it's meg's "life long dream" - she is 9 - to grow watermelons. so, for the last 4 weeks, we've had 29 watermelon vines sprouting in the dining room in front of the big window, each nestled into their little peat pots, straining toward the sunshine. today was the big day that we had set aside for planting! how exciting!
so we dug up the "grass" (read: chickweed), amended the soil, and one by one, planted 3 -4 inch watermelon vines along little hills... and prayed that the bunnies won't come eat them in the middle of the night!
if we get 29 vines worth of watermelon, you better believe we'll be sharing!
i just picked my girls & mayia up from youth, where tonight they scrubbed, disinfected and in many other ways spiffed up old shoes. runners, crocs, flip flops, dress shoes - all collected from folks with too many shoes for those with none at all. 'kicks for community' was started by two college atheletes from unc who are now gathering shoes from anywhere they can get their hands on them to drive down to mexico, to give out to those who lack what we consider the most minimal necessities.
i was there a little early to pick them up, and it was truly beautiful to see a group of kids scrubbing their knuckes raw, beautifying these old shoes and making them into something more than just a pair of sneakers... making them, instead, a gift of love.
bri & emmalie, you are doing something beautiful here. thank you for letting my girls be a part of it.
i can't believe i didn't tell you this already! oh.my.gosh!
during lent we got the appointment notification for our "biometrics" to be taken by the u.s. govn't as part of our permanent resident ("green card") process. on the one hand, YAY!, because things are moving forward! on the other, YIKES!, because what the heck are "biometrics"?! it's not a friendly sounding word, that's for sure. so, one chilly tuesday morning, carefully dressed ("does this look like we're trying too hard?" "do we look responsible?" "do we look like terrorists trying to look responsible?"), we headed over to the USCIS center in durham to have our biometrics taken. i was totally ready to pee in a cup, have my blood drawn or even have some sort of government issued retinal scan!
after entering through fiercer than airport security, we settled into a room with a group of other nervous & carefully dressed people, all awaiting their name to be called. we filled out a form that asked for our height, weight, eye & hair color (hair color : blonde black brown red grey white unknown - who has unknown hair color?!). and finally, when they called our name, the biometrics portion of the appointment. honestly, i was disappointed. digital fingerprints & photo. that was it. i had psyched myself up for what was basically a slightly more involved dmv process - and you know what? it was considerably shorter than waiting at the dmv! and at the end of it all, the u.s. government asked me to fill out a comment card. how sweet! i told them that the process was surprisingly friendly & fast.... you get farther on a kind word, right? :)
so, off we go! biometrics - check! next step, permanent residence.... please, God!
we spent wednesday afternoon in KY at the keeneland racetrack, betting $2 on horses... and it was so, so fun! except that *every* horse i bet on lost! even the one that was 6-5 odds! how is that even possible? curtis only bet on one race, leaving our meager wagering budget (thanks for the $20, dad!) for the girls and i to throw away. in the race he bet on, he put $2 on the long shot pony - odds set at 17 - 1 when he placed the bet, and they dropped to 24 - 1 by the time the horses posted. (that was the race my shoe-in horse lost miserably) and wouldn't you know it?! curtis' longshot won!! and won big! he got a $51.20 pay off on a $2 bet! WOOT! :) so after returning the original $20 to my dad, he was up $31.20... how fun is that?
i can see how gambling is addictive and dangerous - but i tell you, an afternoon at the ponies is a glorious thing! if only i had been able to wear a hat....
we pulled into mom and dad's neighborhood at 1:30am this morning.... and collapsed into the guest bed around 2.
about a week ago, curtis asked if i wanted to go to kentucky for a couple days over spring break - he is tired and needed a vaycay, and you know how hard it is to 'break' when you're still at home. so here we are, cell phones off, sleeping, leaving The Girls to papa's care, and loving every moment.... albeit we've been here for less than 12 hours! :) but you know what, this is exactly what the doctor ordered: the love of a family, the warmth of coffee on the couch with your shoulder touching the other's, telling new stories, retelling old ones, remarking on the nature of life, all before going back to bed for a nap under a pile of quilts. the gift of a family that loves you, where no one makes fun of your bedhead or morning breath, who know your flaws and your greatness, is not to be underestimated.
coffee - $3.75
couch - $450
coffee on the couch with people who love you - priceless.
this is my first "catch up" blog post - letting you know what's been going on around here since lent began!
so, have you heard of 'apple bottom jeans'?
these are jeans designed for "celebrating and liberating the natural curves of a woman's body..." basically, if they have a lot of room for the junk in your trunk, if you know what i mean! :)
now, have you heard of curtis? my husband? the tall, fashion oblivious canadian boy? the one who thinks shopping for clothes in bulk at sam's club is a good idea? well, he was leading the first worship rehearsal in the building, and in an effort to get all the sound people on the same page he said, with his arms flung out, "we are going for apple bottom worship here, people! we want to have a big bottom end!"
ha!
Jesus was scared.
My daughter’s friend asked me, “Why is it Good Friday if Jesus died? That seems bad to me.”
Jesus in the garden, weeping. Night dew on the grass chilling his feet. Alone. Pouring out his heart to heaven, “Is there any other way?” He is willing, yes. Resolute, even. But he is not placid in the face of his death. He is scared, his humanity on full display in the garden. It is our good, not his. Good Friday carries the name because the darkness of Jesus’ death is our ultimate light…and our liberation comes at a heavy price. The God-Man, broken for us.
See God, watching his Son. God the Father. A father will do anything in his power to rescue his child – it is the nature of Love to intervene, not to abandon. But Jesus is abandoned by his Father. Where is the Love in that? Could there be a broader design, a deeper Love, than that of a father for a son? Could it be that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son up to death, that whoever would believe in Him would be saved? The Father turns his back, breaking his own heart … for us. Good Friday. This is part of the sacred significance of our communion, our Eucharist. Not only the Body broken and the Blood shed, but the Heart broken; the very heart of God, split in two, torn for our redemption.
And now the Church sits in the darkness of Good Friday. Gathered at the macabre table of Body and Blood, and the broken Heart. Do we dare to come and feast? Are any of us worthy of this beautiful sacrifice? In humility we sit in dim sanctuaries and acknowledge that we are not. That there is no reason the blood of God should be spilt for us. But there it is, in the cup, in the bread…irrational Good. Unreasonable Love. So we take the cup, and the bread, our celebration muted by the knowledge that there is a mystery there too wonderful for us… yet it is for us. And we wait.
Because Sunday is coming.
