Grandchild #7

Amy went into labor on Thursday. I had originally planned to be with her in labor, but on Thursday, she told me she thought she and Ricky would be all right. The mid-wives who were working with her were very helpful, and Amy was feeling confident and secure that they understood her and what she wanted.

Early Friday morning, 3:30 A.M. to be exact, we got a call from Ricky that Joanna Alyx had been born. The labor really wasn't that long. Ricky and Amy arrived at the hospital at midnight. Pushing was laborious and difficult, but she successfully delivered the baby vaginally. What a relief and blessing. Thank you to all who were praying. God certainly gave her the desire of her heart. Her recovery and even the breast feeding is going so much better this time.

I went up to the Reading Hospital Friday afternoon and stayed overnight with her in the hospital, so Ricky could keep Chase at home in his own bed. Then she was discharged from the hospital around 11:00 A.M. on Saturday morning.

Amy had some visitors today. Ricky's parents came over, then Christy with Grace, Naomi and Asher came, too. I believe Ricky & Amy's friends, Chad & Sheila, are coming over yet this evening. Chase is doing very well. It's a pleasure to be here with them.

I am including a couple of pictures that I took with my camera. They're the same that I posted on Amy's blog. Amy has more pictures, but I will let her post them when she is up to coming downstairs and blogging herself.

It's a Girl

Joanna Alex Eberly was born to Amy and Ricky at 3:30 A.M. this morning, June 27th. She was 8 pounds, 5 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. Amy was able to deliver naturally, for which we are praising God.

I am on my way up to see Amy and their family. I'll post some pictures as soon as I can.

This and That

Yesterday was a beautiful day. The morning was so cool - perfect for working in the gardens. So that is what I did from 7:30 - 10:30. All the bushes are trimmed, all the weeds are pulled, and all the periennels are deadheaded. The weather has been beautiful but we could really use rain. Our yard is turning brown. It saves on time because we don't have to mow, although lack of rain doesn't seem to affect the growth of weeds.

Andy is working on paperwork for the front porch project. He spent most of the day filling out the permit application and making up a materials list.

Our front porch has evolved over the years. We moved into this house in May 1991. We had a tiny little porch then, if you want to call it a porch. Isn't it dinky?

When Andy re-sided and re-roofed the house in 2001, he took off the roof of the porch. The landing is still there, but in sad shape.

We had an architect draw up plans for a new porch. It will be 14' x 10'. I think it will add a nice finished touch to the front of the house. And then I'll have more landscaping to do! Yeah!

We sat out on our deck after dinner/supper with each of us reading a book. I took the camera out there to try getting a picture of the hummingbird. He didn't seem to mind that we were there, but he didn't stay there long enough for me to get a picture. By the time I got the camera turned on and in position, he was there and gone. It must have happened 4-5 times. I finally gave up. You'll just have to believe me that there really is a hummingbird that comes to my feeder.As for the chipmunks, they are still alive and well and running around like they own the place. We put out the Have A Heart trap, but they are clever enough not to go in it. They're probably laughing at us. Sigh!

Chipmunks, part 2

Yesterday Andy & I went to Home Depot to buy a Have a Heart (or as Andy calls it, Have No Heart) trap for small animals. A clerk suggested we buy blood meal fertilizer and put that down in our flower gardens. She said that would repel chipmunks and they would leave. So we did buy some and sprinkled it in all our gardens around the house. We also bought the trap. So far today, I haven't seen any chipmunks and when I asked Andy if he had, he replied that he thought he saw one going into the neighbor's yard with a suitcase! I don't think he's taking this seriously enough.

So...I really don't have anything to report yet except that we have not yet begun to fight!

This afternoon after church and lunch, we took a Sunday drive. Andy had been talking to some friends at church who want to do a bike trip with him. They were suggesting a certain route to take that had a broad shoulder that accommodated bikes, so we decided to go check it out. It was a very nice drive through south Jersey farms and pinelands. The gypsy moths have been very destructive here, though. Lots and lots of hardwoods are stripped bare - how sad. Fortunately, there are so many pines in the pinelands, so there is still lots of green.

We didn't take our camera along on the drive, but I found these pictures on the internet of scenery that we drove by. Enjoy! I know you Pennsylvanians don't think NJ is as beautiful as your state, but every place has its own particular beauty. God is unique and creative.

This first picture is looking across the Mullica River into the town of Sweetwater. Isn't that a quaint name for a town? We attended a wedding reception once in that spot right across the river.















