It's been fun and very meaningful hearing from a lot of my readers this past week after writing my ten-year anniversary post on Monday - some here in the comment section, some on Facebook, and others via email. And now, back to posting the ongoing family diary!
Yesterday we left Dick's shop soon after he got off work at 12 and headed for Lancaster County. We had a two-fold purpose for this trip. Anthony was also leaving at about the same time to go see a truck with a snowplow that was for sale in Lancaster County. He wanted Dick to check it out before he decided whether or not to buy it. We met at a Sheetz just off 283 near Mount Joy, and Dick went with Anthony from there.
Our plans were to meet Frank and Lauren and the girls at Old Country Buffet near Lancaster at 4:00, so I had time to kill. I started driving toward the Park City Mall, thinking I would just walk around for a while. When I was almost there I got a text from Destiny wondering what I was doing. They were all at Frank's barber in Lancaster City waiting for his cut, and she was bored. I was just a few miles away, so I drove there.
Actually, I was really eager to see them, but I also knew that the barber was directly across the street from a house that Jeremy had owned and lived in from 2002 - 2004. It was a grand old three-story row home, and I had helped him do a lot of painting in that house. I was curious to see it. I pulled up in front of the barber, opened my window and took this pic. Jeremy's was the first house on the left with the tree in front of it. That tree was much smaller back then.
It was also great to see Frank for the first time in a year and give him a hug. I took Destiny and Nicayla (Lauren's daughter) with me. We weren't sure what we were going to do, but we ended up going to Barnes and Noble in the same shopping complex as Old Country Buffet. There were so many fun things to look at, but the most fun thing was the Lego table!
I was intrigued by the Fisher Price toys for sale. My kids had all these things when they were little, and I had no idea they were still available!
We kept in touch via text messages and shortly after 4:00 we all converged in the parking lot at the same time - Dick and Anthony, Frank and Lauren with Jada, and me with the older girls. Anthony was happy to announce that he was indeed buying the truck/snowplow. (That will be a vital means of survival for them this coming winter!) I invited him to join us, but he had other shopping to do and later a 20th high school class reunion to attend.
We were so thankful we had not come earlier, because three busloads had just left! They were scrambling to refill everything, but at least it wasn't crowded. Our big disappointment was that the soft ice cream machine was broken. But there was so much other delicious food to eat - way too much!
It's not easy to get a none-blurry picture of Jada! She's always on the move.
Nicayla and Destiny - two peas in a pod!
Destiny and I made sure to get our usual bathroom selfie!
From there we went to watch J'von's football game in Columbia. It started much later than the 6:30 we were expecting, and the balmy weather did not stay so balmy after the sun went down. We did a good bit of shivering! Jada's not on this picture because she was too busy "visiting" with everyone else she knew!
While we waited for the previous game to end, I was at the nearby playground with the girls.
J'von's team in action at last.
Here you can see the back of J'von - number 20 on the left. Same number Frank had in high school!
There he's right in the middle of the huddle.
Destiny took this panoramic view of the field with her phone.
Unfortunately, about half way though the game J'von got an injured shin and had to sit out the rest of the game. It was so cute, when they were checking out his leg at the ambulance, Frank and the girls stood sympathetically watching.
Another of Destiny's shots. Grandpa and Grandma - still going to football games.
J'von's team won against Mountville, 33-20.
J'von was going to Reading with them for the weekend. There he is, squeezed in with all the girls! (My camera flash in the darkness nearly blinded Destiny!)
Dick and I hit the road then and got home at midnight. My 5:30 alarm came way too soon this morning! Amazingly, I did not feel sleepy at all during our church services. And we caught up this afternoon with a two-hour nap.
Here are some pics from earlier in the week. Autumn beauty is coming to Stauffer Acres (as Anthony calls their place.)
Miki posted AMAZING pictures of the Northern lights in Sweden.
Yesterday morning, as I came out from the bedroom, the sun was streaming through my kitchen window, and it made me happy, so I snapped this picture. I do love my archways in this house.
And now it's time to get started on next Sunday's music.
Ten years ago today I wrote my first blog post. Ten years!!
