Easter 2018

I'm so thankful for a day set aside to remember that Jesus came to this earth with a purpose...to die for me. He took the punishment of death so I can live eternally in heaven. And because He is God, Jesus conquered death, He rose three days after the Crucifixion and is still alive today.

When the children woke up, they had to find their Easter baskets AND their goodies that had been hidden around the first floor of the house. Some items they received were chocolate rabbits, a favorite candy, sunglasses, and books. They also each received an egg with cut out letters inside. They had to unscramble the letters to make a word. Evan made the word NEWS. Esther made BOYS. Meghan had a tough time with her scrambled letters. She was ready to give up when I repeatedly asked Evan and Esther to say their words...then Meghan figured out her word was CONCERT. Later this month we'll attend a Newsboys concert.

Before church the children tolerated a photo.

 After church service and potluck brunch, we were invited to our friends' home. The Armstrongs put on a great Easter dinner. They have two teens and a young adult still at home...and we enjoyed all of their company!

Though I had been warned of a big Easter egg hunt, I was surprised by just how big it was. Three children had to find over 300 eggs after dinner. I think the Armstrongs had just as much fun hiding the eggs as the Whipple children had finding them!

After the egg hunt, Evan and Esther spent several more hours in their LEGO room. The rest of us visited, snacked, and played games. We played two versions of CodeNames. Lots of fun for a group...enough fun that Meghan thinks we need to get a version for our family! 

There has already been a request by the children to return to the Armstrong's next year. What a blessing friendship is!

Old Friends

I have been blessed recently.  Two weekends in a row I got to see old friends for the first time in years.

Last weekend I got to see my very good friend, Leila.  We taught together at a great Christian school in State College (home of Penn State...back when Derek was a student there).  We have seen each other just a few times since Derek and I married.  Her husband threw a surprise birthday party for her, and it was fabulous to catch up with her!

Today my friend Ann came to visit.  We have known each other since kindergarten, though we didn't become friends until junior or senior high.  (For us, the years from 7th-12th grade blend together since it was all "high school" to us.)  It's wonderful to catch up and visit in person.  We aren't always the best at staying in touch, yet we often think of one another.  Ann currently lives in New Orleans (and has for years).  We think it was 2007 the last time we visited.

Meghan took the above picture of Ann and me.  (She actually took three, but this was the least blurry.)  I believe she had us say "macaroni dinosaur" to make us laugh and smile.  It worked.  I have no idea who taught Meghan that!

(And I have to say my belly is looking quite small from that vantage point!  Be assured that it is quite a bit larger than it appears.  To see me a month ago looking larger than above, you can see a picture here.  Derek isn't good at taking pictures in case you haven't noticed, but we live.)

Next week I should be seeing another friend years ago...Kim.  She just had a baby (on my birthday!), too!  I really appreciate the friends, new and old, that God has blessed me with!

A Beautiful Day

My day began with the sound of construction and banging.  Our road was getting paved as they are about to complete the development.  The banging was a little boy's Elmo phone on the window sill.  Evan had awakened, and upon hearing the work outside, he went downstairs to enjoy the view.

 Meghan joined him later.  (No, he is not allowed to stand on the window sill...)

 It was a beautiful day.  We had plans to meet a friend and three of her children at a local park to play and have lunch together.  While driving toward the park I noticed a black cloud among the fluffy, non-threatening clouds and sunshine.

It was a short drive.  Upon parking my car, I noticed a few sprinkles.  By the time I had the children unbuckled it was raining.  Hard.  Our friends headed to the pavilion, as did we.  It was lunchtime, and we had great cover in a large pavilion. 

However, the rain was coming down so hard that there was no place within the pavilion to remain dry.  Thunder and rain made the children uncomfortable.

We decided to head to my house (which was not at all suitable for company with the lack of kitchen cleaning...let alone the rest, but my friend is very gracious).  My children and I got drenched, but my friend and her children waited just a bit longer to get cleaned up, and only got damp on the way to their car.  When we arrived home ten minutes later, the sun was shining.

As it turned out, we had a lovely afternoon.  The sun was out.  We picnicked on the living room floor.  The children played, and my friend and I shared and talked.  It was a beautiful day!

Our Buddies

We've been getting to know a friend of Meghan's from preschool, and her family.  Meghan and K actually became buddies without even being in the same classroom, which I think is really neat.  They live close to us (for a few more weeks before they move), too, which is a bonus.

