There's no place like home

This has been a year of travel, and although it's exciting to explore new places, I'm happy to be home for a while. The airline tickets for most of our trips were free because of using a credit card that puts points toward airfare. So where did we go this year?

• Feb. 8, Andy went to Puerto Rico with Tommy
• April 26-28, Rickett's Glen for 3 days with Amy & family
  
• May 11-16, Colorado, visiting 4 national parks in 5 days
• June 23-27, California for a worship conference
• July 12-14, Poconos for some R & R
• Aug. 2-6, Andy went to Maine with his dad and brother-in-law
• Sept. 19-25, family vacation at the Jersey shore

Whew! I'm tired all over again just thinking about it. We made a lot of happy memories and did some fun things, but all good things must come to an end. Back to reality. And I really am glad to be home. There's a certain comfort to puttering around the house, doing some cleaning, baking, cooking, yard work, just taking care of business and being a housewife.

Last Tuesday on our day off, we took a "Tuesday" drive down in the country of south Jersey to buy some honey from a local farmer. It was a beautiful day and we took along a Focus on the Family Radio Theater CD to listen to.When we got back, Andy painted the shutters on the front of the house. They get the southern exposure and were quite faded. They look much better now.On Friday evening, Andy and I had tickets to see Tim Hawkins at PBU. He was hilarious and we had a good time laughing at his comedy. Check him out.

Saturday morning I was involved in hosting a Ladies' Coffee Connection at church. That was a lot of fun. I organized it along with 2 other women. We had lots of food and the room we used at the church was decorated to look fall-ish. It was work putting it on, but well worth it. It was fun connecting and fellowshiping with those who came.The church choir sang on Sunday in all 3 services. Since Dawn is the choir director, she needed someone to take care of Kira while she was occupied. I was delighted for the opportunity to hold her for a little while. After church, Dawn came home with us to have our usual Sunday brunch. Kira was in a happy mood and we enjoyed playing with her.Yesterday, this week's day off, was spent in working around the house and yard again. I thought it might be time to get rid of the aster I had out in the garden by the street. I don't like to pull plants out, but it was looking pretty pathetic. So if it's good for nothing, you have to prune and throw it out. (that's biblical) I bought a couple of mums and planted them in place of the aster. Much better.
So for a while, this blog will not be posting any exciting trips to far off places...just mundane, down to earth, ho-hum happenings on the home front. Hmmm, come to think of it, though, New Jersey is more exciting than Kansas!

Going Buggy

I'm a bug magnet. Bugs love me and my blood. If there's a mosquito, spider or flea, trust me - they find me and drink their fill.

So last week at the shore, I noticed the first day I was scratching a bug bite. I didn't pay much attention because I'm used to bug bites. However, by Thursday morning, I was going crazy with scratching and scratching. So I counted and had about 5 or 6 bites on one foot alone. Hmmm. Are these really mosquito bites? Usually mosquito bites don't itch after 2-3 days. It seems like the itch is lasting longer than usual.

Then I remembered the day before Amy had asked me if the little brown spot on her hand was a tick. It looked too thin to be a tick and when I touched it with my finger, it jumped. Oh no - we have fleas!

I voiced my concern out loud to Amy and Dawn who were with me at the time, which set off alarm bells for all of us. After all, on our floor were 3 children, including Kira - only 8 weeks old. We started conjuring all sorts of scenarios, one of which was Tommy insisting that Dawn and Kira leave immediately. Well, as often happens when women get to talking, the emotions were running high and we were getting more and more anxious. Where was Andy? We needed him to bring some direction and non-emotionalism to our dilemma. But we couldn't find him. When I tried calling his cell phone, it rang on the kitchen counter! So he was gone and no way to contact him.

Well, he eventually did return from a bike ride he had taken with Grace & Aiden. (What a nice PopPop!) When he entered the house, we all pounced on him with our problem, as well as upbraiding him for not being there for us when we needed him. Poor Andy. He was able to calm us down, then called the realtor who handles the property we were renting. They sent someone out to spray for the fleas.

We left the house for a couple of hours. That was the day we went to the aquarium. When we returned, we spent the rest of the day, laundering the sheets, bedspreads and mattress pads. Andy vacuumed the floors and the beds and the couches. What a nice way to spend your vacation - doing thorough cleaning.

So along with the good times and memories of our 2009 vacation, we also have the drama of dealing with fleas. Exciting!

The best way for anyone to avoid being bitten by bugs is to hang around me. Bugs are guaranteed to bite me and leave everyone else alone. In contrast to all the flea bites I got, Andy got none.

