Back in the Saddle
Hello friends, my apologies for taking so long to update...you see, Blogger decided to cleverly update their format, which means I can no longer do updates on the computer I use (yes, very strange, my computer is just weird that way and I'm trying not to be bitter about it...). So now I'm on Seth's computer. The only problem is that all my pics are stored on my computer, so this update is without a photo. Sigh. I'll try to ask Seth to upload some new photos to this computer...who knows, maybe it will happen before I'm done with this post.
Since I haven't updated in a long time, there's so much to say. In late spring, I was astounded to find two Easter lilies pushing their way up toward the sun next to our raspberry bushes. Last year, I had bought two Easter lilies in memory of my dad and my grandma for Easter. They were beautiful! They sat on our front porch long past Easter, and one day Myles decided it would be a good idea to plant them. Without asking, he dug two shallow holes in the ground, put in the plants, and decided to use gravel as backfill. The lilies already looked a bit rough at that point, and when I stumbled upon them covered in gravel, I confess I was a little sad at how they had been unknowingly abused by an ambitious, unstoppable 4 year old so eager to help. They promptly died, despite his attentive watering. That was that. This year, imagine my surprise when they began to grow up through the soil. Then they began to bloom. So just after Easter, we had two full Easter lilies to remind us all spring and summer of my dad and grandma. I love to see them resting there, perhaps a little too close to each other, because it makes me think of my dad and grandma reunited in the next place. I think about the closeness they shared that was absolutely unique. I can hear my dad say in an exasperated voice (with a huge smile on his face): "Mo-om." He loved my grandma's antics and eccentricities, even as he pretended to be apalled. And I can hear my grandma saying his name too, with that voice of hers that was unmistakeable each time she answered the phone ("yel-low?"). They loved each other so well, and now I get to enjoy that mother-son love that is such a gift. If Myles turns out to be half the son my dad was, I'll be one lucky mama. Now that I'm having a second boy, I guess my chances have doubled...
Seth's been doing his thing, which is winning races, running personal bests (like the 16 minute 5k he ran in Charlotte a few weeks ago) since college, studying voraciously, and continuing to learn in his new job as the manager of Parks' operations. He is busy, with a lot of weight on his shoulders, and I confess that while this masters' program has been so good for him (an informative dialogue between his every-day work and his topics of study), I'll breathe a sigh of relief when it's done. Just a year and a half to go.
I've had the privilege of traveling for pleasure this month. First I was in Boston for the 2030 Clergy Network retreat, armed with novels my mom gave me for my birthday (I begged for them, I have an incredible hunger for reading this pregnancy). I found myself all teary at some airport restaurant that first day, just realizing that it's not often that I get time alone to myself to read and think and eat and watch and just be without having any other demands on me. It was such a gift! The retreat itself was amazing, as I knew it would be (this is my 3rd 2030 clergy network retreat). I was reminded of how unique our new church start is, the joy of not having to deal with the heel-dragging, "the way it's always been done," and the typical conflicts that tend to pop up in most established churches. Sara and I truly do have so much freedom to try new things, to guide new ministries, to change things up that aren't working, and I don't know how we managed to gather around us a community that rarely complains, argues, or pouts. I know conflict can be a healthy thing, and I fully expect that as we continue to grow older, our community will have some of it, but for now I am enjoying this group of families and individuals who genuinely want to be together, to share power and gifts, to welcome strangers, and to raise our children to love God. I also got to meet some new colleagues on the trip, to worship with abandon, to do lots of walking, and to spend some quiet time alone.
