More on Andy's Birthday / Trip to Norway

A high school senior, Erin, works at the church doing odd jobs for Andy and me 4 afternoons a week. Last week on Andy's birthday when she came in, he teased her by asking what she had gotten him for a present. She hadn't even known until that moment that it was his birthday. After a few laughs, nothing more was said about it.

The next morning when Andy went into his office and shut the door, he was met with the whole inside of the door covered with sticky notes wishing him a happy birthday. She said she had to go off the clock because it took her so long to do all that. Here is a picture of her handiwork.

Only one more day of work this week, then we'll be getting ready for our trip to Norway. I can't believe it has finally arrived. We have been planning this trip for years, literally, and it had seemed like May 2008 was so far into the future when we first put it on the calendar that it would never arrive. We will be leaving on Monday, May 26 and returning Tuesday evening, June 3. I'm sure we'll have lots of pictures to share with you when we return.

Our Day Off

I love Tuesdays! It's our day off. If you want to call it that, because we still work - just in a different place than AT work. This morning I cleaned my bathrooms and vacuumed the house (I know, this is very exciting for you to read about!), but now that that is out of the way, I can play the rest of the day.

Yesterday was such a beautiful sunny day so when I got home from work I walked around outside the house and took some pictures. The planter on the table was from Amy for Mother's Day. It was the perfect spot for the planter, dressing up this little alcove.

And below are some pictures of the garden off the deck. The purple flowers near the front are salvia - hummingbirds love them. I planted this garden last fall with the salvia, weigela bushes and trumpet vines to grow up on the grill work and gate. I have a hummingbird feeder on the deck that got a lot of visits last year, and I saw him/her/them again this year.






















One more picture: this one is more flowers with a lawn ornament in the biggest pot. It's hard to see but if you enlarge the picture, you'll get the idea. Christy gave me 3 of those that I stuck in different places. When the sun shines all day on them, they glow in the dark. I forgot to check last night if they were glowing, but I love them anyway.

Amy's Lost Quilt

Amy was right...blogging is addictive. Is there a support group out there yet for bloggers anonymous?

I just have to share this story, though. Last week Andy and I received this package in the mail at the church addressed to us. When we opened it, there was a quilt inside with this note:

Dear Pastor Andy & Phyllis,
I can't believe I found you guys!! My husband Joel Wright and I were members...at your church in Richland, WA. We have such great memories of you both and your beautiful daughters.
We have moved quite a bit since that time, including several years in Minnesota. We are back in Maple Valley, WA and so happy to be here...
Anyway, I recently found this quilt buried away in the back of my linen closet and couldn't figure out where it came from, as we have never used it before. I know it was a God thing when I saw down at the computer to send a birthday gift to my father-in-law and the old ancient address book fell open to your names!! The light bulb went on and I remembered a desperate call about Amy's blanket, years and years ago, and how I had searched and searched for it, but to no avail. I still don't know where it could have been!
Well, I did a google and found this church address so I am sending this TODAY!!!
I'm so very sorry it took so long to find the blanket!! Please, please give my apologies to Amy.
Hope all is well with you both and that God has continued to pour out His blessings on you and your precious family.
In Him,
Diane Wright

Joel & Diane and their 2 children were dear friends and we haven't seen them for probably 23 years. We were at their house a number of times and have fond memories of their family. So this was a pleasant surprise to hear from them and under these circumstances. I really didn't remember losing Amy's quilt, so it was nice of her to send it back. I am including a picture of the quilt and of our girls with their 2 children: Robb & Sara who are now grown up and married with families of their own, too.I should mention that this was a special quilt made by my Mother, Amy's Grandma, so you can see why it meant a lot to get it back!

More pictures of Picnic

Picnic at Amy's

The fam made the trip to Amy & Ricky's house today for a picnic at 12:00 noon. Mom & Dad (Grandmom & Grandpop) and Mother (Grandma Yoder) were there, as well as all 3 of our children and all their children. Dan & Lou stopped in early in the day to visit. Their son, Jordan, was running in a race nearby.

It was a cool day but nice. Amy and Ricky have a very nice spot and I am including pictures of our time together today. Chase seemed to have a good time playing with his cousins, and they enjoyed playing in his sand box and with his battery operated tractor.

Andy's birthday

Today is Andy's birthday. He's getting older and better!
Yesterday was Mother's Day, but we didn't see any of our girls. We have plans to all be together on Saturday, May 17th at Amy's house in Terre Hill, PA.