Archive for the 'Friends' Category

This weekend, my friend Kristin came to visit. I am so blessed to call her my sister, my confidante, and my friend. She is generous, creative, fun, silly, kind…the list could go on and on. I love that we can be real when we are together…we know each other’s shortcomings…but we love each other in spite of them! We have so much in common…we kind of blend into one another It’s been such a blessing to be able to spend so much time together over the last couple of years. God is good! Here’s to many more spring rolls, my friend. Check out the details of our weekend here.

Fellowship. Community. Support. All of these words bring to mind warm and cozy feelings. In the stay-at-home mom “world”, there is nothing more important than getting connected to a group of like-minded friends who you can converse with, laugh with, and love. I have been so fortunate to find this type of friendship. It all started when we moved to town and I attended my first La Leche League meeting. I met new people and had a great time. Not too long after that, I was invited to one of their homes for a “cloth diaper party”. Basically a playdate…and we talked about diapering our babes. After that meeting, we had a huge increase in the number of “natural parenting” groups in town. I started a babywearing group, my friend Sarah started a cloth diapering group, the Holistic Moms Network started meeting, the Attachment Parenting group was growing..and POOF! A community of like-minded families rallied around each other and we started our own little tribe. We have meetings of some sort nearly every week, as well as a weekly playgroup. Several of us get together in each others homes as well to chat and let the kids play. And it was during one of these playdates that a couple of us started talking about the importance of community, especially with mothers of young children. When you get together with other moms, you realize that you’re not the only one who has a messy house. You’re not the only one who get burned out. You’re not alone in your frustration with your 2 year old. When you can talk through these things with others who have been through it, your load becomes lighter. It’s also reassuring to know that I’m not the only one who is obsessive about organic foods and non-plastic / non-commercial toys for my child.
Here is a great article detailing the process of helping out in each others’ homes…and building your own tribe. Put some hot water on for tea and invite another mama over today!

Capoeira. A few months ago I would have said…”capo what?” But thanks to my friend Rebecca, I’ve learned about the interesting new world of Brazilian dance and martial arts. Rebecca and her husband, Mauro, run the Des Moines capoeira group, which originated in Sao Paulo, Brazil in the 1970′s. I have attended 3 of their “events” (most recently, The World Food Festival) and have thoroughly enjoyed learning about a new culture and new form of expression. I’ve always been fascinated by other cultures and would love to travel to Brazil some day.

Capoeira first came about in Brazil, where slaves from several different African cultures were thrown together. The slaves combined fighting, music, and dance elements of their cultures and came up with what is now called Capoeira.

African slaves developed their own fighting style to protect themselves from white slave owners, but hid their training by making it look like a ritualistic dance-game.
It was practiced by Brazilian slaves up until they were freed in the 1888, at which point Capoeira became the fighting style of criminals. Capoeira gangs would have their own turf, where they controlled the criminal activities. Capoeira at that time incorporated less ritual and music and involved the use of weapons such as knives and clubs. In the early 20th century, the first Capoeira academies were opened, and Capoeira went from being the art of outlaws to being declared Brazil’s national sport.

(www.capoeiradesmoines.com)

They also teach Afro-Brazilian dance, which is delightful to watch as well. There is so much energy…the music made by the drums and other instruments is amazing. Check out some more photos here. Hear music and learn more here.

In early August, we flew out to Denver/Boulder. Matt flew onto Boise to pick up our bus, and I stayed in Denver with my brother, and then in Boulder with our friends, the Cheeks. I love Boulder. I love the people. The atmosphere. The food. The coffee. It’s just good stuff. Check out the photos here.

We went to the Farmer’s Market, the Rocky Mountain Tea Festival, the Emmaus Road Church “dedication”, out for Thai food, out for coffee. Fun times.

We love spending time with the Cheeks. Even though we may not see each other for months and months…it’s as if no time has passed at all. It’s crazy to think that we’ve been friends for just 8 years. It seems like so much longer! I could sit for hours talking to Natalie, and I know Matt could do the same with Kris. In fact, we used to do that a lot more BEFORE we had kids. Now, freetime is a little harder to come by, but it makes every moment all the more sweet.

It was great to be there and see the great things that are happening with the church plant. I praise God for what He is doing there and also that He has allowed us to see so many friends and family this summer.

Earlier this year I went to see my friend, Kristin, in Kansas City. I just now got around to uploading the photos. Here are the photos of our fun.

A few weeks ago, I made another trip down to spend time with her while Matt was in Scottsdale. Photos here.

It’s always wonderful being with Kristin…she is a beautiful soul. We also love the exact same things. We are sisters.

