Sometimes there aren't answers to the questions we ask God. Sometimes He gives us that "yes" or "no" or asks us to wait on Him. Other itmes I've discovered that the answers may not come for years, if ever in this life, and it's that last part I'm struggling with. God is good and God is sovreign, but sometimes I just don't get what He's doing in my life and why, and not knowing can be painful. He gives and He takes away, that I know. It's the trusting after He's taken away that is hard at first, even after years of walking with Him. Maybe it's not so much of questioning that He is trustworthy or that He is good, but rather what is His definition of good? This world is full of sin and often sucks, and it's not what He intended, yes, I remember that, but still He allows things to happen that don't make sense.
I know where I'm spending my night, digging back into the pages of His Word, but I can't hide my struggle right now. There's a song with the following lyrics:
Find my in the river
Find me there
Find me on my knees with my soul laid bare
Even though you're gone and I'm cracked and dry
Find me in the river, I'm waiting here
I feel like that fits me right now. Pain lays my soul bare before my God. I need His healing, so I'm waiting.
~H2
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Learning more about being mommy
Doctors must love first time moms. Everything is new and everything is a question. This time it's been my turn. As far as first time moms go, I think I've had it pretty easy for the most part. Other than a double ear infection at 5 months old, H3 hasn't been sick at all. Sure, her nose dripped a bit when she cut her teeth, but that's normal from what I understand and that information was readily available online for my research. Tantrums and pickiness with food have been the worst battles, and my cousins, in-laws, and friends have been wonderful with their words of advice1 This last weekend has been a new challenge.
H3 woke up on Saturday morning with a hoarseness in her voice and a cough that sounded like a seal. When I checked her temperature, it was about 100.7. By the time her nap was done in the afternoon, it was 102.9. Even with Tylenol, her temp hovered around 102, and finally hit 103.3 at 10:30 that night, which is when she threw up twice too. Warm baths and steam helped, but she was still miserable and the coughing sounded awful. She just lay there limply while H1 or I held her, which is a foreign behavior for my very active 25 month old!
Listening to her cough, I did figure out that my little seal was probably dealing with croup, or something like it. My problem was figuring out how to deal with it. A few websites offered suggestions, but my biggest help has come from my dear cousin and a friend from church who has 5 kids. Thanks to them, I feel more at ease while trying to help my little one cope with this. We did take H3 into an urgent care center on Sunday, just to make sure there wasn't a bacterial infection complicating things. Her pediatrician's office wanted her to be seen within 24hours and not wait until Monday (today) because her fever had been so high and she was pretty dehydrated on Saturday. Sunday H3 drank a lot more water, so her temp stayed a bit lower than Saturday. She even played a little, as opposed to laying on the couch and staring into space.
Today she seems a lot better for the most part. Her temperature is hanging around 100 degrees, and she is still coughing and hoarse, but she is more active and eating better. Unfortunately the diarrhea kicked in. Gross, I know, and poor child has been through 7 of those diapers this morning before her nap. I feel a bit more prepared for that though, since she's had a sensitive digestive system since day 1!
Bascially I'm assuming stories like this sound familiar to those who have been moms for a while, but as a mom of just one, this has been a new challenge for me! Now I know what to look for if this happens again, and maybe it will be a little less scary.
H3 woke up on Saturday morning with a hoarseness in her voice and a cough that sounded like a seal. When I checked her temperature, it was about 100.7. By the time her nap was done in the afternoon, it was 102.9. Even with Tylenol, her temp hovered around 102, and finally hit 103.3 at 10:30 that night, which is when she threw up twice too. Warm baths and steam helped, but she was still miserable and the coughing sounded awful. She just lay there limply while H1 or I held her, which is a foreign behavior for my very active 25 month old!
Listening to her cough, I did figure out that my little seal was probably dealing with croup, or something like it. My problem was figuring out how to deal with it. A few websites offered suggestions, but my biggest help has come from my dear cousin and a friend from church who has 5 kids. Thanks to them, I feel more at ease while trying to help my little one cope with this. We did take H3 into an urgent care center on Sunday, just to make sure there wasn't a bacterial infection complicating things. Her pediatrician's office wanted her to be seen within 24hours and not wait until Monday (today) because her fever had been so high and she was pretty dehydrated on Saturday. Sunday H3 drank a lot more water, so her temp stayed a bit lower than Saturday. She even played a little, as opposed to laying on the couch and staring into space.
