Snuggling with Silas

Today, while I was talking with my dad on the phone, Ariel was upstairs playing with the kitties. After I while I noticed she was terribly quiet so I went to check on her and sure enough, she was sound asleep with Silas purring near her. I'm glad he's getting used to her. He tends to be nervous with everyone, but especially the kids. He's fine if you're sitting or laying, but if you're walking around, he scats fast. So, happy for the snuggling progress we've witnessed today, but the results of which will be a little girl who wants to stay up late tonight. Guess we'll make a night of it.

Kitties for Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year. Santa brought us some kitty cats! Ariel was the first to spy them, and boy oh boy, did we hear about it! She raced up the stairs and was jumping up and down next to my bed saying, "Mommy, Mommy! We got some cats! We got some cats! Santa brought us kitty cats!" We quickly got up and dressed and ran downstairs to see. How adorable they were! The kids were SO good, and very gentle and calm with them. Dustan let the cats out of the cages and they snooped around. They did pretty well, although the orange one is distinctly shy. He preferred to stay put between the boxes upstairs in the hall.

It took us all day to decide names for them. I think we've settled on naming the brown tabby Chester, and the orange one Silas. They are lovers and not nervous with the kids, and we are so very happy with them.

Today we made a gingerbread house. It was our first one, and we cheated- I bought a prepackaged kit, and just had to squeeze the frosting on how we wanted it and add the candy.

You can see we even had a landslide- or some snowmelt- depending on how dramatic you want to describe it. At any rate, the giant children ate it. It was a lot of sticky fun!

Starting New Traditions

Last night we decided to start a new tradition at our house. Sleeping under the Christmas tree always seemed to me so magical, so exciting. And so, my kids got a chance to do just that, and they did great. They got to stay up late, have popcorn and watch a Christmas show (this year they chose Frosty the Snowman), and thus the tradtion has started. It will only be for the night before Christmas Eve, as we all know that Santa requires all children to be in their beds sleeping... Ah, the magical moments this season brings!

Goofing Off

Yesterday the kids were being silly and wanted to have their pictures taken. So, here is one that I doctored up. They think it's hysterical!

Saturday

On Saturday we had all Dustan's siblings and parents over for some family time. Jonathan couldn't make it, but we all had a great time anyway. We decorated cookies, had some yummy food and enjoyed hanging out. Here is some photos of the cookie monsters~

Ariel, Dominic (my nephew), and Nathaniel.

Snuggle Time With Daddy

The kids were being especially snuggly with Dustan the other day, so I had to get a pic of it. They love their daddy!

Cardinals

So, I had noticed that we have 2 pair of cardinals living in the brush behind our treeline. But, they surprised me the other day when I looked, there was a full fledged flock of them. I think I counted 9 males and each had a female. Then there were a few flying back and forth that I wasn't quite sure what they were 'cause they were a little more jittery than the others. But it does make me so happy to see them. They are winter's most cheerful birdy (in my opinion), and they are more than welcome to stay. I have laid out breadcrumbs along the railing on the deck to encourage them to stay. Today there were 2 pair right next to my glass door, checking out the house. They're gorgeous!

In the photo, you can see 7 pairs, I think. And yes, it is color adjusted so you can see them better. Our grass is really not THAT green! Don't forget that you can click the picture to enlarge it. Can you see the bird in flight? You can just make out its' head, but the rest is a blur that blends into the background.

Hunting Christmas Trees

On the hunt for that perfect Christmas tree, we soon discovered we wouldn't be so lucky as to find it at the first place we tried. We had stopped at the local tree farm, Brown's, to spy the lucky specimen for the right price. We deemed that the average going rate of $45 was too much for our pockets, and was at least trying to stay under $40, and be one that was fresh cut- not sitting there for a week or more.

So, down the street we drove to the next nearest place, Shiloh's Nursery. Much to our dismay, the gate was closed- we had missed entry by just 15 minutes. Sigh. Think. Think. Think. Where would they be selling fresh cut trees on a snowy Saturday- after 5pm? Hmmm.... the only places I could think of were in Dover, where we used to live. Dustan grumbled a few times, "I don't want to drive that far," as if 15 minutes was a long time for a person who drives an hour each way to work. But neither one of us could think of places here on our side of town, so we headed that way.

I encouraged him to go back to the nursery, "at that one intersection we used to drive by all the time- you go down that one road with the Rutters on-- you know!!!" But he swore he didn't know what I was talking about. He drove that way anyway, and soon he remembered. They were open. That's a plus. But after browsing their selection, that was a definate no go for us. Frasiers. And Douglas Firs. That's all they had. Now, I've always wanted a Frasier tree. I love them, with the compact branches and the blue tinted underside. But, as popular as they have become, they still are not exactly affordable, and so, this year I am without again. Ah. The small things in life, right?

