Rehoboth Beach

We have been doing this for a long time now and I look so forwards to it every year!!! 

Going to the beach with church friends!!! 

There are a group of ladies that go to Rehoboth Beach for a few days away from home and have time to do nothing!!!  Time off!!!  Time away with just ladies and laugh and eat and soak in the sun and dig our painted toe nails in the sand and swim in the ocean .... !!!  Oh so sweet!!!

It was a little more of a tug on my heart to leave my family this year and go on this two day vacation because I wasn't sure how it would go with leaving baby at home.  Thanks to my awesome sister, she took care of not only my baby ... but all the children and dog!  I was relaxed knowing they were at her house and in good care!  The kids love going there and really don't even miss me when they are there!  Ashlyn did so good too!  What a answer to prayer and blessing!

We stayed at Avenue 2, just a short walk from the board walk and beach!  This motel is so accommodating!  They have nice clean rooms, a home cooked breakfast (that's included in the price and it was egg casserole and french toast casserole plus all the normal stuff like bagels, oatmeal, cereal, fruit, muffins, coffee, juice, etc.), fresh baked cookies in the afternoon for the guests in their lobby, wine and cheese late afternoon for their guests, an indoor pool, outdoor showers with 'bath and body' shower soaps that we could use before coming home, beach chairs and towels, and on and on and on!!!  A wonderful motel!!!

Both mornings looked a little cloudy and we were unsure if the weather was going to be nice, but it turned out to be absolutely gorgeous both days!  Hot and warm!  The ocean water felt so good!  Watching those amazing waves come flowing into shore is a sure sign of our amazing Creator!  God is the maker of the sand and ocean and seagulls and seashells and of the dolphins we got to see swim the ocean surface!  Going to the beach with a group of Christian ladies is relaxing and is therapy!  Living out a 'real life' dream!

When I returned home last night, I was ready to hug and kiss my family again and baby seemed to grow in just a few short days!  Hadassah went to Bible School and when she came home she was so happy to see me!  Matthew was happy too so see me, but was soaking up his 'daddy time' and had more fun playing baseball in the back yard, going for a bike ride with his dad, and playing Lego's!  Such a good dad!!!  I couldn't wait to see Mike too!  So neat how just a few days away can bring on some butterflies and a spark of romance when I looked into his eyes again!  I love when I get those feelings!

God's beach creation is wonderful and I am thankful I got to enjoy it the past few days!  Take time to enjoy something today that God has created!  (I am enjoying that yummy salt water taffy and creamy fudge too that you can only find at the shore 'Candy Kitchen"!!!)

Thinking of my hubby on the beach ... he is the best and allowed me to take this vacation!

We always go out to eat at 'Big Fish'!  They have the best caramelized salmon and sweet potato mashers!

We end our yummy meal with key lime pie!!!

Oh, yeah!!!

Visiting friends

We have friends that are serving at "The Haft" for a year and we decided to go see them this past Tuesday.  We left early and took the 3 hour ride up and back!  The kids were looking so forwards to this trip and had a blast all day long.  We arrived at 10:15 and made lunch for those at "The Haft".  Then we cleaned out a storage room and toured the place!  We relaxed in Rosa's nice home for a few hours and then headed back home.  It was a long day, but fun!  We ended our day pulling 4 ticks off the kids and Hadassah was traumatized by those pesty bugs! 

Thanks for hosting us Rosa!  May God bless your family for serving!!!

WE WERE GREETED WITH THIS WHEN WE ARRIVED!

THESE WERE THE BOYS MATTHEW GOT TO ROAM THE WOODS WITH!

GABBY HANGING OUT ...

MAKAYLA WAS FUN! 

SHE WAS HAPPY TO SEE US AND WAS GLAD TO SHOW US AROUND HER TERRITORY!

I didn't get a picture of the girls and their fun creations. 

They spent most of their time playing with their 'littlest pet shop' animal friends.  Hadassah loved it!

Ashlyn did good too.  She didn't take a 'long' nap up there and was ready to be home again.

First Day of Summer was yesterday ...

We love summer!!!  We love swimming and hanging out at the pools.  My cousin Anne Crystal has a nice in ground pool that we get invited to and today we went for just a few dips.  The weather was warm and so was the water!  Here's what the kids thought of the fun pool ...