Today she seems a lot better for the most part. Her temperature is hanging around 100 degrees, and she is still coughing and hoarse, but she is more active and eating better. Unfortunately the diarrhea kicked in. Gross, I know, and poor child has been through 7 of those diapers this morning before her nap. I feel a bit more prepared for that though, since she's had a sensitive digestive system since day 1!
Bascially I'm assuming stories like this sound familiar to those who have been moms for a while, but as a mom of just one, this has been a new challenge for me! Now I know what to look for if this happens again, and maybe it will be a little less scary.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Apple Picking!
This past Saturday, our family (minus the dog) drove a couple hours away into the mountains in search of apples. There are no you-pick orchards in our area, and I have heard good reviews about one in the Blue Ridge Mtns, so off we went! I would have to say our trip was a success and very worth the drive. H3 enjoyed herself immensely, running around the trees and picking up apples off the ground for inspection. We let her pick a few from the trees as well, but left most of that to H1 and myself, since we actually plan on using the apples we bought! H3 prefers to carry them around and eventually throw them. While she loves apple sauce, she’s unfortunately not interested in trying to eat a real apple. Too bad, since I think she’s missing out! This is a very large orchard that has a picking season from July through the end of October, depending on the variety of apple you’re looking for. I specifically wanted Fuji and Granny Smith, since those are what we like to eat and bake (H1 loves eating Granny Smith with his lunches, but I prefer the Fuji and use both for apple pies, dumplings, muffins, etc). The trees were very healthy and laden with the fruit. It was wonderful and didn’t take us long to pick the 55lbs that we brought home.
A few of those are going to some friends of ours, but the rest I’m planning to either dehydrate or freeze (I’ll make up the filling for apple pies and then freeze them in gallon bags, and then freeze some plain slices). At this point, I don’t have all the necessities for making and canning apple sauce. I know I’ll get there eventually, but for the time being we simply don’t have the storage space for the equipment, much less any place to put the cans if I did them. There’s no pantry in this house or even space for one! It’s a great house for everything but that!
I think a good part of the trip was just for some fun family memories. Granted, H3 won’t remember all that, but I have pictures to show her and it was fun for H1 and I to watch her joy and excitement over something so simple as an apple.
A few of those are going to some friends of ours, but the rest I’m planning to either dehydrate or freeze (I’ll make up the filling for apple pies and then freeze them in gallon bags, and then freeze some plain slices). At this point, I don’t have all the necessities for making and canning apple sauce. I know I’ll get there eventually, but for the time being we simply don’t have the storage space for the equipment, much less any place to put the cans if I did them. There’s no pantry in this house or even space for one! It’s a great house for everything but that!
I think a good part of the trip was just for some fun family memories. Granted, H3 won’t remember all that, but I have pictures to show her and it was fun for H1 and I to watch her joy and excitement over something so simple as an apple.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Fall!
October is here and with it came the cooler weather, finally. We've had constant mid-90's since our return from NY this summer, and now it's cool enough (70's and 60's) to get out a little more!
H3 and I have been enjoying daily walks and playing for hours outside. Well, more like her playing and me cleaning up the yard. Although I don't usually mind yardwork, it's not very high on my priority list when it's warm out. We have a huge tree out front that drops twigs and small branches whenever the wind blows, so there's a constant pile to pick up. In a few weeks, I'll be raking up leaves! My mom gave H3 some sidewalk chalk earlier this spring, and now she is putting it to use. She'll make little marks everywhere, then hand it to me for drawing shapes. She recognizes squares, circles, triangles, hearts, stars, and diamonds and can name them. Usually, she also wants me to "draw" a few numbers and the alphabet. At this point, she does know her numbers 1-10 on sight, and can pick out 12 or so letters in the alphabet. She can sing the "ABC" song, but just doesn't recognize all of them on paper yet. Once in a while she'll make an attempt at writing one, but of course I can't make out what it is unless she tells me! Haha!
A week of rain last week caused two football games to be rescheduled. One hasn't been put on the calendar yet, but the other was rescheduled to this past Saturday night. It was an away game, 3 hours away to be exact, and poor H1 didn't get home until 2am Sunday! We had to turn around and leave for church at 8:30 too. He was quite tired that day. The season hasn't been going too well for the team, but H1 says that the kids are learning, so there's a positive side to things. It's been amazing what God has been doing in his life this year, both with football and in school. Two moms requested that their sons be put into his class this past month. Both families were going through separation/divorce and both moms specifically said they wanted their boys to be in H1's class because the boys needed a male role model in their lives. Quite the compliment, yes, but the best part is that it's a tangible piece of evidence that God has him here for a purpose right now! Sometimes that's easy to forget.
