In fact, if we could have found an affordable house with enough yard space, we would have moved there.

But 5 miles away works just fine!

I had to returned a very late book to the library… yes, yours truly was quite delinquent.

So, since it was a beautiful day, I decided i should take some time to make it a photo session too.

I walked around a bit, right around the library area.  Even in a few blocks’ radius, there was much to see! and photograph!  I needed tons more time, and maybe early morning or late afternoon light for even better lighting…

But it seemed that textures and architecture were calling my name.

even got a self portrait!

We went to NYC for a day of giving. 5 families, armed with 200 brown lunch bags.

We went to join Graffiti Church‘s efforts to feed the homeless and others with difficulties.

Did you know that we were able to feed someone by spending only $1.13.  That included getting paper goods and replenishing Graffiti’s coffee.

A nice, tuna salad sandwich on a kaiser roll, a snack-sized bag of  baby carrots and a yummy sweet and filling granola bar.  And a cup of coffee.

I am always amazed how little it takes, financially, that is.

The biggest sacrifice is the time and willingness to get it done.

Anyway, one of the blessings for me was to see 6 boys, from different walks of life, with different circumstances, having so much fun together.

So, my picture of the day are those boys, on 7th Street, being little boys!

Ralphie, Antonio, Isaiah, Willik, Phoenix and Zach

We all should have this much fun everyday!

The other pictures seemed to fit a theme… yellow.

Love those Lower East Side Gardens.

Wish I had a little Vespa like that!

And did you notice there was yellow up at the top picture too??

It sure does help with those dreary winter days in the city!

Thanks Steins, Frucks, Campbells and Orlandos for a fun and super-fly day!

right click on this picture, then click on "view picture" then use the + magnifier to look at each piece more closely.

I seem to enjoy a bit of torture, when it comes to coordinating projects for church. I take on a huge project which nearly kills me with the amount of time and effort it takes to get it done.
The last few weeks have been exactly that.
I was asked by the pastor last year, if at day camp this year, I would be willing to do art, instead of craft. I was thrilled with the request, even if part of his reason was to save money.
He talked of a mural, or something big….
Fast forward 6 months, when the planning for day camp started. After talking some to the children’s director, we came up with this idea of individual canvases joining, but having each child’s art, with one big drawing to connect them all…. And that’s what I did.
Unwrapping 350 canvases that were double wrapped was a lot of work, as was doing a number grid system on the back of all of them. I was blessed with many hands, which helped to lighten the work.
Another able-bodied carpenter made a plywood wall that would hold all of these canvases spanning 19+ feet across and 10 feet tall. But then there was the issue of how we would get these to stay on the wall.
We’d agreed on velcro, so my wonderful husband gave up many evening hours by standing on a ladder, and putting 190 feet of velcro to accommodate all the canvases and he made sure that the lines were straight. We also had many hands putting velcro dots on the back of the canvases.
When the wall was up against it’s “permanent” home, then I went to work putting all the blank canvases on the wall. I projected my original drawing and stood on a ladder for several more hours to draw the whole thing. Then 350 canvases had to come down off the wall, so that we could pack them all for the children.
All during this, my parents were kinda enough to keep my boys with them in NYC for the week, so I could do all this prep work.
The moment of truth came last week, when we then started to have the kids paint.
They painted in the black shapes/lines which I’d drawn for them. They were only given black acrylic. Many had never painted on a canvas.
The black dried overnight, and we then had color out for the children. They were artist, and could choose to paint their canvases any way they saw fit, except that they had to leave the black alone, and not leave any white on the canvas. They followed my instructions perfectly. But at this point, I still did not know how it all turned out, and how things would all line up.
Wednesday night, when everyone else was gone, we had about 6 or 7 people who came out to help me put the canvases up. Many hands again made this go quick and smooth, with a lot of good organizing by my sister Raquel, who came up from NYC for a couple days to help me, along with Diana, who is the kinda person I need to have on every large project from now on.
As we put the canvases up, it was amazing to get to see the “mural/mosaic” wall unfold. The pieces were all lining up. Even some colors lined up. The black lines were there, and they met up with the next canvas.
The children did not know what the “BIG PICTURE” would be, but I told them I was going to be surprised as well, with how it turned out. And I was.
I could not be more pleased with it. It was a joy and a pleasure, and all those hours of planning, prepping, worrying and prepping, and planning were worth it.
I hope the children do continue to think of themselves as artists, and I’m glad I had a part in helping them see that we are all part of something bigger, and God instilled creativity in all of us, because He is the greatest artist ever!!
Here are some pics of the mural. If you’re in PA and want to see the real thing, drop me a line, and I’ll take you to it. It’s much better seeing it in person. But make it quick, because I don’t know how long it will be on display.

Oh, yeah! When this was over, we also made sketchbooks and had drawing lessons on shadow and light, and drawing a friend!
It was a great artistic week for 300+ children! And I loved every minute of it!!

(click it to see it large)

Here is a chance for you all to see it too.  Let me know what you like, and if there’s any last things I can improve on.

You can also see the scale of this thing with me standing there.

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

Now, I think I have had all the help from other volunteers I can, and I have to do the rest on my own.

The buildings need to be one unit, and I need to do all the details myself.    I won’t be able to get anyone to do it like I do it, or to do what I want, cause it’s just too hard to explain.

Also, I think tomorrow afternoon, the mural will be going back up on the wall, which will make it a bit more challenging to paint, but it will be okay.

Here are 2 more pictures of the progress:

We were in New York for the weekend, and while there, I took the opportunity to sketch and add to my 30 places project.

Graffiti is, hands down, one of my favorite places, and it’s always wonderful to be there, but it makes me miss it more when we leave.

