First service in our new church building and the week that followed

As I said at the end of my previous post, I'm starting this one with our first worship service in our new church building last Sunday.  It was a truly beautiful morning in every way!

Here's a picture that one of our friends took from the main door.  To the right is the fellowship hall and kitchen, to the left is the hallway along which are the bathrooms, classrooms, utility room, and office.  Straight ahead are the doors to the sanctuary.  My friend Tammy had Elizer help her to pass out bulletins as people arrived.  She told him to say "Good Morning" to everyone.  He loved it, of course.  

 

From the back of the sanctuary. I think Dick took this one. 

I took this one from my piano.

Pastor Jim at the pulpit.

The choir.

The choir, plus one!  Apparently he just wandered up there in the middle of our song.  I didn't even know it!  

The younger kids' classroom.

The older kids' classroom.

After the service people were getting pictures of themselves at the front, so of course Elizer wanted one too.

I CRACKED UP when I walked to the car and saw our friends Jeff and Deb getting onto their John Deere!!  He is a tractor "collector" and stores them in a barn nearby.  This is how they came to church, hahaha!

Since Elizer was not here for Easter Sunday, Dick hid the leftover painted hard-boiled eggs and he had fun hunting and finding them.  

We took his bike to airport park and had a great time there.  He got to play with a little girl from his preschool and also some girls from Sunday School.

Later we went over to Anthony's place and walked around the pond.  Dick took him along to check on one of his trail cams.  Then we came home for some indoor playtime with Grandpa and books with Grandma.

This was the beautiful Monday morning sunrise. 

Elizer played pretty well while I cooked for Anthony and Lori.  He did puzzles at the kitchen table for a while.  One time I saw him packing up a backpack.  It was so confusing to him that he would not be going to preschool.  We had fun goofing around in the afternoon.  One time I was his baby and he kept telling me to cry.  We also did Snapchat filters. 

We took food over to Anthony and Lori's place then went to Dick's shop.  We left from there to head toward Harrisburg to meet Destiny.  Do you see our little Pennsylvania Statue of Liberty in the Susquehanna River?

While we waited for Destiny, Elizer had fun dancing with a song on the radio. 

Beautiful sunset on the way home. 

I had SO MUCH to do here in my office on Tuesday.  Finally in the afternoon I stepped outside and realized what a beautiful, warm day I was missing!

Wednesday was National Siblings Day.  You know I love my siblings!  But alas, as soon as I posted this picture and caption it was taken down!!  

I had never had that happen before!  So I posted it again, this time without mentioning that I wasn't finished dressing, just in case that was offensive!  I also reworded the part about my sister and brother who have died.  But again, it was immediately taken down!  Grrrr!!  

This was the message I got!  Of course I asked for a review.

And when I woke up this morning (Saturday) there both posts were!  No explanation.  

I had a six-month appointment with the doctor on Thursday morning.   I haven't been as careful as I was last spring and it showed.   Some more pounds, higher BP, etc.  Never ending battle.  

I took this picture on Thursday.  The tulips were open as wide as they could go, their sweet faces looking up at the sun.  

That afternoon I worked on getting new choir notebooks ready for practice.  We have been using the same white ones FOREVER and they were getting so tattered.  I decided that a new church building requires new choir books.  So I found 21 black ones at Walmart (no luck at Ollies or Sam's Club) and I got each person's name put on the spine of the notebooks.  They look so much better!  We had choir practice that evening.

We had SO MUCH RAIN later Thursday and overnight and Friday morning.   

I took this picture of Spring Creek on my way home from Walmart Friday morning. 

I promise I was on the road when I took this one, and I was NOT looking  at the creek.  Just point and shoot.

I stopped at the new church building on my way home to take a header photo for the church FB page.  

I cooked for Lori and Anthony and took it over to their place.  I passed this beautiful apple orchard on my drive there.  Again, just point and shoot and this is what I got!!

After dinner I folded laundry and worked here at the desk as I watched too many episodes of Call the Midwife, season 13.  I just couldn't stop!!  I finally quit and went to bed around midnight.  At least I could sleep in this morning!

Today (Saturday) I got stuff done around here.  It is SO windy!!!!  

We're planning to head to Reading right after church tomorrow.  We have things to take to Destiny, and we might be missing her and Elizer a little bit.  This is an adjustment for them and for us.  

Our first and RAINY week of April

 Last week was a very cool, rainy week.  I'm talking LOTS of rain!  Day after day.  Spring Creek looked like this.

And the grassy area at the entrance to our community looked like this.

Actually, the water was running across the street on Wednesday.  

