Beautiful Fall, lovely skies, Josh's wedding, bathroom humor, Fall Fest

What a beautiful Fall we are having here!  I'm going to start this post with a couple of pictures taken in State College this week.  I took the first one and Dick the second one.

And how I have been enjoying the sunrises!  These two pictures were taken maybe ten minutes apart last Saturday morning. 

Same with these two pictures one morning this week.  You snooze, you lose!

How appropriate for a Sunday morning!  I thought of the old Sunday School song, "Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory!"

Even the cloudy mornings were beautiful in a different way.

Last Saturday morning we got dressed up and left home around 9 AM, heading once again for Lancaster County, this time for a wedding.  No traffic tie-ups this time, thankfully.  But it was quite cloudy and gray at first.  There's one place that I always love to see, but it's hard to take a picture of it because it's on the driver's side when we're heading that direction.  I decided to go back to the passenger seat before we got to that spot.  Even on a cloudy morning it was a beautiful sight.  Hopefully we'll have a reason to go that way again when the leaves are in full color.  

The wedding was not until 3:30 PM, so we had plenty of time.  We stopped at Cracker Barrel near Harrisburg for brunch.  I really had to pee when we got there, so I went straight for the rest rooms.  I noticed that the ladies' and men's rooms were on opposite sides compared to our State College Cracker Barrel. I was thinking, "It's good I checked.  I hope Dick does."  WELL!!  Imagine my surprise when I came out of my stall and saw Dick at the sink washing his hands!!  I said, "DICK!!  You're in the ladies' room!"  He looked at me like he didn't know what I was talking about.  I said, "You gotta get out of here before anyone else comes in!"  We went out into the store to await the call of our names, and I absolutely could not stop giggling.  After a while he said, "You can stop now." I said, "No, I can't!"  

Of course I had to put the story on FB, so the poor guy got teased about it for the rest of the day.  But he's a good sport.  Later at the wedding we attended, the Stauffers were told to exit out a front door for pictures after the ceremony.  Dick said, "I was going to go back and look for the ladies' room."  Hahahahaha!!


We made another stop on our trip to the wedding - Richland Christian Home in Lebanon County.   We hadn't seen Grandma Mary in months!  We had a great time catching up.  Dick took this picture of us.  I love her so very much and always have so much fun with her.

Halfway through our visit Dick fell asleep on her recliner and started snoring!  So he decided to go out to the van where he could sleep without bothering us.  Since we had a long day ahead and he does almost all the driving, it was good for him to get a chance to nap anyway.

The wedding was in Lancaster at Harvest Bible Church.  Dick's brother Jim's son Josh was getting married to Jill.  Josh and Jill.  Their names are as cute as they are.  I was not a good picture taker that day, however.   I got one during the ceremony in which you can see Josh's brother Greg better than you can see Josh.  And the other one outside when they were not aware I was taking one.  

 
This is a picture of Jim and Carolyn's five children plus Jill.  Again, not everyone was aware I was taking a picture.  My timing was so off!

I got these three pictures before I got sidetracked.  Dick and I, Steve and Faye, and their son Joe and his wife Kim.  

  

Here are a few others I took.  Dick's parents were there for the whole thing!  That's a big day for a 94-year-old man, but he really wanted to be there.  Josh and Jill are buying his house, and that has given him so much peace about moving to a retirement home.  The top right photo is Greg's wife Kendra and their adorable Eden.  The bottom left photo is of Josh's beautiful sisters Lindsey and Heather.  The bottom right is a picture of Josh's brother Mike's family.  I discovered afterward that little flower girl Kate had been pulling the elastic neckline of her dress all the way down to her belly button, hahaha!!  So I edited the picture the best I could!  Unfortunately the heart pretty much covered her brother Seth's sweet face.  And I cut Mike's head off in making this collage.

The reception was held in a big tent on the lawn of the church. 

It was late when we got home and Sunday morning was coming!

We went to our service at GBRV and then to the service at Calvary.  After the service they were holding their annual Fall Fest.  I knew that Sam and the kids were on their way, so I took these pictures to send to Sammy.  Food trucks and so many fun things to do both outside and inside!  The event was open to the community, and lots of people came.

What a GREAT afternoon we had!  The weather was just right.  Last year the weather was too hot and the year before that it was cool and rainy.  So it was time!

They were giving hayrides.  Calvary is built on a hill, and above it is the lodge that was originally on the property, now used as the church's offices.  The hayride took us up above the lodge and when we came down, the view was spectacular!

