Singing the coughing blues, more birthdays, funny Hunter

My last post was written on Tuesday of last week.  That evening Dick had gotten home from work completely wiped out, even had trouble staying awake on the way home.  He spent the evening sleeping on his recliner.  Wednesday morning he had a fever. He called off work and slept on and off all day long.  He felt a lot better Thursday morning and went to work that day, as well as Friday and Saturday morning.  But he again was feeling completely exhausted when he got home from work at noon on Saturday, and spent the rest of the day on his recliner.  He was coughing a lot more and had a sore swollen gland at his neck.  

This kind of thing has been going on since the week before Thanksgiving.  He has been to Urgent Care and our doctor's office (had a physician's assistant that time) and had one round of antibiotics for strep throat.  He made an appointment for today, and I went along.  I had made a list of dates, appointments, meds, issues, etc.  This time she ordered blood work and a chest X-ray.  He had lost 12 pounds since the last appointment on December 30.  What????  I would love to lose 12 pounds, but not from having a bad cold, I guess.  We're both really eager for him to feel better and stronger and to stop coughing.

Last Thursday and Friday there were beautiful sunrises.   It seemed like ages since we'd had one.

Thursday morning.

Friday morning.

On Thursday morning I had a meeting for group leaders at Calvary.  The new Bible Study semester will soon be starting.  I'm excited that I will have the same women in my group again.  We had really bonded in the fall, and I miss them and their support.  

Of course we had choir practice at GBRV Thursday evening.  That's another group that is really bonding. We pray together, practice together, and laugh together - a lot!

Friday was Sophie's 15th birthday!  And she got her learner's permit!!  She will have to drive with a licensed driver for a year before she can get her license.  That sounds like a good way to do it.  What a girl!  The track season is starting now, and I know Calvary Christian High School is very glad to have her on their team!  Here is a collage - the first time I saw her at 3 weeks of age, and the last time I saw her in July.  

On Friday evening we were over at Anthony and Lori's and made a Happy Birthday video.  Lisa's birthday would be Saturday, so we added greetings for her as well.  Apparently I turned my phone off right before our last big note!  What a disappointment!

And this is the collage I made for Lisa's birthday.  She was our firstborn, and we were just head-over-heels in love with her!!  She was a really beautiful baby.  And she's a really beautiful woman.  She is in her first year of teaching and coaching at Calvary Christian High School in Clearwater and is really, really thriving!  She loves it there and they really love her.  

On Saturday I drove down to Lancaster County to do some things with Destiny.  On the way home I stopped in Duncannon to drop off things that Sammy had left at our house the other Monday.  I didn't get any "people" pictures that day, but I did get this beautiful shot of the sunset over the Susquehanna River at Duncannon.  

On Sunday morning we went to our service at GBRV and also the 10:45 service at Calvary.   Around 2:00 we went to the nearby University Park Airport where we met Lori in the parking lot.  She was leaving on a work trip and we got Hunter.   

He was thrilled to discover the new addition to our toys - the marble roller. 

We all napped, then watched Monsters INC, a new favorite of his.   I was laughing as I remembered when it first came out in 2001.  Everyone was saying that the little girl in the movie looked like Destiny!

So Hunter stayed here overnight Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.  On Monday and Tuesday evenings we went over to their place to eat dinner and spend some time with Anthony and Austin.  Lori got back home today.  

I took some really cute videos of Hunter.  So here goes. 

Too late I thought of taking a video as he sang Circle of Life with the video clip.  All I got was the last phrase.  But the ending is so cute as he adds some vibrato!

Here's a book I had taken a video of once before.  This time he was in a very distracted mood, and it took quite a bit longer to get through the book, lol!

On Tuesday evening he decided that he would tell the bedtime story.  I think we ended up with four of them.  Here's one I got on video.  It's all over the place, even includes a little bit of violence, but it ends really sweet!  

Here's a cute picture of him last evening after he had exclaimed over his "awesome, wonderful, beautiful, and amazing" bath towel!  

Then this morning he was really full of it when we were eating breakfast.  He wondered what kind of hair I had.  He thought it looked silly and that I should go back and get a nice hair!  I'm trying, Hunter, I'm trying!

He really is so delightful and easy and very, very funny!

I'll add one last picture.   Yesterday was a very cloudy day, but suddenly my kitchen was flooded with bright sunshine.  I had to check it out.  Apparently the sun had briefly found a place to peek through those clouds!  It did not last long.

That's all for this week!  Have a good rest of your week!  January is soon over, woohooo!!

Another birthday, Dad's auction, new old toys

Time to catch up here again!  First of all I want to share a collage of pictures I took at around 5:30 PM on two separate days this past week.  Still daylight!!  It just makes me feel so happy!