The move here was a necessary one for our family because of job situations, but it was hard because we knew no one in this area and have no family anywhere close. Still, this has been a good school system, we have a wonderful church family, and God has brought some wonderful friends into our lives here. It's been just over 2 years since we came here, and it's good to look back and see what He's been up to!
Tonight's agenda is getting dinner together and going to our church home group. We are hoping to go apple picking this Saturday. Granted, we'll have to drive a couple hours since there isn't an orchard close, but I found one that offers you-pick for 50 cents/pound, which isn't bad at all. I'm hoping to get some fuji and granny smith apples. My dad always made the apple pie filling, put it into gallon zip-lock bags, and froze it to use at a later time. I want to do the same thing! Not to mention all the apple recipes I'm hoping to try out!
Now, let's see how long of a nap H3 takes this afternoon...
Blessings!
~H2
H3 and I have been enjoying daily walks and playing for hours outside. Well, more like her playing and me cleaning up the yard. Although I don't usually mind yardwork, it's not very high on my priority list when it's warm out. We have a huge tree out front that drops twigs and small branches whenever the wind blows, so there's a constant pile to pick up. In a few weeks, I'll be raking up leaves! My mom gave H3 some sidewalk chalk earlier this spring, and now she is putting it to use. She'll make little marks everywhere, then hand it to me for drawing shapes. She recognizes squares, circles, triangles, hearts, stars, and diamonds and can name them. Usually, she also wants me to "draw" a few numbers and the alphabet. At this point, she does know her numbers 1-10 on sight, and can pick out 12 or so letters in the alphabet. She can sing the "ABC" song, but just doesn't recognize all of them on paper yet. Once in a while she'll make an attempt at writing one, but of course I can't make out what it is unless she tells me! Haha!
A week of rain last week caused two football games to be rescheduled. One hasn't been put on the calendar yet, but the other was rescheduled to this past Saturday night. It was an away game, 3 hours away to be exact, and poor H1 didn't get home until 2am Sunday! We had to turn around and leave for church at 8:30 too. He was quite tired that day. The season hasn't been going too well for the team, but H1 says that the kids are learning, so there's a positive side to things. It's been amazing what God has been doing in his life this year, both with football and in school. Two moms requested that their sons be put into his class this past month. Both families were going through separation/divorce and both moms specifically said they wanted their boys to be in H1's class because the boys needed a male role model in their lives. Quite the compliment, yes, but the best part is that it's a tangible piece of evidence that God has him here for a purpose right now! Sometimes that's easy to forget.
The move here was a necessary one for our family because of job situations, but it was hard because we knew no one in this area and have no family anywhere close. Still, this has been a good school system, we have a wonderful church family, and God has brought some wonderful friends into our lives here. It's been just over 2 years since we came here, and it's good to look back and see what He's been up to!
Tonight's agenda is getting dinner together and going to our church home group. We are hoping to go apple picking this Saturday. Granted, we'll have to drive a couple hours since there isn't an orchard close, but I found one that offers you-pick for 50 cents/pound, which isn't bad at all. I'm hoping to get some fuji and granny smith apples. My dad always made the apple pie filling, put it into gallon zip-lock bags, and froze it to use at a later time. I want to do the same thing! Not to mention all the apple recipes I'm hoping to try out!
Now, let's see how long of a nap H3 takes this afternoon...
Blessings!
~H2
Thursday, September 16, 2010
September
I said I’d try to update everything that happened post-camp, but that’s so hard to do! We’ve been constantly busy. H1 hit the road the moment we got back with 4 hr/day football practices. Fortunately, those were held in the morning so we had some family time in the afternoons for the first couple weeks. It took a week to get completely unpacked and resettled back in our house. I had to make several grocery shopping trips, since I made sure we used up pretty much everything before we left, including flour and sugar. We don’t leave the air on at all in our house while we’re gone, so it reaches over 100 inside. I try not to leave anything but canned goods in the house for those couple months!
