Birthdays and snow

January 25 is a big day for Dick and me.  It's the day we became parents forty-one years ago.  Sometimes I wish we could live those wonderful years all over again.

Dick took this picture of Lisa and me just a few minutes after she was born.  My heart was just bursting, and I didn't think it was possible to be happier or to feel more love.  Too bad her first sight of me was in those glasses, hahahaha!

Yesterday was TEN years that Lisa and George became parents!  Here are some recent pictures of Sophie that I just love.  First of all, on her birthday yesterday.  Just look at that beautiful smile!  And she is every bit as sweet as that face!

Here she was singing on stage at church last month!  That was a first for her.

Following are two amazing gymnastics pictures from this past season.  What a girl!!

Earlier this past week we had another birthday in our family - Jenn's.  We love her so much and are so glad she is in our family.  This is a great picture Sammy took of Sam and Jenn at Thanksgiving.

We had about four inches of snow Friday night.  When I woke up I walked around the house and took pictures out  my windows.  Yes, I know.  You've seen them all before.  But I just can't help myself.

And then I decided to take a picture of my breakfast nook.  I love it.

And while I'm showing windows.  Jeremy gave me a choice of soy candles at Christmas.  I picked one because I liked its Macintosh Apple fragrance.  Afterward I thought,  "Where will I put a pink candle in my house?"  Then I knew.  Our master bath has shades of pink in the curtain and shower curtain.  I pull the blind up and light the candle almost every morning as I do my face and hair.  It makes me happy.

This evening Lori and Austin came here to hang out.  Anthony is away on business.  Austin needs his daddy to wrestle with, but Lori fills in!

I challenged him to a game of checkers.  He won.  And not because I didn't give him a challenge.  He doesn't miss a trick.

So it seems we are to be getting more snow tonight and tomorrow.  Anthony is supposed to be flying home from CA tomorrow.  I wonder how that will go.   

Today Jeremy was to be flying home to DC from Portland, OR where the headquarters of his new company are located.  I haven't heard otherwise, so I assume he made it.   Here's a picture he took out there yesterday at a place called Multnomah (according to the comments people made.)  He says it's so beautiful out there.  I sure am hoping we don't lose him to the west coast!

Happy last week of January!

Thursday This and That

Yesterday was a snow day.  I actually had a hair appointment at 9 am, and I was keeping my eye on the window as she did my hair.  It was just beginning as I left, but as I drove the 15 minutes home it was clear it had started earlier here.  I was glad to be home.  I would normally have gone to Anthony and Lori's to do food prep in the afternoon, but they gave me a snow day.  (-:  We probably got just a few inches, but because it hit right in the middle of the day, schools were closed early. 

This was my view out the sliding glass door.  

I used my unexpected time to catch up on some paper work and bill paying.  I also started prepping a new song for my praise team at Houserville - Build Your Kingdom Here by Rend Collective.  It's an energetic one that caught my attention the first time I heard it on K-Love.  I'm excited to lead it.  

Because I was home I had the TV on.  Our local channel airs the Hoda and Kathie Lee show at 1:00 instead of at 10.  I have no idea why.  As I walked through the living room one time, I saw Hoda fussing over a baby.  I stood and watched a little bit, never looking at the baby's mother.  I just thought,  "What a cute, talkative baby!"  Later in the day I discovered that the baby's mother is Gabrielle Witmeyer, who used to be one of my students!  I have been admiring her adorable baby girl on Facebook for the past seven months, and she has been voted the next Gerber Baby!!!  This was baby Grace's entry photo - no wonder she won the contest!!

And here's a picture taken at the show.   How I wish I had paid closer attention and realized who they were talking to!

Here are some old pictures I've posted recently on Facebook.  This first one is of our three birth children, Lisa, Jeremy, and Anthony in 1980.  I don't know why that kitchen chair was in the family room.  The rocking chair had been my mom's.  Dick refinished it before Lisa was born.  

This one was taken in my mother's kitchen, probably summer of 1981.  My parents had a day with the grandchildren.  The comments of these now-adult grandchildren on FB last week were SO funny!

And this was taken during a sister weekend at my sister Betty's in Gloucester, MA in May 1992.  Barb was missing since they had moved to Idaho, and she wasn't able to make the trip East very often those early years.  Janet was holding Rose's little Matthew who crashed our girl party!  Oh, the laughter that weekend!  I kept a diary, and I really need to get it out and read it again.  

