New baby, old homes, back-to-school, ballgame

I'm not sure how I used to remember what I had done the past week before I had pictures to look at to jog my memory!!  Remember the way we had to wait till we filled up the whole film, then get it developed somewhere?  Sometimes it would go weeks or months before we would actually get to see the pictures we had taken!  I remember one time when teenage Anthony quipped, "So what year will it be when we get to see this picture?"

All that to say that I needed to look back at my pictures to remember what I've done since last Thursday (my last post.)  But first, a picture of Sunday morning's glorious sunrise, from my kitchen window!

Thursday

On Thursday I picked Hunter up from daycare because Lori was working late.  Anthony had taken Austin to an ice cream social at school.  Hunter was delighted that he was coming to Grandma's house.  He ate dinner here with us and had fun playing with Grandpa till Lori came around 7:30.  We had to leave right away for praise team practice at church, and he wasn't finished playing yet, so Lori stayed here a while with him after we left.  Later I got this adorable little video from Lori, haha!!  He loves this fire truck so much.  

Friday

On Friday a sweet new baby girl was born to Frank and Lauren!  I didn't mention it before because she had chosen to wait till the baby was born to put anything on social media.  Welcome, V'anni Rose!!  More pics of her later in my post!

Saturday

On Saturday I finally stayed home and gave this house a good cleaning.  We still have the grandcats here, so it was NECESSARY!   I love a clean house!  

Sunday

On Sunday after our service at GBRV we headed to Manheim for Hope Clark's memorial service at Grace Community Fellowship.  As Hope had asked me to do, I led the praise and worship and included other musicians just as we did the other Sunday at Pastor Dennis's farewell service.  There was lots of time for people to share how Hope had impacted their lives.  Wow!  She was SO life-giving to so many people.  Full and overflowing with joy and laughter and Jesus' love.  I didn't take any pictures except this one up on the screen.  That big smile says it all!

It was 5 PM when we finally left the church, but while we were somewhat in the area, we decided to make a quick trip to Reading (a 50-minute drive) to see the new baby.  I drove so Dick could nap.  

And here she is!!  SO beautiful and precious!!

This is my favorite picture!  Lauren knows how quickly they grow up.  Her firstborn, Nicayla, is already 16.  So she is treasuring moments like this. 

And now I'm allowed to share these pictures I took a few weeks ago when we were there for the baby shower.

Earlier in the day, because we had extra time before we needed to arrive at Grace Community Fellowship, Dick and I drove around the Manheim area to take pictures of places we had lived.  Here are our first three homes - current picture above, old picture below.

Our first home in 1971 was a little mobile home (bottom photo) in back of the house of one of my dad's co-workers.  It was only 10'x55' with an extension, which made a nice-sized living room.  Our rent was $90/month!  At some point since then that little home was replaced with a bigger one, the hedge was replaced with a stone wall.

We lived there for a year-and-a-half, eventually getting really tired of the tight quarters.  

My friend Elaine's dad owned a farmhouse that was divided into four apartments, and one of those became available in May 1973.  When we moved to that first floor apartment with its four large rooms and high ceilings, we felt like we lived in a mansion!!  I loved living there.  Right about the time we moved there we discovered that I was pregnant.

But alas, right around the time Lisa was due to be born, we were informed that the owner's son (our friend Dan) was going to be getting married, and the apartment we were living in was to be his, since it was on the side toward the barn, I guess.  I really cried when I found that out.  I was actually making calls to apartment ads the evening that I went into labor!

So our next home was another farmhouse apartment, again owners that I had known all my life.  This time it was two floors (two bedrooms) and a garage,  we had our own laundry, a bath-and-a-half, a big lawn and plenty of room to grow our own garden.  It was a wonderful place to live.  We lived there four-and-a-half years.  Anthony was born during those years.  We have so many happy memories from that place.    

We moved from there in October 1978 when we bought our first home.

I'll do a "houses we've owned" post some other time, haha!

Monday

Monday was back-to-school for some of the grandchildren.  Actually, first day of Kindergarten for Bianca.  She had a very protective older brother to help her with the school bus thing.  She's a lucky girl!  Austin is now in 5th grade, Sammy in 2nd grade.

Tuesday

On Tuesday evening we had fun with a group of friends from GBRV.  We went to a ballgame!  The Spikes are our local team.  It was kind of a boring game, they were tied in score almost the entire time.  Only in overtime did the score finally move, and not in the Spikes' favor unfortunately.  But we had fun anyway.  One of the stands had a super special on their walking tacos - $2.00 instead of the regular $6.50.  

