The Orchids are Coming!

From January 23 until sometime
in March the folks at Longwood
Gardens will be featuring Orchids.

When we were there on Tuesday
there were workers and volunteers
scurrying everywhere to remove
plants and replace them with
orchids and other spring flowers.

One group of men was in the
process of building a huge
perfume bottle...



When it is completed this will hold
one hundred and forty orchids.



We love watching the transformation happen.
Mikey bumped into at least one person who
knew him in the Conservatory and then we sought
out one of his Supervisors.



We had a very lovely time.
Thanks for your comments on the
kids photos.

We continue to take pictures
and one of them will be suitable
for the boys' senior pics.



I am sure that these pointsettia
will soon be on their way out.
Glad I caught them before that
happened. We totally missed
Longwood at Christmas....so sad.



I do hope your day is a great one!
We have our homeschool co-op
and I will be hosting
our weekly family dinner here so it will
be a busy one.

If that sounds strange,
once a week we eat together
with our mothers and Pastor Mike.
This is a weekly habit that we have no
desire to stop.

I realize that it could have
sounded like we have dinner
together as our family of five
once a week. No, that's not it.
We do that more regularly...lol.

Anyway, for tonight,
I think we will have stuffed
pork chops, pasta,
with my homemade Alfredo sauce,
broccoli (Mom) and Peas.

Chelsea will likely whip up
a dessert for all of us.
She is sooo good at that!

Sounds good to me.

Now to get to work
stuffing those chops.

Hugs!

Day Four! Long Rambling Post...

Note: You may not find this interesting
unless you are an Aunt or Uncle...Cousin
or some other extended family member who
checks in here for news about the kids.
However...feel free to read away.

Well, this is day four of Mikey's
internship at Longwood Gardens.
As he doesn't take his driver's test
until tomorrow someone has
gone along every day this week.

He is doing the driving both ways, and that has
been good. On Monday Chelsea, Jonathan
and I spent the day shopping in the area.
We spent time at Borders looking around
and I spent $7.99 to get Internet access.

Then we found a new look
in clothes for Jonathan.
Love it!
He is traditionally
a t-shirt and black jeans kind of guy. We
found a tan button up shirt
and brown shorts that
look great on him.
That was worth the entire day!

Finally we got lunch and headed back to
get Mikey after six hours.

He was so excited.
This internship program is great.
There are six interns.
They all seem to be very nice.
Longwood gave them lunch the first
two days and took them out to buy
steel toed boots.

Mikey has been good about writing in
his journal daily...
all three days, so far (lol).

Tuesday I dropped him off and came home.
There is just too much to do around here
to stay and play. When Chelsea and I headed
back we were just in front of nasty thunderstorms.
As Mikey drove back we drove into the storm
front. It was so windy. He really had to
fight the push and pull on the van.
I was glad he had that experience while
still on his permit. He expressed that he
was glad for the practice. Sigh...how am
I going to let him drive this by himself.

Only with God's grace!

Yesterday, Mom and Georgia took him and
then they spent the day at Winterthur before
picking him up again.
I had a dinner of soft chicken tacos waiting
when they all got home.

I am conflicted about today.
Part of me wants to stay and
look around Longwood but a bigger
part wants to get home and continue
laundry and cleaning.

We will see...

Most of our curriculum for next year
came in the mail this week. I am
anxious to tear into that and get
it all set up. Much of it is on the
computer for Chelsea but the Government
Books look interesting. I need to
study them so that I can break them
down into lessons.

I am silly like that.
While there are many complete
curriculum sets out there, I tend
to enjoy designing my own from
a book or two.

I did finish up that candle order
yesterday! The work table has been
put away...YAY!
That feels so good.

Well, it is nearly time to leave
and I have to do a few things first.

Hope you have a great day.

Blessings!

♥♥Becky K.♥♥

Week In Review

We enjoy a Beautiful Life at
Hospitality Lane...



Perfect?
Of course not!
But beautiful...in all the
ways that matter...

This is my Beautiful Life Post
for Melissa's Inspired Room link.

See how others are enjoying the
beauty in their lives.


It can't be Friday already,
can it???

