Flowers finally!

We should have had some kind of special ceremony this evening. Why? Because we finally have flowers!!!

This house had NO flowers, no bushes, nothing but grass and some huge evergreen trees. We did plant a few small mums last fall, but the rabbits thoroughly enjoyed them, so they didn't do much to alleviate the naked appearance of our house.

Preparing a place to plant flowers is so much hard work! And we're not spring chickens anymore! Anyway, Dick got some beds prepared today, complete with some free topsoil that someone told us where to go for. Anthony and Lori will be having their inground pool bulldozed over next week, including all the stuff planted around it, so we're getting a bunch of lillies, tulips, daffodils, and maybe some bushes from them. If it's free, we'll take it!

Dad Stauffer just keeps on improving! Deb said that when they stopped by to see him last evening he called out to greet them as they arrived. In fact, he was calling out to greet people as they passed by in the hall! Now THAT is sounding like Dad!!

Different kind of Mother's Day

I had a different kind of Mother's Day - not filled with family (I pretty much had that last weekend), but with interesting things and lots of relaxation.

Because our worship service at Fillmore UM is so early (8:15 - 9:30), I have been enjoying visiting other churches in the area afterward, just to see what's happening in churches around here.  This morning I visited one that meets in a middle school.  On their website I recognized the name of their worship pastor as someone I had known of  from Lancaster County years ago.  What fun to meet him and his wife!  I sat with her in the service and felt such a connection.  We knew quite a number of the same people, including our pastor at Grace back home.  

I just relaxed on the sofa this afternoon and watched a good movie.  Dick got off work early and brought me some roses.  Anthony showed up at the door later with another bouquet.  I got text messages, phone calls, and FB messages from our kids and in-laws, and a long, chatty phone call from Destiny.  And I had fun making some collages of the special mothers in my life to put on FB.

Remembering our mothers, Ruth Stauffer (died in 1981) and Mabel Witmer (died in 1982).

Thankful for our "second" mothers, Arlene Stauffer and Mary Witmer.

Proud of the awesome mothers our daughters, Miki and Lisa, and our daughter-in-law Lori have become.

I took this shot through the window this morning.  The sun was trying valiantly to shine through the fog. 

We had a beautiful sunshiny day.

Surprise company!

This was a good day.  Got some things done at my desk this morning, got some Mother's Day bargains at Kohls, had Austin for a little while this afternoon, then had surprise company!

When I had Austin I took him to the park with his hulahoop.  The blacktopped basketball court was a great surface for him to show off his skills.  That thing was making all kinds of fancy, curvy spins across the courts.  I took a video, but I don't feel like waiting for it to load.

Then we went to Pepboys to visit Pawpaw. 

We got a call from Dick's brother Fred and his wife Deb this afternoon.  They were spending their anniversary weekend at their cabin in Juniata County and decided to come up to Penn State this evening for the big volley ball game.  They were stopping by!  So I fortunately had all the stuff I needed for grilled cheese sandwiches and my homemade cream of tomato soup, and we had a very short, very sweet time together.  Right before they were going to leave I remembered to get out my camera.

And then I decided I wanted a picture of all four of us, so I scrambled to set my timer, realizing too late that I ended up right there in front of the camera.  Fred said they needed to get to that game, and there was not time for another picture!  Oh well, it was fun.

This evening when I walked I tried a street I had never walked on before and discovered a lilac grove.  Our neighbor man also has two gorgeous lilac bushes that are in full bloom, and if I ever see him outside I want to ask him if I may cut some of them for a bouquet.  We Witmers have special memories of huge lilac bouquets in our farmhouse when we were kids, brought in from the lilac grove out in the middle of our fields. 

A little entertainment at the end of my normal week.

This has been a pretty normal week of caring for Austin, cooking some good stuff, preparing music for some upcoming events, choir practice, VBS meeting, etc.  The weather was cooler than last week, but not a lot of rain, praise God.  I got my two-mile walk in each morning.  

The news about Dad Stauffer continues to be more and more encouraging.  YES!!

I got this adorable shot of Austin today "multi-tasking", hahahaha!!

