Puddles for Christmas?

A Dog for Christmas

 Angela has a heart that breaks for homeless animals. 
We've talked about getting another dog but have been waiting for a good time.  I am home a lot and things are pretty low-key around here so we decided we'd surprise Angela and get her a dog from the SPCA for Christmas.

We've had her for almost 2 weeks.
This little puppy has been a wonderful addition!


She is about 5 months old.
She rarely barks. 
She sleeps all night in her crate. 
She knows the system of going outside to do her business.
She is gentle and submissive.

Her name is Puddles.

 She loves curling up in any lap available.

She even helps with the laundry:

She helps us find all the paper airplanes Joshua has been busy making (and she tears them to shreds):

She's even helped remove small plastic toys off the ground for me.  (of course I have to remove them from her mouth...)

Izzy has accepted her into the family and they often sleep next to each other. 

I was a little hesitant at the thought of caring for a new puppy.  But she has been a lot easier than expected!

Run Well

Andrew completed his second marathon.

He has been dedicated and consistent in his training.  

He ran great, even though he was dealing with a head cold.

Andrew has been a great example to me of perseverance, dedication and focusing all his energy on a goal.
  He sacrificed many mornings to wake up before 5am to run.  Everything he ate and drank, and every activity he did, leading up to the race, he measured against how it would effect his running.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?  Run in such a way that you may win.  

And everyone who competes in the games exercises self control in all things.  They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 

Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 

But I buffet my body and make it my slave lest possible, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.

Often we loose focus of what our goal is in this temporal life.   

What would happen if we focused on the goal, the eternal goal: loving God and out of our love for Him we can't help but love others...and measured everything we did against how it would effect our goal?

There were quite a few people from our church (the Well) running in the race...so this sign has double meaning!

Having the support of family friends is essential!

Galations 6:9-10 Let us not loose heart in doing food for in due tie we shall reap if we do not grow weary, so then while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

Revelation 3:21 He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

Run Well.

Pumkin Patch

 A day at the pumpkin patch...a day with cousins

 The kids got to run free and feel adventurous

 and pick out their own pumpkins, cutting it right off the plant

I think this was the cutest pumpkin of all:

 

a wagon to carry

 A corn maze to hide and seek

 Cousin Fun

 Tire swings...hay ride

A great afternoon!  

It was a windy day and cool weather.  


My wonderful Mother in Law arranged the event and even brought yummy snacks.

My head wasn't doing too well so that was frustrating.  But it didn't affect the fun that the kids got to enjoy with each other.

Fall Planting

 About a month ago Andrew surprised me and brought home a green house house type container and a bunch of seed packets.

 First we soaked the small sections of dirt:

 Then we worked together to drop the seeds inside each section of dirt:

 Andrew labeled each row of seeds and put them in the container:

 We put them in a place where they could get sunshine and we watered them every couple of days...

...and waited...

...and waited...

...and waited... 

Then we saw the seeds begin to sprout.  

What an exciting day!

Now the plants are growing leaves and getting stronger:

 Soon we'll move the plants outside, they will grow stronger and fuller and be ready to transplant into the ground.

Family Nights

Family nights are very special in our house.  

We are big fans of having FUN.  

Board games are especially great. 

I have to admit it's not as easy as popping in a movie.  Sometimes we have to deal with our own impatience when for the 20th time we're having to tell the next person it's their turn, or if my head is hurting I'd rather not deal with the noise and mental focus of encouraging or instructing.   

But the interaction is awesome and worth the effort. 

It's an opportunity beyond just playing a game. 

It's time to listen to each other and for each person to express themselves in a safe environment.   

We've found that when the kids feel welcomed and loved at home they are much more confident when they go out and deal with the difficulties of life.

The unity that grows when we spend time together is priceless.  

Enjoying each other.  

Especially now that the kids are in public school these times together are much more rare and sought after.  

Sometimes we break out and do something crazy...

Like setting up an obstacle course outside that we're all timed separately to complete.

