I really would like to blog a little more frequently but lately I just haven't had time.  We continue to fill our calendar with things to do and places to go.  Well, I guess on the positive side, that makes for more interest on the blog when I finally do get to it.

Last Tuesday on our day off, Dawn came over and went on a bike ride with Andy.  I watched Kira while they were out.  Here she is with all the dolls I have in the house.  After she left, I had to throw one of them away because it had seen better days.  When she was littler, she had chewed a hole in the hat and torn off one of the legs.  Then this time, the doll lost an arm.  I guess I could have sent her to the doll hospital, but I'm not the nurse/doctor type, even for fake people!

We decided to have a sprinkler system installed in our yard.  We have so many bushes, perennials, flowers that need to be watered all summer long.  This requires a lot of time spent every day when it's extra hot making sure that nothing dies.  Then when we go on vacation for 2 weeks mid-summer, we either have to pay someone to water for us or worry the whole time we're gone about our dear gardens.  So in preparation for the sprinkler system being installed, Andy cut down 2 dogwood trees on the edge of our property.  I know it seems a crime to cut down dogwoods, but they were old, had lots of dead branches on them and were in the way of some of the sprinkler heads we needed to put in.  My consolation was that we can plant new stuff there, maybe more dogwoods or forsythia or...

One down

It was a different feeling to have someone else do the work.  It seems like every time we do a project, Andy is doing it.  But this one involved a lot of digging and would have taken him days.  The contractor we hired had machinery and a crew that did the work in a day and a half.  So it was worth it.  The sprinklers come on every other day for 10 minutes.

 

 The weather this past weekend was beautiful...finally the heat and humidity broke.  I was thinking I could finally get outside to work in my gardens.  Then early Saturday morning, Dawn called to ask if I had plans and would I want to go with her and Kira to Princeton for Apple Day.  Sounded like fun, so Andy and I went with her.  Tommy also went with us, although we took 2 cars, so he could leave from there to go surfing when we were done with the festival.

The Terhune Orchards in Princeton was a fun place to be on Saturday.  We got there as it opened at 10:00 and beat the crowds.  There was lots to do:

milk the cow

 Farmer Andy!

ride Poppop's back

  

eat cider donuts

 

 ride the pony

 ride the John Deere tricycle

 see how tall you are

 look at the goats

 walk the maze

We also took a wagon ride and picked some apples.  We stayed till around 12:30.  It was great fun and a beautiful day to be outside.

That evening we went with our singles group to Pitch and Putt.  I have never been good at sports or athletics, but Andy, who is very good at those, gave me some pointers.  No one could believe how good I did at the golfing, especially me!  Andy's score was 63 and I had a 69!
 

And of course, we had to go out to eat afterwards.  There just happened to be an Applebee's across the street from the golf place.

 Andy's mom and dad went to the shore on Saturday and are there for 3 weeks.  So since Sunday was such a beautiful day, Andy and I packed our bags and drove down to enjoy the shore.  We stayed overnight and all Monday morning.  It is such a restful, relaxing place to be, it is easy to feel your troubles all melt away (not that I have any troubles!).  There's no compulsion to get up and tend the laundry, clean up the dishes, mow the lawn, whatever - just sit and veg!

the waves were huge

I'm not sure what triggered the thought, but I got this idea for making peach cobbler.  I know it's a little late in the season, but Andy loves peaches and I hardly ever make anything using them.  So on the way home from the shore yesterday, we stopped at several fruit stands asking for peaches.  The third place we stopped finally had some white peaches.  I found a great recipe on the internet (Paula Deen) and voila:

It was the most delicious peach cobbler I have ever eaten.  How's that for dramatic!

We were scheduled to go to Morris Arboretum today but because of the forecasted rain and storms, we are postponing till next week.

Our life is full and blessed, which gives me lots to write about.

Party Animals

Our social calendar has been filled with interesting invitations the last several weeks.

The first of those was a 25th wedding anniversary celebration on Saturday afternoon, Aug. 25th.  The husband, Johnny, threw a surprise party for his wife at their house.  He had her upstairs getting ready "to go out," while all the guests came quietly into the house.  We all waited in the kitchen, and amazingly, she was totally and completely surprised.  That was fun.  Then the party commenced with lots of good food and fellowship.