The first I had ever heard of blogging was maybe a year prior when Cheryl, my dear friend/co-worker/ next door neighbor in the intermediate department at Manheim Christian Day School (where my music room was located) started one. I remember how we all tried to wrap our heads around why. What was the point of blogging? Wasn't email good enough to let people know what we were doing?
I hadn't seen Cheryl for a few months after she left MCDS in the spring of 2005, and then we unexpectedly met up at the deli counter of a Weis Markets near Lancaster. We were so happy to see each other again, and she told me she was still blogging. I think she probably wrote down her blog address for me. I was so happy to be able to still connect with her. She still blogs, and her blog is listed on my sidebar as Winds of Life.)
And then I started thinking, why not start a blog? I like to write. I like to take pictures. Friends and family could keep up with us if they wanted to, and would not need to be bothered by my long, newsy emails all the time.
So on October 5, 2005 I timidly figured out how to make my own blog site. I wrote a tiny, little post that day, and then tried posting some pictures the next day, knowing that no one would be looking, because no one knew I was doing it.
At that time in our lives we had recently accomplished the hugest feat of our lives (up to that point anyway) - downsizing from our huge farmhouse that had seen many, many people come and go in the eighteen years we'd lived there. We liked our little house near Lititz. Granddaughter Destiny, age five, lived with us at that time.
The very first thing I wrote about was the impending birth of our former foster daughter's baby. (Nicole and her two siblings had been our little ones for about a year-and-a-half back in 1991-92 before they went to their wonderful forever family in upstate PA.) In 2005 Nicole was staying with her in-laws in Lancaster County while she awaited her baby's birth, which was to take place at Lancaster General Hospital. We had the fun of hosting her parents overnight and then going to LGH to see little Ethan Cole the next day. (How cute is Destiny on this pic??) Today Ethan is a super handsome about-to-be ten year old! It's delightful to be able to stay in touch with Nicole and her growing family on FB.
Finally three days later, on October 8, I sent out this email to some friends and family to let them know about my blog.
"I
have a good friend who "blogs". A few days ago when I was
reading her blog, I decided to see how easy or difficult it would be to set up
my own blogsite. Amazingly, it was quite easy. Since I enjoy
writing and sharing pictures, it's a fun thing for me to do. So if you
ever wonder "What's up with the Stauffers?", just go to musicaljean.blogspot.com and
you'll find out!"
My first response was from Anthony. "Now I know the world is coming to an end. Lisa got an iPod before me, and mom has her own blog and I don't." Hahahahaha!! That gave me a great deal of satisfaction!!
Here's a collage of pictures of our kids from that era. I didn't have one of Miki, but I did have one of her kids.
I never have connected to lots of other bloggers as some do. I didn't feel I had the time to read so many blogs. My main purpose for blogging was to have a place to write, because I love to write, and to let family and friends know what we were doing. As it turns out, my blog has served two other purposes - it is absolutely the best family diary ever, and I have gained some very valuable friendships through blogging. Some are still blogging, others I've stayed connected with via Facebook.
Probably one of the first blogs I found was that of a local person I was already acquainted with - Doris Jean. Her blog is listed on my sidebar, My Journey.
As I made my way around blogland I found a person named MaryAnn in Delaware. I thought I recognized people on her pictures, so I got brave and emailed her. We instantly clicked and are still connected today. We had a delightful, impromptu lunch together at one point. Her blog is also on my sidebar, Stepping Out.
Soon thereafter I got an email from someone who had seen my blog. Leigh Ann went to high school with my kids and wanted to introduce herself. We eventually met at the local park quite by accident, simply because I recognized her children from her blog, hahaha!! Our hearts have deeply connected on a number of levels over the years. She still occasionally blogs and is listed on my sidebar, Holding on to God's Promises.
At one point I noticed that someone from South Korea was visiting my blog. What???? Then when she commented on my blog and I checked out her blog I discovered it was another high school friend of my kids, Lynn, stationed in South Korea at that time with her doctor husband. I don't think she blogs anymore, but we've stayed connected via FB, and I so enjoy keeping up with her and her beautiful family.
