Thankful Thursday

Last year after Christmas John was in Hobby Lobby and picked up this adorable "Frosty" for John David for just $20, which was 80% off of the original price. I just love a good bargain! John has a great knack for picking out things that John David absolutely loves. John David had so much fun with it that we have kept it out all year. He gets such a thrill out of tackling "Prosty" as he calls it, and giving him hugs, that I'm glad we didn't banish it to the basement with all the other Christmas decorations. Today I'm very thankful for such a sweet, thoughtful husband who loves our little boy so much. (I feel the need to explain why John was in Hobby Lobby...he goes to lunch with the guys from work nearly everyday. Since they all ride together, John often finds himself "along for the ride" at different stores and errands. I think the mission that particular day at Hobby Lobby was to purchase Christmas trees that the Regional Vice President's wife had requested. They were a good deal too at 80% off...and we now also own one of those!)

Today I'm thankful that my garden is producing fruit! This is the first cucumber that we picked and there are currently 3 more that should be ready to be picked in about a week. It was a little small (short and fat) but it was deliciously crisp and tasty. I also have 7 green bell peppers that will be ready soon if I can find a way to keep the bugs from eating them. And there is a little bud of an eggplant that is just too cute!

We had a fun 4th of July. John David rode his big wheel in a little parade in our neighborhood that morning and then we went to my mom and dad's house for barbeque and some fun in the hot tub. After that we went to church and heard a very inspiring speaker, Dr. Gene Winfrey. He is 85 years old and has led such an interesting life. It is always a blessing to hear one of his messages. After church we went to SONIC for a corn dog and a grape creamsicle with our good friends, Jason, Karla and Jacob. Today I am thankful for our freedom, our family, our church, freedom to worship the one true God, and for our friends. We have so much to be thankful for!

On a very serious note, I am thankful that my friend Meredith survived a horrific automobile accident recently. I thank God that He spared the life of Meredith and her two young sons, Cole and Nolan. Meredith and Nolan are the ones on the left in the picture above.

My 15 Seconds

Okay, maybe it's a bit drastic to call this my 15 seconds, but...a few weeks ago while playing on the internet during John David's nap, I stumbled across an amateur photo contest...and entered it. Last Friday I received a letter saying that my contest entry has been advanced to semi-finalist! The final competition is this summer and I now have "an excellent chance of winning one of over 114 cash or gift prizes". But wait, there's more...they wish to publish my photograph in a coffee-table quality hardbound book! Of course they offered me the chance to buy one of these books at a reduced pre-production rate and that's where I think the hoax might be. But they promise that there is no obligation whatsoever and all I have to do is to send in the "Artist Proof" stating that the photo was my orginal piece of work. I'm mailing that today and we'll see what happens!

The picture was taken back in November of last year at a baby shower I gave for my friend, Lisa. Gerbera daisies are one of my favorite flowers and I loved the contrast of the creamy gerbera with the vivid purple snapdragon. So I snapped the photo and was happy with the way the picture turned out. I used it for wallpaper on my computer screen for a while and then I used it for a "Grateful Friday" post I did recently. On a whim I decided to enter it in the contest.

The whole thing may be a ploy to try to get my money, but who wouldn't love to hear that "We feel you have a special talent and look forwad to the publication of your photograph."? I'll let you know if it actually shows up in the book as they promised.

Happy Birthday Gramma Karen!

Karen's birthday was actually last Friday and I've been trying since then to get this post up. As you can tell, I haven't had much time to blog lately. Between play dates, weddings, VBS and tennis matches, we haven't had much down time. No complaints here, just an explanation for the lack of updates! We enjoyed seeing Karen on Friday and John David was happy to get to blow out birthday candles. Of course he was pretty excited too about getting to share a piece of birthday cake with Gramma!

Gas Prices

The following is not my original idea or writing but I think it offers a good perspective on things. The picture of John David has nothing to do with gas prices but I thought it was cute! I think he was pursing his lips to say phone, which he pronounces "pone".

"Gas Prices"


Do you think a gallon of gas is expensive?

Just put things a bit in perspective.