The next day, we hosted a game night with our FOCUS group.  This is a group of older singles (30, 40 & 50 year olds), some divorced, some never married from church.  We felt a desire to help these lonely people to build relationships and connect with others who are in the same life situations.  We meet during the year every other Sunday evening at our house where we eat a dinner together, then have a Bible study and discussion, with hanging out time till they leave.  During the summer, though, we haven't met quite as often because of vacations and a less structured schedule for people.  But on Sunday, Aug. 26th, we had a fun evening planned at our house.  Everyone brought a snack and I made a carrot cake to celebrate 2 girls' birthdays.  We were able to eat out on the deck and play some games out there until the mosquitoes drove us inside.  It was an enjoyable evening with lots of laughter and camaraderie, especially laughing at ourselves because it took us longer to read the directions than it did to play the games.  Then when we finally got to playing the game, we quickly lost interest and voted to play the next game...when we had to read the new rules again, etc.

We finally gave up on the games we brought and let Lizette take over.  She had been in charge of kids' games at a camp all summer and had all kinds of creative activities for us to do.  Now little kids' games we were able to do without a lot of long and difficult instructions!  And fortunately, no one minded looking silly.

 

This past weekend was Labor Day.  Usually with a long weekend, Andy and I are working on a project around the house.  But at this time, believe it or not, we are not working on anything.  So we decided to go to the Franklin Institute to see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit.  C & C and kids were planning to explore the Academy of Natural Sciences, also in Philadelphia, close to the Franklin Institute, so we talked about going back to their house after our respective field trips and spending the rest of the day together.  Christy would make dinner.  Christy had called to ask if the Academy was normally crowded on Labor Day, and was assured that it wasn't.  However, I think everyone must have been at the Franklin Institute, because there were lines of people there.  Maybe because the weather was nasty and people couldn't go to the shore or be in their yards picnicking, the museum was a good alternative.  We waited in line for 20 minutes, at least, before we could get in to the exhibit.  Then when we did get in, there were so many people in there, that it was next to impossible to see anything.  There were interesting displays of pottery, evidently taken from Israel, as well as scraps of scrolls in displays.  But it was hard to read any of the explanations because of the crowd.  Well, chalk it up to a learning experience, although I'm not sure what we learned!

 We were in the museum when Christy called to say they were still looking for a parking spot and let's just forget about us going back to their place afterwards.  They didn't want to be rushed, but thought that since they were there, they would like to take their time enjoying their field trip.  But I had bought some ingredients for our dinner and didn't want them to go to waste.  Then we had the idea of having dinner at our house.  Yeah!  So Andy and I went home, had a couple of hours to ourselves, then started dinner for C & C and gang.  We also called Dawn and invited her and her family to come over.  Tommy was working late and couldn't join us, but Dawn and Kira joined us.  Christy and her family got to our house by 4:00 and we had a good time together all evening.  (I felt bad that Amy was missing.)
 

 Playing games after dinner

 Look who's crawling - and what a face!

On Tuesday, I cleaned house and did laundry.  Then Andy and I took his mom and dad out to eat for dinner.  That was our thank you for dad helping Andy with the plumbing issues we had a couple of weeks earlier.

Then after work yesterday, Wednesday, we were invited out to a couple's house for dinner, a nice evening out with friends.

I think after all this partying, the next couple of days are going to seem pretty humdrum and dull.  Yawn!

The Proof of Your Love

I've been thinking and meditating on the Love chapter recently.  Then I heard this song on the radio and I had to write down my thoughts.

