By Survey the scene: grown-ups, children, Chipotle, presents, desserts of all shapes and sizes. It’s a joyful occasion, when former guests, current guests, volunteers, and staff come together to celebrate. Behold the joyful melee! Baby’s first Christmas! Delight! We ate our fill, played games, and gratefully received gifts. This child was screaming with happiness about the shoes she received, but we couldn’t get a picture of it. Use your imagination! This Starbucks giftcard will be put to good use by this coffee lover (the adult, not the toddler!). A sassy play-mat for a juicy baby! Stayin’
Waiting with Joy: Advent Crafts!
December evenings may be chilly and dark, but Lydia’s House is glowing with holiday cheer. I’ve never heard so many spontaneous outbreaks of caroling! We have been observing the season of advent by praying together, lighting candles, and making holiday crafts. ORNAMENTS I bought some pom-poms, raided the craft closet, and opened up many pinterest tabs on my phone. It was ornament-making day! But once the kids got hold of the colored paper and tacky-glue, all plans were abandoned. And, of course, their creations were delightful! They made little books, abstract sculptures, and yarn puffballs. The children at work.
Our Version of All Saints’
First, we must acknowledge the very happy occasion of a birth and a birthday: Baby S was born On Friday, October 13. And Kid J celebrated his 2nd birthday on the 20th! His badge is a teeny tiny flip-phone with a text message that reads: “HELLO NANNY” (his favorite words). Many former guests and neighborhood friends joined us in celebrating All Saints’ on Sunday, October 29. The house felt full and lively. Each room in Lydia’s House is dedicated to a different (sometimes unconventional) saint. At this worship service,
Family Camp at Procter Center
We’d been talking about it for weeks. When Anne first suggested it at dinner back in June, every hand shot up: Yes! We want to go to camp! We filled out health forms. We pored over the packing list (yet still forgot a couple things). And then, last week, the day finally arrived. The minivan was fully loaded with duffel bags and campers. We took off! But first, we had to stop for lunch. For weeks, S had had a powerful pregnancy-craving for Chic-Fil-A. So that’s where we stopped. Gosh those fries are good. At the green and spacious Procter Center,
Hope Advent Reflection
By Mary Ellen Mitchell Often when we speak of religious or churchy terms like hope, faith or joy (the kinds of words we use a lot during Advent) we need to remind ourselves that, in some mysterious way, there are two worlds that we live in at the same time. You’re thinking “she’s crazy.” But let me use a metaphor I know my kids are familiar with. In Harry Potter Harry usually lives between the land of muggles and the land of wizards. There are muggle things like telephones that make no sense to wizards and wizard things like Quiddich