Matthew is known for having his goggles on at the pool!  This has got to be at least the third year that he's had the same old pair!  His favorite!  Hadassah's got a pair now too!

THANKS ANNIE FOR THE POOL FUN!!!

Ashlyn is 3 Months Old!

The time is going really fast with this little girls growth!  Today, she is 3 months old!  She's sweet.  She's happy.  She loves to be fussed to and now fusses back to you!  She's cooing so much and even getting loud about it!  For the first, today I set her in a Bumbo for a short while.  She really liked it.  Here she is acting all big in this seat!

 LOVE THOSE BLUE EYES!!!

Heritage Days

This past weekend our community had "Heritage Days".  It's at the town park and we have made it a family tradition to watch the fireworks display on Saturday evenings.  We went early evening and got ourselves some of the yummy foods!  Homemade soft pretzels, Lapp Valley ice cream and milkshakes, and fresh cut french fries with a spritz of vinegar and ketchup!!!  At dark, the fireworks burst forth in color in the night sky!  Ashlyn did OK with the loud cracks.  She wasn't crying but unsettled and snuggled close to me!

Cinnamon Sugar pretzels, please!!!

Before the fireworks began!!!  11 weeks old.

Enjoying the evening sun on our faces and loving the warm air!

Fireworks are amazing and pictures could never display the 'real thing',

but I could not help but try to capture a few in the sky ...

A GORGEOUS SUNSET BEFORE THE FIREWORKS!

"Tweety Bird"

A yellow finch bird ... they are so pretty!

Well, this morning on the way to church, we stopped in at Mike's parents to drop off a "Father's Day" gift.  We were just about at their house when Mike stopped and backed up.  He said he hit a yellow finch.  There were two birds on the road and the one flew away and the other stayed there.  (Kinda like in the Bible when it says, "The one shall be taken and the other left....".)  He got out of the van and picked it up.  It looked completely fine but still didn't try to fly away when Mike picked it up.  We put it on a tissue and Hadassah held it till we got to Daudy Lapp's.  Mike placed it in the barn and hoped that when we stop after church to check on it, it would be OK.  So, we headed off to church.

Sunday School was over and all the men were treated with homemade donuts, brewed tea or meadow tea!  Thanks to Uncle Alvin again! 

We stopped at Dad Lapp's and the bird was still in the barn but it flew a little.  The kids wanted to bring it home and nurture it (not quit sure how to do that to a tiny bird?).  Hadassah thought we should name it Tweety.  So for now it's in Hadassah's room and if anyone knows anything about birds, we are open for suggestions.  I am hoping that this bird will be able to fly and be free again by tonight!  Matthew said, "It's one of God's wild creatures!"

Dolly Parton/Holly Dunn-Daddy's Hands

I love you dad!!!
Thanks Michael for being a great example and father to our children!!!  

Happy Father's Day!!!

Father's are so special!  My dad is very special to me!  He's always been a busy man and loves to work, but he was never to busy for us kids at home!  Seeing him come home every evening after a hard days work and giving mom a kiss on the check spoke volumes to me!  We would always sit down as a family and eat supper together.  That was when it seemed like our family could talk and discuss how our day was.  I liked that!

As a teenager mom and dad had some home rules that if I'm honest, I didn't really appreciate at the time.  Having a 12 o'clock curfew was not always fun.  When I look back and now being a parent, I would love that same rule for my kids!  Also, dad said that he would like if "the guy" that I would date would talk to him first.  My dad is a man that wants to know who his children are hanging out with.  Probably why him and mom were youth leaders for a couple of years.  I wasn't too sure how that would all take place, but it went perfect.  Mike called and asked if he can over to my house and 'talk'?  When I got off the phone, I of course instantly got all nervous and butterflies in the stomach and excited and nervous and nervous and .... OK, I knew what he wanted to 'talk' about.  I ate very little for supper and when Mike got to my house we went out to the gazebo and that's where Michael asked me out for our first date!  After Mike left and I went back inside, dad asked me if Mike's not going to ask for his permission?  Ahh, yeah.  I said, "Well, why didn't you say something about that when he was still here?"  Dad laughed and said that Mike had stopped by at work that afternoon and talked to dad.  Wow!!!!!  Dad was able to share with Mike the things that he and mom would like to see in our dating.  Things like ... no dates in the bedroom.  Have me home by midnight and him out by midnight.  I'm not too sure what else they talked about, but I was impressed!  Defiantly something I would love for our children to do too when they get to that point in their lives!

