We’re Back!

Last week, we got to catch up with some wonderful friends that we don’t see nearly enough!  We were thankful that the friend with cancer was having a good day when we visited and she looked wonderful.  I’m sure she would appreciate your prayers as she continues her battle.

We were also thankful to squeeze in an afternoon with dear friends who were vacationing in Ocean City, New Jersey.  It was one of the most relaxing afternoons of our entire trip.  Here are our five boys.    

While my older two were happy to catch some waves with their friends, the little guy was enamored with the giant sandbox, lol!  I’m not sure he remembered ever being at the beach before. 

Eventually, he wandered back up to the chairs…

…and sprawled out on the sand to warm up.  The water was cold and the sun felt good.

I wish we could have stayed longer.  :)  Thanks, friends, for sharing your favorite beach spot with us!

While we were at the beach, the puppy got to spend the day with her new friends.  :)  We’re told she had the time of her life!  All thanks to the generous offer of friends to let her stay with them for the day!  We have the most wonderful friends!!!  And now, she does too, lol!

After all the worry about how she would do, she was delight to have along.  Always happy to stretch out on the floor of the van between visits to catch some Z’s in one position…

or another…

She would often pass out right in the middle of a tussle with one of her toys!  Lol!

If she weren’t funny enough, we discovered she “woofs” in her sleep!  We could only imagine what she was dreaming about!  :)

Friday, we had planned on spending some time with my parents.  But they called early that morning to let us know that mom’s sister had taken a turn for the worse and they needed to change their plans.  We ended up going as well, and visiting with my aunt and cousins, some of whom I haven’t seen since our wedding!  In spite of the sad occasion, it was really good to catch up with them.  My aunt not only recognized me and my husband, she went on to reminisce with us about all God had done in our families.  What a sweet, sweet lady!  She has since rallied and God has given her children the gift of a little more time with her, which I’m especially thankful for.

Those are some of the highlights, friends.  It was crazy busy.  But God was obviously orchestrating things as only He can. 

Now, I’m really looking forward to getting back into a more normal routine.  AND catching up with all of you!!!

The Empty Tomb In The Garden: And He who Fulfilled God’s Greatest Promise

I took the photos in this post on a trip to the Holy Land during my senior year in College.  The picture above is of the Tomb in the Garden, taken in the late afternoon light.  It is the site many believe to be the actual tomb in which the body of Jesus was placed. 

Like our Savior, the large stone has long been gone. 

Yet, the site easily conjures echoes of voices.  Voices of those that had come with nothing but questions and heavy hearts. But who left with a hope and energy and excitement that would change their lives forever!

^{1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.}

^{2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,}

^{3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.}

^{4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing;}

^{5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?}

^{6 He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,}

^{7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”}

^{8 And they remembered His words,}

^{9 and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.}

^{10 Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.}

^{11 But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.}

^{12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he *saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.}

^{Luke 24:1-12}

While I stood in front of the tomb, it was easy to see why the women who came in the morning, when the sun would have been shining from the other direction, would have had to enter the tomb in order to see Jesus.  The carved out ledge, where His body was placed, was inside and to the right.

The picture below (in the afternoon light) shows a couple peering in--just as Peter and John would have done as they ran up to it.  With the light from this angle, they would have seen right way the empty grave clothes on that ledge.

Visiting the site was incredibly moving for me.  It made the resurrection story come alive in my mind as I envisioned the first disciples and the wild swing of emotions they experienced.

Yet, it isn’t the site that makes the story so remarkable.  It is Jesus Himself!  The One who loved us enough to fulfill God’s greatest promise. 

The One who was born to die in my place. 

And the One who died a horrible death willingly to take the penalty for each and every one of my sins. 

And the One who rose from the dead, left this grave, and thereby conquered death once and for all—not only for me.  But for each and every person who claims His forgiveness! 

May you have a wonderful Easter Celebration with your family!

Spring Hiking: McCormick’s Creek State Park

The other day, a friend invited me to go walking with her at McCormick’s Creek State Park.  It was absolutely perfect weather!

