Last week of November

Hello December!  Can you believe we're nearly through the year 2012?  

On Monday I took Destiny home to Reading.  It was a beautiful day for driving.  When I got home around 7 pm I was home alone.  All the people and clutter and craziness and fun of Thanksgiving weekend were over, Dick was at the hunting cabin, and this place was QUIET!  I had catching up to do in so many ways - church music for December, our personal bookkeeping and bill paying, laundry - lots of laundry, I was a whole day behind at work because of taking Monday off.....   And I just didn't feel like doing any of it.  It's just more fun to have fun!

On Tuesday morning we had our first snow of the season - the beautiful kind of snow that sticks to the trees and the grass but not the roads.  

It was actually gone by early afternoon.  However, in Juniata County, where Dick was deer hunting, there was more snow, and Dick took this beautiful, silent video from his hunting post.


I worked a long day at the church office that day to catch up there.  Dick returned home that afternoon - without a deer, unfortunately.

On Wednesday I had a physical therapy appointment as well as an appointment with my surgeon.  I have slacked dreadfully this past month in doing my exercises and have seen very little improvement.  I still have a lot of pain with certain movements.  I was feeling overwhelmed by the exercises I'm to do, because for all of them I am supposed to do three sets of 8 to 10 reps with a minute of waiting in between.  I have felt like, ok, what am I to do with all those wasted minutes late at night when I really want to go to bed?  She showed me which exercises work different muscle groups and could be done interchangeably so I will get through the routine without all those wasted minutes.  I think I'll be more motivated to do them now.  The surgeon made it clear that I will NOT see any further improvement if I don't do the exercises.  I left feeling pretty much scolded, and rightfully so.  

Last evening as I was making BLT's for our dinner and thinking of calling Lori to see if they'd like to come over, my phone rang.  It was Lori saying that she and Austin were heading to Cracker Barrel and would I like to join them?  Dick was happy to just stay home and eat BLT's, so I went.  I needed some Lori and Austin catching-up time.  It's crazy how we live near each other and still don't have time to be together very often.  

All through the meal Austin was begging to play checkers by the fire.  So finally, when we were finished eating, he and I "played checkers."  Actually, we were building towers and bridges and stone walls with our checkers pieces, but we had such a good time.

Here's a picture from last Sunday when Lori and Anthony stopped in right before Sam and Jenn left.  While here Austin had to go to the bathroom and didn't aim quite right.  So his nice pants and socks got wet.  We changed him into pajama bottoms and I gave him a pair of my socks.  He was very pleased with his new look, hahahaha!

Thanksgiving Weekend 2012

Our Thanksgiving weekend began with the arrival of Ray and Thyda and their dog Leo from Virginia Beach.  Because she had to be back for duty on Saturday, and they wanted to spend as much time here as possible, they drove both trips at night.  Bless their precious hearts.  Ray managed to get some zzzzz's throughout the day.

Thyda's high school friend Jen, a student at Penn State, came to our place in the afternoon to spend time with Thyda.  They had not seen each other for four years.  I had never met her before, except in the comment section of Thyda's Facebook, and I LOVED her.  She reminded me so much of our daughter Miki - whom I have not seen for four years.  

I was taking my time throughout the day, preparing the food for our evening meal.  

Sam, Jenn, and Sammy arrived around 3:30.  They brought Destiny along too.   No more zzzzz's for anybody the rest of the day!

Anthony joined us for our meal.  Lori and Austin had left by train earlier in the day for a few days with her folks in Long Island.  

Anthony and Ray talked "shop" for a long time after dinner.  

Thyda, Destiny, and I tried to figure out the game Clue.  At first we didn't have a clue, but we kind of figured it out.

Jenn and Sammy dozed off on the sofa.

Then Jenn joined us for a good game of Life, which Thyda won.

We had a lot of fun Face-timing with Lisa, George, and Sophie for about twenty minutes.

Destiny and Thyda finished off the day doing puzzles.

