Thanksgiving Part 1

We're back from Richmond after a full, lovely, delicious Thanksgiving at "Uncle Greg's" house. Greg and Megan were wonderful hosts, always offering a drink or food, making sure everyone had what they needed. Megan even brought home some toys and books from her special education classroom so Myles could play with new things. As always, Seth's Dad did wonders in the kitchen, and our meal was sooo good! Myles had such a fabulous time that he didn't want to go home...will tell more later with Thanksgiving photos posted.

On our way home we stopped at the central prison in Raleigh to meet Robby, my pen pal on death row, who I've been writing to for over two years. It was so wonderful to see him face to face! Here's an excerpt from last night's sermon in which I talk about our visit:

"The last time I tried to visit Robby I learned about the rigidity of central prison. First, there was paperwork to fill out, which I sent to the wrong address. Next, I had failed to include a photo copy of Seth's drivers' license with his paperwork. And once our paperwork was finally approved, I called too late to schedule our visit. It turned out another visitor was already scheduled for that particular day, and more than one visitor per day is prohibited. This time, I finally got my ducks in a row and successfully scheduled the visit. We checked in at the visitor's station, threaded through the metal detector and followed another visitor up the elevator to the second floor. We signed in again, and faced a circular series of small, concrete rooms, each featuring a greasy window. Behind each window sat a prisoner. Some doors were closed and some rooms were filled with entire families. Others were empty, with prisoners waiting for loved ones with the calm persistence that I imagine comes from years of enacting this routine over and over and over.
We recognized Robby from the photo he sent us last year, but this time he was smiling as we filed in, introduced ourselves, and Myles said (unprompted), "Hi Uncle Robby!" We visited for the better part of an hour and when Seth had to take Myles to the bathroom, Robby leaned forward, looked me straight in the eye, and asked the most compassionate question I'd heard all week: "How's your mom?" He's been praying for her since my dad died. "I know how hard Thanksgiving and Christmas always were after my mom died," he confided, "and I just wanted to know how you all are doing." When compassion comes unannounced from the unlikeliest place--a visiting cell on death row, where embrace is prohibited and the best you can do is press your hand against the security glass--that is when I encounter the living Christ. He was in prison, and I was lucky enough to pay a visit. God is indeed among us, if we but notice."

This photo, which I couldn't resist posting immediately, was taken last night at church for a flash photo series we will have on the church website's home page. We each are taking a phrase of a verse and having our photo taken by Jesse Kitt, a professional photographer whose family attends our church. We first met Jesse when Irene and Corey gifted us with professional photographs after Myles' birth, and we got to choose the photographer. Seth looked online and picked out Jesse. We soon found out that her son Sergio was born within weeks of Myles, and luckily I kept her on my email list so she heard about the new church when we started it up. Anyhow, I love her work and this family photo is a testament to her skills!

Myles Says: "Mama, listen. The car is crying." "Why?" "Because it's sad. It doesn't want to go home." (Myles the extrovert...always wants to be out and about!)