it seems...

...a lot has been going on lately. I'm excited that today has exactly nothing on scheduled. Two days ago Sarah got a new carseat. She has graduated to the next size. The new seat looks huge in our backseat and butts up against the backs of both our front seats.
Sarah has found her toes. She used to stare at them when I'd change her, expecially if she had socks on. Now she grabs a leg and has even sucked on her foot or big toe.
Early this week we bought a futon through the buckpasser. We'd been looking for something ot add to our living room to increase the comfortable seating options. At first we thought we'd been 'had,' as the mattress didn't seem to fit with the frame. Andy and I sat side-by-side on our couch staring at the thing, trying to figure it out. The mattress is probably a little thick for the frame, but I think it works just fine. If you're not a little bit tall, though, your feet may not touch the floor :).
It has been sunny here for over a week. I told a few people that it feels like the weather is teasing me...saying we should be on vacation, climbing in Squamish or camping...and just two weeks ago I was discussing the possibilities of winter camping with Sarah and looking at infant sleeping bags at Noah's World - kids consignment store, Abbotsford. I am enjoying the sun. Sarah and I are getting good doses of vitamin D. Andy is still bundling up tree branches from the pruning project, which this fine weather agrees with. But, I hardly dare say it, I do look forward to the rain again. I said it. I think it'll be refreshing. So, with the good weather yesterday, I took a bike ride out to MCC's office to pick up a book and borrow some DVDs. It was a glorious ride. I wore a tank top -the weather is that great. And I saw a mountain to the left of Baker that I usually don't see. DVDS I got include: "IRAQ: Imerging Voices", "Walking the Path Jesus Walked" (Christians from Egypt, Palestine and Syria talk about their lives etc.) and "In the Halls of Power: Christian Faith and Public Witness". They have a great library of resources anyone can borrow for free...or by donation. It was funny, at the office the receptionist (who was filling in for the day) didn't know anything about the book and I ran into 3 people there (2 working there) I knew. I helped one lady figure (Angelica) out the photocopier and she could tell me the books were already picked up. Angelica had taught me a course at CBC. Another fellow I ran into there Andy and I had met at a conference MCC put on at Camp Squeah a few years ago. He was riding a scooter and told me, "It's great. It doesn't pollute, it's perfect. I should be on my bike though." I asked him where he lived and he said Glenn Mtn. It'd probably take him 20 min. to get home by scooter...and this guy is probably 60 yrs. old. Cool. It was like I had been plopped into a mini-community of like-minded individuals. These people seemed like my friends (even though we don't eachother all that well) because of common interests and how their Christianity seemd to affect how they live in this world, physically.
Yesterday evening we went to the first meeting of a 5 week study that we are participating in. The group is formed of 4 couples and one single person. We are studying MCC's "Basic Trek: Venture Into a World of Enough?" Andy and I had been praying about thinking about, missing (me), a care group and shortly after that time we got invited to this group. Why I'm excited about the group...it's mixed (married, singles, kid-less couples), with people we don't know too well (I actually had gone to CBC with all but two of them), and we are talking about something Andy and I rarely talk to people about. I mean, someone there said a small goal of theirs was to stop using paper towel this year...and use washable cloths. Someone else expressed concern about the number one killer in Canada (was it?) being heart disease and how many Christians will probably die of that or colon cancer becuase of our diets. The author of the book we're looking at, I just found out, is from Goshen, IN. A lot of the people who contributed to the More With Less Cookbook are from there. I actually met some people from Goshen when I was in California in 1996 or 97 - attending a conference as a member of the World Awareness commitee while attending CBC. Big concentration of Mennonites there, I believe. Anyway, it's just encouraging gathering with people who think a little bit the same as you on certain things.

*ppsst. If you follow the "Mennonites" link above you can view a great 'smoke borscht, not bombs' shirt.