Fun with the boys, regular work week, Florida birthdays

This week I have been reminiscing about my once-in-a-lifetime experience a year ago of ending up in San Diego, California unexpectedly all by myself!  If you do not know what I'm talking about, just go to my side bar and click on January 2017 and you can read all about it!  So since I didn't take any good outdoor pictures this week, I'll share one of my favorites of my first visit to the Pacific Ocean at Point Loma.  I just looked again at all of those pictures and can hardly decide which one is best.  It was the most glorious experience.

No such excitement around here this year!  Actually, Lori was scheduled to be away for the same work conference last weekend, and it had to be postponed due to the government shut-down.

Last Saturday evening Dick and I had an evening at home and decided to watch an old, ridiculously hilarious movie - The North Avenue Irregulars.  We used to see it at the Sight and Sound Theater when our kids were little and they would show family movies on Saturday evenings.  I laughed the whole way through it again.

While we watched it I got something accomplished that has been on my to-do list for a while.  I went through my recipes, got them organized again into notebooks in alphabetical order and got rid of duplicates and ones I know I'll never use.  This was the pile on the floor when I was finished!

 On Sunday morning I took my camera along to church.  This is Greater Buffalo Run Valley UMC, taken from the side parking lot.

And inside.  I would love to take a picture of everyone standing and singing, but I can't because I'm always at the piano!

Later at Calvary we again had fun hanging out after the service with Anthony and Lori and some of their friends.  Hunter just loves walking around their big lobby.  He turns it into his own track and goes around and around.  Anthony keeps right behind him.

Austin happily played Scrabble on my phone until the adults were finished talking.

We brought the boys home with us after church.  Hunter again fell asleep just before we got home and continued napping on our love seat for about two hours.  Austin and I played real Scrabble.  He's going to be giving me some real competition before long, I'm afraid.

When Hunter woke up he charmed us to pieces, as always.

This was a fairly normal week of work.  Cooking for Anthony and Lori and picking Austin up from school on Monday, followed by piano lessons at my students' home, followed by grocery shopping, followed by prepping the Houserville praise team music for this week.

On Tuesday I worked on updating the choir notebooks, making a choir arrangement of a song on my computer composer program, exercise class, and prepping the Sunday morning music for our praise band at GBRV.

On Wednesday it was doing our laundry, cooking for Anthony and Lori, picking up Austin, getting groceries, and worship at Houserville House of Hope in the evening.

Thursday was just yesterday, but I can't remember what I did besides practice piano, cook our dinner, pick up Austin, meet Lori at Trader Joes later, then choir practice in the evening.  Anthony left for his annual trip to the NAMM Convention in Ahaheim, CA.

It was birthday week in Florida.  Wednesday was Sophie's 13th!  Here's the adorable collage Lisa posted on Instagram.

I posted this precious one.  This girl!!  She has been so cute and sweet from day one!

Their school had off for a teachers' conference that day, so Lisa was able to pull off a really fun 13th birthday party for her.

And how about this one that Lisa posted that night?  I think Sophie chooses to do this every year instead of gifts for herself.  Oh my heart!!!

And then Thursday was Lisa's birthday!  I was feeling sentimental on Wednesday evening and decided to sit down and write the story of waiting for Lisa.

In January 1974 Dick and I were expecting our first baby. My due date was January 11. My aunt Dorothy Witmer was expecting a baby a few weeks ahead of me, but alas, her baby was born a month early! I remember panicking to think that the same thing could happen to us, and we didn't have anything ready yet! 

So that put us into action. We started getting baby things just in case. I was a part-time music teacher at Manheim Christian and was in charge of a good bit of the Christmas program. I was really relieved when I got through that without going into labor. 

Then there was my sister Doris's wedding a day or so after Christmas. I really didn't want to miss any of that! At the end of that day I remember saying, "Okay, now I'm ready to have this baby. Everything important is over now."

I was constantly having false contractions that didn't amount to anything. On January 11 (due date) I had my weekly doctor visit. He said, "Are you sure you're not having contractions? Everything is so ready. I think we're having a baby tonight!" 

Wow!! I was so excited. I went to Dick's shop and had him come out to my car. I said, "Now don't tell the guys! But the doctor said we're having this baby TONIGHT!!"

From there I went to the grocery store, hoping my water wouldn't break. I kept thinking how funny it was that people had no idea I was so close to giving birth. They would probably read the birth announcement in the paper and remember that they had just seen me in the grocery store right before the baby was born! I felt so smug!

WELL. No baby was born that night. Or the next, or the next. Not even that week or the next!!!! Every morning I would wake up and wonder how in the world people actually go into labor. I was getting bored for the first and last time in my life!! I was running out of things to do. 

On January 24th we played Scrabble in the evening, a very normal activity for us. We made phone calls about apartments, because we would be needing to move in a few months. Then we finally got ready for bed. Just as I turned off our bedroom light my water broke with a huge splash. And about five-and-a-half hours later a baby girl, Lisa Joy Stauffer, came into this world. We were beyond ecstatic!!! 

We had told no one that we were going to the hospital, so right after she was born they brought us a telephone and we called our parents. Dick told his parents and I told mine. 

After a while they took me to my room and Dick left for work. I'll never forget lying there alone in my room (babies stayed in the nursery back in those days) and feeling absolutely ecstatic. I had really and truly had a baby!!!

When they brought her to me after a while, I introduced myself to her as she looked at me with those black eyes in that beautiful little face. I was so totally in love!!

Precious, precious memories!  Forty-four years ago.  I just can't believe it.  I posted this collage on Thursday when I wished her a happy birthday, and when I looked at that adorable baby that was her, I wished I could start all over again.  

And one last cute picture that Lori texted to us and Anthony this evening.  She said they were having so much fun. 

That's all, folks!  Have a good weekend!