Here's our group.

The oldest in our group was that spunky lady in the lower right picture.  Gladys is 92!!  She was still there after 10 PM!!  

Wednesday

Austin has been staying for the school's after-care program, so I haven't seen him all week.  But I did see evidence that he's been crocheting when I took dinner to their house yesterday afternoon.  Maybe he's working on my scarf, haha!

Did I really see leaves that are turning yesterday???  I'm sorry, all you Fall lovers.  I love Fall too, but there's just a sadness to it because I know that means winter is coming.  I truly dread winter.  If I never had things to do or places to go, it might be different.  Maybe.

There were guys there yesterday mulching all the many flowerbeds around the place, even mulching around and between all those rhododendron bushes at the pond.  It's looking more amazing than ever!

Well, I think that's all for this time.  Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Bellefonte KOA weekend; other fun stuff this week

Time to catch up here!  I have lots of pictures to share from our annual weekend at the local KOA campground.  Believe it or not, there should have been even more pictures, but I guess I was busy and never thought of taking pictures during some of our good times.  But that's how it goes.  Unfortunately, it's easy to forget things if there aren't pictures.

Friday

Last Friday afternoon I went to pick up Sammy and Bianca.  We stopped at Sheetz after I picked them up to "fuel up" - in more ways than one, haha!

When we got back to our house, Dick was there getting ready to hook up the camper.  I got all the food packed into coolers, etc, we loaded everything up, and off we went!  Just 15-20 minutes to the campground.  

When we got there, the very first place they wanted to go to was the jumping pillow, which Sammy insisted was called "the beanbag."   Whoever invented this was a genius.  Such a GREAT way for kids to work off their excitement and energy!

Meanwhile Dick was setting up the camper.  The campground offers pizza and wings on Friday evenings, so we took advantage of that.  The kids especially loved the garlic and butter wings.  I think Bianca ate most of them!  

When Anthony and Lori and the boys arrived, Austin had only one thing on his mind.  Panning for gems!  In the camp store they sell bags of sand that include various gems and fossils, etc.  Bianca was eager to do that with Austin.  

More jumping pillow as it started to get dark.

Then we went over to Anthony and Lori's cabin.  It was a lovely evening to sit on their deck.  Sammy and Bianca were having fun with some letter puzzles.  Austin and Anthony were playing Scrabble on their phones.  And Hunter, of course, was sitting on my lap reading to me.  Book and after book after book!

Then we walked across to our camper.  We love it!

Saturday

We had a nice, slow start to our Saturday morning.  Sammy and Bianca watched Grandpa start the fire.  Sammy said,  "This is better than TV!  It's real life!"  How profound is that??

I decided that if we were going swimming later, I wasn't going to try to get "pretty."  So I sported my best redneck look as I made scrambled eggs and hash browns in my cast iron skillet on the camp stove.  Dick fried the bacon on a cast iron griddle, then toasted English muffins on the grate.  

Anthony and Lori and the boys came over for breakfast,  but I didn't get any pictures of that.  

In fact, I didn't get any pictures the rest of the morning.  I'm sure the kids did more panning and jumping.  I was cleaning up and organizing.  At some point I sent lunch stuff (sandwich makings, cherries, rice krispie treats) over to Anthony and Lori's cabin.  Some of their friends (Tiffany and her kids, Nana and her kids) had arrived for the day.  

The next big looked-forward-to event was the bubble machine!  Half an hour of swimming, splashing, and sliding in bubbles!  I was told they use a gallon of Palmolive detergent!  

No better place to go after that than the nearby pool!  We were there a long time and had so much fun.  The water felt PERFECT for such a hot day.  I totally forgot to take any pictures and actually got this one later.  

Back at the campground I very slowly started getting things ready for our evening meal.  I had already made chili earlier in the week, and it just needed to be reheated in my electric kettle.  I cooked rice on the camp stove.  

Meanwhile Lori and Hunter came over to our campsite with play doh.  Hunter and Bianca played with it for a long time.  They mixed all the colors together to make beautiful designs.  

Dick got this adorable video of them humming as they worked.  

Then they decided they wanted to relax in the camper.  Sammy started a video on his tablet and I propped it up on my suitcase at the end of the bed.  Hunter lay between Sammy and Bianca watching the video.  Just adorable!  Anthony took this picture of them through the screen.  

