Until I have time to post more.....

I'm so sorry I just can't seem to find the time to post about this past weekend.  BUT I WILL!!!!  Until I can find some time to do it, here are just three pictures.

Friday Funny

Our low-key July 4th weekend

I missed my regular Tuesday morning posting time this week.  With the holiday weekend and a hair appointment before work on Tuesday morning, there was no time.    We actually had a pretty low-key weekend.  In fact, Saturday was so low-key I can hardly remember one thing I did!  I definitely didn't take any pictures.  

Lori and Anthony had a houseful of people from Friday to Tuesday - Lori's sister Andrea from Atlanta, her friend Jackie from DC, and her friend Ivy and family from NYC.  Jackie and Ivy are sisters.  These four girls, Lori, Andrea, Jackie, and Ivy have been friends since childhood!!  They all went to church together in Brooklyn when they were growing up!  And they are still best friends today!  Isn't that so cool!  The last time all four of them were together was the weekend seven years ago when we had Austin's baby dedication and open house.  We joked that the next time they get together will be in seven years when Lori has her baby girl, hahahaha!!  Lori joked, "And it will be a grand adoption party!"

On Sunday afternoon Dick and I went to Bald Eagle State Park for the first time.  It is less than half an hour from here and so beautiful!  A sand beach at the lake.  Picnic tables and pavilions.  Shaded seating areas.  And it's free!  We definitely want to keep this place in mind if we have grandchildren here for weekends, etc.   We also took a long drive around the primitive camping area.  Wow.  Way too wild and wooded for me.

On Monday morning I woke up at 5, and when I checked FB I saw a message that our friend Lowell Graybill from our home church in Manheim had suffered a brain aneurysm during the night while he and his wife Tracy and another couple were at their cabin in northern PA.  He had been life-flighted to Geisinger Hospital in Danville, just an hour-and-a-half from here.  His daughter Steph, who has been here to stay with us a couple of times this past year, was there with him.  She said that her mom was going to be driving from the cabin to the hospital and would arrive later in the morning.  We hated to think of Steph being there by herself and felt that we should go to stay with her until others arrived.  So we got dressed, packed some food to eat while driving, and left home.  Soon after we hit the road Steph messaged us that they were actually going to be life-flighting him to Hershey Medical Center, which is closer to home.  Thankfully we had not gotten far!  So we went back home and prayed and kept updated via FB and prayer chains phone calls from our home church.  Here's a picture of Lowell and Tracy.  We have known them ever since they were dating and started coming to Grace Community Fellowship back in the late 80's. 

Lowell is still at Hershey in stable, but critical condition.  Thankfully he is able to be sitting on a chair, eating, talking, even cracking a few jokes, but he has an intense headache all the time. There are procedures and decisions to be made as to the best way to deal with the aneurysm, and there is concern about another artery as well. He needs every prayer that is offered up on his behalf.  We love this family so much and it feels hard to be so far away at a time like this.  

Back home on Monday, we spent some time weeding and mulching.  This year I decided I wanted to try growing impatiens.  I really don't have any shady place, which I know they like.  But we found some on clearance and I decided to get them and see what would happen.  I'm delighted that at least they are blooming, even though they are still very small.  

Another thing I have not had here at this house is hosta.  I decided last year that I was tired of the tall lilies lining this walkway.  So Dick got one pot of hosta and divided it up into about 16 pieces.  They are still very fledgling this summer, but at least they survived. 

Later in the afternoon we went to the Fourth Fest activities near Beaver Stadium.  Unfortunately it was becoming very cloudy by that time and was actually misting most of the time we were there.  

Good old funnel cake!  I love it.

We sat and watched several bands, mostly mediocre.   This girl was far better than any of them.

An army battalion was there showing some of their equipment to children.   Dick proudly told them about our Jenn!

