Ocean Waves!!!

As I download my pictures from my camera, it tells me I have 100 photo's since last Friday to upload to the computer.  Goodness!

With all the emotions around our family the past few days, we did manage to have some fun mixed in too.  Last Friday, we were invited to hop along to the beach just for the day with Hadassah's good school friends and the moms!  I wasn't sure we could swing going for the day with knowing that we had the weekend ahead of us at the cabin with family.  (We did not go to the cabin then after all because of the sad death of Uncle Merv.)  However, I just can't stand the thought and words for me to always tell the children, "I'm just too busy."  Or, "Maybe next time we can ...".  Or, "How about we wait to your a bit older?"  I am fully aware of the real life times that saying "NO" is the right answer, but too often those "NO's" are because I just don't want to be so busy or an excuse.  Or because I don't feel like it.  Anyway, this time we did say "YES" to going along to the beach for the day and I am so glad we did!!!  The girls had such a great time.  The boys did too.  And, YES, we moms always find something to chat about and I enjoy the mothers of all these girls so much!!!  Thanks Carol for the invite!!!  It's a memory we will not forget!

Here the girls are enjoying the sunshine, ocean, and sandy beach!!!

Cheyenne had a cousin join in on the girl fun.  She was down for the week with her family and it was nice to add more girl fun!

Jelly fish ... Matthew and Andrew shoveled out a tunnel and made a big sand pile.  Boys will just dig in the sand all day!  It's what they like to do while the girls sun!!!

The waves were huge right when we arrived.  The lifeguards actually rescued some people and had "dangerous surf" flags out to warn about the big waves.  Hadassah and Cheyenne still jumped in and enjoyed the water!

Matthew took his buggie board along and loved that!!!

The girls jumping in the ocean ...

I knew without a doubt that Hadassah and Matthew would love the ocean and so it was a privilege to take both of them along!!!  (Many thanks to Jody for babysitting Ashlyn!!!)

Matthew and Andrew also made an alligator in the sand.

My oldest is just about as tall as me .... :/.  Where did the years go?  I enjoyed the time together very much!!!  Love you girl!!!

The four girls are ready for some Grotto Pizza and wished to buy matching shirts somewhere but didn't find a good buy.  Such great friends!

Of course ... you must have a crazy photo shot!!!  :)  Love it!!!

Matthew and Andrew had a blast together.  Thanks Andrew for being a great friend!

We got home late and we were so exhausted from the sun, waves, and all the traveling.  Praise to God for giving us a beautiful day and for keeping us all safe and sound!!!

We are blessed!!!

Sorrow and pain ...

Why do we have to hurt?  We do the tears just flow when life is tough?  Why do some people live and others die?

I don't have any answers to my questions this morning but I take courage and strength in knowing that GOD IS GOOD!  Always!  Even when life let's us down.  Even when it's so hard to say those exact words ... "God is good."  Even when things seems to be on a downward spiral.  Even when our plans and hopes die and things are out of our control.

It's been a really rough and hard week for the Beiler family!!!  Uncle Merv passed away yesterday afternoon after all week trying hard to survive.  I wish so bad that I could tell the family that all will be well.  I wish so bad that my heart wouldn't feel so heavy and hurt for them because I know that they will miss their dad, grandpa, and husband so, so much.  I wish so badly that their story would have turned out differently and that funeral plans would not have to be made today. 

I have other family that have been through tough things in life before too.  REALLY tough.  The kind that makes you wonder if you will survive.  But, that's why we hold on to each other really tightly and keep praying for God's grace and mercy to shower over those that need His strength to really just make it through the hour.  The day.  The weeks and years to come.  I CAN NOT imagine those that do not believe in God or don't have Jesus as their personal savior because it is in the hard times in life that you can really feel His presence and peace.

Please, please continue to pray for Aunt Verna and her children.  The Beiler's and Riehl's have been though a lot already but God is faithful.  Again and again!

The viewing and funeral plans will be the next few days for family.  Lift us up to the throne of Grace and may we be shining lights for Jesus to the hurting world around us!

Thanks to all those that will and have shown support and those that have been praying!!!  Only God can bless you.

