Sunshine and beautiful places

I really should try to post more often so I don't end up with such long posts and so many pictures/videos each time.  Just grab some tea and hang out here for a bit!  

You know I can't resist taking pictures of beautiful skies, so here's a collage from the past few days.  Three of them are sunrises, one is a sunset.  We've had lots of contrails in our morning skies lately.  

As I mentioned last time, we had a busy Thursday evening attending several sporting events - from our computer of course!  There was a huge track meet in Florida.  It was even more huge because a year ago Lisa's team was all pumped and primed and raring to go to this big meet when, just hours before starting time, everything was shut down due to COVID.  And that was the sudden end of the track season, Lisa's first year of her new job teaching and coaching at Calvary Christian High School, and Sophie's first year attending there.  A very bitter disappointment.  

Here's the one video I took on Thursday of the 4x100 relay, Sophie's team coming in first.  As I've probably said before, Haag is pronounced "Hay with a G" at the end, but most announcers get it wrong.  This time it was Hag, rhyming with rag.  

There was a really nice write-up about Sophie the next day in an article about the meet.  What a girl!!

Also that evening we were watching J'von's basketball team from La Academia Charter School in Lancaster play for the district 3 championship against Conestoga Christian School.  They won the game and are now going to play in a states competition on Friday!  The story of their team is so impressive.  This is just the second year that the school has had a basketball team, and it's the first year that they are members in the PIAA.  So they are making quite an impression!  

This video is from last Tuesday's game, the one where J'von broke the tie at the end of the game with his 3-point shot.  I love the way the place went wild after that shot!

Here are some great collages from other family members.  On Friday Jeremy took the kids to the coast, which is about an hour-and-a-half from Portland, to give Mike a break. He's the one that's home all day every day with the kids in on-line school, and then Jeremy had been on a work trip for three days at the beginning of the week.  It was in the low 50's on Friday, but they had a blast!  Daniel had never seen the ocean before. 

Also on Friday, Lori took the boys to a State park about an hour-and-a-half from here.  It was a gorgeous day for hiking. 

On Sunday afternoon Dick and I took a drive to the Stauffer cabin in Juniata County about an hour south of here.  We have some of Dad Stauffer's pictures here that Dick's brother Fred would like to have, so we took them to the cabin.  Being there is so nostalgic for Dick.  So many memories of being there with his dad over the years.  It's a such a lovely setting. 

We had our first crocus bloom yesterday!!  I was so happy to see it!

Of course I've had several FaceTime calls with Destiny, and I always capture the cutest pictures of Elizer.  I hope you don't get tired of them, because I probably won't stop taking and posting them, haha!

Guess what??  They're coming to Grandma's house later this week for several days!  Now that we've had our second vaccine and they already had COVID last month, we're good to go.  They are the last ones I've had in our house - the first weekend of October!  I'm so excited!  And I'm hoping it will work out for Sammy and Bianca to come the next weekend after that for Palm Sunday.  That will be our first Sunday of in-person at GBRV since the end of November.  The kids were here before for Palm Sunday and loved it.  I'm so thankful for the vaccine!

And now I have to end with this crazy story.  Yesterday I had agreed to read Pastor Lynn's sermon for her.  She has been taking off the Sunday after her chemo treatments, and different people have been taking turns reading her sermon.  Of course, I'm also the pianist, so I had a lot on my mind and a lot to prepare for yesterday morning.  So right out of the gate I had one of those senior moments when I was trying to say my friend Glenda's name and drew a complete blank.  Then as I launched into reading the sermon Glenda reminded me that I had not read the scripture that was to precede the sermon.  Rats!!  I had intended to print it out in big print and had completely forgotten.  What followed was one of those "this can't be happening" giggling fits.  The other two ladies who were there to run the Google Meets and the Powerpoint were bent over laughing.  Dick was trying to be helpful from his position behind the video camera.  Here's the video of that part of the service. 

