll see.

I'm thankful for so many things this year...my family which includes great parents who have loved and supported me always, a terrific brother, sister-in-law, three nephews and one niece - who we will be visiting at Christmas...wonderful parents in-law who don't fit any of the negative in-law stereotypes...an incredible husband who loves me just how I am...a son who is bright and funny and expresses his love freely...a daughter who amazes me every day as she reminds me that she is so much more than a diagnosis...Great friends who are like family...A fun and challenging place to minister...A perfect home, neighborhood and schools for my kids...and a God who loves me unconditionally and challenges me to love others the same way. Life is good and I am thankful....

Weekend Away

Mark and I had a weekend away this past weekend...it was our first time away alone since before Lora was born, so about 4 years. We went to Victoria and we had a really fun time. We stayed in a hotel, went to fun places to eat, walked around the whole city, drank coffee and looked at books in a bookstore and we went to a movie...all without the kids.

It was nice to step on the ferry at Port Angeles and realize that I didn't have to entertain or "watch" anyone...I could just sit there and look out the window or close my eyes and take a rest...it was really nice.

On the way over, Mark bought me a book at the Ferry gift shop. Its called "Eat, Pray, Love", and I'm really loving it...I will write more about it later.

But, on Friday night, we went to the movies. I read a review of a movie weeks ago called "Lars and the Real Girl"...I talked Mark into seeing it and it was so good. It was one of those quirky, funny, touching movies that I love so much. Its about a painfully shy guy who has trouble relating even to his own family..he has some tragic circumstances in his past that contribute to this. He can barely even talk to other people...Its very strange, but he ends up ordering a life-sized fake woman from the internet and he begins introducing her to everyone as his new girlfriend named Bianca. Now, I know what you're thinking, but this movie does not go to the 8th grade boy humor that might normally go along with a "blow-up" or fake woman in most movies.

It was just the sweetest story about how his family and the whole town begin accepting him and his delusion that his girlfriend is real. Part of it is helped along by a doctor in town who encourages people to go with him in order to help him...In fact, they go so far as to elect Bianca to the school board. With Bianca by his side, Lars is able to talk to other people and relate on a level he previously was unable to...and eventually he realizes that he doesn't need her and he's able to begin a relationship with a "real girl"...

I loved it, especially the way his family and town were portrayed, the love that they showed to Lars...I highly recommend this sweet story to anyone...yes, it was a little weird but so great.

All in all we had a really fun weekend away and I'm so grateful to the village who helped us with our children and our church who sent us and paid our way...thanks to all!

What was I thinking?

What is it about Co-op Preschool that sends me right back to Jr High? It seems like so often in my dealings with my fellow co-op parents I return to my former insecurities. A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege or should I say drudgery of attending our All School Board Meeting, this is where all three classes that meet at our site get together. I was chosen to be the secretary for this meeting, since I'm my classes secretary and each of us has to rotate in on an All School meeting...it was my turn.

I was already put off because the person in charge of this meeting sent us a 5 page agenda - well it seemed like 5 pages...it was very thorough, let's just put it that way. So, I was dreading the meeting and it lived up to all of my dread. It was long, seemingly very serious and extremely tedious. I don't enjoy taking notes for meetings such as this - these type of meetings and my personality do not mix. I like to crack jokes - which my own board has gotten used to, but this was a new group and I don't know that they apreciated my sense of humor - although the guy next to me did get my "Assistant to the Regional Treasurer" comment. Anyway, we did so much discussing that it was really difficult to know what was pertinent enough to make the minutes and what should be left out, etc. But I feel that I hit all the important points and only one actual motion was made during the whole meeting.

So, I sent out my minutes earlier this week and I got e-mail from the organizer of the meeting saying that she thinks she must not have gotten all of the pages as she only got approx. 1.5 pages, etc...I thought maybe the document didn't e-mail correctly, so I resent it to both her and myself and checked the document and all looked correct to me...so, I get ANOTHER e-mail (which was the 5th one in one day) asking me to print them out and give them to her because she "can't possibly be getting all my minutes". So, I automatically go to the insecure place of - what did I do wrong? Did I not take the minutes correctly? Instead of the healthier - What is her problem? What did she expect? Or the even healthier - Who cares? Its only Preschool? I stress about this all afternoon, wondering what I might have missed at the meeting, wasting precious energy that could have been used in more productive ways...

I swear I must ask myself multiple times a week.."What was I thinking?" and "Am I the only one who sends my kids to Co-op because its the only preschool we can afford?"

