Two things we are looking forward to most about our new home is getting to know our neighbors and opening our home for our community of friends and family. We were able to do both this past 4th of July and it was about the most perfect feeling Southern weekend I could have imagined.
Every July 3rd Oxford Proper (inside the tiny city limits of Oxford) hosts a potluck dinner. We along with my younger brother who was visiting and two friends who also moved into the neighborhood recently walked down the road with our offerings of pasta salad and blueberry cobbler. We sat on the ground and in lawn chairs, introduced ourselves and were introduced to LOTS of new faces, and learned that we kind of love this new place God gave us and am so excited about getting to know and learning more about the people around us.
The next day we were all ready with friends to watch the 4th of July parade which just happens to parade itself right in front of our home. Pretty fantastic! Unfortunately it was rainy all morning. The skies appeared to be about to clear up and we sent a spy to check to see if the parade was going to happen. When he came back with a big yes we took our group down the driveway to settle in for a stream of red white and blue floats, candy and firetrucks. As soon as we saw the lead banner crest over the hill it started MONSOONING! My gracious! The guys ran to get our patio umbrellas and we sat bunched up under the chairs cheering on the dedicated patrons with the occasional child running out from under it gathering candy out of puddles.
Thankfully the skies cleared up and by early afternoon is was a gorgeous day because we were set to host our big first church event, a 4th of July BBQ. The tables were set, the lawn games were out, the pool was clean, the giant house to do list was still giant but if there is one thing I have learned from following the nester its that you open your house for hospitalities sake not because everything is finally perfect because it does not have to be perfect to beautiful and when you have kids it never has the chance to be.
It was a truly fantastic afternoon of conversation, one anothering, swimming, playing and eating. It was everything I hoped it would be as groups who normally never get to be together for longer than a church service got to sit and talk for hours. The evening ended with a small group of us going to the Covington Square for the fireworks display and after a long and exhausting day we settled into bed with very full and thankful hearts.
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