Surprise Jonah...we're going to Disneyland!

Stages of T-ball

Jonah is playing t-ball for the first time this spring.  One of my favorite things about Jonah is that he thoroughly enjoys the fullness of every new experience.  Baseball has been no exception.  He loves it.   

T-ball has provided me with some life lessons as well.  The experience has taken me through several stages of inner dialogue (the voices in my head). The stages have gone a little something like this...

1.  I'm so excited. Look at this team - it's so diverse!  We are going to know and love our community even more intimately through this experience.  I can't wait to get to know all the kids and all their parents.

2.  What are we doing on this team?  Are Steve and I the only dad or mom who do not have tatoos all over our bodies?  I feel so different, so dorky, so white.  No one here wants to talk to me.  Maybe I should have signed Jonah up for the league on the other side of town. 

3.  This league feels too chaotic for me. Does anyone around here know what they are doing?  Why didn't anyone tell me about the Parent Work Day?  There's trash all over the field.  The weeds are ridiculouly high.  And look at all the gopher holes - those are dangerous!  Why doesn't the school have enough money to maintain these fields?  The baseball fields in Danville looked nothing like this.

4.  We're switching from practices to games now.  It's really fun to cheer for Jonah.  It's fun to cheer on the other kids as well.  Okay, I think I'm enjoying this again. 

5.  "Sure, I'll volunteer to work at the snack bar with some of the other moms from the team."  For two hours, we sell hotdogs, nachos and candy with one another.  Dialogue begins.  Walls come down.  Relationships begin.  Bridges are built. 

6.  There's my new friends.  We wave and exchange pleasantries at the games.  I'm learning more about the kids and their families.  There are many little ones who are carrying deep burdens: single mom who works full time, dead-beat dad, mom's boyfriend, dad's girlfriend, behavior issues, learning difficulties, generations of brokennes.  I feel my heart changing.  Compassion creeps in.  I start to love them. 

7.  We aren't so different afterall.  We hurt the same, we laugh the same, we love the same.  We're all created in the image of God. 

8.  I no longer see the trash on the fields.  The weeds aren't so tall and the holes in the grass aren't so deep.  I love this place.  I can't wait for the next game and my next conversation with my new friends.

Hope Has Two Beautiful Daughters

"Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are."

St. Augustine

Karaoke-a-go-go

This past weekend we went for dessert at Yogurtagogo and stumbled upon some karaoke.  Jonah jumped right in (with some help from Steve) and treated the crowd to a rousing rendition of Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi.  Good times.  Nicolas was completely enthralled.  Looks like we have another next rock star in training.     

Gifts

I received some pretty amazing gifts this weekend. 

First, my mom and Kurt took my three boys to their house for the entire weekend.  It was a sacrifice on their part to exchange their quiet, peaceful, orderly home for a loud, messy, boisterous one for two nights.  But, they did it joyfully and with open arms and the boys enjoyed a weekend-o-fun that included a steam train ride, treats from the Yogurt Shack, feeding the ducks, eating out, a ride on BART..and the list goes on and on!

Because of their generous gift of time, Steve was able to study the entire weekend for his finals and I got to re-charge.  It was wonderful.  I spent time with friends, saw 2 movies, cleaned and organized my house, enjoyed a little peace and quiet, shopped, read, went out to eat, and even slept-in an extra hour each morning.  I loved this gift so very much.  Thank you Mom and Kurt!   

Then, as if that wasn't enough, I was the receiver of another fabulous gift this weekend: a day of Todd Smith handy-man services.  (Well, the gift was technically given to me last August for my birthday, but I didn't cash-in on it until Saturday).  I love that Jen knows well enough to know that I would love a gift like that...and that she knows Steve well enough to know that while he's in law school, he doesn't have time for fix-it projects around the house. 

So Todd came over on Saturday, tool belt and all, and worked for four hours fixing drawers, hanging things on the wall, and crossing things off on my "to-do" list.  It was fabulous and such perfect timing.  Last week, we officially rented our house for the summer (yay!) so it felt good to start getting it ready for another family to to live here.  I just hope Todd can get past all of the muck and grime he saw at my house (ew....do I really live that way?).  He did mention, "It's a good thing Jen's not here" when he saw the crumbs that lined my kitchen drawers!  Don't worry Jen, the crumbs are gone now and my kitchen is officially organized.  Thanks for all your help Todd!  

Points of Joy

Life is super exhausting these days.  Steve is studying day and night for his upcoming finals and I'm faithfully trying keep up with the 900 things on my "to do" list each day.  No, I'm not a superhero...I'm lucky if my three little attention mongers let me accomplish just one or two of those things each day. 

This past week (late at night, of course), a few big things on the list got checked off:  We purchased our tickets for DC (we're leaving June 12 and will return on August 10), we posted our "home for rent" on craigslist and are communicating with some potential renters, and Jonah's kindergarten registration packet is just about completed (he just needs a TB test which is scheduled for next week).  Done, almost done, and almost done! 

So, I'm tired and needing to get some rest.  But, I just wanted to share five points of joy from this past week. 

1.  Having a divine appointment to invite my neighbor and her family to Bridge of Life's Community Dinner on Monday night and them accepting the invitation.  Better yet, watching her kids and my kids have a terrific time running around together while we enjoyed great conversation.  Even better still, hearing her ask if she can bring a dish for next month's meal. 

2.  Three t-ball games for Jonah this week.  Someday I'm going to sit down and write an entire post about t-ball and how much I love it and what it's taught me about myself and my community in a very short amount of time. 

3.  Lots and lots of time with neighbors this week: in the front yard, at the park, walks around the block.  We even did soccer sign-ups together on Saturday to get three of our kids on the same team this fall. 

4.  Special time with my dad (a.k.a. Grandpa) at Scandia.

5.  Belting out the lyrics of this song in my car, while my boys plead, "Stop singing mommy!"  I can't help it.  I'm really loving its message of grace.  Plus, it takes me right back to seventh grade, singing every word of every song on "The Collection" into my hairbrush.

Yes, it was a full week...but it was a good week.  Hope you had some points of joy this past week as well!