After church Pastor Lynn called and said, "You're FIRED!"  Oh, how we laughed and laughed.  She said, "I couldn't believe it when you said, 'Is there a Bible here somewhere?'  I was thinking, 'Jean, this is a church, there had better be a Bible there somewhere!'"  

It reminded me of times when we sisters used to sing together and get fits of giggling.  Once we were singing at a rescue mission in Philly when that happened.  We kept trying to start the song again and again, but we would just dissolve into giggles every time.  The men we were singing to just LOVED it! These little Mennonite girls just couldn't stop giggling, hahahaha!

Well, that's all for this time.  Have a good week!

Lots of good stuff

We have been having the most incredible Spring weather!  In the 60's!!  I know it's not here to stay yet, but I'm enjoying it while it's here.  Here's a beautiful sunrise on Tuesday morning, announcing the arrival of the lovely weather!

Most of the snow is gone, and the spring flowers are popping through the soil everywhere.  

Lots of pictures since I last posted on Saturday morning!  At that point I still wasn't feeling too bad from my 2nd vaccine the day before, but a bit later I started to shiver and my joints were hurting.  I decided not to be heroic.  I made myself comfortable on the loveseat, covered myself with a heavy comforter, and there I pretty much stayed the rest of the day.  My temp was close to 101, so I took a Tylenol a couple of times. 

In the evening I remembered that we were missing the annual Zimwit gathering.  (Zimwit = Zimmermans and Witmers, the combination of my stepmother's and my dad's families since they married in 1983.)  We did not intend to go this year, but I had told them that we would call so we could hear all the noise.  Of course, I wasn't feeling up to that, but I did text Mae, my stepbrother Carl's wife, to tell her that we were thinking about them and missing being there.  Well, bless her heart!!  She walked around with her phone taking videos of family members saying "hi" to me.  It made me cry!!  So sweet!  Here are screen shots of my six stepbrothers and some of the wives.   Of course, this would have been the first year that Grandma Mary was missing, and that is really, really sad.  

On Sunday morning, before I even crawled out of bed, I could tell that I was feeling better.  And I WAS!  Absolutely 100% better!  I was quite relieved, since I had not made any arrangements for anyone to play piano for me at our GBRV service!  

Here's a video of the prelude Pastor Lynn and I played.  It was a lovely medley of Seek Ye First and Canon in D.  

On Sunday afternoon I made chocolate chip peanut blossoms, again not for us.  Hunter's 5th birthday would be on Monday, and I wanted to give him cookies along with his gift.  Dick and I did each eat one. 

At 5:00 I joined a Zoom sibling chat.  We had the most wonderful time together again.  It's always hard to finish up because it's so precious to be together.  But finally around 6:40 we said our goodbyes.  

Then Dick and I went over to Anthony and Lori's to take the cookies and Hunter's birthday gifts.  

Austin wanted to show me a unique ball he had.  I thought I was taking a video, but discovered afterward that I had been taking pictures instead.  

Of course Monday was really his birthday, so that evening they had us and some of their closest friends who have children Hunter's age together via Zoom.  Lori's mom and sister joined on another device via WhatsApp.  It was a lot of fun.  We sang Happy Birthday and watched him blow out his candles.

Here's a collage I made of each birthday.  He has brought so much joy!!!  And now he sends me text messages from his iPad and it's so much fun!  

On Tuesday evening we had so much fun watching another basketball game here on the computer.  Our grandson J'von's team from La Academia Charter School went into this playoff game against Mt. Calvary Christian School, who had been undefeated this entire season!   The game was fast and furious!!  At half time Mt. Calvary was at least ten or more points ahead.  But La Academia pulled ahead and then it was back and forth, finally tied at 57-57 as time was running out.  And then J'von made a three-point shot that won the game.  The place went wild!!!  His team will now be going to districts.  Here's a great picture of J'von playing, but I don't think it was taken last evening.  He's #1.  We're so proud of him!

Tomorrow afternoon I will be watching Sophie's track meet in Florida and then another basketball game in the evening!

