Happy Birthday, Lori!

Today is our daughter-in-law Lori's birthday. She is, without question, one of my most favorite people in the whole world. When I first met her five years ago, she was not yet Anthony's girlfriend, just a friend that was a girl! She was so interested in knowing all about our life as foster parents and many times as we talked, her eyes would tear up. I was thinking to myself, "Wow, this girl is a kindred spirit. If only Anthony would end up marrying her." A year later he did, and I didn't have anything to do with it, except to pray for Anthony's future wife ever since he was a little boy. To get to know more, check out the Lori and Anthony labels on my sidebar.

Lori, you are completely beautiful, inside and out, and our entire family adores you. I pray that this next year of your life will be one of great blessing and fulfillment. Have a great day. Love, Mom

Happy Birthday, Lori!

More baby pictures

Today I noticed my cell phone lighting up as I waited for the next class to come into my classroom. I looked to see why, and here were these adorable pictures that Frank had just sent to me. What a sweet interruption to my day!

Just some fun questions and answers

Some of my blog friends have been passing around this little survey this week. It's just for fun - both the thinking of one's own answers, and the reading of everyone else's! Here are the answers I came up with:

ACCENT: On an online test I recently took I was diagnosed with a Philadelphia accent, whatever that is. To some people I probably have a bit of a Pennsylvania Dutch accent, but I don't think I do!

I DON'T DRINK: anything but ice water, coffee, Celestial Seasonings Candy Lane green tea, and an occasional diet soda.

CHORE I HATE: vacuuming. I usually ask Dick to do it and he doesn't mind.

PETS: My favorite was a Chihuahua/Fox terrier mix named Lauren, but nicknamed Poopers. We don't have a pet now.

ESSENTIAL ELECTRONICS: No question, my computer, digital piano, digital camera, and cell phone.

PERFUME: Jovan Fresh Pachouli

GOLD OR SILVER: Depends upon my outfit. (I don't own anything valuable, unfortunately.)

INSOMNIA: Most of the insomnia I experience is the result of having too many things on my mind and being unable to stop my brain. However, I experience much less insomnia now than I did several years ago.

JOB TITLE: Music teacher, worship leader, mom, grandma, bookkeeper, cook, cleaning lady, etc.

MOST ADMIRABLE TRAIT: Hopefully my passion for the Lord and my compassion for people which I inherited from my dad.

KIDS: Miki, Lisa, Anthony, Jeremy, Sam, Frank, and Ray

PHOBIAS: Snakes

RELIGION: Follower of Jesus Christ, Mennonite denomination

SIBLINGS: Janet (in heaven), Dick, Mary Ellen, Doris, Barb, Betty, Rose

TIME I WAKE UP: 4:30 or 5:00

UNUSUAL TALENT OR SKILL: I was able to hear and sing harmony by the time I was five years old. When I direct a choir I can hear all the harmony parts at the same time and know which one isn't quite "on".

VEGETABLE: Homegrown sweet corn is the best, as are homegrown tomatoes. I probably eat more broccoli than any other vegetable. I eat salad made with dark leafy veggies four or five times a week. I hate brussel sprouts.

WORST HABIT: not keeping up with paper grading, then needing to do a whole lot at a time.

X-RAYS: I've had them on my head, my face, my back, my hips, my shoulder, my breasts, and most recently on my teeth.

FAVORITE MEAL: the potato cheese soup and bread that one of my coworkers makes for us twice a year - the day of my Christmas program and the day of my Spring program.

If you are reading this, consider yourself TAGGED!

Babies and Labor Day weekend

This evening I headed to the Women and Babies Hospital again. I didn't get to see Marcy's little girl, because she was feeding her over the time I was there and needed to be alone. But my sister Doris was there and showed me the pictures she had taken and emailed me some a while ago. So I have two posted below. I thought how cool it would be if we sisters could get a picture together, each holding our newborn grandchild, but the babies are not allowed out of their rooms, except in their little bassinets.

Frank had picked up Destiny again and brought her to see little Adrias, so I got to see her again. She said she's starting school tomorrow and knows exactly which of her uniform outfits she plans to wear her first day. I held Adrias for quite a while. He is sooo precious.

And I am sooo sleepy. Tomorrow is our last day of school for this week. We have Friday off as part of the Labor Day weekend.

And speaking of the Labor Day weekend, Dick and I have big plans. We are leaving EARLY Saturday morning from the Philadelphia airport and flying to Pensacola to see Ray. We're coming back Monday evening. I'm excited to see him for the first time since May. I'm also excited that on Sunday I will be getting together with some of the dear friends I have made in this wonderful bloggy world. I'm sure I will be posting some pictures of that event when we get back next week.

