Sunday Coffee House

Every few weeks or so, we make a visit to a local cafe. Allechante serves good coffee with their fresh pasteries and breads. Tua's favorite is usually whatever her parents are having. Today, she ate most of Jenny's scone and managed a few bites of Seth's currant brioche. All the rich foods did nothing for her attention skills in the church hour following.

June Mission

Over on the left there under prayer requests, you'll find new link link. This June, Seth will be partnering with friends from the Upper Valley on a memorial mission in Scotland. They will be hiking the Great Glen Way in memory of Marty Mendonca, a friend to many here and there and a member of our church community. She met a tragic end just miles short of the trail's terminus in Inverness in July of 2006. They will be hiking in her steps, visiting with many of the same people she met. Below are the details.

Read this doc on Scribd: Scotland Trek

Pray for Albania

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7298341.stm

David (Jenny's father) is there now and was with one of the Planters Seed teams in Vlashi. David said that the sudden nature of the blast was almost as crippling as the noise and the shock-waves. He (and the rest of the team) are okay and have made their way back to Tirana.

We'll keep you posted if anything else of note comes along.

Below is a video up on TOPCHANNEL TIRANE. It was taken by our friends Genti and Shpresa from their home in Vlashi. Minutes into the video, a visbly shaken Shpresa is shown with the news anchor as the events upfold on film. PLease pray for their family as you can see on the last minute of film the damages sustained to their home.

At the REC

Every Friday morning, the recreation center in town hosts a "Baby Cafe" of sorts. All sorts of fun and games are served up for the crowd. No coffee, though. Tua has been a regular participant for a few weeks now and is really getting the hand of the whole social scene. She makes great use of the large open area ambling amongst all the others. Today, Phare and her mom joined the party. It was a blast. My favorite shot is the one below of Tua watching Nikola feed her daughter a banana. This particular fruit is to Tua what ice cream is to the average ten year old. As you might gather, even if she doesn't get to eat any of it, she still enjoys the sight.

Doc....

More news.....One of the personalities in the photo above can talk.

Fran has a new name, at least for now. Tua calls her (and every other canine) by the name 'Doc'. We allow this for two reasons. First, it's her first word and she gets points just for effort. Second is the fact that Fran could care less what anyone calls her.

Then there is the thought that over-enthusiastic parents make some pretty drastic reaches when it comes to "first word" announcements. This is not the case here. However, we will downplay our elation over 'doc' with the fact that her second word might possibly be 'god' with a thick Boston accent. Try saying "gwad"... and you might get the idea.

Party Time

Tonight was a cause for celebration out in Pittsfield. Tua's pal Kingston turned one. Tua gave him some apple seeds and a spoon carved out of wood. She didn't carve the spoon, but we did let her pick out the apple from whence the seeds did come. The party would not have been complete without one of Kingston's dads excellent salads and a dandy serving of vegan chocolate cupcakes (very good!). Happy Birthday, KPC!


Tua, Kingston, and their dads.

Bug and Tua, pausing before cake.

Post cake rhythms for the audience.....

Patri Noster and Bright March Skies

The sky today was bright blue and the sun shone perhaps the brightest I've seen since August. We saddled up the lass in all her wintry garmets and brought her outside for a few shots of the 50" or so inches of snow scattered around the house.

The afternoon was an exciting one for Tua and her father. It was the first father/daughter play date on record for us. While the moms were at a baby shower, Seth and Toby took charge of the girls for a spell. It was a splendid afternoon filled with arrowroot biscuits, baby einstein, and farmer tad. They even made time for a short walk.