What a very full and busy week!

On Monday Georgia and I went to
a local greenhouse to choose some
annuals for our flower gardens.

I picked out coleus, portulaca and
those yellow spikey flowers...the
name escapes me...

Tuesday I bowled badly and then went
off to the dentist for the completion
of the crown project. No numbing needed
and I got to sit in the massaging chair.
Not too bad!
The crown fits perfectly.
I am happy.

After that fun...
some friends joined us at Roots Market to
eat supper and then they left as we
waited to purchase some silkie chicks.
It was absolutely crazy in the animal
auction barn but I thought it was awesome
that Warren had the best time watching and
finally bidding on our new "babies".


Six little fluffballs.
We are enjoying them so much!

Wednesday Warren had a doctor's appointment.
I went along because he has some ongoing
issues that have not been properly addressed.
Sometimes you just have to get proactive
and choose a doctor who will be very thorough.
I have found this to be the case
with the Gastro Group I use.
So, I took him there!
Thankfully we are finally
on our way to getting answers.
The poor guy is going
to have to endure some testing and
blood letting but
I think when all is said and done
we will know something.

My favorite part of the time spent with Warren on Wednesday
was lunch at Willow Valley Family Restaurant. Each year
the Lancaster County Tourist Industry makes up a coupon
book that offers specials at the various attractions.
We are in the process of using as many of these as we can
since they only last one month. We will be eating out more
often than usual throughout May.

When Warren and I were done and he was back to work, I puttered
around in a local shopping center while waiting to meet some
friends for homeschool co-op business.
As of Wednesday I have become
an official Mrs. Meyer customer!!
Yay!
I bought some lavender countertop cleaner.
My bathroom will smell just lovely forever more!
In my fondest hopes anyway!
You bloggers are influential!

Wednesday's highlight was a Mother/Daughter
banquet at Georgia's former church in York
County. The very efficient men of the church
served 300 women. As usual, the food was
outstanding...although Georgia found out that
the men get Roast beef for the Father/Son Banquet
and went on a mission to get our traditional
chicken breast changed to Roast Beef. It was so
funny to see her talking to the various men about
it and how they each directed her to the next guy!

Yesterday was the least crazy of the entire week.
We went to see Behold the Lamb at Sight and Sound.
This show has been reworked a bit and I loved the
changes. What an inspiration. I cannot sit through
any of the shows at Sight and Sound dry eyed. Just
can't! The man who plays Jesus is, at one point, on
a donkey at the back of the theatre looking into the
eyes of those around him. We were in the balcony
just within his line of sight. As he looked into
my eyes I lost it.
The tears flowed.

Can you imagine the love and power
packed in the gaze of Jesus?

Can you imagine being
in His presence?

This actor nailed that impression
as he looked lovingly at the crowd
around him.

Made me yearn to sit in the Presence
of Jesus! To pour out all of the
concerns of my heart. To love Him
and thank Him for all He suffered for
me. Wow! One day that is going to
happen face to face. Until then, He
is here. Loving, listening and softly
caring.

After the show we headed off to Hershey
Farms with our Moms.

Yes, we were using
yet another coupon from our books. Since
Mom also works at Sight and Sound she has
her own book.
Makes it great for
family budgets.

This has been a very full week.
I am hoping for some sun outside
today to plant those flowers purchased
on Monday. As it is they are sitting
on the driveway...just waiting patiently.

Tonight we are to play some baseball with
other families from church. That should be
interesting. This is our first game of the
season. It is great to watch the young,
energetic ones play!

Nothing serious.
Just for fun!

Hope you have had a wonderful week and
that your weekend shapes up nicely.

It has been sad to hear and read about
all of the tornado damage near to Lisa
at Cranberry Flats. A couple of people
have lost their lives there. One just
never knows.

Take care friends.

You are precious to me!

♥♥Becky K.♥♥

A Contented Evening...

This slowing down goal is working.

Last evening the boys had a friend
here and Chelsea was off with two friends
at another home.

I made a new dinner of breaded boneless
chicken breast in enchilada sauce topped
with Swiss Cheese. Just experimenting!