And now for some cuteness overload!!   Destiny and I Facetimed several times this week, and I'm always snapping pictures as we talk.  On Monday she was feeding him and it reminded me of a picture of me feeding her around the same age.  

I think you can tell they're related, right?

On Tuesday it was nice and warm, and she took him outside on the trampoline.  He acted like he might start crawling!  He's really getting the knee action.

Today we talked again while she was feeding him.  He LOVES to eat!

One of these times I'm just gonna eat him up, he's so stinkin' CUTE!!

On Monday Jeremy had to leave for a three-day work trip.  The boys really didn't want him to leave.

But they have Face-timed a lot, and he's on his way back home tonight, arriving in Portland around 11:30 pm. He Face-timed me from the Minneapolis airport this evening and we had some good laughs.  He was worrying about his baggy eyes when he knew I was taking a picture!   He's so eager to get back home.

One last picture tonight.  I'm not sure how many weeks ago Dick started this 1000 piece puzzle, but he is beginning to see the end!  What a work of patience and persistence!!

Happy days

Yesterday was a happy day for us.  It started with a gorgeous sunrise.

We drove to the Geisinger hospital in Lewistown (about 45 minutes from here) and got our second vaccine.  Once again, easy peasy.  They have a big tent set up outside the hospital, and it all works like a well-oiled machine.  Everyone was so friendly and upbeat.  BLESS THEM!! 

Afterward we browsed an Aldi nearby, a discount grocery store we do not yet have in State College.  They say we'll be getting two of them here at some point.  Then we saw a JCPenney store.  I was so excited!  Ours closed a number of years ago.  So we browsed there, and I actually found an Easter dress!  I love black and yellow together, and I found a black dress with a shear black and yellow jacket. Of course, on me it is longer than this picture since I'm so short. 

Last evening we watched the new movie "Coming to America 2" on Amazon Prime.  I had always really loved the first one, and I had heard that this one would not disappoint, but unfortunately it did.  I wouldn't feel like watching it again.  

We really slept in this morning!  Very unusual for us.  I do feel body aches, and my shoulder really hurts, but I don't think I have a fever, thankfully.  Dick is barely noticing anything.  Has anyone heard that blood type could be a factor in how a person handles the vaccine?  Jeremy had heard that type A handles it harder than type O, which is true in their case and ours.  Jeremy and I are both type A, and we are having more symptoms than Dick or Mike, who are both type O.  

Here are some beautiful sights along the way yesterday.

We've been having really cold weather and wind since Wednesday.  Winter dies hard in this part of PA.  On Thursday morning it looked like it would be warm and sunny outside, but it really was 23 degrees, feels like 12!!  Thankfully our house is easy to keep warm. 

I enjoyed pictures from Destiny this week.  She got a new walker for Elizer that he really enjoys. 

I had found some Baby Einstein videos on Ebay that he really enjoys.  This is the Old McDonald video. Austin and Hunter also really loved this one. 

They are staying at her uncle Steven's apartment in Lancaster City while he is in the hospital.  His 14-year-old son lives there with him and of course could not be alone.  Today her grandpa is supposed to go home from the hospital, so that is very, very good news!  

On Thursday evening we watched a play-off basketball game on our computer, which our grandson J'von's team won.  

It's hard to get clear pictures, but that's him!

While I was watching that I was also on a SnapChat call with Sammy.  His picture was sideways and stretched out and he couldn't figure out how to fix it, haha!  I took this picture and sent it to him afterward so he could see how funny they looked.  I don't know whose glasses he had on.  

I'll end with this lovely view on my way over to Anthony and Lori's place on Thursday late afternoon.  

Actually, I'll end with this picture of the chicken tikka masala I made for them that day.  Pretty darn delicious, if I do say so myself!  And a tad spicy!

Have a great weekend!