In spite of living so close, I’ve only been there a handful of times.  We really need to enjoy this park more often!

This was walking along the Wolf Cave trail.  Look at the moss on the path!  I wish the picture did it more justice.  It was so bright!  And there was a green sheen over the entire path—not just the edges.  And slippery!  You wouldn’t believe how slippery!

This pretty little spot is just one of the places we stopped to let my friend’s two dogs play in the water.  They had their eye on a squirrel, though.   And I’m pretty sure they would much rather have taken a romp through those woods!  Lol!

We saw this tree along the path.  My friend told me she has a picture of her husband standing inside the trunk with his head showing through the hole.  All I could think about were how many webs and spiders might lurk inside.  Sorry, guys.  You couldn’t PAY me to put my head up in that tree!  Lol!

Speaking of spiders.  My oldest son called the middle man into his room last night to see a whopper spider on the wall.  (I stayed clear, of course). 

But I heard all kinds of laughing in there.  Apparently, they knocked it down behind his bed and lost it.  LOST it!!  How can you lose a man-eating spider behind your bed and LAUGH?????    And it didn’t bother him to craw into said bed 5 minutes later and fall fast asleep?!!!! 

I closed his door and just barely refrained from jamming a towel at the base of it.  Lol! 

BOYS!

So what have you been doing to enjoy the weather?

Road Trip 2011: My Favorite Pictures

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip!

My three boys at French Creek State Park. 

For the older two, this was the first time they remember having been here.  For the youngest, it was his first time to visit.

 

But it really wasn’t that long ago that my husband and I remember taking these… This is me and my oldest (almost 2 at the time) on one of our many hikes at the park.  It was all I could do that day to keep him away from the water.  I feel exhausted just looking at the pictures!  Lol! 

My husband had the “cake” job of carting the middle man (3 months) around in the back pack!

My, how fast they grow!!

So anyway, it wasn’t hard to pick out my favorite pictures.  My favorite guys…at one of my favorite places.  :)

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My little guy, btw, looked at the older pictures this morning and said, “Mom, you look the same!  How comes you haven’t changed?”

“What do you mean,” I asked.

“Daddy is all white.  But you look the same!” 

Lol!  I better be careful how much I gloat in front of my husband.  He always claims he didn’t start going grey until he got married!   

Hey!  I’m getting ready to post a family movie DVD giveaway early next week!  So don’t forget to come back and enter!

Road Trip 2011: A Peek At Our Cabin In French Creek State Park

For the next five nights of our trip, we settled into this family cabin in Pennsylvania’s French Creek State park. 

It had a porch, a living room, a full kitchen and bath, and two bedrooms.  A snow shovel even appeared by the front steps one morning—which, thankfully, we never needed!

My husband surprised us with Christmas lights, which he draped from window to window.  They were the perfect touch to our cozy cabin!  After our busy days of running and visiting, it was nice to come back and relax with a cup of hot chocolate! 

 

One Drawback, Or Bonus…Depending On Your Point Of View ;)

While staying here, our boys went through a painful withdraw.  There was no TV, no internet, not a lick of cell phone service, and not even a portable radio!  HORRORS!  We were absolutely positively totally unplugged.  Lol!  Can you imagine a set of parents doing that to their teenagers???  It’s a wonder we didn’t have child protective services knocking on our door!  Of course, we did the only thing we could do, under the circumstances.  We smiled and sighed, and said, “Isn’t it nice?” 

The boys did have their own room with ample space to conduct LEGO Star Wars battles, though.  So all was not lost.  :)

 

And, Oooh, The Food… 

Having a kitchen/dining room was nice since we picked up our favorite foods several times.  Food that you (sadly) can’t get in Indiana, like…

• Pizza from Antonio’s…YUM!!! (We did pizza 2x)
• Country Maid’s cream filled donuts. (Between the boys and Me, we polished off nearly 7 boxes, oh the shame!  Lol!)
• Cheese Steaks/Hoagies from Nuse’s Deli.  (We did Nuse’s 2x)
• Herr’s Sour Cream And Onion Potato Chips.  (I can’t even remember how many bags!)

