The Musical Keyboard DVD

At last!!  The third DVD in my Music@Home series is available!  The Musical Keyboard is a thorough introduction to the keyboard and how it "matches" with the musical staff.  All three videos are geared to younger elementary students, but students of any age who have never learned these basics would benefit from them.  

If you are a homeschool family, or you know someone who is, please check out my recently updated Music@Home website.  Help me spread the word!

Destiny's birthday weekend

Destiny's 12th birthday was on Friday.  We weren't able to celebrate it with her that day, but on Saturday morning we drove to Reading to watch her cheer at a football game.  It was a perfect day - bright and sunny, but not too hot. 

After the game we drove to the Castle Roller Rink in Lancaster.  J'von's mother dropped him off there, and they had so much fun together.  What made it especially fun for me was that it was free!  They said it would be $14 for the two kids and their skates.  Then Destiny said,  "My birthday was yesterday."  And they decided to waive the charge!  

From there we took them to Friendly's for dinner and dessert.  Another fun time.  They just love being together. 

We spent the night at Grandma Mary's.  All of us were exhausted from our big day and went to bed by 10:00.  
This morning we finally were able to go to church at Grace Community Fellowship, our home church.  We had not been there since April!  There was not nearly enough time to talk with all the people that I really wanted to.  Destiny had another game this afternoon, so we had a schedule to keep.

Back at Grandma Mary's for lunch, I told Destiny to let me take a picture of her before she changed out of her "church clothes."  What a beautiful 12-year-old!

 

My sister Mary Ellen was also there for lunch, and a DELICIOUS lunch it was.   And take a look, Witmers - that is some of Mary Ellen's wonderful partially thawed applesauce in the foreground of the picture.  Yum!!

 

We had to eat quickly, pack up, and head back to Reading for the game.  It was another gorgeous day.

After the game we took Destiny to another birthday celebration, this time at Frank's biological mom's house.   Here's Destiny with her grandma Maria.  You can see where Destiny gets her height!

We said our goodbyes to her and headed for home.   It was a really good weekend, but OUCH!  Those gas prices hurt!!

An evening with Dick and Nancy; cute grandchildren pics

We had such a fun evening with my brother Dick and his wife Nancy.  They are camping in this area and came for dinner. 

This was their first time here at our house.  It was also their first chance to get away from home in a long while.  Nancy's brother Earl recently died after a long battle with brain cancer.  Dick and Nancy were the most faithful family members anyone could ever want at a time like that.  Every evening for months they would head to her brother's place around 9 pm and spend several hours with him and his wife.  They would read scriptures he asked for, sing songs, pray, help take care of many details.  In fact, they watched first hand as he gradually went from, "Don't quote any Bible verses" to "Please sing the songs we sang at church growing up."  They describe this summer as hard, intense, but sacred.  Worth every hour they spent with him. 

On a completely different note, I want to share some great photos of some of our grandchildren.  First of all, one that Lisa posted of Sophie with her best friend Maggie - at age 3 and age 7.  Is this delightful or what??

And Frank and Lauren's little Jada is three weeks old already!!  What a beautiful little doll!  I do hope we get a chance to see her before she's too much bigger.  Our schedules and distance make it very hard to get together. 

On Saturday Sam and Jenn took Sammy for his one-year-old pictures.  Here's some cute shots of him with a little red car!  What a ham!

DVD finished; visit from Jeremy; service in the park

We seemed to have whirlwind week, I guess because Monday was a holiday, and then there were only four days left.  

Anthony and I finally got all the editing finished and the DVDs ordered for my 3rd Music@Home video.  My shoulder surgery and recovery as well as some very ambitious new projects Anthony has been working on in his own recording business have slowed our progress on this one.  Hopefully by next week I can finally say it's available.  

We had our first practice after a summer break with the Fillmore choir.  It was fun to back at Judy's house again with the gang.

On Friday I found out that Jeremy, his dog Molly, and his friend Mike were coming up from DC for the weekend.  So Friday evening Dick and I were cleaning and doing yard work.

Saturday morning I had a sweet time at our monthly women's prayer breakfast, and by noon our DCers arrived.  I made my cream of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, and then we all just chilled for the afternoon.  It was raining outside and just perfect weather for napping.  Jeremy's work schedule with Regency Furniture is absolutely insane, so when he comes here he's not looking for adventure and activity.  He's looking for Mom's comfy sofa from Regency Furniture.  (-:

Anthony and Lori picked up take-out from Cozy Thai in State College and brought it here.  I took this pic with my cell phone, which seems to be taking increasingly blurry pictures.  I need to update one of these days.  Trust me, the food was amazing, and we had a good time.