"The Proof Of Your Love"

(for King and Country)

If I sing but don't have love
I waste my breath with every song
I bring an empty voice, a hollow noise
If I speak with a silver tongue
Convince a crowd but don't have love
I leave a bitter taste with every word I say

So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love

If I give
To a needy soul but don't have love then who is poor?
It seems all the poverty is found in me

So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
Oh, let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love

When it's all said and done
When we sing our final song
Only love remains
Only love remains

Let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love 

1 Corinthians 13 is an excellent chapter that people like to read at their weddings because it is such a beautiful picture of the characteristics of what love really looks like.  I've memorized those characteristics and tried to practice them in my own relationships with people.  But the beautiful thing to think about is that not only does this apply to our dealings with people, this is the way God loves us.  1 John 4:8 declares that God is Love.  So if we want to know what love looks like, we need look no further than God.  Scripture is full of declarations and examples of God's love.

Love is patient, 1 Corinthians 13:4.  Psalm 145:8, The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

Love is kind, 1 Corinthians 13:4.  Romans 2:4, God's kindness leads you toward repentance.

Love is not easily angered, 1 Corinthians 13:5.  Psalm 103:9, He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever.

Love keeps no record of wrongs, 1 Corinthians 13:5.  Psalm 103:12, As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Love does not delight in evil, 1 Corinthians 13:6.  James 1:13, God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.

Love never fails, 1 Corinthians 13:8.  Psalm 100:5, For the Lord is good and his love endures forever, his faithfulness continues through all generations.

I am struck by how Scripture describes God as always being faithful, always loving, always, kind, always, always, always.  And at other times, never failing, never giving up on us, never, never, never.  In counseling situations, we exhort couples to not use the words "always" and "never" because they can be inflamatory and usually untrue.  But with God who is eternal, He truly is always what he says he is and truly never fails.

Then I was reading Ann Voskamp's blog a week or so ago and she wrote about her pastor's sermon on Psalm 23.  Surely goodness and mercy shall pursue all the days of my life.  He said that you can think goodness and mercy just follow you, but the Hebrew word for ‘follow’ is ‘radaph’ and it means to “to pursue, to run after, to chase” or, quite literally, “to hunt you down”. The word radaph, that one that goodness and mercy is doing in Psalm 23:6 is first found in Genesis 14, when Abram discovers that his nephew Lot has been kidnapped and Abram gathers an army of 318 men and “pursued them unto Dan” (Genesis 14:14). The word ‘pursued’ there? It’s ‘radaph’.  Chased!   The goodness and mercy of God isn’t just following after me placidly. The goodness and mercy of God pursues after me passionately. It’s what I keep thinking, picking up lost legos, errant books — like how my mama used to dash off the front porch and run down the lane after me, waving about whatever book I forgot for school — and who else is behind a forgetful, rat-race world but the chasing God?
God is so bent on blessing, He chases.
God’s not out to get you — He’s out to give to you.
And God’s blessings don’t pursue temporarily — but relentlessly. It’s right there in His Word: His goodness and mercy pursue me not just some days — but all the days of my life. When I’m in a wilderness, His mercy and goodness run after me. When I’m hurting, His grace hunts for me. When I’m plagued by problems, His goodness pursues me.


Psalm 23:6:  Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life...God's love pursues me.  I love that picture. He's chasing after me with His love.

Birthday Bash

With 6 birthdays in our family in a space of just 8 weeks, that sounded like a good reason to have a party.  Saturday, August 18th, was the day we chose.  All the kids and grandkids were able to make it.  While Christy and I were on vacation, we planned the menu, then I assigned different dishes to Christy, Dawn, Amy and myself. 

The menu:

hamburgers & hot dogs on the grill

baked beans

deviled eggs

7 layer salad

broccoli salad

chips & dip

carrot cake

cookies

iced tea

Everything turned out delicious with lots of food left over.

The birthday people:

Kira, July 28

Christian, September 26 & Tommy, August 6

Mother, August 15

 

Amy, August 24

Mom, August 24

The kids spent a lot of time playing outside.  Ricky had brought his bows and arrows along, so the guys did some target practicing.  The girls and I had a lot of time in the kitchen to chat and fellowship.

Believe it or not, none of us took a single picture the whole day.  C & C brought their very good camera and they didn't take any pictures either.  So we'll have to keep the memories in our hearts.

Amy went up and got my mother on Saturday morning to bring her along for the day.  Then Mother stayed overnight and went to church with us on Sunday morning.  After church, she had lunch with us and Dawn and Kira before we made the drive to Berks County, PA to take her back home.

