God's Country and a Birthday!

When, oh when, will Spring ever arrive?? Technically it comes on March 20, a Friday this year. And am I ever ready for it! Daffodils and violets, among others, are popping up everywhere. My son's 10th birthday is on St. Patty's Day, which is why I can remember when Spring is supposed to arrive 3 days later. For the past 4 years, we have made his birthday a community event, inviting his school mates, (all 14 of them this year, because we give invitations to every kid), teachers, school staff, and church friends this year; that's not including the various, sundry people we invite on a whim.

We rent the local hall, Scott Bar Community Hall, for the event. This building has been around for around a 140 years or so (I'll have to check the date on it next Wed), and is used for all kinds of community events-Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners are held here, for and by the community, Bingo, Bible Study, ballet lessons and recitals; the list can go on and on, but needless to say, a lot of activities go on here. It's our piece of living history. It was one of the local schools until the 50's or 60's, which means it was in operation for 100 years as such, and has the school bell still attached and working. There are several pictures on the walls that show its history.

This year is going to be extra special-after all, how many times does a kid reach a decade?, as he so proudly points out! Recently we received a notice to terminate tenancy (a kick out notice), and it has been pretty wonderful to see our community helping us out by looking for a new home for us. We have lived here for only 5 years, but it became home to us very quickly; we didn't realize how deep our roots had become entrenched in this area until we got that notice. So, this year, we are inviting many more people than usual, because we have so many good friends and neighbors that we want to include. We are deeply grateful for the support that has been shown to us in the past 2 weeks, praise the Lord. This is certainly God's country.