Lots of good things

A whole week with no snow!!  On Sunday we had rain almost all day long, a cold and dreary rain.  I was trying to decide if I actually wished it were snow instead!  On Monday it was clear and warmer, but SO windy!  Today was a gorgeous day in the low fifties and sunshine!  I enjoyed another walk this afternoon and sitting on the porch for a while afterward. 

Yesterday morning I was in the kitchen making Dick's omelet and suddenly spied this!

When Dick came to the kitchen I said, "Look out that window!"  He stood there looking at our vehicles and wondered what he was supposed to see.  I couldn't believe it!

On Saturday I got some cleaning done.  Dick vacuumed our ceiling lights and fans.  When he stood on my side of the bed he said, "I'm standing on your memory."  (Yes, we have a memory foam mattress, haha!)  

On Sunday after our two church services I worked on scanning old pictures most of the day since it was so dreary outside.  So much fun!  I'll just share this one here - some of the Witmer sisters in 1964: Betty, Doris, Barb, and me.  Not sure why I didn't have a cute purse.

I was so blessed on Monday when our son in law George sent me a link to their school newsletter in which the track team was featured.  I am so very proud of Lisa!  And of course of Sophie too.  I copied two of the paragraphs that were my favorites:

“CCHS Track: Breaking Records Right Out of the Gate”

 

The CCHS track program is on its way to a record- breaking season. Calvary has over 100 track and field athletes, the most CCHS has ever had on the team. Under the enthusiastic leadership of Coach Lisa Haag, it is no wonder so many students have come to The Rock to compete this season. She is just the right combination of cheerleader, motivator, technician, and expert. She motivates athletes to push themselves further than they think they can go while at the same time making sure they are safe and performing their events intelligently. She and her assistant coaches have practice running like a fine-tuned machine with three different start times to make sure each athlete gets the proper coaching and attention with safety and COVID-19 rules in mind.

 

On the track, nationally ranked in the 100 and 200 meters, Sophie Haag continues to break school records. She is the current school record holder in the 100m.

 

These pictures were part of the article. 

That evening we were able to watch a live track meet here on our computer.  Sophie came in first place in both the 100 and the 200 meter dash.  She beat her own record in the 200:  25:33 seconds!  I got this video.

On Tuesday evening we watched J'von's basketball game from our computer!  It was a very action-packed game and so fun to watch.  Here's a video that shows him running the ball.  He's the red #1.  He's really good, and they keep him in the game almost all the time. 

I got to see my favorite little man this evening on FaceTime.  

Destiny's other grandpa is still in the hospital.  Her uncle Steven had come home for a few days, but had to be admitted to the hospital again.  They both have very severe pneumonia since having COVID. 

Dick and I will get our second shot on Friday, and we're looking forward to it even if we don't feel great afterward for a day or two.  

Today I got another card in the mail, intricately designed and made by our dear daughter Miki in Sweden.  Her talent blows me away, and getting a card in the mail all the way from Sweden in this day and age of technology is really, really special!!  The song is Holy, Holy, Holy in Swedish.  I offered to sing it to our online Bible study this afternoon, but they just laughed.  So did I, haha!  

Have a good rest of the week!

More snow pictures, sunny pictures, funny pictures, and old pictures

I have almost a week of catching up to do here again.  

On Saturday I decided to make banana nut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  Not that we even eat things like that anymore, but I like to have things to give our family.  It's one thing I can do while we can't be together.  I did eat two of them and Dick ate one, but I forgot to take a picture of them.  

I noticed a beautiful sunset that evening, but I didn't feel like going out in the cold, so I just took a picture through the slider.  

The next morning I took another picture through the slider!  I'm assuming this was a male house finch.  So beautiful!  Maybe the other one is his wife.

After church we packed up some things and headed to Lancaster County.  It was a beautiful, sunny day, and the trees with ice on them as we crossed Seven Mountains were spectacularly beautiful!