These new placemats make me happy too.  I was not looking to get new ones, but when I saw them at Walmart I knew they would be perfect for our table.  

Last Friday was Austin's 11th birthday.  Some of you remember the night he was born as Anthony kept updating their blog with Lori's progress.  I saw in my FB memories that I had declared that I would not go to bed until that baby was born.  And I didn't!  Thankfully he came right after midnight.  We lived in Lititz at that time, but we changed our plans to be able to go see him later that day.  When I made this collage on Friday I thought that Austin was probably looking up at me and thinking, "In 11 years you aren't going to be able to beat me in Scrabble anymore!"  

Unfortunately, we were not here to help celebrate his birthday on Friday.  We left that morning for a weekend in Manheim - the big auction weekend.  When we got to Dad's place on Friday Dick got busy helping his brothers with auction prep.  I went down  to the furnace room in the house to tag the paintings that family members had chosen.  It was nice and warm down there, and I was all by myself.  After a walk around the basement and remembering all the wonderful times we'd had there, I went back into the furnace room and had myself a little cry.   An era has passed.  We were expecting Anthony when they first purchased that wooded property and started the process of building the house.  

This was my little work area.  As I mentioned before, these were all painted by Dick's mother before she passed away at age 53.  That thing on the right is an antique meat slicer that Dad had bought from a meat market on Manheim Square when it had gone out of business.  It is staying in the family.  

I took pictures of some of the things that were ready to be sold. 

When I posted these on Facebook, Lisa commented that she remembered the pink chenille bedspread and would like to have it.  I got it for her the next day.

There were interesting books and documents too.  Dick's mother's high school yearbook had a very nice description of her and all her activities.  A book about Agnes, the big flood of 1972, did not have any pictures of Manheim (which we vividly remember), but it did have a picture of the Duncannon Square.  Those buildings had water up to the second floor!  And then there were some marriage certificates, including one of Dad Stauffer's grandparents, who were married in 1892.  

I also decided to play the old pump organ one more time.  Not my finest playing for sure, but a good memory nonetheless.  

Later in the afternoon we picked up Destiny and went to Park City Mall.  We got food at our favorite Chinese place in the food court and got some great bargains at Kohls.  And of course we had some fun!

What a lovely warm welcome awaited us at my brother's house.  The pellet stove in the basement was  sooo nice.  And that bed!  Matching that lovely bedspread were the plushest flannel sheets I have ever slept on!  Perfect for a good night's sleep!  

We were up early on Saturday and arrived at Dad's place by 8:00 AM.  Lots of prep going on!  And snow in the forecast for the day!  Ugh.  

Yes, the snow came, but so did the buyers!  The auctioneer said that snow just keeps the lookers away,  not the buyers!  They had a little food truck that offered a nice variety of foods and drinks.  The big sale tent had a big commercial heater in it.  But it was very, very cold anyway!  Destiny and Alex came too, and she was my right hand girl, as always!  Helping me keep track of my stuff, watching for the things I wanted to bid on, helping me carry things.  I love her so much!  No pictures of her this time though. 

Hess Auction Service handled the auction.  The head auctioneer was Phil Nissley whom I have known since the day he was born.  Our families were neighbors, and I also had his sons as students at Manheim Christian.  We had fun catching up on family news.  He did such a great job handling everything.  He is the one on the left.  

What saved the day for me was that Jim started a wood fire in the kitchen stove.  It was so wonderful to be able to warm up  from time to time.  Dad and Arlene were at the sale too!  They sat in the sale tent for a long time.  At one point Dad did go sit by the kitchen stove for a while.  Around noon Jim took them back to home to Pleasant View.  Dad and the auctioneer exchanged nice greetings as they were walked to the car.  

The auction was finished by 1:00, but it took a few more hours for people to pick up their purchased items or to make arrangements to do so.  I got this picture of family members going through the box lot items that were left behind.  

We left around 3:30 and went to my brother's place to relax and freshen up for the evening.  I looked like I had a sunburn, which of course I did not have!  I guess  you would call it cold burn! 

There is a very nice restaurant at Pleasant View Retirement Community, and that is where we met for dinner.  Dad and Arlene, all five sons, and almost all the wives.  Unfortunately, Jim's wife Carolyn was babysitting some grandchildren and could not join us until later.  

 

At the end of the meal we sang Dad's favorite song, the one we have sung at almost every family gathering the past forty years, "The Family of God."

After dinner we went to Dad and Arlene's apartment for more time together.  It was so good to relax together after the big day and all the work that had led up to that day. 

That night we slept at Dick and Nancy's house again.  We did not go to church Sunday morning, just took our time getting up and going.  We had a nice breakfast and conversation with Dick and Nancy. 