Lipton Ice Tea 16 oz $1.19 .$9. 52 per gallon
Ocean Spray 16 oz $1.25 $10.00 per gallon
Gatorade 20 oz $1.59 ..... $10.17 per gallon
Diet Snapple 16 oz $1.29 ....... $10.32 per gallon
Whiteout 7 oz $1.39 ....... . $25.42 per gallon
Brake Fluid 12 oz $3.15 . $33.60 per gallon
Scope 1.5 oz $0.99 .......$84.48 per gallon
Pepto Bismol 4 oz $3.85 ... $123.20 per gallon
Vick's Nyquil 6 oz $8.35 .... $178.13 per gallon
And this is the REAL KICKER...

Cigarettes 4.59 a pack.....137.70 per a month (a pack a day)

Evian water 9 oz $1.49....... .$21.19 per gallon?! $21.19 for WATER!

So, the next time you're at the pump, be glad your car doesn't run on water, Scope, or Whiteout, or heaven forbid Pepto Bismal or Nyquil!


Again, another picture of John David that doesn't have to do with gas prices...it's a picture of my little artist.

Grateful Friday

Today I'm grateful for:

- baby birds outside our back door

- the fact that we are showing the condo to a potential buyer tomorrow morning

- a short work week for John and the extra time we had to spend together because of it

- finding the website "Mothering From the Heart"

- being able to spend so much time with John David everyday

- having family nearby and being able to see them often

- the prospect of fresh vegetables in my own backyard - my new plants aren't dead yet - yippee!

- watermelon

- gerbera daises

What We've Been Up To

For the past two days I have been mesmerized by three little birds that hatched in a nest just outside of our screened porch door. The mama bird built her nest in the wisteria vines growing on an arched trellis outside our back door. I have a direct view of the nest from our grilling porch and today John got the ladder out for me to stand on to get a perfect view of the new birds. The mama bird built the nest really well and I can barely see over the edge of the nest, even on the ladder. But the baby birds have been poking their little heads up and holding their beaks open for food so I've gotten great glimpses of the new life just outside our door. And I tried to capture it on film, but as you will see in the second picutre, I had my camera on the wrong setting and the leaves are in focus but the baby bird is fuzzy. But if you look closely enough you'll see the orange ("urnge" as John David says with much determination) beak, grey fuzzy head and a big eye. In the first picture you can probably pick out the orange beak.


In addition to becoming a bird watcher, I'm trying my hand at a little gardening. This past weekend John and I planted 2 tomato plants, 2 pepper plants, an eggplant plant and a cucumber plant. My goal is to one day have a huge garden from which I cook supper every night but first I have to see if I have what it takes to make these few plants grow and thrive and produce fruit...or in this case, vegetables.


I can't believe that even in the middle of a drought our grass needs to be cut every week. John does such a great job keeping up our yard. Like so many little boys I've known, John David loves to "cut" the grass with his daddy.


First Day of "School", August 16, 2006


Last Day of "School", May 22, 2007

Last Tuesday was John David's last day of Mother's Morning Out. They had a little party with an indoor bounce thingy that was just perfect for their age/size. One of his teachers made a scrap book of his experiences at school and it is precious. It's amazing to see how much he has grown over this school year. I didn't get a good picture of him at the party but I'll post a picture anyway.



We spent Mother's Day day at John's Mom's house and his brother and his family was there. My Mom and Dad were at the beach so we didn't get to see them on Mother's Day. John David loves holding his new baby cousin, Kara Lynn, and squeezes her even tighter when she is screaming. I think it's his way of trying to comfort her. And you'll be happy to know that I didn't let him squeeze her too tightly nor did we allow her to stay in her terrified state for too long...just long enough to snap some photos. You will see that Kara Lynn is much more at ease in the arms of her big brothers, Michael and Malachi. This last picture is of John and his Mom. I thought it came out great!


So now we are just enjoying more time outside, longer days and time together. I'll try to update more frequently so that the updates aren't as long.