Here's my sister Doris, proud Grandma, holding her precious granddaughter, Paityn Lily. She said there's a lot of light hair under that dark. She'll probably be a blondie.

And here's tiny, little Adrias again. He actually did open his eyes a wee little bit this evening and left out one soft little cry. Other than that, he just slept and slept!

Oh, baby!

I was awakened by the beeping of my cell phone at the arrival of a text message from Frank at 3:15 AM. He said that Abby was at the hospital with contractions. Later this morning he called to tell me that they had sent her home because they didn't think she was in real labor - much against Abby's wishes. HOWEVER, less than two hours later she gave birth to a baby boy in an ambulance as she was being rushed back to the hospital!!! The same lady that sent her home was there to congratulate her when she returned. She should have been offering a big apology if you ask me. The baby, named Adrias Jyel, only weighed five pounds something, so he's a tiny one and sooo perfectly beautiful. I forgot to take my camera along in to the hospital this evening, and felt too tired to walk out to the car and get it, so the pictures below were taken with my cell phone and aren't the best.

My niece Marcy (the one who is a paraplegic) is also at the same hospital in labor even as I write. We are all eager to hear of the safe birth of a little girl.

OH MY WORD!!! I was just ready to hit publish when my cell phone rang. It was my sister Doris with the news that Marcy's little girl has arrived safely and easily - no C section! And she's a little doll, Doris said. If she looks anything like Marcy did, she most certainly is a little doll. I can hardly wait to see her. If I go in there tomorrow after school I'll get to see two babies for the price of one!!

Here's a peek at his tiny, little face. Below is Abby holding him, then Frank, then Destiny. He slept soundly through all the holding and being passed around.

One day down

One day down, 179 to go! It was a good day, really - such fun to see the kids again. My favorite part of the day was when 7th grade came in and I heard one girl say, "Ah, it feels so good to be coming into this room again."

I pulled weeds for a while this evening. I am so sleepy now, and I've been battling a headache all day, so I honestly think I'm going to go to bed soon.

All set for school

I don't have anything that interesting to write about this evening. Dick left to take Destiny to her other grandma since her mommy is working till close tonight (she's a shift manager at Burger King.) We had a good weekend with her, but tomorrow I start school for real. Destiny doesn't start until Thursday. In the school district in which she will be attending, the children wear uniforms. Last week I bought four uniform outfits for her, then this weekend I had to alter all the pants and skorts, because she has such a teeny, tiny waistline, but long legs. So she should be all set. I think I am too.

I decided to post some random pictures this evening, so enjoy.

Destiny couldn't find her jump rope this evening, so she decided to jump with her hulahoop instead!

On Friday after I picked Destiny up we went to the hospital to visit her little cousin who was just two days old. The poor boy was supposed to be a girl, according to the sonogram, so he had no boys' clothes! We stopped at Babies R Us and got some adorable "baby boy" onesies to give him.

My nephew Scott Peifer sent us these pics of his son Corbin to prove to everyone that Corbin does indeed smile! ( I guess the pics I posted of him from the wedding last Saturday were smile-less!) He's pictured with his cousin Jared on the bottom pic - two very handsome boys!

This is Corbin again - a third generation Peifer boating enthusiast!!

This is the stunningly beautiful picture I see every time I check Miki's blog since she posted it on July 17th (hint, hint!) It was probably taken at midnight. It never gets completely dark in the summertime where they live!

Smoke on the Mountain and HEAT in PA

It sounds like we've got a storm heading this way, so I'd better get on with this post in case I need to turn off the computer. It was SO HOT and humid today, just unbelievable after the cooler temps we had earlier in the week.

Of all days, my sister Mary Ellen and I had tickets for the Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming musical comedy at Mt. Gretna Playhouse Theatre this afternoon. The theatre has open sides and of course, no air conditioning. I haven't been that hot in a while, at least not without a bathing suit on! But the show was funny and worth it. Having grown up in a singing family made it very easy for Mary Ellen and I to identify with some of the humor.

Dick took Destiny to the pool this afternoon. That's about the only thing a person could do outside on a day like this!

Well, that storm is coming, so I'm outta here!

Here's a picture of Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming I got off the internet. It's not the same actors as we saw today, but it gives you an idea of the setting and humor of the musical.

A funny story about Noriega

Another fun day at school with just the adults has passed. On Monday we get started with the real reason we're there - the KIDS!!! Looking over the class rosters today made me feel excited to get started.

After school I went to Lancaster to pick up Destiny. She'll be here till Sunday, and my heart is at rest.