Here are a few things that I appreciate from dad ...

H - HONEST
A - AVAILABILITY ... dad always (and still does) makes himself available to others around him!
P - POSITIVE ... he thinks with a positive attitude.
P - PRAYS ... dad prays a lot.  He always was the spiritual leader at home and taught us kids how to pray.
Y - "YES" ... dad has a hard time saying no.  When someone is in need he says "Yes, I can help."

F - FATHER ... a good father is one that has a relationship with his kids!
A - ALTOIDS ... my dad likes these!
T - TIME ... how is it that the busiest people get the most done and seem to make time for others?
H - HUNTER ... dad loves the mountains.
E - EARLY RISER ... he starts his mornings early and ends them late.  Not sure how he can function  like that but he does.
R - RIDES HORSES
'S - SINGS

D - DRIVES ... he drives his truck, the suburban, the BIG Kenworth, the 6 wheeler, and drives to the mts. just for one day.  He can drive pretty much anything that stays on the ground!
A - APPETITE ... dad likes his prime rib and candy!
Y - YOGURT OR CANDY BAR???  Defiantly the candy bar!!!

Being raised in a christian family with christian values and morals is something I really appreciate and somehow the older I get the more I cherish that even more!  Thanks Dad!!!  I love you!

~~~~~~~~

My kids daddy ...
God blessed Mike and I with starting our family soon after we got married and have no regrets with bringing three darling children into this world!  Our children have the BEST DADDY!  Lately, Mike's been doing a lot for our family ... especially for the kids.  I asked him last night why lately he's putting an extra effort into the kids?  He said, "It hit me the other week that if I wait till I 'have the time', it won't ever happen!"  Wow.  The other day when he came to surprise the kids at the pool, he TOOK the time.  When he took the kids out for cheese fries, he TOOK the time.  This week when him and Matthew went to 'The Haft' to spend some father/son time, he again TOOK the time! 

I am encouraged to see him do this and I love and appreciate that he gets involved in our children's lives!  It seems for a mom, being there and caring for the children comes along with the title "MOM".  I think that when a dad takes time out for his family, that should be noticed and congratulated!  Thanks Mike!!!  I love you!!! 

Here are the dad's in my life ...

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there and keep up the good work!

11 Weeks Old ...

Baby is 11 weeks old this week.  I can hardly believe how fast time is going and how much she has grown already!  She is a very content baby the past few weeks and I am so thankful!  We call her our 'cat napper'.  She takes an hour nap here and an hour nap there.  I can't really have her sleeping and expect her to sleep a certain about of hours.  If she doesn't take much of a morning nap (like this morning), she's ready for good afternoon nap.  Right now she's napping and has been sleeping for 2 plus hours so far!  She's usually ready for bed around 8:30 - 9:00 PM and sleeps till 6 AM!  I feel like my sleeping patterns have improved so much in the past few weeks!  Yes!

Ashlyn weighs 11 lbs.!  She's amused at her hands and has them waving in front of her face all the time.  Her favorite past time is to lay on her back and watch toys (or her hands)!  She likes her swing in the morning, but not too much after that!  She's so sharing with her smiles!  She coos and is just starting to laugh out loud!  She's so pleasant!  Hadassah loves to entertain her!  Last night, when Mike came home and was fussing to her she cried when he walked away.  He of course turned around and picked her up!  She was happy!!!

A GOOD WAY TO START MY DAY ...
Mike has been asking me to buy "good" fruit for the past few weeks already.  I tried and the pears and apples that I bought, he said they just didn't ripe good.  So last week I went to Costco and bought a lot of berries ... raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries!  I used our own grown strawberries too.  I made some homemade granola and bought a big container of Pequea Valley yogurt.  Making a layer of fruit, then granola, and then yogurt is yummy!  It makes me feel so good!  I was glad to see that Mike was impressed with my makings!  We are now enjoying this for our breakfast!