Piling the kids back in the van the third time was not going so well. They wanted to go home and sit in front of the fireplace and watch a movie. Eat dinner was getting up there on the priority list too, as it was now going on 6pm.

Dustan started driving again. The wrong way. This was definately not the way home- but he insisted it was. Obviously he had thought of something else to check out, but why do men have a problem just saying so, instead of skirting the issue. They always avoid saying, I think this and such. They always have to KNOW what they're doing. But not like the way women have to KNOW-- you know what I mean??? I think the ladies definately do!

So next we stopped by Stauffers in Dover. Ah, still open. We walk in, Nathaniel being threatened and dragged at this point. Ariel was trekking thru the fresh falling snow, trying to keep up with me, and run in circles at the same time. Nice selection. A few possibilities. But wait, what did they just say? "Attention Customers. It is now 5:55. The store will be closing in 5 minutes. Please bring your selections to the register. Thankyou." Now the pressure's on. I'm getting hit with snowballs, giggles from behind me... where is Dustan? Where is our tree??? I yell for him. He shows up around the corner. Sigh. He doesn't like the one I found. It's a frasier, but for only $20. You know what that means- yup. It's not fresh cut. So, it's a no go for us 'cause we don't want a dead tree on Christmas.

Back into the van we go, and now we've agreed that we'll just go to a cut your own tree place tomorrow after lunch. But I'm thinking he doesn't REALLY want to cut down a tree.... He drives on... and oh, hey, there's Hakes' where they sell trees. Do they have any this year (peering through the darkness and thru foggy windows)? Yup!

This time I told him to go browse while I stayed with the kids in the car. If he found anything he liked, he'd come get me. Well, about 5 minutes later he did. And so the munchkins *gasp* stayed in the (not running and locked) car, while I went to see. And yes, hooray for us, we found a satisfactory specimen! Aren't you excited? We were! And tomorrow we get to wrestle the tree into the perfect spot in our home. Ah, the hunt for the Christmas tree was just as long, cold and torturous as I remember!

Mystery bug

Back in October, I spied this strange looking bug on the maple tree at my in-law's. Romona had never seen one of these before either. It seems perhaps to be a moth, but it was translucent and this beautiful bluish- green-yellow color. Does anyone know what this might be?

Halloween

Yes, I realize I am behind in a few things, including blogging. So, I just would like to mention that Halloween was fun this year. It was the same night that we were to have the walk thru in our new house, so we decided to come down to our new neighborhood to trick or treat. Rebecca met us here with Dominic, and we made the rounds. He was so cute, all dressed in mobster get up. Ariel, was of course, a Renaissance princess and Nathaniel was a pirate.

We were quite impressed with one little princess, who even was riding her pony. The pony was sweet and calm as can be, and the kids loved it. We finished the evening with a walk thru of our house, which was not ready yet for us. But, we still had a good time with the kids and we still got to move in the next day, so all was well.

SCHNEE!!!

Yes, we have had a couple of dustings this week, but Ariel woke me up this morning and urges me to hustle downstairs. And what should I find? But about an inch of snow plastering the ground, and more coming down. How lovely. She was so happy, she wanted a picture. They had a blast running thru it on the walk to the bus stop, and though it was good packing snow, we didn't make it outside to build a snowman. Maybe tomorrow. But meanwhile the roads are icy, and I am tired and going to bed. Goodnight!

I'm so proud...

aren't you? I hate filing, and I finally got (most of) it done. I have to admit, there are still a few piles to organize on my desk, but it's things that Dustan and I have to do together and decide on. It took me 3 whole days, but I got it done! These are the before and after photos:

It was two file boxes full, 2 bags full and a box. And yes, there is still a pile of papers in a suitcase in my bedroom to finish up, besides what was left on my desk. But now that I've got the bulk of it done, and the framework for the rest of it to be finished; I am so happy! (And for you observant readers, yes that is snow that you see out the window!)

Toofers Missin'

Ariel just lost another tooth. This time it was the on bottom right side. This makes 3 gaps in her smile. She is so happy! Hopefully the toothfairy won't give her any problems tonight! Wish her luck. lol

Happy 9th Anniversary

It was our 9th anniversary on Thursday. It seems strange that so much time has gone by already. But it has been a full life, exciting and memorable to say the least. We have been thru hard times and fantastic adventures, including bringing our two wonderful wiggleworms into the world, and living abroad. We have a lot to be thankful for, proud of, and even more to work on and improve, but we have hope, trust in our God, and each other to lean on, so I am thinking that the best is yet to come.

