Birthdays

It seems as though May is the Month of Birthdays in our (immediate and extended) family. Off the top of my head I can count 8...and I may be missing a few :]

Today is my G-ma's 79th birthday. What a blessing to still have my gram here on earth with me. She is and has always been such an amazing influence in my life. I spent more time with her as a child than I think with my own parents!! I LOVED being at G-ma's! I can still smell the laundry, which she just brought in from the line, being pressed--yummy smelling Lavendar Sachet. I can also hear her iron perculating. She would always let me help with chores, cooking, whatever, although I understand now that I must have been in the way an awful lot! She never let me know that though. My favorite thing was her laying me on the couch with an afghan knitted by my Great Gram while she played and practiced hymns for church on Sunday. I would fall asleep so soundly! Even as a college student I would burst through her doors exhausted from finals and plop onto the couch while she would play me all of my favorite hymns--what a wonderful way to unwind and relax! Yep, I would still fall asleep...15 years hadn't changed a thing! I still have that afghan too :] As I grew older, my love and admiration for her grew even deeper. She never went to college, but she has so much wisdom from Scripture. Her humbleness and servanthood are amazing to me. I finally understood why she constantly had a song on her lips--and I now make that a daily practice of mine. It alters your entire mindset and attitude when you make a conscious decision to praise the Lord continually, no matter the situations that arise around you. Needless to say, there isn't a day that passes in which she is not on my mind. I know that she's not perfect, but she's my gram. And she's one of the greatest blessings in my life!


But it is also a bittersweet day for her as it is also the day my Pap died 7 years ago. I was the only one with him when he left this earth and entered Heaven. What an experience. The years have definately made it better to deal with the emotions, but WOW do I miss him! He would have had such a blast with our kiddos--I can hear him really laughing at Brayden's stories, getting a kick out of fiesty Savannah Banana, and holding Sweet Sophia with tears in his eyes. He really became a softy in his older years :) I'm so thankful that I made a special trip from college with Daryl so that they could meet. I treasure the pictures I took that day of us and the two of them talking in the livingroom, Pap holding Daryl's hand the entire time. It would be the one and only time they would spend together. The next time Daryl returned was for his funeral less than 2 weeks later.

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May is also the month of Aunt Peep (17th) & Aunt Jan's (20th) birthday. Two more women that are very special in my life. Its so amazing to see my own kids now loving to be with them and doing much of the same things with them that I loved to do when I was little! I could write a book about each of them, but I'll spare you the reading and me the tears. I just know that God has blessed me immensely with family. I've known that all my life and now get to share that with my little ones

We also had our nephew Landon's second birthday (18th) and Mama Yount & cousin, Stephanie (7th), and our B-I-L Scott's(26th)! If I'm missing anyone, let me know...the more the merrier, huh?

Smiles for your heart

Thought I'd share some pictures to warm your heart...these little ones bless my life in so many ways. I'm often humbled (repeatedly) throughout the day that I was deemed worthy enough by Our Lord to care for these munchkins! What an amazing, amazing blessing. I have been so graciously reminded this morning that my schedule and list of accomplishments is not as important as His are for me.

My most important "job" in life is the caring for and nurturing of my husband and kids--spiritually, physically, emotionally, etc. My life is so greatly blessed because of Daryl and, consequently, our three little tikes. I just wanted to share my gratitude and humbled heart for the blessings in my life today...especially because the Lord has turned my sour attitude into gratitude this morning and given me a bite of humble pie. Thank you, Jesus!!

The kiddos were out yesterday driving around the yard in the Red Race Car and it was sooooooo funny! I was chasing them with my camera in tow. Loved it!!!! Hope you have a great day!

*P.S. Scroll down to our garden post to see pix I just uploaded. The only one I was unable to get was Sophia eating the dirt! HAHAHA!!!

Bruised AND broken!!!

That would be our little Savannah. Bruised face--broken collarbone. Yes, you read that correctly. I had her to our Dr.'s first thing this morning for x-rays to confirm what we had already suspected (thanks Jennifer for your impromptu eval at our house!). She did her x-rays like a champ, albeit somewhat reserved, but she did great nonetheless. And I could see the break as clear as day as soon as the tech processed them. I was the one kicking myself for not having known sooner! We're not sure if it happened when she collided with Logan or when she fell off the bed during her nap OR a combo of the two or even something totally different. Dr. says this is common...I sure hope not in this house! All that being said, she's doing great. Wrapped up in a figure-8 ACE wrap and running through the yard as if nothing happened! Oh, and a little Motrin on board for the pain :]

The two photos above are Savannah right after her collision with Logan--instant purple egg on her head. Its now morphed into a greenish-yellow and has moved down the center of her face and around her eyes. So cute, eh?? She kinda looks like the Beast instead of Belle(from Beauty and the Beast)!