I’ll be living at CURVES for the next few months!

 

And Finally, A  Bit Of Personal History

French Creek State Park is actually only 5 minutes from where we used to live in Pennsylvania.  My husband and I used to come here often to hike.  In fact, many moons ago, we shared our first kiss on a partially submerged log on the far side of this lake--almost directly behind that island in the picture above. 

As I recall, I impulsively walked out on a log and when I turned around, he was right there behind me, barring my way back to land.  A kiss was inevitable.  :)

So, it was fun to stay at this park while we visited with friends and family.  

More on those visits tomorrow!  Lord willing, that is. 

*  *  *

I should tell you that our internet service provider just notified us that they are discontinuing their service.  There will be no more support, effective immediately.  And any remaining service will be shut down at the end of January.  Having just experienced the “horrors” of being “unplugged” at the cabin, the boys are utterly distraught!  Lol!  They’re ready to go out and build a tower themselves if that what it takes!  Anyway, just thought you should know what’s up if my blog goes quiet for a spell.  We’ll figure something out as soon as we can!

Road Trip 2011: Day 3…An Afternoon In Chestertown, Maryland

As I said in the post before, the weather was just right for a walk.  So we piled in our cars and headed to the historic district of Chestertown, Maryland, along the Eastern Shore’s Chester River. 

Our first stop was The Geddes-Piper House.  This beautifully restored home dates back to 1783.  William Geddes, the Customs Director of the region, purchased the original lot. He also worked as a merchant.  Some believe that he owned the brigantine Geddes, which is known to have docked at the Chestertown harbor with tea in its cargo in May of 1774.  Although little is known of the facts surrounding the oral tradition of a Chestertown Tea Party, we do know that during that month, local leaders and merchants began to put into place resolves that would eventually lead to revolution.

A merchant named James Piper purchased the lot from Geddes and is probably responsible for building the home.  After changing hands several times, George Burgin Westcott bought the house in the 1830’s and added the back portion of the house which contained a small dining room.  The Wescotts lived here for almost a hundred years before departing in 1910. 

After that, it served as a kindergarten and then an apartment building.  After many years of neglect, the Historical Society purchased and restored the home to it’s present state.  And I must say, it is BEAUTIFUL inside and out.

The home now houses three floors worth of period pieces, along with fascinating exhibits and a historical library you could get lost in for weeks!  The library alone contains 1000’s of items such as old maps (my husband’s very favorite things!), manuscripts, documents, ledgers, genealogies and all kinds of things pertinent to the local history.  And it’s all open to the public.  :) 

This, by the way, is where my mother-in-law works!  Isn’t she lucky?!  She does a lot of research both for the society and for people looking for personal family histories.  She also gives tours of the museum and of the historic district of Chestertown! 

I’m getting sidetracked.  Anyway, the arrangement on the front door was amazing!   Who would have thought to do that with a pineapple and apples??

This was one of the bedrooms.

These two dresses were in wonderful shape!

I especially loved visiting the basement, though, which is where servants did the bulk of the household work.  One side of the basement was set up as the kitchen area.  Do you see that white table?  I have one very similar to that which I use in my laundry room.  My table came from my grandmother’s laundry room and has a porcelain top and a very small drawer in the front—complete with a glass knob.  

And then the other side of the basement was where the laundry was done.   

It was one of the neatest places I’ve ever visited!  And I don’t think I’m being biased by my Mother-in-law’s connection to it, either!  We all enjoyed our tour!

From there, she took us on a walking tour of the rest of the beautifully restored historic district of Chestertown.  It was one of the highlights of our trip!  

We ended down by the water.  :)

From Mom Mom’s place in Maryland, we headed north to Townsend, Delaware, where we spent the night with my brother-in-law and his wife.  Then it was on to a cabin in Pennsylvania…

But that’s another post!

Road Trip 2011: The Rest of Day 2 and The Morning of Day 3

Once back on the turnpike, it was hard to believe we had just had a white knuckle ride over icy roads!  It was smooth sailing all the way to Maryland.  In fact, the weather turned a little warmer and we were graced with a beautiful sunset as we crossed the bay!

