Friday, September 30, 2011

And They are Leaving Again!


With hearts for missions our Moms have been
great encouragements to each other in the years
since our Dads passed away.

They have done several mission trips separately 
and together.
Such as Mom and Mikey to El Salvador,
Georgia to the Native American Reservation out West, 
Mom and Georgia to Peru,
Mom, Georgia, Mikey and Chelsea to Jamaica.

They greatly enjoy spreading the love of Jesus
with people everywhere!

Now, I wanted to load this post with pictures from
their past trips but Blogger is being a stinker and
I just don't have the time to fight with it.

So....I will simply ask you to pray
for my Mom (Ruth) and Warren's Mother (Georgia)
as they leave tomorrow for a medical mission
to Guatemala!

Safe travels, ladies.
We look forward to hearing what
God does during this time
in His service!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Peaceful Evening In Lancaster County



It is harvest time.
The fields are quietly sharing the bounty
of the Summer's growth.
When I say quietly it is in the sense that many
of the fields around us are tended to by 
Amish families.
Families who work together to plant,
maintain and harvest.

In the Springtime it is not uncommon to 
see children as young as five or six
working alongside their parents and
older siblings
in the fields.
The toddlers do what they do best..
they toddle, playing in the field
while the others work.

Tobacco is planted with the 
help of an interesting machine that must
have the plants hand placed in slots
which then in turn positions them
in the ground.

It is a sight that is beautiful to behold.
And nearly silent
other than the chatter of the workers
and the gentle creaking of the harnesses
and machinery.

Now, of course, we have English farmers
who work with tractors and large harvesters.
I have nothing against them.
It is with glee once per year that I hear the 
Mennonite farmers across the street from us working
late into the night to bring in the corn.
The sound of the harvester is unmistakable and it 
means that crisp air and turning leaves are just around
the corner.

The photo at the top of this post is of a 
fellow I followed down the road 
as we returned from the Lampeter Fair.
So, not only is it harvest time in Lancaster County,
it is Fair time, as well.
A time for community.
To celebrate the best of our year's work
both in baking and canning 
as well as the arts.

4-H students say good-bye to their
pet projects and pick up a check
to put toward higher education...
or perhaps a car.

It is a place where high school and civics groups
recharge their bank accounts while feeding 
the hungry attendees.
A place where the young and the old mingle
and take the time to sit a spell and 
chat about things that so often get lost
in our busy days.

I love Autumn.

It takes the best of all of the seasons
and puts a bow on it.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Such An Answer To Prayer

It may seem like a small thing
to those who aren't in the midst of it,
but having a dog in your home that doesn't 
fit and is truly altering the way the family 
operates is a problem.


That was little Mister for us.
He is a small dog with much potential
for loving and caring but his past has
left so many scars that he was not safe
around adolescent and teen boys.

We get a lot of those around here.
Really.  We do.
A lot.

So, we had a couple of incidents that
left us feeling absolutely terrible.

You may or may not remember that Mister 
was the dog of a friend who has cancer and 
who left the area to be with family in another state.
She had every intention of taking him with her 
but details at the airport made that impossible.

At one point we got close to flying him out 
to be with her but her health has continued to decline
so that became impossible as well.


We began to pray for an answer.
I was willing to take him to a shelter,
knowing that we had found our awesome dogs
there and hoping that they would somehow be
able to place him in a quiet home.
Warren was not willing for this to happen
due to his very legitimate concerns that he 
might not make it through the initial screening process.

So....we prayed.

And God began to write the story.


I spoke with my friend, Sue.
It was almost as an aside
but the last bit of the conversation led to 
asking her if she thought her daughter and her husband
might be interested in Mister.
This is the couple for whom I made the sapphire blue
punch cups as wedding favors.

When Christina and Mike
were here a couple of times through that process
they loved our dogs...and our dogs
loved them.  
So, it just seemed like a possibiliy,
however remote.
Next thing we knew there was a two hour 
visit and then a three day wait so they could
decide and really be sure about the commitment
they would be making.

Finally, the phone call came that they 
were willing to take Mister into 
their home....
although his name would have to change.
LOL
I totally understand that.
Unless you are looking to meet men
this is a terrible thing to have to call out
in public!
Been there, done that!


