Learning Curve

Whew! It has been a crazy few weeks. We are learning about having homework for the first time, time management and how to eeek out a few spare moments of quiet into a continually hectic day. Our oldest child LOVES her new school and we are just as crazy about it, although we thought we had lost her to the books for good, until we decided on teaching some organizational tools. We are learning to find a balance between school, family, fun/free time and alone time. Personally, I have never had this challenge quite to this level and am learning to trust the Lord to meet me in those little spare moments. I had a friend once tell me to sing songs that are appropriate for moments of repetitive chores like, "What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus", when I am doing the dishes. That is just beautiful! The other 4 children are homeschooling and cruising right along. The first 2 weeks, they have done so well and fell right back into their routine of getting their work done.

I Wondered

I wondered if the kids would get to play in the fire hydrant since we are in the city. It reminds me of Sesame Street. Here, the kids are at a Life is Good festival in Boston Common.

Gardening

Since we have been unable to move into our house, we have found great joy hanging out in the backyard, meeting our neighbors and cleaning up the yard. The first 2, we have been able to do with ease...the last one has proven a challenge since we do not know the difference between a plant and a weed. If you have any great tips on gardening in New England, please share!

Was This Your Envelope?

After the USPS had it's way with this yellow giving envelope, this was all that was left.  We attempted to get finger prints, but we could not find a match.  If you happened to have sent a donation for our church plant, and it doesn't clear in a timely manner,  you'll know what happen to it--the USPS "Dog" ate it.  

She Won!

Our eldest entered a literary contest at the local library. She needed to read 3 books and write an essay on her favorite book. SHE WON! The winner's prize? 3 tickets to see the Red Sox!

Now that we are becoming Red Sox fans (especially with free tickets), we are reading up on the trivia. The Bambino is Babe Ruth. Early in his career he played for the Boston Red Sox. In 1920 Boston sold him to the New York Yankees for $125,000. Since then, the Boston Red Socks , until 2004, had never won another World Series. Red Sox fans had called this run of bad luck the Curse of the Bambino. Now, the curse is broken! Did we tell you they won in 2007 as well?

The question of the day is, which family members will get to go?

Need

One of our children is struggling with anger. The slightest comment, touch, attitude will set him off. If confronted, he will become more angry and hide himself. As we confronted him with this issue, he said, "I can't help it. I can't control it." As we continued the conversation, we shared with him how mommy and daddy sin like this as well and pointed him to the cross showing him THIS is why Jesus died. WE can't get rid of our sin-whatever it is: anger, idolatry, people-pleasing, but Jesus has done away with it. This is why we NEED Jesus. The comments that followed: "if only I had more friends", "if only we were in our house", "if only people were always nice to me"... What a reminder to us that instead of running to our Savior, who has ALREADY died for our sins, we continue to look in the garbage for other things, thinking they will satisfy and make us happy, only to find out they are trash that will never bring contentment. May we run to our wonderful Savior, who willingly gave his life with us on his mind.

Green Spaces

We have been pleasantly surprised to see Green Spaces all over the city. I still am a Seattle girl at heart and can really get into recycling and composting. These green spaces have previously been anything from abandoned lots to run down parks. Some of the farmer's markets even take WIC and food stamps. In fact, there was an article in the July issue of Cooking Light telling of one such place:

"Growing up in Hyde Park, an inner-city Boston neighorhood, (this is the neighborhood where our eldest child will be going to school) Brian Judge never tasted an apricot. In fact, before joining EarthWorks Boston, a nonprofit group dedicated to reclaiming neglected urban space, he'd never even seen one. Now, three years later, apricots have become at-work perks for the high school junior..."

Another fun outing we did as a family was to a grass roots community garden in Roxbury where some of our friends from church have labored. The garden was started and continues to be maintained by the folks in the neighborhood and they use it for events now. We attended a BBQ with full entertainment of a band and were able to meet some of the neighborhood people.