We went to Lawrence. We ate Thai food. We drank tea. We went out for coffee. We talked about Jesus. We watched Miami Ink. We played on the Internet. We cooked. We laughed. We hugged. We rode around in the bus. We watched a movie…possibly one of my favorites. Can you guess what it was? Here is a hint:

“I like to look for things no one else catches. I hate the way drivers never look at the road in old movies.”

We have the best time whenever we are together. This last time, I was there for 5 days. That’s a long time to spend with anyone you aren’t related to. I loved it though…because once you get past the first couple of days, you just get to live life together. Meals, emotions, bedtime, etc…the “daily-ness” of our lives. When you can be together in the mundane daily routine, and you still love each other, that is true friendship. One that will last a lifetime.

I love mail. Real paper mail. Cards. Postcards. Packages and such. The problem is…we have lost the fine art of correspondence. Letters used to be the only way to “get word” to someone. Then came the telephone. Then came email. Oh the email. Don’t get me wrong…I love email too, but there is just something cold, electronic, and impersonal about it. When I go to my mailbox and see a handwritten note, I am GIDDY with excitement. If that letter is 3 pages long with doodles, quotes, verses, a teabag, and such, I am ECSTATIC. You would think I won the lottery. I I know exactly when my mailman arrives everyday. I loooove having my mailbox right on my house so I can grab it quickly! Ninety percent of the time, I recieve junk mail or business mail, but I am blessed to have a few select friends in my life who appreciate the value of a handmade/handwritten note. I love them for that. Their letters need not contain deep thoughts…I just love to hear about the happenings in their daily lives.

When you send real meal, you are basically saying that the person on the other end is worthy of your time. You are putting your feelings onto paper…a permanent expression of your love for them. I have saved many letters over the years…from my dad, my grandma, my sister, my brother, my husband…and everytime I open that letter again, I am transported back to the first time I read those words.

So my challenge for everyone reading this…is to write ONE letter this week. Brighten someone’s day, send photos, send goodies, send your love.

More thoughts on letter writing.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user “Living in Monrovia”.

Today, my friend Rebecca and her daughter Bianca came over and we had a garage sale. It wasn’t wildly successful monetarily, but we did get rid of a lot of stuff and now the rest will be packed up and donated. So nice to purge. Bella and Bianca are about 6 months apart in age, and love to play together. Bella is learning how to share things…a hard lesson when you are two! We had a great time talking…I got to hear more about how she met her husband, Mauro, and their time in Brazil.

Rebecca wanted to go to Outlaw Ink and get her nose pierced today…so we met up there and watched her get stabbed with a needle. It was quite lovely. I think she looks adorable with it! Her friend Megan was in town…so she hung out with us for the rest of evening as well.

After that, we went for supper at Planet Sub (try their Pesto Bello!). While there I mentioned an independent video store that a friend had recommended and Rebecca said it was just down the street, so we went to check it out. It’s called “Best Place Ever” and it’s all independent films, hard to find films, and documentaries. I was in heaven! It’s only $2.65 to rent there…I picked up City of God on Rebecca’s recommendation (it’s set in Brazil).

Then we headed to Valley Junction for Jazz in July and listened to some music for a bit. The girls were entertaining for all those around us…they each had a stroller (that I got on Freecycle) to walk their babies in. They loved dancing to the music.

It was a great day…so beautiful and sunny. Full of the warmth of new friendships and children’s laughter. God is good.

| Click here to see the entire photo set |

Just looking through these photos (click here for entire set) makes me happy again. Happy like I was when Kristin came to see me…we have such wonderful times. We pretty much always do the same thing…but we like it that way. This time it went like this:

Farmer’s Market: This was Kristin’s first time to our farmer’s market…which I think is the best thing around. We had lattes and caramel pecan rolls. We bought flowers and talked to interesting people and saw neat stuff. We bought metal stars and rusty roosters.
Lunch at home: I made some coconut curried veggies with tofu. Yum.
Movie: We went to see The Devil Wears Prada. Cute little flick.
Gong Fu Tea: It just wouldn’t be the same without our tea fix. We had a great time chatting it up.
Thai Flavors: Shared some red curry with tofu…along with some delicious spring rolls and crab rangoon. Oh so heavenly.
Ritual Cafe: Latte and a Mocha. Waited for the music to start, but didn’t start until later. Left for JJ’s.
Java Joes: Before this, we walked across the river to the East Village for fun. It was a beautiful night. Got some iced tea and a toffee cookie and listened to the Gwen Mitchell Experiment. It was GREAT fun.
Mars Cafe: Went here to show Kristin this new coffee shop. We read each other questions from the “90′s” edition of Trival Pursuit. Turns out we don’t know as much as we thought we did.
Tea and a Walk: On Sunday, we got up and had a leisurely morning reading and having tea. We went for a walk around the neighborhood before Kristin had to say goodbye.

It was a fabulous weekend with my best friend. I’m looking forward to spending some time in Kansas City in about a month. Yay!