Unexpected Perks

The Monroes, the family of five that camped in our basement for about a month, left a little over a week ago.  I won't lie.  It was hard and sad to say goodbye to them.  We have spent the last week expecting small people to arrive in the kitchen for toast or applesauce or popcorn.  We will adjust to life as a family of four again, but it might take a few weeks.  On the up side, just yesterday I witnessed an unexpected highlight of having hosted a family with three small children.

We had a 2-year old visitor yesterday who was immediately embraced by my 8-year-old and whisked away to the playroom for time with trains.  While the moms sat and talked ministry stuff, the 2-year old was completely entertained by Paul.  His willingness to build a train track and facilitate a simple art project without being asked showed me how much he matured while we hosted the Monroes.

At the end of the visit, Luke popped out of his room where he had been reading, to say hey to folks.  And help the 2-year old  put on his shoes before leaving.  The moms were out on the driveway loading ministry stuff into a minivan when Luke appeared with the perfectly shod toddler.  I made a comment about how awesome that was and Luke just said he'd done it a ton of times for the Monroe's toddler girl.  Of course you did.

And now for the part where I post WAY too many pictures of our time with the Monroes.  And by that I mean pictures of their little girls.  Sorry, Asher.  We love you, too, buddy.  We are just a little too smitten with your sisters.

 First selfie in my kitchen with my girl

 She's two days old here.  It was the day they moved in.

 The boys with their books on the couch

Baby Montage

 She was almost smiling!

 Luke and Baby Girl

 Swinging with Tovah-SuperNova (a Bangsund original nickname)

 Face making 

 "Feed baby"

 Another face maker!

 Luke is blurry because he was moving from side to side.  Adorable.

Sisters!

Big Brother and Baby Sister

 Simply Adorable

 Luke spends time with Baby Girl

 These next shots are backlit, but I loved them too much to exclude them.

 Reading to all the people

About three weeks old.

 Paul reads to Asher and Tovah from Curious George

 Both my boys did this with the box at this age.  Asher, you are one of us.

 I could not resist the photo bomb by Luke and the half moon by Asher.  Swinging is fun.

 These two...

 ...really like each other...

 ...a lot.

 More swinging!

 Two days shy of one month old!

  Last selfie in my kitchen with my girl.  We are adorable.

Real Hospitality

Hospitality has never been my thing.  None of the rooms in my house would ever come close to being featured in a magazine, unless it were a periodical about people who get most of their furniture for free and leave fake wood paneling on their walls.   Not because it's hip.  More because they can't be bothered.  It's just low on the priority list.

I've been in homes that are beautifully appointed.  They made me feel like I was at a lovely bed and breakfast.  Now THAT'S hospitality.  Little soaps in the bathroom.  Fancy napkins folded in fancy ways.  Furniture that looks like someone picked it out instead of having it offered for free from a neighbor who was moving.  My house has just never fit the bill.  It's not that it's messy (although it often is messy).  It's more that none of the furniture/decor really matches or is fashionable.  And I don't care.  At all.

So, I've always figured this removed me from the realm of those gifted with hospitality.  Recently someone told me I was wrong.  Here's why.

About five weeks ago a family from our church moved into our basement for the four weeks before they left town to go plant a new church in Nashville, TN.  Five more people in our home, including a four year old, a 22 month old, and a newborn.  Crazy, right?

About a week after they moved in, I was explaining our temporary family of nine to my friend, Dena. I couldn't help smiling and laughing at how delightful it was having a very full house.  And she looked at me and told me that I clearly had the gift of hospitality.  I argued with her!  I said, "No!  I'm not baking or anything.  And the house is FAR from clean most days.  I just love having them in our home.  That's different, right?"

Dena just looked at me and shook her head.  "Amy, that IS hospitality - enjoying people in your home and making them feel comfortable and loved."

This exploded my brain.  What?  Hospitality isn't Pinterest everything?  I can't buy it on Etsy?  That just sounds nuts.  But it's true.  It is more about my heart than my home.  And lo and behold, I have a heart that LOVES having folks in my home.

First Day of School and Purple Belts

September has been a whirlwind so far.  No joke.  Let me back up a bit.

We actually started school on August 13th.  The boys had just arrived home from a trip to the cabin on August 12th.  I actually had three days to prep materials and resources.  And I was PUMPED to start.  However.  The children probably could have used a few more days to adjust to life at home.  Dang.  I hate it when my enthusiasm rolls over the top of my people.  We had a hard first day.  It wasn't helped by the fact that within a few hours of finishing one student would be lying in bed with a fever.  I was oblivious until that one put himself to bed at 12:30pm.

Meanwhile, our other person decided that he was going to refuse to do any sort of writing curriculum.  Forever.  The laser beams that shot from my eyes narrowly missed exploding his head. Good did come out of all this because our Daddy-Man/Principal made an unscheduled stop by the classroom to facilitate a meaningful conversation between a struggling student and his frustrated teacher.  We are blessed to have that guy.  And probably still alive because of him as well.

Anyway, nobody died on the first day of school.  And we took cute pictures despite bad attitudes.  What is a blog if not a place to be blunt?  Right?

 The table ready to go!

 The Paul.  He doesn't look like he's about to come down with strep throat, does he?  He is.

 I love this guy.  Even when he refuses to do his writing assignments.

102 degrees Fahrenheit that same day.  Boo.

But then he got better.  And it was time to get their purple belts.  Okay, clearly I have abandoned transitions.  Pictures.  Here they are.

 During testing - don't they look awesome?

Then they got to spar.  Sweet.

Purple belts!  Yay!

And since I had five hours of sleep last night, and a conclusion is failing me...the end.