Family Vacation

Friday night, we got back from a week at the shore with the kids and grandkids. We couldn't have asked for a better week - weather wise. The first several days, especially, were sunny and warm, the ocean temp was perfect. The kids had so much fun playing in the water and sand, and I had a lot of fun watching them enjoy themselves.
One morning, bright & early, we rode our bikes to the boardwalk, then all the way to the end to treat ourselves to some freshly baked donuts. Yummmmm. That was a 7 mile ride - not sure that was enough to burn all those donut calories, but it helped with the guilt! Amy probably burned the most since she pulled her 2 kids in the trailer.
Several mornings the weather was cloudy and even drizzly, but we were able to find things to do till the sun came out in the afternoon. One morning we played with the kids in the park.Another morning we went to the Atlantic City Aquarium. We ate a picnic lunch before entering the building. All my inside pictures of the aquarium turned out fuzzy. I must not have had the correct setting on. I think I need to start wearing my reading glasses all the time, because I constantly need to read, but can't without the bifocals...sigh!
And another outing was to the Cape May Zoo.
The kids enjoyed being together. Chase & Naomi played well together. We caught them once sitting on the floor of the bedroom looking at a book - two little heads together...
I got to read a lot of books to the kids.I really wanted a picture of all 8 grandkids together. Well, that was a challenge to get them all to pose and look happy.What a blessing it is to have a family that enjoys being together. It was the best of vacations.

How good and pleasant it is when [sisters] live together in unity! Psalm 133:1

It was a quiet week in Lake Woebegone

After the drama of last week, it was nice to have things somewhat quiet & low key this week.

Andy worked on his shed on Tuesday. He took the old, falling-apart doors off and built new ones. He still wants to paint them - another day.

I worked on cleaning the house and doing laundry on Tuesday. I also did some baking and cooking. We weren't able to mow the lawn because the mowers are being repaired. Even though the lawn could use the mowing, I'm not going to fret about not being able to do it. Be thankful in all things...right?!

I took a turn about the yard with my camera the other day. The berries on the beautyberry bushes are turning purple, looking like little skittles on a stick. They are aptly named:

Beautyberry Bushes

I was somewhat concerned because the crape myrtles in everyone else's yards were blooming away, all during the month of August, while mine didn't even have buds. Finally, a week or so ago, I saw some buds, then flowers. Whew! They're ok, I guess, although I'm wondering why they were so long in blooming.

So that's the news from here for now: where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children are above average!

Life is fragile

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:14

This week turned out a lot differently than I expected. Oh, it started out normal enough. I got up on Monday morning (Labor Day) and decided since it was such a nice day, I would go outside and work in my gardens. The weather was perfect and I worked with great contentment and joy for 3 hours. I only quit then because my upper back was hurting from bending over that long. I came in the house and took my shower and since it was only mid-morning, I was delighted to have the whole rest of the day to do some housework because we wouldn't be home on Tuesday.

But as I was finishing up my hair, I started feeling extremely tired. Tired enough to lie down and sleep. Hmmm ~ very unusual. So I lay on the bed and actually fell asleep. When I woke up, I felt no better, in fact, on top of being lethargic, my skin hurt to touch, and I was getting cramping in my intestines. So the rest of the day, I lounged on the couch and even slept again.

While I was feeling poorly, Andy was working on his current project. He had decided to build a new ramp into our shed. It was getting pretty rickety. He did get it finished. He also plans to replace the doors. As you can see, they look pretty bad.We had planned to go to C & C's on Tuesday for Andy to help Christian put in a new countertop in their kitchen. I was wondering if I should stay home, but I felt pretty good when I woke up so I decided to go along. It was a good day, seeing everyone again. Amy, Chase & Joanna came down, and so did Dawn and Kira. The girls and I had lively conversation, the kids enjoyed seeing their newest cousin, and I read books to Grace & Naomi and even got a couple of games of Dutch Blitz in with Grace.

Andy and Christian made good progress on the countertop. It's in, along with a new faucet. Grace & Aiden were good helpers, and I mean that. I'm not saying it tongue in cheek. As an example, Andy was trying to read the instructions that came with the faucet, but the words and numbers were much too small, and he didn't have his reading glasses along. So Grace wrote out numbers on another piece of paper large enough for him to read. Then she also went next door to her other grandpa's house and got his reading glasses! What a helper.
Christy served us all lunch and we all stayed until around 3:00 pm. I felt fine all day.

Well, that night was a different story. I had only been asleep about an hour, when I woke up with sharp abdominal pains. I spent the next 5 hours or so visiting the bathroom (that's as graphic as I'll get here). I estimate I had about 2-3 hours of sleep the whole night. But I got up and went to work because I hadn't been in the office on Monday and it was a busy Sunday coming up.

