Quickly Stopping In to Update....

Hello from Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Warren and I are here enjoying the Gaither Homecoming Family Fest with 

thousands of other people.

Really...It is PACKED!

We postponed our trip by a day so that I could see the 

cardiologist to discuss my abnormal test results.

Turns out I have 2 of three indicators that would send me 

for a heart cath next.

However, 

this doctor is great and not invasive test happy so 

we talked at length and went back to some results 

I had three years ago that led to a heart cath,

which was basically fine.

He has agreed to hold off unless I have more symptoms.

I believe I can not have the symptoms if I build 

up my cardiac health slowly rather than 

my propensity to jump in with both feet when I do something.

So...If you see me walking slowly on flat surfaces over the next 

weeks or months I'm just following doctor's orders.

But we are here!

The weather is cooperating very nicely.

The natives are freezing because it went down to 40 degrees

last night but we are loving it.

Not hot.

Not muggy!  

Praise the Lord!!

We enjoyed lunch at The Old Mill Restaurant yesterday.

It is a very delightful place.

The food is so plentiful that I brought half of my meal 

back with me.

And...we have enough left on our gift card to eat there

again on this trip.

Thanks Mom!

I forgot to bring my camera....

Obviously I was not myself when we left.

Too worried about that doctor's appointment.

This blogger almost never forgets her camera.

Sigh....

A trip, in the mountains, with all of this beauty and I have 

to ask Warren to take pics with his phone.....

double sigh.

Oh well.

I'll live.

Hugs....

See you soon.

We are off for day two with awesome music 

and thousands of Saints of God.

Hard Days

Sunday afternoon was going along in a very nice kind of a way

with a fun ladies meeting where we enjoyed tea

and a talk by my awesome mother.

This talk was about trusting God.

That He is trustworthy.

He is indeed.

It is a very good thing we know that.

For shortly after we finished our time together

with prayer for needs in our group

there was an urgent call.

Our dear friend, Amy, was in trouble.

Miscarrying.

I won't recount the details.

If you'd like to know more you can read

Deanna's blog post 

at Creekside Cottage.

We are so thankful that God spared Amy's life.

She is very precious and special to all of us.

We weep with their family for this loss.

Then yesterday I went for some tests on my heart.

Finally.

I started this process with one group and have 

had to change cardiology groups midstream.

Test number one went smoothly...

as far as I could tell.

Test number two....

not so much.

There were complications and 

I ended up needing 2 doses of nitroglycerin

and oxygen

to calm my heart back down.

I am left wondering what I will find out 

at my next appointment.

It seems that I'm not really going to like it.

But I'm praying that it isn't as bad as it seemed.

Perhaps they will simply add another med.

However, 

I am a bit apprehensive.

There is no doubt about it.

I passed it along as a prayer request to the ladies at church

and immediately received a call from one of them.

She reminded me of Mom's talk.

Honestly, I had not even thought of it.

But how perfect was that timing?

Not many hours later

I turned on the news to watch a killer tornado

roar through Moore, Oklahoma in real time.

It is no wonder my heart is heavy today.

I've seen that many of you are feeling the same way.

But the best news is this:

Our God is trustworthy.

He can be trusted...

in all.

Whether it is a bad medical test.

The tragic loss of a darling baby.

A son heading into the Army.

A daughter heading to the other side of the world.

A road trip to new places.

Or....

Any number of other things we may face,

We can worry....

For all the good that will do.

Or we can trust.

I'm going to try.

Really, I am.

How about you?

Grocery Shopping with My Girl

Chelsea caught my love of grocery shopping.

It used to be something Warren and I did together

but over the years I've tended to get out and do 

it while he is at work.

Of course,
Chelsea has a little different shopping style.

She likes the far away store.

Because they have "everything"!

I prefer going to two or three nearby stores

and getting sale treasures.

So, we blend our styles.

I've made a list of all of the sales items I want 

in two of our local stores 

and we plan to go to her favorite store as well.

There will be lots more fruit and veggies in our future.

'Tis the season....they are beginning to appear and 

are very tasty.

Our menu kind of went by the wayside this week.

It was such a crazy week.

Monday was the Baby Shower....so Chelsea made a chicken casserole

for the guys to eat here.

Tuesday I made sausage on the grill while Warren mowed the yards.

I had mine with scrambled eggs while he put his on a roll.

Wednesday I turned Sunday's remaining spare ribs, leftover pasta and some quick cheese

sauce into a dish for Warren while I ate leftover sausage.

Last evening I made rice to go along with Mom's delicious sauced chicken,

sweet potatoes, salad and corn.  Yum.

Tonight?

Well, it is up for grabs.   

I'll have to see if there is anything written on the menu for today.

I just don't remember.

In any case, 

did you notice I ate "at home" all but one of those nights?

And that was the planned baby shower.

Yay for us!!

Eating out is our entertainment.

Its what we do for fun.

LOL

But, it is also pricey in money and calories.

So....we are attempting to do better.

My bloodwork was improved 

so I'm thinking our changes are helping.

My doctor was encouraging.

Even though the pounds aren't just dropping off

as I would wish them to

it would seem I'm headed in the right direction.