I am looking so forwards to our local produce growing in Lancaster County.  We can't wait for blueberries (well they actually come from NJ) and peaches and corn on the cob!  Hadassah keeps asking for the grapes that you spit out the peeling ... concord grapes!  I am completely out of applesauce and will be lots of that later this summer! 

Pray the stink bugs won't be damaging the crops!!!  My brother in law works for Kauffmans Fruit Farm and he's saying the bugs are going to be a problem!  I hope he's wrong and that they will have the best produce yet!!!

If anyone has a good recipe to share that involves fresh fruit, I would love to have it!

Chesse Fries

Last night, Mike went to ball practice.  He is not playing ball full time this year, but seems to always get involved sometime throughout the summer.  Matthew's little league games are over and I guess it's Mike's turn now.?.  Well, last night he went to practice and took the two oldest with him.  Ashlyn and I stayed home and enjoyed the evening relaxing!  (Well, I wanted to finish pressure washing the gazebo but couldn't get the thing started!  Sigh.  I don't like when things don't start when you know they are supposed to!)  Anyway, It was 9:00 PM and I was starting to wonder where the rest of my family is.  I'm sure practice is over if it's dark outside!  Ashlyn was in bed and so I decided I might as well go to bed too!  At 9:30, I hear them come home.  Hadassah came bouncing back to our bedroom and said, "We got cheese fries!!!!"  Hadassah and her daddy have done this a few times already and she loves it!  Mike takes her to Sheetz and order cheese fries late at night.  Hadassah loves it (the hangin' out and the food)!  It's kinda been 'their thing'.  Last weekend, they had it planned out to go Friday night.  That didn't work out so they re planned it for Saturday night.  That didn't work either.  So, last night after ball practice they headed for Sheetz.  Hadassah said this morning, "Oh you just got to try them!  They are sooooo good!"

I think the combination of time with daddy and the gooey cheese poured on top of the fries gives her a rush!  Maybe the next time they go, I might have to sneak along!


Because I was already in bed when they came home with their cheese fries, I didn't get a picture of this fun event!  So, here's one from the other week when the kids were both enjoying strawberry shortcake and daddy's ipad!

Perry County Weekend!!!

We spent last weekend in Perry County on H.K.'s farm!  Our whole church was invited to come out for the day and have Sunday School out there!  The weather was great ... a little cloudy in the morning but not too hot in the afternoon!  There were four wheeler cart rides, golf cart rides, balloons, a candy scramble and play time for the kids all day long!  Hadassah had fun with ShaLyn and her girlfriends!  Matthew played baseball with the little guys!  Mike played softball all afternoon and eve.  I took care of Ashlyn and enjoyed watching the ball game from the side lines!  What a great blessing to have a church body get together and have fun!

ALL THE YUMMY FOOD ...

JOHN SCHMIT SANG FOR PART OF THE DAY.

MATTHEW AND NATHAN .......... HADASSAH AND SHALYN

ADA BLEW UP BALLOONS FOR THE KIDS!!!  ALANYA IS SO CUTE!

MIKE UP TO BAT ... MATTHEW OFF FOR A RIDE.

ASHLYN WITH HER SWEET AUNT LENA.

All Star Game

Matthew's little league games are now over.  He enjoyed all his games and especially was excited to be in the All Star Game!!!  He played different positions and did really good at batting!

BACK CATCHER ...                                                      GINGER WATCHING A GAME.

OUR LITTLEST CHEERLEADER!!!            MATTHEW WITH HIS EARNED NEW BAT BAG!

FIRST TROPHIE!!!                UP TO BAT ...

THIS WAS HIS ALL STAR TEAM!!!

Memorial Day - Part 2

I said that I would post more pictures from this all favorite weekend of the year!!!  Our whole family loves this weekend and here's some pics to prove it ...

THEY CAUGHT ALL SORTS OF MOUNTAIN CREATURES!

MATTHEW MAKES A GUN OUT OF ANYTHING ...

HADASSAH'S BUDDIE, JORDAN!

RUTHIE AND I WITH OUR LITTLE GIRLS!!!

ASHLYN AND AVA

I LOVE NATURE ... SO HERE'S ONE FROM THE FIELDS UP THERE!

A great weekend to remember!