I made Spicy Basil Chicken Stirfry that day and took it over to Anthony and Lori.  Just as I got home I got a phone call from our daughter Miki in Sweden.  Her dear friend Kicki who has traveled here to the US with her many times in the past ten years, passed away that morning after a long battle with breast cancer.   SO SAD!!!!  She was just the sweetest, most gentle, most hilarious lady.  We had such wonderful times together. 

Here's a memory I cherish from the last time they were here in October 2022.  Eating pizza together.

Thursday was my usual laundry and choir prep day.  It was still rainy most of the day, but at one point the sun came out!!  I had to quickly grab my camera!

We had choir practice at the new church that evening!  So exciting!  Someone asked me how I was doing since Destiny and Elizer moved.  I said, "Well, I cleaned up my house on Tuesday morning and it has stayed that way!"  

I was texting with Destiny after practice and we decided that we'd meet Friday evening so Elizer could come here for the weekend, since he had missed Easter weekend here.  

On Friday morning I went for groceries, and it was trying to snow!!!  I made this video as I drove into our community. 

Later the sun did try to shine from time to time.  

I made meatballs and spaghetti and took some of them over to Anthony and Lori's.  Then I went to Dick's shop and we left from there at 5:00 to go meet Destiny.  

We met at a Cracker Barrel near Harrisburg. We decided to eat there together and it took FOREVER till we were waited on and even longer till be got our food.  This is the only picture I took.

It was late when we got back home, but he wanted to play.  So it was a very late bedtime.  Thankfully we could sleep in on Saturday morning. 

Dick had a surprise for Elizer.  For Christmas 2021, when they were living here with us, Alex's dad had gotten a battery-operated four-wheeler for Elizer.  He was too young to operate it of course, but he had fun sitting on it and pressing the  buttons that made starting and revving noises.  It sat in our living room until they got their own place a few months later!  Then it was put into their storage shed at their place where it pretty much stayed ever since.  Until moving day last week!  Here's a picture from February 2022 when it was in our living room, hahaha!

Dick brought it here last week and tried to recharge the battery, to no avail.  So he got another battery for it, charged it up, and it worked!  So that was Elizer's surprise on Saturday morning.  He LOVED it!!

It was a chilly day, but our grass was getting long, so Dick revved up the mower and mowed our grass.  Of course, Elizer had to have a ride around the neighborhood, so I bundled him up and away they went.  Here they are returning home.

I had laundry to fold and music prep to do for Sunday morning.  And there was a meet going on at Miami University.  I knew that Sophie would be running in a relay and also doing the 100.  We got to watch both of them.  Here's my video of the 100.  She did GREAT!

Then we went to Get Air.  Elizer had a blast of course!  

When it was time to go, look where he went, lol!!

He soon came down and we were on our way.  

Then it was bath time and bedtime before a very important day - our first service in our new church building!!  I'll write about that in the next post, complete with lots of pictures!

 

Our last week of March and moving day

 Two weeks since I've posted.  That has never happened before. I can't seem to keep up with my life anymore.  I have been adding pictures here in hopes of finding the time to write, so today I will try to start catching up. 

This lovely sunrise was on Tuesday, March 26.  My lower back pain was a bit better than it had been the day before thankfully.

Here's a cute picture from preschool that day.

After school I took Elizer to Get Air.  He made it the whole way across the balance beam for the first time!

Sadly, our time there had to be shortened when he decided to be mean to a little girl.  I'm just keeping it real, lest you think he's always an angel.  

My first hyacinth brought me delight!

On Wednesday, March 27 I made chili and corn muffins and took some of them over to Anthony and Lori's after I picked Elizer up from preschool.  

Here are a couple of pictures from preschool that day. 

It was a sunny day and we stopped at the Benner Township Park at the entrance to our community on the way home.  I did not take one picture while we were there, and we were there a long time!  There was a young woman and little boy there.  The boys played so well together and I had a chance for good conversation with his stepmother.  I found out they live in our community and that she is from Mexico!  She had worked as a nanny in State College since she came to the US in 2021, then got married and is hoping to get another job soon.  She said she was a baker and cake decorator in Mexico.  We had fun talking about cooking.  What I think is Mexican cooking or restaurant food is not really authentic, hahaha!  I sensed that she might be lonely.  We exchanged phone numbers and I hope to reach out to her.

Elizer took a long bubble bath that evening, this time with the jets on. 

 

He and Grandpa had fun playing on the floor afterward while I got ready for bed.  I love that bubbling giggle!

Thursday was my choir prep and laundry day.  It was also Elizer's last day at preschool.  I felt very sad about that.  

I took him to the mall to walk around for a while.   We were glad that the pet store was still open.

 Then I took him to Destiny's place.  She had her car packed to the hilt and was leaving for her new place in Reading for a couple of days.  There was just enough room for Elizer in his car seat!  She also took Kobe, her cat.