Then last weekend I flew into Baltimore and drove with my good friend Liz up to CT for my friend Paul's wedding. We picked up an old ASP friend, Rebbie, along the way, and got to hang out with other old ASP friends once we arrived (Susan, Jen, and Mark). I danced like nobody's business, even with this big ole belly. In some strange way, it's like no time has passed at all with these friends, we can pick up right where we left off even though we aren't all in touch regularly. It was an incredible privilege to help officiate the wedding. When I first met Paul years ago at ASP, I remember thinking that we were totally different and probably had nothing in common. We are totally different, but it's made for a remarkable friendship over the years. Paul is wise, smart, funny, professional in that New England lawyer kind of way...and I love him dearly. All of us do, who were at the wedding, and so it was with some trepidation (though we had heard great things about her from Paul) that we met Jill for the first time. I am so grateful that she is an amazing match for him...she's playful and kind, inquisitive and beautiful, an amazing athlete...and clearly she's in love with Paul. The weekend was a whirlwind; a precious time that I know will surface in my mind in the months and years to come when I think about the quality of friendships that last over time and beyond life's big milestones.
Speaking of Mylestones: My mom came to be with Myles while I was in Boston, and she remarked on his growing maturity...just in time for kindergarten! They have a special relationship, those two, and Myles loves spending time with my mom. While she was here, she managed to paint several rooms, bake brownies, take him on a picnic, cut his hair, play a round of mini-golf, and cook the boys some meatloaf. I don't know how she does it. I've been working with Myles on his letters and writing, and we do some fun science projects and geography adventures during his extra time at home over the summer. At his preschool graduation, Myles said that he wants to be an international super-spy when he grows up, but then that changed to a robot-repairman and now he's considering becoming a singer. Lately he's into temporary tatoos, swimming, playing with legos, bike-riding, and disc-golfing. Recently he made Seth a contraption from his snap-blocks that is "an antique buried in England," but used to be some kind of vehicle, "as big as a whale," that could go in the ocean, fly in space, and also "blast snow" in the arctic. It contained rooms for 43 people to live there, with a repairman on board in case anything broke. The rooms contained everything a regular house would, he explained, "even a junk drawer." Seth proudly displayed it in his office this week.
The baby's doing fine...moving around a lot, measuring right on according to the midwives. We found a doula team who will support us during labor, and the next step is moving our rooms around so that the office will be up in the loft, the guest bedroom will move down to where the office is, Myles will move into where the guest bedroom is now, and the baby will have Myles' room for the nursery.
Well, that's it for now...signing off, and will post pictures later.
Since I haven't updated in a long time, there's so much to say. In late spring, I was astounded to find two Easter lilies pushing their way up toward the sun next to our raspberry bushes. Last year, I had bought two Easter lilies in memory of my dad and my grandma for Easter. They were beautiful! They sat on our front porch long past Easter, and one day Myles decided it would be a good idea to plant them. Without asking, he dug two shallow holes in the ground, put in the plants, and decided to use gravel as backfill. The lilies already looked a bit rough at that point, and when I stumbled upon them covered in gravel, I confess I was a little sad at how they had been unknowingly abused by an ambitious, unstoppable 4 year old so eager to help. They promptly died, despite his attentive watering. That was that. This year, imagine my surprise when they began to grow up through the soil. Then they began to bloom. So just after Easter, we had two full Easter lilies to remind us all spring and summer of my dad and grandma. I love to see them resting there, perhaps a little too close to each other, because it makes me think of my dad and grandma reunited in the next place. I think about the closeness they shared that was absolutely unique. I can hear my dad say in an exasperated voice (with a huge smile on his face): "Mo-om." He loved my grandma's antics and eccentricities, even as he pretended to be apalled. And I can hear my grandma saying his name too, with that voice of hers that was unmistakeable each time she answered the phone ("yel-low?"). They loved each other so well, and now I get to enjoy that mother-son love that is such a gift. If Myles turns out to be half the son my dad was, I'll be one lucky mama. Now that I'm having a second boy, I guess my chances have doubled...
Seth's been doing his thing, which is winning races, running personal bests (like the 16 minute 5k he ran in Charlotte a few weeks ago) since college, studying voraciously, and continuing to learn in his new job as the manager of Parks' operations. He is busy, with a lot of weight on his shoulders, and I confess that while this masters' program has been so good for him (an informative dialogue between his every-day work and his topics of study), I'll breathe a sigh of relief when it's done. Just a year and a half to go.