The other day I was trying to again sneak a video of Austin's "going-to-sleep" antics.  However, this time he saw my phone, so his antics suddenly turned into high gear, including some "cheesing' for the camera! 

Celebrating Dad's progress

We had the most encouraging email from our sister-in-law Deb this morning about Dad Stauffer. Monday and Tuesday were really good days for Dad. All three of his therapists are impressed with his progress and he really LIKES his therapists. That is huge!

The above picture was taken from a deck at United Zion Retirement Home where Dad is. It overlooks the beautiful Lititz countryside. (It is clickable.) The picture below is one I took last fall at Lititz Springs Park. Arlene said that yesterday she got a sub at Subway for lunch and sat at the park to eat it, watching the ducks. It was a beautiful day and she felt like celebrating Dad's progress. Wish I could have celebrated with her, but it makes my heart happy to imagine her there.

Happy, Happy, Happy!!

Happy, happy, happy!! That's what this weekend consisted of from beginning to end. On Friday evening we drove to Lancaster County, directly to Manheim Christian Day School where I used to teach. We arrived just before they stopped serving the famous barbecued chicken meal. As always it was scrumptious and made even better by meeting up with many, many friends, former students and their parents, and co-workers. After leaving there we went to see Dick's step mother Arlene. She was looking beautiful like usual and was happy to report that Dad had had a very good day. From there we went to my step mother Mary's for the night. Walking into her kitchen always feels like coming home.

Saturday morning we went back to MCDS for their wonderful country breakfast buffet. Even better than the breakfast was the company as we ate. On one side was my sister Doris and some of her family. On the other side were Ray and Thyda and Sam and Jenn!! Oh we had such a good time together!

 And now I am finally going to tell you our happy news that Sam and Jenn are expecting a baby in October! They are very excited about it and so are we. I have watched Sam relate in such a wonderful way with kids for years, beginning way back in '98 when Miki's family stayed with us for a month over Lisa's wedding. Sam was always out in the yard kicking a soccer ball back and forth with two-year-old Bjorn. I've observed the same kind of connection between him and various other children over the years, and now he will finally have his own child to play and bond with. 

And speaking of babies, we saw our great niece for the first time.  Dick's niece Laura, who was Destiny's kindergarten teacher at MCDS, had a baby two weeks ago and was there with her.  She is a BEAUTIFUL little girl!  I just couldn't get enough of looking at her precious little face.

Frank and Darla and her kids joined us for lunch. 

We were barely finished eating when we realized it was time for the candy drop. What fun to see the airplane swoop low over the ball field as candy "rained" out of it! But I forgot to take a pic. It felt so wrong for Destiny to be missing all this. She has never missed the MCDS auction since she was born. But more on that later.

After the candy drop we left MCDS to go to the nursing home near Lititz to spend time with Dad Stauffer. How precious to finally be with him. He was very emotional, but talking and expressing his feelings, which apparently is huge progress since the beginning of the week. Sometimes we all dozed, for a while he sat on the recliner beside his bed, I sang several favorite hymns to him, we prayed with him. It was all so precious. He has such a long road of rehabilitation ahead of him, and we all want to do everything possible to encourage him so he wants to do it. A number of his co-workers stopped in while we were there, and it was so obvious how much they love and esteem him. I enjoyed reading the many cards he has received, but was especially touched by the note Destiny had written on the card I had sent to her to send to him. 

We spent the evening and night with Mary again, but headed out very early this morning for Arlene's. We had a 7 AM breakfast there with Dick's brothers and wives. Of course it was a combination of fun and very serious, necessary conversation. 

Before going to our church I went to the nursing home, because I knew Arlene was planning to wheel Dad to the worship service in their chapel, his first chance to be in a church service in 6 weeks. For some reason I just felt like I wanted to be there for that. (Dick was playing bass at our church and had to go early for practice, so couldn't go with me to the service at the nursing home.) When I got to the chapel I could not believe my eyes. There was Dad sitting up straight, dressed nicely, his glasses on! I just had to get a picture! And I knew why I felt the need to go there this morning. Getting this very encouraging picture was reason enough!