We had choir practice that evening.  It was nice to finally have an evening completely devoted to choir practice instead of attached to the end of a Lenten service. 

On Friday I made Jamaican rice and peas and curried chicken, folded laundry, practiced my Good Friday music, took some of the food over to Anthony and Lori's.  In the evening we had our Good Friday service. 

I got a message from Jenn after we got home.  She said, "We are finally using our karaoke machine!"  And she attached this video.  I could NOT believe Sammy's voice had deepened this much just since he was here in February!!!  I love it!!!

Meanwhile in Gainsville, Florida Lisa and Sophie were at a meet that included both high school and college teams.  Lisa was there with the team she coaches, Berkeley Prep, and Sophie was there with her team from Miami University.  I LOVED this picture that Lisa posted!!

Saturday was a busy day of cleaning, grocery shopping, food prep, music prep and practice.  We did get to watch Sophie's 100 meter dash.  She was in the first heat, which included some REALLY fast girls!  Her time was 11:58.  

Destiny got back home that evening with a whole crew!  Her boyfriend Ozzy, her mom, her good friend Mariah and her boyfriend Yermison.   But not Elizer.  He was spending the weekend with Alex.  I was SO disappointed that he would not be here for Easter Sunday.  But knowing that the big move would occur on Monday, I knew it would be easier without him.  But I was really, really disappointed.  

Easter morning was our last worship service in our old building.  It was a full house!  

After church Dick and I headed to Walmart for some more food.  I had found out that at least one or two more of Destiny's friends would be joining us, and I wasn't sure we would have enough.  

We drove down Rock Road, as we always do to Walmart, and a plane was landing!  The airport landing field/runway is on the right, and we often see planes coming in.  It's so fun to be able to catch a picture at just the right time!

Back at home I got busy!  Destiny and her crew came and helped too.  We had ham, sweet potato casserole, baked corn, mashed potatoes, broccoli, salad, and rolls.  I had several kinds of pies for dessert (not homemade!)

Pictured here are (left to right): Yermison, Mariah, Enid (Destiny's mother), Dick, Destiny, Ozzy, and Victor.   A little later Anthony, Lori, Austin, and Hunter came too.  We had plenty of food for them as well!

Then it was egg painting time!

Anthony enjoyed a long converstion with Yermison about techie stuff.

After the eggs were all painted and the plastic ones filled with candy and money, Lori hid them outside.

Hunter and Austin hunted them, and so did Destiny (for  Elizer.)  

Anthony and Lori and the boys had to leave then to spend time with her mother.  The rest of us had a really fun game night!!  First we played Dictionary (our homemade version of Balderdash.)  Then I pulled out Blokus.  What a hit that was!!!  Round after round after round until almost midnight!!  It's addictive!!  

Monday was moving day times two.  Our church was moving things to the new building, and Destiny was moving to Reading.  Dick took a vacation day from work.  Destiny's crew had picked up the moving truck and had it pretty much loaded by the time we got there to help with the final cleaning.  I was the last to leave, and I said a tearful goodbye to this sweet little place that they had lived in for the past two years.  

Then I checked in at the new church.  The moving truck had not yet arrived there, but I got this picture of the sanctuary.

And a view out a window. 

Dick and I then drove to Lancaster to pick up Elizer from Alex's dad.  He slept the 40 minute drive to Reading, so I wasn't even able to have fun with him, boohoo!!  

Destiny's crew had the moving truck almost unloaded when we arrived.  Didn't take long for Elizer to wake up and climb into the back of the truck!

Enid and Mariah carrying the loveseat into the house.   Ozzy carrying a stack of boxes from Destiny's car.  And Elizer carrying the tote of blankets!   Yermison and Ozzy carried the sofa and the washer and dryer in, but I didn't get a picture of that.  

The moving crew!

Elizer took me on a tour, but I didn't take pictures.  We hung out until the sofa and loveseat were in place and the tired movers finally had a place to sit down.  I had brought some of our Easter leftovers for them to eat.  And then we had to hit the road for home!  It was 7 pm when we waved goodbye.  

I had extremely mixed emotions.  It was 10 pm when we arrived home.  We were ready for bed!

Tuesday was a rainy, gloomy day.  I had a hair appointment in the morning, then a meeting at church to plan the opening ceremony on April 21.

I took this picture of the stage, complete with piano, organ, alter table, and pulpit.  Isn't it lovely??

After the meeting I went over to Destiny's place to return the last keys to the office.  From there I drove to Walmart on the route in which I always drove him to preschool each morning.  And for the first time I cried.  I pretended I was talking with him like we always did about the things we saw along the way.  The sun or the lack thereof.  The cloud formations, the big trucks on the noisy highway, the crane at the hospital, the apartments we always called "The Lego Apartments."  And I realized what I will miss the most is just that - our conversations.