Amico Island Park

After several days of gray gloom, it was so nice to see the sun shining brightly in a blue sky yesterday.  We had originally talked of going to see The Hobbit, but when the weather turned so nice, why would we want to sit in a dark theater for 3 1/2 hours?

I had heard of this bird sanctuary on the Delaware River and we had never been there, so as soon as we finished our house and garage cleaning in the morning, we decided to check it out.  Amico Island Park is only about 20 minutes from our house.  Technically, it's not a true island, but an isthmus, located where the Rancocas Creek flows into the Delaware River.  It is a 55 acre bird estuary, home to a wide variety of birds and animals.

We parked our car, but as I got out, I thought I felt a few drops of rain.  Looking up, we noticed a great gray cloud hovering right above us.  I went back to the car and grabbed an umbrella, thinking that I might need it.  We started on our hike, but didn't get more than a few hundred feet from the car when we heard a giant crash of thunder.  Yikes!  We ran back to the car and then that cloud opened up and poured down rain for about 20 minutes.  We sat there facing the river watching the rain drops on the windshield.

I'm glad we waited it out, though, because the sun did come out again.  We were able to hike along the trails, enjoying the day and God's creation.

It was a special treat to see these deer so close to us.

The trail was pretty wet in some spots but we managed to get through without getting our feet too wet.

This is a park well worth going to visit again, especially in the spring when the herons are building their nests.  Check out this link for a long list of birds that can been seen at this estuary.

Today was another good day - our annual staff Christmas party.  Andy and I are very grateful for the people we work with.  They are fun to be with and a joy to minister together.  We had lunch together and exchanged gifts.  We had an alliterated lunch:  Sandwiches, Salad, Soup, Sodas, Sweets.

The young guys must have been the hungriest!  They were the first to arrive.

 

 

I had originally thought I might not be able to spend much time at the party because of Dawn's surgery.  But the surgery was canceled till another day, so I was able to stay until time to clean up. 

Visit to see Mother

I hadn't been up to see my mother in a while, so last Saturday, I took a break from my normal Saturday routine to take the 2 hour trip.  When I got to her place, she had a list of things she wanted to get done, thinking I would be able to help her.  That was great...I love lists!  Everything on the list was easy and we got them done in good time.

We took her piles of newspapers to a nearby church where the Boy Scouts had a big container for collecting old papers.  Unfortunately, when we got there, the container was not there, so we couldn't dispose of those papers.  I told Mother I'd bring them home with me since our township would be collecting paper recyclables on Tuesday.  They were already in the trunk of my car so we could just leave them there for me to take home with me.

She wanted to buy a pair of new shoes for a grandson's wedding in a couple of weeks so off we went to the mall.  She bought the first pair she tried on - very classy and stylish shoes.  We got a few things at Target, then since we were at the mall, stopped at Panera's for some lunch.

Back at her house, we got out her little table top tree and decorated it.  It looks quite festive in the front window of her house.

While there, I asked her if she still had the kids' book Cowboy Dan.  I remembered having seen it at her house when my kids were young and wondered if she still had it.  I had looked for it online but it was out of print and impossible to buy unless you wanted to spend lots of money.  We looked in her basement and found it in a pile of old stuff.  It was loaded with mold but I brought it home and thought about how I could salvage it.

Google said to put the book in the freezer overnight, then the mold would brush off easily.  If there was still some left, wipe it with Lysol. Well, I tried those steps and some of the mold came off, but not enough for the book to be usable.

Better, but not good enough to let the kids read it.

So not to be deterred, I decided to make my own book.  There were images on Google for the cover, then I scanned each page of the inside of the book and voila...

I'm a rootin' tootin' cowboy and my name is Cowboy Dan;
I can a ride a horse and rope a steer as fast as any man.
But once I was a tenderfoot - My ignorance was sad -
And when the cowboys called me "Dude," it made me whoopin' mad.
I jumped upon a mustang that stood beside the rail;
The ornery critter sat right down and slid me off her tail.