Another picture of the view.

Then we went home.  Austin came with us too.  The kids were busy, busy making things.  Austin worked with the Lincoln Logs first while Sammy and Bianca made things with paper, scissors, and markers. 

Then the Legos for a long, long time.  Look at that cruise ship that Sammy and Austin built!

Later Austin had to go home because he had school the next day, but Sam and the kids were staying overnight.  The kids had off school for Columbus Day and he had off work too.   

I didn't take many pictures on Monday.  Just one of the Lego birthday cake Bianca made for me and Bianca in the big tub!  We had a great day together.

When I picked up Hunter for his swim class later that day, his class was still outside playing.  He was so excited to show me a bush that had purple berries on it.  Anyone know what kind of bush it is?

Friday was one of those totally perfect fall days - sunshine, blue skies, puffy clouds, and gorgeous colorful leaves!

I've been at home today catching up on things.  I got in the mood for a slight furniture rearrangement in the living room.   You probably can't even tell the difference.  I shifted the sofa and loveseat at a slightly different angle than before and it gives more space for the toys in the back corner of the room.  Just not as big an opening between the sofa and Dick's recliner.   

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Gorgeous weather, fun at Discovery Space, sibling dinner, good times with Hunter

Well, here it is, Friday evening again!  We have had a spectacularly beautiful week!  Here is a picture I took this evening at Anthony and Lori's.  He was getting ready to build a fire, but I didn't have time to stay, unfortunately.

Last Saturday morning I captured this view of the sunrise between two of the arborvitae.

Ray and RJ were here overnight last Friday night.  Saturday was the first day of archery season, and Ray was eager to try out his bow.  Ashley had to work on Saturday, so RJ came along up here.  Ray went over to Anthony's in the wee hours of the morning.  Later when I went over to their place to pick up Austin and Hunter, Ray came into the house to warm up.  We had temperatures near freezing that morning!!  What a shock!  It had been in the 80's most of the week!

Dick was over there hunting too in the afternoon after he got off work at noon.  They both saw deer, but didn't have success in getting any.

I took the three boys to Discovery Space.  They had the greatest time there.  I just love that place!

There was a place where they could build their own rig and then let it go down a ramp.  Some made it down, others went sideways.  So they kept readjusting things until they went all the way down.

Another thing that Austin worked at for a long time was a marble track.  Here's a video of one of his tracks that worked.

After spending a couple of fun hours there we went to McDonalds for a late lunch.  

On Sunday Dick and I went to our service at GBRV, then we hit the road for Lancaster County.  What a trip!  There had been a homecoming Penn State football game on Saturday and so many people were leaving town that morning!  There's a ten-mile stretch out of town that is just two lanes, and it was really backed up!  When we finally got beyond that we had pouring rain and then construction traffic.  Whew!!  

Eventually we got to Duncannon where we stopped to have a really fun lunch at Sheetz with Sam and the kids. 

Silly kids!

And then we headed toward Manheim.  Our reason for going to Lancaster County this time was that my sister Barb and her husband John were in town from Idaho.  We were having a sibling dinner at Dick and Nancy's house.  

What a FUN evening we had!!  I honestly think we enjoy being together more the older we get!  Of course we missed our sisters Betty and Rose.  Mary Ellen's housemate Susan joined us for dinner too.  She's a lot of fun

Top row: John and Barb, Dick and Nancy.  Bottom row:  Dick and I, Doris and Dale with daughter Ellen, Mary Ellen.

The five siblings that were there that evening.

The ladies.  

Dick and I had to leave by 8:00 because we of course had a long drive ahead.  We were home before 11:00 and were ready for our bed!

On Tuesday evening I was grocery shopping at Sam's Club and Walmart, and when I came outside I just had to take pictures.  

On Thursday when I got home from Bible study at Calvary I sat on the front porch for a while.  The weather was absolutely PERFECT.  And it seemed there was perfect silence in our neighborhood as I sat there.  I took this picture of a tree top against the absolutely cloudless sky.

Lori had a work trip this week for a few days, and Hunter slept here a couple of nights.  He is the most delightful child.  He always says the cutest things, and he entertains himself so well.  

One morning we played the alphabet game on the way to school.  We were still looking for a Q when we arrived.  So we decided we would look for the rest of the letters inside.  Imagine his excitement when he saw the word QUIET!! When we got to the letter X, he went running back the hall in the direction we had come from.  Why?  Because he knew there was an exit sign there!  When we got to his classroom we still needed a Z.  So he looked all around the room.  There on a shelf was a stack of tablets, and on one of them was the name Nicole Z.  How he cheered!!  

