Superb Sundays

On Sunday, we had a full day from morning to night. We visited a church for the first time which we heard about from a friend. One of the people who attends and often speaks at the church is a favorite author of ours and local professor at Duke University. Being Episcopal, the service was a bit more formal than what we are used to but not something that we are uncomfortable with at all. Since we are not super fans of leaving E in the nursery, we were glad to hear that kids are welcome and activity packs were stacked up high in the back of the church for their quiet play! A glass enclosed area with rocking chairs in the foyer provided a nice relief when she was talkative and bored. The biggest shock for me was the sip of communion grape juice...it was a much more fermented grape juice than I am accustomed to in church! And, being 8 months pregnant, I have not tasted something so strong in many months. I stumbled back to my seat and had a buzz for a good three minutes! The songs were meaningful to me and I appreciate the prayers said back and forth. We listened to two of the talks online before going on Sunday and found them to be a bit deep. The same was true of Sunday's talk so we are glad to be able to hear them more than once.
After church, we grabbed lunch and groceries nearby. Then, we visited with some dear friends at their house. They were brewing beer for the first time! These friends are so dear to our hearts so anytime spent talking with them is instantly wonderful. They are gracious to us and so genuine with our family. It's a rare thing to have such richness. Keep in mind the couple having their first babe (without a doula present) later this month. They need our prayers, like anyone planning a hospital birth for the first time without lots of support.
Having mistaken the LLL fund raiser for the wrong day, imagine our continued shock we we showed up and still did not see any babes in slings or nursing moms! Hubby spotted the flyer with the new address listed. We asked at the counter and were told it was just through the back parking lot and across the street. Phew! We ran into a dear friend, who although young, single, male and without much child love in his life, recently asked his new parent friends, "have you ever read the ingredients in formula?" After doing a double take that he had any idea about such things...they told him no, they had not but upon doing so, quickly stopped using it and committed to exclusively breastfeeding their babe! Way to go, all of you! So, this friend walks into the coffee shop and asks us if we are there for the LLL fund raiser. WTF? How does he know? Someone in his Quaker Meeting that morning had announced it. Be warned, ladies, if this guy ever gets over being a monk and wants babes, you better be willing to breastfeed!
The concert was so much fun! It's awesome to see E let go and dance her little heart out on the floor. I love that she is growing up with dancing freely and shaking all her beautiful body parts; it is pure joy to watch her. Both her friends and mine are superb people, the rare kind that one is thankful for each day. It was great for us to see people who we had not been in touch with since we got back. And, I love bumping bellies with my fellow Feb mamas! For the cost of two raffle tickets ($2), I won a really beautiful Lucky sling just the right size for my post-partum body!
Last week, yesterday and today, we took long walks on the local trail near our house. Sherpa and E are sleeping harder at night after these walks! A and I enjoy the time to talk and watch E explore her world. It's scary how warm the weather has been the last two days but since it's here, we are going outside to be a part of it. Then, we'll drive the biodeisel vehicle to retreat to our solar house, recycle some cardboard and eat low impact vegan delights in an effort to offset the rising temperature next winter.