Fun Was Had By All - Happy Halloween

I love Halloween...I've always loved Halloween. I'm sure it has something to do with all the candy. I loved dressing up, getting my pumpkin shaped carrier and heading out for a night of Trick or Treating. I think its a great night and I don't really understand the problem that some people have with it. I think it becomes whatever you make it...I have a friend who moved from Kirkland over to the Eastern side of the mountains a few years ago and she was always a big Halloween celebrator. Even though her husband was on staff at a church and they always had the obligatory "Harvest Party", my friend would decorate her house - not really scary or anything - just the normal pumpkins, cobwebs, etc. She let her kids go Trick or Treating, just the normal stuff.

When she moved to a smaller town, Fall came and she started her normal decorating, etc. Her husband is now the pastor of a church...anyway, some of her friends came to her and said..."We don't really celebrate Halloween here, we turn our porch lights off and don't participate." I loved my friends response....she very kindly said, "I've always thought, what other night of the year are my neighbors knocking on my door? And if that's the case, why wouldn't I let them in?"

Of course I'm paraphrasing and retelling the story how I remember it, but I thought of that last night as we were out Trick or Treating...Will was really into it and we got pretty far into the neighborhood. But there were big groups of kids with parents all out walking around knocking on each other's doors. We knocked on a few doors, and were surprised by which neighbors live in which house...Will ran into friends from kindergarten and I was able to meet their parents or say Hi to those I already know. Some invited us to join them in their quest for candy. I loved it.

I especially loved Will's enthusiasm and how he would greet his friends and chat with them about how much candy he had collected. I loved how he would ask at houses if he could get an extra piece of candy for his sister who was in her stroller not feeling well, and he would actually give the extra to her. I loved how he wasn't scared of any of the skeletons or ghosts or homeowners who answered their door in masks - he knew it was all pretend...but, mostly, I loved the feeling of community - it was a beautiful night and fun was had by all....

Reflections on a Week (well 3 days) of Full Time Work...

I haven't worked full-time, outside of the home, for pay since before Will was born. Its funny because I really love being a stay at home mom, but sometimes feel like I need validation that I still can use my brain above a Kindergartener's level...

Well, this week, I have had my opportunity to work full time again, only not for pay. Due to vacations and sickness, I have been working at Mosaic three straight days from 8:00-5, 6 or 7. I'm exhausted and not any richer than I was last week, but its been fun too. I normally volunteer in the evenings so I've met a whole new crowd this week. Lots of moms with kids some of whom go to school with Will, college students, business people who have meetings here, Dick's employees...its really an eclectic crowd. Its fun to hear people tell other people, "This is our family's favorite new spot in the neighborhood"...Its been really busy today and I handled the morning and lunch rush all by myself without cowering in the corner in tears...or yelling at anyone.

I'm so proud of this place and so happy to be a part of it...But, after this week, I realize why I don't work full time. Its hard as a mom with two small children to work a full day, go home, make dinner, still do the laundry, try to clean your house, give baths, read stories, get kids into beds...Did I mention that Mark is the one who's been sick this week and he's done what he can...I went and got Will from school yesterday and dropped him off at home and Lora cried and didn't want me to leave. I shut the door and could still hear her crying as I walked back down the street to the coffeehouse...realizing with each step why I'm a stay at home mom...

So, I've had a fun three days...I'm exhausted, my house is a pig sty and I've probably gained 5 pounds from bagels and Pumpin Pie Chai Teas...but I was reminded that I can converse with adults, I really do like helping other people and I can make some beautiful foam....so its all good.

I Fired My Housecleaner...Boy am I Tired

Well, I didn't so much as fire her as I canceled her. Out of the kindness of her heart, my mom has paid for a housecleaner for me twice a month for the last three years...one of the benefits of having a blind daughter. But, after three years...and now that Will is in school I talked to my mom and told her that I thought I could handle the cleaning now. So, I said "Adios" to Alicia and took over my house.

So, I started this system called "Sidetracked Home Executive". Its this book my mom read back in the 70's and she sent it to me..you organize your whole house on 3X5 cards, splitting up each room and each task into Daily, Weekly, Monthly, etc tasks so that everything gets done..Then you decide which days you want to do things...like for me Sunday is Meal Planning/Grocery List day...Monday is Grocery Shopping...Tuesday Laundry...Wednesday I clean the Upstairs....Thursday is a day off...Friday I clean downstairs and Saturday I do laundry again. It sounds like a lot but with it all broken up, it makes it much easier.