To celebrate, my in-laws graciously said they'd have the kids over for a sleepover, and we got to go out to dinner and enjoy adult time. Today we tackled Nathaniel's room, painting it Versailles blue by Valspar. Soon it will be time for football and a rest, and then we'll be joining family for dinner at the in-laws. It has been a nice time. Of course, it's always nice to be able to spend time with my Sweetie!

That Confounded ToothFairy

Ariel had been working on losing her fourth tooth ever since #3 came out. It was slowly cooperating with her, and last week she came home off the bus and showed me how far she could push it with her tongue. Gross. Within a few minutes she decided she had the nerve to try to pull it out on her own, and sure enough, she did on the first try! It bled, of course, and so tissues came to the rescue. Now she can sing the famous American Christmas diddy with her whole heart, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth". lol

As exciting as this event was for her, it was more amusing for the adults in the events that followed. She forgot to put her tooth under her pillow the first night. No toothfairy. This was confusing for her since the toothfairy came last time with no tooth (it being in her belly and all). So, she immediately put the tooth under her pillow at MawMaw's house. The only problem was that she didn't sleep there that night, as it was our first night in our new home. So, she woke up again disappointed. The look of utter shock was funny, and then dismay at the realization that she had forgotten to bring it. She thought maybe the toothfairy might have left it there, but much to her shagrin, she didn't. (The toothfairy is a girl, right? But that's questionable after watching the Santa Claus movies.)

We happened to visit MawMaw's house that day (being Sunday), as the kids had forgotten their all- important sleeping toys and it had been rough getting to sleep the night before- especially in a new house. MawMaw made the off-handed suggestion that she write a note to the toothfairy and ask for 2 dollars, as her normal rate was $1. Ariel, not understanding sarcasm much yet, took it to be a great idea, and so wrote a note to the toothfairy as follows;

"Giv me two dollrs under my pillow please tooth fairy

please

please

please."

On the back was "To the tooth fairy, From Ariel"

She stuck this note with the tooth under her pillow that night with great hopes. In the morning she checked to see what the results of her efforts might be, and again, so sad the tooth fairy was a no show. This time she thought perhaps the toothfairy didn't like what the note had to say, as Mommy did warn her the day before not to be greedy... so she took the note out and threw it away, and put the tooth back under her pillow for safe keeping. Sure enough, on the 4th night after losing her tooth, the toothfairy was good enough to show up, give her a dollar and even let her keep her tooth as a present. How do you like that? She thought that it was great, but in the end threw the tooth away, and put her dollar in the bank to save for something special.

Ariel's 2nd First Day of 1st grade

She had a great day at school and enjoyed making friends, despite the fact that we did miss the bus this morning. The bus stop is down the street and around the corner, about a 2 minute walk from our house. We were told the pickup time was 8:18, but when we got there at 8:14, no one was there, so I knocked on the door to the neighbor's house on the corner and asked about the morning details. He said that the second bus (Ariel's) comes about 8:05am. Well, that certainly is earlier than 8:18. So, we had a nice little drive to school, which worked out well in the long run, because I got to meet her teacher, Mrs. Quickel.

When she got home today she was happy to see us at the bus stop (Daddy was there too, as he took a day off of work to help at the polls). Both the kids are very happy to be at home, and whenever we go somewhere, they immediately want to go back home. Of course, it's like Christmas here, with so many toys they haven't seen for 8 months. They are loving it!

Tomorrow

The big moving day is tomorrow! Hooray!! Yesterday I wasn't too motivated, but I did manage to get most of my and the kids things packed. Today I must go through whatever is in the loft and make sure it's alright to move, and pack up Dustan's things as well. Of course, there is a thousand last minute things to pack in the morning.

As my day will be busy packing and running errands, Ariel's will be busy as well. It is her last day of school at Monroe, and she's excited so far- hasn't shown any sadness yet. They are having a fall festival this afternoon, and then tonight we're trick or treating in our new neighborhood. It's going to a fun day!

We are all so ready to get settled in our new place!

