Fall has Fallen

I can't believe I haven't posted since August. I'll try to do better!. Life in Arkport is grand. The seasons are beginning to change. It's still in the seventies in the afternoons, but it's getting colder and colder at night. On Sunday morning it was 38 degrees! It's fabulous.

I've been doing some visiting this week. Coming from a community with no expectations of pastoral visitation to a community with high expectations has been a wake-up for me. I'm getting out there more and more. Our church has begun its planning for the Christmas season -- the Hanging of the Greens is only 10 weeks away! Ack! We gotta get cracking! I'm hoping that Christmas at Arkport UMC is an opportunity to really reach out into the community with a welcoming spirit.

Baby continues to enjoy life in her new family, and we love having her. I generally take her out for her morning constitutional, so i get to face those morning temperatures first-hand. Brrrrr... She's a great dog.

New Baby in the House!

Well... not a baby, exactly, but a dog named Baby! Life happens sometimes and this week we got a dog. We'd planned on getting one eventually, but were going to get a cat first. Baby is about a year-and-a-half old. She's a black lab-looking mixed breed. For the past year she's been living on our friend's farm. He rescued her after being abused and abandoned as a puppy.

She's very people-focused, likes to be in the middle of things. We're laying down House Rules (e.g. stay off the people furniture, no people food) and trying to enforce them. Kristen loves having a walking partner. When she gets a job, I may bring Baby to the office with me. We've been taking her on car trips. She's not used to it, but is getting better.

More Adventures with Baby to come!

Time Flies

We had a great week with my Mom, sister and nephews. The weather was all over the place. It was so cold when they got here that they had to go buy warmer clothes. By the time they left, it was boiling. That's part of the excitement of Western New York.

We took the boys swimming at Stony Brook State Park, where you swim in a carefully-controlled dammed river. The water there is usually quite cold. It was great. We went to a friend's farm, where the boys got to see horses, goats, bunnies and other things. We also went to the Corning Museum of Glass, which was very cool.

Visitors Expected

My mom, sister and two nephews are coming into town today. We're excited about showing them the sights. They'll be taking an overnight trip to Niagara Falls. It's cool and rainy now, but should be hot and summery by week's end. We want to take the boys swimming at Stony Brook State Park if it's warm enough (though the water will be freezing, no matter what!).

I'm trying to decide whether or not to go to Homecoming in Annapolis this year. It's the 20th anniversary of my graduation. which means extra fun at Homecoming. I do need to be back by Sunday morning, however, which limits my time to Friday night through Saturday afternoon. It might not be worth it.

Church has been going well. I'm starting a short-term Bible study on the Book of Jonah in September. Two seminary friends and I are working on a translation that I hope to have finished before I begin the study.

Lawn Care, Continued...

Well, I finally know how long it takes to mow my lawn in one go: about two hours. I got interrupted mid-mow a few weeks ago, and today was the first chance I've had to get back to it. It's been alternating between rain and sun all this time, so it was quite a lawn. There are places where it's mostly weeds, but it's all the same height right this moment.

My lawn mower (the one that comes with the parsonage) is not the mightiest cutter in the world, unlike my new weed whacker (q.v.). I have to nurse it along a bit. I think there a part or two missing. I downloaded all manner of manuals today for the mower and engine and am going to do a bit of preventative maintenance. I bet the air filter, for example, has never been changed. It feels good being handy.

For some reason, we have a single rhubarb plant in the backyard. It may be the last vestige on an old garden. I mowed over it today. Kristen's allergic to rhubarb and it looked pretty dodgy, anyway. I avoided mowing over two small toads in the yard. I didn't really stop for the countess crickets and the like. I draw the line at vertebrates. Well... I did pause for a few proper grasshoppers. One was pale green, another dark brown, and a third was a beautiful red-brown. I didn't mow them over.


We've got a good-sized crabapple tree in the back yard. When mowing over the fallen apples, it smells nice and apple-y. Mmmmmm...

Sad News: No Baby

It's been over a week since I last posted and it's been pretty crazy. We got the call Sunday night/Monday morning that our birth mother was in labor. She delivered a healthy baby boy at 4:45am on Monday. We packed up the cars and caravaned to Alexandria (an epic journey in itself).

On Tuesday morning, we went to the hospital to see the mother and meet the baby. When we got there, she told us that she had changed her mind and couldn't give us the baby. It seems that, after the baby was born, the birth father and the mother's family stepped up with promises of support. It was very disappointing. We knew it could happen, but thought things would go differently. Kristen was very upset by this, just another in a long chain of loss.

So, we came home to Arkport baby-less, wondering what to do next. We've gotten through the lion's share of the standard adoption paperwork, which means we won't have to do it again! That's a blessing. Still, we'd rather have the baby!

Busy Day

It's been a busy day. I had my annual interview with my District Superintendent in Olean. I was able to go early and have a yummy lunch at the Beef & Barrel with a pastor friend in the area. The meeting went well.

It's been alternating sun and rain for the past week, so things have been growing like mad. That means I needed to mow the lawn (well. the front lawn). My neighbors all have great lawns. We bought a line trimmer, which is essential, but I think we may need an edger, too. We'll see. I know it's not a competition, but my next-door neighbor has a sweet lawn. Ah well...

Kristen's been cleaning up and putting away the house in anticipation of a visit with our social worker tomorrow morning. The SW will look over the house and interview Kristen and me about parenting stuff. Adoption is kind of like doing your taxes, getting a mortgage, interviewing for a job and going on a blind date, all rolled up into one.