The boys and I have a pleasant time these days: we do schoolwork, I work, we enjoy the kitchen. They do art and play games. The amuse the baby and sometimes get frustrated when he ooches to the Legoes. When he gets on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth, they cheer. When I put him on the potty when he wakes up from a nap, and he goes, they cheer. Isaiah "taught" him to blow raspberries ("taught" because I suspect Caleb would have done it anyway). Then they laugh.
Last Friday we hosted a Good Friday gathering. It was such a blessing to have over 30 people come down. The fourteen children all sat in the center of the group, and our worship leader from our church in Boulder (who lives nearby), and our worship leader from our church here, both led us in some hymns. We read the story of the crucifixion. Several people shared about suffering. There is a lot of pain in this broken world.
And then we had a party with root beer floats from our own cow's milk and cream. Most people left by 10:45, but we managed to persuade one friend to stay until after midnight. It was another seven hours of fun and fellowship. I wish I could think of an excuse for a party a couple times a month, I find it such a pleasure and a joy.
Saturday was a celebration of a different kind. Some years back, a college student came and studied the first part of the book of Mark with us and a few other married older people. He and Phil had several good conversations, and he came down and helped process a pig. With great celebration, it was finally his wedding day, so we left the boys with friends (where they were thrilled to play croquet in the sun among the flowers) and drove up to northern Virginia. It was a beautiful day for a drive, up through Virginia farm country. We laughed that once we reached NoVA, everyone started driving over the speed limit (Charlottesville drivers tend to drive under the speed limit). The wedding was at a vineyard overlooking a valley, and when we got there, we actually got to talk to the groom for five minutes or so right before he went to his place. What an honor!
Caleb was mostly quiet during the ceremony, though he did get frightened by the cheering after the kiss and during the recessional. Despite having four older brothers, he doesn't like loud noises!
And then, in a special surprise, we found that we knew one other person there. In Boulder, we had one couple that we would sometimes go on double dates, the couple that asked us to pray about our mission the summer before God told us to start a farm. I've known their daughter for about seventeen years, though I haven't seen her since she graduated from high school five years ago. But she was there! She was a good friend of the bride, and was shocked to find that Phil had mentored the groom.
So during the photos, when we would have had to just mingle, instead we got to talk to, and catch up with, an old family friend.
The food was fabulous and didn't make Phil sick; our table was fun, with four of the groom's cousins (one of whom has a master's in cello performance and actually makes his living playing the cello—it does the heart good to hear that, I think), and two young ladies connected with UVA. We met the groom's parents, and they knew right away who we were, and thanked us for pouring into their son.
It was a blessing to me to hear that, despite the overall lack of hospitality and connection that I might project on the last few years, God was still at work, and we were part of what he was doing.
And thankfully we hit Starbucks on the way home just before it closed. The lattes kept us awake.
Two different parties, two different purposes, two nights of great blessing.
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