Love Where You Live

We are beginning our fourth week in the Pirate House. We are a merry band! I cannot overstress what a joy it is to wake up here, and to return to this house at the end of each day. 

And on the weekends and in the afternoons, the kids make the most of every sunny day:

That's our neighbor dog. We know the neighbor dogs' barks, now.

 Every weekend we have at least one fire. I've never had s'mores so frequently at any point in my life.

 Last weekend, tired of telling the kids to stop jumping in their clothes hampers, I handed them some pillowcases and sent them outside to have a sack race.

 That was one of my better ideas.

 These guys are apart during school hours, but once Miles is off the bus each weekday they are back up to their old tricks.

This Saturday, I took the kids to the Montgomery Heritage Festival. 

There was face painting,

 Traditional country dance and costumes,

 Delicious food, and old fashioned cars, crafts, and machines. The kids waited in line twice to use this corn-seed removing machine. As I joked with one of the old gentleman, earlier generations of kids would have considered this a tiresome chore. Here were the kids of the 21st Century lined up for the chance to work!

 As usual, there were livestock at the festival. This calf was only 3 days old! We spent a while communing with it.

 We also got to see good old Dr. Moon, the wandering street musician, at the festival.

Classes at VT start tomorrow. We are fairly settled back into nearly every routine, except Chapel and Choir at church. And we are at home.

At Jon's STS department party, probably the 5th one I've attended, I realized I've never felt so relaxed among Jon's colleagues. Blacksburg is the longest-running home we've had together. 

The view from the porch at the party. I just drank the scenery. 

We welcome the students back. We welcome 2015/2016.


And we pray this blessing over our Pirate Home, over our family, and over our lives.

"We call upon the Sacred Three
To save, to shield, and surround this home.
The circle of God around it,
The peace of Christ within it,
The life of the spirit above it,
this day, this night, and every night."

Amen.