Around the House: Neighbors

Sesame Street has sung about them for years. Mister Rogers wanted you to be one of his. They're your neighbors, "the people that you meet each day." Before I  moved into our  little neighborhood, I didn't give much thought to them. Yes, I've always been friendly to everyone around me. But now that I know we are pretty rooted and established in our home, neighbors have taken on a new meaning. And our church reminds us quite often that our neighborhood is a mission in and of itself.

The more I get to know those on our block the more amazed I am at how diverse and unique we all are and how similar we are as well.  Here's a look at a few of our neighbors and their gardens.

To our right we have Ronnie, a pastor, and his wife and daughter. They are lovely people and Ronnie's amazing garden has inspired me to tinker around a bit with an herb garden of my own. He gave me some mint and thyme to get me started. Since, I have added basil, rosemary and cilantro. My boys absolutely love Ronnie. They climb up the fence to say hello and my youngest even cried once when I didn't take the time to stop and let him say "hi."

cilantro

mint (it is truly amazing and delicious in person)

tomatoes and basil

To our left we have Stan and his wife Maxine. Stan is 89 years old and has lived in our neighborhood since it was developed in the 50's. He and his wife travel all over the world. When Stan is home, you are sure to find him in his garden. I think Stan is more active than I am. When we first moved in, Stan was growing cucumbers, corn and tomatoes. This year his garden is full of amazing Texas wildflowers.

Across the street live the Martins. Alison and her husband moved to Texas from up north and have a heart for adoption. They have adopted a beautiful girl and amazing boy. Good for us too because their son is 7 years old and plays very well with our son. The love to play basketball together.

A couple of houses down from them is the Kruegers. Sarah used to be an art teacher (more to come on that later - she is super talented) and is now a stay-at-home mom to their son Cole. They'll be adding another boy to their family this summer! Jeff dabbles in home improvements and blows me away with his creations.  He made their deck in back and...WOW. It's amazing - when you're back there it's like being on vacation. They're pretty outdoors-y too, which comes in quite handy for us because we lose power in our neighborhood a lot and we can always count on them for hot coffee no matter what!  Thanks guys.

Down the street, towards the end of the block, lives Rod, a single Dad raising an amazing young girl who will hopefully become our go-to babysitter soon. And then there's Mike and Tricia and their son Nicholas. They moved here after they lost their home to hurricane Katrina. Their son plays a mean game of football (pretending to be Drew Brees) and they throw some awesome parties. Everyone has a story and each one is just as engaging as the next. I love getting to know them and serving them in any way that I can. But, more often than not, they end up serving me. It's humbling and beautiful. Do you know your neighbors? When was the last time you said more than, "hello"? Stop and take the time to chat... I think you will be delighted that you did. Happy Monday friends and neighbors. xo