Around 11:00, I got a call from Tommy to say Dawn had been rushed to the hospital by ambulance. She had been at the doctor's office for her 6 week check-up, but started hemorraging during the exam. He asked if I could go to the hospital to take care of Kira. Of course, no question about that. I closed up my computer and as soon as he got to the church, I followed him in my car to the hospital.

Oh, poor Dawn. When I saw her, I couldn't believe it was her. She was hooked up to tubes, with a bag of blood and another of IV fluids being pumped into her. Nurses and doctors were bustling in and out of her room. So there I sat, holding her baby and looking at my dear daughter in such agony, wondering what would happen to her.I was reminded of Psalm 103:13 ~ As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. But here's the difference: my own compassion and love is finite, God's is infinite and perfect for his children. What a comfort. I really was incapable of helping Dawn in this situation, but God is the Great Physician and chose to heal her and bring her through.

You can read all the details of Dawn's ordeal on her blog. I stayed with her until after she came from the recovery room at 5:00 pm, then left and came home around 7:15 pm. Believe it or not, I felt fine all day.

Thursday and Friday were crazy at work, playing catch-up. But amazingly, I got everything done. Friday afternoon, Andy and I bought 4 salads at SaladWorks and took them over to Dawn & Tommy's. We ate dinner with them and visited just a little before coming back home.Now today, Andy's not feeling well. What next!

A Wedding & A Visit

What makes a wedding extra beautiful? I think it has to be one that honors God and is fun, too. What a great combination. It's easy to get enjoyment from something that is so right. And Mike and Joanna are just such a couple. Both are fun loving, spontaneous, out-of-the-box thinkers, adventurous and, on top of all that, they also love God whole heartedly and unreservedly. Joanna grew up as the best friend of our daughter, Amy. They played together constantly as little girls. Her mother and I are very good friends, as well as neighbors. I love Joanna as a daughter, and it has been a pleasure to watch her develop into a beautiful young lady. I also love Mike, the young man she married. He has recently joined the pastoral staff at our church as an assistant youth pastor. I have been so blessed to observe his interaction with people and obvious love for the Lord and others.

Yesterday was a beautiful day, weather-wise. Perfect for a wedding.Mike & Joanna had a lot of special things that happened for them, one of which was their "get away" car. The Jaguar dealership had loaned them a white convertible Jaguar to drive from the wedding site in the park to the reception.While Andy and I were on our way to the reception, we passed them and they were game enough to let us take their picture as we drove in the lane next to them.Today was another special day as Christy, Christian and all the kids came down to visit. They attended our church's 11:00 service, then came home with us for our regular Sunday brunch: waffles & omelets. They didn't stay real long because the younger ones were tired and needed naps. Patrick was already strapped in his car seat by the time I got the camera out and wanted a picture of the kids.Isn't that Naomi just the cutest little thing you ever saw!
Andy brought me a bouquet of roses one day last week. I love roses, almost as much as I love him! (he, he)

Biking Buddies & Beach Bums

Is it fall already? It's only September 1 and this morning it was in the 50's. Brrr. Did we even have a summer?

Andy and his biking buddy rode their bikes to the shore this morning - 45 miles.They left around 9:15, I left with biking buddy's wife in our car about an hour later. We were almost to the shore when we passed them, they were still going strong. We met up in a shopping center, they hopped in the car, then we drove on to Long Beach Island where our friends have relatives who live there. So the guys were able to change before heading out to the beach.

We had packed our lunch and ate on the beach. The wind was blowing so hard, though, we were getting sand-blasted and trying to not get sand in our mouths. The sun was warm and we got some color, but the breeze was cool. After getting a little color, I covered up with my fleece the rest of the afternoon. It was so nice sitting there, though, looking at the water and just relaxing with hubby and friends. A nice break in our busy lives, especially considering the rest of the week is likely to be on the stressful side putting in long hours.Dawn came to visit with Kira on Saturday. Tommy had some work to do at the surf shop nearby, so he dropped Dawn off to stay with me while he did his work. In between holding the baby and visiting with Dawn, I spent the day in the kitchen making different dishes and desserts.

We had a dinner at church on Sunday so I made a tex mex lasagne, blueberry cream cheese pound cake and homemade rolls to take to that. We also had our small group meet at our house on Sunday evening, so I made a batch of cookies to serve there.

The work on our solar system is almost finished. We'll soon be hooked up and running entirely on solar power - in another day or two.
Quite an impressive back yard monument!