More jumping pillow!

Sammy and Bianca were so excited when Sam arrived!  He had worked until 3 and came up here after he got off.  Just in time for the hayride!  I was thankful he was here to take them on it.  My experience on that hayride last year cured me from ever going on it again.  They take you in the HILLS, let me tell you.  Muddy, steep hills.  I was scared to death!

Then everyone (seven adults and eight kids!) came to our campsite for dinner - Mexican Pile-up.  I wasn't sure I would have enough, but there was actually some leftover.  I got NO pictures!  Anthony took these pictures as they were walking toward our campsite from their cabin.  That's their cabin in the background.  Look at Hunter carrying his big bag of books, haha!  

Our dinner had to be rushed to an end, unfortunately.  A storm was coming.  Everybody pitched in and helped to put things under the canopy and into our van and truck and camper.  Just in time we made it to the pavilion where they were serving delicious Berkey Creamery ice cream.  NO PICTURES!!  Ugh!!!  

After the ice cream was Bingo.  Sammy and Austin wanted to play too.  One time Sammy was just two moves away from Bingo and he would have gotten $8.00.  He was really disappointed when someone else said Bingo first.   

Hunter was playing a game on Dick's phone.  He was totally oblivious to the Bingo game.  Occasionally he would shout, "Yea!  I did it!!"  People would look to see if this little guy meant Bingo, hahaha!  

When we went back to the campsite we realized we only had one log left for a fire for s'mores.  The camp store had just closed!!  Noooo!!  We considered going to a Walmart to get some.  Then Lori went to the pavilion to pick up Austin, who had gone on their flashlight scavenger hunt, and one of the camp workers told her that he would let us buy some wood if we hurried down to the office for it right away.  Whew!!!  Saved the day!  So we had our s'mores.  But again, no pictures.  

Bed felt REALLY good that night!

Sunday
On Sunday mornings the campground offers a pancake, sausage, and bacon breakfast in the pavilion.  It was SO delicious.  Again, NO PICTURES!  

We relaxed at our campsite later.  Hunter and Bianca are best buddies.  

Sammy and Austin spent a really long time at this big sandbox near our campsite.  We couldn't believe how long they were there.  I finally went to see what they were doing.  They were creating a whole system of mines in which to hide gems, etc.  They decided that Sammy was an architect and Austin was an archaeologist!  

The adults actually had time for uninterrupted conversations!  That is RARE!  I got this "gazebo" at Ollie's last week for $40!  It was perfect, providing shade from the sun and protection from rain.  

Dick made one last fire and he and Anthony roasted hot dogs over it for our lunch.  There was also some fried chicken that Anthony's friend Emil had brought the evening before.  That made some good sandwiches.   I noticed that, totally oblivious to all the craziness of everyone talking and eating,  Hunter was sitting at the table with this little book, singing a verse of "Old McDonald Had a Farm" with each page of the book.  

It was a REALLY hot, humid day.  Absolutely miserable for cleaning up.  But perfect for playing in the pool.  It felt so good to get in there after everything was packed up.  

After a while a storm chased us out of the pool.  We waited around in the pavilion for a while, hoping it would clear up, but no such luck.  

Sammy was determined to get one more time on the jumping pillow.  So after the storm was over, but it was still raining a bit, Sam and the kids got their last jumps in!  Sam is such a kid at heart!  (No, I did not go out in the rain to take this video!  I took it from the pavilion!)

Then we all hit the road for our respective homes.  I spent the evening putting stuff away and starting laundry.  I was SO tired, but there was no way I wanted to face the mess in the morning.  

Dick actually made a trip to Bedford (an hour-and-a-half away!) that evening.  Ever since he got the new pickup truck last week he has been searching for a cap for it.  We had to use the old truck for camping because of not yet having a cap for the new one.  So there was one in Bedford that was a good deal, and Sunday evening was his first chance to pick it up. He was a very happy "camper" when he got home around 9 PM.  Unfortunately the cap is red.  But it's at the body shop this week getting painted to match the truck.  Then we'll be able to get rid of the old truck.  

On Monday when I picked Austin up from Ninja camp he was crocheting - finger crocheting!  I never knew it was possible!  One of the Ninja instructors showed them how to do it.  It's his new passion!  

