Happy 40th Birthday Mike!!!

We surprised him!!! 

 

All the invites were sent out a few weeks ago.  Arrangements were made with Fisher's Catering to bring the food, cake and ice cream ... plus décor!!!  The garage was cleaned out in case of bad weather.  Gifts were purchased.  ALL WITHOUT Mike finding out about his surprise 40th birthday party!!!

 

And what a fun party it was!!!  When I ordered the invites and got them addressed, I tried to think of the people that meant a whole lot to Mike and I!  Family is always invited to birthday bashes!  Friends from far and near came to celebrate Mike's special party yesterday!!!

 

I was scratching my head and tried to think of the easiest and yet best way to get Mike surprised for his 40th party!  I mentioned to my mom about having us come to their house after church for lunch and then drive home around 2 PM and have Mike surprised with having things all set up and ready to go.  Then I rethought about it and decided to just come straight home after church and let the caterers surprise him when they show up.  When I planned the party, I didn't know that it was going to be on our church building dedication ceremony.  Honey Brook Community Church is building a church in Honey Brook and we had a ground breaking ceremony after our regular church service yesterday.  This meant we would be getting home later but that was fine.  Mike was asked to be at church a little earlier yesterday morning because he is the chairman for the new church building project that will be built in the upcoming months!  So, he took Austin with him and left a little earlier.  The other children and I met them at church. 

 

After both services, I came home with the children.  Mike was still talking to people and just hanging out.  He ended up eating a piece of pizza there before heading home.  Meanwhile, Steve and Ruth Fisher arrived and they set up food for the party!  The best planning arrangement for the party was getting Ruth to cater for us!!!  This meant I didn't need to prepare any food!  She did everything!  The smoked brisket, salad, relish tray, chips, cake and ice cream were so yummy.  Plus, drinks and décor!!!  Steve and Ruth had delicious food and served us so well!!!  They stayed the entire time and filled up drinks and foods when needed.  It was so much more relaxing for me!!!  Thank you Steve and Ruth for your hard work! 

 

I finally texted Mike at 1:30 and said that lunch is ready and where is he?  He didn't know it but his party was about to start and he wasn't home from church yet!  :)))

 

Ashlyn was so excited when I told her about Mike's party on the way home from church.  She said, "I'm so excited I could cry!"  Her and I just simply couldn't wait for Mike to pull in the garage and lead him to the back porch and tell him about his surprise party!!!  He finally got home at 1:45 PM!  He didn't have a clue what was happening until we showed him all the food and people started arriving! 

 

Matthew and some of his friends carried out lawn chairs and Mike got the canopy set up in the back yard.  The whole day was filled with sunshine and friends in the back yard!!!  All because Mike is turning 40!!! 

 



 

The invite said a drop in from 2-6 PM.  We had a house full all afternoon!  Mike loved it!!!

Our caterers did such a great job!

I invited Mike's golfing friends and he was so surprised when Mike Weaver and his wife walked in!!!  They are from Ohio and came for Mike's party!!!  Wow!!!

 

Time for some cake and ice cream!!!

I love this man so much!!!  Doesn't 40 look so good on him!?!?!

Mike received lots of cards and gifts!  Thank you everyone for your thoughtfulness and humor!

We ended the evening with sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows and drinking coffee!  We are blessed with the best friends ever in our lives and parties would never be fun if they wouldn't be filled with people that make us laugh.  People we love!!!  People who listen to our hearts.  That care and drive all the way from Ohio and The Haft just to say happy birthday!!!  However, we missed Dad Lapp so much at this party!  He would have loved to be here but is still lying at home so weak, so sick.  We were happy to have Mom Lapp join us for a few minutes! 

Many thanks to all who joined the party and made it such a fun day!!!

Happy Birthday Michael!!!

I love you so much!!!

Summer memories ...

 

Our summer is going by so quickly and our projects are still taking place.  We now have front porch swings!!!  Back when Mike wrecked his truck, he rented another truck for a few weeks and now has another pickup truck.  He really is enjoying the new ride and its much nicer than his Ridge Line.  Anyway, I was still begging to have a ride in it together and so when our porch swings were ready for store pick up, Mike and I went for a drive!!!  It was fun!!!  And when we got back, he said, "I'm going to hang them up for you right away because I know that's what you would like!"  After being married for 15 years, he knows me well!!!  :)

 

Mike grabbed Austin and off they went on the moped to find the right size hooks at the local hardware store.  It was past closing time but the neighbor opened up for Mike!!!  What great service!!!  And the swings got hung up!!!

 

But we had a problem!!!  I laughed and laughed!!!  The chain was too short!  Mike did find some longer chain in the garage and we were good to go!!!  Thanks Babe!  We can't wait to sit on these swings and enjoy the summer evenings outside!

They had to cut the chain in half!

And the finishing touches!

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We also got to spend some days at the pool again this week!  Mom and Fannie Lynn met us at Nickle Mines for the afternoon.  Jody's kids came along too!!!

In Austin's language, all Jody's girls are called "Meg and Mel".  :)))  Even Morgan.  It's so funny!  So when he says "Meg and Mel" they all look.  :)

Well, the twins brought their sun risers to the pool.  He liked that!

And Morgan shared her ice cream with him.  No wonder he loves them so much!  They spend time with him and he loves that!  Thanks girls!

Ashlyn had a real blast with Addison at the pool!  These two have a blast together!

