Summertime Fun

It's been a busy couple of weeks, so this entry will be photo heavy, but it's been such fun!

As we wound down from Kate's Graduation and party we prepared for the arrival of our good friends from Florida, now living in Alabama, the Cohens! What a treat to be with folks who've known us for longer than a few months. And even though the A/C was down, they were able to keep a sense of humor about it and we had a bunch of fun. From Saturday afternoon to Wednesday morning we enjoyed one another and never ran out of things to do.

Jim and Dave manning the fire- a manly job!

Sue and BA just swinging in the shade.

Katie and Erin on the new swing- my, how Katie has grown!

Isaac and Robbie will never outgrow their silliness!

The whole gang!

Spending a day in Philly, the kids were recruited for the Revolutionary Army!

Introducing Dave and Sue to the joys of Philly Cheesesteaks at V&S sandwich shop! Yum!

And we must have Rita's Italian Ice on such a hot day!

While the Cohens were here Erin also had Field Hockey Camp, to learn the game and make friends since she'll be playing for the Middle School next year. She had a lot of fun and is excited about the upcoming year.

We went berry picking on Wednesday afternoon and came home with strawberries, cherries and red raspberries- now we want to plant our own!

Saturday night marked the arrival of a much-anticipated Scouting event. We signed up in September for Jim and Isaac to go with the Scouts to spend the night at the Philadelphia Zoo- our nation's oldest! The program included hands-on activities, educational demonstrations, and lots of up-close animal viewing. The guys both loved it!

Isaac brought home peacock feathers for his sisters.

Gorgeous Giraffes.

What a regal pose for this Jaguar.

Oh, and Isaac loves the new hat Jim got for him...

Saturday morning the girls and I drove to Grove City for Gabby Welker's graduation party! Gabby will be joining Kate and me in Europe for our tour in another few weeks- (yikes!) so we delivered her a French phrase book- start learning Gabs!

Seeing old friends was such a blast! Here are the girls with Jordan Parrish- oh my goodness- how he has grown!

Kate with Chris and Martha Martin...

The Kelly and Welker kids- together again!

Kate and Gabby- so excited and all grown up!

My Lisa and me, she blesses my heart.

That's pretty much it for now. We made it home, stopping halfway across the state to get a hotel room instead of risking falling asleep on the road. Wouldn't you know- there was a Biker convention in town and we had to try three hotels before we found a room!
Life is full and God is good!

JEEPERS! Kate's a Grad-U-Ate!

Graduation week began with Erin's 6th grade graduation ceremony at the Intermediate School. She is now an official Middle Schooler- yikes! (I have no idea why this is all underlined, and can't get it to go away! sorry)

Erin and Megan

Papaw arrived on Thursday, having driven up from Texas. We're so glad to have him here for the festivities! Here he's taking pictures in our yard to show Charles.

Kate, in fact, the whole family, worked feverishly to complete the mosaic that she began in art class. She used our coffee table, at my request, and the top is now far more beautiful!

Since the air conditioning is down, and then the ceiling fan lost a blade, Dad bought us a new ceiling fan which he and Jim installed before the graduation party. They even resorted to reading the directions!

Isaac and Papaw face off over the chess board. Dad has played his whole life, and Isaac seems to have a natural gift for the game- it was close- really!

Bekah put up the badminton net in the back yard- what fun!

And the board swing, designed by Jim, and patiently coated with urethane- layer by layer, by Bekah, is finally hung from the big tree!

Kate finishes one of the many coats of lacquer on the mosaic tabletop. The sunset beach scene comes to life under the shiny lacquer, the shells on the beach portion looking as lovely as when we first plucked them from the Florida sand.

Kate and Papaw, on the way to the Baccalaureate service, which Kate participated in organizing.

Kate and Laura stayed up all night assembling these memory posters for the class of 2007.

Brigette, Kate, David and Laura after the service- on the march towards graduation!

Dairy Queen in honor of Erin's graduation! Yum!

Last day of school the younger three dye their hair- Isaac's idea...

And it stayed like that all day...

Erin's so blue!

The dye washed out and all dressed up, we wait for the High School Graduation to begin!

Kate received her diploma, wow!

Photos with everybody afterwards- what an exciting night!

Kate and the Germans, Laura and David. Sadly, this highlight also marks the end of their stay here...

Laura with our whole family.

Out for a special lunch with Papaw and the graduate.

It's official! Kate has graduated from High School. Praise the Lord.

Early Summer Beauty

While trying to keep my mind off of the new contacts in my aching eyes, I thought I'd share some of the photos we've been taking in our yard. As Summer approaches it is growing lovelier every day and we are discovering new blossoms and plants all throughout the property.

First, on the porch, is the herb garden in pots right outside the kitchen windows where they are handy for quick snipping while cooking.

We bought two half-barrels from a Mennonite farm in order to plant some tomatoes and peppers on the deck . These barrels smell like they did have whiskey or some such spirit in them before being cut for planting!

The view from one of the flower beds in the upper yard, looking down to the lower yard, in the early morning sunshine.

White Peonies are opening all over the place- I always wanted peonies!

The pink peonies the kids gave me for Mother's Day.

One of the varieties of Iris blooming thus far.

The azalea that I planted next to the mailbox, as well as my Mother's Day azalea, have the biggest blossoms I've ever seen on an azalea! This one is pink, the other is coral- gorgeous!

There are so many colors of Columbine in the yard, through the wooded areas as well as in the flower beds. They are so delicate and fairy-like. Random chance or design? No question!

I purchased this Iris on sale at the nursery. If it's a perennial and on clearance- why not?!

More Columbine, dark purple this time.

And now light purple...

and pink!
Down at the end of this wooded path we found the biggest surprise yet...

A GIANT Wisteria! (the photos simply can't do it justice) In the evening the whole lower yard and the woods smell of this wonderful fragrance. I had been telling Jim that I so wanted a wisteria once we prepared a spot for one, and now we find that it's the biggest blooming plant in our yard!

Except for perhaps this tree, covered in delicate yellow tulip-like flowers.

It may not be blooming, but there is life here. This cute little birdhouse was hanging in one of the shady areas when we bought the house and we left it alone. Walking past it last week I was startled by a tiny bird flying out of it! There is a nest, so it will remain right where it is!

That's all for now, what the photos can't capture is the near constant birdsong from a thousand birds, the fresh air and the singing of my heart. We are so very blessed to be able to live here surrounded by such beauty. If all creation sings God's praises, then our two acres are lending to the chorus quite sufficiently.

Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits!