I am blogging from my phone and can’t get get my text bigger, so be sure to get out your reading glasses.
Wednesday morning started VERY early. Our flight to Portland was leaving the local airport at 6:30, and of course I like to arrive WAY ahead, and I need plenty of time to get myself ready and final packing done. We tried to sneak out of the house as quietly as possible so we wouldn’t waken Destiny, Alex, and Elizer. I think we were successful.
Ready to go!
One big event that had happened the day before was Destiny’s successful trip to the DMV. She finally has a driver’s license!!! We were ecstatic!!
On our flight from State College to Detroit we had beautiful views of the sunrise.
It’s a good thing we did, because unbelievably on our next flight across the country, over four hours long, we had NO window!! The same thing had happened to us in 2017! We were really disappointed. I had originally picked our seats, but our flights were changed several times, so my chosen seats were gone.
I had fun watching the progress of our flight, and I also watched a really good documentary, “I Am Not Your Negro.” Dick watched some shows.
We had to rush from gate to gate in Seattle to make our next flight, but when we got there we found that they had not yet started boarding because they were waiting for the crew!
The flight from Seattle to Portland was very short and we had a fantastic view of Mount Hood above the clouds
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Jeremy met us at the airport.
Mike had the guest room ready for us and looking so lovely, complete with fresh flowers!
We enjoyed relaxing on the back porch until the kids came home from school.
I made dinner - skillet shepherd’s pie. But I never thought of taking pictures. I went to bed soon after dinner with the time change and my very early start, it had been a good, but loooong day!!
I will try to catch up here, probably not as much detail as usual. Maybe you'll be glad about that, haha!
First of all, my rose bushes are still blooming and I love them so much. I almost never pick roses to bring inside, but today I did pick two buds because they smell so heavenly.
I said in my last post that Destiny and Alex and Elizer would be moving in with us temporarily until they can get their own apartment. Last Sunday after church Dick and I drove down to their place near Elizabethtown. There they were beginning to load a moving truck with the help of Alex's dad and uncle. We all worked together to get everything loaded up, and then we all got on the road for State College, a four-vehicle caravan.
Some things were brought to our house, but most things were put into a nearby storage unit. I was Elizer's caretaker. We actually had a lot of fun, lots of laughs and jokes, but we were a bunch of tired puppies till the day was over! Alex's dad and uncle drove back to Lancaster County when we were finished. Their help was absolutely invaluable!! We were so thankful for them.
Monday was Anthony's birthday, so in the evening we all went over there for a campfire and birthday cake. It was a great evening. They were so glad to finally have a chance to get better acquainted with Elizer. Our "Happy Birthday" song had a fun ending - four part harmony interrupted by Austin's "Cha cha chicken!" which Hunter thought was absolutely hilarious.
Here are some fun pictures from our Tuesday. This boy is BUSY!!! We need to put latches, etc on a lot of things to keep him from getting into things that would be harmful to him. He has a great time with some of my pots and pans, plastic containers, etc. We got to play LIFE that evening! Destiny loves board games.
On Wednesday evening we did our traditional Chinese buffet meal for Destiny's birthday - a week late.
Here's a cute video of Elizer dancing with the little guitar we have. He loves to clap his hands and dance. We get lots of laughs!
Pictures from Thursday. We're really enjoying watching the birds. That day we had two mourning doves keeping guard against all the little finches that were also trying to eat there.
Also some pictures of Elizer's exploits into my pantry cupboard. And pushing that bar stool around!
On Saturday Dick and I left around 8 am for our friend Elaine's wedding in Lancaster County. We were driving into the sun, but were thankful we were driving away from State College while the other side was backed up with all the traffic heading to the Penn State football game.
Elaine's husband John passed away a few years ago. We were attendants in their wedding and they in ours 50 years ago. I was so delighted to be invited to her second wedding. We had fun reminiscing with one of her sons who was Anthony's age. Some of her granddaughters and some of his grandsons were their attendants. I am SO happy for Elaine and her new husband. His wife passed away from cancer. It was so beautiful the way they wove together their common experiences with loss and grief into the story of how God brought them together.