To add to my stress, Lora is wearing panties...and peeing on the floor mostly. She did really well the first day, so I thought "This will be easy"....she tricked me and since then has not peed once on the potty. But, I'm not giving up...she must be trained. Even if it kills both of us....

Lora Drew a Face....

So, I cried in Co-op this morning...and not just because one of the little girls told me I was fat. About three times throughout the year, teacher Kris asks the kids to draw a self portrait. This morning was the first of those times. During our small group, we handed the kids paper and asked them to draw themselves. We asked questions like.."What shape is your head?" "What do you have on your face?", etc...

So, Lora proceeded to draw a perfect circle, the two circles for eyes, a smile and a nose. This picture is actually the second portrait she drew...I grabbed the other one before anything happened to it so she drew this one and added lots of curly hair and possibly a beard of some sort. She has a good imagination. I just looked at her go, concentrating and putting all the pieces in their perfect place..and I looked at the three boys at our table one scribbling and the other two barely able to make a circle. I realize she is a girl, she enjoys drawing, etc...but she's also supposedly blind. And all I could do is look with wonder and cry.

This may not look like much to anyone other than her mother or maybe her dad...but to this mother, it is a masterpiece and should be hung in a gallery somewhere with the title "Look What God Can Do...."

Made in China

So, my parents were here last week for a couple of days. It was fun to see them, have them see us and have them check out Mosaic which they hadn't seen completed yet. It was fun on Friday because Mosaic was really busy in the morning, packed with mom and their kids all playing in Demitasse and actually spilling out into the Den and the main room....my dad looked at me at one point and said, "The most amazing thing about this is that none of these people are directly connected to your church..." It was fun.



We went shopping on Thursday and we decided to stop by Old Navy. I was commenting to my mom, in Lora's presence, about the clothes I recently ordered for her on-line. I was amazed by how many different countries the clothes were made in. From Egypt to Taiwan to Indonesia...and I commented that the sweater Lora had on was made in China.



So, three days later....Heidi, Lora and I are sitting outside my in-laws house helping with a garage sale. Lora has on the same sweater and Heidi asks her if her mommy made her sweater, to which Lora responds, "No, China made it"



It amazes me how much she picks up and listens and overhears and remembers...she is so funny and smart. Tomorrow she starts pre-school...the first one that I will leave her at for at least 2 days a week. I'm excited for her and think that she will have a great time...I just hope the other "typical" kids can keep up with her!

Time and Perspective

Last week, we took Lora to her annual eye exam...which is always an ordeal. It usually lasts about 2 hours because by the time we get in the office, have her tested by the assistant, checked by the Doctor, eyes dialated, wait 20 minutes, and go back in...its been about two hours. Plus, getting a 3 1/2 year old to open her eyes volunterily and look in a bright light or keep them open long enough for the doctor to see the back of her eye is a huge thing. We bribed her first with chocolate, then with a treat in the caffeteria and finally with a trip to Toys-R-Us before we were done and by the end it was me holding her on my lap, Mark holding her legs down and the assistant holding her head while Dr. Grace physically pried her eyes open...(BYW, I really don't like our opthomologist's assistant...don't know why she just rubs me the wrong way and I almost asked her to stop talking this time, but I held it together.)

So, needless to say, I felt that Lora deserved a $10 Little People toy for her trauma. While we were there, Will went to Paya's house for a playdate and when we got home, this is the conversation I overheard from the TV room...

Will: Lora, when you went to the eye doctor did they give you medicine so you can see better now?
Lora: Nope, still can't see....
Will: Oh...

I have to admit, it cracked me up. Its funny how the things that would have sent me into a fit of crying a year ago make me laugh now...Its true how time and perspective help everything - and I'm sure God has something to do with it too...

One Day Down...10,000,000 to go...

So, Will made it through his first day at school. He did fine, there were no tears or grabbing to hold on...Will didn't cry either. When I went to pick him up, Miss Lucy said that he had some transition issues after the morning recess. He didn't want to go back to his Spanish class, he wanted to go to the English class. So, she very nicely just said if we could go over with him his schedule so he understood. I asked her if these type of "transition issues" are typical, and she said "they can be"...which I took to mean, not usually...so I stressed about it all the way home...