I always love bridges! 

We spent the evening enjoying dinner with my husband’s family and catching a bit of the Raven’s game.  Mom Mom is a pretty big fan of the Ravens.  :)

In the morning, the sun was out again and the weather was perfect for a walk.  So we walked down to her pier on the Chester River.  Isn’t it a pretty spot?  It’s nice that the boys are all old enough now that they can walk out to the dock without me worrying (too much) that one of them will fall in the water.  When the boys were little, and Pop Pop was still living, he liked to take us on rides in his pontoon boat up and down the river.  Sadly, the boys don’t remember too much of those trips.

It’s always fun to scour the shore and look for treasures.  There are all kinds of pine cones and seed pods, and sometimes, if you are lucky, an occasional arrowhead!  But no arrowheads this time.

It was a wonderful morning!

That afternoon, Mom Mom treated us to a tour of historic Chestertown and the Geddes-Piper House, where she works.  And what a treat it was!  Tomorrow, I’ll show you some of the neat things she shoed us!

We love visiting with Mom Mom!

Road Trip 2011: Days 1 and 2

When we go east, we always travel a little more than halfway and spend the night in New Stanton, Pennsylvania.  When we woke up in the morning, we were greeted with a few inches of fresh snow!  Brrrr!

On our way through the rest of Pennsylvania, we decided to take a detour and go see the Flight 93 Memorial in Schwenksville.  Snow wasn’t a problem on the turnpike, and we figured we had just enough time in our schedule before we said we would be in Maryland.

It wasn’t long after we exited the turnpike that we began to climb in elevation.  And of course, as you climb, the weather gets colder, and it began to snow in earnest.  My husband said it was no problem.  But I began to doubt if we should ever have left the turnpike! 

We pulled off at a lookout, and noticed our car was running very hot.  This would become more of a problem later in our trip.  But, thankfully, it didn’t leave us stranded here!

It was a beautiful albeit cold and blustery spot!

By the time we got to the Park, the roads were icy and treacherous.  In fact, the park guards closed the front gates shortly after we passed through them because of the dangerous conditions.  They would eventually have to try multiple routes to get us out!

We were glad we went, though.  Our visit was a sobering reminder of one of the darkest days in our nation’s history.  It was also a reminder that, when put to the test, everyday Americans rise to the occasion.

We stopped to read each informational panel on the way out to the wall.

If not for the brave men and women aboard Flight 93, countless more lives could have been lost on the ground—probably in our nation’s capitol.

This is the memorial wall.

Each panel of the wall is inscribed with the name of a person who died on Flight 93.  The architects placed the wall directly beneath the flight path of the jet liner before it crashed.  Only family members are allowed to pass through the wooden gate at the far end of the wall.  From there, they are allowed to walk down the path to the huge rock marking the actual crash site, which was carved into the grove of massive hemlocks.

The gentleman with the cane was a local man who was giving a tour to his daughter and her family.  We were invited to listen in and ask questions as he told stories and details I hadn’t heard before.

For instance:  There was a recycling yard over the hill directly behind the spot from which I took the first picture of the wall above.  He said there were several men working outside that day when the jet came screaming over their heads.  It was traveling approximately 500 miles per hour, between 40 and 100 feet off the ground,and it was upside down.  An enormous explosion followed immediately and they ran towards the wreck.  But there was nothing to do.  The heat was far too intense to get anywhere near the site.

He told us the plane didn’t drive deep into the ground as we had imagined.  It only pushed into the ground about 15 feet.  However the force of the surface explosion drove debris as deep as 40 feet.

The concussion was so great, that it cracked several windows and blew the storm door off this farmhouse …located a mile away from the crash site!  We passed by the farm house on our way out of the park and couldn’t believe how powerful the explosion must have been that day.

I’m glad we had a chance to visit.  And I’m incredibly thankful to the everyday men and woman who were simply going about their normal business, and in the end stood up to an evil none of us could have imagined.  Their courage remains an inspiration to each one of us. 

May God bless the loved ones they each left behind.  May each one of them feel the bond of love and gratitude our hearts will always share.