I noticed on my Yahoo homepage that Noriega has made the headlines again. It reminds me of a funny story:

Back in the late 80's when he was in the news all the time we did not yet have a TV in our home. I got all the news from the radio and the newspaper. I would hear his name on the radio, but I never really thought about how it was spelled. At the same time I was constantly seeing his name in the newspaper headlines, but I was too busy to read the articles. In my hurried glances at the headlines I would just think it was the name of a country pronounced Nor-ee-ga. I kept thinking to myself, "I wonder where that is. I've got to look that up." But I would never remember to do it. Finally one morning I asked Dick, "WHERE IS Nor-ee-ga, anyway?" He had no idea what I was talking about. Pointing to the headline I said, "Here. It's in the paper every single day and I don't even know where it is." He looked and said, "You mean Nor-yay-ga? That's a person, not a country." It suddenly dawned on me that that word was the same one I was hearing on the radio all the time! Well, I just cracked up! And it still cracks me up every time I think about it. Sometimes even great minds just can't grasp it all!!!

Back to school

Today was my first official school day for this year. When I arrived at 7:45, what should my wandering eyes behold but a table laden with a great variety of filled donuts!!! Thankfully, there was also a great platter of fresh fruit chunks! I avoided the donuts until our 10 AM break from our in service session, at which time I did eat 1/2 of one, and that was all, folks! I ended up staying at school until 5:30, working on a new poster and putting things back up on my walls. I didn't get in to school every Wednesday afternoon like I had thought I would this summer, so I have to hit it big time now. On Monday the kids arrive! We teachers have so much fun together on days like today. I guess there's just no way to have a job as a school teacher without the students, is there? Ha, ha!

Now I must get to work on music prep for Sunday.

Some success with weight loss

Okay, it's time to put a different title on top of my blog. My heart still aches, but my mouth and stomach are better! Boy, that dentist really did a number on my lower left gum and cheek with those injections. And as far as my aching stomach, in addition to being disciplined in fasting one day a week, I have been amazingly able to control my food intake - the kind of food, the amount, and the frequency - in the past month. I also was doing great at getting to the gym more regularly than usual, and as of this morning, I have lost 10 pounds in the past month. Now on a person my size, that is barely noticeable, but I feel the difference. I hope I can ignore all the goodies that will be upon the staff table when I go back to school and also get to the gym after school at least some of the days.

We have all heard the stories about American Idol auditions, but this week we learned about it first hand. Jeremy's boss and coworkers very much wanted him to audition this week in Miami, so they gave him the time off, even paid his hotel! He drove down to Miami Sunday evening, was in line to register by 6 AM on Monday, and returned early this morning for the first round of auditions. There are three rounds before ever even getting in front of the main judges, Randy, Paula, and Simon. I think there were about 10,000 people auditioning in Miami, and that's only one of maybe six or eight cities where they are auditioning! Now many of you have heard Jeremy sing, and we all know he's good, certainly better than Bucky Covington, Chicken Little, and Sanjaya, all guys who made it to the top 12 in the past. In fact he's been likened to Josh Groban. But just like we've heard before, they are looking for the unusual, the weird, the absolutely horrible, as well as the exceptionally awesome singers to put through to the third round, from which the first few shows of the season are made. Jeremy called this morning when he was waiting for the round one audition. He said they have 10 booths, they take four at a time in each booth. At that point he thought they may have listened to about 150 people and only sent 2 to the second round. He said, "They're sending a lot of really good people home." So we were not surprised that he did not make it to round two. He was number 3000-something, and only about 20 at that point had made it to round two. Among those 20 were some that were dressed in weird costumes and had terrible voices. He said that the sad part is that the preliminary judges tell those people that they did great, so they go on to round two and three thinking they're good, only to be embarrassed for public TV when they get in front of the judges. Hmmm. I never did like those early shows, and now I will like them even less. Jeremy did this on a whim and he had fun. It gave him a chance to sing again, something his crazy work and school schedule does not usually provide time for. Now this weekend my former student (also Jeremy's voice student) Heather Harley is going to the auditions in Philadelphia. She works at a bridal shop and has considered showing up in a bridal gown to give them that variety they're looking for!!

When I got home today there was a most welcome sight on my porch - my Gevalia coffee shipment!! I've been getting Gevalia's traditional roast for about 15 years by mail, and I just don't like anything else as well, not even Starbucks. I add a little bit of hazelnut decaf to it, and ummmmm - it is the best - to me anyway. I provided the coffee for our big Witmer and Stauffer weekends this summer, so I've had to resort to Folgers for about a month. But tomorrow morning I'll have me some Gevalia again. That sounds like a good way to start my first day back on the job!

