Mother's Day

We had a good Mother's Day. Really good, if I may say so.

We've been here just over a week now. We didn't get to church last
Sunday, so today we tried our first congregation (we don't plan on
checking out more than 2 or 3). So this morning we went to Sanctuary
Covenant Church. It was good. We sang in English, Spanish as well as
some African language. We were maybe in the minority as white people.
But it was very nicely blended--we see segregation even in racially
mixed congregations; but here it was everyone sitting together. And
Pastor Efrem Smith spoke to us where we were at: in breaking the
curses in families that started in Genesis 3, and becoming a part of
a family that follows God (no matter what your "family is like; we're
all invited into the family of God). The boys enjoyed it too.

Then we went to Como Park Zoo in St. Paul. And apparently, so did
everyone else. It took us a while to find a place to park--which
ended up being a street outside the park. We picnicked in the back of
our car, instead of lugging everything several blocks to already-full
picnic tables. It was in the upper 50s with a cool breeze. Anders had
helped me make some of the food for the picnic.

The Como Park Zoo is free. It's not as big as most zoos, but it was a
good time. The boys really enjoyed it. Nils picked up a new word
today: zee-bah (zebra). Though he called the giraffes "zee-bah" as
well as the zebras. And even though the zoo is free, Beth got a pass
for it from the library (they have free passes for a number of
museums). It gained us 5 tickets in the "amusement park" connected to
the zoo. So Beth got to take Nils and Anders on the little train ride
and Anders got to "drive a car."

And we came home wiped out (we forgot the stroller--which was
actually good with all the traffic in the buildings; but Anders
walked the whole time and we carried Nils off and on). So I popped
some popcorn and the boys cuddled up with Beth on the couch while
watching Curious George.

We may not have any money to do anything big and fancy for Beth right
now, but we had good time together as a family. And that's what's
important. Really, what else do you need to honor a wonderful mother
like Beth, than to have a good day together as a family.

And thank you Mom, for raising me in a good family. And thank you
Bonnie, for raising a wonderful daughter.