Karoake Night

Almost every Sunday night our neighbors behind us have a Karoake Night. They have a big sound system with wireless mikes that even go outside. I think the system plays over their sound system and runs through their big flat screen tv.

Below is a sample of what a wonderful community we are a part of!

Enjoy.

There is that word community again.

What a weekend! (Part 2 -Sunday)

I have not figured out how to place these videos. But this will do. Maria brought over her little new puppy so above is a little video of Cosita and Cosmo. Cosita kept chasing Cosmo and trying to bite his tail...very funny! We were just hanging around the front lawn chillin. After church, 3 kids and myself rode our bikes over to a couple's house from church whose dog had taken off after another dog attacked it. It's been missing for almost 2 weeks so we decided to go out and help search for the dog. Part of being a part of a community. Then we came back and were just hangin around.

It was a warm day so we turned on a sprinkler for the kids to run through. Later in the evening we decided to play soccer with the some of the older kids and family members. Had not done that for awhile so that was fun. I had other events I needed to be at Sunday night but this to me was a bigger priority.


Community. That word kept coming back to me over and over this past week.

Community where I live. The church community. Work community.

We as Americans tend to stay secluded in our big houses and live individual lives. God did not make us that way. We were created to be a part of a community. To be involved with other people and when possible, their lives. Sure beats loneliness.

What a Weekend! (Part 1- Saturday)

This was a weekend where we actually had no plans, no place we had to be, nothing. I thought of things that needed to get done around the apartment while Patty was thinking of places to go like the beach. We ended up staying here and the weekend and the community took care of the rest. After Saturday morning Bible Club we were just hanging out on the patio and were enjoying our swing and the nice weather.

Cece is a neighbor girl and she and her family were moving out of the neighhborhood this weekend. We are very sad as she is one sweet and very caring girl. Below is she and Patty. She is still in San Jose but we know we won't see her as much.

A guy came around from a local pizza place and was selling medium pizzas with one topping for only $5. So we bought 2 for the 8 or 9 kids that were around.

Right after lunch, a fire truck came into the court. One of the kids moms is 7 months pregnant and was throwing up all morning and not feeling good. So the paramedics took her to the hospital.

As the afternoon wore on and became hotter, we broke out the slip and slide on the front grass. Spiderman was quite a hit.

Water can be quite the draw on a warm day.

The Wedding

A couple in our neighborhood has been a part of Iglesia Libre at Hillside Church for the last few years. Their 5 kids have been actively involved in many Farm Drive activities. The father just recently committed to follow Jesus and was babtized. They decided to get married so last Saturday at Hillside they shared their vows with each other and with God. It was great to see them make that commitment to each other before their friends, family, and God.

There was also another couple who had decided to get married so we got to enjoy a double wedding. And of course they had a nice big hispanic celebration with lots of good food afterwards! Pastor Francisco is in the middle.

The Barajas kids! Have you ever thought what it would be like to be at your parents wedding? These kids now know.

What 3 beautiful couples! Robbie and Stacy live upstairs where the Barajas family lives.

You would never know from these pictures that Elizabeth, the bride has cancer. The week before the wedding the doctors found more cancer so they cancelled surgery. So she is getting chemo plus radiation this coming Monday lasting for 4 days. Please pray for her and for their family for what God has in store for them. No one knows what's going to happen but HE.

It's Fun Living Here!

One day last week I had a meeting in San Jose around 9 am. After the meeting since I was close to home, I decided to go let Cosmo out. (Patty was in Oregon all week visiting her family). As Cosmo was out enjoying the fresh air, I noticed a couple of cop cars pull into our court. I went back upstairs to put Cosmo back in the apartment and then as I was getting back in my truck, I noticed a cop going up the stairs in an apartment complex at the end of the court. He pulled out his gun. Who needs to watch tv to get this excitement! I noticed one person on the ground and it looked like a girl we know who lives there also was out on the landing but she was standing up and was not asked to get down. I said a quick prayer for the situation and left.



I found out later what may have happened (I remind myself that the info I get is coming from kids and I may not be getting the whole story). Some older boys that all don't live in the hood didn't want to go to school so the girl that lives there said she would leave the door open so that they could come over while she was at school. When the boys got there they found the door locked so they went in through a window. A neighbor saw them and called the cops. I guess the one boy had a knife on him and was trying to hide it from the cops and that is what I saw with the gun pointed at him. He was arrested.



Which brings me to the question we sometimes get asked, Do you feel safe where you live? Absolutely.

Why?

Not sure. Maybe it's because we are known by so many here that our place, our stuff, our lives are watched and protected. Maybe it's the security cameras!

No, I think it is because we are where God wants us to be. With that comes Peace. If anything happens we know it is for a reason.



Would we have done this when our kids were young? Not an issue because we are not there now. But if God wanted us to be here when we had younger kids then why would we not say yes?

Obedience.



Of course we don't do stupid stuff and we always use common sense. We don't leave our doors unlocked when we are not here. We make sure our possesions are locked up. We don't leave our bikes out without putting a lock on them. If we see a group of kids all wearing black and red, we don't usually go up and start a conversation (unless we know one of them). I don't run to break up a fight that has knifes. I leave that to the police. (not that I have seen one either). This is the first time in the almost one year that we've been here, that I've see a gun pulled by a cop. Yes, Patty and I both feel very safe in our cool little neighborhood!

Nursery Pictures

I work at a wholesale nursery. Sometimes you forget about the beauty around you as you "WORK".

But this week I went out early in the morning to take some pictures so we might add them to our website. It was fun to use my camera and take various pictures. Below is a few of them:

Second Chances

From Pete.

I left to go to work this morning and noticed a guy on farm drive with his hood up and attaching jumper cables to his car. I quickly surmised that maybe he had someone helping him or a car nearby to jump. As I got out to Hillsdale Ave I felt in my pocket a set of keys and pulled them out to put on the seat next to me when I noticed that they were Patty's keys and not mine. So I drove around and came back and put them back on the table in the apartment.
As I drove back out I noticed the guy standing there with hood up and cables ready. I stopped this time and asked if he needed a jump and he said yes. So I helped him this time. (he is a guy that drives a yellow cab).
That was so weird that I grabbed Patty's keys BEFORE I saw him.
2nd chance. Connections.

From Patty to Pete in an email:

As I laid in bed this am I prayed that God would use me today to bless people. I think that’s why we are here.

I didn’t tell you that Tuesday night when Jess and I went to Plutos for salad, afterwards we went to Longs to get her some stuff. There was an old lady in front of us and when she was done she needed help carrying it out. Seemed to take forever for someone to come and I asked her if she just needed help to her car. She said yes so I gave Jess my wallet and helped the lady. This lady should not be driving. She kept closing her eyes when she was waiting…I could see she didn’t feel well. Turns out she had a disabled older daughter in her car. She couldn’t lift her bags out of the basket. I put them on her back seat for her and she got in and thanked me and drove off (again, scary that she has a drivers license). Sad if she is alone trying to help this daughter…she barely made it herself.

Connected

Having gone through the following book:

Living Your Strengths:Discover Your God-Given Talents and and Inspire Your Community.

And done the online survey:

One of my strengths is Connected.

I view that everything that happens, happens for a reason. Everything is connected to a bigger picture of what is going on. Nothing is wasted.

So I guess it is nice that I got a second chance. I need to work on being ready so I don't need a second chance.

How about you?