I served it over noodles...however, I would
have preferred rice...because I love rice.
The family prefers noodles. Anyway...it
wasn't too big of a hit with the teen boys.
Jonathan ate it up...but the other two sampled
it and then moved on to the ham and cheese
sandwiches I had offered as a default option.

Anyway, after dinner Warren helped me clean up
the kitchen and we had no place to go.
We weren't needed anywhere! The other
parents had arranged to meet at our house for
the kid exchange. Often we will meet at a local
shopping center...and often it will be a three car
deal with kids trading car seats like crazy!

So, it was awesome to have time to putter around
the kitchen with my favorite guy. But it didn't
stop there. We sat down in the living room.
Together!
I know, I am shocked too.
Loving this slowing down thing!
Before we knew it parents had shown up with,
or to pick up, kids.
They joined us in the living room.

We had a lovely conversation about life
and politics. You know I loved that!

After they left, Warren looked at me
and said, "That was fun!"
I heartily agreed.

Maybe you can teach an old dog new
tricks. I am going to continue to
work on slowing down. Enjoying the
kitchen, and cleaning the dust from
my hanging light in the dining room...
Did that while we were clearing the
table and chatting.

Now, if I could just get to those
nasty cobwebs in the corner....

Sl...ow...ing...do...wn....

How about you?

♥♥Becky K.♥♥

A Cat and A Fox

You may remember Beaux.

I brought him home from Mrs. Rabe's
house...his name was Charlie then.

I gave him to my Mother-in-law, Georgia
for an afternoon visitation to see if
she could love him.

She was so angry with me.

Now she calls him Beaux and loves him
very much!

This is the same kitty who nearly destroyed
our house by "spraying" everywhere.
However, he has been to the vet and has
been "snipped" so no more spraying.

Bottom line? He is a great cat.
We love him now.

Anyway...we came home yesterday to a very
odd sight.

In the field, across the street was Beaux
and a large red fox.

Amazingly enough, Beaux was chasing the fox,
then stopping. The fox would run a little bit
and then stop also. It looked for all the world
like a game. We watched for about five minutes while
Jonathan ran to get Grandma Georgia then called to
Beaux. He ran to us no worse for the wear.

We have to wonder about this fox.

It has already eaten one of our neighbor's roosters.

It has been seen all throughout our neighborhood in
broad daylight for the last week or so. It doesn't
appear to be sick.

And...it was definitely playing with Beaux...not trying to
hurt him.

Weird!

Any ideas?

I have temporarily misplaced my camera so I was not
able to get any pictures of this strange event.

That just kills me!!!!

Warren had Monday and Tuesday off. He cut down about
five small to medium trees, went bowling with us, and took
Mikey to get his driver's permit. Pretty busy two days.
Today he has to get back to work...and so do we.
I'll miss having him around. But, we just cannot give
up that paycheck yet. There was much "talk" about moving
into the mountains and starting an Internet business so
he could go cut trees any time he wants...but it was just
"talk". Chelsea would have a "small cow" if we were to move
anywhere now...not to mention the two Grandmas that so recently
moved into our little development. Nope! We are stuck...he will
work...and he will like it!

Have a good one!

Becky K.

Fall Fest!

Creekside Cottage was the host
for our First Annual Church
Fall Fest.

New church...new traditions!

It was so much fun!

Now, I have to say that with two
of my best homeschooling friends,
and their families, now attending
the church, I have been a bit uptight.

I guess there is a fear that combining
these two worlds could lead to stress
or problems in one or the other.

I am finally beginning to breathe a bit
easier and it is just so fun to be with
these gals and their families in a worship
and fellowship setting.

The new families that we are getting to
know just fit in so well. I love Kelly, Duane
and their boys, and could not have hand
picked a better suiting family for the church.
Kelly is a worker bee and has already lifted my
load considerably!

There are others but they are not in this blog
world yet so I will leave it that it is wonderful
to see the growth in our church that is so
obviously orchestrated by the Lord.
He IS good!
His Mercies are new every day!

Anyway, back to last night...Mrs. Rabe will have
better pictures but here is one that Warren
snapped while we were at the campfire...as you
can see, especially if you click on the picture,
there were hot dogs being prepared...