I did have to leave their service early to get to ours at Grace. What a blessing to be there and just receive and be in the Lord's presence and be among friends.

We went to Mary's for a most wonderful meal of her good, Pennsylvania Dutch cooking served with her love and humor.  

 And topped with a beautiful dessert.

Again we went to the nursing home to spend a little more time with Dad Stauffer.  He'd been having pretty many visitors today, so we didn't stay very long. 

We went back to Mary's for short naps and to pack up our things.  We had one more place to go and one more person to see......

Destiny in Lancaster!  

I cannot go into details on a public blog like this, but  Destiny informed me this past week that they would be moving back from Florida to her other grandma's house in Lancaster this weekend.  I did not know exactly what day they would arrive, so I was delighted to get a call from her this afternoon that they had just arrived by train.  I would have been so sad if we had missed getting to see her before we headed back to State College.  Oh, how we hugged and hugged!!  I put big lipstick kisses on each of her cheeks!

 (Oh my goodness, that nap did a number on my hair.)

She was also happy to get to see her older sister who lives with her other grandma.  Here she is with her sister and brother. 

How much lighter my heart is this Sunday evening compared with last Sunday, Easter Sunday, evening.  I missed her so intensely over Easter and could not get hold of her by phone for a couple of weeks.  God has heard the cries of my heart.

WOW!!  What a weekend!!  MCDS, Laura's new baby, Grandma Mary, Dad Stauffer and Arlene, Dick's brothers, my sister Doris, Sam and Jenn, Ray and Thyda, Frank and Darla, friends at Grace, Destiny!!  Thank you, thank you, Lord!!

Cute things, sad things, exciting things

Austin had this white undershirt on today, and I thought he looked so cute in it.  But trying to get him to stand still for a picture was next to impossible.  I did get these two shots.

Yesterday was a very sad day for many people.  I cannot believe the pictures on TV of the destruction in the southern states from all those tornadoes.  There were tornado warnings in other areas of our county last evening as well.   Dick and I discussed where would be the best place for us to go in such a circumstance.  We do not have a basement, but we do have a concrete crawlspace under our house.  What a terribly scary thought.

Also, Reverend David Wilkerson was killed in a car accident in Texas yesterday.  He was the founder of Teen Challenge, World Challenge, and Times Square Church, author of The Cross and the Switchblade.   A man of profound faith, conviction, and influence.  My dad always followed his ministry closely, and it's so weird how I feel like I need to tell Dad about David's death.  I wonder what it's like over there when people meet each other. 

I'm so excited for this weekend.  The big annual benefit auction will be held at Manheim Christian Day School where I taught for so many years.  It's the most looked-forward-to event of the year.  I know I'll get to see so many people we seldom ever see anymore, including some of our very family.  I'm sure I will have lots of pictures to post next week.

There are other things I'm excited about too, but they will need to wait till next week too.   

So is anybody getting up early for the big wedding in the morning??  Not sure that I will.  Five hour nights just aren't good enough for me anymore. 

Wonderful warm weather!!!

There just aren't enough words to describe how WONDERFUL life has been this week with the arrival of truly warm weather!!! I am so, so happy that I am determined not to complain about any of the downsides of its arrival - not the bees or the ants or the noisiness of open windows or the dreadful sight of our neighbor man (whom Austin calls "other pawpaw") walking around shirtless!!

It's just so wonderful to be able to be outdoors with Austin and not worry about coat or hat.

It's also wonderful to be able to go through several days in a row without using heat or AC. My kitchen is like breeze central. Look at those curtains blowing in the breeze.

And most wonderful of all is getting out there first thing in the morning for a good, long walk through our community. One thing I have been noticing in many yards are the darker green circles like those in the picture below. Does anyone know what that would be from?

Dick's dad has had a good two days and will be moving to the United Zion Home in Lititz tomorrow. It is right next door to the community where Dick and I lived! I used to walk through our community, then up a small grassy hill to the campus of the United Zion Home and walk on their lovely sidewalks. I feel like I half own the place, (haha), so I'm happy he's going there. God is hearing our cries for him.

We'll be going down to Lancaster County this weekend, so we're very, very eager to be with him and Arlene.

