Backyard Blizzard

Haha, lovely Julie Morstad's "Thimble" perfectly depicts my most recent sewing attempts.

Balloon Babies

This weekend, our little family has gotten bigger. Luke and I have adopted ten balloon children to take care of until the end of SAY Yes training. As instructed, we each replicated, with balloons, five children we interact with on a regular basis. These "kids" have to go everywhere we go for the duration of our training: on the subway, in the streets, at church. We can't tie them together or stick them in a bag. During our SAY Yes training sessions, unattended children may even be kidnapped or run away! Needless to say, we've got our hands full with ten light-headed balloon babies to look after!

Won't You Celebrate With Me?

One of my favorite poets in the world died last week. Lucille Clifton was a woman of extraordinary strength, honesty, and discernment. If you'd like to know more about her life and work, the New Yorker blog has a wonderful tribute.

Blizzard!

Yesterday it snowed nonstop from 12am to 11pm! Wind and sleet kept the accumulation down at first, but by evening the quiet, blanketed streets were a genuine winter wonderland! School was canceled, of course, but work continued at church; the blessing/curse of living next-door!

Luke and I met with Pastor Doug, as usual, in the morning, and when he went home for lunch, we braved the blizzard to buy groceries. That night, we, the Ws, and the Ks trooped over to Nick's for our second LOST party. Irene brought homemade pasta and garlic bread, and we cuddled up inside, watching cable for a couple hours before returning to the wintry scene outside. Immediately Chris and Irene began a snowball fight, drawing in two neighborhood boys we'd never seen before. We only live a block and a half from Nick's but we all reached home drenched and laughing.
It reminds me of my first winter here, almost exactly seven years ago (February, 2003). Four of us came from First Free, St Louis, on a "vision trip" for a friend who would later serve as a missionary at First Free, Brooklyn. We were scheduled to stay only one long weekend, but a blizzard grounded our flight for three extra days! I missed my high school mock trial competition, but enjoyed seeing this new season play out in Brooklyn.

Happy birthday Luke!

My baby brother is 20!


Unfortunately, he's also sick. He had to leave afterschool early yesterday, miss our LOST premiere party last night, and stay in bed sleeping literally all day today. Please pray for a quick recovery for the beloved birthday boy!

Strange Fruit in February

Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.

More information on this song, which Q Magazine called one of the ten that changed the world, on ladyday.net