H3 settled back in quickly, though she let me know almost hourly for the first couple weeks how much she missed being outside. Up in the Adirondacks, it stayed in the 70s and 80s during the day, sometimes colder, and in the 40s at night. It was in the high 90s and low 100s when we got back to VA and since H3 overheats very easily, I’ve had to monitor her time outside. Through the end of August, she could only be out for 10 -15 minutes at a time without turning into a cherry from the heat. There were a couple days that we could get out in the early evening and escape to a park, pictures of which are below with everything else.
Warning: whining ahead!
At the end of August, we bought a van. We’d been saving up to get one, since we’ve needed the space for all of our trips. We bought it from a used car dealership several hours away, since they seemed to offer the best price and the test drive and Carfax showed no issues. Well, so far it’s turned into a nightmare. I’ve had to make two trips back already and need to make yet another. On our trip home from buying the thing, the check engine and TCS (traction control) lights turned on. To try and summarize this, we discovered the map sensor was disconnected and then resent the lights and hoped that might have fixed the problem. Nope, they turn on in the middle of the night on our way to OH on Labor Day weekend to visit my parents. Turns out, the transmission needs to be replaced and of course the dealer doesn’t want to take care of it. At this point I told him that I will only pay half the cost of parts, according to the terms of the warranty on the vehicle. H1 and I are debating about taking him to court. I don’t like the idea because it’s costly, but I have pretty definitive proof that this dealer knew about the problem before we bought the van and reset the check engine and TCS lights so it wouldn’t be noticeable at first. This has been really difficult for us, especially with H3 having to endure the trips, and right now the van is sitting in the carport as it has been for over a week, un-drivable. Being in the middle of nowhere with only one vehicle is difficult, especially when H3 has needed it for work! Ok, enough venting on my annoyance!
God is still so good though. Despite the serious problems with this vehicle, it did not break down on us or cause us to get in an accident and we are all safe. At this point, the new transmission is on it’s way and should be here by Monday, for me and H3 to take our last drive and get it installed.
Now for the fun stuff! Pictures and short stories ahead!
H1’s dad came down with us from NY. He was driving our car and we were driving his van, which we had borrowed for the summer to haul all of our stuff. He was able to stay for a couple days, which was wonderful. H3 loves her Pop-pop!
Swinging on the “big girl” swings on a slightly cooler day
Hanging out in the water at Busch Gardens. We went there a couple times right after getting back, since our season passes were still good. There are a lot of rides that H3 can enjoy and the water sure helps in the heat!
H1 and H3 at Busche Gardens
Riding a little roller coaster
I added butterfly decals above H3’s crib and she loves them. She talks about “a-flies” every morning!
My birthday present from H1! So pretty!
H3’s cake. I normally would have made her one, but with our whirlwind trip to OH, it was going to be too much to try and get that together. Sam’s Club makes pretty good cakes!
My family surprised me with an ice cream cake!
H1 and H3 walking in my parents’ backyard
My dad watching H3 go down a slide at a park in OH. My parents were so kind as to drive around both days we were there and search out parks for H3 to run around on. She’s trying hard to say “Grandpa and Grandma”, but it comes out “Paw- paw and Maw-maw” (distinctly different from the “Pop-pop she calls H1’s dad)
H3 getting a look at her birthday present early in the morning. We found this kitchen marked 50% off just after Christmas last year, and I put it aside for her.
Playing at the park with Mommy later in the day. H1 had to work and had a football game that night, so it was Mommy-daughter day, and then Daddy-daughter time the next morning.
So that brings just about everything up to date through Sept 10th. School started back for H1 on the 7th and so far it’s gone well. The middle school called and asked me to substitute tomorrow, so I’ll be heading in for the day. Hopefully I’ll get lots of calls from both the m.s. and the h.s. this fall, but we’ll see! In the meantime, I’m enjoying cooler mornings by getting up a little earlier to walk the dog and make real breakfasts instead of the usual cereal! I’m working the sound board at church now too, and am moving from the 4-7 age Sunday school class to the 8-12 year olds later this month. The sound board has been fun and hopefully my new class will be too! That’s all the updates for now!
Blessings!
~H2
H3 settled back in quickly, though she let me know almost hourly for the first couple weeks how much she missed being outside. Up in the Adirondacks, it stayed in the 70s and 80s during the day, sometimes colder, and in the 40s at night. It was in the high 90s and low 100s when we got back to VA and since H3 overheats very easily, I’ve had to monitor her time outside. Through the end of August, she could only be out for 10 -15 minutes at a time without turning into a cherry from the heat. There were a couple days that we could get out in the early evening and escape to a park, pictures of which are below with everything else.
