Clowns Kickin' It In Cowboy Boots

1990 we moved to a small town in New Mexico from northern California. When we found the perfect house to raise our brood, we told the realtor we would need to move the side fence. One of the kid's bedroom window was in the front yard. She smiled and told us to live here for a few months before going to the trouble. Boy was she right!

This little town is so safe. Kids have lemonade stands where the relaxed schedule of our police officers allows them to stop and visit. Parents all know the kids in the neighborhood and keep an eye on them. It is safe to let our kids ride their bikes to school and soccer practices. The police beat is full of amusing items such as raccoons trapped in a backyard.

Ron and I were able to take a big sigh of relieve about the safety of our kids. Don't get me wrong, kids still will be kids and get into trouble. But this town was as safe as we could imagine for our kiddos.

Ryan and Tanner loved to find creative ways to greet the neighbors who were on their way home from work. Once they put on their clown costumes and cowboy boots and sat at the end of the driveway waving at cars the whole afternoon. Another time they took cardboard boxes down to the end of the street, and pretended they were homeless people.

The boys gathered up a bunch of huge styrofoam pieces from the dump and built an igloo to entertain themselves in. They snuck out that night to go sleep in their igloo. We wouldn't have even known if Tanner hadn't snuck back into the kitchen to get pretzels and juice boxes.

During the monsoons in July, the rain came rushing past our house. It spilled over the curbs and filled the street. The boys would get their boogie boards and pretend they were surfing. It was a lot of fun.

We never did move that fence. It just didn't need to be moved!

In Him,

Joyful
2-21-2010