Boys will be boys!

I am sitting here on the couch watching my husband and our neighbor (our friend!) play football on the XBOX. FUNNY! They are so funny. I am so glad that my husband is just hanging out with a friend. Being a pastor (and a pastor's wife) is a wonderful blessing that comes with many challenges. It is hard for pastors and their families to make good friends. We have lots of friends, but not necessarily GOOD friends. It is hard to find people who don't expect you to be perfect or judge you for every single thing you do. It's hard to have a "bad" day. People tend to put pastors on a pedestal and forget that they are simply human. They make mistakes just like everyone else. But they also like to have fun.
I have been so blessed in the past year...first because of my job I have gotten to know a bunch of wonderful women. One happens to be our neighbor. They moved in about a year ago. Our other neighbor down the street has also become a dear friend. We like to get together and just talk. I forgot how nice it is to have people you can just be with...no expectations, no judgements, just friendship, support, love. THANK YOU GOD!!!! One thing that helps with these relationships is that neither of these women attend our church. They are both wonderful Christian women, but they attend different churches here in our town. I have had friends in the church, but it is different. I can't complain or tell them anything negative about my husband because he is their pastor (not that I do that often, but sometimes EVERYONE needs to vent!!)
We have gotten together with our entire families, including husbands and children...and even our husbands get along really well. The other husbands thought at first that it was quite "odd" to drink a beer with a 'preacher'. Now they just see him as "Warren." He is their friend, their buddy. They are playing video games. They stand out by the back fence and talk. They have a beer. They talk about sports, technology stuff, grilling, etc. They are just guys and I am so thankful that my husband has these friends. It has been so long since we have had true friends that we didn't have to put on our "pastor and pastor's wife" hats around...I am just so thankful to have these wonderful friends!! We are so blessed!

Neighborhood fun!

Another thing that has kept us busy this summer are our neighbors! We are very blessed with our neighbors. There are three families on our block with kids basically the same age. Abbie is the only 9 year old. Andrew has 2 friends who are 7-8, Bethany has two friends who are 5, and the other two families have smaller children. The kids usually split into three groups...the big kids (Abbie, Andrew, & the other two their ages), the little kids (Bethany and the other 2 5-yr olds) and then there are the "babies" (one of them is 2, and the twins will be 2 in August). We go for bike rides, we go to the parks, we play at each other's homes and yards, we carpool to ball games and library story time, we go to the pool together...and after we put the kids to bed, sometimes the mommas (and sometimes the dads join us) meet outside for some grown-up time! What did I ever do before I had such great friends?? Here are some pictures of a day a few weeks ago when I rode bikes with most of the older kids to the park, and one momma rode her bike with her bike trailer, and the other momma walked with her twins in her stroller. We had a great time at the park for a few hours. The kids swang, rode bikes, ran, got dizzy on the marry-go-round, pretended they were monkeys, and saved the town from fire (see the fire engine pics)! So much fun with good friends!Bethany running down the hill..."Baby R"...one of the twins, trying to get her to give me one of her million dollar smiles!Two of the "babies" going to save the town from fire!Getting DizzyThe "little kids" swinging (Bethany is on the left)Abbigail taking a breakMonkey boy E...you can see Abbigail's knees hanging from part of the fire-truck. She loves to do this! Getting ready to go home...one family had to leave early to go to a birthday party...and my friend left early with her twins...I had these 5 crazy kids to ride home with...and yes, I rode my bike, too! So much fun!

We are so blessed with our neighborhood and friends!

Neighborhood FUN!

Have I mentioned how much I love my neighborhood? While we miss our old neighboors, it is just a new experience with all the kids on our block right now! We moms (ok, mainly my friend Stephanie), decided to get together and have fun with the kiddos! We decorated pumpkins, decorated pumpkin cookies, made masks...and had lots of fun! Here are just a FEW of the pictures I took!

Cool "Mummy" pumpkins!

Decoratging cookies!

Steph sneeking "T" some frosting...Mom (Nancy) didn't know about the sweet stuff! ;o)

And, finally...a group shot!

We love Glenda

Many of you might remember that my neighbors are moving. The days are dwindling, and we are trying to love on Glenda while we can. Anytime we see her outside, we head over for hugs. Last night when we arrived home from VBS she was outside trying to take a picture of a spider, silly thing wouldn't cooperate! Glenda is a very talented photographer. Her sprinklers were running, and I told my kids to go ahead and have fun so I could chat with Glenda. They were all hot and sweaty and I was planning to shower them when we got home anyway! They ran and had fun, Glenda and I chatted a bit, and she snapped away. Before I even got myself to bed, she emailed me the pictures. Like I said, she's a very talented photographer...when she moves I guess I'll have to get my camera out more often!

Glenda called them over and whispered something in their ears, and soon they all came running, DRIPPING over to me and gave me WET hugs...what fun!

Glenda has a BIG frog/toad (HOPPY THING...ICK!) living in her srinkler box, she wanted to show the kids, so I took the camera and snapped a few, I'm so thankful they couldn't find that nasty hopping thing! (Have I ever told you how much I HATE frogs?)

We will live next to this wonderful woman for only about one more week, then she will move to Ohio to join her husband who began a new job there 2 months ago. We already miss Terry, and now we know we will miss Glenda, too. The family who will be moving in is going to be fun to have around, though. They have 3 kids, a daughter Andrew's age, a son Bethany's age, and a 1 year old daughter. We know this family and like them a lot, it will be good to have more kids on the block...and it will be fun to get to know them better. But, they will never fill Terry and Glenda's shoes!

Happy Birthday Tammie!!

It's Tammie's birthday! Tammie was my college roommate, and best bud! We haven't seen each other in a few years, but I still think about her often, and email with her sometimes...but I couldn't let today pass without sending her a birthday greeting! SO....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LADY!!!