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!

Everyday Justice

I finally finished reading Everyday Justice by Julie Clawson, a book I've been reading off and on for the last few months.  One of the reviews on the back cover (by Nancy Ortberg) gives a terrific summary of the book:

"Every product in our consumer hands has a trail...Julie Clawson skillfully and kindly helps us take seriously the call to justice in our everyday choices.  From coffee to cars, there is a collision of economics and ethics that Christ-followers must take seriously.  By refusing to make justice a liberal or conservative cause, she helps us participate in restoration, ethical consumption and the beautiful pursuit of justice in God's world."

As I read the book, I kept a running list on the last page of things that came to mind - small things that I could do, starting now, to incorporate justice into my everyday life on a more consistent basis.  I tried to keep the list do-able (it's easy to feel totally overwhelmed when you start thinking about this stuff).  I figured I'd be more successful with baby-steps than with a complete overhaul.

So, below is the list of "everyday justice" things that I am committing to.  I realize that lots of people already do these things - and they aren't revolutionary.  But for me, they are new.  And I share them here as form of accountability for myself: once I say I'm going to do them...I have to at least try to do them.  Plus, I thought this would be fitting post for Earth Day!

1.  Plastic-Free Christmas and Birthday presents for my children.  So many reasons for this one, but mostly I think of all the people who are paid unfair wages in far away places to make plastic crap in the form of a toy so that big corporations can market the toy to my child who will play with it for about a week, break it, forget all about it, and eventually throw it away where it will end up in a land fill.     

2.  Less reliance on disposible items, particulary paper plates which in our house are used for all of 10 minutes.  And, we're just about done with diapers in our household, but I wonder if I would have done that whole thing differently if I knew then what I know now.

3.  Eating more locally grown, organic food and eating less meat (realizing that meat is not an essential part of every dinner).  Watching the movie Food, Inc also influenced this commitment.

4.  When the "need" arises to purchase some chocolate, making sure it's slave-free chocolate.

5.  When possible, repair rather than replace electronics.  I've kind of already starting doing this one.  We recently took our DVD player to a repair shop to be fixed rather than throwing it out and buying a new one.  Can't remember the last time we visited a TV repair shop!  And, I'm planning to mail my flat-iron back to the manufactuarer, along with a $35 check, to have it repaired, rather ther buying a new one.

The book also challenged me to think about our purchases at The GreenHouse.  As a non-profit, we often look at the "cheapest" option when making a purchase (cups, plates, snacks, etc), without regard to justice issues.  Instead, we should be searching for the most ethical and just option possible.  Definitely an area that we could grow in.   

And what about our churches?  How can we encourage our churches to be leading the charge in this area?  What about encouraging our churches to purchase fair-trade coffee?  Or using mugs instead of disposible cups?  Any other ideas?   

Julie writes, "Everyday justice begins with staying informed about what is happening to our neighbors around the world."  Awareness is the first step.