Those are the Moms, Warren's and Mine, doing some "cooking" here.
They are sharing the fire with Mr. Rabe...who made this fire.
It was great...although it seemed to have it in for a few people
who had to keep moving to stay away from the smoke.

You should have seen some of the burnt offerings that the kids made...
"Yummy!"...she says with a disturbed look on her face...

Mrs. Rabe got some really fun shots of the kids bobbing for apples.
I am very sure she will share.

The weather was just perfect and the skies were clear for
the astronomers among us. The huge telescope came out
and I was shown a smudge that was "something"...If I had
been paying more attention I could tell you what it was
more than something about Andromeda.

Warren got these couple of scary pictures...




and these fun ones of the two Emily's.



It is one of the best things about a family integrated church...
being there to watch your kids interact.
To enjoy their fellowship with each other.
To learn and grow together.

I made a dip that I found on Lisa's Cranberry Flats Blog.
This is a link!
It was a hit!
So awesome!
The best part...it is easy and quick.

My day yesterday was crazy and I was thankful
to be able to pull off a hot dish!
Thanks Lisa!

Well, I will be a nervous wreck today as
Warren and Mikey are going on a bit of a
dirt bike adventure about two hours away.

Yikes!

I hope all of their bones stay intact and
that all goes well.

Peace...calm...Romans 8:28....Peace...

I'll be kept busy running Jonathan and Chelsea to
work at different hours, practicing music, making the
bulletin and cleaning up around here.

Blessings on your weekend!

Becky K.

The Wind!

It has been a long, long
time since I just screamed...
really screamed in public.

It happened yesterday, though.

We had been bowling...while dismal
by the scores, it was fun for the
company....here Grandpa Bob was doing
a little instruction for someone...
I don't remember who.



Mrs. Rabe and I got on one of my very favorite subjects...theology. Maybe that had something to do with my low score that game. A bit distracted.

Anyway, just before we left the bowling alley, The Rabes informed us that Taco Bell was giving away free tacos from 2-6pm. We were within that window of time...so that sounded fun. Off we went for our free tacos.

Now, the wind had risen to such a fright that we were dodging pieces of limbs, trash cans and all other sorts of things on the roads...but we were not to be deterred.

Once there, Mikey wisely stayed in the car...Jonathan, Chelsea and I marched in and got our freebies...however, I had to order something else to go along with it...I just can't look THAT cheap! Jonathan would be happy to eat it...we got everything "to go" and headed back to the car...

The wind gusted alarmingly!

It was insane.

I am no small person but it took me backwards.

You know how it is when the wind is so strong in
your face that you can't catch your breath?
That was this wind yesterday.

I opened the car door but just as I was about to
get in it slammed shut catching me in the shoulder.

This would have been when I screamed.

It didn't really hurt but was so surprising.

After two tries, I finally got into the car.

We laughed so hard!

There is something freeing about just letting
your guard down and being your own self.
Screaming with surprise.

I am glad for that wind yesterday...it is one more
memory before these kids are all grown and out
on their own.

After we got home I was letting the dogs out and
watched the trees bend with the wind.

They were just swaying to and fro.

Makes me glad for their strong roots.

It amazes me that something we cannot see can be
so powerful...very impressive! The roar and the
feel of it on our skin lets us know it is there
and yet it is invisible to the eye. Just its
effects are shown.

Hmmm...makes me think of God.

We cannot see Him.

But we know He is there.

His effects are in everything.

Sometimes He roars...but more often He is quiet
and gentle as a soft breeze on a summer's evening.

Sometimes it is good to scream with glee in His
presence.

Sometimes I just want to snuggle up and worship
Him in quiet.

God.

The wind.

Both...real...

Both...powerful...

I am thankful for the reminders in
nature that declare the power of God!

Have a joyful day!

Becky K.

A Much Needed Break

Thursdays are always crazy!

Just insane, really!

For another couple of weeks
Jonathan and Chelsea will work
Thursday mornings and then I will
grab them and head for co-op.

This means that we stop for a
bite to eat on the way. We have
just enough time to drive through
and get there on time.