On Friday morning I made French toast and bacon for breakfast, and ran some errands in the morning.  In the afternoon we girls and Sammy went to the mall.  (Don't worry - our mall was not suffering from Black Friday syndrome).  Destiny had gotten good grades the first quarter of this school year and got her mom's permission to get her long, thick hair cut. 

Sammy wasn't about to be out-charmed!

With the weight of the length taken off and some layers added, her hair immediately turned into curls.  She was so excited by how light and manageable it felt.

Meanwhile at home, Ray and Sam were busy preparing a surprise for Dick and me.  Sam and Jenn got us a flat screen TV for an early Christmas gift, and to the guys' amazement, after they took the partitions out of our entertainment center, it fit perfectly!  The girls told me about it while we were shopping, so I wasn't completely shocked when I got home.  But Dick was totally surprised when he got home from work.  I still can't believe it.  We really have incredibly generous kids. 

Now this is bliss - a pacifier in the mouth and an extra in the hand!  This sweet boy goes full tilt while he's awake, and then konks out on the floor!

Leo has grown up and calmed down a lot since last years' holidays.  We totally fell in love with him.

Checking out the Love Dare devotional that Ray and Thyda are using.  It's really, really good.

And once again, around midnight, Ray and Thyda took off for the long trip back to Virginia Beach.  Thyda is on six months of honor duty - attending military funerals to play bugle and do the flag-folding ceremony.  She had to be back for a funeral on Saturday.  I was really glad to get a call from Ray Saturday morning that they were safely home.

 
On Saturday we took it easy around the house and went to the mall again for a while.  I was making sausage sandwiches for dinner, and our hopes were that Lori and Anthony were going to be joining us after he picked her up from the train station, but they ended up having car trouble and needed to be towed from Harrisburg by AAA. 

This morning we had so much fun with Sammy before we left for church.  Are these jammies cute, or what??  (He's got something in his mouth - not a big tooth, haha!)

Hey, Dad, I'll take a cup of coffee too.

He loves our low windows and being able to see right outside.

After we came home from church we made a bit of a dent in all the leftovers in my fridge.  Anthony, Lori, and Austin got here just before Sam and Jenn had to leave, so at least they got to see each other!  I didn't get any pictures though.  Except this final one with Sammy.  He is an absolutely delightful toddler.  I just love how he's starting to "talk" and use vocal inflections that he imitates from everyone.  And the cutest thing of all is how he spreads  his hands apart when he's "asking" a question.  Just cracks me up!

Dick left for the hunting cabin right from church.  He texted me this afternoon that he had gotten all his gear up to his "spot" in the mountain, and that he can really tell that he has a lot more leg strength and endurance since he plays basketball regularly again.  I love it.  I hope he gets a deer.  We really like venison.

Destiny stayed here with me, so I'm being let down gradually from all the fun and craziness.  I'll take her home tomorrow since she still has off school till Tuesday.

Meetings, milestones, parties, and praise

Well, here it is Sunday evening again!  The beginning of my week was marked by a huge project at work - getting all the papers and forms ready for a church conference, which was held Tuesday evening.  I was beyond relieved when it was all finished and the conference was over.  

On Tuesday I was mindful of being without my sister Janet for eight years.  In reminiscing, I looked up the last email I got from her two days before her very unexpected death.  It was about the plans for my taking my intermediate chorus (grades 3-5) to do a program at Messiah Village where she was pastor.  Here's part of the email:

"I will work with the set up person to see that we have three levels with our platforms--one of them being on the floor. The piano is already on the right side. It is a new grand piano. We will wait to reposition it until you get here so we have it the way you want it. Just bring the master of the song sheet and we will make them here in my office which is across from the chapel. I will be there when you arrive to suggest where the bus can be parked. Can't wait!! I'm promoting it every chance I get."

Of course, she wasn't there to meet us when we arrived, but we DID go and do the program in the very chapel where we had held her memorial service the day before. Eight years have now passed since then, and I still miss her intensely. She was SUCH an amazing woman and a wonderful big sister and so much fun to be with!

