So Long, Sweet Summer

A few weeks ago, we said goodbye to warm weather and some good friends. We celebrated our friends’ move and the advent of fall with a trip to the pumpkin patch (Sarah, we drove by the Fabric Barn to get there!).

We had a great time, thanks to all of the great activities the farm had to offer. We got to check out horses, goats and sheep, the two big boys shot a pumpkin cannon, we all went down an underground slide, ate friend oreos for the first time, had a picnic lunch, and went on a hayride.

Watching the big boys shoot pumpkins.

Riding the cow train.

Bouncing on a giant pillow with Daddy.

Getting a horsey ride from a friend.

A great day with sweet friends!

Gerber Babies

I’ve been lucky enough to have two friends here who have daughters very close in age to Colton. The little flower is only 6 days younger than him, and she has an older brother who is two. I get lots of advice on toys, how clothing brands run in size, must-haves, and parenting challenges. We have lots of fun with play dates, taking picture after picture or our babies. But, most of all, I have lots of support as I try to raise a child who doesn’t author “How My Parents Screwed Me Up.”

After all, everybody needs some extra support now and then.

(Check it out – I’m in the baby supporting ZONE. )How do your friends support you? Has there been a particular time you’ve felt supported by them?

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Also, don’t miss tomorrow’s post – I’ll be hosting my very first blog giveaway, giving out one of my very favorite baby products!

 

Enough.

Several months ago, in the spring, a friend of ours, J, lost his job. Around the same time, their car was totaled in an accident that left them uninjured, but without a car. J’s wife, L, was pregnant with their second child, and staying home with their little boy. J was able to work a few small, odd jobs from time to time, and they received an old car from L’s father.

But, things were still challenging with limited savings, no job prospects, a young child and another baby on the way. Fortunately, J found a part time job a month or so ago.

Still, things are almost irreparably bad. They are several mortgage payments behind and in danger of loosing their house. This winter, which was especially cold, it was difficult for them to keep up with their electric bill and are now in danger of having their electricity turned off.

That is the bad, the desperate, in this situation.

But there is also so, soo much good.

Our church benevolence fund and a Sunday School class (not ours) will be able to help with about 1/3 of their bills. They have been having yard sales to raise money, and have been given car and trailer loads of things from friends to sell. J has 3 current full-time job prospects.

When another friend sent out an e-mail to ask for financial and prayer support for J and L, another member of the class who recently lost his job and has yet to find a new one, replied and said he would commit to giving them $50.

I wanted to cry.

We all have tight budgets these days. Looking at where Hubby and I are now, there isn’t really any room to give outside of our regular tithe and support of Janeth.

But we have enough.

We have money for food, for our  mortgage, for bills, diapers and clothes for our children. We have health insurance, provided through Hubby’s job.

Yes, we have tight times, but we have enough.

And when when we look closely, we have more than enough.

We have money to help clothe our friend’s children, we have a home we can open to them and food we can share.

We have enough.

Reuniting and it Feels So Good!

Before Graduation, 2007

This weekend I traveled to my college town to reunite with my girlfriends. Yay! I truly love hanging out with each and everyone of these ladies, and I love how different each of them are. We are a motly crew! This weekend we came from all over the Eastern US, from New York to Virginia. We graduated over a year and a half ago, and I think this is the first time almost all of us have been together since then! This weekend we were only missing one, who is currently living in Ecquador. We wrote her name on a piece of paper and took a group picture so we could all be represented, even if we couldn’t all be there.

I love that, as a group, we can go from talking about serious topics like where are all the young people for us to be friends with in our post-graduation lives and how we feel kind of displaced, to reminicing about the time we used peanut butter to get gum out of Beth’s hair. We can admire pictures of our friend’s wedding dresses, and then talk about how adjusting to married life is difficult and that we still aren’t sure that we’re “happy” with our lives. If some of us want to shop, and some of us just want to hang out and have coffee, that’s okay. Its fine if some of us are closer friends with others, but the bottom line is that we all love and support one another.

I love my friends, and I miss our college days of lunches together everyday, study breaks and near-constant togetherness, but I also love these days, these times where how much their friendship means to me is even more apparant.