With mixed feelings we took Mister
to his new home last week.
We have gotten reports that he is doing very
very well.  His new family loves him and he
loves them.  He has totally fallen for both 
of them and is wrapping them around his 
tiny little tail.
I know how that can happen.
He really is a sweetheart if you are not
of the wrong demographic.

So....while it may seem small
to you...
It is a big, big thing in the lives of 
our family.
I rejoice daily,
not that he is gone,
for I do miss him...
 but that he is very, very happy!!

If God cares about the sparrow,
why wouldn't he care about Mister?

And if he cares about the sparrow and Mister, 
how much more does He care for You and Me?

Amazing.
Praise Him!!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Virginia...Day Two!

While our two days in Virginia
did not go as we had planned
it was fine.  

We had so much fun together!!
After the mud fest of Friday Night we had
planned to hang out together and 
enjoy a local mall, 
some lunch, 
a trip to a photo shoot...
more about that in a minute,
and then head on home.

But as the day went on and there
was no more rain
Chelsea decided that if we were willing
she would love to see a group 
playing at 7:15 pm.

We had purchased the tickets and
we figured conditions had to be improved
at the concert site so we did all of the 
above.

The Mall that we went to was massive
and apparently thriving.
We only saw one store that was empty.
Contrasting that to the ghost town mall
we went to in Florida. 
That was just strange.

Lunch was interesting in that Red Lobster
is featuring their All you can eat Shrimp special
and so while Warren and Jonathan went there
Chelsea and I went next door to the Macaroni Grill.
Much more our style.
We met up again, hunger satisfied
and plugged the address for a local park
into the GPS.
Here are some of the pictures Jonathan and
Chelsea took as they explored.
They had to stay off the grass as there were
signs about chiggers....ewww.






Then we headed for the next planned stop.
You see, out in the countryside,
on the way to the festival we kept passing 
this phone booth.

As avid Dr. Who fans Jonathan and Chelsea
insisted on having their photos taken with it.






 The phone booth was in front of a British Grocery 
and Tea Room.

As we pulled in the owner was leaving for the day.
She apologized...in her British accent that she was 
closed for the day.
I asked if I could take photos of the shop and the 
phone booth.  She looked slightly confused but 
smiled and said that would be fine.
Too bad we missed the shop, though.
It looks so cute.


 

Then a moment of intense frustration.
The inability to actually stop and take real
photographs on that road that I told you about
in my last post.
I would see the perfect shot but there were cars behind
us and no room to pull off the road so I held
the camera out the window and snapped.
Not satisfactory....at all.





The very old stone walls made me sooooo happy!!





Not to mention that by the time I would see the 
"perfect" shot we were past it.  
Mere seconds was all it took.

Finally we arrived back at the concert grounds.
It had improved greatly but there was still plenty of 
mud to be found.
As Warren and I did not have tickets, 
and we had no desire to go into the concert area
anyway we wandered down to an open air chapel area near a pond.
Here we tried to make ourselves comfortable on 
wooden benches as we read and watched a group
of teenagers light a campfire with very wet wood....
but we were pleased to see that they were successful.
They burned up many marshmallows much to our 
amusement.....
 I didn't take photos of the young people
since I knew none of them.
The ones I did take of the area there
won't upload for some reason.

Jonathan came out to find us and said we stuck out 
like the parents we are.....
He had no trouble finding us at all.
Well, nice to know we didn't blend in 
with that crowd...LOL.
Perhaps the lack of mud was a clue...

Finally a happy daughter found her way back
to the car as the concert was winding up.
She had enjoyed herself immensely
and so our trip was nearly complete.
Now all we had to do was drive four
hours or so to our home....
through Washington DC
and then intense fog as we entered 
Pennsylvania.

I found myself in one of those half asleep
half awake modes where my head kept
flopping front or back and I would 
snap awake each time the brakes were deployed.
I really dislike fighting sleep like that....
but I felt that I should at least try to stay awake
for Warren.
I doubt he would have minded if I had slept
and not panicked every couple of minutes.
LOL

We were able to wake up for church on Sunday.
Always a good thing when they are planning on you 
being there...
It was a good morning and then.....
Jonathan sprained his ankle and we
spent the next few hours at Urgent Care.
Thankfully it was just a sprain and he 
will heal.  It is turning colors and is 
very swollen but we see improvement
already so that is good.

Hope you have a wonderful day.
I have a friend coming to visit,
we'll take Chelsea to work
and then later we'll head out to 
enter brownies at the last local fair 
of the season.