~ from a pilgrim on this weary journey through life.

PS.  Enjoy your family every day.  Every single one!  Life is way too short to hold bad feelings and hatred!!!  Cast your cares on the Lord ... He will lift you up!!!  I am praying for God's hand to lift up our spirits and to take another strong stand in knowing that He is God and really does know what's best!!!

PSSSS.  (Is there such a thing as this?  :)  )  Thanks to the Dienner family for understanding.  We are thinking of you too as you vacation at the cabin without us there this weekend.  We love you and have a great time together!

Blessings .... 

Weekend highlights!!!

We finally got our long waited for date night accomplished!!!  It was one of the best!!!  Really!  I have only dated one man and that man I live with today is still the love of my soul and I treasure ALL the dates I have with him!  But this date on Saturday evening was one of the best!!!

Saturday was another hot day here in our county.  Hadassah had a friend come and stay overnight.  The girls slept in.  Mike planned to have a day at home!  This only happens a few times out a year and so I was looking forwards to just working and doing errands around the house with him working beside me.  We slept in and while drinking our coffee and eating our over light eggs and toast, we talked and enjoyed each other.  The kids woke up and then it was more breakfast fixings and Mike and Matthew were off to find a new switch for my kitchen stove.  My front burner switch that goes from a big burner to a little burner is broke and needs a new one.  They went to the hardware to see if they had what they needed.  Meanwhile, Hannah was picked up at our house and Zoey (the puppy from Ginger) was dropped off here.  We are caring for Zoey while Mim's family vacations!  Then the girls and I went for some late lunch yummies at the Haiti Sale.  It was so warm and we finished off our salad and fries with some homemade ice cream.  We headed back home thinking that we would go and relax at the pool together.  Then some clouds rolled in and it looked like it could rain.  We decided to instead give Ashlyn a nap at home and have a sitter come and stay with the children while Mike and I go out alone.

What a perfect plan!!!  Mike and I headed out for Bonefish Grill and used our gift card!  The food was so good!!!  I love those "Saucy Shrimp"!  Then we went to Wolf Furniture hoping to find some ideas for the girls.  Bingo!  Ashlyn is ready for a bed and get out of her crib.  Hadassah sleeps in a single bed.  We found a bed that we like but now it's my job to look online for a better price.  :) 

Then we drove into the city and found "Rachel's Crepe's".  We sat outside sipping on a coffee and smoothie while totally enjoying a cheesecake crepe!  We were in no hurry and really just enjoyed being out together.  Just him and I!!! 

Next, we drove off to a car dealership and looked at some vehicles.  We dream of upgrading some day!  We like to dream for a long time before things become reality!!!  :)  We walked around the dealership amazed at the vehicles and VERY amazed at the sky!!!  God displayed a gorgeous sunset and we stood and gazed at the sky in wonder! 

 

Where now?  The music we were listening too just added to our love filled, romantic night!  Mike drove us to a train track close to home.  We pulled off to the side of the road and walked onto the tracks.  We walked up a small sloop and laid on the new seeded grass and watched the sky again.  I don't ever remember seeing a light display like what we watched ever before.  As we watched, the clouds filled with lightening bolts flashed.  There was no storm near us.  The air was warm with only a slight breeze.  (If I am making this sound too perfect, it really was like this!!!)  The moon was all but full and the sky just flashed one lightening stoke after the next.  It was so neat!!!  We sat there for almost an hour loving EVERY minute together!!!

As we drove back home, we were greeted by a driveway filled with lots of chalk art.  The children drew all over the lane and we read things that said, "Be a fruit loop in a world full of cheerios."  "Shine for Jesus."  And lots more.  I hear that they had fun at home too and after their movie, I took the sitter home.  Thanks Maryana!!!

It was a late night but one I will never forget!!!  Thanks so much Mike for taking me out on that date and for being my very best friend!!!  I love you so much!!!