Our first stop was at Alex's dad's place where Destiny, Alex, and Elizer are living now.  I had gotten some cute baby boy clothes at Goodwill, so we dropped those off as well as some cupcakes.  Actually Destiny wasn't there because she had just left with her mom and cousin.  They were driving straight through to Ocala, Florida to get Destiny and Alex's things moved out of their mobile home, which had to be done before the end of the month.  I asked Alex if he felt ok about taking care of Elizer till she gets back, and he said, "Oh sure, no problem."  On Monday he sent me this video.  How absolutely adorable is this???  I just love the bond between them.

When we stopped at a gas station on Sunday we were amused by this.

I texted it to Destiny and told her that if they couldn't fit her futon inside the van they could always tie it on top, haha!!

We also visited Grandma Arlene that afternoon.  This time we went up to her apartment to visit.  Both she and us have had our first vaccine, but we did all have masks on.  Not interested in taking any chances when we're this close to getting our second vaccine!  We had a great time together, but no picture this time. 

WE also made several stops to pick up pictures.  We met my sister Mary Ellen, who gave me some old pictures from our childhood that she has had in her basement.  We also stopped at my stepbrother Gary's place to pick up my flash drive which contains the slide show that was shown before Grandma Mary's funeral. And last we went to our nephew Josh's house, which used to be Grandpa and Arlene's house.  There were still boxes of photo albums and framed pictures there that no one has done anything with since the auction a year ago.  It was fun to see the renovations Josh and Jill have done to the house.  I didn't take any pictures inside, but I did get some at the front of the house outside.  I made this collage of before and after.  They've added shutters and a black front door.

  

On our way back home we stopped to drop some cupcakes off for Sammy and Bianca and then also for Austin and Hunter.   When we got home we had SO MANY things to carry in.

We've been having so much fun looking through old pictures this week.  I've scanned some, but have many, many more to do.  I'll just share these two here for now.  Both of Dick's grandparents's wedding photos!   

Henry and Emma (Snyder) Stauffer, July 6, 1919.

Paris and Maria (Brumbach) Brubaker, October 28, 1921.   No question that the strongest genes passed onto the Stauffer "boys" and grandchildren were from Grandpa Brubaker!  

On Monday we had snow again!  And on Tuesday morning.  I'm tired of snow pictures, but I took more of them anyway.  

I was delighted to wake up Tuesday morning to a text, "Grandma, I'm home," sent at 5:22 am.  What a whirlwind trip Destiny had been on!  They left around noon on Sunday, got to Ocala around 4:30 Monday morning, slept a little while, then packed up, cleaned and were on the road by mid afternoon.   A huge push to get back home was the fact that her other grandpa (her mom's dad) had to be taken to the hospital because of COVID and he was not doing well at all.  His 76th birthday is today.  He's still in the hospital.  Destiny's grandma was also in the hospital yesterday because of COVID, but she went home today.  She was allowed to see her husband before she left, since it's his birthday.  That made him so happy.  Destiny's uncle Steven (age 34) is also in the hospital.  He has very bad pneumonia in both lungs.  This is a really hard time for the family.  Please pray for them when they come to mind.  Destiny's mom tested positive for COVID yesterday, but so far she's not feeling too bad.  

Yesterday (Wednesday) was an absolutely beautiful day with temps in the low 50's!!  It was windy, but I finally went for a walk for the first time in weeks.  And when I got back I sat on the porch for a while and soaked in the sun.  Ahhhhh!!  

First a picture of yesterday's sunrise. 

There's actually some grass showing!!

Here's something to give you a laugh!  Along with the boxes of old photo albums were these wigs that had been Dick's mom's from her chemo days.  Of course I had to try them on!

I'll end with these cute pics that I took last evening while Destiny and I were Face-timing.   Elizer is becoming a little ham with a very definite personality.  He is very interested in whatever others are eating.  Last evening Destiny was eating chicken nuggets and he kept watching her like he wanted some.  She put one to his lips and he LOVED that taste!  After that he just kept watching her like, "Come on, Mom, more please!"  We were just cracking up!

Have a great weekend!