Warning: whining ahead!
At the end of August, we bought a van. We’d been saving up to get one, since we’ve needed the space for all of our trips. We bought it from a used car dealership several hours away, since they seemed to offer the best price and the test drive and Carfax showed no issues. Well, so far it’s turned into a nightmare. I’ve had to make two trips back already and need to make yet another. On our trip home from buying the thing, the check engine and TCS (traction control) lights turned on. To try and summarize this, we discovered the map sensor was disconnected and then resent the lights and hoped that might have fixed the problem. Nope, they turn on in the middle of the night on our way to OH on Labor Day weekend to visit my parents. Turns out, the transmission needs to be replaced and of course the dealer doesn’t want to take care of it. At this point I told him that I will only pay half the cost of parts, according to the terms of the warranty on the vehicle. H1 and I are debating about taking him to court. I don’t like the idea because it’s costly, but I have pretty definitive proof that this dealer knew about the problem before we bought the van and reset the check engine and TCS lights so it wouldn’t be noticeable at first. This has been really difficult for us, especially with H3 having to endure the trips, and right now the van is sitting in the carport as it has been for over a week, un-drivable. Being in the middle of nowhere with only one vehicle is difficult, especially when H3 has needed it for work! Ok, enough venting on my annoyance!
God is still so good though. Despite the serious problems with this vehicle, it did not break down on us or cause us to get in an accident and we are all safe. At this point, the new transmission is on it’s way and should be here by Monday, for me and H3 to take our last drive and get it installed.
Now for the fun stuff! Pictures and short stories ahead!
H1’s dad came down with us from NY. He was driving our car and we were driving his van, which we had borrowed for the summer to haul all of our stuff. He was able to stay for a couple days, which was wonderful. H3 loves her Pop-pop!
Swinging on the “big girl” swings on a slightly cooler day
Hanging out in the water at Busch Gardens. We went there a couple times right after getting back, since our season passes were still good. There are a lot of rides that H3 can enjoy and the water sure helps in the heat!
H1 and H3 at Busche Gardens
Riding a little roller coaster
I added butterfly decals above H3’s crib and she loves them. She talks about “a-flies” every morning!
My birthday present from H1! So pretty!
H3’s cake. I normally would have made her one, but with our whirlwind trip to OH, it was going to be too much to try and get that together. Sam’s Club makes pretty good cakes!
My family surprised me with an ice cream cake!
H1 and H3 walking in my parents’ backyard
My dad watching H3 go down a slide at a park in OH. My parents were so kind as to drive around both days we were there and search out parks for H3 to run around on. She’s trying hard to say “Grandpa and Grandma”, but it comes out “Paw- paw and Maw-maw” (distinctly different from the “Pop-pop she calls H1’s dad)
H3 getting a look at her birthday present early in the morning. We found this kitchen marked 50% off just after Christmas last year, and I put it aside for her.
Playing at the park with Mommy later in the day. H1 had to work and had a football game that night, so it was Mommy-daughter day, and then Daddy-daughter time the next morning.
So that brings just about everything up to date through Sept 10th. School started back for H1 on the 7th and so far it’s gone well. The middle school called and asked me to substitute tomorrow, so I’ll be heading in for the day. Hopefully I’ll get lots of calls from both the m.s. and the h.s. this fall, but we’ll see! In the meantime, I’m enjoying cooler mornings by getting up a little earlier to walk the dog and make real breakfasts instead of the usual cereal! I’m working the sound board at church now too, and am moving from the 4-7 age Sunday school class to the 8-12 year olds later this month. The sound board has been fun and hopefully my new class will be too! That’s all the updates for now!
Blessings!
~H2
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Summer catch-up
I know, it’s been way too long since I’ve posted and I’m very overdue in my updates. Let’s talk summer! Wow. Where to even start? The nutshell version would be that camp was absolutely wonderful, but that doesn’t quite cover it. There were a lot of challenges at our respective jobs this summer, and the camp itself dealt with some unusual situations that I can’t go into detail on. A lot of our friends from previous years returned and it was wonderful to see them. H3 didn’t remember camp from her first year obviously a little too young), so everything was brand new for her. She absolutely adored her bedroom. I put little foam squares down to cover the old linoleum.
We had a larger cabin this year, so that was nice too! It was located right next to the Health Lodge, where I worked, so I could leave H3 in the cabin for her naps and just have the baby monitor in the lodge with me.
