Summer Fun

I took a vacation day on Wednesday since the boss is away this week and next.  Between him being gone and it's being summer time, work is pretty sparse so it's a good time to take off.  Andy and I left early Tuesday afternoon to get Naomi and bring her back for an overnight with us.  She is such a delight.  Never a dull moment with her.  Each of the grandkids is special in his/her own way.  What I love about Naomi is that she always has something to say.  She is never bored or boring.

With her here we had her favorite dinner:  chicken noodle soup.  It felt a little strange having soup on a hot summer evening, but we compensated by having bowls of ice cream afterwards and watching the movie, Ice Age.  She played plenty of free cell games on the computer and lots of card games with me.  She taught me a new one called "stress."  It did cause me a lot of stress and I lost quite a few of those games.  We also played greedy and parcheesi.  In the end, I won some and she won some so it was all ok in the end.



As we were eating our lunch on Wednesday, I mentioned that since it was so hot, it was a shame Naomi hadn't brought her bathing suit so we could go to the neighbor's pool.  She immediately said she wouldn't mind swimming in her clothes.  So off we went.  That was a really good idea because she and Andy had a lot of fun cooling off in the water.

 Too soon it was time to return her to her family.  She begged us to keep her a few more days and nights but all good things must come to an end.  Back at her home, when we got there, the kids got out their instruments and gave us a little concert.

 

They are amazingly good and it was an enjoyable evening.  Even Claire is learning rhythm and was happy to demonstrate.

All too soon the fun had to end and I had to go back to work the rest of the week.  But Saturday we went to Dawn & Tommy's for Kira's birthday party.  They borrowed our tent and Tommy had all kinds of games and activities planned for the kids as well as the adults.  It was a very fun day.

 
 

 
 It was a great day to be together.  We got to see all 3 of our girls and 8 out of 10 grandchildren.  The rain held off until 1:00, then it poured in earnest and the party was over in a hurry!

The blessings of heaven

God is opening up the windows of heaven and pouring out his blessings on us.

Our church family is loving us in many tangible ways.  In mid-May, the pastors and deacons gave the church the opportunity to express their love to Andy and me by giving us a love offering.  The response was unbelievable, overwhelming and very humbling.  We have not technically received the money yet because they're trying to research the best way to give it to us so that we will not be taxed on it.  Their love and care for us and our needs have been amazing.  We are so close to having our mortgage paid off - only 3 years left on it at our current monthly payment.  However, now that Andy doesn't have a salary, just disability (considerably lower than his salary was), we are not able to make a payment that steep.  BUT God had this all figured out.  Two of the deacons in our church met with us and suggested we contact our bank to see if they would give us a loan modification because of our "hardship."  We have been consistent with our mortgage payments, even making extra payments on the principle, so there is certainly nothing wrong with our credit.  When I called them, they sent out paperwork, which I promptly filled out and returned to the bank.  And we just received word that they are going to reduce our payment by $1,200 a month and not charge any fees or closing costs to do this.  Wow!

Early in the year, before lawn mowing time, Andy and I were wondering how we were going to take care of our lawn this summer.  Our riding mower is 21 years old this year.  Even with Andy being very methodical about maintenance and repairs, in recent years, it seems like we were taking it to the repair shop at least once a season to have something fixed.  But that was when we had Andy's truck and he was able to transport it to the shop and back home again.  Now we don't have the truck and we weren't sure if Andy would even be able to do minor maintenance on the mower, as well as take it to be repaired if it needed it.  BUT God had this all figured out.  In the spring, a deacon contacted the church's lawn service to ask if they would do our property every week after they were finished at the church.  Our lawn never got such great care.  They weed whack around every tree and bush (and there are lots of those!), mow the acre of ground, vacuum all the porches, patios, and even the deck.  And all that in about 30 minutes.  (It took Andy and I an hour and a half when we worked together.  And if I did it all myself, it took me 3 hours!)  And the best part - they're not charging us or the church.  What a gift.

And on Monday, I bought a new car.  Our car savings fund was accumulating and I was eager to spend it (ha, ha).  I was thinking our Camry was getting old with over 106,000 miles on it and with Andy not as tuned into the maintenance, it might be a good time to invest in a new car.  I talked to Dawn about it and she was excited to start researching what kind I should get.  She had just bought a Toyota Prius in October and was very happy with it.  Dawn was every bit as prepared as Andy ever was when we went to make a large purchase.  (She must have inherited that from her dad.)  She called several Toyota dealers on Monday, checked out what my Camry was worth, etc.  What a wheeler dealer she is and it was great fun hanging out with her at the car dealer's watching her work on my behalf.  We came away quite satisfied that we got a good deal from our trade in, as well as 0% financing.  I didn't need to finance at all, could have paid a different way, but why not take advantage of the 0% financing (free money!).  So here it is - a winter gray metallic 2014 Toyota Prius.  It gets 50 mpg and Dawn says she only fills her gas tank once a month.  Just think of the savings I'll be enjoying.

It's pretty shiny.  I'm hoping I can go a long while without getting any scratches or dents in it.