Ahhhh - my good Gevalia coffee!

My achey, breaky heart.....and jaw and stomach!

The very cool, rainy weather we had here today fit perfectly with the tone of my day. After returning Destiny this morning the deep ache has returned to my soul. Then I went to the dentist and had a filling done in my very back tooth, so there's a deep ache in my jaw from the Novocaine shots. And I fasted today (not because I'm trying to be as pathetic as possible, but because I believe that fasting one day a week is good for me, and I've been doing so this past month), so there's a deep ache in my stomach too.

Dick and I went to my classroom this evening to move some things and get the furniture all set up. It kind of put me in the mood for school.

I think I'll take my aches to bed early. The sound of rain makes for good sleeping. Dick just lay down in bed and said, "Ahhh, this is almost as good as sleeping at the cabin."

Congratulations, Ray and Thyda!

Look who else got married this weekend! Ray was granted leave to fly from Pensacola to Great Lakes, IL to get married!! She will soon be sent to her next post at Norfolk, Va. Even before she left for basic training in April they had decided that as soon as it could possibly happen, they wanted to get married so that there would be a better chance that they could be stationed near each other during their next years of Navy service.

I guess they both cried buckets of tears today when they had to separate. It makes me cry to think about it. Now he needs to knuckle down, study hard, and do well so that he can be assigned to Norfolk in November. Thyda sent me this picture from her cell phone. I think they were in a cab on the way to the airport. I just want to hug them both.

Terrible Twos

Several of my blog friends have been filling out this crazy "terrible twos" survey just for the fun of it, and now here are my answers.

1. Two Names You Go By: Jean and Jeanie

2. Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now: tee shirt and capris

3. Two Things You Want In A Relationship: transparency and love

4. Two of Your Favorite Things to Do: lead worship and write

5. Two Things You Want Very badly At the Moment: for all of our children and grandchildren to be together all at the same time, for all of our children and grandchildren to know Jesus Christ personally

6. Two Pets You Had/Have: a white dog named Snowball and a terrible, black cat named Lucifer

7. Two People Who Will Fill This out First: The first people already did it. As usual, I'm lagging behind a day or two!

8. Two Things You Did Last Night: prepared music for this morning's worship and posted pictures of Elvin and Pauline's wedding

9. Two People That Live In Your House: my hubby and myself

10. Two People You Talked To Last: my granddaughter Destiny (she's here) and my son Jeremy (by phone)

11. Two Things You're Doing Tomorrow: taking Destiny back to her mom and getting a tooth filled at the dentist.

12. Two Longest Car Rides: from Lancaster County, PA to Wisconsin Dells in one day, from Lancaster County, PA to Tampa, FL in one day.

13. Name 2 of Your Favorite Holidays: Christmas, Thanksgiving

14.Two Favorite Beverages: ice water, coffee

Special visitors

We had very special visitors this afternoon - Nicole and Jon and their son Ethan. Nicole was our little girl for a year-and-a-half, along with her younger sister and brother, in the early 90's. (I told some of their story in my May 20 post.) Since graduating from college Nicole's husband has gotten a job in Pittsburgh, Pa. This weekend they were visiting his parents in Elizabethtown, and she contacted me to see if they could stop in to see us. So today was the day. I had hoped we would go to the local park for a picnic lunch together, but unfortunately it is cool and rainy. So we had our picnic lunch at our dining room table, and had a good time together anyway. They are expecting baby number 2 in January!

Nicole and Jon.

Ethan is a blue-eyed charmer already!

A happy day

Today was a happy day. My late sister Janet's husband married one of Janet's dearest friends, Pauline Allison, who lost her husband to brain cancer in 1991. The private wedding was held at his lakeside home, then a reception was held at their church, Grantham Brethren in Christ Church. When we arrived there was a long line of people waiting to greet the couple. Elvin and Pauline were standing under a tent. They looked so beautiful and happy! There were musicians and light refreshments in another tent. Gradually everyone gathered in the gymnasium for the meal.

Announcing the entrance of Elvin and Pauline Peifer!

Elvin's son Scott and Pauline's son Steve, both from California, were the emcees. They did a great job of sharing a slide show and narrative that showed how their families' lives had intertwined over the past 40 years through joy and sorrow, and now led to today.

This church gymnasium was full of family and friends who were so happy for the joy that Elvin and Pauline have found together after the grief they each experienced.

The best gift of all was given by Elvin and Pauline's church coworkers - a tandem bicycle.

The main attraction (next to Elvin and Pauline!) was Elvin's grandson Corbin all the way from California with his mom and dad.