A Neighborhood...finally

Our entire married life, we have lived in neighborhoods, but we have not ever known more than 1 or 2 neighbors. And not from complete lack of trying. Finally, after living here for one and a half years, we feel like we live in a neighborhood.

The neighbors who live behind us have a 4 year old boy who LOVES Kate. He is a sweet, sweet boy and Kate likes to play with him too. He was gone for a week visiting his dad and when we saw him the evening he got back, he ran over shouting "Kate!" Last weekend his mom and her boyfriend came over to just to visit with us for a bit. They are a little younger than us and we are enjoying building a relationship with them.

There is a family a couple of houses down from us with four kids. Kate and I have played with the kids outside a few times after school and their mom has sent dinner over for us just because she wanted to share. Last night the parents came over to have coffee with us. They stayed until after 11pm, clueless to the fact that we go to bed much earlier than that. But we wouldn't have thought to kick them out sooner.

The elderly couple across the wall from us give us much cause for concern. They should not be living on their own anymore and we are trying to figure out how we can help them make that decision. They have trouble driving, can't remember where they live, and often don't remember who we are. It's dangerous for them to be alone.

It's good to be in a place where people know you and you know them. We have people who notice if we are gone. We have people we want to get to know. We hang out randomly and without planning. We like to be able to share life with those around us.

Goat playdate

Josh's mom recently bought two baby milk goats who have been bottle fed since they were days old. They are tame and act more like puppies than goats. We went out to play with the goats with two of Kate's little friends.

Group hug!
Helping Jojo feed the baby goatPlaying with a puppy...I mean goat.
It's funny that for Kate playing with goats is a normal childhood activity. She gets distracted by rocks in the yard or a ball to throw for the dogs and doesn't realize that playing with goats is not something everyone gets to do. She likes them, for sure, and runs over and gives the goat a hug when she thinks of it. It's so fun to watch her!

A Wild Night Out on the Town

Last night two of my friends here in Kerrville took me out to celebrate my birthday. Our husbands were watching the kids, so it was to be a fun girls' night out. We thought we'd head to Fredericksburg for something different. As we were driving that way, though, we could see the dark clouds sitting over Fredericksburg and saw HUGE streaks of lightning. When we hit torrential rains, we decided to turn around and just eat in Kerrville so we were closer to home.

The storm followed us and it was flood-quality. As we were going down one of the main streets to the restaurant, the power flashed off and then back on. The wind picked up and was shaking the SUV we were in. Barely able to see the road, much less stay out of huge puddles on the road, we pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and stopped to think through our options. The electricity had flashed off and on again and we were wondering if the restaurant even had power. The wind was shaking our car and the streets looked like they were flooding. In fact, we watched as bags of trash floated down the street outside.

We all called our husbands to check in and found out that Josh and Kylie's husband were without power. Sally's husband had power, so we realized it was not down all over town. When the rain let up just a bit, we decided to race to the restaurant and salvage our dinner out.

We ran through the flooded parking lot. I was in a dress and heels, Kylie was in heels, and Sally (who is pregnant) was in white pants. Not running-through-rain outfits. But we made it inside with minimal damage.

We had a great time at dinner. Good food, fun conversation, delicious dessert, and wonderful company. We enjoyed talking without having conversations interrupted by toddlers. By the time we left, the rain had stopped. The drive home was eerie and dark. No street lights were lit. Trees and branches were down everywhere. Kylie's and my houses were still without power and remained so until 1:30am.

What a night!

I am so thankful that my friends wanted to take me out to celebrate and so thankful they didn't bail for bad weather! We had quite the adventure together and a good stories to tell.

Thank you, Sally and Kylie, for your friendship and your sense of adventure!