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Sunday we went to church.  We were challenged by this statement.  "If you try to fill a void with the things the world has to offer, you will end up lower than you were."  And, "we can never fool God.  Keep our eyes focused and steadfast on Jesus.  Drink from His living water and thirst no more!  When the harvest is ready, we better be ready.  Jesus IS coming back!  If we want to be part of God's kingdom in heaven, we must be part of God's kingdom on earth.  We must be born again!!!"  Great thoughts!!!

We ate some delicious market wraps with Matt and Lena for lunch.  Thanks!

I didn't get a nap because our toddler decided she didn't need one.  I finally gave up the thought at 4:00 and got on some running gear.  Mike was out doing a 30 plus mile bike ride with some guys and that was the motivation I needed to get some exercise myself.  :) 

After I was showered and I was getting frustrated by the minute at why Mike wasn't home yet.  I knew that this new sport would be much different than running and time just got away from him.  He was out much longer than he had told me he would be.  When he did get home, he was tired and hungry.  It's not real often that I hear him say, "I am SO hungry."  I knew his workout was tough.  His legs, shoulders and butt will need some getting used to if you know what I mean!!!  :)

After Mike was all showered up, we were off to bless Anthony at his farewell party.  He is going to Mexico in missions next week.  Blessings to you Anthony!!! 

From there we also went to relax around a campfire with great friends!  Thanks Wayne and Linda for the invite!  The chatter is always interesting and fun!!!  (I am confident that you guys will play great ball next weekend!!!  :)  Go REBELS!!!)

Weekends are so much fun and never dull!  That's the way we like it!

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A prayer request!!!  Although we had a great weekend, we couldn't help but pray and think continually of my Uncle Merv and his family.  Merv feel off a wagon being pulled by a tractor on Friday evening.  The tractor was going at a good speed and suddenly jack knifed and threw him, his daughter Laura and an employee flying through the air.  They all three hit the ground hard.  Laura was bruised but OK.  Steven, the employee, was taken to the hospital and was in the trauma unit but is now home healing from his bruises.  But, Uncle Merv was also taken to the hospital and had brain surgery that night.  Please pray for Merv and the family!!!  Things still seem so uncertain.  He has a bad head injury and it will take God to bring complete healing!!!  We believe in miracles and claim His peace and His healing power on Merv!!!  Please, please pray that Merv will be touched by God and that he will recover to full recovery!!! 

We love the Beiler family!  We are praying for you!!!

Beat the Heat!

We are in the middle of summer and it is "feeling" like summer!  So far the weather pattern has been so off and on with rain and hot, then more rain and cooler nights.  I am still so grateful for the green grass (even though it's being driven all over with the four wheeler!).  But, this week the heat wave is on!!!  90 degrees plus. 

We beat the heat with water and AC.  Spoiled rotten I know!  Or rather I call it being blessed!!!  The cool house and healthy tanned children and husband is way more than I could ask and dream of!  God sure is good though and though! 

It's Wednesday already and so that means the laundry is being completed.  The flowers were all soaked with fresh water so they can live in the hot heat!  The garden was watered too so the beans that are still growing will not dry up!  Tell me, what would we do without water? 

Water is something we love to feel this time of the year.  It's else off to the pool to swim or run through the sprinkler in the back yard or take a cool shower after a big outbreak of sweat from working outside! 

On Monday, Matthew had some friends over for a birthday party.  The girls were with Mike's mom walking around town and then swimming, so it worked out well to invite some guys over!  Matthew was so happy with the gifts he received!  Thanks everyone!  It was hot outside that the boys would play and then come inside to the basement for awhile to cool off and then outside again.  Boys are such fun.  They make tracks everywhere they go, but they really made the best out of the hot afternoon!

"Camouflage" icing cake ... with ice cream on the side!!!

We got pizza delivered and completed the lunch with some fresh watermelon, chips, water and Gatorade!

 

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 Matthew also had his last ball game Monday evening.  It was warm but they did great.  The Rockies then helped the Flames finish up their season.  The Flames were missing a good bit of their players from vacations, etc., so the Rockies helped them with the next game. 

 

 Ashlyn and Hannah liked to play together while their brothers played ball!  Silly girls.

Most of the boys are here after their game waiting to receive their trophies!!!

Proud to play ball!