The crew from Anthony and Lori's house were planning to join us there, but the weather just didn't cooperate.  The mist and drizzle turned to outright rain.  So we picked up pizzas they had ordered and went to their place for the evening.  It was lots of fun.

Besides I hadn't seen this little guy since Wednesday, and it was TIME!

Our plans had been to go somewhere to watch the State College fireworks together, but the rain nixed those plans.  They actually did go ahead with the fireworks, and we could see them at various places as we drove home.  We knew there was a good place we could have gone to watch them from the car, but our Tuesday morning needed to have an early start, so we decided to be old people and go home, haha!  

Our favorite fireworks, of course, are the ones at Longs Park in Lancaster.  This year we decided not to go down to that event (Sunday evening) because of all the driving trips we've had lately (and WILL have this coming weekend for our  Witmer weekend.) 

Tuesday morning I got a load of wash out of the dryer and discovered that I had laundered some money!  I even found some rolled up in my underwear!  That sounds bad, doesn't it, hahahaha!

I took this picture of our house this morning while neither of our vehicles were parked there.  I wish we had grass in front of our house instead of a driveway.  

I was at Anthony and Lori's today doing food prep and caring for this little hunter who just melts my heart with every expression.  He is the sweetest, most pleasant little guy!!

Right as he was nearly finished with this bottle and had fallen asleep he majorly filled his diaper!!!  I had to disturb him to change his diaper, which he did not appreciate one bit.  But he was soon sleeping again. 

And now just enjoy all these expressions!

Have a good rest of the week!

Destiny Week 2016

This was what I called "Destiny Week 2016."  One of these times she will have a job and will probably no longer be able to come up here for a week at a time, so I was thankful we could work it out at least one more time.

She came along home with us from Camp Hebron on Sunday and spent the evening playing with our toys just for old times' sake.

Monday morning we were out the door before 8:30 AM to get some groceries and go to Lori's.   Destiny lives in "teenager time zone" so she slept all the way there and most of the morning!  I decided not to fuss about it and just be glad to have our afternoons and evenings together.

Someone was very happy to see me!!!

When I posted this picture of him on FB that morning, someone said that he is Austin all over again.  I thought of a picture of Austin and searched for it in my old blog posts.  There it was!  So I made this collage of the Stauffer brothers.

This moment was sweet while it lasted, but it seems that Hunter is beginning to notice when faces are new.  He soon stuck out his lower lip and had tears!

Later in the afternoon we went out for a visit to the Texas Blues Alley barn.

Hunter was awestruck by the tableture on Anthony's computer screen.  New intern??

After leaving Anthony and Lori's we stopped at Giant to get our own groceries and then to Walmart for some yarn and needles for Destiny's new project - a baby blanket for her sister.   That evening we started our first Anne of Green Gables movie of the week.  We didn't get through all of them this week, but at least three of them.  Maybe we can watch the rest of them later this summer.  To us they never, ever get old!

On Tuesday morning I went to work at the church office earlier than usual so I could get off by 2:00.  I also skipped my exercise class after work.  So we had plenty of time to do our favorite things.  First we went to the movies to watch Finding Dory.  What a sweet movie!!  Unfortunately, Destiny thought that her friends had told her that Dory dies at the end of the movie, so we were bracing ourselves for that the whole time.  But it turned out she didn't die.  We were glad.  

Destiny took this picture of us in our 3-D glasses.  Of course, we consumed a ridiculous amount of popcorn. 

Afterward we galavanted around, but I can't even remember where all we went.  I do remember we went to our favorite store, Goodwill, and found some really good deals there.  Then we went home and watched some more Anne. 

Wednesday morning it was early out the door again to the grocery store and Anthony and Lori's house.    I discovered Hunter really likes to watch the trees.  They are always moving.   Maybe sometime he'll see a deer out there. 

He and Destiny got better acquainted that day.

I think he likes her!

