nascar and mushrooms

my my my am i getting a mid-west education. i am attending my first nascar event complete with garage and pit passes and it is mushroom hunting season. did you even know either was possible for a big-haired red lipped dallas girl??

my friend from college, kim, is married to one of the truck series drivers- david starr. they are racing this weekend in kansas city and we will be their guests. we have been elevated to "super kewl" status by the nascar crazed fans from our church because of our "connections". there is even a dress code...a nice one! we are soon to be in the know for all your nascar questions.

apparently mushroom hunting is big fun and very secretive. morel mushrooms are super yummy and apparently very expensive and elusive. they pop (literally you can hear them?)up this time of year and people have their secret spots not to be shared with anyone. michael has been invited (hates mushrooms) and then there was a write up in the paper about how hard it is to break in if you don't have a spot. very competitive this morel mushroom hunting. not sure if he can go yet but will keep you posted?!

celebrating

bigger kids. my kids are growing up and i like each stage more than the last. i never wish for diapers, bottles, midnight feedings! i love kids who dress themselves (big milestone for brennan now getting his clothes on by himself!), who can toast a waffle (harrison the new breakfast man at our house!) and even kids who can sit through a whole meal without getting up 400 times (don't have any of those just yet!). we can tell tatiana to brush her teeth and get in bed and we actually find her there with clean teeth! aleksandra did create a spectacle at church yesterday with two different sandals on coming through the communion line for all to see (neither of which is the shoes i laid out to match her outfit) but at least she got "ready" by herself.

my peeps

i have had the chance to be with my mom and sister last weekend, i am going to kansas city to meet my high school girlfriends this weekend and several really good phone conversations with old friends recently. it is amazing how much i have moved around but still feel outside my comfort zone without my peeps! it has been good for my soul to connect on a deeper level where i am comfortable lately. my trips to fl have saved me many a month! i am praying i gain some of my own peeps here soon.

global worldview

i am increasingly aware of how limited a worldview many people have and i have to confess my prejudice against this. i see it on the news with all this campaigning. i recognize this is merely by exposure that your view gets expanded. i pray that i will be tolerant, compassionate but not content to leave folks in my path limited. i so want my children and those around me to experience the joy of broadening their mind, views, geography etc...but have to find ways to share the world that are not condescending. my natural reaction to the encounters with limited worldview is to run away and only surround myself with those like me. that is not so much an option here as it has been throughout my life up to this point. my day to day friends here are mostly like me but we serve a community that is not and are called to minister daily to these neighbors, school friends etc... they are ok with only this place perspective and i am not. hmmmm

multi-generational blessings
two of my friends here are unlikely. one is my babysitter, sarah, who is 20 and the other is my 84 y/o angel jane stingley. they are quite a pair and they both make me smile all the time. sarah was a rodeo gal in high school and is now in nursing school and helping me with my kids. i hear her spirit of adventure and no fear attitude about life and i am reminded of myself at that age before the responsibilities of life grounded me (not a bad thing!). then i see my jane who graduated from college in the early 40s and settled here in the mid-west to raise her family and has such a rich history and wisdom to share. she recently lost her Roy and our friendship has become something to keep her busy. she needed a "project" and as you know we are that. what a gift both these sweet spirits have been for me; not deep yet but good for a grin and encouragement in this season of life. find yourself and older or younger friend. it will bless you!