Here's the ball team with Coach Mark. 

Another team picture with Reuben.  He helped coach some too.  Thanks guys for getting this team together and for being their coaches!!!  Thanks Mike for being the team pitcher!  Good job everyone!!!

Here's his second little league trophy for his room shelf!!!  Good job Matthew!!!

 

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 We went to the pool yesterday to cool off and enjoy some summer fun!  Ashlyn can do pretty good with her floaties!!!  Hadassah loved to take her in the water and have some splashing fun!

 

Wearing my glasses and eating a push up!!!  Life was 'awesome' for her at this very moment!!! 

 

 

Summer sadly doesn't last forever, so we will enjoy the hot days with more water fun!!!  Take the plunge and dive in with the kids!!!  Summer is great!!!

 



Birthday boy turns 8!!!

Matthew had his eighth birthday yesterday!!!  I do not know any other child that looks so forward to a birthday, Christmas and gifts!!!  He has been asking every morning for two weeks what the date is.  He would wake up asking, "What day is today?"  (Funny.  I forget how is was being a child of such stress free living!!!  Do us mom's ever forget what day it is?  We keep the family schedule!  The kids just live out what mom's plan and do!!!  :)  ) 

I'm not sure if it's the actual day that he loves or if it's the extra attention he gets or maybe it's the gifts?  Whichever it is, or maybe all of the above, he was excited!!! 

We were with Mike's parents on Friday night.  It was a rainy evening and so playing Settlers was put on the evening activity list!!!  :)  We have such fun doing this!!!  There Dad's gave Matthew a bucket seat that swivels around.  He was happy for that gift and can't wait to use it fishing!  He also got some candy!  Thanks Dad and Mom!

Yesterday morning, we had to wake Matthew up for church.  We had a really late night Saturday.  (Our campfire nights with family go really late.  1 AM was our bedtime.  I'm not that much of a late night fan but the campfire moments are great!)  Anyway, we woke Matthew up and he was all smiles immediately.  No need to tell the date and day for this morning!  He knew he had a really cool gift coming from his dad but he didn't know what it was.  Neither did Hadassah know and that seemed to almost bug her to no end.  :)  We took Matthew to the back door and there was his gift!!!  A Four Wheeler!!!  He's been asking for a dirt bike or something he can ride.  This is what we found for a decent price and he was thrilled!!!

 

 Just out of bed.  Can you see the sleepy eyes yet?  Not for long!

His first spin around the house and he was off!

 

He took a few spins around the house and then in the open field across the road.  He was so happy.  It was then time to get dressed for church way before he was ready.  Then we got invited to host lunch after church and he was so, so ready to come and ride his new gift!  By 2:00, he was riding around and around again.  We don't have the best place to ride a toy like this around but I am really hoping that later this summer and fall, when the fields are bare, he can ride and ride!  I know the mountain trips will be a great place to ride too!

 

We also gave him a new pair of sneakers.  This kid goes through so many shoes and was in need of a new pair badly!!!  He was thrilled with them too!  At church, he was given a few gifts from family.  My parents gave a shirt (which he is wearing in the pics on down), candy and a game!  Thanks!!!  He also got a new soft ball and money!  Thanks to all those that remembered it was his birthday and wished him blessings!

 

I sat beside the house in the afternoon in the FULL sunshine watching him ride in the field and around the house.  The day of NO rain is rare around here and so having a day of pure sunshine was perfect!!!  We've been blessed with sooooo much rain since Spring!    

Of course the girls wanted a ride too!!!  They both love the new toy too!!!  (Again, right out of bed!)

Together!

I thought this was so cute!  After church, they just couldn't wait to go and show Mike and Josh the Four Wheeler!  The boys are around from TN for a few weeks and the kids have been back and forth almost every day!  They are staying just up the road from us and so they plan to meet at the 3rd pole each morning at a certain time and then they decide if they are coming to our house to play or stay out on the farm.  Or do both.  They have a total blast! 

 

 Matthew is having some friends over for a party and he asked for a "Camouflage Cake".  I'll try.  But everyone needs some cake ON the day of their birthday, so I whipped up a quick chocolate cake for us to enjoy last night (and for the rest of the week).