The Sports field is a fantastic place for running around!
A couple of the waterfront guys found a huge blow-up dragon for H3 to play with in the lake…it took them a while to get it puffed up.
One afternoon, H1 and I took H3 out in the kayaks. She sat in front of H1 and just lounged. It looked like she wanted to take a nap! She seemed to enjoy the view from the water and kept babbling about the trees and clouds.
I climbed the climbing wall and took a picture of our archery range from the top.
H3 got to eat her first powdered sugar donut while up at camp. Her shirt started out green, and was pretty much completely white by the end.
H3 sat and watched while Daddy and Mommy went cliff jumping one afternoon. I was swimming the mile (across the lake and back) while H1 rowed alongside me, H3 and another friend, Christie, in the boat. A couple other guys swam with me, and others who were in boats all joined us at the far side of the lake to jump off the rocks before we headed back.
H3 loved all the mud puddles! This particular afternoon I just let her run through them for about an hour. She giggled the whole time, running from puddle to puddle and stomping in the middle of each one.
She liked to try and help me sweep the Health Lodge floor. I’ll give her an A for effort, but she missed quite a bit of dirt.
One of the hardest parts of the summer was when I got a call from my dad that my grandfather passed away. Grandpa was a very good friend, not just family. I really enjoyed talking with him and hearing all his stories. This fall I will be 25, so I have been very blessed to have him as part of my growing up years. He will be missed. I flew to SC to help pack up the house and be present at the memorial service. My dad, and my uncle and aunt from WA also came. It was quite the packing process, and it was a good time getting to know my WA family better.
I flew back into PA, where my father-in-law picked me up and drove me to meet H1 and H3 in NY, a few hours from camp. H1 took us to a mall in Syracuse so H3 could ride the carousel—a nice break after hours in the car for her. The carousel there is hand carved, hand painted, and really old. Beautiful though!
H3 loved to ride around camp on the golf carts with Mommy and Daddy!
She was really excited when Pop-pop came to visit.
On the way home from camp, I looked in the backseat and H3 had grabbed my sweatshirt from the other side of the seat and wrapped it around her! So funny.
Camp is always a good family time for us. H1 gets to spend a lot of time with H3 and I that normally doesn’t happen during the year because of his busy work schedule. The Adirondacks are exceptionally beautiful, I think, and I revel in the peace that I find there. We have jobs there, true, but it’s the most relaxing time of the year for me. The temperatures are ideal (in the mid 70’s – mid 80’s during the day, 40’s at night on average) so we get to spend a lot more time outside than back here in VA, where heat stroke is a frequent problem. Our boss at camp is an awesome guy—the best I’ve ever worked for, and he makes camp a good place to be for all of us. I’m so thankful God has left that door open for us to be there these last 3 years. H1 and I are looking forward to going back next year and so is H3, judging by how frequently she asks about her friends at camp!
Our arrival back in VA has been a busy one, so I’ll probably save that for this weekend. Suffice it to say I’m mostly caught up with everything, or will be as soon as this weekend is done!
~H2
We had a larger cabin this year, so that was nice too! It was located right next to the Health Lodge, where I worked, so I could leave H3 in the cabin for her naps and just have the baby monitor in the lodge with me.
The Sports field is a fantastic place for running around!
A couple of the waterfront guys found a huge blow-up dragon for H3 to play with in the lake…it took them a while to get it puffed up.
One afternoon, H1 and I took H3 out in the kayaks. She sat in front of H1 and just lounged. It looked like she wanted to take a nap! She seemed to enjoy the view from the water and kept babbling about the trees and clouds.
I climbed the climbing wall and took a picture of our archery range from the top.
H3 got to eat her first powdered sugar donut while up at camp. Her shirt started out green, and was pretty much completely white by the end.
H3 sat and watched while Daddy and Mommy went cliff jumping one afternoon. I was swimming the mile (across the lake and back) while H1 rowed alongside me, H3 and another friend, Christie, in the boat. A couple other guys swam with me, and others who were in boats all joined us at the far side of the lake to jump off the rocks before we headed back.
H3 loved all the mud puddles! This particular afternoon I just let her run through them for about an hour. She giggled the whole time, running from puddle to puddle and stomping in the middle of each one.
She liked to try and help me sweep the Health Lodge floor. I’ll give her an A for effort, but she missed quite a bit of dirt.