I haven't taken any shots of her all wrapped up yet, so maybe I can get to those later. Until then, pray for a fast and great healing at the site! And, yes, I am thankful that she didn't need casted, surgery, or anything crazy--the break was a "clean" one--no crazy edges or fragments...so there are blessings in this!!

Head-banging

That would sum up Savannah's start to her week :[ Please keep her in your prayers--she's pretty bruised and swollen from colliding into Logan's head on Sunday afternoon and then falling out of bed yesterday. Its been a rough start, but with the help of some Motrin and Momma's round-the-clock watch she's doing pretty good. I guess it just looks worse than what it is! I'm working a 10-hour shift for a friend, so Daryl is holding down the fort. Pix and the whole story (along with some Mother's day updates) to follow later!

YAY for our garden!

We managed to get our entire garden planted yesterday! I am SO EXCITED that I could yell for joy at the top of my lungs!!! I love gardening. Its my favorite "fast food".

You know me--a sucker for nostalgia...my dad planted a big garden when we were growing up. My older sister and I can still recall very vividly the many times we grabbed some string beans or other snacks while on-the-go in our yard. And oh the many yummy soups, watermelon, salads, etc. that came from that garden and our fruit trees in the yard!!

I have been dreaming of the day when we would have enough land to plant a real garden. I did manage to grow a few things in our miniscule yard when we lived in a development. And last year I planted my tomatos in 5 gallon paint buckets so we could take them with us when we moved!! Nothing could stop me! MUAHAHAHA!(insert crazy Count-like laughter from Sesame Street)

Even funnier is when I brought home the seed packets and precious tomato and pepper plants last Friday and showed them to Daryl. It was obvious by his facial expression that his mental image of My Garden differed from mine. (What, honey, you weren't picturing the 20 by 55 foot mini Garden of Eden?! :]) But, being the amazing man that he is, he rented a rototiller and plotted my garden out on paper (to scale, I might add)...then we got to work! We tilled,--yes, I tilled my fair share--then plotted, then planted. I did 98% of the planting, as Daryl had to get off to work. It was fabulous...but a bit time consuming. The kids had a blast helping. Brayden kept talking about how we were going to get so much food from all these seeds :] I CAN'T WAIT!

Now the last part is to put up our fence to keep the rabbits out. Daryl and I are hoping to do it on Saturday, but we'll see. Granny and Pap will be here so maybe they'll want to help!

Oh, and yes, I requested a canning set for my birthday in advance so I can stock us up for the years to come! YAY!!!!

TAG...I'm it!

One of our cousins, Valerie, tagged me on her blog. Here's the scoop on me, Val!

Rules: Answer the following questions, then tag 5 other people on their blogs.

*What was I doing 10 years ago? That would make it Thursday, May 7, 1998. I was 19 and procrastinating, AHEM, I mean preparing for my Spring finals at Messiah College and anticpating heading to Managua, Nicaragua in a few weeks.

*5 things to do today:
1) Hang clothes on the line--DONE!
2) Clean kitchen & fix dinner--DONE!
3) Get to the Farmer's Market for pepper plants to finiah my first HUGE garden!!!
4) Review tonight's youth group lesson
5) Buy blueberry & raspberry bushes

*Snacks I enjoy:
-fresh fruit
-raw veggies--esp. sugar snap peas!
-ICE CREAM!!!

If I were a billionaire: Have my husband invest it, and hence, not have to run his business anymore, travel and see family more often, otherwise I'm not so sure I'd change much...but if I were really honest, I don't think I'd want to be a billionaire--seems they have more headaches than I do! But maybe that's just me :)

*Bad habits I have:I'm a procrastinator, hence the following:
-not promptly folding the laundry (but I have been making improvements!!)
-not cleaning up the kitchen as soon as dinner's done
-not getting things in the mail on time (i.e. birthday cards, gifts, etc.)

