I love this Neighborhood!

Our neighbors returned on Thursday two days early from a 3 week excursion to the Grand Canyon. Their four children are constant companions to ours all year round but particularly in the Summer months. We missed them terribly. Thursday evening our kids swam at their pool and then their three boys returned here for the night. In the morning we loaded 2 of them into the van and they accompanied us to riding lessons and cousins day at Beth's house. That night all the boys slept in their pop-up camper which they've left open and airing out in their driveway. Yesterday only one of them came with us to the VBS picnic...that felt a little lonely...Today the boys went there to swim and this evening we had a two family game of Capture the Flag - kids against the adults. It was a close game but the adults won out in the end (really the game was called for darkness so we settled the game by seeing who could find the opposite team's flag first - I found theirs).

I never had a neighborhood really with kids to play with and streets in which to ride my bike safely. I'm so glad my kids have all this. We are so blessed. I love running across the street to my neighbor to see if she wants to go to Curves with me (and I love even more when she comes back across the street with armloads of food she's cooked too much of again). She is Pooka's "Auntee Renee" and whenever the dog escapes out of the house I can pretty much guarantee she's over there getting fed and loved on. Next door to us we have Helen and Fletch who are a dear elderly couple. They've been there since my husband was little (well, actually Mr. Gill died when he was older and my father-in-law stood in as the father of the bride when Helen married Fletch - how cute is that?!). On the other side is Frank who has also been there since my husband was small. He's a widower now but keeps quite busy and really doesn't seem to mind when our tribe is running around all crazy like. I often find my girls on the swingset belonging to the neighbors behind us, playing with their friends and dear Jack directly behind us has been known to load up our brush and run it to the dump from time to time. His wife crocheted blankets for every one of the kids after the fire. They all still sleep with them (the blankets not the neighbors)- even the older boys.

Across the court in the back are our friends who also have 3 adopted children and followed us here to this neighborhood (at least that's how the joke goes). We've been known to swap kids when their disfunctions get to be more than we can handle from time to time. She's truly a life-saver. I could go on and on. There are neighbors we met after the fire who have prayed for us and cared for us in many ways. There are neighbors who have been walking through the neighborhood every day since my in-laws owned the house. I don't know of many other neighborhoods like this and I'd be so sad should God ever call us to relocate.

That's my musing for this evening...just lovin' my neighborhood that's all! (And might I add that Capture the Flag is *really* good excercise!)