After the wedding we drove to Frank and Lauren's place in Reading to deliver V'anni's very belated 2-year birthday gift. We had a fun little stay. Then on the way home we stopped to deliver Sammy's 10-year birthday gift. His birthday is today!
We actually came home in two vehicles because we picked up Alex's old car from his dad's place. It will now be Destiny's car. Dick is with her right now helping her to practice parallel parking before her driving test on Tuesday. Pray if you think of her around noon on Thursday! And for me! I thought my days of taking young folks for a driver's test were over, haha!
This was a beautiful day for them to wash and clean their cars while Dick was mowing and cleaning up the yard. I was pushing Elizer in the stroller as we watched everyone.
A few more cute pics.
The next two days will be packed! Destiny starts her new job at Auntie Anne's in downtown State College tomorrow - a ten-hour day right from the get-go! On Tuesday I have my hair appointment and her driver's test appointment. And Wednesday morning Dick and I leave for Portland in the wee hours of the morning, from our nearby airport this time. SO much to do before I go!!
No promises of when I'll post again! But I WILL at some point!
This is that strange time of year when it can feel like summer, some of the flowers still look like summer, but it's fun to start making things look like fall. First some pictures I took of my flowers this week.
I was so surprised to find this lily blooming! I thought I already had the last one last week!
I love my pink rose bush, but the blooms are so odd shaped, almost like they're deformed. But they smell heavenly!
Yesterday I got some pumpkins and my first mum and put them on the front steps.
This afternoon Dick got the fall swag out of his shed and hung it on the front door.
I found this burlap pumpkin in my big bathroom cupboard where I store some seasonal things. I honestly thought it said, "Bless This House." So I looked for a place to hang it and decided to hang it from the living room light fixture - like shining a blessing all over the house. Only after I took this picture and looked at it did I realize it says "Bless the Harvest." Hahaha! Oh well. It looks cute.
Now some grandchildren pictures. Out in Portland handsome little Brennan started kindergarten this week.
The next morning he wanted his picture taken again, haha!! What cool hair!
Sammy has been begging to wear a suit every day since school started three weeks ago! Finally he got to wear khakis with a coat and tie one day this week. Isn't he something? And Bianca looking so beautiful beside him.
Last weekend Lori took the boys to Hershey. At first I thought Hunter wasn't in this picture, and then I found him. Such handsome guys!
Destiny's 21st birthday was on Tuesday. The picture on the top left of this collage is me holding her the day she was born. I was her mother's birth coach, so she has been precious to me from the moment she was born.
And that brings me to some big news. Through absolutely no fault of their own, Destiny and Alex need to move. The possibility of it has been hanging over their heads for well over a month. Last week Destiny asked what we thought about them moving up here to State College. We discussed it and believe it will be a positive thing for them.
So tomorrow morning they will be loading a moving truck. Dick and I will drive down right after church. Dick will drive the moving truck, I'll drive our van, and Alex will drive their car. We'll be unloading most of their things into a storage unit nearby, and they will be staying here with us until they can get their own apartment. Destiny already has a new job lined up to start this coming week.
So this is a huge transition for all of us. I have been getting rid of stuff and baby proofing this week!
Making things even more interesting - we're leaving for our ten-day 50th anniversary trip to Portland just ten days after they get here. And in between there we have a friend's wedding to attend in Lancaster County. So life will be shifting into HIGH GEAR!! I'm not sure how I'll find time to blog. But I promise I'll post cute pictures of that sweet toddler!
I have no idea how it's been over a week since I posted. I guess I didn't put "Blog" on my list this week, so it never even entered my mind.
I'll first of all share some pics I took of sky and flowers since the last post.
Last Saturday I took a stroll through the arboretum. It was a beautiful day. We've been having a lot of beautiful days, warm temps and low humidity. With the new pollinator garden open now, there are so many lovely places to just sit and relax. I did that several places. I know I am so blessed to live just a few miles from such a lovely place, and I never take it for granted.
Last Sunday after church we drove down to Destiny's place, picked up Elizer, and went to Ella's Place for a late lunch. I was so happy to see that sweet boy!!
