The word Philoptochos sounds like

a swamp creature to me, but it's not. I can never spell it. I can barely pronounce it. But it's something I'm a part of at church and last night I went to a Philoptochos dinner. Here's what it is:

Philoptochos: whose name means "friend of the poor," is a philanthropic sisterhood. The benevolent works of Philoptochos are a continuation of Christ's earthly ministry. They not only help those who are financially poor, but also those who are in poor spirit, health, and companionship. The Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society is the largest philanthropic organization in the United States. The Philoptochos is the duly accredited women's philanthropic arm of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

When I say I'm "part of it", I am barely. I've been to one meeting and have paid my dues once. But last night, there was this dinner and I really felt like I should go. I called my mom and asked her to come with me and treated her to it. So we went. And my mom had a great time. And there was something so wonderful for me to see her talking and laughing with these Greek women. And there's something in me that wants to be a part of them; That enjoys being in this community of people that have this rich and robust culture -- and that look like me. That to them, I am beautiful and young and all of these things that I only am to them. They accept me because I'm Greek.

But besides that, I love what this group is doing. I love that I'm part of a culture that has social work built into their religion. This is just one group -- a group that's prominent (but quiet) in church, but is always fund raising and giving. I loved sitting at the dinner with these women as they chatted away about these traditional Greek things, so "into" the culture. I loved feeling normal.

HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING:
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1. Knoebels: We're going on a family vacation to Knoebels this weekend. We leave Sunday and return Sunday. My parents are coming up on Wednesday or Thursday and taking the kids. Our friends are coming up on Friday and we're going to have adult time. Right now it's Phil, Colin, Mike, My Mike, Seph, Jess, Colin, Chris and Ana. There may be a few others, but this is the core. I can't wait to go to a place in the middle of nowhere.

2. Wayne's Party: That's this Friday and I can't wait. It's really close and Mike and I can both go. I'm working on finding a babysitter.

3. Work: I'm working for D rex el and am starting to work for C omc ast again. I also have another client, but he's sporatic with his work.

4. Pool: We have a 12 foot pool outside and the summer feels like it's just starting.

5.Living Room Clothing: There are problems, but we are plowing through. Our order of shirts is too small, so we're starting over. In the meantime, we're working with a woman in Bangladesh to start producing there. Our fashion designer is going to meet with us on this.


REVIEWS:
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•The Christening was awesome, beautiful, fun, and ultimately successful. There are photos HERE

•Cirq De Solie was slightly disappointing because it wasn't as good as the last one we saw, but we still had a great time with Meredith and Scott. When they left, Mike and I went to the pub and hung out.

•Emmett's Preschool is over, and all in all I would say that St. John's Nursery School in Philadelphia is the best nursery school I could imagine. Emmett has learned so much this year and Ms. Tannie is a loving, caring woman that's imbeding strong Christian values in him.

UPCOMING:
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• Wayne's Party
•Mermaid Parade (possibility)
•Knoebels
•Ani DiFranco Concert
•Living Room Clothing Photoshoot
•2-Day Work Week (onsite)

Sorry if this is a boring post. There are many deep thoughts I have right now. Some of them aren't right to publish. Others seem trivial to waste a whole entry on them. Plus, sometimes I like to just see what I've done. In addition to writing here, I'm looking for the perfect pair of jeans for my mom and I found these: http://www.tummytuckjeans.com/index.htm

I need to schedule a try on date with her.