Make a wish and blow!!!

We love you Matthew!!!  You add so much love, laughter and joy to our family.  Your favorite sport is playing baseball.  You love throwing a ball in the back yard with your dad!  You broke barn and garage windows by throwing balls.  :/  You love to fish, ride bike, play games on your daddy's phone and reading a book is way too boring for you.  You and your sisters are else best friends or you tease them.  If and when you get them screaming or annoyed, that for some reason thrills you.  Sigh.  I love when you pray and ask questions about life.  Keep standing up for Jesus.  Even when the pressure is on to do wrong!!!  We are so proud of you!!!  

Happy Birthday to you!!!

~ Mom

Time to blog??? Quickly!

OK, so let's just say that my week has been fun, relaxing at moments and then other times really busy.  We had our moments of slow and fast past around here!

Matthew had another night at the ballpark and we are looking forwards to his last game next week.  They will each get trophies and wish the season good bye.  It was fun but it will be even more fun knowing something else will be crossed off the planned calendar!  :)  Anyone from Lancaster County know what I'm talking about?


Playing back catcher ...

I'm not joking when I say that this girl is in her glory when she gets a hold of Hadassah's lip gloss.  She makes a total mess.  Not just with her face and arms and toes but sometimes on her shirt too.  That all depends on how long she's been at it before getting caught.  :/

This poor, poor doll.  I guess she thought that she should have some too!  Just a small bit.

This week also consisted of some really yummy meals with zucchini!!!  It seems that if you plant one zucchini, you have enough for all your neighbors.  Especially, with so much rain and wetness for the garden crops to grow!  Sister Jody had some extras.  :)

I made this Zucchini/Squash mixture for supper one night.  It turned out delicious and would love to have it all over again next week!  It's packed full of flavor!  I love, love my fresh basil and parsley from the garden right now and it blended in great with this dish!

Try it for yourself!!!

Zucchini with Stuffing:
4 cup cubed zucchini
3/4 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter, divided
1/4 lb. Velveeta
2 3/4 cup croutons, divided
1 (10 3/4 oz.) cream of mushroom soup
1/4 tsp. basil (I used fresh!)
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 lb. hamburger, fried

Saute' vegetable in 3 Tb. butter.  Combine remaining ingredients except 3/4 cup croutons.  Spoon into casserole dish.  Top with 3/4 cup croutons tossed in remaining butter.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake 10 more minutes.  Serves 8!

I mixed zucchini and squash for this recipe.  I also didn't have croutons so instead I just put some bread crumbs on top of everything!  Yummy!  Thanks to Fairhaven School Cookbook for this recipe!!!

Somebody pinch me!!!  The other morning, Hadassah said that there is a kitty on the back porch.  Oh goodness!  We've been through the 'kitty stage' here at our home and we were kitty free for some time now.  I am good with that!!!  But, out of the blue, this kitty showed up.  Who is responsible???

Ashlyn, of course, took to a great liking with this cat they already call "Princess".  She's been playing and holding it so much. 

This is the toy at our house!  Mike's been talking for a long time already about getting a bike and using that for his method of good exercise!  He's got some friends into biking and so after much thinking and wishing, he finally went and bought one for himself this morning.  The whole works!  New shoes, helmet, gloves, clothes, sunglasses and of course the bike!  He was so eager and ready to try it out!!!

After the Falcon gathering today (that's Mike's old ball team friends from a way back), Mike went out for a bike ride.  He was in smiles and really ready to try this new sport!  He still likes to run, but with him having some Arthritis in his big toe, he thinks biking will not be so painful.  One thing about running though is that he goes and then comes back after awhile!  With the biking thing, I can see him bike all over the creation and finally find his way back home.  :)  We will see ...

So proud of his new buy!!!

It's time for the weekend!!!  I hope it's a relaxing one and more great memories made with family and friends. 

Oh, yeah ... we are officially on the "potty training" page in life with our toddler!  She's been doing great and so wish me more great, dry days!!!  :)  Good bye pampers for her!!!

~ Blessings!