Grateful Friday

John David started acting uncharacteristically cranky on Tuesday afternoon and then started running a high fever on Wednesday. Because his temp was so high and he didn't have many symptoms as far as I could tell, I took him to the doctor. He has what she diagnosed as "acute tonsillitis". In other words, a really bad sore throat!Poor guy...he has been drooling all week to avoid swallowing. A sweet surprise from John came at just the right time. For the past three weeks or so, John David has been enamored with a British cartoon called "Peppa the Pig". At first I didn't like it because of the way they treated Daddy Pig in a few of the episodes, but now I can see the lessons they teach and I don't mind so much that John David is in love with the cartoon. John went online and ordered a "Peppa Pillow" and a "Peppa Puzzle". both of which arrived on Thursday, the day that John David felt the worst. The first picture is the way he looked for most of the week. The second picture is a half smile I was able to prod out of him in the midst of his misery.
I decided since it's Mother's Day Weekend I would post a "Grateful Friday" post. I tried to do them for a while since I think it's great to make yourself think about and "write down" things you are grateful for. So many of us take so much for granted. But I started finding that I felt too much pressure to come up with a new list every Friday that I could make public. I know, I know, I take most everything too seriously! At any rate...I'll give it a go today. (You may remember from previous posts that Grateful Friday isn't my original idea - Heather does it on her blog (Five Sweet Peas-link to the left) and it gave me the idea to try it on mine.)

Today I'm grateful for:

- a girls' day out tomorrow with 3 good friends - we are going to laze our way through the Scott Antique Market, go for massages and then have a nice dinner
- John being willing to hang out with John David while I go on my girls' day out
- a sweet card and money from my parents to get a massage on my girls day out
- Tennis and my tennis buds
- John David's fever breaking this morning
- Decaf Community Brand Coffee and being able to buy it at Publix
- The love of Jesus and a reminder to listen to His voice which is truth (that's a whole 'nother post!)
- being able to watch Oprah, or parts of her show, almost any day I want
- being able to stay home with John David
- going to a wedding last weekend that took place in the same church where John and I were married - it was a sweet ceremony and made me remember how blessed I am to have John as my husband
- new perspectives on old friendships and advice that my dad gave me this week
- our family
- Being married to John
- the great daddy that John is to John David

Cotton Candy

Last Sunday John David got his first taste of cotton candy and has talked about it all week! My brother held a "Family Day" for his sales agents and invited us to join him. The event was actually a reward for a contest he held and so he really wanted to make the people feel rewarded. I think he did a great job! It was a carnival theme with moon walks/inflatable slides, sand art and spin art stations, clowns painting faces - and not just your typical daisy on the cheek kind of face painting, these were works of art! There were hula hoop contests and even a clown walking around on stilts. No carnival would be complete without popcorn and cotton candy, hence John David's first indulgence. To top it all off, there was a cash machine for the top 9 producers, each having a chance at $5,000. It was one of those booth thingies that blows the money around and you have to grab it and stuff it...it was fun to watch but not as much fun as it would've been to be in the booth! The whole day was a kid's dream, - all of it was free! David (my bro) is one of the top guys in his company and I was so proud of him that day. It's nice to think that he is creating a positive, rewarding work environment for so many people.

Meeting Anna and Baking Cookies

I met my good friend, Christa, in 1996 while working at Friendship Force International, a cultural exchange program for adults. Christa was a volunteer Club President for The Friendship Force of Norderstedt, Germany at the time and eventually became a Board Member. Over the years, we built a unique friendship that I cherish very much. She made the trip to Atlanta for our wedding in 2004 and I was so honored and proud that she was there. Part of the uniqueness of our friendship is the difference in our ages. I won't divulge her age or mine, but there are 40 years between us. I appreciate the wisdom and perspective she brings to our friendship...and she is quite fun to be around!

For our wedding she gave us the most beautfiul silver salt shaker and promised the matching pepper shaker when we had our first child. Yesterday I met her neice, who happened to be in Atlanta visiting her boyfriend who is a guest of CNN for 3 weeks. Anna served as "courier" for my gift and it was a pure delight to meet her. Over the years I have heard so much about Anna from Christa and I've even been to Anna's parents' house in Kiel, Germany. It was really nice to put a face with a name. We met at the mall for lunch and she took right to John David and he to her. They were big buds for our entire visit and he protested leaving the mall until he found out that Anna was going in our car with us. I gave her a lift to the Martin Luther King Memorial Center so that she could continue her touristic visit of Atlanta and John David fell asleep in the car before she could tell him good-bye. He woke up when we pulled into our drive way at home and immediately checked the front seat for Anna. When he realized she wasn't there or anywhere to be found, his little heart was broken. He cried big tears for her. It was so sweet but really sad too!