He's taking swim lessons at the Y, and it is not something that comes naturally to him.  He really hates to get his face wet.  There are three kids in his class and things that seem to be so easy for the others are really a challenge to him.  On Wednesday they were supposed to push off backward from the edge of the pool.  The instructor was right there ready to put her arms under them as they practiced floating on their backs.  It took a long time for Hunter to have the courage to do it. When he finally did I took a picture of him and you can see the fear on his face.  I can so relate!!  I have never learned to swim, and I really regret it.  

Dick and I ate dinner with Anthony and the boys on Wednesday evening.  After dinner I got this cute pic of Anthony and Hunter - strumming lessons!

Well, I'm falling asleep here.  Tomorrow's another trip to Lancaster County.  Our nephew Josh Stauffer will be getting married. 

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Birthday celebrations, 50th class reunion, remembering Dad Witmer, wedding anniversary

A week ago at this time we were starting our weekend in Lancaster County.  We left after Dick got off work Friday evening, and our first stop was at Dad Stauffer's.  We had a nice visit with them, but when Dad yawned and looked at his watch I knew it was time to leave, haha!  

We went to my brother Dick's house for the night.  In the morning I took this picture from their deck.  It would be the only sky picture I took all week, so I'm glad I took it! 

When we were at Dad Stauffer's on Friday evening we found out that Bob and Doris (Dick's brother) were in the area from Minnesota and would be at Dad Stauffer's place on Saturday.  So we decided we would split ways.  I had already made plans for us to take Destiny out to lunch for a belated birthday gift.  So I did that while Dick went to his parents' place.   

I had hoped he would take some pictures, but I guess he forgot to.  But here are some sweet pictures of my time with Destiny.  We went to a really good place in Columbia where she lives, The Black Olive Diner.  We had the greatest time catching up.  I love her so very much.  Later her tall, sweet boyfriend, Alex, picked her up and I got to meet him.  

Back at Dick and Nancy's house we got ourselves dressed for my class reunion.  Nancy wanted a picture of us.  It was at least 90 degrees on that deck!  How crazy for September 28!  So that's the flowy cardigan I bought for the occasion.  

Of course, on my short, stout body it didn't quite look like the picture I had seen on the internet, hahahaha!  I even hemmed the sleeves up, but they still came to my wrist!  But what's a short girl gonna do???

When we arrived, each classmate was given a name tag with his/her senior picture on it.  Wow, was that ever helpful!  They gave a tour of the Lancaster Mennonite High School campus, but not nearly everyone went on it.  I had no interest in going out in the heat, and when I saw the people who came back after the tour looking all sweaty, I was glad I hadn't  gone on it.  

We had a great turnout.  This picture does not show all the tables.  We sat at the table in the foreground with two of my best high school friends, Cheryl (Weaver) Zimmerman and Janet (Weaver) Pepper.  Later in the evening we managed to get the seven class members together who had attended Manheim Christian Day School before we went to Lancaster Mennonite.  I'll name them below the picture.  

The Manheim Christian Day School crew:  Larry Stoner, me, Larry Huber, Betty (Moyer) Wirt, Mervin Frey, Lois Jean (Witmer) Gehman, and Bob Bruckhart.  

Here's the Lancaster Mennonite class of 1969.  I haven't counted how many people this is.  I think there were around 180 people in our graduating class.  (For those interested, the picture will enlarge if you click on it.)

I had a really wonderful evening catching up with so many people.  Of course we sang together also.  We were raised on a cappella four-part harmony, and believe me, we all still know how to sing.  We sounded AMAZING!!!  I started to take a video, but realized that it would pick up my voice more than the others.  I could have stopped singing, but I didn't want to.  So I just stopped the video and enjoyed singing and listening to the harmonies all around me.  

We slept at Dick and Nancy's that night again.  I took these pictures of the front and back of their lovely country home. 

The tractors on the rollback are my brother's tractors.  He loves taking them to tractor pulls, and on Saturday he got two first places and one third place.  One of the tractors was my dad's, so it's very precious to my brother.  

We had a special day planned for Sunday.  Sammy wanted Sam to take him to a museum for his birthday.  One place we had never been was the Turkey Hill Experience in Columbia.  Do the stores in your area sell Turkey Hill ice cream or iced tea?  The Turkey Hill Experience tells all about the beginnings of the company and provides hands-on fun for kids to learn about the company and its products. 

We had so much fun!