Blessings!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Gone Mudding...Yet Again!!!

It would seem we are 
not strangers to the phenomenon 
called mud.
It actually seems to attract us...
not sure why.

But we have found Virginia mud to work just
like Pennsylvania mud.
It is dirty and slippery.

Let me begin at the beginning.
You see, 
several months ago I discovered a music
festival of the kind that Chelsea adores happening
near Ashburn, Virginia.

It seemed like a wonderful opportunity for time
away and to allow our sweet girl to enjoy
one of her favorite activities.
This time big brother, Jonathan, would 
be her companion at the actual festival.
Warren and I have outgrown such foolishness.
LOL
I think it was the MUD festival
called Creation 1989 that cured us.

Our day yesterday got of to a bit of a 
halting start when I ...ahem...
swallowed my crown.
You know, the kind the dentist puts 
on your tooth?
It was a temporary crown that would
have been replaced sometime in the next year
or so anyway....but heading out for 
a weekend minus this tooth covering
really wasn't on the agenda.
Thankfully it really doesn't hurt and as long
as I remember not to chew on it I should
be ok until I can see the dentist next week.

So....then we headed out.
Fighting our GPS and torrential rain all the way to 
Virginia......
You can see the rain just beyond the Bobblehead Jonathan attached to the dash board for this trip.  Don't even ask...I don't know.

There was more frustration as we would 
search for Starbucks noted on signs on the highway
only to find them invisible when we got off the exit.
Grrr....someone needed their coffee.
She has a very nasty cold and yesterday was 
the worst day. 
She was miserable.
Finally, after several attempts we arrived
at a Starbucks.
All became right with the world.

There is something wrong about that
but that is a whole 'nother post!
LOL

We found our hotel....
HILTON's HOMEWOOD SUITES.
Remember that.
This is where you want to take your
family when you travel.
Can you say
Kitchen, Living Room, Bedroom
and Bath.....
for around $100???
They also have guest laundry facilities,
business center, workout room and 
a very, very nice breakfast which is 
included in the price of your room.
This morning I enjoyed a waffle, potatoes,
bacon and juice.
Chelsea had oatmeal with raisins and 
gorgeous looking walnuts.
Also available were eggs, fruit, pastries,
yogurt, granola, cereal and more.
O.k. that was the commercial portion of 
this post.  But really, this is the third time we have 
stayed in one of these hotels and we are sold!!

The only downside to this one is that it is 
most directly on the flight path to Dulles International Airport.
The planes nearly kiss the roof every time they go over.
But....even so we slept perfectly fine.

So....back to the story at hand, 
which by the way, I am telling as much for our 
memories as for your benefit.

We headed out to take the kids to the festival
and thought we would never find our way back
due to the most roundabout way the GPS took us.
But as we got within the last ten miles 
of that journey things became magical.

How to do this justice?
I don't know.....
Imagine that time of the day where the light
gently touches everything leaving it with 
a soft glow.
Now imagine long acres of fencing with groves of 
trees gracing gentle hills dotted with black 
angus cattle.
The greens could not have been more intense
and as the road wound through this countryside
tears came to my eyes from the sheer beauty of it.
Alas, I have found another spot on this planet that 
is at least as beautiful as some of my favorite places 
in Lancaster County.
So green that Jonathan announced this was a place
he could happily live....
that is saying something. 
He, being very committed to the beauty of Potter County.
We MIGHT go back that way today to 
get some photos.....
it is under consideration.
But, I digress.

You see, as we were preparing to leave the hotel
we put the address for the Concert site into the 
GPS.  It gave us a message we have never seen before.
"Cannot get to this location with the preferences 
you have set."
We quickly looked to see what unusual settings we
had that would make a location unreachable.
Ah...we had asked it not to take us on any dirt roads.
Apparently we were about to travel on at least one 
dirt road because after changing this preference 
the GPS was happy.

We found the dirt road.
Well, we found a road that had been dirt and 
was now completely turned to mud.
Then we found a long line of traffic waiting on this
road of mud.
A narrow road of mud with an occasional 
car headed in the other direction causing the 
entire row of waiting cars to move to the 
perilous piles of mud at the road side.
Thankfully no one got stuck as we 
moved slowly, stopping often, 
toward the event site.