The outpour of emotion lasted for a little while until I got him interested in baking cookies with me. "Co-kers" as John David called them, a mixture of the words crackers and cookies. So here are some pictures from our first ever baking adventure.



I think he enjoyed eating the decorations the most. I went to take the other pan of cookies out of the oven and came back to catch him doing this:

Fun for Today

I got an e-mail from a friend of mine that was cute and wanted to share it with you via this blog rather than forwarded e-mail. It will only take a minute to do this and it is cute:

1. go to www.google.com
2. click on "Maps"
3. click "Get Directions"
4. type in "New York" in the first box (the "from" box)
5. type "London" in the second box (the "to" box)
6. press on "get directions" button
7. scroll down to step #23

Enjoy!

In His Grip

Dada was one of John David's first words and he has used it abundantly for a really long time. He only said Mommy about 2 months ago but went straight from not calling me anything (other than with grunts and gestures) to calling me Mommy, never really using "Mama" as a stepping stone. But for some reason, he has stuck to "Dada" when referring to John...until this past weekend. At first it came out something like "Da-ee", skipping the "d" in the middle. But very shortly thereafter, he abondoned the term "Dada" and came out with the word "Dad-key" when referring to John. It's the cutest and funniest thing!

When I was pregnant with John David and first found out that he was a boy I was so surprised. I just knew it was going to be a girl! There wasn't a sense of disappointment or anything negative, just shock that it was a boy and not a girl. From the time I found out that girls could be mommies I've wanted to be one. And I think it was about that time that I started imagining me with my little girl, someday, in the far off future. (I had no idea back then just how far off mommyhood would be for me! But God is faithful and works everything out on his time and not on ours.) So after I got over the shock that we were having a boy, I started to realize the awesome responsibility given to John and me - we would be raising a man. That concept brings me daily to the feet of Jesus, asking for guidance, wisdom and discernment for John and me as we learn the ropes of parenthood.

The first few weeks of John David's life are sometimes a blur to me. The lack of sleep and exhaustion of nursing a very hungry but lazy newborn often got the best of me. However, there is one memory I have that is clear as a bell. I was nursing John David and praying for him as I stroked his tiny hands and feet. I was overcome with emotion as I realized that one day, his feet would take him places, perhaps far away places, and his hands would do work, hopefully noble work. The Lord was beginning to reveal to me one of my first realizations about parenthood. This child is not my child, but the Lord's. He has given him to John and me to enjoy and to love and to teach and even to learn from, but he is a gift from God and here for the Lord's purpose, whatever that purpose may be. I pray that John David's identity will be grounded in a relationship with Jesus and that John and I will learn to hold on to John David tightly, but not too tightly. And I pray that we will practice what we plan to teach him, to rest in the fact that we are living in the grip of God's amazing grace.

Aiden's Birthday Party

My nephew, Aiden, turned a year old the day John and I got married. We celebrated his birthday at our wedding reception with cake and song, prefaced by a short speech from my dad all about "firsts". We weren't really sure where he was going with the speech...first dance as a married couple, first kiss as a married couple...until the hotel staff brought out the high-chair and the birthday cake and we saw the connections - Aiden's first birthday. What a relief! This year Aiden celebrated his birthday at an indoor jump place and John David was in on the fun.

Uncle David took John David down the big slide!

Three Years

Three years ago today I married the man of my dreams, John. (Our anniversary is March 13th, but since it's after midnight, this post will probably have the date of the 14th on it). He is one of the sweetest, most thoughtful and caring people I know. I have learned so much from him and admire so many qualities I see in him.

There were so many years I longed to be married and so many years I felt like God had forgotten about me or wasn't concerned with the desires of my heart. There was even a span of time in which I was so convinced of that, I took matters into my own hands. I started dating someone who was great "on paper" and I just knew God would approve. In fact, why hadn't God already thought of this and let things happen with this person sooner? But pretty soon into the relationship I realized that although his qualities looked good when I listed them on a piece of paper, there was not a real connection between us. And actually, there were some things about him that weren't as they had seemed...but I was tired of being alone and hey, being with SOMEone was better than being with NOone, so I stuck with it much longer than I knew was best. The Lord tried several times to tell me that this guy wasn't the one and that I should be moving on...but I resisted and stuck with it, trying like everything to make the relationship work. Then all of a sudden, it clicked. It was never going to work. And then something else clicked. I didn't really need someone as badly as I thought I did. I'm not sure how I stumbled upon these verses, but they had a big impact on they way I started to look at my life and my singleness specifically. In the New International Version of the Bible, Matthew 7:9-11 reads:

9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

So many times during my struggle with being a single adult I thought I was being handed a stone when I had asked for bread. I had asked God so many times to make a relationship work and was disappointed so many times when it didn't work out. But now I can see how many loaves of bread God actually handed me - all those times the relationships didn't work out were just preparing me and saving me for the one God had intended for me all along. He really was being faithful to me and caring for me and the desires of my heart all along.