On Wednesday evening after I picked him up we went to the Music Boosters Family Fun Night at the State College Area High School.  It was a first-time event geared toward 4th and 5th graders, the age at which they typically choose an instrument.  It was a fantastic event.  High school musicians demonstrated their instruments, their vocal talents, etc.  There were games and prizes.  

This 5th grader preferred crocheting in the shade, haha!

They finished with a demonstration of the marching band.  We LOVED it!!  Then it got even better.  They asked kids to go out and stand next to a band member.  We were amazed that Austin was willing to do that.  (If you look closely you can see him in a red shirt holding a big horn in the lower pictures.)

They showed the kids how to march in time to the beat while holding the instrument, even marching backward!  I just loved this so much!!  What better way to get kids interested???

Last evening I decided to check in on Lisa to see how they're doing with a week of school under their belt.  That began a ridiculous Snapchat conversation between her and Sophie and me.  Sophie showed me a filter in which you can use one of your photos as a background.  How hilarious are these???  The one on the left is a picture of Lori when she and Austin were hiking last weekend.  The one on the right is a picture of the silly meerkat that Lisa always uses as her filter.  

I got this picture from them and could not stop laughing!!!!  I HAD those glasses back in the day!!!

Well, that's all for this week!  Have a great weekend!  I know one thing.  It's time to stay home and clean this house!!

A full and fulfilling weekend!

Friday

On Friday afternoon we left here a little after 4:30.  I took this picture after we backed out of the driveway.  I hardly ever have a chance to take a picture of my front flower beds this summer, because that mulch pile is on one side and the camper is on the other.  At some point both things will be moved and hopefully we can get a load of new crushed stone put on our driveway.  Blacktop would be much better, but a whole lot more money. 

As we drove the two-lane stretch out of town toward the big construction project it was exciting to see that we would actually be going on the new road up ahead.  But not for long.  The enormity of this project boggles the mind. 

Our destination was Bianca's 5th birthday party at her other grandma's house.  She was so funny and expressive over every gift she opened. I should have taken videos.  She had everybody laughing!

We gave her a collection of Calico Critters and a little purse to keep them in. 

When it was time for cake and candles she sang right along with us!  What a girl!

As we drove away from Duncannon afterward I got this beautiful shot of the sunset over the Susquehanna River. 

We drove to Manheim after the party and slept at Dick and Nancy's house.  What a wonderful gift I found on the guest room dresser!!

Saturday

On Saturday morning I dropped Dick off at his dad's place while I went to Loser's Music in Lebanon to pick up the Christmas cantata I had ordered for my choir.  When I got back to Dad Stauffer's place the men were involved in a big project - cutting down a tree!  Dick's brother Jim and his son Josh were there with a chain saw and something called a come-along.  I think it was used to pull the tree in the right direction.  Dad sat on his lawn mower to watch the excitement. 

Our next destination was Grace Community Fellowship, just a few miles away from Dad's house.  Our dear friend, Pastor Dennis Andrew, is retiring from pastoring and the next day would be his last Sunday as pastor.  The current worship leader, Kersten Harnly, had asked us to come and lead some of the music.  She had also invited Herb and Michelle Suereth, who had replaced me.  It would be a surprise to Pastor Dennis and his wife Cindy.  On Saturday we got together at the church to practice.  It was so wonderful to meet Kersten and to once again work with Lloyd, guitarist, and Jason, trumpet player.  They are both now in their 30's and had played with our worship team since they were teenagers!  In fact, Jason's young teen son Mason is now the drummer!  And he's really, really good!  

From there we went to Hilltop Acres, a favorite country grocery store nearby.  Hadn't been there for years.  It was their anniversary celebration and they were giving away free ice cream cones!  So we bought hoagies to take with us, got our free ice cream on the way out, and had our dessert first!  We stopped at Dick and Nancy's to eat our subs.  

Then we drove to Columbia, about 15 minutes from their place.  Destiny has gotten her own apartment!  A little third floor apartment just the right size for one person.  She was making rice and beans and chicken when we got there!  

Turned out she needed a few more ingredients, so Dick decided to catch a few zzzz's while Destiny and I made a quick trip to Weis Markets for a few things.  We had fun shopping together, as we always do!  She's a brave and motivated girl, and I'm so proud of her.  Working night shift at the candy factory and getting things set up to finish her last semester of high school online this fall.  