And here are the pine barrens. I love taking hikes through this forest, although we have to restrict our jaunts to winter because of the abundance of ticks. Since I already had Lyme's disease and still have some symptoms, I don't want to risk another bite.

Chipmunks

So most people think chipmunks are cute little creatures. Right?

I used to think so, too, but I'm changing my mind. They are overrunning my gardens, digging holes under my plants and causing me all kinds of anxiety. Are they going to ruin my plants because of all their burrows under the roots of my bushes and perenniels?


Andy has tried several methods of trapping them, but to no avail so far. I checked out the web and from what I can find out, they are pretty clever and indestructible. Kind of reminds me of a cartoon I saw once of Donald Duck trying to get the better of Chip and Dale. It didn't happen. Donald Duck was hopelessly outwitted.



So this is war! It's time to bring in the big guns and execute drastic measures. Surely, we're smarter than Donald Duck.

Stay tuned...

It's Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all those wonderful dads out there: Christian, Ricky, Andy (and maybe someday Tommy! - we can always hope!). (not that any of the guys will be reading this - this seems to be a girl thing!)

Yesterday Christian was in State College at a tree climbing competition. He took Grace & Aiden with him. So Christy decided to come down to see us with the 3 youngest ones. We're so glad she did. It was wonderful having her here with Patrick, Naomi and Asher. I see lots of wonderful things going on with Patrick. What an improvement in the 2 months he has been with the Lindsays. Some of the things he is doing now that he didn't when he first arrived: feeding himself, drinking from a sippy cup, communicating by sign language and all around happy guy. Asher is getting bigger, in fact, he's heavy if you carry him around much. And then Naomi keeps us laughing.

Patrick obviously remembered Andy and was pretty attached to him all day. And as you can see, he found the toy box with the police hat.












Today we celebrated Father's Day at Mom and Dad's. We didn't have to go far for that. Andy's brother Jeff with Cindi and Lindsay were here. His brother Dan hurt his back yesterday, so he stayed home, but his wife, Lou Anne and 3 of their boys: Jon, Matt & Jordan were here. Jon also brought Sam to whom he recently became engaged! Congratulations Jon & Sam. Dawn and Tommy were also here. We ate our picnic lunch out on Mom & Dad's patio...I didn't take any pictures. And now the moment is lost. Oh, well.

Wedding / Naomi's birthday / Gardening

On Saturday Andy and I went to a wedding - the son of a staff member got married. The wedding took place outdoors in a park nearby. Fortunately, there were lots of well established trees that gave plenty of shade. Unfortunately, it was still very hot. The wedding itself wasn't too bad if you sat still and thought cool thoughts. But the reception was right at high noon and by that time, the breeze had died down. Ugh! No amount of cool thoughts helped then.

On our way to the wedding, Andy had a unique experience. Because of the high price of gas, we decided to make a stop at Babies R Us for a shower gift. It was on our way to the wedding - seemed like good sense. Andy had never been in a Babies R Us store. He wasn't too keen on it then, either. I had talked up how frustrating it is sometimes to find gifts that are on the registry. But this time we decided on a gift and went right to it. Maybe I should take him along more often!

After our church on Sunday, Andy and I made the trip up to visit with Christian and Christy and their family. We celebrated Naomi's 3rd birthday. Andy played with the kids in the kiddie pool, trying to stay cool. Christy and I stayed in the kitchen by the air conditioner. Christy & Christian gave Naomi a princess fairy costume. And she was happy to model it.Andy left early this morning for a 3 day worship conference in Phoenixville, PA. My gardens have been sorely neglected because of being on vacation and are in desperate need of weeding and trimming. So thinking I would work in the cool of the day, I went out at 6:30 a.m. and started working. I did get some transplanting and weeding done, but by 8:00 a.m., I couldn't stand it anymore. It was extremely humid. Hopefully, we'll get the thundershowers they are predicting for tonight. I'm including some pictures of my gardens.

By the way, have you heard the little rhyme about perennials?

The first year, they sleep.
The second year, they creep.
The third year, they leap.

This is clematis on the lamp post. I'm very happy it's blooming - in its second year.


This is pink gumpo azalea - nice big trumpet-like delicate pink flowers. I have 3 of these bushes and they're somewhat delicate, needing lots of water. I wasn't too faithful with them when I first got them and lost one, needing to replace it. I'll do better this year.

Toot gave me all these hostas several years ago. I love the way they look around this huge maple tree. There's a golden thread cypress bush to the right of the tree behind the hostas. I drove by a new house one day and there were 4 of those bushes at the street. Someone had pulled them out and put new stuff in their garden. So I called Andy and told him to pick them up and bring them home in his truck. So far they are doing well in my garden!