Later, after Anthony and Lori left, we watched a movie, We Bought a Zoo.  It was really a sweet, sometimes funny, sometimes sad movie.  I loved it.  

After church today we met Anthony, Lori, and Austin at the Waffle Shop, which Mike had never been to.  This is the way you eat chocolate chip pancakes:  you pick them up in your hand and eat the chocolate chips out of them!

Ready to dig in!

  
The DCers left around 3:00.  

This evening at 6:00 the Fillmore church  had a service of healing and remembrance in the park right near our community.  The local Salvation Army captain spoke about his experience at Ground Zero a few weeks after 9/11.  I doubt there was a dry eye.  I wished I could go somewhere and sob.  We had prayer for healing and also communion.  It was a beautiful service and a lovely setting.  And quite a nip in the air!

Our Labor Day fun

On Sunday we left right from church for Reading.  We found out on the way there that Destiny's cheering squad would be cheering at a game at 3:00.  It wasn't exactly in our plans, but I was eager to see her cheer, so we adjusted our plans a little bit.  It really was fun to watch her.

  

Here's one of her favorite cheers - ATTACK.

When the game was over we went to a family reunion at my Uncle Earl and Aunt Irene's - later than I had hoped, but most people were still there and we had a wonderful time.  Uncle Earl is one of my mother's brothers.  The three (out of ten) siblings who are still living were there as well as a number of cousins.  I had never been to Earl and Irene's home, but had often heard how beautiful a setting it was.  I LOVED it!

We spent the night and this morning at Dick's parents.  It was great to have time to just hang out, relax, and have fun with them.  Dad was burning some brush.  He LOVES his woods.

Destiny and Grandma Arlene were having an animated conversation.

 

We met up with Sam, Jenn, and Sammy at the Pizza Hut in Lititz.  Sammy has started taking steps by himself this week and has also learned to wave hi and bye-bye.  We need to see that boy every week to keep up with him!

Then we went to see Grandma Mary.  Dick and I both took naps while we were there.  When I woke up I wondered what Destiny was doing and found her having a grand time with Grandma's toys!  I guess you're never too old!

Of course, you know what Grandma Mary was doing - just getting "a little something" for us to eat!  

Here's a quilt she's working on.

This close-up view shows the difference her hand stitches make - the bottom row has already been stitched, but the upper row has not.  Lots of patience required!

After we ate her delicious meal we said our goodbyes and headed to Reading to take Destiny home.  This was a very cloudy, dreary, humid day, and we drove through a lot of dark, heavy clouds, but not too much rain on our way home to State College.  

And here it is Monday evening already!  It seems so much like it's a Sunday evening.  I just hope I can keep my days straight this week.

Highlights from the week

This was a rather typical, non-eventful week for the most part.  I'll share a few pics from the week.  First my glimpse of the sun making its appearance through the pine tree yesterday morning.

And then the "blue" moon last night.

On Thursday at the church office I took  another picture of the peaceful view.  I had taken a picture of it also in the spring.  I'm thinking it would be cool to take one each season and then make a collage.

Yesterday was Lori's birthday.  We kept Austin from last evening until this afternoon after his nap.  If only I could have HALF his energy!!  He simply does not seem to ever get tired.  When he finally does wind down enough to sleep it usually happens all of a sudden after almost an hour of talking, singing, winding his music-making teddy bear, needing a tissue, and more!

  

This morning Dick had a rare Saturday morning off due to the holiday weekend.  They had fun sitting on the porch - after Austin found and disposed of our spider webs!  

And now for the laugh of the week.  Anyone who knows me very well knows that my insulated mug filled with ice and water goes with me almost everywhere I go.  Tuesday I drove the several blocks home from the church office, turning three corners, passing and waving to several neighbors along the way, drove into our driveway, gathered my things, then noticed my mug was missing.  "Oh no!" I thought, "How did I walk out of the office without my mug?"  My next thought was, "Oh NO!!   I remember putting it on the roof when I opened my car door!" 

I climbed out of my car, and there was my mug - still on the roof!!  Up the street several neighbors watched as I reached up and took it down.  A man called, "How did you DO that?"  And I burst out laughing as I answered, "I have NO idea!"  I have continued to be amused by this all week as I imagine what the neighbors must have been thinking as I, so blissfully ignorant, passed them!   And every time I have made that little trip since then, there has not been anybody outside along the way, which is typical.  But that day they were out there!

After church tomorrow Dick and I plan to go to Lancaster County till Monday evening.  Looking forward to catching up with some loved ones.