Yesterday, I got the brilliant idea
to use a coupon from the coupon book
that came in the mail recently...that is
important...the book came recently, to
go to Dominos for a buy one get one free deal.

Great! They all love pizza!
The location closest to our co-op was one
that participated...miracle of miracles.

I went a different way to make sure I did not
miss the Dominos. But, upon getting to the
address listed on the coupon...there was a
Metro Pizza...not a Dominos.

Hmmphh!

Now we are certainly going to be late!

What to do.

Thank the Lord for cell phones.

I called the number on the back of the
coupon. Mr. Man who had taken the order
answered. I asked him where he was.

Oh, he was about 8 minutes the other direction.

I told him what was on the back of the coupon.
"Well, we haven't been there for about 3", (yes
that was THREE"), "years!"

I was so frustrated that I took a wrong turn and
ended up in what the kids call a "perfectsville".
You know all of the manicured lawns and all of
the houses look exactly the same.
All of the roads had the word Oak in them and they
all go in circles....endlessly!

Finally after much aggravation we passed the house
with the castle in the back yard once again and knew
we were about to be freed from this torment.

On to the next Road on the right with the word Oak in
it and off to the Dominos.

The pizza was cold and we were late.

This was sooooo much fun!

Co-op went pretty well.

I love my friends!

They are just so accommodating to my
every frame of mind.

What? You are a little stressed?
Why are you sitting there all alone?
You must need to talk.

So, we chatted away all first class
period when I suddenly heard the thunder
of many feet changing classes on the
stairwell and realized my next torture
was about to begin.

Actually, it was fun.

The 7-up choir learned a new song

They are doing so well with it.

Then we went back to In Christ Alone and I
glanced into the hall to see the original choir
director...the professional one...standing there.
This woman moved to Nebraska. I was never to have
been humiliated by having her watch me not know what
to do with my hands while "directing" a choir.

She was safely days away. Oh, no! There she stood.
Smiling....what did that smile mean?????

I waved and smiled real big!

I'm not going to let her see me sweat!

Finally, that class ended and in came my
45 4th-6th graders. I must say the change in
them has been dramatic. They went from mumblers,
fidgeters, complainers to real honest to goodness
singers. I have real hope for them in this concert
now. I even thought they had come far enough to teach
the altos a new part. And some of them got it!

My poor helper who has offered to play the piano held
her sweet baby boy in one arm and played with the other.

We must have looked hysterical...and the whole time I kept
wondering where that former choir director was....
was she standing in the stairwell...where I stand when I want
to hear what the other choir director is doing? I like to
"glean" ideas from the experts in the field. I am such a
faker. The only thing I have in common with the professionals
is my love of music, knowledge of notes and ....guess that's about it.

I just wish I knew what to do with my hands....I can do that thing
they do... but it is so not me!

Oh well...

Now you are still wondering what the break was that is promised in the
title of this post?

We went out to dinner with the Moms.

We had a nice time.

It was not the first choice of restaurant because that one would not seat us.
It wasn't that they didn't like us...because they never met us. They simply were
too busy to come over to the little podium and say, "We will be with you shortly".

SO...we meandered over to the little restaurant beside it and then ordered Mikey a
pizza to go from the take out of "the most desired place". If you are counting, yes, that made two meals of pizza for him yesterday. So what! lol He has a cold and was cranky. I am feeding his cold.

Did I mention that at this second restaurant... the default choice...one of the Moms from our co-op was working...I did not know she worked there...but she happened to point out that some of our boys had broken a branch from a pine tree at the church we meet at? Well, that was the first I had heard of that. One of the boys being my own Mikey... this necessitated a call to our building coordinator who assured me that those trees are scheduled to be torn down so all is well....but...those boys had better not be in that tree again!!!
Thus sayeth the Mommy and the Co-op 7-up Coordinator who are one and the same.


I came home and did NOT work on candles.

I went to bed and began to read the book written by the two families who had their daughters switched after the tragic Taylor University Van crash, "Mistaken Identity".

I read until my eyes would not stay open any more. From the first sentence I was pulled into this book. It is an unbelievable mistake that was made. Unbelievable.