Then I got really brave after a year or so, and started timidly leaving comments on the blogs of complete strangers. I remember contemplating before I did it. In a lot of ways I felt inferior. My house was not beautiful like theirs. But there were things they wrote that totally transcended material things, and I felt drawn to them. To this day I still feel deeply connected to Kat (Justabeachkat on my sidebar), Tonja (Tonja's Gatherings on my sidebar), Tracey, and Dianne. I've had the privilege and fun of meeting three of these southern ladies in person, all but Dianne. Facebook has become a wonderful way for me to stay connected with them.
Along the way I met Margie from Arizona and Lynne from Atlanta via their blogs. I'm quite sure their PA roots had a lot to do with the connection we felt. Again, FB has kept us connected even though they no longer blog. Margie and her family were our very first overnight guests in this house in the fall of 2010 on their trip back home to PA. Now that Lynne has moved back to PA I hope I get to meet her in person too.
At some point Cheryl told me to check out Mari's blog. Her son was in the army and our son Ray was in the Navy. Cheryl thought we would enjoy each other. She was right! To this day Mari (from Michigan) and I connect on a regular basis both on our blogs and on FB. Mari's blog is listed on my side bar, My Little Corner of the World. I do hope I get to meet her in person some day.
Occasionally I check out new blogs, but not often. I just don't have time for more reading or more connections. But within the last year I found Terri from Lakeland, Florida, and I liked her. Now we connect regularly too on both our blogs and on FB. Her blog is listed on my sidebar, Your Friend from Florida. I'm sure I'll meet up with her in Florida one of these years.
So much has happened in these ten years. We could not have imagined at that time that in a few years Dick would lose his job, the economy would tank, I would end up leaving my beloved music jobs at MCDS and Grace Community Fellowship, and we would move to State College for our new jobs and a completely new life. Some of you have followed us through that.
But we have survived!! God has not abandoned us. We are not at the place we had envisioned we would be at this point in our lives. We are still very much dependent on income from our jobs and will be for years to come. But we have health, we have our beautiful little house near the mountains, we have churches that welcome us and our gifts, we have Anthony and Lori and their wonderful place close by, we have beautiful relationships with each of our children, grandchildren, and extended families.
Our horizons have actually expanded at the same time that other dreams have needed to diminish.
And ten years later, I'm still enjoying this opportunity to write, share pictures, and keep our family diary. I don't get lots of comments like some bloggers do, and that's ok. I don't do this for comments. But just for this ten-year milestone, if you read my blog, I would love to hear from you in the comment section here or on Facebook. If you don't like commenting publicly, maybe you could shoot me an email at musicaljean@gmail.com.
On Friday we celebrated our 44th anniversary! It's so easy to go back to that era and vividly relive the details and emotions of looking forward to our wedding day. We had dated four-and-one-half years, the last two of which we were separated. So arriving at our wedding day seemed like the end of one journey and the beginning of another all in one. Here's a cute picture I posted on FB on Friday.
And this is what forty-four years has done to us! We went out to eat on Friday evening to one of our favorite places - Texas Roadhouse.
We got home just minutes before Sam and Jenn and the kids arrived. They had not been here since Easter weekend - six months ago! At first Bianca was acting extremely clingy and we were not sure that Sam and Jenn would be able to go out on a date. But after a while she got all happy and hammy, and they were able to leave with no problem.
It was only later when I turned the lights low that she started to fuss. She's used to going to sleep in her crib, and I don't have one of those anymore, so I had to do some walking and singing and bouncing for a while. Eventually she lay her head on my shoulder, and then five minutes later they walked in the door, and she started up all over again, haha!
This was a VERY cool, actually cold, wet weekend. So we just stayed inside and played Saturday morning.
After the kids went down for naps, Sam and Jenn went out for shoe shopping and a late lunch. Lucky for us, Bianca woke up from her nap happy. She loved this goat puppet we have that sings The Lonely Goatherd from The Sound of Music.
Sammy discovered this magnetic doll house of Destiny's. They both had fun with it.
While they ate their late lunch Grandpa played guitar and sang for them. He did an old Stauffer favorite - There's a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea.
Around 5:00 we went over to Anthony and Lori's. Sam and Jenn had not been there before. Of course I had envisioned lovely weather and sitting around the fire outside. Instead Anthony gave them "the tour," including the barn and pond, as we all shivered in our jackets. Thankfully it was not raining at that time.