We went to Destiny and Alex's apartment and got some things done there.  Later we drove to pick up Sammy and Bianca and took them to his indoor soccer game.  He had a GREAT game!  The other team was really a tough one, beating his team 3-2.  But Sammy's team gave them a good fight, and Sammy made some great kicks.  We were so proud of him.  And he was feeling pretty good about his game!

They had no school Monday because of Martin Luther King Day, so they came home with us overnight.  We had a fun evening.  They wanted hot chocolate right away and I made grilled cheese sandwiches.  We had gotten an old marble roller and marbles at the auction, and they had so much fun with them! 

On Monday they had more fun with the marbles as they sorted them according to color.  They also had a fun bubble bath with the balloons - yes, the same balloons from a couple of months ago!  Sammy loves to read books about historical figures.  There is a great "Who Was....?" series for young readers that he really enjoys.  As I cooked, he sat and read his book, "Who Was Jesus?" to me.  It was a really good book!  He also test tasted the Chicken Tikka Masala that I was making! 

Another new old thing we had gotten at the auction was the game Triominoes.  Bianca spent a long time matching up the numbers.  She decided she had made a dinosaur!

Later in the afternoon we drove to Lewistown (about half way between here and Duncannon) where we met Jenn to give the kids back to her.  It was her birthday!  Earlier in the day we had sent her a Happy Birthday video.  

So today I started my journey to white hair.  I had my regular hair appointment, but I did not get the roots colored as I always have for the past 30? years.  Instead I got a much shorter hair cut (so that it doesn't take so long for the natural hair color to show) and I got some ashy highlights to hopefully make the "line" less noticeable as it grows out.   So here's my before and after pic.  I can't promise I will know how to style it the way she did, however. 

And now my bed is loudly calling my name!  Goodnight!

Stauffer Christmas gathering, some snow, good times with grands

Monday morning!  And I didn't have a chance to do a post at the end of last week, so it's time to catch up here.  When I told Dick this morning that I was doing my picture collages for my blog post (I didn't want him to think I was wasting time on my phone, lol) and that I hadn't posted since the other Saturday, he said, "Your flock of readers are waiting!"  I informed him that I am aware that I don't have a flock of readers, but that I mostly keep up here for my own self and that the longer I wait between posts the longer it takes me to catch up!  Men!!

As we prepare for the auction at Dick's dad's house, we have been trying to let family members choose which of Grandma Ruth's paintings they would like to have.  I've been trying to keep track of which ones are chosen.  I'm starting to feel like an auctioneer!  Here is one of her paintings.  There are at least 40 of them!

Now back to last Saturday.  Sam and the kids came up in the afternoon in time for the Buffalo Bills playoff game.  They have been Sam's favorite team since he was a young teenager, and for many years they were not doing well, but he has rooted for them no matter what.  Seeing them have  a chance in the playoffs was exciting!

While he and Dick watched the game and the kids busied themselves with various puzzles and toys, I made bacon-wrapped meatballs and baked potatoes for our dinner.  Unfortunately, while the Bills game actually went into overtime because of a tied score, they did not win that game.  Big disappointment!  I took this picture when they were announcing that they would be going into overtime.  We were so sure this was going to be a Bill's victory when I took this.

On Sunday morning Dick and I packed up everything we would need for the day before we left for our service at GBRV.  As soon as the service was over, we headed toward Manheim (a little over 2 hours' drive) for our annual Stauffer Christmas dinner.   Sam and the kids were going to go too, but because Sammy would have an indoor soccer game near Harrisburg that afternoon, we decided it would be too full a day for them.  

We used to hold these Christmas dinners in Grandpa's basement, but in 2015, when the numbers and noise level got too high, we began meeting at Manheim Brethren in Christ's facility, which included a gym.  This year we met at Teen Central, a Christian outreach in Manheim for teens.  It served our needs well.  

I think we had around 40 people there, which is not nearly the whole family!  So many cute kids!!  None of our children were there, but our grandchildren Bjorn and Jess and Destiny came.  I had such a great time catching up with them and with Dick's parents and our sister-in-laws and nieces.  

We did not think of taking a group picture before Dad and Arlene left, but we did get the four brothers and wives.  They have one more brother Bob who lives in Minnesota.  

When we took Destiny home afterward we passed this house in East Petersburg.   The first house we bought in 1978 for $32,000!  The one where we felt called to some kind of ministry with this big house.  The one where our foster care began.  We were so young and fearless.  I would love to go back to that stage of our lives.  (By the way, we did not let those bushes crawl up over our house when we owned it!)