So...today it is back to real life. I just hope that I have to wait somewhere, for someone, so I can read more of that book!

Blessings!

Becky K.

Catching Up - The Weekend

Update on Pastor Mike's brother and sister.
They are both fine.
His brother near Houston said they had
80 mph winds for hours.
His sister was spared the flooding that
others in her area experienced. She had rising water
from Lake Pontchartrain but it did not reach
her newly reclaimed from Katrina home.
That was such a relief!

The Moms got home from their
huge trip just before Midnight
Saturday. It is so good to know
that they are safe and that a wonderful
time was had by both.

They shared stories over a typical
Sunday Dinner yesterday. I made roast,
Potatoes and carrots in the crock pot.
Yum!
I hope to get some pictures from both
of them of the things they saw and
share them here.

We heard about the jeep ride that left bruises,
the trail ride with the man who was in his
70's and had never ridden a horse(He got the one Mom
refused to ride...no wonder he kept saying "Mamma Mia!"),
the burro ride down into
the Grand Canyon, the stone arches, climbing Mesa Verde,
the hot springs, the Durango Train ride...

Adventures aplenty...at least one per day.

Meanwhile back here in little 'ole PA...

Saturday Chelsea was a babysitter for
two little friends of ours. These guys
are beyond adorable. They were so good.
Check out the ketchup on this sweet face.
We didn't notice it until looking at the
picture.

I love this one of the two of them...

And then with their great babysitter.


I tried to stay out of their way and let her handle
the boys herself.
She did a wonderful job.

I have to run off this morning and get Jonathan to work.
This is a big week on the farm...He will be working
most days. It is unusual. But Thomas the Tank Engine is
in town and this is a very large attraction in our area.

This means many, many tourists so extra hours for nearby
attractions.

Have a blessed day.

Becky K.

Birthday Love

This is the first year of my life that someone younger than me decorated my birthday cake. Georgia made me a chocolate cake with peanut butter icing before she left...so this is cake number two.

Maybe that helps to explain the four pound weight gain that the doctor mentioned the other day...I apologized to him...but he said it wasn't him I should be apologizing to. Oops! What a card!
And wasn't it nice of him to point it out?

Thank you Chelsea!
I love it!
And it tastes good too!
I'll be enjoying more a little bit later.



My Mom gave me gifts before she departed on her trip of a lifetime.
Isn't this sweet?

And the card to the left...
from our church.
Crafted by Kelly at Cozy Comforts.
I love it so much!



Mom also gave me these fun picnic accessories.
You put onions, relish, catsup or mustard in these fun
little guys.

The little grills hold tealights.
I pushed them together for the picture.
I know it doesn't look natural.
I need to find good places to display
the new gifts. Hopefully I can trade them
out with some things that can go to my upcoming
yard sale.
It is never good to just keep adding!

This birthday was a fun one.
I love being 41!

Warren and I hope to get out to dinner
later this week. He had an obligation
last night that just could not wait.

Have a happy day!
Tomorrow I hope to post about two favorite books.
One a Birthday gift and the other a library find.
Ya'll come back now...

Becky K.

The Olympics Are Killing Me!

Oh...My...Goodness!

I need to sleep!

Every night the Olympics are just getting good when I really should be calling it a night and heading to bed. Instead I am up watching Michael Phelps just stretch those fingers to make it to the wall 1/100th of a second before his closest competitor. It was a crazy race! But he got the Gold again.

This nearly caused his mother to faint.
She collapsed onto her seat and looked very pale.

Then there was the night of the Men's gymnastics when one of the Chinese Gymnasts fell from the Still Rings. Oyyyy! I thought he was going to have broken bones. To see him fall and just land like a rag doll. Scary!

The Rings have never struck me as a very dangerous piece of apparatus...but maybe they are.

Usually it is the balance beam and the parallel bars that have me cringing.

What do you love or hate about the Olympics?

We enjoyed watching the Gold Medal Round of the Men's Archery yesterday. Our Jonathan is pretty good with the bow so it was fun to "watch him watch", if you know what I mean.

Much to do today.