I've had the privilege of traveling for pleasure this month. First I was in Boston for the 2030 Clergy Network retreat, armed with novels my mom gave me for my birthday (I begged for them, I have an incredible hunger for reading this pregnancy). I found myself all teary at some airport restaurant that first day, just realizing that it's not often that I get time alone to myself to read and think and eat and watch and just be without having any other demands on me. It was such a gift! The retreat itself was amazing, as I knew it would be (this is my 3rd 2030 clergy network retreat). I was reminded of how unique our new church start is, the joy of not having to deal with the heel-dragging, "the way it's always been done," and the typical conflicts that tend to pop up in most established churches. Sara and I truly do have so much freedom to try new things, to guide new ministries, to change things up that aren't working, and I don't know how we managed to gather around us a community that rarely complains, argues, or pouts. I know conflict can be a healthy thing, and I fully expect that as we continue to grow older, our community will have some of it, but for now I am enjoying this group of families and individuals who genuinely want to be together, to share power and gifts, to welcome strangers, and to raise our children to love God. I also got to meet some new colleagues on the trip, to worship with abandon, to do lots of walking, and to spend some quiet time alone.
Then last weekend I flew into Baltimore and drove with my good friend Liz up to CT for my friend Paul's wedding. We picked up an old ASP friend, Rebbie, along the way, and got to hang out with other old ASP friends once we arrived (Susan, Jen, and Mark). I danced like nobody's business, even with this big ole belly. In some strange way, it's like no time has passed at all with these friends, we can pick up right where we left off even though we aren't all in touch regularly. It was an incredible privilege to help officiate the wedding. When I first met Paul years ago at ASP, I remember thinking that we were totally different and probably had nothing in common. We are totally different, but it's made for a remarkable friendship over the years. Paul is wise, smart, funny, professional in that New England lawyer kind of way...and I love him dearly. All of us do, who were at the wedding, and so it was with some trepidation (though we had heard great things about her from Paul) that we met Jill for the first time. I am so grateful that she is an amazing match for him...she's playful and kind, inquisitive and beautiful, an amazing athlete...and clearly she's in love with Paul. The weekend was a whirlwind; a precious time that I know will surface in my mind in the months and years to come when I think about the quality of friendships that last over time and beyond life's big milestones.
Speaking of Mylestones: My mom came to be with Myles while I was in Boston, and she remarked on his growing maturity...just in time for kindergarten! They have a special relationship, those two, and Myles loves spending time with my mom. While she was here, she managed to paint several rooms, bake brownies, take him on a picnic, cut his hair, play a round of mini-golf, and cook the boys some meatloaf. I don't know how she does it. I've been working with Myles on his letters and writing, and we do some fun science projects and geography adventures during his extra time at home over the summer. At his preschool graduation, Myles said that he wants to be an international super-spy when he grows up, but then that changed to a robot-repairman and now he's considering becoming a singer. Lately he's into temporary tatoos, swimming, playing with legos, bike-riding, and disc-golfing. Recently he made Seth a contraption from his snap-blocks that is "an antique buried in England," but used to be some kind of vehicle, "as big as a whale," that could go in the ocean, fly in space, and also "blast snow" in the arctic. It contained rooms for 43 people to live there, with a repairman on board in case anything broke. The rooms contained everything a regular house would, he explained, "even a junk drawer." Seth proudly displayed it in his office this week.
The baby's doing fine...moving around a lot, measuring right on according to the midwives. We found a doula team who will support us during labor, and the next step is moving our rooms around so that the office will be up in the loft, the guest bedroom will move down to where the office is, Myles will move into where the guest bedroom is now, and the baby will have Myles' room for the nursery.
Well, that's it for now...signing off, and will post pictures later.
posted by Seth and Mandy at
9:21 AM
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