The cowboys said that ridin' was easy as a song,
But everything I did at first just seemed to be all wrong.
I forgot my big sombrero and got sunburned as you please;
I forgot to wear my leather chaps and the bushes scratched my knees.
But when they called the roundup, I was ridin' with a vim,
And I was hopin' Tex would say that I could go with him.
The first to leave the bunkhouse was the wagon with the cook,
With beans and bacon, pots and pans all rattling as they shook.
Then came the string of horses with Slim and Hank and Pete,
And Tex said, "Come on, Danny Boy, You'll make all hands complete."
We rounded up the cattle and drove them hard all day;
When sunset came, we let them graze and sleep the night away.
For we were hungry cowboys and tired as we could be -
When cook yelled, "Come and get it, boys!"  Those beans looked good to me.
Then Hank brought out his banjo and gave the strings a twang,
And as we sat around the fire, This is the song he sang:
"Oh, He's a rootin' tootin' cowboy, and his name is Cowboy Dan;
He can ride a horse and rope a steer as fast as any man -
Yippee -e-e-e-e-e-e-e-!"

So it ended up being a profitable day for both of us, Mother got some errands done and I got a book from years ago to pass along to the next generation.  And of course, we got to spend some time together, too!

Whole Hearted Living

Recently the thoughts swirling around in my brain have centered around how I do the things of life.  What is my heart attitude?  Colossians 3:23 says, "Whatever you, do it heartily, as to the Lord."  I confess there are things I do that I consider mundane, just doing my duty, with a "dragging my feet" attitude.  But what a difference those duties seem to be when they're done with a happy heart, as to the Lord.  I feel like I would do anything Jesus wants me to do and do it willingly and happily.  So when I can work at an unglamorous or a seemingly insignificant chore as if I'm doing it for Jesus, how much easier and more pleasant that job is.  

The same attitude needs to be taken when dealing with difficult people.  I need to see Jesus in them and deal with them as if I were dealing with Jesus - with patience, love, kindness, gentleness and joy.  The fact is that Jesus loves that person as much as He loves me.  I have idiosyncrasies as much as that annoying person, probably more!  It's amazing how much a change in perspective can alter my heart attitude toward a person or activity.  

This morning I read a verse I don't know that I ever remember seeing before.  John 12:26 recorded Jesus as telling his disciples, "My Father will honor the one who serves me."  Often, serving Jesus means serving others.  After all, He has made those others in His image and He lives in them if they're Christians.  And if they're not believers, then aren't we also serving Jesus by the way we treat those unbelievers with the hope that they see Jesus in us.

I don't want to live my life just going through the motions, but to live it wholeheartedly.  Of course, I can't do this in my own strength, but Jesus lives in me and shines through the cracks of this poor broken vessel.

The End of Fall

About a week ago, I took a turn about the property and was amazed at how much color was still around.  This maple tree started out only a few years ago as a tiny 2-3 foot stick we bought from the National Arbor Foundation (10 trees for $10).  I can't believe how big it got.

And the roses, pansies, violas and mums are still blooming on the first of December.  Of course, it might help that the weather is quite mild, up into the 50's today.

  

We are managing to keep busy.  There is always lots to do.  Andy has been working hard at getting ready for the Living Nativity.  I don't know how he gets it all done.  It is such a huge undertaking and this year, there were more details than usual because the township and fire officials were involved.  We had to get all kinds of extra permits, have extra inspections, and a hundred details needed to be taken care of.  But here we are on Day 1.  People are already coming with 30 minutes before starting time. 

I have been a Nativity widow every Saturday since the beginning of October.  But I'm excited about people coming to see the true meaning of Christmas.  There's such a spirit of excitement among the cast and people who are hosting and serving.  What a wonderful opportunity.

