Annual Easter Egg Hunt

For the fourth year in a row, NC organized and participated in the neighborhood Easter Egg hunt. It has grown into a wonderful tradition that many families attend. My friend, Amanda Hill, captured some great moments and posted them to her photography blog.

Over a hundred people came out on the gorgeous day to see the little ones "hunt" for a 1000 eggs. I use the term "hunt" loosely, because there wasn't much grass and the eggs were pretty much just sitting on the ground rather then hidden in the grass. But the kids had fun.

We had a hunt for 0-2 year olds, with over 20 kids. And another hunt for 3-5 year olds, with over 30 kids. I originally planned to do a third hunt for the 6 and older group, but we had only 3. This shows how young our neighborhood is. My hope is that the 40 or so families who came to the hunt this year will stay in our great neighborhood. I know that making Peabody our neighborhood school is part of the solution.

This is a pic (courtesy of Kate Lareau) of Adam with a few of his future Peabody classmates: Walt, Adam, Maddox, Meredith, and Charlotte.

Surprise!! Robert's 35!

Since Robert's birthday is exactly a week before Christmas, he normally gets jipped when it comes to celebrating. Since 35 seems to be a big deal (I mean, it's half way to 70!), I thought it would be fun to surprise him with a bash. With a few co-conspirators, we pulled it off and he had NO idea! What fun! Here are a few snapshots of the night. Not pictured are the videos of some of his college voice recitals and the "amazing" re-editing of the youtube popular Hitler parody.

35 IS a lot of candles!

Happy Birthday, hon!

Fair Trade and Advent Conspiracy

I came across this video while on the Advent Conspiracy website.

After last weekend's IJM documentary,

I've been wanting to learn more about fair trade.

This video was thought provoking.

Money Quote: "If every person who attended church in our country

made just one fair trade purchase,

one million families would be lifted out of poverty for one whole year."

Relational Giving Ideas

Over the last few years, our family has made some effort to focus on Christmas a little differently as we've joined the Advent Conspiracy. We've tried to give relational gifts and really put more thought into the person we are giving to. Sometimes we save money, sometimes we spend more. But most times, we give much more time than we used to. It's a challenge sometimes, but very rewarding too. I began compiling this list of relational gift ideas last year and have added to it throughout the year as I think of things. I hope this helps you in your gift-giving this year!

Christmas Cards:

Create a video, post it to YouTube, then send an e-mail with the video embedded. (We did this in 2007 and 2008. We're still planning the 2009 video!)

Make your own cards

For Kids Gifts:

Video the child’s favorite family members telling him/her a “Once Upon a Time” story. Burn it to DVD.

Create an ABC scrapbook or flashcards with pictures/drawings of the child’s favorite things, friends, or relatives.

Create a book about the adventures of your child. Use your own photos, drawings, clip art, or magazine cut-outs to illustrate the story. Bind it at an office supply store for a few dollars. (This could also be done by a child for another sibling, grandparent, or cousin.)

Give lessons that encourage an interest (ballet, soccer, art, piano, etc…)

For less expensive toys, find gently used ones on Craigslist, eBay, or at a consignment store.

Take your child on a “road trip.” (Our favorites are Shelby Forest or Shelby Farms)

For Family Gifts:

Give a membership to the gym, zoo, Children’s Museum, Pink Palace, Brooks Museum, Botanical Gardens, etc…

Give gift cards to a restaurant or movie theater to be used on dates.

Give coupons for free babysitting.

Open your home as a “Bed and Breakfast” to serve a friend or another family from out of town.

Organize a family photo session with a photographer. Pay for the sitting fee, then let each family member purchase the photos they like.

Trade taking family photos with another family. (Free!) Then purchase your printed pics from an on-line store.

Create a photo calendar complete with everyone’s birthdays/anniversaries.

Give games that will bring the entire family together.

Organize a family vacation instead of giving gifts. (My family did this when I was growing up. I don't remember many of the gifts under the tree, but I remember every single ski trip and mission trip we took as a family!)

For Parents/Grandparents:

Give home-made gifts (ornaments, frames, candles).

Make a scrapbook of favorite childhood memories.

Compile/edit home videos or old photographs and burn onto DVD.

Give a coupon for free yard work, or a day of completing the “honey-do” list.

Give homemade freezer meals.

Make a date once a month to treat them to a home-cooked meal with your family.

Invite them to join your “Muffin of the Month” club. Take them a batch of muffins each month.

For Friends:

Treat a friend to a sporting event, concert, or art show.

Treat them to a round of golf or tennis game.

Organize a weekend get-away or camping trip for friends.

Organize a regular game night.

Give home-made dinners or desserts.

Wrap two copies of a classic book to read with a friend.

Use your talents:

If you are a techie, offer free “technical support” to friends and family by working on their computers, cameras, or phones.

If you are artistic, ask a friend to work with you to create an art piece of their choice.

If you are gifted musically, offer to give free music lessons to a friend.

If you are a great cook, give away your own recipe book by putting recipes inside a small photo album. You could also offer free cooking lessons.