Here's a little story for you: One day, a little boy was playing outside with his friends when the smell of freshly baked cupcakes wafted his way. He ran inside and grabbed one off of the cooling rack. "Wait!!" His mother begged. "I haven't put the icing on them yet! Hand it back to me and I will put the icing on it, making it even more delicious." The little boy obeyed his mother, handed the cupcake back to her and waited eagerly but patiently as his mother put the finishing touches on it.

Once those things I mentioned before "clicked" and I surrendered my singleness back to God, I wrote the word CUPCAKES in big letters on a small piece of paper and kept it in my Bible. It was my little reminder that God was looking out for me and the desires of my heart - all I had to do was trust Him and give back to him what I was holding on to so tightly. I never realized God's faithfulness could be so good. These past three years with John have proven to be more wonderful than I could have ever imagined marriage could be.

17 months Old

This picture was taken on February 3rd, the day John David turned 17 months old. I just never got around to posting it, so I thought I'd play catch-up now and do it. If you look closely, you'll see that his nose is scuffed-up. It's his first (of many, I'm sure!) scuffed-up nose and he got it at Mother's Morning Out. Thankfully, it has healed nicely and you can't really even tell it was ever scratched. The train is the one he got for Christmas and the monkey in the caboose is his favorite passenger.

18 Months Old

Last Saturday, March 3rd, John David turned 18 months old. It's hard to believe how quickly the time has passed. The memory of bringing him home from the hospital is still so fresh that it really seems like just yesterday. His cousin, Kara Lynn, was born in the same hospital as John David and I even recognized some of the nurses and the picture lady when we were there for her birth last week. But he is definitely growing into a little boy now! He is so expressive and so much fun. He is still just as friendly as he's always been but he is starting to exhibit a bit of seperation anxiety that I've heard surfaces around 18 months. He still just keeps us smiling. He can say about 20 words and he signs about 3-5 words. He loves his sign language videos and he does great using the signs that he knows - I just wish I had started earlier with him. He doesn't walk anymore - he runs everywhere! And he loves to tinker with anything that has parts or buckles or snaps. His "Spud Buds" (friends of Mr. Potato Head) keep him busy for hours sometimes! He's such a joy and we feel so blessed to have him in our lives! In the pictures above, he is modeling his bath robe, which he loves to wear around the house, and his new serious face, which he also wears quite often these days.

The Newest Lindsey

It's a girl!!!! No, John and I are not expecting. Our NEICE was born on Tuesday! Kara Lynn Lindsey was born to Susan and Travis on Tuesday, February 27, 2007 at 12:39 p.m. She weighed 11 pounds...yes, you read that right! She is 11 pounds even and she is 22 inches long. She is beautiful and already very alert. Michael and Malachi are already in love with their new baby sister. Susan and Travis opted to not find out the sex of the baby until the birth, so it was quite an exciting time when Travis and the baby came through the hospital room door and he announced it was a girl. (Susan was still in the OR). Mommy and baby are doing just great. Aunt Allison is so very happy not only to have a new baby neice to spoil, but there is hope for me to have a girl some day...the Lindsey boys do make girls!



Malachi, John David and Michael, playing at our house the day before Kara was born.

Catching Up

We hosted a small Super Bowl get-together this year and had some friends from church over after the evening church service. Our friend, Kristi, made this very clever cake and brought it to share with us. Isn't it just too cute?!? It was quite tasty too!