This last Thursday, Andy and I went to see the Lindsay kids sing in their homeschool choir.  What an amazing program of Christmas music.  Those kids were awesome.  The choir directors were highly qualified and produced some excellent music from the kids.  It wasn't a music program to endure like some school programs!  It truly was awesome!

Little Claire was eating pizza before the concert.

 Asher loves playing with Poppop.

Here are the singers.

Then this morning, a friend invited some of her friends to her house for a Christmas brunch.  What fun to go and enjoy good food, as well as spending relaxing time with people I love.  She has a gift for decorating and hostessing.  She made all the food and her presentation was lovely and delicious.

I've been buying Christmas presents and am well on my way, just a few little things left to get.  So come on December and Christmas!

Tradition!

Thanksgiving Day is usually spent at Andy's brother Dan's house in Pennsylvania.  It's tradition!  Now that our girls are married with families of their own, they aren't always able to join us.  However, this year Christy and Amy were able to celebrate with their in-laws on a different day, so we enjoyed their company with us.  We had 8 grandchildren to play with.  Andy (the kids' Poppop) and Dan ( the kids' great uncle) were good at getting the kids wound up and excited.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of this day.  I forgot my camera and Christy's camera needed the battery recharged.

The next day, Friday, all our girls with their families came down to our house.  Christy and Amy arrived a little after 12:00 noon, but Dawn waited till Kira had taken her nap before she and Tommy came over.  Again, we had lots to eat.  I had a cheese spread for a plate of crackers, a variety of fruit and cookies.  Dawn brought a veggie tray and Christy brought ingredients to make green smoothies and mocha lattes.

When everyone got here, we all got back in our cars to head on over to Smithville Park for our holiday hike - it's tradition.  While there, we took family pictures - another tradition!  I'm so excited about the pictures, they turned out great.  Of course, when you have a good photographer, a good camera and good subjects, how can you go wrong!

What fun to be together.

When we got back to the house we had panzarottis for dinner - it's becoming a tradition!  Then it was game time and planning for Christmas, the next time we'll all be together.

Guess who's 1

It's hard to believe the baby is already 1 year old.  How time flies, they say!  Andy and I went up to see C & C and kids on Tuesday to celebrate baby Claire.

Trip to See Amy, Etc.

'Tis the season:  Ricky's away a lot hunting and Amy's at home all weekend alone.  Well, if you don't count the 3 kids and all the dogs, she's alone!  But in our conversation last week, she expressed a desire for me to come up and help her sort through the kids' clothes because they were still pulling shorts and tank tops out of their drawers and wearing them.  The weather is definitely not summer-like any more, but she was putting off that chore because organization is not something she enjoys.  And since I do, would I mind coming up and helping her.  Well, off I went but when I got there, I didn't do anything to help her.  I sat on the floor in the kids' rooms, playing with them and giving her an opportunity for adult conversation while she worked.  We had a great time and she was able to accomplish all she wanted by lunch time.

When that job was done, we went out for lunch, then drove to Reading to a children's consignment shop.  She bought all the kids' clothes for the winter, so they now have what they need to stay warm and look good!

Chase was really happy with this reversible camo vest.

And Joanna loved this cowgirl shirt.  She says she's going to be a cowgirl when she grows up!

 Being silly!

Andy was busy all day with Nativity set-up but he did get home before me.  The next day was Sunday and it was the week we had our older singles group over.  It was salad night.  Several others made salads and I made an orzo pasta salad, cottage cheese jello salad and pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese icing.  Yum - they were good!

It was a beautiful fall day today, kind of chilly, but the sun was shining.  Because the weather was so nice, we decided to go for a hike.  We went to Smithville Park and walked on the path through the woods.  It was so invigorating and restorative.  There's nothing like a walk out in nature to soothe the soul!

I didn't take these pictures but this is exactly what it looked like today as we walked through the woods.

 We saw 4 herons on the lake.  Below is a green heron, but we also saw some great blue herons.