Something For Me

Just before Thanksgiving, a friend and I joined our local Curves .  Since then, it has been a lot of fun working out together. 

Maybe too much fun.  I’ve gained 9 pounds since joining!  Granted, we’ve had the holiday-treat-fest.  But perhaps we should talk less and focus more…?  Being a full time mom has been wonderfully rewarding.  But with my youngest now in kindergarten, I find I have time to reflect on where I am.

For the most part, I’m pretty happy with my life.  But I would lovelovelove to be in better shape.  Not to mention breathe in my jeans.  And have arms that don’t flap in the wind when I hang them out car window! 

I considered joining Curves before, but never followed through.  So when my dear-friend-who’s-always-looking-out-for-me suggested we join together, it was just the nudge I needed.  

The ladies at our Curves branch are wonderful.  They range in age from 19 to 89.  And seriously?  They’re amazing!  Not to mention a riot!

Although I’m starting at the bottom of the proverbial fitness scale, it is a step in the right direction.  And we all have to start somewhere.  Plus, it’s something I’m doing for my family.

Too often we moms fall into the caregiver roll and fail take care of ourselves.  However, if we want to be around to give care when we’re older, we have to take better care of ourselves today. 

My friend’s encouragement got me started, and I’m paying it forward with a little nudge to you.  Don’t put it off any longer!

• See what’s available in your area --YMCA, Curves, etc.
• Check with your insurance provider.  If you are lucky, perhaps they’ll cover some or all of the membership fees. My insurance pays for everything!
• Then, go see the place.  Half the battle is actually working up the nerve to investigate.

Once I visited, saw the simple machines, and watched all those women chatting and having fun, my fears just fell away.  “I can do this!”  I thought.

And so can you!

If joining a fitness place isn’t for you, than choose something else. 

Walking is always good.  Grab a friend or your husband or your kids and start walking.  If bad weather is a problem, find a mall. 

But don’t wait. 

Putting exercise in your routine now will help you stay active later. 

If you don’t want to do it for you, do it for your family! 

What do you do to stay active?  Share your ideas!  We moms need all the encouragement and ideas we can get!

The Relaxing Part Of Our Vacation

For a mom of three, that can be an oxymoron.  Lol!  Right??? :)

But I did manage to snag a little down time.  Mainly because we stayed at this cabin  in Lake In Wood During our second week.  (This is our second year staying in the same cabin.) 

We like it because it has plenty of room for the boys to play Lego’s at one end…while Mom takes a nap/reading break in the other.  With icy cold AC, it was a heavenly place to crash. 

From here, we launched out on day trips and spent most of our evenings visiting my parents and our friends.  As crazy as it can get squeezing everybody in, I wouldn’t have it any other way!  Seeing people we miss is the best part of our vacation!

We even got to spend a day at Ocean City, New Jersey with some of our best friends.  Well, more like an evening.  We broke down 40 miles from the beach and had to spend the better part of our beach time at a community park waiting for the repairs. 

But, you know what?  It turned out just fine.  The kids all enjoyed playing on the playground while we got to enjoy spending time with friends—which was the point of the day, anyway.  :)  Did I say I love my friends?

My little guy had a love hate relationship with the sea gulls.  He couldn’t resist following them, but he didn’t want them snatching his Pringles.  Go figure.  :)

The kids caught TONS of sand crabs.  I’ve never seen one before, let alone the hundreds that the waves would uncover.  It was crazy to watch them scurry en mass back towards the ocean in the receding water and then burrow back down in the sand. 

My oldest son also caught a big crab.  You can’t really see his pinchers.  But he has some big ones.  Imagine stepping on this thing…which is how he discovered it!

In spite of many cries from the peanut gallery to take the crabs home, every last one of them made it back into the ocean.  :)  (Leaving the Mom and the crabs to live happily ever after.)

Can’t you just see the reluctance on their faces to set their crabby friends free?  Lol!

Boys.  What a riot!

On a serious note, I sure hope this hurricane season doesn’t send the oil all the way up the coast.  It’s such a sad thing to see what it is doing to beaches and economy in the south.