K is just a few months older than Meghan.  Her brother, H, is just a few months younger than Evan.  The children play great together!  Last week I had the chance to watch K and H for several hours.  While I prepared lunch, they had the chance to wind down and watch a little television.  In classic 4/5 year old style, the girls needed to be as close as possible.  The boys were content to just "be."   But they all had to be on the same couch!

I am so thankful for friends!  (And in this I am not referring to the kids having friends.  K and H's mom is quickly becoming a real friend!)

Lots of Friends

There are five of us girls that try to get together on a fairly regular basis.  We're not always all there, but sometimes we are.  Getting together with different preschool and homeschool schedules is tough, but we try once in a while.  Last week, we had a lovely time getting together.

So did the kids.  Ages 1-7, I think.  Aren't they awesome?  Five families are represented with these ten children.  One of the families has additional children that were not pictured due to being in school.

 The blurry picture below is actually my favorite.  Do you see those smiles??  It was the first picture I took, of course, before I knew I needed the flash.  (I always try not to use it, as you can tell from my many blurry pics.)

I thank God for the friendships we've developed in the past year!

Friends Forever!

I have not gotten to post all of our Christmas pictures yet, but I wanted to send you over to Jenny's blog, Academy at Thousand Oaks to read her take on our visit when she and her family came to stay with us for a few days in November.  She had lots of photos that I didn't, like the one above.  Jenny did a terrific job articulating how strange and wonderful it was to meet a friend that she had never met.  Anyway, go check it out!  It was a fabulous visit, and she summed it up so well!

If you are interested in a rereading what I wrote, you can read about them at these links: First Thoughts, Lighthouse, Real Friends, and Hospitality.

Choo Choo Barn

Last December I got to meet Krista, my blogging friend, for the first time at the Choo Choo Barn in Strasburg, PA-a central location for us.  She is just as sweet as can be, and has become a true friend!

  We decided to take advantage of the canned food drive admission again this year, and got together again!

Meghan and Natalia too busy to look up!

Adam, Evan, Krista, and Natalia

(Yes, our coats were in the car.  Yes, it was cold.)

Once we were inside, we enjoyed the models.  It is really quite amazing what they have created!

Evan.  In Awe.

This is my favorite scene.  This house has a fire.  Suddenly you hear the alarm bells.  The firehouse's doors open, the fire trucks come out, and the men actually get out of the truck to spray the fire!  See the smoke??

We had a great time, though it was so, so short!  We went through the Choo-Choo Barn and then we went to the Creamery for lunch. We sincerely appreciate our time with these friends!  Adam and Evan are very close in age, as are Meghan and Natalia.

Check out our visit from last year here.  I was shocked to see how tiny Meghan looked last year!  Natalia is tall, and Meghan is short, but Meghan is catching up!

Lighthouse

We had such a great time with Jenny and her family.  I was pleased that the children got together so well and that the children, namely Meghan, shared!

Monday was a bit dreary, but we headed out to Elk Neck State Park in Maryland.  We hiked out to see the Turkey Point Lighthouse.

Though we took the stroller, Evan refused to use it on the way out.  He wasn't exactly quick in his rain boots.

Eventually we made it!

Not only did we see the lighthouse, but also the Chesapeake Bay.

This was our family picture.  Hmm.

After our hike, we were all exhausted!  Our children napped at home while I took them to see a covered bridge that's just a couple miles from our home.  Then we made our way through Amish farmland to Good's Store.  It has a bit of everything-everything practical, anyway.  It serves the Amish and English community well.  I spent way too much in the children's book section for Christmas gifts, but that's no surprise.  We love their selection of books and toys.  

We had a low-key evening at home.  Tuesday morning we took the Herr's Snack Factory tour.  It was really awesome...and free!  (It was definitely better than the Ben and Jerry's tour we waited two hours to see!!)  I learned a lot, including green potatoes are fine to eat...but they were exposed to sunlight instead of growing underground.  

We were all sad to say good-bye after lunch, but we do hope to see Jenny, Ryan, Tornado, Dash, and Sissy again.  I'm sure Meghan will be asking very soon for a trip to Arkansas! 

I wrote a bit about the visit (different perspective) over at the other blog.  You can read about how I fed our vegan friends and some other stuff there if you'd like.

First Thoughts

I already shared how my blogging friend, Jenny, brought her family from Arkansas to Pennsylvania.  The family's end goal was NYC, but we were "along the way," so they were willing to come to our home.  They arrived after dinner on Sunday night.