The guys of the household are off to a weekend concert, called Purple Door. It is Christian Loud Rock Music. Warren didn't really want to go but it was an opportunity to do this with the boys before they are all grown and out of here. Jonathan told him he should think of it as an investment in their relationship...hmmmm...I think he overheard his mother say that! They will have a good time.

Mikey is much looking forward to the Skate Park that gets set up on Saturday during the concert. He will be having a blast!

It is my turn to bring the Breakfast for church tomorrow and we have a fellowship meal, so I see a lot of food preparation in my very near future. Time to figure out what I am making.

So, have a great Saturday.

Becky K.

5 Things I Love - Tagged

Mrs. Rabe caught me and tagged me to tell you five things I love.

I, like her, will not state the most obvious, God, family and that and will try to tell you things you may not already know.

1. I love blizzards...if my entire family is safely at home together and snowed in for a couple of days. Watching movies in front of the fire with popcorn...snuggled up with a great book...or putting a puzzle together around a table with family while the wind blows and the snow flies.

2. I love to have friends over for times of great discussion. The more challenging the discussion, the better.

3. I love to read biographies. This was a discovery in our Middle School Library when I was in 6th grade. Love them!

4. I love to move. Getting a new home is like the most fun thing in the world to me. Unfortunately I am the only one in the family that feels this way so we are staying put for a while.

5. I love September/October. The blue, blue skies and low humidity. The football. The sweet smell of crunchy leaves...ahhhhhhhhh.

I could go on. But, I won't. Must leave some things to tell another time.

Have a great day!

Mom's Flowers...

As we headed into Mom's house on Wednesday
evening for our shared meal of roast, potatoes,
broccoli and our choice of cherry or raspberry custard pie...
I snapped these shots of her front flower beds.

I love how Mom enjoys her flowers. How she actually
waters hers...I always intend to water mine...
occasionally it happens...

First, doesn't everybody need a frog?

See the deck these frogs are sitting on? Mom spent a lot of time staining and sealing this last week. A lot of time. The stain came out so pretty! One neighbor who we pass often but don't really know actually stopped and asked what color it was because he liked it so well. Great going, Mom!


I love the mixture of heights in this bed.
Mom got these hangers at a benefit auction last
year. The prices were great!




A cute little spot to put some pretties.


All dressed up for Independence Day!

As pretty as these are, I'll have to go poking around Mom's back yard because it is even more fun. She has this great outside living space that we enjoy sitting in. So relaxing and pretty.

A Fun Day with Family

My brother, Allan, and his wife Beverly are visiting.
We are enjoying our time with them so much!

Yesterday we went to Longwood Gardens in the morning.
The last time we took them there was New Years Eve and
it was so crowded we were herded through the Conservatory
like some kind of animal. No one's fault...just too many
people. So, we wanted to take them back to see it in a
liesurely way. This is what we saw:
The rose arches are amazing!


From the first time I saw this space under the Italian Foutain Garden I have loved it. It is almost like something from your imagination. The wooden doors and a hidden world. A little "hobbit-like" if you ask me...


Everywhere you look...it is simply gorgeous!


We saw the fountain show for the first time in daylight. It was impressive but we were so hot and tired that we didn't appreciate it quite as much as we should have. Perhaps if we had been close enough to feel the spray...

We left then, and headed to Applebees for lunch. This was a decidedly disappointing experience. There was one mistake after another...wrong iced tea, Warren's order never got into the computer, Drinks were not refilled in a timely manner, and the grand finale?, we waited 45 minutes extra for them to attempt to get our bill right.
Apparently after forgetting to order Warren's lunch the manager stepped in and redid the bill...to INCLUDE it and totally messed it up! We asked them to fix it and they could not. This is Allan, Bev and Jonathan doing their best to look angry for the camera. I think only Allan pulled it off...because he was! After all of their messing around to attempt to get the bill right the manager had the audacity to add gratuity to our party of 7. It clearly states on the menu that it is added to parties of 8 or more. This might seem minor...but you just had to be there to see the ineptitude to understand how this upset Allan.

Our empty plates sat in front of us for more than 45 minutes as we were basically held hostage waiting for our bill. It never got right we just paid it and got out of there! Corporate will be hearing from us. That was extreme!

