Baseball season has begun.

Someone could not wait for his first baseball practice of this season!

Mike took him for new spikes last week and a new bat some how got in the shopping cart!

We can't wait to go and cheer for this young man!!!!

It was Ashlyn's birthday and usually we go out as a family to celebrate but Austin's first practice was also the same night.  Matthew had to meet his class for a packing party and covid testings before leaving for their senior trip soon.  Ashlyn was cool with it all because we do have two fun events coming up to celebrate her!

We stood wrapped in blankets and hoodies as we watched the boys practice.  Austin is really going to improve over the years and it's so fun to see it happening at such a young age!

 

Go FLAMES!!!!!

Sweet 12 years old.

 Someone special has a birthday!!!!  Ashlyn is 12!  

Ashlyn says she wants to grow up and be a teacher someday.  She asked one of her favorite teachers how many years of college it takes to get a teachers degree and how much it costs?  She told me she thinks being a vet would be fun.  And a mom.  She giggled as she also said that sometimes she thinks she talks too much.  Then she had me giggling!  She loves strawberries and watermelon.  She begs for an outside dog or any kind of animal.  She's helpful, a good friend and is looking forward to summer time.

I bought a pack of candles for her special day but could not find them anywhere!  When I thought about going out to buy some more, I remembered that they may have been with the plates I also purchased.  Yep, I found them!  She just chuckled when I had to serve her her breakfast with only four yellow candles because I couldn't find the cute cnadles.  😂

Off to school.

But not before opening up some gifts we got for her!

She shares a birthday with Dr. Hurst and was treated to a special drink from Lena and cupcakes at school.

I grabbed some fruit desserts from Sarah thinking I would serve them for dessert after supper!  I decided to also bake a cake for Ashlyn because I knew the boys wouldn't be all over the fruit meringue!  I was about to make a quick trip to the store to buy another pack of candles (because I couldn't find the special candles I bought the other day) but then I remembered I also bought some birthday plates!  Yep, I found them where I store our paper supplies!

We ate supper at home.  We plan to do a fun family outing soon to celebrate Ashlyn but Austin had his first baseball practice and Matthew had a senior packing event he could not miss for their upcoming senior trip!

She liked the 12 candles! 😂

We spied on the boys at baseball practice and then stopped in to check up on the packing party!  I just love how she follows me around and talks non stop!  Ashlyn is fun to be around!

Happy Birthday, Ashlyn!!!  We love you so, so very much!

Spring is here!

Spring is here!!!!  The grass is turning nice and green and actually getting chunky!  It will be time to mow again soon!  The kids had no school on Monday.  It felt so good to have the kitchen window open and hear the birds chirping the kids jumping on the trampoline!  I'm so happy it's the time to year to send the kids outside to play!!!!

Ashlyn and I stopped in at Millwood Greenhouse for some peas and celery plants!  Mike was working in the garden again with finishing up the raised beds and we got these planted!

 

I love my window view and can watch these two play outside!!!!

That open kitchen window is the best feeling to have warmer tempts arrive to warm up our part of the earth!!!!

We also had the first campfire of the season on Sunday!  We cooked hot dogs after a round of baseball and wiffle ball in the back yard with cousins.

I love campfires and s'mores and friends sitting around roasting hot dogs!

Spring is here!  I love it!!!!

Preteen weekend!

 I did this with Hadassah years ago and even though it just seems like yesterday, it was time to do this now with Ashlyn!  Talking about the birds and bees, peer pressure, growing into a young lady, dating ... some of it seems far off for her but it will come before we know it.  I love the way this Passport2Purity explains and represents Jesus thought the struggles and life as a preteen, teenager or young adult!  I highly recommend doing this with your young sons and daughters!

I made reservations at a hotel in Hershey.  I explained to Ashlyn that this was going to be a trip for just her and I and we were going to learn and have some fun together!  And we did!!!!

As we drove to Hershey, we listened to the first season!  Session two was listened to after we settled into our room.  Then we went to Panera Bread for supper!  TJ Max was nearby, so we went shopping too!  Ashlyn's been messing with her split ends all last week and we talked about it being time for another hair trim and so when I spied Hair Cuttery right next to TJ Max, we walked in for a trim!  It looks a lot better now!

We went back to the hotel for session three and called it a day!  There was a lot of information shared.  Ashlyn had her own workbook to fill out!  We did projects after each session and one included play dough.  She was to make a few people and then mix the colors all together at the end.  The lesson was to be careful with who you make friends with!  We bright colors and not a mixed color of brown or dirty at the end of your peer years!

We spent the night in Hershey.  Ate breakfast at the motel and listened to session four!

After checking out, we listened to our last session five on the way home.  We pulled into PF Chang's parking lot as we were finishing up the session and then ate lunch!  I had a surprise for her!!!!

We were seated and I snuck this gift inside my jacket and told her to close her eyes.  She was excited!  When she opened up the gift, she was thrilled!

She had to text Mike a photo of her eating sushi to make him jealous! 😂

As she opened her gift, I told her that it was a real Chasity ring!!!!  I explained what it meant and how special she was to us!  

This was such a good weekend for the two of us!  I love you Ashlyn and pray that you will keep Jesus number one in your and that the Holy Spirit will guide you and help you make good choices in your teenage and adult life!!!!

Thank you for being my friend and having a good time together!