Can I just tell you how much anticipation Meghan (and I!!) had to meet Sissy and her family?  Before we even knew that they would be coming Meghan informed us that Garmin (our GPS) could find the way to Sissy's house!  That is how much Meghan thought about her.  I guess she doesn't realize that it takes willing parents to make the trip, too, and Derek and I are just not willing to travel that far with our two children.


We knew they would arrive after dinner.  Then there was a knock on the door.  It was so neat to see five happy faces smiling back at us when the door was opened.


The children were immediately comfortable and playing in the toy room and upstairs (and getting along!) while the grown-ups got acquainted.   Jenny was very much what I expected her to be like, and of course her husband, Ryan, was quite nice, too.  (Oh, Jenny and I both had striped socks on when they arrived.  hehe)


Eventually it was time for bed.  Evan is still young enough to sleep in his pack and play, so we moved him to our room so Dash*, age 5, and Tornado, age 10 would have their own space and wouldn't be awakened during the night by Evan.

Dash (standing), Meghan, Tornado, and Sissy

Meghan had her first sleepover with a child with Sissy on her bedroom floor!  Sissy used the crib mattress that we don't use any more.

These girls were so ready for this! 

After the girls were all tucked in and the lights were out, there was suddenly crying...from both girls.  Jenny and I went upstairs to see what the problem might be.  Meghan was sobbing, so it was hard to understand, but she said, "We're going to be apart-FOREVER!"  Sissy was crying because Meghan was crying.  So cute, though it wasn't the last time that night that they cried.

After breakfast, the kids and dads went outside to play a bit.  Unfortunately, the grass was really wet, and it was misting a bit despite the lovely weather forecast.  Only Meghan and Dash lasted long enough for me to grab the camera.  I think everyone needed dry socks, shoes, and pants before we went to Elk Neck State Park in Maryland.

I'll save that for another post though!

Sissy, Dash, and Tornado are not their real names-just in case you were wondering!

Real Friends

Blogging friends have become real friends.

Meghan, Jenny, and Sissy*

Wow.  What fun we're having!

Jenny and her family arrived Sunday night from Arkansas.  Monday has been full of fun!  I'll share more later, but just had to share these sweet pictures of their bedtime book.

You can read more about Jenny and her family at their site Academy at Thousand Oaks or their Vegan food blog.
*Not her real name

Sew Busy with Friends

This was an incredibly busy week for me.  In addition to some daytime busyness, I was out a lot in the evenings (with and without children).  I just don't do well with being gone so much.  Somehow in all the craziness, I was able to make these birthday gifts for our friends.

(I will apologize now for the giant fingerprint on the lens that makes all the pictures blurry.)

Birthday Girls!  They loved their pillows, thankfully.

This was all the girls at the party...there were boys (and dads), too, but this was the picture of the girls.

In case you are wondering, Sophie and Karine are friends, not sisters.  (We all know families don't have to look alike, right?) With two September birthdays, they wanted to have a party together.  It was lots of fun!

Someone really needs to give me a reality reminder when it comes to my sewing abilities.  It takes me so long to complete a project!

The kids got the coolest party favors.  Really!  Each child got a monogrammed white t-shirt!  Very cool.  Meghan doesn't want it to take the ribbon off (that wrapped it up) so that it can be washed and worn.  She likes it just as it is!  Silly girl!

Friends

It is so good to be able to have people over and entertain the children with the pool!  Wednesday, my blogging friend, Krista, came to visit again!  You can see her cute pictures over at her blog, Cornrows and Meadows.  (I decided she had already done the work of posting, and you could just enjoy her post.  I would say the same thing!)

It's amazing how much we have in common...even if our conversations are interrupted...a lot!

Is anyone absolutely amazed that July is here?  I think I'm years behind!

Friends...Blessings

I've been really blessed in the past few months...I've made some much needed friends.

My Bible study...called Community Bible Study...has offered a unique support system for me this year.  We come from all different backgrounds and churches.  The ages range quite a bit...and our personalities are so different!  Though CBS's focus is Bible study, it has been so much more for me.  In my first class (I missed the first), I learned that one of the women in my small group has a daughter (10) with apraxia!  This may not sound like good news, but I had never even met anyone who knew what apraxia was (outside our therapist, teacher, and the internet world)!  I got teary eyed just by hearing my friend say it!