I will share just one story I had written once before:

On our road trip I decided to read aloud the Erma Bombeck column of why it takes women longer than men to use the rest room. One of the reasons was that women "settle in" after they find a place to put their belongings, slipcover the toilet seat, etc. Of course the reading of that column brought gales of laughter, but not nearly as many as we had at our next restroom stop. It was quite a dirty restroom, and as we all "went" in our separate stalls, we were commenting about the filth to each other. As we thoroughly washed our hands afterward, Janet came out of her stall completely unaware of the trail of toilet paper that was streaming from her waist in the back. I said, "Uh, Janet, your slipcover got stuck in your pants." Surely the other women in that restroom must have questioned our sanity as we laughed until we could hardly breathe.


Have a good weekend!

Our fun weekend with the boys

Okay, okay!!  I know it's been over a week here.  First of all, I didn't write anything because my week was just too mundane and uninspiring.  Then I didn't write anything because I was too busy having fun.   So here was the fun part.

On Friday we met up with Sam near Harrisburg to pick up Sammy for the weekend.   It would be Austin's birthday on Saturday, and we wanted Sammy to share in all the fun.  Here's the first picture of him Friday evening as he watched a video and ate clementines - his choice of all the things I offered him.

On Friday morning we met Lori and Austin at Elite Gymnastics for their open gym.  It took Sammy a bit of time to warm up to all the people and activities, but by the time we had to leave he was having a blast.

After Dick got off work at noon, we went to the warm therapy pool at the Y.  Austin's twin friends were there too, and the three of them were having the greatest time jumping in and swimming.

Sammy again needed time to decide if he liked it.  When Dick first took him in, he was not at all happy about it, as you can see here!

But then Dick put him on his back, and in no time at all he was having so much fun, getting braver and braver.

Of course, playing in water makes for tired little ones (and big ones), so we all went home for naps, then met up at the bowling alley in the evening.   Bowling, pizza, birthday cupcakes, birthday gifts, and games.  The twins' family was there and also Lori's nephew William.  Not the 30 kids like last year's party!  We had a lot of fun.  Even I tried bowling for the first time in a long while.  We won't talk about scores!

I loved Austin's expression when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him!

Oh dear!  I know some of you will be very offended by this, but Grandpa was having fun helping the boys hunt wild animals.

I wanted a picture with our two little boys, but that turned into a major case of silliness!

When we got home Sammy played with a belated Christmas gift from Anthony and Lori.  He was very intent as he  built something.  I heard him say to Dick, "I'm almost done building.  Please don't talk to me."

Actually, Sammy had me giggling a lot.  He says such funny things all the time.  Here's what I posted on Facebook yesterday:

Some good ones from Sammy so far: 

Last evening after stopping at Dick's shop to pick up his truck, I followed him home. At some point he got out of sight, and Sammy wondered where he is. I said, "He drives too fast and got away from us!" Sammy said, "You must drive really fast. Mommy and Daddy do."

A while ago I was going to let him eat his hot dog on the sofa with a tray, but he insisted on coming to the table. He said, "I have to eat at the table because I might get food all over the couch. Daddy says that all the time."

Asking if he wanted any more food, he answered, "Yes, I want to grow up like Daddy does."  

And his favorite new saying is, "I just don't know what to do!"

This morning we took him to our two church services.  At Fillmore, Dick was reading the opening scripture, which was from 1 Samuel, when God called the boy Samuel in the night.  Sammy perked right up when he heard Dick read the first,  "Samuel!"  When Dick got to the second "Samuel!"  Sammy said, "What?"  Everyone laughed, because most of them knew his name.  Well, that made Sammy laugh too.  He was having such a great time!  Of course, Dick really emphasized the third,  "SAMUEL!" and once again Sammy answered with a loud,  "WHAT?"  It was just too perfect!  And so very, very cute!

At Houserville he had a good time too, playing a little piano with me, "helping" Dick play bass guitar for a bit.  He is SO tuned in to everything musical.  This morning it was the trumpet that totally mesmerized him.   I also got this video of him during Carol's prelude before the service started.  As you can tell, he feels quite at home there!

This afternoon we came home for naps again, then around 2:45 we headed to Jenn's parents near Harrisburg.   I was eager to see this little sweetie pie.  She's been sick, but is starting to feel better. 

We had a really good time hanging out there, watching football, eating some birthday cake (chocolate with peanut butter icing!) that Jenn's mom had made for her in honor of her upcoming birthday on Tuesday, talking and laughing.  Bianca settled into my arms and slept for about half an hour.  I just love her so much!!

So now, back to another regular week. EXCEPT!!  My piano lesson schedule changed to a different time slot, and I am now able to take my friend Peg's Strong Women exercise class on Tuesday and Thursday evenings right after work at the office.  I took it both days this past week and really loved it.  I'm just so happy to finally be getting back into some fitness with accountability.