When Anthony was showing them his studio in the barn, Sammy was asking why there was a big TV on the wall. So Anthony put him and Austin on stools in front of the big camera he uses to record his lessons. They could see themselves on the big TV!
Then we went back into the house by the cozy fire and ate and talked and laughed a lot. These two couples have a lot in common as parents of young kids. And any time we begin to tell stories of the years that our guys were teenagers, there is PLENTY to laugh about. All it takes is one story about a VW Rabbit, and there are about ten more to laugh over.
After we went home I read to Sammy for quite a while and we watched the movie American Sniper. So many deep and conflicting emotions come with that true, sad story.
Sammy could hardly wait to go to "churches" with us. At Fillmore he was offering his audible commentary on our music. For prelude my flutist, guitarist, and I did a rousing rendition of the traditional Lord's Prayer. When we finished Sammy said, "That hurts my ears!" After our first congregational song, he exclaimed, "That was a great song!" And after the second one, "That was a REALLY great song!"
Our choir did the African spiritual We Are Marching, complete with a Djembe drum. He had fun playing it after church. Maybe next time he comes we'll just put him on a drum, haha!
Like usual, at Houserville he spent some of the time at the piano with me and part of the time on a stool beside Dick on the stage. This boy is something else. He loves music and he loves Jesus. He's like a sponge! At Houserville we did the song Indescribable. We actually went through the song during our sound check before the service started, then again during the service. So he heard it twice. After we got home and we were preparing lunch, he kept singing little bits and pieces from the song and asking me for more of the lyrics.
Didn't he look handsome in his plaid shirt?
Little Miss B was so happy to see us when we got back home, looking so cute in her little polka-dotted outfit. She just walks around and around and around. We were remembering how Sammy, at her age, used to get into my kitchen drawers a lot. But she never bothers. Sometimes she sits down and plays with a toy for a long period of time, then she's on the go again.
Lunch after church was the first time all weekend that we sat at the dining room table to eat. As Jenn and I were getting it ready, Sammy said, "Are we going to do a family?" So we joked about that throughout the meal - that we were doing a family!
They left for home mid-afternoon, and soon thereafter Anthony brought Austin to our house. Lori had left for a conference in DC for the next few days.
We tried napping and puzzles for a while, the LO and BEHOLD, the sun came out in all its glory!!! We HAD to go outside!! It was still chilly, but oh, the SUN!!!
Austin could endlessly explore in Grandpa's shed. He climbed on top of a little ladder and looked around asking about everything. He really begged to have one of the deer antlers off the rack hanging above the door. Grandpa told him it was Uncle Ray's and he couldn't have it. What do you think, Ray??? Hahahaha!!
Then we went down to the little playground behind our house. First time this whole year! Somehow it seems we spend a whole lot more time at their place than ours anymore. (-:
Later Anthony came to pick him up, and now we're winding down and preparing for another busy, but regular week.
Tomorrow it will be TEN YEARS since my first blog post. I don't have time to do anything big or special to celebrate, but I do hope to find time to post some highlights.
On Sunday after church we met up with Anthony and Lori so we could pick up Austin to take him along to Sammy's birthday party. It was held at Jenn's parents' house above Harrisburg, so we had just an hour-and-a-half drive.
I love how upon our arrival Sammy comes running out to greet us and stands eagerly near the car until I get my door open, then he comes and melts into my arms. He's such a snuggle bunny.
Here he is with his four candles on cupcakes.
He had plenty of cousins eager to help him open his gifts.
Bianca wanted in on the action too!
I gave him a personalized book about a boy named Sammy.
Austin thought this was the coolest gift!
For some reason Bianca thought it was so much fun to stand on this pack of markers.
I don't think Sam knew I got this shot of him watching all the action.
These were some of Sammy's favorite gifts.
This mustache was so huge it practically taped his mouth shut, be he didn't seem to mind!
The trampoline was where most of the action happened since there were six boys in all. Austin had a blast, especially when I wasn't watching. His rough play is hard for me to watch.
Bianca and I matched!
The best way to get a good picture of her is to have her daddy take the picture. Look at her big smile as she looks at Sam! She's just crazy about him.
We left around 6:00 and headed home. Austin's last treat of the day was this big cookie left from his lunch at Home Delivery Pizzeria.
