Lakeside Doings:

So here we are in a new neighborhood with somewhat of a fresh start. Right away our kids became friends with the other kids on the street (20 of them ages 1-18.) Our street is a short dead end road that runs right into the lake. There are about 20 houses and each is uniquely different from the next, just like the families that live in those houses.

Right away we wanted to get to know our neighbors and decided to invite them all over to our house for a Barbeque. Not all of the neighbors were able to come, but many of them did and met each other for the first time (even though they had been living here for many years.)  

Over the last few months we have also had a baptism at the lake, a block party, and a couple of movie nights for the kids at our house. In October on Halloween night we put two crockpots of Chili out on our front step and gave Chili and Hot Chocolate (along with candy) to everyone that came to our door. We have so enjoyed getting out in the neighborhood and getting to know (really know) our neighbors.

One family in particular invited us into the world of BMX racing this past summer. We went to the race track with them and got the chance to see our own kids race and win trophies. Last November we took a vacation to Florida to see our family for Thanksgiving. While we were there we got a message from this family that they too were in the same town as us and wanted to meet up on the beach. All of the kids were so excited to be able to see each other so many miles away from our own lakefront beach at home.

We have so enjoyed getting involved in the lives of our neighbors and letting them get to know us. At Christmas time an opportunity came about to be able to help a family in the community. A single mom of seven kids. We pulled together with several friends to offer what we could for this family. In a driveway talk with a neighbor of ours we shared the needs of this mom. Our neighbor jumped at the opportunity to help and was able to be with us when we delivered gifts and food to the mom and her kids.

These are the kinds of things that are happening lakeside. We are so excited to watch whatever it is that God wants to do here and how we can be a part of it.