I was delighted this week to find my favorite tea, Candy Cane Lane, in stock at a Weis Markets.  I bought 10 of the 11 boxes they had in stock!  I still had three left and my sister Mary Ellen had bought me two boxes recently, so I should be good for the year.  In case you don't know, this has been my VERY FAVORITE tea for at least six years or more, ever since I was first introduced to it at Weavers Natural Foods in Manheim.  It is sold in stores only during the holidays.  So I try to stock up, but when I run out, I do order it by the case directly from Celestial Seasonings.  I like it THAT much!  It's a decaf green tea, peppermint and vanilla flavored.  So it's good and it's good for me and it makes my throat feel good.

My big push the last half of the week was to get all my regular work and activities finished earlier than normal so I could leave for Lancaster County on Friday morning.  I was going to a girl sleepover in honor of my sister-in-law Faye Stauffer's 60 birthday.  But I was also having guests here while I was gone!  Dick's nephew Eric Stauffer, who graduated from Penn State, was coming up from Charlottesville, VA for the Penn State game.  His friend Daryl Ebersole from Lancaster County was also coming up, and they were both staying here Friday and Saturday nights, batching it with Dick till I would get home Saturday night.  

I left here around noon on Friday.  It occurred to me before I left that I had not been to Lancaster County since October 1st.  I was quite sure I had never been away that long in 61 years!!  I drove first of all to my brother's auto repair business near Manheim, where my sister Mary Ellen is the office manager.  I got my two boxes of tea from her and we chatted for a while.  Then I went to the mall to do a little shopping at Kohls.  From there I went to Dick's parents to see them and had dinner with them.  Then I went to my stepmother Mary's and visited a while with her.  

The girl sleepover was held at a cottage at the MCC headquarters in Akron.  I got there around 8 pm.  Everyone else was already there - Faye, whose birthday we were celebrating,  Carolyn Stauffer, Deb Stauffer, Faye's sisters Jean Martin and Joyce Hess, and Faye's sister-in-law Glynette Lentz.  

Here's a picture of us taken the next day.  Left to right:  Deb, Faye, Joyce, Carolyn, Jean, Glynette, me.

The kitchen/dining area.

The sitting area, complete with a gas fireplace.

This jigsaw puzzle got a lot of attention, here by Carolyn, Deb, Faye, and Glynette.  I have no patience for puzzles unfortunately.

Faye's sisters Jean and Joyce catching up.

On Saturday we shopped till we dropped at Stein Mart and Wegmans near Downingtown and then at MCC's Ten Thousand Villages gift shop in Akron.  Here we were eating lunch at Wegmans.

Saturday evening Faye's daughter Krista came and made a delicious dinner to serve everyone.  Other local female family members - nieces and stepmothers, also came for the evening.  

Because I needed to be back to lead praise and worship at church this morning, I left the girl party shortly after dinner was over.  It seemed like a very long drive home, all of it in the dark.  But I WAS thankful I wasn't going the other direction.  There had been an accident above Harrisburg, and the traffic coming from Penn State's game was backed up and standing still for many, many miles.  

I got home around 10:15 pm and found these guys, Eric and Daryl, looking right at home! 

I guess there was a good football game on TV.  Don't guys ever get tired of watching football????

Daryl left early this morning, but Eric stayed for church and had lunch with us and Anthony and Lori and Austin.  Eric told us the AMAZING things God has done for him and his wife Suzy since they stayed with us a year ago.  He needs to write it all down sometime.  It's that amazing.  Suzy went to see a Broadway show this weekend with her sister while Eric was up here.  We enjoyed having him here so much.  

Austin came here to take a nap with me this afternoon - which I REALLY needed.  Speaking of Austin, here's his latest quip as posted by Anthony on Facebook this evening:

Anthony: "Austin, stop stepping on that box, you'll break it"
Austin:  "But that's what I'm trying to do!!"

This evening I led our monthly praise service at Fillmore.  And now I am one very, very tired lady and my bed is calling my name.  This week is Thanksgiving, right??  Well, I guess I'll be starting a new list in the morning.