The next day was a regular Monday of cooking for Anthony and Lori (Korean stir-fry), piano lessons, and choosing the music for the next Sunday. 

On Tuesday I met Sam for lunch half way between here and there.  We needed a chance to talk without little ears around!  I knew there was a chance of very light snow, but it turned out to be more than was predicted.  Let me tell you, the drive home was not fun.  I had no trouble whatsoever, but it was really snowing, and 322 has so many big trucks.  I was really glad when I got home!  Here are some snow scenes from Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Tuesday evening Dick and I went over to Anthony and Lori's for dinner.  Lori would be leaving in the wee hours of the morning for a trip to London for her uncle's funeral.  We took Hunter home with us for the night.  He is such a delight to have here!!

I took this video of Grandpa and Hunter reading a book at bedtime.  

On Wednesday morning I took him to preschool late because of the snow and wind.  He loves to stand at this little "window" to say goodbye.

We went over to their place again that evening to have dinner with Anthony and Austin and brought Hunter here for the night.  

Weeks ago I had ordered an apron I had seen advertised on Facebook.  It is vinyl and has felt patches on each side for hand-wiping.  Also an adjustable neck strap and a pocket in front.  I always wear an apron when I'm cooking.  I just can't stand getting my clothes messy or the effort to keep them from getting messy.  I have two aprons I've been wearing for years, but there are issues with each.   This new one is a great combination of the things I need in an apron!  When I ordered it, there was also a special offer for night vision glasses for driving.  I decided to get those too.  I honestly could not even remember what I had ordered because it was so long ago.  So when a package showed up in my mailbox I was pleasantly surprised!  Don't laugh!!

On Friday evening Anthony and the boys came here for dinner.  We had a fun evening.  Austin wasn't feeling the greatest (sore throat), but after I gave him some children's Tylenol he began feeling better and we had a Scrabble game that made him feel REALLY good!  I'm starting to realize why he is getting so good at this game.  When we play each other on my phone, he uses the "Best Word" feature.  For four turns you can let the app chose your best word.  Frequently they are words you have never even heard of.  I often resist using those because I like to think for myself.  But I'm realizing that he REMEMBERS those words, which I never do.  So his Scrabble vocabulary is getting bigger than mine.  UGH!    He got 108 points from the word squiz.  Never even knew that was a valid word. 

During the evening I pulled out my "Anthony" picture file.  All his formal pictures from birth to high school graduation.   Oh did we have fun with those!  

On Saturday morning we got the news that our friend Delma Layton from Grace Community Fellowship had passed away.  She had Shingles about five years ago and has had unending complications ever since.  She lived with so much pain.  She was a really special person.  She loved knitting prayer shawls for people, one of which was given to me on my last Sunday as worship leader.  I still wrap it around myself almost every evening.   We also have a Christmas ornament on our tree that Destiny made when Delma had the "Girls of Grace" at her house for a Christmas party years ago.  Another amazing project she was working on prior to her illness was making little gowns for stillborn babies out of donated wedding gowns.   Such a creative, giving soul!

On Saturday morning Hunter wanted to watch Lion King, his new favorite movie, while I was getting my shower and doing my hair.  Later I came out to the living room and saw him contentedly watching screen after screen of credits at the end of the movie - because the music is so excellent and he really feels it!  

I took him to a classmate's birthday party on Saturday afternoon.  It was held in the gathering area at Calvary.  

In the evening Anthony worked the coffee bar at Calvary's Saturday evening service. We got Burger King take-out and brought the boys here to our house for the evening.   Anthony posted this funny picture of a sign he had made while working that evening. 

Hunter stayed here one more night and went to GBRV with us in the morning.  It was his first time there for a Sunday morning service.  He was a mix of emotions - a few tears, a lot of talking before the service started, some humor of course!   My dear friend Gloria took him under her wing since I was busy at the piano.  Here are some pictures we got during the pastor's story time. 

After the service at GBRV we went to Calvary's service.  We hadn't been there for a month, and it was so good to be there.  We took Hunter and all his things home to their house after church.  Lori was on her way home from London.  Unfortunately because of a delay in Detroit (no pilot assigned to the flight!!??)  she just got to State College at 3:00 this morning.  Ugh!!  And this is the first day of the Spring semester. 

Dick and I had some down time at home Sunday afternoon, then we went to the Harrisburg area for Sammy's indoor hockey game.  He is not natured to be an aggressive player, but he ran hard and made some good kicks for his team.  They won the game 5 - 3!  He was hot and thirsty when the game was over!  Love this boy so much!

Well, now I'm all caught up!  Not for my "flock of readers" but for my own future memories!!  

This coming Saturday is the auction at Dick's dad's place, and there is snow in the forecast.  Lord, hear our cry for good weather!!