Christmas Continues in January

Since the holidays get so busy, Kimberly, Meredith and I decided that this year we would get together in January, long after the hustle and bustle of Christmas was gone. So the weekend of January 26 - 28 was our time to visit and exchange Christmas presents with one another. We had fun hanging out together with our babes - Meredith and baby Nolan (12 weeks old at the time), Kimberly and Harrison (9 months old) and me with John David (16 months old). We took them to Walmart to have their pictures made together and they turned out really cute. I'll try to scan and post one of the pictures soon. Cole is missing from our pictures. He's Meredith's 4 year old who stayed at home with daddy for the weekend. John David was facinated with the "babies" and said the word for the first time Thursday night before their arrival. He is still asking about them, now 4 weeks after they were here. I guess they made quite an impression on him! We all hope that our boys grow up to know each other so I'm sure we'll have many more weekend visits with them. In addition to the "professional" pictures we had made (I have to laugh since we had them made at Walmart and it was hardly a professional experience!), we took several other snapshots that I'll share two here.

Sumo Baby Nolan weighing in at 16 pounds at his 12 week Dr.'s visit! Such a sweet and happy baby!

The Swimmy Heads - John David and Harrison had fun posing in their swim diaper hats! They will probably hate us for this one in a couple of years!

It was a fun weekend and great to be with my two dear friends!

Happy Valentine's Day!

John David and I made valentine cards for his little friends at school (Mother's Morning Out) and he was so proud of them! Just like all of the other holidays, he has loved learning about Valentine's Day. He squeals with delight every time he looks at the valentines he received from his friends and grandparents. And we must've read "Biscuit's Valentine's Day" a hundred times. It's a book he received last year from Nana (John's step-mom, Jackie) and while he enjoyed turning the pages last year when I read it to him, he has loved it this year, being able to ask what everything is on the pages and pointing out the cat, the dog, the girl's hat, her coat, etc. He is such an observant little boy.

John was at home last night with John David while I went to my "Ladies' Night Out" group. I left the art supplies John David and I had used for his Valentines on the table and when I woke up this morning, John suprised me with the cutest little hand-made valentine card that he had made for me. It was precious and I was really impressed with his creativity. Earlier this afternoon I was working on this post and the doorbell rang...it was the UPS man with a package for me. It was a PajamaGram from John! I just love the idea and it came in the cutest package.



I'm really not a huge fan of Valentine's Day because of all the commercial hype and social pressure put on people, making them feel out of place if they don't have someone with whom they can spend Valentine's Day. We should be telling people we care about how much we love/care for them every other day of the year and not just on a day that has been determined by someone else as THE day to do that. If you don't have a honey to share Valentine's Day with then I hope you celebrated yourself today. YOU are a special person with or without a partner, made unique by your creator just to be YOU. Psalms 139:13-14 says "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." God's works are wonderful and you are one of His wonderful works. Happy Valentine's Day!

The Woods of No Return

When I was little we had some woods behind our house. One day I was playing outside with my brother and the neighborhood kids and we saw a girl walk into those woods...but we never saw her come back out. From that time on, those woods were known as "The Woods of No Return". Truth is, the girl was probably just passing through and we either didn't see her come back out of the woods or she was using our yard as a cut-through to the neighborhood behind ours. I've stayed in touch with the neighborhood kids and we get a good chuckle as adults out of our fear of those woods.

Last April, we moved into our new house and one of the things I particularly loved about this house was the private backyard that backs up to 60 acres of undeveloped land, mostly trees and some pastures. We checked on the plans for that land before we bought the house and were told that an elementary school would be built on the land but that construction wouldn't start for another 5 years. Well, that construction started last week, 4 years early according to our understanding! It was so sad for me to sit and watch as the workers cut down tree, after tree, after tree. John David loved watching the men use the big machinery and constantly waved and said hi to them out the window. But I sat and tortured myself by watching them cut down probably close to 200 trees I would guess - huge tall pines and even some hard woods. Those were the hardest to watch. I imagined how long it had taken them to grow so big and they were gone with one grab of this machine. The machine was kind of neat - it grabbed the tree, sawed it and then laid it neatly in a pile.

Before

After
So instead of having our own "Woods of No Return" for John David to play in when he gets older, we now have "Woods that Won't Return". I'm trying to look on the bright side - maybe it will be a great school and John David will be able to walk to school through our backyard. And at least they aren't building a neighboorhood or a shopping center. And maybe, just maybe, they will plant some new trees when they are finished with the building. But for now, I'm grieving the loss of our our privacy and the loss of so many of God's beautiful works of art.