A really informative and delicious part of it was the Taste Lab.  Destiny and Alex were able to join us for that.  Each person was given a big cup of ice cream to which we could add flavorings, all kinds of additions, swirls, and toppings.  While we did it, a girl at the front, along with video screens above her, was giving so much information about the company and about ice cream production and marketing.  It was very well done, well organized, she was easy to hear with her strong commanding voice.  A totally enjoyable experience. 

And then we had some more fun!

There was a nice patio outside where we hung out afterward.  We gave Sammy our birthday gifts (Monopoly Junior and Life).  We also drank some Turkey Hill lemonade and iced tea.  

And then we all headed for home.  What a great weekend it had been!

There were several major things to remember this week.  It was ten years on Tuesday that my dad had passed from this life to the next.  What an precious experience that was!  I reposted on FB this week what I had written that night, so if you read it there, just skip over this next part.  But for any readers who do not connect with me on FB, here it is.

Thursday afternoon I traveled to Lancaster County for my hair appointment. I stopped at my dad's first and it was very obvious that the end was near. It was so hard to see him laboring so hard to breathe, then stop breathing altogether for so long that we wondered if it was over. His hands were getting cold. I hated to leave, but went to my hair appointment.

When I came back there were various family members here. His breathing was harder than ever, his hands altogether cold, but he had a raging fever. Hospice told us to use cold compresses in his armpits, and we put a cold wash cloth on his forehead. And we sang and sang and sang. Songs about Heaven. One time my stepbrother saw a tear at the corner of his eye. After a while his breathing slowed down. Because I was the family member planning to stay the night, along with a hired nurse aid, I was shown where the phone numbers were that I should call if he should die during the night. The very thought was distressing. What if I couldn't keep my head together to make those phone calls at such a moment?

I went out to my car to get my bags and I cried, "Lord, please take him home while all these other family members are still here!!" I came in the house and my step brother, Lester, said, "Something changed. You'd better get in there." Dad's breathing had become very faint, with occasional gasps. Doris, Mary Ellen, my step mother, and her son Lester all gathered around him. The hired nurse, a sweet Nigerian angel, started singing the old worship song,  

"I see the Lord, I see the Lord. 
He is high and lifted up, and His train fills the temple.  
He is high and lifted up, and His train fills the temple.  
And the angels cry, 'Holy!' 
The angels cry, 'Holy!' 
The angels cry, 'Holy is the Lord.'"

We joined her singing between our tears and had beautiful three part harmony. The glory of the Lord filled the room. When we were sure he had breathed his last we cried some more. The nurse raised her hands and prayed aloud over us all. She kept proclaiming, "It is well. It is well."  

Then the phone calls, more family arrivals, the Hospice nurse's arrival, the undertaker's arrival, and many more tears and sobs. We each took our turns kissing Dad before he would be taken away. Lester, who is a pastor, led us in a time of prayer as the undertakers patiently waited. It was a truly beautiful time for our two families to be united in our grief and our love for my dad and step mother. We ended by singing together Sweet, Sweet Spirit.

And then he was taken away and we sat down to make a few plans - viewing on Monday afternoon and evening, funeral on Tuesday morning.

Gradually they all left, and now I'm here with my stepmother. She just went to bed. We have peace knowing that Dad is finally at home with his precious Lord and Savior, he is finally free of his sick body, and he can sing and laugh again. But like my step mother said, "But he's not here." That is the hard part. The void that is left by the man he was. As Lisa said on Facebook - he was the most humble, loving man she ever knew. I know we can all say, "Amen."

I am rich to have had him for a dad. We are all rich - not in earthly wealth, but in the spiritual and emotional blessings that we are enjoying because of his love, because of his obedience to and passionate love for the Lord, because he honored the Lord in everything he did. The blessings of a righteous man are to a thousand generations. Thank you, Dad.

The next day, October 2nd, was our 48th wedding anniversary.  We left the house shortly after 7 AM and went out for breakfast at Perkins.  Here are BEFORE and AFTER pictures - before and after 48 years, haha!

Nothing has happened on the lot next door this week.  I guess they're letting all the dirt they hauled in and graded settle before the next step of putting a house there.  

But across the street there was a lot of noise one day.  By the end of the afternoon two huge pine trees were gone.  I felt so sad to see them go.  My snow pictures will never be the same. 

It was a really noisy day in the neighborhood, but it smelled like Christmas in the air!!!  By day's end both trees were completely gone.  

That's about all the news from this week.  Have a good weekend!