Waiting for Mommy to get finished working.
We took Destiny home after she got off work, then we took Elizer to see Grandma Arlene at Pleasant View Communities in Manheim. They had never met each other before! He had so much fun pushing her walker around the apartment! Grandma Arlene thought he was the cutest thing ever!
I thought it was so cute when he noticed a picture of Dick and his brothers on her window sill. He obviously recognized Dick in the picture!
Here's one more sweet picture from our time at Destiny's.
And this!! They usually keep a lock on their toilet lid, but forgot this time. Alex found him with the toilet brush in one hand, holding the lid up with the other hand, and cleaning the toilet, hahahaha!!
I started Thursday morning Bible study at Calvary again on Thursday morning. This semester we are doing "Better, A Study of Hebrews" by Jen Wilkin. This should be good!
Yesterday, because it was the 20th anniversary of 9/11 I decided to look for my pictures taken from the top of the World Trade Tower in 1989. I remembered that I had found them in a wrong photo album one time, but had to search through several albums to find them.
Our church, Grace Community Fellowship in Manheim, went to Bowery Mission several years in a row. We would give a program in their chapel in the evening, but would get there early so some of the residents could take us on the subway, on a walk around China Town, and one year to the World Trade Towers. The observation deck near the top went the whole way around (behind glass, of course) and I took a picture from each direction.
Yesterday I watched a lot of footage and memories from that awful day. It just never gets less shocking to see and remember.
I was doing some cleaning out in our guest room yesterday as well. I discovered four shower curtains in the closet that are exactly like the one we having hanging in the guest bathroom. Hahaha!! BECAUSE they came with matching rugs. When the rugs would look worn, I would buy another set, then another, and another, and ANOTHER!! Eventually I got different rugs. So now I'll get rid of all these extra shower curtains. Maybe I'll replace the original one with one of the new ones first. A Facebook friend said she's been looking for one in those colors (of course these are no longer "in"), so I'll mail one to her.
Dick got a new fire pit at Lowes yesterday. Ours was a cheap one from Walmart last year, and it met its demise in one of our storms this summer. I'm eager to have fires before it gets too cold.
Just a quick post here and some fun videos. It's an absolutely BEAUTIFUL morning after all the rain from Ida. We did not get hit as hard here as many areas did.
Tuesday was Lori's birthday. Anthony asked me to pick up Hunter after kindergarten because he would be birthday gift shopping with Austin. I was DELIGHTED to do that! I was making a cake for her when he asked me, but I was able to get it out of the oven just in time before I left.
I was sitting with another grandma at the pick up spot outside the school, and it was so fun to see our grandsons come out the door. Hunter was full of giggles! He was excited to tell me that he had had his first music class that day.
On the way to my house I turned on my phone camera to capture the incredible math class I was in. Hunter was the teacher. Oh my goodness, I wonder what in the world his kindergarten teacher is going to do with him! These videos are short and so cute and astounding, really.
I made a new chocolate cake recipe. It has a cup of mayo in it! Very moist! I also made my favorite, not as sweet frosting recipe. And I tried doing a little decorating, but that is not my talent at all! I told Lori I could promise her cake would be delicious, but rather pathetic looking!
But we had fun! And we filled our bellies with cake and ice cream. We'll be good some other day!
In my last post I showed you the first day of school pics of Sammy and Bianca and Austin and Hunter. Here are Jada (4th grade) and Alaya (kindergarten). Unfortunately after just a couple days of school they are closed due to heavy rain from Ida and flooding in some areas, then they'll have the long holiday weekend. So it has really squashed the excitement of the first week of school for them.
I actually forgot to post this picture from Sophie's first day of 11th grade. What??? I just can't believe it! George made this collage with her first day of kindergarten picture. Seems like yesterday, seriously!
Thankgoodness for great grandchildren, but even he insists on growing up fast!
But he still likes to cuddle with Mama.
I just love my FaceTime calls with Destiny and Elizer. She sent me this video yesterday morning. Just TOO sweet!!
Gotta get busy now! Have a good Labor Day weekend!
