Zimwits, scarves, and snow

It's Wednesday morning and I'm sitting here listening to the wind whipping the snow around outside. I really don't know how much snow we got in this March storm -  less than the 12 inches they were forecasting, but it's enough, especially with the wind now.  It's currently 16 degrees and our schools are closed for the second day.   I hope our daffodils are surviving under the snow.  Here's one picture from yesterday - Dick's shed.

Saturday was a fun day.  Dick worked until noon, then I met him at the Weis Markets parking lot.  Lori met us there too with Austin.  We were taking him with us to the Zimwit gathering.  He's an easy traveler - he slept half the way and played on his iPad the other half.   

The Zimwit gathering was held, as usual, at a youth center in Myerstown (Lebanon County).  What a GREAT facility for a family gathering - a big gym, foosball and other games, a huge room for eating and socializing.  Austin had the greatest time, mostly in the gym.  But he even played a game of Life with me and won again.  He and my sister Doris's grandson Aiden really had fun together.  It made us grandmas feel good to see our boys connecting like that.  

All that good food available, but Austin's preference was peanut butter crackers.  And my peanut butter rice krispie treats.  At least he got some protein!

These twins were so cute!  They are my stepbrother Roy's grandsons. 

A three-generation back rub to finish off the evening!

And here is the beloved matriarch of our combined tribe, dear Grandma Mary.  We're so happy that she is feeling better!

We headed home around 7:45, very aware that the time would be changing to Daylight Saving and we would be losing an hour!  Austin had his heart set on stopping at a McDonalds because on the way down we had used the restroom at a McDonalds and he saw the Hot Wheels cars they were offering with Happy Meals.  We told him that maybe we would stop on the way back home.  So right after we left the reunion we went to a nearby McDonalds.  He really wanted a certain car, but unfortunately they had just two choices, neither of them the one he had his heart set on.  So he took a while to choose between those two and was obviously very disappointed.  While we waited for our order the SWEET teenage guy who had taken our order came to the front holding two more Hot Wheels cars of a different color than the two they had offered.  One of the them was the very one Austin wanted!  The look on Austin's face was priceless!  Another employee asked where he had found those.  He said he had gone to the back and rummaged through a big box of them!  I could not thank him enough and Austin gave him a very sincere thank you too.  Bless that young man's heart!!!!

It was very late when I went to bed, but alas, I had been drinking iced tea at the reunion and then Mountain Dew on the drive home, so guess what?  I could NOT sleep!!  I guess I did sleep eventually for at least a few hours.  

When I walked into our bathroom in the wee hours of the morning the full moon greeted me through the skylight!

We went to Fillmore as usual (8:15 am service, yikes!) then we went to Mt. Nittany UMC.  The combined praise teams of Mt. Nittany and Houserville sang the song Whom Shall I Fear (Angel Armies) to introduce their congregation to our upcoming combined Lenten services on Wednesday evenings.  

Dick and I napped and lazed around all afternoon then went for groceries in the evening, finishing off the day with Dairy Queen cones.  Yummmm.  

On Monday I got a very special package in the mail - the scarf I am wearing on this photo.  

Last week I was made aware of an article in the Lancaster Newspaper about a ministry begun by Audra Witmer Peifer.  Sounds like she'd be related to me, right?  Wrong!  Actually, when we first went to Grace Community Fellowship in Manheim in 1987 Audra's dad Dave was our pastor and her grandpa Howard was our bishop.  Audra was just a little girl!  

Here's the link to the newspaper article.

I was so impressed that I immediately ordered a scarf and asked for information about volunteering to make scarves.  I don't have time to do it at this point, but I truly hope that sometime I will.  For those of you who don't have time to read the article, here are brief excerpts:

"Our scarves start as discarded clothing or unwanted fabric," she says.  "We take the clothing and fabric and cut it up to fit our scarf pattern and size.  After the pieces are cut to size, our volunteers design and pair the fabric together to create a one-of-a-kind scarf."

The paired scarves are stitched together by volunteer seamstresses, tags are sewn into the scarves, and the items are ready to be sold.  Each scarf sold sends $10 - half of the case - to two ministries in Thailand that provide refuge homes for human trafficking victims.  

"Ten dollars in Thailand pays for 10 meals or five shirts or four months of toiletries for the girls at the homes," she says. "It is truly amazing how far one scarf goes."

And now for a few more pictures from yesterday.  This was my car yesterday morning.  Even though Dick cleaned it off yesterday afternoon it looks about the same way again this morning. 

This majestic tree is right outside our kitchen window.

Last evening the wind was blowing so the street was covered over again, just as it still is this morning.  

Whether or not we have a Lenten service this evening remains to be seen.  At this point I really have no desire to go anywhere until Spring returns!

We're looking forward to having Dick's brother Steve and his wife Faye here this weekend.  We've only been talking about doing this for the past six years, haha!  I guess we just weren't old enough before!