Best.Neighbor.Evuh!

I love my house. I love my yard. We were house-hunting when I was seven and eight months pregnant. It was not fun. Or easy. Besides, until you actually live in a house, you really don't know what it's going to be like or how it's going to work for you. Or what kind of neighbors you have.

We are really blessed. We have wonderful neighbors. Not a lot of children in the neighborhood. When we moved in with five, we doubled the kid count. The ones who were already here were either Only Child or Surprise Baby. And, man, were they ever thrilled when we showed up! The neighbors without any children in the home are very patient and gracious with my little horde. We even got a Christmas card from one telling us how much they enjoy watching our children play and run and whatever else it is they do out in the yard.

And there is this one lovely lady across the street. She lives alone, and spends her time either at work or yard-saling. Her two adult children are over there regularly, and they're very nice, too. But she is often lonely, nonetheless. She has volunteered frequently to watch my children (and I've taken her up on it a time or two!), and Lucy and Eliza have befriended her. While she is gone at work, they do "litter pick-ups" in her yard, and they also collect all the sticks that fall out of her trees so she can mow the lawn more easily. When she sits on her porch at the end of a long day, they go over and talk to her, and play in her yard, and ride their bikes in her superior, flat concrete driveway (ours is a hill, and it's gravely asphalt).

Joyce - who insists they call her by her first name, much to my chagrin...I'm trying to teach respect here - loves my girls. She tolerates it when they leave their bikes on her front lawn or in her driveway for days at a time. She randomly brings over treasures she has found at a yard sale and purchased just for one of the girls. She took Lucy, Eliza & Yvy to the parade at the County Fair because George had just gone down for a nap and I wasn't going to go. And she brought them home loaded down with parade goodies...supplemented by her. She took Lucy yard-saling with her a few weeks back. Joyce has though of us so many times, and done such wonderful things for our family.

A few weekends back, Joyce had a yard sale of her own. She combined forces and stuff with her son - who hosted it at his place - and a few other people. My girls went over there a few times to help her get ready. We were out of town the day of the big event, which is too bad, because they really wanted to go see/browse/acquire.

But after the weekend ended, Joyce called me over to her garage. Here, she explained, were her leftovers. We were free to go through it all and take whatever we wanted. The eyes of my daughters were round with wonder as they rummaged through box after box. You see, Joyce explained, she wasn't having the sale for the money, she just wanted to get all the junk out of her house. Lucy brought home a brightly colored comforter and matching pillow case, plus untold knicknacks. Eliza scored several knicknacks as well, and Joyce insisted that I take the lovely queen-sized comforter with coordinating curtains and bed skirt.

And then Joyce pointed to a set of boxes and asked me if I liked these dishes:

It is a set of Noritake China, the Up-Sa Daisy pattern, service for 12. Joyce purchased it some years back as a gift for her sister to display in a lovely china cabinet (and use, I presume). Then their mother had passed away, and the sister inherited another set. She gave this set back to Joyce, because, she said, she didn't really like the way it looked. Joyce wanted us to have it because she wanted it to be loved and used, and we are a big enough family to use it.

I am flabbergasted by her generosity. I adore the set. Light blue is my favorite color. The green trim matches the plates Mark & Hyrum gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago. My daughters love using them, and Gabba is extra-careful when she washes them. So here it is. Beautiful china that makes me smile every time I look at it: the cheerful pattern + I am reminded of Joyce and her kindness. My goodness.

Can you list that sort of neighbor on a real estate listing? Something like: 1 1/2 storey brick, 3 bdrm house, full basement, fireplace; large lot, 1 1/2 bath; quite street, no barking dogs in the area; kind, generous neighbors who will adore your children, watch your property while you're out of town, and become part of your extended family.

Probably not. And it's too bad. Because I would have bought the place just for the neighbors.

By the way, SpellCheck doesn't think "yard-saling" is a real word.