Or we do an impromptu pile into the car for ice cream cones.

A couple times we've put on crazy music and let the kids dance...okay, I confess, we dance too!

One month Andrew read a chapter from an exciting book (Hardy Boys) every couple of nights.

What do you do when your family gets a night to spend together?

Ice skating

 Angela loves ice skating!  On her birthday, back in March, we had promised to take her ice skating sometime.  

So...on her 6 month b-day :)  we went ice skating.

 Angela and Joshua picked it up real quick and were speeding around the rink in no time at all.

 

 

Jeremy, on the other hand, had a bit of trouble.  

This was his first time ever!  

They let him use a little walker to help him get the idea of it.  But he still slipped and fell all over the place.  He was not a happy camper for a while.  

We left him alone for a couple rounds to keep practicing on his own and he started getting the hang of it. 

 

 We played "tag" on the ice! 

The kids wanted to stay there forever. 

 

 

 By the end Jeremy ventured out on the ice without the walker!

By the end Andrew and I were wiped out.

Block Party

Although we've been involved in this area for a couple years, we just recently moved to into the neighborhood 2 months ago.  Our two oldest kids go to the public school a couple blocks away.  We have gotten to know many of the children because they come to our house after school to play with our kids.  But getting to know the parents and other family members has been much harder.

Having a block party is a great way to get people out of their houses in a relaxed and comfortable way.

We paired up with our next door neighbor (who also goes to our church and share the same vision of living out the gospel in our community) to work as a team.  They took on most of the load and started us off by going door to door telling everyone about the block party and acquiring signatures needed to close off our street.

Setting up signs to limit traffic was essential!  It allowed the kids to play on the street and for the party to not just be on our front lawns but in the middle creating a unified presence.
During the 4 hour event about 30-40 kids and adults came.  It was awesome to see people from different ethnicity mingled together.  Neighbors who have lived on the same block for years finally got the chance to meet.   The barrier between awkwardly waving when driving by to actually meeting face to face and talking was broken.  This event brought out the parents, uncles, aunts, grandmas, grandpas...you name it!

Our goal was not to put on a party for people to come to but to initiate a gathering where everyone was a part and contributed in some way.  We provided the burgers, utensils, and some drinks while everyone else in the neighborhood contributed side dishes and drinks.  Tables were set out in the street and people brought lawn chairs.

We set up speakers to project music and set a fun atmosphere.

In putting out toys our goal was to have something to stimulate playing without it being an "organized" game that would require one of us to lead.  Our hope was to be relational during this time not to put on a carnival!  :)

So...we put out legos for the small kids, sidewalk chalk, hoola-hoops, jump ropes, and scooters.   Also the weather was hot so we put out a slip'n'slide.  We brought out a child's basketball hoop and put it into the street.  A teen boy saw what we were doing and brought over his full sized hoop and started a game with some of the other boys.  Kids also brought their bikes and rode on the closed off street.

  It worked out great!  The kids were busy playing while the parents visited.

There was plenty of food!  I loved being able to taste all different flavors and recipes.

Towards the end an elderly gentleman brought out his boom-box and put on some Mexican music.  He began dancing with all the women.  I couldn't understand his words but when he pointed at me it was quite clear that it was my turn to dance!  I must confess it was quite awkward!  I am not by nature rhythmic, but the whole point was to be willing to step into others lives and cultures, embracing our differencing...and laughing about it too!

Then came out the karaoke box! 

As we began cleaning up, the music and laughter still went on.

I have never been a part of a block party before so this was all a new experience.  It definitely requires going out of our comfort zones.  Our culture tends to drive out of our houses, do our activities, drive into our garages, shutting the door and unintentionally never engaging with the people who live right on our block, never adding anything to our community.  Most of us do not intend this to happen, it is just the natural way things move...unless we intentionally make a change.

It is only because of the sacrificial of love that God has shown that I am able to gather up the courage to move out of my comfort zone and routine and reach out to our neighbors.