I love Easter!!

Easter 2011 began very early as we got up and got ready for the day in time for our 6:00 sunrise service at church.  But wow!  Once we arrived it was hard to believe it was that early in the morning.  There was energy and excitement in the very air!  Our choir practically shattered the glass in the windows with the anthem Easter Is Here.   After the service we had a breakfast at the church before going into our regular service, which was once again filled with joy and excitement.  And again our choir sang our hearts out in Tom Fettke's Alive Forevermore.   

I love Easter!!  There is no message or truth or reality to compare with the cross and the resurrection.  Thank you, LORD!!  Our pastor started his message this morning with, "Knock, knock!"  The congregation automatically responded, "Who's there?"  The pastor shouted, "NOBODY!!"  He said that the resurrection was the greatest joke in history - and the joke was on Satan! 

Many people had bought Easter lilies in memory or in honor of loved ones, and they were lined up at the front of the sanctuary.  It looked so beautiful.

After our regular service Dick went home to take a nap before going to work at 12 noon.  I went to Anthony and Lori's church.  Look at this shot of these two handsome men I found there!  My heart almost melted right into a puddle when I first saw Austin in that green vest!

We spent the evening at Anthony and Lori's, eating some of my standard Easter food (ham, yams, and baked corn), playing outside on the deck, and introducing Austin to Easter egg painting, toddler style.  We discovered that brown eggs don't come out the greatest!

As you can see, we had a warm day.  It did rain occasionally, but not nearly all the time.  Thank you, Lord!

It was a good day, but I had tears at times too.  I enjoy our friends at church.  I thoroughly enjoy being with Anthony, Lori, and Austin.  But there were many loved ones that we were not with today, and there are some very deep aches in my heart.  I guess Heaven is the only time and place where that will not be case. 

We want to believe that there is a "Sunday" coming.

We had fun at choir practice Wednesday evening.  Judy, our choir director, had a birthday cake for Dick.  She goes way above and beyond for our choir, hosting the practices in her lovely home, complete with goodies and ice water and coffee each time.  We always have so much fun, and she has trouble getting us to stop talking so we can practice.  Boy, can I relate!  It certainly feels strange to be on this side of that problem!  But of course I behave and never, ever talk too much.

 Judy always puts a zero candle on everyone's cake!

This evening we had a Good Friday service that was tremendously touching.  When it was finished we left, as we had been instructed ahead of time to do, in complete silence.  Wow!  I don't know if I have ever done that before, but it was awesome.  Nothing at all to take away from the deep reflections on Christ's incredible sacrifice. 

Once again this has not been an easy week.  For the most part the weather has been absolutely dreary and cold and depressing.  There are a number of things that are heavy on my heart.  A major one is Dick's dad.  I can write tonight because he had a better day today.  But there have been some very rough waters the past several days.  We found out that Medicare will not pay for his stay at the rehab hospital after next Tuesday, the 26th.  He is far too weak for Arlene to care for him at home, so the other option is for him to go to a nursing home that offers rehab services.  It seemed the past two days that such a prospect was enough to cause Dad to close down, withdraw, and give up.  We know that the very words "nursing home" are loaded with negative emotion for him.  His own mother lived in a nursing home for almost twenty years, a victim of dementia, until she died at age 102.  I'm sure he's afraid he will never go home again.  It just rips our hearts apart.  I know I've said this before, but the stark reality is that just five weeks ago today he left his house in the morning, leaving for work with NO IDEA he would not come back home that afternoon.  What projects did he have going in his workshop that remain unfinished?  What plans did he have for his gardens and woods for this spring and summer?  Will he ever have a chance to get back to them? 

As I read elsewhere this evening, this is a very "Friday" kind of experience, as in the despair of Good Friday.  How we want to believe that there is a "Sunday" coming!

Happy Birthday, Dick!

The news from State College is pretty much more of the same.  A warm day of sun here and there with days and days of cold rain between. 

And lots of hulahooping going on inside the house.  I've got several short videos below that show Austin practicing his skills.  The first two are pretty dark, because they were taken right before his bedtime when I was babysitting him Saturday evening.  But he was really on his game that night. 