It was a very good weekend, one that will warm our hearts and make us smile till the next time we're together.

Out of the Ordinary

After our 2 fun and exciting weeks in Maine, I was anticipating a quiet, run of the mill, getting back in the routine time this week.  But life rarely turns out the way you think it will.  So here goes on the chronicling of this last week in our little corner of the world.

Monday was a catch up day at work.  I worked an extra hour and still had some left over to do on Wednesday.  But it was good to be back.  Fortunately, I like my job and enjoy using my gifts and abilities in that way. 

On Tuesday, Dawn had arranged to go bike riding with Andy so she showed up with Kira who stayed with me while she and Andy were gone.  Kira and I had a good time together.  She is very good at directing (a nice way of saying it!), being a first and only child.  But she's so cute that I don't mind taking orders from her.  She wanted to dress up, then she wanted to color.

And it went on from there.  We have so much fun while she's here that she has a very hard time leaving.  It's a challenge for Dawn, I know, but Andy and I are flattered that she likes it here.

My neighbor gave me a bag of zucchini.  I look forward to her generosity in that department every summer.  She plants a huge garden and faithfully waters and takes care of it.  Then I benefit from her hard work.  So it was time for stuffed zucchini and corn on the cob.  I always thought the best corn on the cob was grown in Berks County, PA, but after moving to NJ, I have to say, there is no better corn anywhere than Jersey Silver Queen corn.  It is so delicious that I don't even butter or salt it.  It is stand alone out of this world.  Andy's dad related to me that if you microwave the corn on the cob for 4 minutes, the husk peels right off along with all the silk.  You have to cut off the end of the cob right above the end stalk and leave it in the husk to microwave.  It was a good trick.

The zucchini recipe:
Cut zucchini in half.  Scoop out most of the zucchini, then dice very fine.  Add 1 egg, 1/2 cup Parmesan/Romano cheese, 1/4 cup bread crumbs, 1 garlic clove, minced.  Put this mixture into the scooped out zucchini boats.  Top with diced plum tomato and mozzarella cheese.  Bake in oven for 40 minutes.

A delicious summer supper

While we were eating our supper, I looked out the window and saw a huge moth just sitting there.  As quietly as I could, I snuck out the deck door to take a picture.  As I was wondering what kind of creature this was, Andy googled "big green moth" and discovered it was a luna moth.  It's pretty rare to see these moths because they are only adults for one week.  They probably are well camouflaged if they remain in the trees because they look like leaves.

Then yesterday we were excited to have the Eberly kids come spend the night.  Amy and Ricky had bought tickets to a Phillies game so they brought the kids over to stay with us.  They got here around 4:00 pm on Saturday and we had a little time before dinner to play on the swing set.  We had dinner of pizza, then ice cream - what else do Grammys and Poppops have with the grandkids!  Our mission is to make everyone happy.  We certainly had a good time:  watching Veggie Tale videos and reading books, then bed time up in the apartment.

Ricky and Amy returned for the kids at 9:00 am this morning.

Before we started renovation on the kitchen, the kitchen sink started draining very slowly, sometimes backing up significantly.  We thought when Andy put in the new sink and changed out some of the piping under the sink, the problem would be taken care of.  However, the problem persisted and this week became so much worse.  We were wondering if we would have to tear out the new cabinets and flooring to get at the problem, but on closer investigation, Andy and his dad discovered that the piping in the basement had sagged causing dirt particles to collect and clog up the pipe.

So Andy worked Saturday morning to take out the old pipe, put in a new one and prop up the new pipe to prevent the sag and make sure there was enough downward slope to the pipe to keep the water flowing and forcing debris to keep moving through.

We were amazed at how clogged the pipes were - it's a mystery how anything was getting through at all.

Pretty disgusting!

Well, the new pipe is in, and although it still looks pretty level to me, Andy says they added a cleanout so that if there is a problem in the future, it will be easy to get a snake in to take care of the problem.

It's so nice to be able to run the water in the kitchen without it backing up into the sink.  I'm very thankful for a handy hubby!

So that was our eventful week.