It became clear that the parking and the 
concert stage were far, far apart.
I begged Warren to ask if we could 
go closer to drop the kids off because I 
had to show my ID to pick up the tickets we had 
purchased.  At a tent, near the stage.
Thankfully, they let us drive down the sodden road
and up the hill to a spot closer to the tent.
(About a quarter of a mile)
Along this way families
and youth groups were sloshing through mud
and puddles and walking in front of us,
beside us and behind us.
Not an ideal situation.
Finally, we arrived at the "top" of the hill
behind two stuck vehicles and a big bus.
Warren said there was no way he would pull into the 
field where cars were being parked with promises
to pull them out later.

Jonathan, Chelsea and I got out and waded though
ankle deep mud to the tent.
I'm thinking that this is ridiculous because we were 
planning to come back for them at 11pm.
Things were only going to get worse.
But, this was what we had come to do
and we were going to make the best of it.

After saying goodbye and making arrangements
for a general meeting place at 11pm we left.
My heart pounding.
Did I mention they had not eaten dinner?
I assumed, incorrectly, that we would pass something
on the way....nope!
But surely they would find something there.....

I crawled gingerly back in the van trying to keep my mud encased
feet from touching anything of import.
Warren was so calm and sweet when he 
said that it was just mud and we could clean 
it up....obviously he was beyond himself.
He would normally avoid this at all costs...
but what could he do, really?

So, obviously, we couldn't walk into a restaurant
like this...I mean they would likely just toss us out.
So...back to the hotel to wash my one and only 
pair of shoes in the sink.  We were only going to be 
gone a short time....why would I need more than
one pair of shoes?
Sigh....

Finally sometime after 8pm we headed out to find 
dinner.  Bertucci's fit the bill.  
It was close.
The food is good.
And ....did I mention it was close?
We took our time with the salad and bread
and were leisurely eating our main course
when the cell phone rang.
The kids had had enough.

They were about to begin the trek down to 
our meeting place.
We told them we would see them in about an 
hour.  One would have thought we could
make it in that time.
However, the fog had rolled in and formed
a blanket around all of that beautiful scenery.
The going was slow.
And then there were flashing lights ahead.
This didn't look good.
It wasn't.
Some of the young people from the festival
had crashed their SUV.
We found out later they were fine
but we sat on the road for about 20 minutes
while the accident was cleaned up.
I was somewhat concerned about Jonathan 
and Chelsea now waiting way past the time
we had agreed to meet but as there was 
nothing we could do I tried to put 
my mind at rest.  

Finally, we followed the tow truck and 
its occupants up to the festival site where the
four young men piled out, obviously shaken.
I asked them if they were ok and they responded 
to the affirmative.  Such a blessing!

Jonathan and Chelsea had not been bored
while waiting for us.
Apparently due to their location they had 
been serving by answering questions, directing campers
and Jonathan had helped to push at least one 
car out of the mud.

A little bit of the mud....the rest is still in the car.

You don't want to see his shoes. We are going shoe shopping.  He needs them for work tomorrow night.

They both chattered away about the day
but had not gotten anything to eat and were
starving by now...after 11:00 PM.

Having thought ahead we had asked our 
server about local McDonald's.
We already had one scoped out and in the 
GPS by the time we picked up the kids,
slipped and slid our way down the road, 
then squinted through the fog and 
made our way back to civilization.

It was so good to get back to the hotel
and return to our beautiful room and soft
comfy beds.

That, my friends was day one of our
adventure.  Day two began with 
Chelsea speaking softly in the dark....
"I don't think we need to go back today.
I'm just not up to all that mud."

OKAY!
That works for me.
Don't know what we are going to do today.
But we'll have fun together.
We might end up in DC or Baltimore
or perhaps just go to a mall and shop...
I'll let you know...
Later!






Friday, September 23, 2011

Bandit Wants to know....

  When we can play Dirty Marbles again....

She watched our every move.
Even anticipating who was going to play next.
She was so funny.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

You Crack Me Up....and Lift My Blogging Spirits


So you've noticed that I've been blogging
less frequently and you've tracked
me down on Facebook to tell me about it....
I love you for that!

I'll try to do better.
I mean after four years of daily 
blogging I'm really slacking.
Totally dropping the ball here.
LOL

Let's see if we can catch up.
Chelsea began her new job on Tuesday.
I think she will do well there.
Everyone is super welcoming and kind.
Unfortunately she woke up with a cold
that morning and wished that it could have 
been different....
but she made it through like the trooper she is.