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And because it's summer now, we got the Popsicle mold out!  I mixed a batch of fudgecicle's and Ashlyn loved the mix!  The only problem is that they now have to freeze before we can really eat them!

You know you have a good life if you have a bruise on your forehead from wearing swimming goggles so much!!!  :)))  Ashlyn loves her goggles put is constantly pushing them up and down on her face.  She's now got a bruise from them rubbing her forehead.  Problems.  :)

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Update on Dad Lapp ...

Dad Lapp is pretty much the same.  Still weak and getting weaker.  He can still talk but his words are few.  He loves when the grandchildren visit him.  It makes him smile!  I stopped in again this morning and he was lying on his side.  He still has a bed sore on his tailbone and it's not getting any better.  Laying on his side is good for now. 

Dad is getting so thin and frail!!!  It's so sad to see him get so, so skinny!  I wish with all my heart that we could make him well!!!  But God knows exactly how Dad is and his condition.  We need to have open hearts to God's will!!!

Dad has been pain free the past days until Thursday night.  He is having some stomach pain again and so Mom gave him something to comfort that!  He is back on the nausea pill behind his ear because even so little bit of water sometimes makes him throw up.  Please keep praying for Dad and Mom and the rest of the Lapp Family!!!  All our days are numbered but seeing Dad get so sick is difficult.  Thank you again to everyone that is pouring life and gifts and kind words into our lives!!!  Only God can repay you for your kindness!

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We are excited for a weekend around home!  The rains last night took away the humidity and it feels amazing outside!!!  The AC is turned off and the windows are open.  I'm off to enjoy outdoors with my family!

Heritage Day Fun!

We had such a fun time today!!!  Our little town has Heritage Days this weekend and the kids and I ventured out and joined the fun!!!  We started with buying some homemade fudge from E&A Candies.  Their fudge is so yummy and it will make great gifts for tomorrow!!!  (Father's Day)  At the candy shop, they have a small kids corner that Ashlyn and Austin decorated lollie pops!  And tried some free fudge bites!!!

 



Then we went just down the street and parked at the town park for some Heritage Days fun!  Austin loved feeding the sheep!

There was a candy drop at noon that the kids got to do!  A big helicopter dropped buckets of candy for the children to gather.  I pushed Austin around in his little car and went from one event to the next.  And by the way, Austin does not like strollers but this yard sale car is a winner!!!  :)

There were old tractors all lined up at the park and Austin also LOVES tractors!!!  He was so amazed and when an Amish man asked if he should start his tractor for Austin, we said yes!!!  Austin sat on so many tractors today!!!  So fun!

Ashlyn liked it too!  :)

Matthew enjoyed the reptile show.  We also got to watch part of a pig get butchered and cut up.  We ate soft pretzels and really had a great time!!!

Hadassah was in a volleyball tournament today.  The weather was calling for rain showers but it held off.  Our lawn and flowers are really looking thirsty and I wish it would rain!  We need it!  Hadassah's team made it the playoffs and so we went to cheer!  It was a warm afternoon at Petra Church for the volleyball tournament.  Hadassah played outdoors and loved it!  Way to go girl!

We have plans tonight with friends, so I'm off to get the children washed up and ready for more outdoor fun tonight!!!

Summer projects ...

 

 

There always seems to be some kind of project going on around here or something to work on!!!  We still had a few piles of left over bricks that Mike hauled away on Saturday!  I will not miss mowing out a round these any more.  We hope to use these for pathways in between the raised garden beds!!!  For now, they got moved away!

 

 

And the shed is in place!!!  Mike designed this cool looking shed and I love it!  Ashlyn and I went to the local nursery and bought some grasses and roses and Mike planted them for us!!!  Then we mulched and all we need to do yet and water the plants and fix up the bare spots of grass in the yard!!!  Yeah!  And maybe buy some window boxes for the bottom row of windows???

Matthew is hot and heavy into ball season.  On Monday night, the Tigers had THREE games to play!  5:30, 6:30 & 7:30!!!  They never had this many in one night other than tournaments.  It was hot but the boys played well!!!  They won all three!!!

Austin likes the ballgames but this was a long night!  Mike helps coach each game but Austin was ready for some Daddy time too.  He joined the team for prayer on the field.  :)))

And we've been having really warm weather this week!!!  Monday and Tuesday it reached above 90 degrees!!!  We went to Annie's pool on Monday.  On Tuesday the kids put the sprinkler under the trampoline and slipped and slid on it!!!  What a good time they had!!!

We went to the pool again on Wednesday!  We sure are making the most of the warm days with being outside in the sunshine!!! 

Today, was cleaning day for me here at home.  Thursday has been my day for cleaning the house for years now.  I used to do it Fridays but back when I did Shaklee diets, we met Friday mornings to weigh and I hated to come back home and then dig into cleaning.  So I bumped it up to Thursdays!  And I love it like this!  That makes Friday be the day that I can then focus on the outside work.  And maybe go to a yard sale now and then.  I have Bethany again this summer helping Hadassah and I clean!  It works so good!  We have a system and we all work together to clean the house!!!  We even get windows cleaned and it's lunch time when we finish!  I love this system because we get extras cleaned without it ALL being me do the work!!!  It gives the rest of us the whole afternoon to be outside and have free time!  Thanks Bethany and Hadassah for being my maids this summer!!!  :)

We like warm weather and summer time!!!  We are enjoying the pool days!  Strawberries and fresh cut lettuce and sugar peas are on our daily menu!  Summer time is fun!!!