So, after talking with Will about his day, I got to the bottom of the "transition issues"...His good friend Paya is in the other class, they all play together at recess and so after recess, Will simply wanted to stay with Paya. It had nothing to do with not wanting to be in Spanish class, he just wanted to stay with his buddy, which I understand...he they proceeded to tell Mark and I, "When I talked to the principal, I told him I wanted to learn Japanese and he told me that I can come to his house and he'll teach me Japanese"...to which I screeched "You got sent to the principal's office!?!?" Come to find out they took a "field trip" to meet the principal, so I picked myself off the floor and realized that Miss Lucy would have told me if his "transition issues" had escalated to the point to merit a trip to the principal's office. So, thankfully, he hasn't been sent to the office YET.

Mark talked with him extensively tonight about how he and Paya can play together at recess and he can play with Paya after school, but he is in Spanish class and Paya is in Japanese so they can't be in class together and he needs to make things easier on his teachers and just go where they tell him...to which he answered, "I know dad..." Here's to an easier "transition" day tomorrow....

Kindergarten...

So, Will starts Kindergarten tomorrow morning. Its so weird, I really can't believe it. I've been really not nervous or weepy about it at all, which is also weird. Maybe because I don't feel like its really happening, the emotion hasn't hit me yet. I really felt like Will was doing great too. In fact, he's seemed almost oblivious to it all.

But, tonight he asked Mark if kids get scared at kindergarten, if their parents can stay with them...or if they get scared during the day, if the teacher will call their parents to come and get them. Then he asked Mark what he does if he falls and cuts his leg...does he go to the school nurse or just to his teacher. And he also told Mark that he wished he was taking Japanese so he could be with his friend Paya. So, it makes me think that he has been thinking about things more than he's let on.

I just keep telling myself that all the other kids there are new to school too and that his teachers have all been teaching for 15 years and they seemed really nice. One weird thing is that he starts with Spanish tomorrow morning and for the first half of his day, he hears no English from his teachers...so that could be interesting...I really feel like he'll be fine, its just a weird thing to drop him off at 9:10 and not pick him up until 3:20...he's going to have his first school lunch tomorrow, his first recess with "big" kids...he's such a great kid and I hope he has a great first day...I'm really hoping and praying that all goes well...I'll keep you posted!

Back to School...for the first time

I have a 5 year old today. Which is weird because he doesn't really seem any different today than he did yesterday, but today he is 5. Which seems old to me. And tonight, we are headed off to John Stanford Elementary for his first "Back to School" night. We will meet his first "real" teachers tonight...Miss Lucy and Miss Maria, he has both an English and a Spanish teacher as our neighborhood school does language emersion which I think is pretty cool.

He seems excited but I know he doesn't grasp the significance of this night and this next week...I think I grasp it as I get teary writing this. Starting next Wednesday, Mark and I will no longer be the only big influences in his life -yes I know we will still be the biggest influences, but from 9:10-3:00 Monday through Friday...he will belong to Miss Lucy and Miss Maria and will be influenced by them and all the other kids in his class and so indirectly by all of their parents also. It is weird to me - and for all of my "open minded" talk...he really has been pretty sheltered and now I feel like I'm sending him out into the world. I realize its only kindergarten, but there are other bigger kids there and it makes me want to protect his innocence even more.

I don't want him to have to learn that kids can be cruel sometimes...and that everyone won't want to be his friend...I'm not ready for team sports and comparisons about athletic abilities (because if genetics has anything to do with it, he's screwed)...I'm not ready for little girls to want to kiss him, or worse, not want to...I'm not ready for hurt feelings...

But on the other side - there are new languages to be learned...new concepts to grasp...reading to happen...a mind to be opened and new ideas to be explored...many friends to be made and a great adventure to be started...so, "Back to School" night, here we come - I hope John Stanford is ready for one great kid to enter its ranks...

Will's Backyard Party

Yes, I know, I'm a blogging loser. I'm sure the masses have stopped even checking my blog to see if I've added anything new....Hopefully I can gain my huge readership back....Life has been crazy recently. With Summer, kids, Mosaic, church, life...I have felt no energy for updating.

So, Will turns 5 this week! I can hardly believe it...in some ways I feel like he's still a 3 year old, but in other ways he seems so old to me. He starts Kindergarten next week, which is also so weird. Yes, I know, he's just turning 5 and we aren't holding him back a year, we're starting him in school this year. We may be stupid - so you don't have to tell us we are - I just can't imagine having him home another year...He didn't seem any less mature than any of the other kids at preschool and we think he's ready...you can tell us "I told you so" later when he's in "Super Kindergarten" next year...(that is a King of Queens reference, if you don't recognize it)

We had a Backyard party yesterday with Will and his friend Paya who turned 5 on the 20th. It was fun to plan and put the party together with my friend Nooshin. It was her first birthday party that she had even attended in America, so it was fun to explain all of the things that are expected...like goodie bags - which are kind of a weird concept. We had a great day in our yard with 13-15 kids and parents beside...I think everyone had fun and Will and Paya had a great time being the center of attention...It was great for me to see that a simple party with popcorn, chips, fruit, cupcakes and lemonade in our backyard can be just as fun to the kids as renting out some big space or taking them all to Chuckie Cheese...the kids don't care, they just want to be together playing and running around...it was great! Happy Birthday to Will! I love you!