Yesterday she dragged her tired self
to the Ladies Bible Study to teach the 
precious children.
I'm so glad she is doing that.

Last week I was able to 
capture the stray black kitten 
that had been terrorizing the 
neighborhood for a few weeks.
I had been oblivious until the "non cat lady"
in the 'hood asked the "cat loving lady"
in the 'hood if she could get in trouble
for shooting this kitten.
Wrong person to ask this question...
or perhaps a cunning move on her part.
I'm thinking it was a carefully thought out strategy.
This set off a chain of events that involved
children chasing the kitten with a fishing
net every morning and night.
For some reason this did not make the
kitten more friendly.
But finally it became more hungry than 
scared and since I did not have a fishing
net raised over my right shoulder it came
into the garage and proceeded to eat
food put down for our cats.
It was quite simple to begin petting it and finally 
pick it up.  Cute little black kitten.
So I proceeded to do what I so often do.
Got Georgia involved.
She's so convenient and is an animal lover.
I took the sweet mewing kitten to her back porch
so we could get acquainted.
Three very curious dogs made it a bit 
hard to accomplish here.

Now, the end result was that the boys with the 
fishing nets have a sweet new kitty to love
but they don't have to 
run wildly after it every time they want to play.
We are all quite happy with this 
turn of events.

On Monday evening we were at Creekside 
Cottage when some very scary events unfolded
involving their girls and their horses.
I was praying...praying....praying.

I've been hearing from friends left and right.
It is going to be a busy couple of weeks
while I get to visit and chat with some I've not 
talked to in quite a while.
That is crazy good.

Mister moved out last night.
No, not my mister...
THE DOG, Mister.

We found him a home with a young
married couple who know and love dogs.
They visited a couple of hours on Sunday 
night to meet him and then called Tuesday
to say that he was welcome at their home.
I think he is going to be very, very happy there.
I am very relieved to have him in such a 
wonderful place.
And as friends of the family I'll still get 
to keep up with him.

I have a stack of library books that I wish 
to read but I can see that I'll have to renew 
them if that is to happen.
One of them is the book 
Safely Home
by Randy Alcorn.
We read it a couple of years ago
for our book club and I loved it.
It is time to reread it.
If you have not read it yet...
I highly recommend it.
Highly!

I've been frustrated,
like everyone else,
by the economy
and the stumbling attempts to 
fix it.  Man, can they make any more
bad decisions?
I'm not sure there are many left to make.
Some days I wish I didn't understand it so 
well so I could just stick my head in the sand
and put my trust in the powers that be.
But no.
That isn't going to work.

So, you see, all of these things rattling
around my brain and they all seem so 
ridiculously normal and unblogworthy....
but if it keeps us in touch
I'm willing to share.

I'll try to get out and get some photos
of the outside world.  It has been a changing
place...Chicks growing up...
Mulch being spread....
Still haven't gotten the deck furniture
painted.  So much to do.
But I'll see what I can do.

So...know that you are loved
and more than appreciated.
Thanks for taking the time to give
me a little kick in the backside.
It is nice to be missed.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Better Than Expected

A bit more than a week ago I celebrated
a birthday.  My husband decided that my gift
should be a large non-stick skillet similar to the one
we recently retired due to flaking Teflon.

I used this size pan several times a week and 
was at a loss for what to do without it....
although I think some here were just as 
happy the "one pan meals" quit happening.

Flash back to the Farm Show in January of this year.
Chelsea and I sat and watched a cooking demonstration
with "Waterless Cookware".
The demonstrator did an excellent job of showing
the product and had both Chelsea and I wanting 
the whole set....
until we saw the price.

Then we said....
"Well, someday I want that!"

I was so impressed that I came home and 
studied it farther.  Unusual for me...
I'm usually on to the next thing.

So, when we were looking for a new large
non-stick skillet I mentioned to Warren that 
I would be interested in comparing prices and 
sizes with this set.

Come to find out the prices were very competitive
with an anodized skillet but improved even more
if we bought the entire cookware set.
Note:  This was not through the company we saw
demonstrating at the Farm Show....sadly.
But, through an online distributor who is allowing
us to preview it before buying it.
The entire set of 7 ply Surgical Grade
stainless steel
cookware is $400.00.

I know that is a LOT of money.
Especially for us.
But, the skillets that we were even willing to 
consider were approaching $100 and weren't even
of the size and quality we were hoping for.