From Columbia we drove to Reading, about 45 minutes away, to see Frank and Lauren and the little girls, Jada and Alaya.  We hadn't seen them since Christmas!  Jada will 7 this weekend and will be a second grader this year.  Alaya is a sweet three-year-old.  We had a fun time together and some of their delicious food.  Why did I not think to get a picture of it?  Frank and Lauren are both excellent cooks.

Next we drove to Lebanon, about 45 minutes away, to Ray and Ashley's apartment.  We hadn't seen them since Easter!  Sam and the kids were there too, and we had the greatest time hanging out and eating together. 

It was late when we left to drive the half hour back to Dick and Nancy's house for the night.  We did not take long to hit the sack!

Sunday

Sunday morning came too soon!  We needed to be at Grace Community Fellowship by 8:30 for another practice.  Pastor Denny and his wife Cindy were indeed surprised when they walked in a while later and saw us and Herb and Michelle there! What fun! 

Here's a picture of him during the service. There were quite a few people who came for this service who no longer attend there, because they loved Dennis and Cindy so much.  He was a true "pastor."  It was almost like another homecoming.

Lots of music and worship with various arrangements of teams.  

Here I am with Cindy.  She was such a dear, dear friend, always sang harmony on my worship team, and she held a Thursday morning prayer meeting in her home that I was able to attend for several years.  Many, many times, including now, I have thought, "I need a Cindy!"  

We had a lot of fun reminiscing and catching up as we sat next to each other during the meal afterward.  There was also an open mic for people to share their memories and appreciation.  That was fun. 

Then we went to Ray and Ashley's apartment again.  Sam and the kids had stayed overnight.  First we relaxed inside for a while.  They have such a comfy sofa with recliners, and it was so nice and cool inside.  

But RJ was begging to go outside to play freeze tag with some neighbor kids.  So Sam went out with them, and I went out later to take pictures.    They were having a lot of fun.

It's a really beautiful apartment complex with all this play area and a little pavilion and some grills.  Maybe we can have a cookout there sometime.

Sammy and Bianca stood on this rock, and of course I wanted a picture.

Later I thought of this picture of them five years ago.  Oh my heart!  Children grow up toooo fast!!

Then we hit the road for home.  What a full and fulfilling weekend it had been!

As we drove we got the news that Hope Clark had passed away.  It was not a surprise.  We had been told that morning that her passing was imminent.  I think it was 1997 when Hope showed up at Grace Community Fellowship with her contagious joy and laughter and love and encouragement.  I always said I want to be like her when I get old.   A few years after we moved to State College she called me on the phone.  She was making her funeral plans and asked me if I would lead worship at her funeral whenever that would occur.  She said, "And I don't want funeral songs either.  I want the lively ones!"  So there is a memorial service being planned for her at GCF on Sunday afternoon, August 25th, and of course we'll be going down for that.  

Here are some pictures of her I had in my files.  The ones on top were taken after our children's Christmas musical in 2007.  The one on the bottom left was taken during our "pajama show" at a women's and girls' sleepover in 2008.  And the one on the bottom right was taken at a special joint worship service we held at Manheim Christian Day School in 2008.  I circled Hope on the picture.  A perfect picture of her worshiping!

Not too many pictures from this week.  I kept Hunter on Monday because his daycare is closed this week.  I was in the kitchen cooking when I realized he was really, really quiet, so I went looking for him.  And this is what I found, of course!  Books!

Each day I pick Austin up from his Ninja camp, which is at a facility near our place.  He always wants my phone so he can play Scrabble.  One day he REALLY his the scoring jackpot!!  He had already made the word "lazing" in a previous move.  Then he added the "G" at the beginning, which was on a triple word score, and the "S" at the end, which was also on a triple word score.  The "S" was also attached to the end of a vertical word, which was another triple word score!!  He got 177 points in one turn!!!

Some of you said you like my silly Snapchat videos.  So here are two little ones I sent to Sophie on Tuesday when I had a hair appointment.  Enjoy, haha!

I wish there were a way for me to save the ones she and Lisa send me.  They just crack me up!  So yesterday was their first day of school at Calvary Christian High School.  Lisa posted a collage of them on Sophie's first day of Pre-K ten years ago and her first day of 9th grade yesterday.  Again, kids grow up too fast!!

They both had a good day.  Lisa made me laugh last night when I saw her answer to my question about her day.  "I made it to all of my classes on time, I didn't get lost, and I got to meet a bunch of nice and funny kids."

Now I gotta get busy!  We have our annual camping weekend at the local KOA coming up tomorrow.  So much to do!!