 He practices and practices, but if that hoop doesn't cooperate like it should, or if things get in its way, watch out!!  The pot boils over very suddenly as you can see at the end of this video.

Dick's dad is slowly, but surely experiencing progress at the rehab.  Learning to swallow is a primary objective.  They're also encouraging him to speak in a louder voice, because his vocal cords need more exercise.  He and Arlene enjoy sitting in the lobby sometimes for a change of scenery.  It sounds so much better than all that time in the ICU room a few weeks ago.  But he is asking for prayer that his nights would not seem so long.  That really pulls at my heart.  Today I sent him an enlarged print of this family picture taken on New Years weekend.  That will give him something to talk about with the rehab personnel.  

 Today is Dick's birthday.  He's celebrating 61 years.  We are also celebrating 15 years since he found out (on his birthday) that he would need a biopsy of a suspicious-looking mass in his hip.  That was a very difficult evening as we ate out.  All I could think was that maybe this was his last birthday.  But, PRAISE GOD, here we were this evening, 15 years later, enjoying a wonderful meal at Damons.  And he certainly doesn't act like he's 61, haha!

Dick heard from each one of our children today as well as most of our children-in-law.  Probably the sweetest of all was the phone call we got from Sophie while we were at Damons this evening.  He had his hands all messy from eating ribs, so I had to take his phone out of his shirt pocket.  We missed the call, but called right back and Sophie sang Happy Birthday to him.   We didn't realize till afterward that while we missed the original call she had sung Happy Birthday on his voice mail.  It is SO PRECIOUS!!  Does anyone know if there's any way of keeping a voice mail?  I wish I could post it here for you all to hear. 

We've been renewing our passion for Scrabble lately, because we both have Words with Friends on our phones.  We have a game going almost all the time.  Trouble is, Dick always beats me.  We started playing Scrabble soon after we were married in 1971.  I was playing Scrabble right before I went into labor all three times.  We're just nuts about Scrabble!  Now Ray and Thyda are getting into it, so the past few days I've had games going on with each of them as well as with Dick.  It brightens these dreary days!

Jeremy flew to Amman, Jordan yesterday and will be there all week.  Regency Furniture has some businesses over there too.  Amazing!  It's not even two years since Jeremy graduated from the Tampa Art Institute, and he's already gotten such a great job.  

Well, this is long enough now.  Good night!

This week's joys

Life is often filled with sad, hard, stressful situations right along side of joyful ones.  Last night I shared the sad; tonight I'll share this week's joys.  

As usual, Austin tops the list!  One day he had the most adorable corkscrew curl on top of his head.  I wanted to get a picture of it without his knowing it, but he noticed what I was doing and said, "Cheese!"

Last Sunday afternoon we all went to a park since it was one of those rare, sunny days.  Austin is extremely adept at climbing ladders, going down slides of any length or shape, letting himself down from things that are higher than he is.  We're amazed at how much easier it is to be at a playground with him compared to last year.  

Since he's discovered how much fun it is to walk through puddles, and since we have rain more days than we don't, Lori got him some puddle-jumping boots.  

 

The saucer he's carrying is one of his favorite toys.  That, and his two hula hoops.  If he goes down to the playroom, they go along down.  If he goes upstairs, they go along up.  If he goes outside, they go along.  He never, ever tires of spinning and tossing them.  When he's at my house, where I have no saucer or hula hoop, he makes do with my round plastic lids.  Someday I will post pictures of the many funny places I find my lids. 

Yesterday I managed to sneak a short video while he was trying to fall asleep for  his nap.  Maybe you could try some of his tricks - practice your ABC's, arrange your pajama sleeves, do some singsongs.  I just never get tired of watching him. 

Dad Stauffer has now had his first week at the rehab hospital.  There were a few setbacks and concerns along the way, but today was an exceptionally good day.  The family members that were with him were especially amazed and thankful at the wonderful change in his "spirit" today.  God is hearing our cries.  

And one more joyful thing.  Dick and I found out today that we had way overestimated the amount of income taxes we might have to pay in this year.  A very welcome surprise indeed!