So...we continue to enjoy our grocery shopping

for delicious and healthy foods.

Pass the veggies please!

It Has Been a While

Tidbit hasn't had any blog time for quite a while.

She was looking kind of cute

on the other end of the sofa this morning.

She was on the other end of the sofa because

I made her leave the space just by my ear.

This cat purrs so loudly that it can be 

distracting.

Have a wonderful day.

I'm off to the candle kitchen to finish up 

an order for the Shar-Pei Rescue, 

prep some candles for a local shop,

mail some candle club orders

and to make up a Baby Shower Favor order.

I also have to stop by the school district office

to see if they have some paperwork 

the Army is requesting from Mikey.

I'm so torn as to whether I want them to have it.

Sigh........

Let's just say that I'm getting less sleep these days

with all of this underway.

Later we have music practice and some work time

at the church since we had carpet put in.

Time to replace the things that had to move.

Plenty to do around here.

Always.

Triple Baby Shower

This evening's baby shower was sweet.

Three mama's....two born babies...and one about to be born.

Precious little Benjamin.

He came to the party with his eyes open

and a good appetite.

I got to hold him for a bit.

That was awesome!

It has been way too long since these arms

have held one this young.

He was two weeks old on Sunday.

His mama, Susanna, is very dear to me.

You may know her as belonging to Katie

if you've been reading here long.

Our baby shower was held at 

The Busted Bean

in Lampeter

with the amazing food being 

catered by 

Dishes by Diane.

It was the perfect place to meet up.

We reserved it after hours

and were delighted

by the 

service and food we enjoyed!

I ran out to take a photo of the sign.

I love the new logo.

Chelsea and I have been championing this 

local cafe since they opened.

Deanna, of Creekside Cottage, snuggled with little Owen.

He is growing so quickly.

But thankfully he still has that newborn snuggle thing

going on........

Molly, who is about to become a big sister again

practiced her baby holding skills on Benjamin.

I love this face!

Brigette and Kim open gifts with Molly's help.

I think Molly is going to help to dress her new baby 

brother when he gets here.

Trying to keep the centerpieces simple I used 

these glass boots which I filled with sand and a 

hot chocolate tea light.

Then I searched until I found little cowboy hats.

These were set on a piece of bandana fabric.

Some of the food.....

Fruit tarts.

Ham or Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwiches.

Petit Fours.

Lemon Bars....

Some thought these were the best thing there.

Best Ever macaroni salad.

My favorite Item...

Red Potato Salad.

Yum!!

Our evening together ended 

with prayer for these ladies 

and their families.

Such a special time.

I know everyone is busy these days

but I'm soooo thankful for those who were willing

and able to come out and celebrate

the miracle of life and these 

lovely women who are dedicated 

to God and their families.

One Week Ago Today

One week ago Warren and I enjoyed ourselves 

at Hershey Farms.

While waiting for lunch to be served

we strolled past the delightful goats.

I just love goats.

If we ever have a little farm......

They have such wise eyes

and playful attitudes.

They are curious

and usually very friendly.

After leaving the goats we strolled to the pond

where there were several duck and geese.

Tis the season for lots of new life.

Every one a miracle.

Happy Mother's Day

to my 

Mommy friends.

Never forget that 

you have been given a very special gift....

and that you are a special gift

to the child 

placed in your care.

Back to School

Newly for sale in my Etsy shop.

Edited to add:
Haha....on one very sleepy evening I actually did 
update you on the school stuff.  
Oh.my.goodness......please forgive me for the repeats!
Remind me never to post when exhausted.
However, there is more information in this post
and it took me a while to write so it stays.

On this lovely day in Lancaster County

Chelsea and I have some plans this morning.

Nothing fancy....

just some cafe time together.

Then, a bit later this afternoon, 

 I'll be off to that Lancaster City Middle School

to make hot chocolate mugs with 

the kiddos there.

Some of you said they were waiting to hear 

how it went after the first time.

Oops. 

Sorry.

Well, I may be late in letting you know

but here it is.

I had a blast.

Teaching is one of my favorite things

to do.....ever.

These kids were fun.

They may have been a bit skeptical when they 

came in but one girl expressed it well when 

upon leaving she turned and thanked me

then said, 

"This was actually fun!".

Ha.

That's my payday.

Love it!

The second time I went 

the kids were so 

exhausted.

They had been on a field trip that day

so I took it easy on them and after getting

our candle making demos done

 the second group and I 

played 20 questions.

I have an hour with each group.

We also put the wicks into their mugs

in preparation for today's adventure.

There really isn't three hours worth of candle making

to teach middle schoolers.

Making candles is a LOT of hurry up and wait.

And since I'm carrying in and out everything

we had to do things that could be done and

set up within an hour.

Last time I demo'd 

spearmint tea candles.

They are now listed in my shop.

For the first class I made tea lights 

that were headed to 

Australia.

The students were properly impressed at 

my world wide fame!

LOL

So....that leads me to trying to figure out how to fill

the waiting time today.

Maybe some fragrance identification game.

Yep!  

I'm thinking they'll be sniffing the oils today

and running a bit of a relay.

In between putting marshmallows on their 

hot chocolate mugs.

It is going to smell soooo good in the classroom today!