Last night's family sleepover went well. The children who got up early crept quietly into the prayer room to read and play, while the rest of us slept in. It was a good thing the prayer room opens out into the yard so the two younger ones could start their day outside when they started squabbling.
This came in the mail for our little lady while we were outside. A Christmas gift from one of her uncles. She was very pleased!
Our big boy helping his sister find her feet on her new skates.
We don't have a front gate. One of the things that comes with our lack of a gate is that everyone feels welcome, for better or worse. We've had people mistake our front yard for a public park (once it was a man running from the police who dashed into our yard looking for an escape route), perhaps also because of the large playground on it. It's a gathering space for the children on the lane and we spend hours outside with our friends there.
I've long struggled with establishing boundaries with others, and it gets interesting when my home too, seems to have a problem of blurred boundaries. It falls to me to step up and set the boundaries needed.
By nature, I'm very much inclined to simply welcome everyone in and take care of them. This is all good, but to a point. I've long-struggled to understand what Jesus meant when He said, and I loosely quote, "insofar as you've done this to the least of my brothers, you've done this to me".
The lesson I've learned from falling and failing so often is this: YES, welcome the lost and lonely, feed everyone. But my most important call is to my children and husband. That sometimes means saying "no" to others, so that I can say the greater "Yes" to my family and their needs.
We sometimes have children come by and linger, maybe hoping for attention they don't get at home. One of the visiting boys ran up the lane this afternoon and gave me a big hug when he saw me. We chatted for awhile and he showed me his Christmas gifts. I know he was hoping for more time and attention, but I couldn't. It was hard but for various reasons, I needed to make peace with the simple chat, giving him some snacks and allowing him the freedom to hang out on the playground until it got dark.
It's still hard. I'm still learning that I can't be all things to all people.
While all this was happening, the children were in the backyard cooking themselves some sausages and roasting marshmallows.
The older ones got the fire going and cooked the sausages so the littlies would have something to eat when they got out of the pool.
Of course, it was so hot outside from the fire and summer sun that they jumped back into the pool from whence they came and stayed there for another hour or so.
Even the husband got in a bit of time outside, playing catch with our new neighbour.
I'm grateful for all the friends and people on the lane who feel welcomed enough to spend time with us, even if I can't always give them what they want for. We may not have a front gate, but perhaps the husband and I are meant to be the figurative gatekeepers to our home.
Tonight, the children were highly amused, entertained and comforted (?) to end their evening watching a yule log fireplace on Netflix. One hour long with instrumental Christmas carols playing, it was interesting, to say the least. We watched ten minutes and it was bedtime for them.