Love you,

Mom

Spring planting!

The garden fun has begun!  Mike's been working hard the past few weekends to level our raised beds and add another layer and then fill them with more dirt!  The deeper beds are going to be better!  I'm hoping the better soil will also improve the plants!!!!

I stopped at Royers Seeds a few weeks ago and grabbed a bunch of seed packs!

I then went to Hess Greenhouse for some early plants to get the garden fun started!!!!

Broccoli doesn't love me but Austin loves it!!!!

I love al the lettuce plants and with a hand written receipt ... I just love it!

I planted a few rows of radishes, beets, carrots and onions.  Then I moved to the lettuce bed and planted some plants and lettuce seeds!  The broccoli and cauliflower went in another bed.  

I covered up the plants to help them grow fast and stay warm!  I can't wait for this to grow!

Today, Ashlyn and I stopped at a greenhouse to grab some Legacy Peas and celery plants.  That's gonna get planted soon too!

There's lots of outside work to do in the Spring around here but I'm excited!  We've got roses to trim, edging to do around the house, a few weeds to pull and start mowing the lawn!  The grass is turning green!  Before we know it, we will order some mulch and be ready to plant flowers!

I love spring time!  I love my little garden!  It's my hobby and I just love to watch the little plants grow!

Semifinal States Game.

 

What a fun ride!!!!  These boys are taking us to the Semifinals States game!  We could not be more proud of them all!

We left school on Monday at 1:30 in a coach bus and rode in style to Applebees and then strolled through Bass Pro Shops before the game!

Dave Witmer sent us all off with a prayer!

We drove to Applebees and ate lunch there.  Then we walked across the parking lot and strolled Bass Pro.

Driving in a charter bus is way better than a school bus!  Arriving at another high school that these boys have never seen before is exciting, nerve racking and new each time!

I love how Austin and Ben became friends and cheerleaders together the last few games!

Our nerves were wild and then I was passed this paper.  Someone said that Coach Grable gave this to each of the boys before game time.  It's so powerful!  When I took the time to read it the next night, I sat and cried.  Not because it was sad, no, but because we are so blessed to have so many good people around us that speak into our kids lives!!!!!

Teach captains aways meet with the refs and officials before the game begins.

After the national anthem is sung and the introductions for each player happened, the boys huddled and were ready for game time!!!!  Goodness, we were a bundle of nerves once again!

When they announced Berlin Brothersvalley at Chambersburg High School (where we were playing), the girls acted bored!  😂 When they announced the Warriors, they were up and cheering their hearts out!

The Warriors started out strong!!!!  10-4 lead!

We saw this view many, many times throughout this season!

Proof that us parents were one of the biggest fans and cheerleaders!!!!  We loved it!!!!!

They worked so hard at every game!!!!!!

Three pointer!!!!

Sweat, tears and a lot of energy was all out on the court this night!!!!!

Sometimes coach sat.  Sometimes he paced the sidelines.  Sometimes he was up, out of the seat and hollering plays for the guys to do!!!!

We were behind in the fourth quarter and watching the starter come off the court one more time was emotional.  They gave it their all, their best!  We are so proud of them all!!!!

The last minute was given to the bench players to finish the game.

That's the end of this season in our life.  Matthew competed so well!  They all did!  I loved how this team was a team and not just a one or two man game!  They all helped win each and every game!  We were only one game away from the final, finals but we are so pleased at how these boys played!  We love you Warriors!!!!

They took their seat the last minute of the game.  25 wins. This was their first loss of the season.  There is no other school in their division that can say that!  It's incredible!!!!!

The game ended with the score at 63-45.  This was our first and last loss.

I was telling him that there is no other school in their division that has a record of 25-1!!!!  Good job, Matthew!!!!!!!

Coach Mike Schatzmann did an amazing job coaching these boys!  Matthew loves this man and honors him!  He worked extremely hard and did his very best to please him!  It was an honor for our family to get to know Mike and Gloria and Waltz and Brenda!  This basketball team, the families, the fans all became close friends of ours!  Thank you, thank you, thank you EVERYONE!!!!

Love these people!!!!!

GO WARRIORS!

Seniors of 2023!!!!

Power team right here!!!!!!

Warriors of 2023!!!!!!

We always waited for the guys to come out of the their locker room.  The last few games, there were interviews first and wait went longer.  It was always fun to clap and tell them how well they played!!!!!

We loaded the bus one more time and rode home.

We are not ready for this long season to be over because we loved it so much!  Austin was so tired of games each week and he loved to have cousins join the cheer team!  Ashlyn loved going along!  Jeremiah and Hadassah were faithful fans!!!!  I will miss this so much!

It was so late but we stopped by McDonalds for everyone to fill up.  The boys were hungry!!!!!

And this is why Austin got tired of all the games.  It was a lot!  He got tired of all the sitting and riding!  He fell asleep on the way home.

This is the end of basketball competition for Matthew at this level.  We enjoyed every moment of it!

Good job, Warriors!

I cannot remember the last time that I felt so exhausted!  Maybe after Hadassah's wedding????  I am so tired and trying to really get any extra rest that I can get!  It was one late night after the next!  My adrenaline is now gone.  It's Thursday and I am still dragging in energy a bit but on the mend!

Thank you everyone that came out to cheer this team on this season!  It's been the best ride ever!!!!!!