And in the area of Andy's physical state, we are encouraged with how the medicine seems to be working.  We also had 2 sessions of physical therapy so far this week with another session scheduled tomorrow.  The physical therapist has been very helpful, tailoring an exercise program specifically for Parkinson's patients.  Parkinson's Disease causes stiffness and rigidity so that the limbs draw inward.  In Andy's sessions he is being encouraged to make large movements, stretching his arms upwards to the sky, taking long strides (power walking).  Being aware of what the disease does is helpful in trying to compensate and work at overcoming the limitations.The physical therapist is also giving ideas on brain stimulation.  She suggested word games which made me laugh.  Andy has never liked word games - that's my thing!  But there are still other games that would stimulate his thinking.  There are lots available online - we just need to tap into them.

I've been reading a new book by Timothy Keller:  Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering.  I like everything he writes and am enjoying the encouragement God is giving me through this book.  How comforting to know that God is involved with our suffering.  He suffers with us, walks with us in our suffering and understands because he suffered, too.

A dear friend who is also going through great suffering introduced me to an old hymn - one I hadn't heard before:  How Good is the God we Adore.  The words really ministered to me and I memorized it to sing every morning:

How good is the God we adore
Our faithful, unchangeable Friend
His love is as great as his power
And knows neither measure nor end.

For Christ is the first and the last
His Spirit will guide us safe home
We'll praise him for all that is past
And trust him for all that's to come.

I hope that this can be my new theme song.  I want to be characterized by praising him for all that is past, as well as trusting him for the future.

Recent Events

It's been an eventful couple of weeks.

We have 3 birthdays in June:  Naomi, Chase and Joanna.  Amy had a party for Chase and Joanna on Saturday, June 28th.  I had planned to have Naomi overnight on Friday, then all day Saturday and take her along to the party.  However, Andy didn't feel well all day Friday and into the night.  So we had to do a rain check for Naomi.  But we were still able to do the party on Saturday.  Chase had turned 8 and Joanna is now 6.  How the years fly by.

The kids had fun playing in the pool and holding Dawn's baby, and the adults enjoyed chatting, eating and admiring Amy's gardens.

My mother moved to her assisted living apartment this weekend and is very happy there.  It was quite a project to go through all her things and decide what to keep, what to sell and what to give away.  I was fortunate enough to get an old clock that still works.  It had been a wedding present to my grandparents who got married on January 1, 1928.  I found just the spot for it.  I have decided not to wind it up because it chimes every hour on the hour and half hour.  I'm afraid it would wake me up all night long.  I will probably wind it up for the kids when they're here, then stop it when they leave.

We had been feeling the need to get some masonry work done.  When we first built the in-law addition and put in the new garage, we built the driveway around a huge maple tree.  I loved it and didn't want to cut it down even though I was told it probably would die because of all the pavement around it.  But I really wanted to try to save it so we had the driveway go around the tree.  Well, "they" were right and the tree did not do well so we had Christian cut it down a couple years ago.  Meanwhile, that cut-out in the driveway needed to be filled in.  It was difficult for Dad to maneuver his truck around that cut out.  At the same time our chimney was starting to look ragged.  The paint was chipping and the corner bead was exposed and rusting.  So one day when I got home from work, Andy showed me the local newspaper ads with masonry and brickwork contractors.  I called and got 5 estimates, then decided on one that I had the most confidence in.

We are very happy with how those two projects turned out.

It should be easier for Dad to get his truck in and out now.

 

 

The contractor gave us a guarantee that the chimney will last our lifetime and never need any more maintenance.

On the 4th of July, Andy and I drove up to Berks County and spent 4 hours with my brothers and sisters and our annual picnic.  It is such a blessing to have a good time together with them.  Our only child able to attend this year was Amy and her family.  She is such fun with the most interesting stories!  It ended up being pretty "cold" that day, but some of the kids still went swimming.  The adults were all sitting around with sweaters on!

On Saturday, July 5th, C and C came down.  Christian did tree work all day, trimming dead wood off our elms and making sure no branches were touching the house.  What a lot of work that was.  He did all the trimming, Andy worked all day at dragging the branches to the street.

Christian up in the nifty lift-y

I fed everyone lunch and dinner.  Naomi was a good helper in the kitchen.

 

Claire is actually holding a chicken!

What a pleasant day it was, sunny but not hot, with a nice breeze.  Perfect for eating on the deck.  We didn't get all the branches cleaned up on Saturday - just too tired, but finished up on Sunday afternoon.  Whew...what a lot of work.  So glad to get it done, though.

I'm finally getting some blooms on my morning glory vines.  But I am sorry to say that we did not get rid of the trumpet vine.  Somehow it managed to hang on to some roots and is sending out runners that are coming up everywhere.  I am constantly looking for them and digging them out, but I have a feeling this is going to be an ongoing battle.

Well, maybe it's a good thing for me not to become too complacent.  It's good to have a mission in life.  So I guess my current mission is to rid the world of weeds and invasive plants - at least in my little corner of the world.