I was amazed that God would bless me in such a specific way through CBS.  Then He did it again.  As I got to know my leader, I learned that her son (13) has epilepsy.  Within a couple of weeks, Evan had his seizure.

It is truly a blessing to know that I have these women in my life that I can turn to, AND they would truly understand some of my emotions and my experiences.

So the purpose of CBS is to study the Bible, but God has met my specific needs in a real and purposeful way that only He can do.  In addition to the special support I have from the moms in similar situations as mine, I have also developed some deeper relationships through CBS.  It took some of us stepping out and offering invitations...but in doing so we offered friendship, too.  It's been a long time since I have had girlfriends that I can be more than surface-friendly with on a regular basis.  I'm so thankful for the relationships that have developed.

Today is the last day for CBS for the year.  In many ways it will be a sad day.  Next year our small group will be different.  Thankfully our friendships go deeper...and will continue, even if CBS takes a summer break.

(I am a horrible public speaker...and no, teaching does NOT count!  Later this morning my intention is to share some of what I wrote here with the entire CBS group...not just the small group.  It's sharing day.  Normally I would be quite content to sit and listen, but God has done too much for me to sit by silently.  I know He desires me to share this...so I pray that I might be able to form the words and speak in way that honors God today.)

Friends

With Meghan's spring break, we took advantage and went to visit some friends in the Lancaster area.  Krista and I met for the first time in December when we met up at the train station.  

Krista is so sweet and welcomed us into her home.  Evan needed a nap while we were there, and took one easily with his favorite blanket and Scout by his side.  Adam is just two months younger than Evan, and Natalia is 6 months older than Meghan, so the children were well matched.   Evan needed a nap while we were there, and took one easily with his favorite blanket and Scout by his side.  Eventually Adam took a nap, too, and we were not able to get a picture of all four children.

We had a great time with our friends.  I think it shows in these photos!

The Choo Choo Barn and New Friends

On a chilly Friday in December, I got to meet my blogging  friend, Krista, face to face.  She has a lovely blog at Corn Rows and Meadows.  I was really looking forward to meeting Krista, since she seems so sweet...and I was not surprised to find out that she is just as sweet in person.

We met at the Choo Choo Barn in Strasburg, PA.  They had a canned food drive, where admission price was covered by a canned good.  The Choo Choo Barn has hand built little towns with moving people, vehicles, and trains.  It's quite the display.  I'm sure as an adult I could have gone around a couple of times...but there were little ones to consider that day.

Here you see Natalia and Meghan.  They are just over a year apart in age.  Yes, I believe Natalia is a full head taller than Meghan!

They also have a little train outside that's great for a photo opportunity.  Evan stayed home with Derek that day.  See Adam, Krista's little boy who is just two months younger than Evan?  If you go over to Corn Rows and Meadows, you'll see a better picture of him and understand why Meghan thought he was Evan when she saw a picture of him!

Strasburg is known for its trains.  Thomas even visits there a couple times a year.  Here they rode on a little Thomas.

We also went to see the real trains.  Meghan and Natalia weren't so impressed that we didn't get to go for a ride.

Isn't this last picture cute?

It was a fun (and free) morning, but the best part was meeting a new friend, finally!  Krista and I may not live next door to one another, but we're really fairly close and we look forward to getting together again sometime.

Special Treats

Like her parents, Meghan likes M&M's. She first had them in cookies. She earned a couple when she first started telling us she needed to use the potty. (We used chocolate chips in the early stages of potty training because that is what we had on hand.)

Well, she finally earned several M&M's for having a bowel movement on the potty! FINALLY! I made it worthwhile, giving her five or six candies.




I have waited for over a year to have Meghan's hair long enough to put in a single braid that will stay put! I am not good at braiding, but it's something different. The best part is that it keeps her hair out of her face!

I braided Meghan's hair when it was wet. It stayed nicely for several hours...until the hair tie fell out. I guess for braids I should use a child-sized hair tie, unlike Meghan's pony tails.












Derek and I get our own special treat tonight. Our friend Julie and her oldest daughter, Belle will be coming to watch Meghan and Evan. Derek and I will go out for some time to ourselves!

Have you seen a couch-full of such cute kids before? Belle is holding Evan. Next is Jessa, Meghan, and Olivia from left to right. Meghan barely sat long enough for the picture. Olivia and Belle took turns holding Evan. Very cute! Jessa and Meghan share a birthday though a year apart.