It worked out really good to have that kid in the front row, cause it helped give the stage some perspective.

Wish I could do more drawings there.

After all, there will never be a church that meets our needs like Graffiti. It’s the church where I gave almost 2 years of my life to, as a semester missionary, being a youth director, and even the children’s director for a time.

Because of being on staff there, a variety of things led me to meet my husband.

We were married by Taylor, the pastor of Graffiti.  We dedicated both our boys to the Lord, there.

We’ve given countless hours to serve God thru the church in one way or another, and they’ve become family to us.  It’s beyond words, and yet I could go on and on….

So, how do we even begin to find a church that can be all the things that Graffiti is to us, and meet the needs of the whole family?  We can’t.

And frankly, I didn’t think we’d find anything for months.  I know that part of me just doesn’t want to like any church, because it almost feels like it’d be a betrayal to Grafiiti. Well, believe it or not, I think we’ve found a church already.  And it’s very different than Graffiti.

It’s a pretty BIG church, with upwards of 600 people gathering on a Sunday morning, over the course of 3 services.  It’s got an orchestra and a choir.  It’s got several buildings, with a gym, and a whole wing for kids with murals, Not to mention, plenty of parking for all those cars. You’re probably wondering, like I did, how we could even meet anyone?!  Yeah, I would have thought that same thing, except from the first visit, we were greeted warmly by people as we made our way around the different buildings, and we were told where to go, when we looked lost.  There was as place for our children, each in their own grade levels, which was welcoming, and well-stocked, and filled with many adults to take care of and love the children. During the service, from the very first song, I felt overwhelmed by God’s presence in this place, even as tears rolled down my face, knowing this wasn’t Graffiti; I wasn’t serving and leading in any way, and I didn’t know any of these people.  The power and reality of true praise could not be denied. The weeks to follow, had us visiting other churches, and even making a trip back to NYC to help my parents church with the “Brazilian Day” outreach. A month had gone by, and I really did not know anyone.  The kids were going to school and making firends, Fabio was adjusting at work, and I was at home, alone.  Not fun for an extrovert.

Another thing that stuck out to us about this church was it’s many ministries.  For one, they sponsored Missionaries all over.  Ones in Brazil and Papua New Guinea, to name 2 we heard specifically about.  Then there was the new church they started in a nearby town, the Pennridge mom’s prayer group(which is where the boys go to school), the kids club, the afterschool evengelism club…the list goes on.

So, it’s not an urban church.  There’s not a ministry to the homeless.  They don’t seem to have a food pantry or give lunch out in the park, but they are meeting the needs of the community where they are at.  Which by the way, is surrounded by farms, mostly.

Anyway, the boys are loving the church.  We’ve been dropping them off to the wednesday night program(which has been receiving more than 140 kids) and they are loving it!  We’re enjoying getting to know people, especially me.  I’m part of a group called Moms to moms, which meets every other thursday, and we’re trying to figure out ways we can serve here.

There’s lots of Brazilian people here, and that’s a nice bonus too.

It’s not Graffiti, and it won’t be, but First Baptist Church of Perkasie has found a place in our hearts, and I think soon we will become members and start serving somehow.

Pray for us as we figure out how and where we can fit in to serve.

There are also some other famous couples , such as Romeo and Juliet, Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, who all are interesting and great in their own way, but here’s the real question: What couple offers to walk with your kids on the beach, while you ride a roller coaster…

Not too many people make you that kinda offer. The only couple I know, willing to do such a thing, who are not grandparents, are none other than the awesome Taylor and Susan Field.

Yes, they stayed with both my 2 boys, as well as Lisa’s boy, while we took a few minutes to ride what will probably be only a memory soon- the Cyclone in Coney Island. Keep in mind, this was the end of the day, everyone was a bit tired. Yet they offered to do this, so us 2 moms could have a little fun…

When we came back, Taylor was about to get them out to dip their toes in the water.

What was the last time your pastor offered to “babysit” your kid, so you can go ride a rollercoaster? This is just one of the many reasons why leaving Graffiti in particular, will be so difficult for me.

This is the wonder of Susan and Taylor, and they really have become much more than just my pastor. I am honored and proud to call them friends.

Driving is not an option, because finding parking elsewhere is unlikely, and I can’t sit in the car and tell the boys to go do something. Going out to eat is the most logical thing, since it is lunch time, but eating out alone with the 2 boys can be more trying than anyone bargained for. Walking to the park is a decent possibility, but often times, like yesterday, it had been raining, so that was also out of the picture.

I opted, instead, for a walk to the farmers’ market. That would provide some running time for the boys, along the park, and it would help us spend some time, and get some munchies, since we would be going for a late lunch at my mom’s, for a belated special birthday lunch.

After buying a couple things, one of the sellers asked Phoenix why he still had not drank his chocolate milk.  I replied that we were heading back to church, and we would then enjoy our munchies there.  Once I mentioned the church, the seller “next door” asked me more about the church, as the boys and I sampled her jams.  We enjoyed them as I told her about Graffiti and where it was located, and what some of our ministries were.  I was glad for the chance to invite her.

After Fabio was done with his meeting, we got in the car and started driving, when I remembered the  I designed for Graffiti most recently, and asked Fabio to turn around and return to the farmer’s market.  I quickly shuffled thru my backpack and found a new, clean, neat postcard and ran out of the car to hand it to Cynthia.  She was glad to have it, told me that back in the day her son has “lost his way” as well, and had possibly served, or been served there.  I was glad to have a chance to invite her, when it wasn’t planned, and it felt great to hand her something that looked nice, professional and inviting.  I also bought her garlic jelly.  It’s yummy.

I hope she’ll visit Graffiti soon.