Weekend of Fun and Fellowship

This weekend was a blur of activity, but all good and rewarding. Friday evening we again hosted our small group Bible study for a meal and discussion, which is always a treat. The kids helped me to finish the flower beds by scattering mulch over the dirt and around the plants.



Saturday actually began calmly and slowly, which was very welcome since recent weeks have been rather hectic. We discovered that a pair of House Wrens have chosen to set up housekeeping in the little gourd hanging from our lamp post. We wired it securely to the post during one of their absences since we have seen it blow off in the wind in the past, and they continued to busily build their nest. Another Springtime discovery was that there is a young family of Cardinals in another tree, so we set a step-stool near it to facilitate observation.


In the evening we went with our friends, Dave and Sue Yoch, to meet an Amish family with whom they have been friends for a number of years. They met when Sue's sister was a Nurse at the Hospital and cared for the Riehl's eldest son after his appendectomy. Gideon and Malinda have reared four children thus far, and their youngest, Reuben, still lives at home. At 27, Reuben is clean shaven, wears "English" clothing, drives a car, and worships in a church that is more Mennonite than Amish.

Our evening was splendid. We began with a buggy ride while it was still light out, and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Gideon enlisted the kids' help to get Maple, their Standardbred, brushed and harnessed. We were able to talk about a number of things during the drive- from keeping bugs out of one's teeth, to misconceptions people have about the Amish and "English" Christians when only learning about them from outsiders. Once the buggy ride was over Gideon saddled Maple for the kids to each have a ride.

Inside the house, Malinda served mint tea, made with the mint grown in her garden, while we visited. She shared her little photo album - that's right, photos!- of her Grandchildren, some of whom live in Kansas. They told us stories and answered lots of questions about how they live and what they believe. My heart overflowed when Gideon asserted that he was certain that driving a buggy was not how he would get into Heaven, but that Christ's death on the Cross in his place was his only hope. That led to such a rich and encouraging discussion of Spiritual matters and the beliefs that we share in common. We have no doubt that when we stand among the multitude before God's throne, worshiping Him for eternity, Gideon, Malinda and Reuben will be there with us!

One of their funniest stories had to be about their trip to Florida, when they also went down to Key West. People would turn and stare in amazement as they passed them in the street- one can expect to see a lot of things in Key West, but an Amish family?! They thought it was quite funny as well.

Sunday after church we went to have a backyard cookout with friends. Rob and Sue live quite a way South of us, yet still make the trek to our church- dedication in action! The Wisniewski's joined us as well which made for a busy bunch of kids. They all did their thing- hanging out and talking, while the grown ups (and I usually hesitate before assuming that I'm one...) visited on the back porch. The sun had come out and it was a perfect day.

Hop-a-long boys!

Always good food at a backyard BBQ!
Sue, Barbaranne, and Piper
The Grill-Meister, Rob
Manly men discussing Manly Things.
Sweet Kate- please don't fall!

Once home, Kate and Bekah went to youth group. At 8 pm they called to tell us they were on their way home and they had invited friends for a campfire and S'mores! College friends are beginning to trickle home now that the Semester is wrapping up, and it was time to do some catching up! So Jim and Isaac got the fire started, the girls stopped for marshmallows and other "nutritious snackage" and the evening went late into the night as we visited and laughed around the fire ring. Sorry, no photos for this, but much fun was had!

Monday evening was the Soup-er Bowl fundraising event for Opportunity House, a local outreach to the homeless and hungry in Reading. Erin had chosen to have her birthday party be part of this effort and she and her friends made bowls to donate. Michelle and Erin Bleacher joined us as we waited in line with hundreds of others for the doors to open! Bowls made throughout the area by High School and College students, as well as many workshops for others, were on display for choosing. For each ticket, we were allowed to take home one hand-made bowl. Hundreds of beautiful bowls + hundreds of people = very crowded conditions! It was like Christmas Eve at Wal Mart! But what a neat idea.

Once we found our bowls of choice, we made our way to a table, then chose samples of soups donated by area restaurants. So yummy, so many choices, so warm and filling! Even our little Vegetarians were satisfied. Isaac had put up a bit of a fuss about coming, but thanked me for making him before the night was over- there were strawberries and a chocolate fountain after all!

Flowers, S'mores, and Nobel Peace Prize

I finally have photos, inadequate as they are to capture the glorious beauty, of some of my flowers. I look at the pictures and think, they're far more beautiful than this! I got a few more planted today, and started a bed of Spearmint! That mint will spread and spread without a solid border, so we planted it in a small bed up against the house and bordered by a concrete sidewalk. I can't wait to have fresh mint sprigs in my iced tea again!