*Places I've lived:-Main Street, Fayette City, PA
-Johnson's Hollow, Fayette City, PA
-RD #1 Box 30, Naomi, PA
-Marion Villa Apartments (Projects), Arnold City, PA
-124 Connelsville Street, Fayette City, PA
-64 Woodland Rd, Daisytown, PA
-Chatham College, Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, PA
-Messiah College, Grantham, PA
-Benque Viejo del Carmen, Succotz, Belize, Central America
-Pennsylvania Place, Harrisburg, PA
-13 Farley Circle, Lewisburg, PA
-526 Market Street, Mifflinburg, PA
-Little Piece of Heaven, Winfield, PA


*Jobs I've had:
Lifeguard/Swimming Instructor in the summers @ Crystal Pool (5 yrs)
Babysitting--ever since I was 7 yrs old!
Assistant in VP office, Chatham College (1 yr)
Resident Assistant, Messiah College (1 yr)
Apartment Life Coordinator, Messiah College (1 yr)
Cleaned homes while at Messiah (3 years)
Personal trainer/assistant to fellow friend/student @ Messiah (2 years)
RN (almost 7 years-present)
MOM (4.7 years-til I'm dead!)

*5 people I want to know more about:-Andrea Witmer
-Stephanie Burley
-Sarah Kline
-Erica Croyle--as if I don't enough already :)
-Everyone who reads this blog and doesn't have their own...you know who you are!!

Then & Now...

Sophia @ 6 weeks:


Sophia today:


Having a big brother who loves Thomas can have its down-side--especially when you're his designated "sticker model"!

Miss Madison's visit

I've been telling my younger sister that I will get these pictures to her or up on my blog. I'm finally doing it--nearly two weeks later! Hey, its not like I'm busy here or anything. So here's some pix of our visit with Lil' Miss Madison, Aunt Weebies, and Uncle Scott, which by the way was a ton of fun and you can visit my sister's blog for some inside scoop on the craziness we call LIFE around here during their visit! It was a great time!


Smiling and trying to focus on Aunt Mandy...LOVE IT!



Chugging the moogs for Uncle Daryl



The first picture of Aunt Mandy holding her!



Group shot (for which Sophia wasn't too happy)



AND finally...Lt. Croyle giving Daryl some tips on his (Daryl's) SKS in our livingroom before he had to leave! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

For Tia

Savannah LOVES her Aunt Shelli (AKA Tia). Every time the phone rings or any time I'm on the phone Savannah thinks its Tia and wants to talk. Oh, happy day if it is indeed Aunt Shelli on the phone! And if not, then we have to make a phone call--pronto.

Tia sent this outfit for Savannah and she thought it was great, as always. I wanted to get her picture in it to share with the beloved, Tia. All the better was Savannah bringing this tulip from our yard "for Aunt Shelldee".

Unfortunately we can't give the flower to her in person, but we can dedicate a whole post to Aunt Shelli!! Who else can Savannah (or Brayden) call to make funny noises with or sing songs at the top of her lungs and the person on the other end sing just as loudly, laugh as hard, or encourage the noises by making a few of her own...then give a standing ovation?! Know, Aunt Shelli, that there's so much lovin' stirred into this post (and, of course, a few songs & silly noises too)!! :)

AUNT SHELLDEE, YOU ROCK!!


With Aunt Shelldee's flower


Being her silly self...the apple doesn't fall far from the tree I guess!


Like I said above....


Mom, I'm trying to smile, but you can't see what's crawling out of this flower!


Sweet Savannah Banana

Beware: Buffalo Crossing

Four-year-olds have great imaginations. Our Brayden is definately no exception. As we were driving one day, we passed this sign. We have passed this sign so many times in our travels that I never pay it any mind. But, alas, another blessing of having children. They call your attention to things you would otherwise not notice or maybe even take for granted. But I digress...

As we were stopped at the intersection near this sign, I hear an excited voice ask, "Momma, do you know what that blue sign with a buffalo means?!"

By the tone of his voice I was well aware that he already had the meaning all figured out in his wise 'ol age of four brain and I've also learned that at this age its more fun to see what his perspective is on the situation called to our attention than for me to give the boring, adult matter-of-fact response.

"No, Brayden. What does it mean?"

With a very serious face and tone of voice to match he replies, "No buffalo are to ever cross this road. But...if they do, all the people better watch out so they don't get poked in the back by their big, sharp horn things...then they could die!"

Hey, who knew???? All these years I've passed by this way and no one has ever alerted me to the seriousness of this matter! So if you happen to pass one of these signs, don't tell me you haven't been warned :)

Random Happenings-PART 2

All taken before dinner at Jeff & Krystal's after church the Sunday before last. Sophia had on a matching yellow smocked outfit with Savannah, but was unfortunately sleeping :( Here's a few out of the 25+ that I snapped that day!!