Two more pictures - the first is of the garden at the end of our driveway. I planted the pansies last fall, they lasted through the winter and were beautiful all through the spring. One of the things I did this morning was take them out and plant them in a shadier spot. Then I put in some ice plants (the second picture). They love the sun and bloom all summer. And they're perennials - in a year or so, they'll leap and fill the spot nicely.

Churches in Norway

Over a 200 year period in the Middle Ages, around 1,200 stave churches were built in Norway. Thirty of these are still standing. What is a "stave" church? Characteristics for a stave church are their vertical posts and wall planks resting upon sills (ground beams). This is known as a stave wall. No nails were used in the construction. All joints were dovetailed. The St. Andrew crosses and rounded arches act as braces, strengthening the construction.

These churches were built in the 1100's at a time when paganism was giving way to Christianity. According to A.B.W.E.'s website on Norway: "in approximately A.D. 1000, Catholicism was forced on Norwegian society at the edge of the sword. During the Reformation, the State Church became Lutheran. Eighty-seven percent of the population are nominal members of the State Church. However, only about 50 percent believe that God exists, only 10 percent profess some sort of personal relationship with God, and less than 3 percent attend any sort of religious service on the average Sunday. Most Norwegians go to church only on special occasions, such as baptisms, confirmations, weddings, funerals, and Christmas; they feel that all religions are basically the same."

We visited this stave church:












We also visited the "queen of Norwegian churches" - the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim. I believe this is a Catholic church. We were there on a Sunday and they were holding services. It was unbelievably ornate and huge. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but these outside shots will give you an idea of what it must have been like.

I thought the insights into the Norwegian people that I read on ABWE's website (http://www.abwe.org/serve/fields/Norway.asp) were interesting, so I am including the following:
Norway's standard of living, life expectancy and cost of living are among the highest in the world. From approximately 1,700 hydro-electric plants Norwegians receive inexpensive electricity, which they consume at the highest per capita rate in the world. Because of its North Sea oil fields, Norway is the only western country that exports more oil than it consumes.
The government of Norway is a constitutional monarchy with legislative power vested in the Storting (parliament). The king's role is primarily symbolic.
Tolerance, kindness and equality are important Norwegian ideals. Norwegians take great pride in national and individual independence. Sincerity in friendship is greatly prized, but the expression of personal feelings is held in reserve.
The first ABWE church planting team arrived in Norway during the summer of 1981. The team is concentrated in the large housing developments and apartment complexes in the greater Oslo metropolitan area, planning for extension into the greater Bergen and Trondheim metropolitan areas.
The greatest challenges in Norway today are secularism, materialism, religious indifference, relativism and nominal church membership. These create a difficult but challenging field of service.

More of Norway

To answer Christy's question on my last blog - yes, it is a person on the rocks in front of the waterfall. There was Celtic music playing and 2 girls came out and did twirls and routines on the rock - it was pretty tourist-y. The waterfall is pretty impressive, though, isn't it?

Here are more pictures of Norway per Toot's request:












































This last picture is of the Atlantic Ocean looking west. That seemed odd, but we were on the other side of the ocean from the way we are used to looking at it.

To Norway and back again

We're back from an absolutely fabulous trip to the land of Norway. We left on Memorial Day, May 26th, arriving via Iceland to Oslo the next day. We went with my sister, Judy and her husband, Kerby. The first evening we visited a couple whom Judy and Kerby had met one time several years ago - Birger & Astrid. Astrid fixed a gourmet dinner for us - it was the best meal we had all week! Then they entertained us with showing their unique and very interesting house, as well as Birger's collection of Disney paraphernalia - mostly Carl Barks paintings and Disney comic books. It was a great start to our week.

Norway is an extremely beautiful country with mountains and deep & wide fjords. We drove through a lot of tunnels (they have roads everywhere and if a mountain is in the way, just bore right through it) and on ferries. Here are some pictures of what we saw: snow capped mountains, lots of waterfalls, lakes, green and fertile farms. It was spring there; lilacs, tulips and apple blossoms were blooming everywhere.



We got home on Wednesday around 11:00, I hurriedly unpacked, then went to work from 12:00 - 5:00. I had a Ladies' Craft Night at church that night, so I got home late from that, then to work again the next day. I was a little overwhelmed with mountains of mail, loads of laundry and gobs of grocery shopping that needed to be done. And of course, the endless e-mails that needed to be dealt with. But slowly, it's getting done and we're getting back in the routine.

I have lots more pictures that I will be glad to show anyone who is interested.