We came home to our dogs...and Tia...
We are dog-sitting...Tia wanted to say "Hi" to her family!

She wants you to know that she is being a very good girl! We have had fun throwing her rocks for her to retrieve.

Apparently word has gotten out in the dog world that we are a fun place to visit because we had two neighborhood dogs visit yesterday, as well. One came from quite a distance away and I had to put him in the car and take him home. This dog shows up every couple of months or so. He wanted to stay this time. Made himself right at home drinking from the hose as Warren sprayed the deck and then sprawling out. Poor Marley. The problem is that he is a chicken murderer. He killed a bunch of our neighbors chickens a New Year's Eve and caused quite a ruckus. This is why we could not enjoy Marley's company and had to take him home...right as I was supposed to be preparing for a dinner for 11! Oh well. Immediately after dinner I looked out the kitchen window and there was our neighbor, Ellen's dog. Good thing we are "dog people".

The evening ended with Wii golf.
I won.
So all is well with the world.
lol

Enjoy your day!

Whew! What a Day!

Yesterday was quite a day!

It was our last day at co-op for this school year.

I was in the Mom's Room chatting and mentally
preparing to teach my last music class of the
year when a young man ran into the room and up to me
saying, "Mikey just fell from the basketball hoop."

I asked him if Mikey was ok.

He wasn't sure.

I RAN! Up the stairs and down the hall to the gym.

When I got there I could not see Mikey.

Finally, there he was lying on the floor at
the far end of the gym.

Please understand that Mikey does "stupid
Mikey tricks" regularly and hurts himself.
Most of the time I never hear about it...
he just gets up and keeps on going.

I got to him and he was shaking and in a lot
of pain. There was a mark the size of a
50 cent piece on his cheek that was raised,
white and had the pattern from the flooring
indented in it. He was so pale!

He was not nauseous so I waited a bit until he
could move and we went to get some ice.

We headed back to the Mom's Room, ice on his face.

His arm was hurting more than his head...

Oh, let me tell you what this kid did.

He was climbing up the wall and grabbing the basketball hoop
where he planned to flip over and land on his feet.
Apparently he has done this many times before.
The adult gym teacher "didn't care".

This time his hand slipped as he was upside down and
he came down on his cheek first then hand and knee.

Long story and a nurse check later...by a Mom at the co-op
he seems to be fine. He is in a good bit of pain and
I expect that to get worse over the next day or two
from the bruising. I am watching him for any signs of
brain injury.

So that was how yesterday's co-op started...
flash forward to the end of the day and my
fourth to sixth grade music class.

We had just completed another hymn sing.
When we did the first one earlier this year
the kids loved it and had more requests than we could
get to so I decided that we would close the
year with another one.

I told the class to get their backpacks and to come to me
to choose their candy from my basket before heading to
the gym to meet their parents.

There was the usual rush to be first in line...
then suddenly one of the boys became ill...
vomiting on the floor and piano!

He was allowed to go to the restroom to do whatever
he needed to do...
and wouldn't you know the next thing I know he is back
in line, green face and all, for his candy!

I quickly gave it to him and got he and the other kids out of the
room and on their way to the gym.

As I was going to get supplies to clean up the unpleasantness
I ran into his mother in the hall.
She felt so badly, the whole family had already had this "bug"
except this young man and the toddler in their house.
She came back to the room and cleaned it up for us.
I am very grateful.
The stomach bug is the worst as far as I am concerned.

So, then we came on home to get ready for a run to Harrisburg
to meet with some clients. The poor lady has pneumonia
and was having a hard time breathing. I have a bad habit
of making people laugh...not good for someone with pneumonia.
She will be fine. I don't think I did
any permanent damage there.

But, finally returned home at 11pm to find Grandma Georgia
hanging out in Mikey's room with he and Jonathan.
She was watching them
play some video game.

That was surreal!

Georgia does not like their video games...

Yep, it was quite a day!!!!

Hope this one is calmer.

We are hosting a Good Friday Small Group at
our home and Warren will be getting in from
Branson late this evening.

Should make for a cozy day.