If you are an organizer, offer your services to help clean out a closet, garage, or help prepare for a yard sale.

If you have a green thumb, divide some of your plants and help a friend start their own garden.

If you are a writer, write a “Year In Review” Poem for friends or family. Frame it and give away.

IJM and Lindsay Cade

Another Advent Conspiracy event that NC hosted this weekend was a viewing of the documentary "At The End of Slavery" from the International Justice Mission. Meredith Pace organized this event and had a great turnout. I happened to get to go by myself (whoo-hoo!) while Robert stayed home with the boys. The film was moving and inspired some great discussion afterwards. It's amazing how blind we can be, if we want to be, to the hurting and injustices in our world, even in our city.

The focus of this film was to inspire us to encourage our government to send strong messages to the countries where modern day slavery is most prevalent. In most of these countries, the law is in place against slavery, but the local governments are not enforcing the laws. IJM has teams of people in these countries who are qualified to train local law enforcements how to take down slave organizations in order to send messages to others, which seem to fall away when they realize the law is being enforced. There were also amazing success stories of children who have been saved from slavery and are involved in healthy environments now.

Our discussion afterwards also included talk about sweat shops and where we buy our clothing. Ignorance is bliss, and also irresponsible. I'm challenged to learn more about free-trade and socially responsible companies. Then we wrote letters to our congressman and senator encouraging them to support a bill that will support IJM's efforts.

To top off the night, Lindsay Cade performed some great tunes for us. LC was the first person to join us in Memphis before we started Neighborhood Church. She is such a beautiful person and has so much to share with the world. We sent her to Canada for a while and then Poland. And now she is in Nashville. I tried to tell her Memphis would love to have her back (and we would love her as a worship leader!), but she seems good in middle Tennessee.

Advent Conspiracy Photos

On Saturday, Neighborhood Church hosted 25 free photo sessions to launch Advent Conspiracy! It was the most beautiful fall day you could imagine. Just perfect for family portraits! Our two incredible photographers had such generous attitudes and seemed to really love taking photos for 4 hours. We had a great time. Our hope is that by receiving free sessions, the families will then use the money they saved to help someone in need or give to a charitable organization this Christmas. The premise behind Advent Conspiracy is that Christmas was meant to change the world, but has become about consumerism instead. I look forward to the other AC events we will have in the next month!

You Might Be In Community If…

I shared the following list tonight at the worship gathering for Neighborhood Church. Most of it is mine, some is from Hugh Halter's blog that Robert shared with me once he heard where I was going with my list. It accurately describes the incredible community of which I'm apart. We've come along way since this. Thank God for His faithfulness!

You Might Be In Community If...

You have at least 3 people to call on when you’ve run out of sugar…

When you are on bedrest and a friend does your Target and grocery runs….

If you sit in the waiting room of the hospital waiting for a child to be born and you didn’t have to ask if you could be present….

Your child is born and you have meals for two weeks brought to you by friends and maybe even someone you don’t know very well…

If you have ever taken a potty training child to the bathroom, and it’s not your kid…

You don’t have any children, but at least five kids know you by name and would probably let you take them home with you….

You are passionate about a project and your friends join alongside you simply because they love you and respect your passion for the project….

When needs come up within the sphere of your friends, and your people quickly pool resources or commit time to help…

If you can send an e-mail to a few friends asking for prayer about a specific and urgent need and you know it will be taken seriously….

Your prayers are answered and your friends are just as excited as you are….

If a friend can speak to you with truth and love and hold you accountable, and you still remain friends…

If the Lord speaks to your friends words meant for you…

If you are suffering and your friends hurt along with you…

If you are rejoicing and the entire community is rejoicing along with you…

If you go out of town and offer your home to others who might enjoy staying in your home for a few days…

If you return from being out of town, and your lawn has been mowed...

If you invite new and old friends to your home regularly for a meal or parties…

If you celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and any other special occasion with a group of friends…

If you have a group of friends who know they can call your cell phone or come over without feeling like they’re bugging you. (and you don’t care that laundry is still on the couch and dust bunnies are in the corner!)…

If you look at your weekly calendar and can find at least one or two times that you’ll be seeing several of them…

When your house or the houses of your community runs the social calendar for the neighborhood…

If the people you call for a movie night are the same ones you call for prayer, and the same ones that you find yourself helping others with…

When you are as excited to throw a party together as you are about studying through the book of Acts…

If you can’t find all your tools cuz they’ve been loaned out to people…

When everyone knows each others hidden secrets and there’s now a freedom to just be yourself…

When extroverts get to be extroverts and introverts can remain introverts…

When the question, “How’s it going?” is quickly followed by “how can I help?”…

**Meredith added, "when you are without electricity for a week, but you have about five homes that have been offered to you to stay in..."

**Susan added, "when you don't even ask your friends if they can be the emergency contact for your child's daycare."

**Ginger added, "when you wake up in the morning thinking about a friend's concern."

Do you have others to add to the list?