Counting Down Yet Again

It seems life is full of count downs in the life of a parent. As adults we've learned to take (most) things in stride, and understand that life is a pattern of changing seasons, each to never be repeated in the same way, though the basic circumstance might be the same. Case in point, moving. The children are now facing the third move of their short lives that they remember. For them, time slips away in a different motion than for some of us more experienced participants in life. We can grasp the concept of time and measurement, having felt the pulsing of life beat against us for so long... one cannot escape it. But they are just learning the wonders of the world, how the sun marks the day and the moon the night hours, how the clock ticks aways the seconds of our lives, bringing adventure just around the next click of the chime being set in motion.

Okay, enough with the obssession of literary expressionism. The kids know that this weekend we are moving (finally) into our own house and they are looking forward to doing so. There is a lot to be done between now and then and they like to hear the details - at least the ones involving them. They are happy to hear that they get to have special time with PawPaw and MawMaw whilst the rest of the family helps to move us in. They are looking forward to their last night's sleepover here and then being able to go home on Sunday. Nathaniel is especially excited that this means he can finally go to preschool and have friends again. He has been terribly lonely.

And so today the countdown leaves us at 4 more days til we wake up to an exciting day of family, work, pizza and trying to keep white carpets clean while hauling things in and out. Yipee!

Traffic!!!

Can I just scream??? I guess I could, but luckily I had company with me and we tried to laugh it off. It has a little hard to do because I was so hungry that I was lightheaded driving a rental car and my dear friend was pregnant and carsick. Not a good combination to get stuck in traffic for nearly 3 hours.

Here's the story; Crystal and I decided that we'd like to go hiking. I had to register Ariel for school down in York, so we chose to go there to hike. I left Nathaniel here at the house with Romona, as he hadn't slept well the night before and it was a bit wet and chilly out and I knew he'd never last. So, Crystal brought her dog instead to join us.

No problems so far. Well, we had a nice time chatting and hiking and snacking and it go to be 3ish, which every good commuter knows it's time to hit the highway before evening traffic kicks in (especially being Friday). So, off we went. As we passed the Newberrytown exit heading North, I thought that perhaps I should take the back way thru the country and avoid the town traffic. But I chose otherwise, assuming that I could get back to the parking lot where Crystal left her car faster on the highway. Well, we didn't get much further for a bit past Yocumtown exit, when we saw the cars slowing down. Within a minute, we were inching along. We tuned into the emergency station to hear what was going on. They had closed HWY 83 Northbound AND 581 E- both of which we needed to use. And there was at least 5-8 miles of traffic ahead of us that was trying to get the same direction we were going. Grrrrr....

At this point, I promptly got off the next exit, at Lewisberry and went back to where we would have been had I gotten off the highway 2 exits before, but I would've missed a whole lot of traffic! We crept along for 2 hours before we got to Crystal's car, which normally would have taken 20 minutes from where we were.

So, what caused the closure? People want someone to blame! Well, there seems to have been crazed people driving around shooting at the police and they were having a grand chase along the highway! I don't know what the outcome to the chase was, but there were MANY angry people because of it, including Dustan (who would've guessed?).

He seemed to have missed the bulk of trouble from the closure, but it also seems that he was a testimony to God's grace this same hour. He was coming home down the back way, and apparently, a garbage truck was driving the opposite direction, too fast, and as the truck came over a hill, he jumped it and ran the thing off the road, into a tree. This knocked the tree over into the road, hitting 3 cars passing by the same time. Right in front of Dustan.

So, his civil duty came into action here, and he started guiding traffic after calling it in. And here he was for quite a while.

It was a crazy afternoon, the result of which was hungry bellies and thankfulness that nothing worse had befallen us today.

Mile Club

I just have to say that I am so proud of Ariel! She has achieved something I can hardly say I did myself- at any time. In gym class a few weeks ago the kids had to run a mile without stopping in order to join the mile club. And Ariel did it! Yeah! She got a little pink foot charm that goes on your shoe lace as a reward. She was very excited and proud of herself. We were proud too!

Frost!

Jack Frost has finally started teasing us here in Central PA. Two nights ago he sabotaged the nicest of the coleus. Left some crystals in the grass. Then last night he created gorgeous patterns on all our car windows, I think as a peace offering for killing the plants, and although it's beautiful, I don't really like having to scrape it off in order to get places I need to go in the morning. Doesn't he know that? lol I just can hardly believe that autumn is truly here and winter is knocking on the door. I feel like I've missed out on something this summer... maybe I left it in Germany. Yeah, that's got to be it.