The green backyard

Amazing Azaleas

Tulips!
The front flower bed
Sweet Pansies
Dogwood blossoms

Meanwhile, the time has come to start having campfires in the backyard again- and what are campfires best for, but making S'mores!

S'more Joy!

Last night Kate and I served at the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and Industry's annual dinner at Franklin and Marshall College. The event was huge, over 2500 guests in attendance and about 170 servers working. Once we had finished the serving of appetizers, cocktails and the meal, we were able to sit in the back and listen to the Distinguished Guest Speaker, Nobel Peace Prize Recipient, Muhammad Yunus. No photos, but a lasting impression...

Here at home, Milo has been banned from our room since Jim prefers breathing to not. So our cuddly Kitty has found alternate arrangements... The "cuddl-ee" in this photo would be severely aggravated if her (oops) name were released to the press, so she shall remain anonymous.

And lastly, Isaac has discovered a talent heretofore unrealized...
Ciao for now!

Glorious Weather = Little Time For Blogging!

What a gorgeous week we had last week! The sun shone, the temperatures were up, and we were outdoors gardening, mowing and generally soaking up the warmth! I may actually have finally thawed out!

Saturday the 19th was a momentous day for our family. Isaac had his Blue and Gold Banquet with Scouts where his whole den moved up to be a Webelo II Patrol- the Flaming Phoenix Patrol to be precise. The Banquet was fun, with a catered BBQ dinner and an interactive Drum performance by a local group.



I had to leave the Banquet early because Erin's school play began before the Scouts were finished, and she was in it! Since several kids dropped out a couple of weeks before the play, Erin's homeroom teacher volunteered her to be one of the replacements. She played the make-up artist for a school play, and did very well. Her lines were delivered clearly with projection to reach the whole audience, and her manner onstage was very comfortable- not a trace of anxiety. That's our confident girl!



Because it was the Middle School play and not the High School play, only the family members of the cast and crew were in the audience. But we were pleasantly surprised to see our neighbor walk in with a bevy of Erin's friends! Michelle brought her daughter Erin, her niece Linaia, and our other neighbor, Daisy. They brought a "bouquet" of lollypops and Kate brought flowers, so we had a big reception waiting for our star when the play was finished!

Meanwhile, the sun has returned after a day and a half of rain. The rain is quite welcome since we did a lot of planting and transplanting this weekend and our little plants need water. The daffodils are almost finished blooming, the dogwoods and azaleas are blooming at last, and the sweet little pansies are beginning a long season of delighting us with their blooms! We're just having a blooming good time up on our hill! Photos of the dazzling display will follow in another post!

Some days I feel clingier than others...

The Rocket's Red Glare

This week has held lots of fun for our Webelo, Isaac! From launching homemade rockets at a local park on Tuesday to a day-long trip to Baltimore on Saturday, we've seen and done a bunch! Tuesday was our final meeting for the year, and we ended with a bang; meeting in Wyomissing park to set off the rockets that each scout had made at home. Engines were handed out and put in the rockets once we arrived at the launch site- for safety reasons, I'm sure.







The trip to Baltimore for Fort McHenry- where Frances Scott Key penned the Star Spangled Banner- and the Aquarium was a blast. Erin joined Isaac and me with the rest of the Scouts for the day. She ended up accompanying Katie Sanford and Grace Smith around the sights as the boys were more interested in their friends than their little sisters. I've not included captions in the slideshow below- too tired and not enough time, but enjoy these snaps from our day.

Must Share

A friend sent me the link to this precious video, and I must share it. In fact, yesterday morning after reciting the Lord's Prayer as a congregation, Erin and Isaac both gave me "remember that?!" looks. Too cute!

Work and Play

Thursday was a cold and blustery day, in which one of my girls was running around outside and another was in a warm and toasty kitchen. Erin had a track meet after school and Bekah was at JR's Pizza for her first day at work!

Erin's second track meet was as cold as her first, but not as successful. Her long jump followed immediately after she ran the 4 x 100 relay, and she did not jump as far as she had in the first meet or in practices.

In the relay, Erin is the second leg, so she watches for the first runner to hit a certain mark before taking off in front of her, holding out her hand to receive the baton. Go Erin!



Now the long jump. Before the meet began, the girls were practicing their run-ups, marking where they would each begin running. They have to hit the "ramp" with their jumping leg, so they carefully measure, with one another's help, how many paces they take and where to start based on that. Then they fly!

Nice landing!