On Thursday I started early at the church office again and left at 2:00.  It was an absolutely beautiful day!  The neighbor girls across the street went with us to the pool.  I was delighted for a chance to lie on my towel and take a little nap!

They have added a new feature - a climbing wall!

Destiny on the climbing wall!

Lori picked Austin up from YMCA camp and joined us later.  

When we left the pool we went to the nail salon at Walmart.  The girls had fun.

I cracked up when I noticed Destiny trying to unlock her phone with her tongue as she was drying her nails!

On Friday I took Destiny home.  She did some more work on her knitting as we drove.  I'm so proud of her for learning how to knit.  I learned many, many years ago, but never kept it up.  So I was of no help to her when I got her some yarn and needles back in March.  I gave her an instruction book, and from that, and a YouTube video, she figured it out herself!

We stopped at a Weis Markets when we got to Reading because she going to her mom's house that evening and wanted to make lasagna.   We got all the stuff she would need, and when we came outside it was beginning to rain a bit.  In the few blocks between Weis Markets and Frank's house it started to POUR!!  There was not even a parking space right outside their house, and I apparently left my car umbrella at Sam and Jenn's recently, and Destiny had a TON of stuff to be carried in.  UGH!!!   We each made two trips from the car to the house and got soaked!!  My hair was beyond repair for the rest of the day, hahaha!

But once inside, I did get to hold this little darling for a while.  I even got to feed her.  She is so tiny, and seems even more so to me, since I'm used to Hunter now.  

And here's Jada posing for my camera!

Destiny with her little sisters, Alaya and Jada.  They all have Frank's thick, dark hair. 

I think I left there around 4:00, but stopped at a gas station outside of town to take a nap.  Then my contacts felt horrible, so I went across the street to buy a travel size of contact solution at CVS.  The trip home seemed unending.  I got into stop-and-go traffic on 81 near Harrisburg, which I eventually discovered was due to an accident.   When I got to my favorite Sheetz above Harrisburg to use the restroom it was so busy I had to sit and wait for a parking space to open up!!  I guess there were lots of people heading to the mountains for the July 4th weekend.  

We really needed groceries at home, so I decided to stop at Giant before going the whole way home.  I just hoped to go in and out as quickly as possible, hopefully not seeing anyone I knew because of the condition of my rained-upon hair.  

This is the story I wrote on FB last night: 

I've had a long day, taking Destiny home, running in the pouring rain to unload her stuff, slow traffic coming home due to an accident on 81, needing to wait for a parking space at the Sheetz gas station, probably due to July 4 traffic. But we need groceries, so I stopped at Giant before going all the way home.

When I got to the checkout there was only one lane open, so I decided to do the self check-out, which I feel very confident of since Destiny has taught me how to do the PLU numbers for produce. So I swiped my card. Didn't work. I swiped it again. Still didn't work. The attendant came to assist me just as I noticed I was swiping my Weis card. Others noticed too and laughed. I laughed too, too tired to care. I started scanning my items, needing to put those PLU numbers in for all the fruit I got, weighing some stuff, looking for bar codes on other items.

A customer in line came up to me and asked, "Do you want me to help you? I work here." I said, "I know what I'm doing. I might not be the fastest at it, but I do know how." I tried to laugh as I said it, but inside I was growling. I scanned my blueberries, and she said, "Oh, there's a coupon for that!" I acted like I didn't hear her, but she came over with the flyer and told me I should scan this coupon at the end. I guess that was nice of her, but really, all I wanted was to be left alone so I could get out of there and go home.

When I came outside to the parking lot I saw this next to my minivan.  I decided I should have that sign, hahahaha!!

I realize I didn't mention Dick one time in this post!  He really was here all week, enduring our Anne movies, eating the different kinds of chicken we got several times at the deli, because Destiny was always in the mood for chicken, but I was never home long enough to make any.  

Today was finally a stay-at-home day.  I even took an afternoon nap.  One last picture - I almost missed this glorious sunset as I sat here posting.