Lake Tobias

On Sunday we went to Lake Tobias. It is an animal park that offers a petting zoo and a 'safari' ride. They have all different kinds of things from miniature horses, sheep, camels and goats in the petting zoo to lions, tigers and bears in cages. They have alpacas, cougars, baboons, monkeys of various kinds, alligators, chickens, geese, white and black swans, and zebras. The animals observed on the safari tour included emus, ostriches, buffalo, turkeys, zedonks, elk, deer, cows, and water buffalo. Oh yeah, and checkout the world's largest rat. It's bigger than a dog. It gets to 80 pounds. You can see it in the photo next to the pond. Gross...

To the kids greatest pleasure, there was a playground too, so we stopped to play a bit on our way out.

The Party

Ok, so I am a little behind in the things I was going to write about, but haven't found the time. Let's begin by recapping what happened after I was the decoy.

I had just made arrangements with Monica that I would be showing up at the township building with Lori in 15 minutes. This way, they would all know when to have everyone inside and ready for the surprise. As soon as I hung up the phone with her, Lori called and said she was outside waiting. I was like 'crap'. It's only less than 5 minutes to the building. So, I told Lori I had to do something upstairs, when really I didn't. I just finished cleaning up the kitchen and sat in a chair for a few minutes. After 10 minutes were up, I didn't press my luck any longer and went out to the car. There I found Lori driving her car with Ben, Sara, and Shane packed in the backseat like sardines. They were waiting patiently, nbut I found the need to state what was taking so long, so I said I was just getting something out of my room and then my mom called and was talking.... yadda, yadda, yadda...

Soon we arrived, and Lori just kept talking my ear off. She kept talking while we walked, and we let her be the first through the door. She was trying to tell me something and kept looking back over her shoulder, not really paying much attention, and then she saw the stage full of people, and they shouted, "Surprise!" She looked at them, looked at me and Sara, and then she realized she had been set up. She was really surprised!

The rest of the evening was fun. She was more than busy, so Ariel was a bit put out at not being able to dance with Aunt Lori, but Aunt Pat and I danced with her instead. She wasn't quite satisfied, but what can you do? One can't always have what they want in life.

The cakes turned out great, and the candles I had found were really cool on the cake. 50 candles really lights it up! We all had a fun time. Happy Birthday, Aunt Lori!

Being the Decoy

Why is it that no one really wants this job? I don't know... I think it's kinda fun and nerve-wracking to know that at any moment you might have flubbed and given away the surprise. Like, at this very moment I could be walked in on and this post seen and be immediately suspected of some secret undertakings. And yes, I would be guilty. I am waiting for Aunti Lori to come over, under the guise of seeing Ariel before her show at the Octoberfest this afternoon. But alas, 'tis truly a 50th birthday party for her. Wish me luck not to spoil the surprise! (If no one has beat me to it.)

From Longwood Gardens on Friday

Longwood Gardens in the Autumn

As you know, we are garden passholders at Longwood Gardens in Philadelphia, and so on Friday we decided to go see the autumn fest as Ariel had off of school that day. It was a perfect day out, and we really wanted to see the idea garden as we hadn't managed to get to see it on our other trips there. We found that they had built a display of a miniature Longwood Gardens, with trains, waterfall, pond, and models of the buildings on the property. It was really cool.

In the idea garden itself we saw some things we've never seen before and found out a couple of names that we've wanted to know. There were some combinations of things that I will definately want to do in my own garden eventually! We had a fun day despite the kids being a little tired, and we're so glad we went. I got some fantastic photos of flowers too, so that's always a plus for me.

New Roads

On our way to Longwood Gardens today we adventured new roads and byways. First because we had to stop in York for Ariel's booster shot at the pediatrician's, but more so because I like to investigate. We took a route that none of us had ever been on, and we were rewarded with lovely farmland views, true Americana miniscule towns and lovely sights of nature. One impressive and unusual looking view we came across was while travelling a high bridge over - well, I don't know what over. Must be the Susquehanna. It was in the area of Lake Aldred, and there was a dam, but upon reading a little bit about it, it could be one of three that exist, as I do not know eactly where we were. But the photos show a decent telling of what was, excepting the colors are washed out a bit due to the glare from the sun.

Then, since we were in Amish country, we saw a couple of buggies and I got a pic of the traffic these people face, and how deadly it can quickly turn. The old ways do not mesh well with the new. And though i have GREAT respect of the old traditions, find extremely high value in keeping the knowledge of these things and witnessing it is romantic to me, I hurt for the danger these things pose when mixed with today's advances, attitudes and ignorance.

If looks could kill...

Rebecca would be the last person on earth. Or at least on the East Coast. Good grief.

Fun with Auntie Lori

It's always fun when Aunt Lori comes to visit! It puts a smile on our faces!