I did get a video of her jumping! Though the goosebumps on her extremely underclad body don't show, you can tell by the sound of the wind and the way her coach is bundled up- right down to gloves- how very cold it was! Yikes!

While Erin was running and jumping in the freezing cold, Bekah was learning the ropes at the pizza place. JR's is where we have been ordering our pizzas on "pizza nights" at our home, and is rather close, considering we are so remote. Just a small place with no eat-in room, they are strictly delivery and pick-up, so it's all kitchen work and no serving involved. Bekah enjoyed her first day immensely. She has been hoping and begging for a job since she turned 15, and we're glad that she has found such a nice situation. Unlike Kate's first job in a pizza place, her boss and coworkers seem rather nice!



Kate and I each had one job with the serving this week, just to recover from last week's insanity. Daytime opportunities are starting now, so hopefully there won't be many late nights. Since we choose where and when to go it's rather nice, so this next week Kate will have one daytime shift and I've signed up for three.

And one last shot here of our sweet Milo, may we all rest this cozily!

Not an April Fool's Joke

So last night Kate bursts into our room breathless and excited, yelling, "Mom! Guess what!" I lurched awake, looked at the clock, determined that it was still April 1st, and informed her that if this was an April Fool's joke I'd wring her neck,... in Christian love, of course.

Flash back many years to my fifth grade year, when I spent much time in the library... The book I checked out most often- 11 times that year, as a matter of fact, was The Little White Horse, by Elizabeth Goudge. A dear story, written for children, of an orphaned girl, her Governess, and the new life she finds awaiting her with distant relatives on a country estate somewhere in England. Long out of print, I was unable to find a copy of my own, so my name was written in the book, along with my Grandmother's phone number, should the library ever discard it.

Years later, while I was in High School, they called and offered me the book for the sum of $1- sold!

I have since shared the precious volume with my daughters and purchased several other copies from rare book dealers found through online searches. Someday my girls will grow up and leave the nest, and while I want them each to take a copy with them, I want to retain one myself as well.

Last night while tooling around the internet, Kate discovered that they are making the book into a movie, starring Ioan Gruffudd, (yes, that's how it's spelled) in one of the title roles. You may have seen him as William Wilberforce in Amazing Grace. Tim Curry will be the "bad guy"; he is a genius as an antagonist! While seeing this onscreen may prove disappointing, The release of my favorite book as a movie may well result in the reprinting of it, and therefore a new ease in acquiring copies.

Upon this discovery, Kate was moved to run to me with the news, time of night being irrelevant. I therefore did not wring her neck.

That was a close one!

Into the Recent Past

Now that the dust from the last busy weeks seems to be settling, I'll post some photos of some of our doings. The biggest event I missed was Easter. Not that I missed it, but it was quiet and surrounded by our chaos.

Last year we had a "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" gathering, with my Dad driving up from Texas, Mom coming by train and Nathaniel flying in from Iraq. What an event! The meals! The activities! The photo opportunities! This year was quite at the other end of the spectrum with our little selves hunkering down, relieved that Jim hadn't been admitted to the hospital on Good Friday, (Haitian bug relapse). As for the meal, no planning whatsoever into our little ham and potatoes, since Jim was still on broth anyway.

Yet, the sun shone, brunch at church, Jim was able to eat- some- and the glorious truth of our Risen Savior brought us a reprieve from the madness. Surrounded by our church family singing hymns of praise and thanksgiving for Christ's victory over the grave was so wonderful. He is Risen!


Then, after a quiet afternoon meal at home, our neighbors, the Bleachers, invited us down for the kids to hunt eggs in the yard and to visit. These folks have been such a blessing to have "next door". The back of their property abuts the bottom of ours, and our Erins have become fast friends. A path was excavated between our places last year- more work on that to come- and Keith and Jim have worked on a number of outdoor projects together. Just to sit and visit with them was so nice.




Fast-forward to last Saturday, Erin's first track meet. The opening meet of the season is a huge event involving 12 schools. Erin ran the hurdle relay, the 4 by 100 relay and did the long jump. Please forgive me if I'm not phrasing this properly for the jocks, (okay, athletes) who may be reading this, but it's new territory for me. It was a blisteringly cold day- sun shining, but very windy and in the 30's. Our little Erin came in First Place for the girl's flyweight long jump, 10' 1/2", her 4 by 100 relay team came in second and for the hurdles they were fifth! She is beside herself and we are jaw-droppingly proud. Wow.

That's all for now. I have to finish the March PRC book, The Godly Man's Picture, since it is, in fact, April. My reading time has been severely curtailed by this whole "employment thing"- golly.