A Visit from an Old Friend.....

I'm sitting here, waiting for a visit from an old friend. I haven't seen Christy in close to ten years, but we were best friends all through high school. Its funny how you can have someone who is so integral to your life for a good 8 years or so and then, not talk to them for literally 10. Maybe I'm unique in that defect...but I'm horrible about keeping in contact with friends who live far away. We were inseperable in high school, kept in contact through college (even though she went to SPU and I headed to NNU), I was a bridesmaid in her wedding....then there is a huge chasm. I think I visited her in her new apartment after she was married a couple of times and then nothing.

I actually started thinking about her a couple of years ago and "googled" her, I sort of kept track of her through mutual friends...I knew she and her husband had moved to Illinois...tried to find an e-mail address and then, out of the blue, got a Christmas card from her. She had heard that we were pastoring at SFC so she sent the card to the church. So, we e-mailed a couple of times but haven't talked or seen each other....I'm excited...

I wonder if we will still have any connection? Me with my peanut butter smudged shirt, not quite done hair, kids in tow....I'm hoping that we will pick up where we left off, like no time has passed...Who knows? But I'm really excited to see her!

The Innocence of Children...

On Sunday, Mark, the kids and I went out to lunch with some friends after church. I took Will to the bathroom towards the end of lunch and deleting out the "poop" talk, here is our conversation:

Will: Mommy, why do kids have to go to the bathroom with their parents?
Me: Well, its just not safe for kids to go to the bathroom by themselves.
Will: Why?
Me: Well, a stranger, who might not be nice could come in and hurt you....(I said unsure of how to word it so as not to scar him for life...)
Will: What would they do?
Me: Uh, well...
Will: Well, they could put my head in the toilet and then flush it...that would hurt.

Cracked me up...

Community

I just wanted to say that I love living in Wallingford and I love that Mosaic is a part of this community....this week, we were contacted by Will's "Buddy" from John Stanford Elementary (they pair up first grade families with each of the new Kindergarteners coming in) So, the mom contacted us via e-mail to set up a time to meet...Mark e-mailed her back and she said "Wait a minute...are you the Mark and Christa from Mosaic? We've played with your kids..." We set up a time to meet at the park and I recognized her right away. It was so nice to already feel connected.

We participated in the Wallingford kids parade today and walking back, we stopped and got cupcakes and I chatted with another mom at Wallingford center who is a "regular" at Mosaic. Then, as we were walking home, the Wallingford Boys and Girls Club was marching and they announcer said that they had just remodeled their space and I was reminded that they were the 10% charity for Mosaic a couple of months back...and I thought, "we were a part of that". We walked down 44th to come home and ran into Susan who chatted with us for a few minutes, another regular...it is so nice to feel connected and Mosaic is the reason for that connection with each of these people. It just feels so good to be a part of the community that I live in and I didn't feel that way before Mosaic...it makes me feel like we are accomplishing what we set out to do and I love it!

Live Earth

I've been watching the Live Earth concert this evening. I have to admit that I'm a star struck, music junkie and seeing all of these acts together excites me deeply. Mark thinks I'm a complete weirdo, but I got so excited to see Duran Duran, the Police, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and right now, Lenny Kraviz is rocking the house. Mark got slightly excited by Pink Floyd...its amazing to me. It so reminds me of Live Aid...yes, I am old.



I started to write this big paragraph about where is the church in this...like during Live Aid, I wondered the same thing. But that promotes such an "us and them" mentality...its incredible how little it takes to make a difference in our environment and we need to start doing something - especially those of us in the church who are very slow when it comes to the environment.



But, mostly, tonight, I'm amazed by how many freakin' great musicians there are in the world...I mean, someone like Ant from the Chili Peppers is this weird, freaky little guy who sometimes goes on stage naked, looking like an idiot...but he is really an incredible bass player....



Switch to energy efficent lightbulbs and unplug your phone chargers when you're not using them! That's not too hard.....