Some cash birthday gifts 
and money from candle sales have been
added to our "budgeted" amount 
and yippee....
we can do it!

This cookware saves money by cooking
very efficiently, offers more nutrition in the way that
it cooks and is so much fun in that I can cook on 
multiple levels at one time when I stack it!

There is no Teflon to flake and eat!
Chelsea's stir fry came out delicious and 
was a breeze to clean up.

As long as I remember to never
turn it up past medium
to medium high
we'll do great!
I'm sold!
Completely.
And then there is this bonus....



Warren thought those egg poaching 
cups were useless....
But I showed him!
Tealight testers....
they are perfect!!
LOL

Monday, September 19, 2011

So Thankful!

Last week was tough!
It was the week that our homeschool
co-op started back up...
without us! (Gasp!)
It was a week of self pity
for friendships "lost" and a change
in our daily routine around here.

I love teaching.
I miss teaching my children and others.
However, I am moving into a new stage
in life and unfortunately I am not always
headed there gracefully.
Add hot flashes and cyst pain to the mix
and it would be no wonder if all my friends 
ran for the hills.

However, that is not what happened.

One friend "Facebooked" that we should 
go out for dinner next week...YES!
Our friend, Melissa, joined us for
coffee night at Starbucks....
Another blessed me through a facebook
chat....One who lives in a faraway state is 
coming into town and has asked if we can get together.
Two at church asked yesterday about us getting 
together....
God blessed me with an afternoon
and part of an evening with my friend,
Kelly, whom I have dearly missed
as our time together has been scarce.

Ummmm....and I was mourning friends?
What a dolt I am!!

Well, certainly there are some that I just won't
have opportunity to see weekly as I was 
used to....but I am certainly not without friends.

God has blessed me, richly, with a boatload 
of dear women in my life.

I count you among them, 
unless of course you happen to be 
my Uncle Chuck or husband, Warren....
perhaps my son, Jonathan.  
Those are the men I know read here.....
I wouldn't call you women.
LOL
I would count you among my friends
though, Uncle, Son and Hubby.

It is tempting to see these times of change
as the enemy....
but I hope to find this time as one of 
stretching and learning new things.
Cultivating deeper friendships.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Are We Ready?


 Bear was ready to head home from the mountains.
He enjoys being there....
but he is a homebody.  
The morning we packed up
he was making sure he didn't get left behind.

Let that be a lesson for us....
Are we ready?

We certainly enjoy many things about our lives
here on this earth.
But we can be sure that that God's 
eternal plan
for His saints is way better.

One of these days....
we'll be leaving!
And we won't be driving.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Fall is In the Air....And Pumpkins Line the Driveway

 My former scarecrow guy, 
affectionately known as 
"the Country Bumpkin"
was ahem....shredded by our dogs
a couple of years ago.

Last night while walking through the 
local pharmacy I saw him.
In all of his Country cuteness.
And he was half price.
He had to come home with me!

 This afternoon I had a bunch of errands to run.
This was on the list.....
 When we heard the temps were going to get 
more comfortable for work out of doors
we decided to get the gardens cleaned up and 
decorated for Fall.
 So, I went to my favorite Pumpkin wagon
just outside of Strasburg and got my one dollar
pumpkins....and then to Agway and got some 
mulch.  Jonathan, Chelsea and I will do 
some yard work tomorrow and focus 
on some particular spaces in the yard that
are just plain ugly right now.
 We'll spread these pumpkins far and wide
until Thanksgiving Day when they will
meet their end with much fun and ceremony.
 It is a tradition now.
A very fun tradition.
 The Country Bumpkin wants to know....
"Got Pumpkins?"

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

She Got the Blue Ribbon!

So happy for my Chelsea.
She won the blue ribbon for those
brownies!  They are amazing...
and the woman in charge of this area
of the fair said that one judge was 
exceptionally impressed by the presentation.
That's my girl!

She also got a job today.
At a nearby theater.
You might be able to guess which one.

I think she will enjoy working there, 
although she had another job offer
that she turned down for this one....
and it paid more.  
She made sure she
pointed that out to me.
But, that one didn't have her 
Grandma, Dad and 
best friends working there.

Nope!
This will be much better.
I'm pretty sure.

Heaven help me if I am
wrong...those teenage eyes
do know how to roll!