One of the hardest parts of the summer was when I got a call from my dad that my grandfather passed away. Grandpa was a very good friend, not just family. I really enjoyed talking with him and hearing all his stories. This fall I will be 25, so I have been very blessed to have him as part of my growing up years. He will be missed. I flew to SC to help pack up the house and be present at the memorial service. My dad, and my uncle and aunt from WA also came. It was quite the packing process, and it was a good time getting to know my WA family better.
I flew back into PA, where my father-in-law picked me up and drove me to meet H1 and H3 in NY, a few hours from camp. H1 took us to a mall in Syracuse so H3 could ride the carousel—a nice break after hours in the car for her. The carousel there is hand carved, hand painted, and really old. Beautiful though!
H3 loved to ride around camp on the golf carts with Mommy and Daddy!
She was really excited when Pop-pop came to visit.
On the way home from camp, I looked in the backseat and H3 had grabbed my sweatshirt from the other side of the seat and wrapped it around her! So funny.
Camp is always a good family time for us. H1 gets to spend a lot of time with H3 and I that normally doesn’t happen during the year because of his busy work schedule. The Adirondacks are exceptionally beautiful, I think, and I revel in the peace that I find there. We have jobs there, true, but it’s the most relaxing time of the year for me. The temperatures are ideal (in the mid 70’s – mid 80’s during the day, 40’s at night on average) so we get to spend a lot more time outside than back here in VA, where heat stroke is a frequent problem. Our boss at camp is an awesome guy—the best I’ve ever worked for, and he makes camp a good place to be for all of us. I’m so thankful God has left that door open for us to be there these last 3 years. H1 and I are looking forward to going back next year and so is H3, judging by how frequently she asks about her friends at camp!
Our arrival back in VA has been a busy one, so I’ll probably save that for this weekend. Suffice it to say I’m mostly caught up with everything, or will be as soon as this weekend is done!
~H2
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Summer fun!
The last couple weeks have been packed! H3 and I have been everywhere. We've been hanging out at a friend's swimming pool a couple times each week. They have three boys (age 5 and twin 2 year olds) and H3 loves playing with them. She's still not too keen on the water, but is gradually getting used to it. Each time we go she stays in a little longer, as opposed to preferring the rocks and other landscaping objects around the pool! Here she is taking a break from the water.
I've noticed that she likes to line things up, whether it's her food on the table (like cheerios), or toys in her room, or foam bath toys!
We went to the birthday party of the granddaughter of my EMT partner (birthday girl in the middle).
We went to Busch Gardens for a Steven Curtis Chapman concert. H3 enjoyed the music, but got really excited anytime people started clapping. She would squeal and clap too!
This past Monday, H3 and I drove to Roanoke to visit a friend of mine I used to work with at Liberty. She has two little girls, one 16 months old and one 8 weeks old. The 16 month old and H3 have played before, and this time was no different. They ran around the house chasing each other and playing with toys, and then before we left on Tuesday, we took them to a park and let them climb on the playground (see below).
Wednesday we met a friend and her 3 year old in Williamsburg for breakfast at Panera, then we took the two girls to a park and let them burn off some energy while we moms tried to stay out of the sun. It was still morning, but it was already in the high 80s and very humid. H3 and I headed home by 11 because it was so warm!
For the last couple days, the school has been having half-days. Tomorrow is the last day of school for H1, though they still have a teacher work day on Monday. We're so happy that the school year is closing out! H1 has been busy getting grades together and working on inventory stuff. It's been a good school year. Next year's schedule looks to be a challenge for him, but we'll cross that bridge in September. For now, we're going to enjoy the summer!
This morning H3 and I drove to Auntie Amber's house. After playing in her pool for a bit, H3 got to help collect eggs from the chickens. It was so fun to watch her. She was fascinated by the birds and they were actually pretty tame. They would let us pet them and everything! When H3 picked up the eggs, she was pretty gentle. We let her reach into the nests to get them, and she would take them out and hand them to me, though a bit reluctant to give up her prize before closer examination! Amber was kind enough to let me set up the pack-n-play in an extra room for H3's nap so she and I could get some more chat time in. H3 still naps for 2 - 3 hours in the middle of the day, and since we live at least 45 minutes from everything, it's quite a challenge to get in a good nap for her while we're out. Tonight has been spent in a cleaning frenzy so far. My parents are coing in town tomorrow morning and staying through Monday morning. Monday evening we have a dinner with our church home group, and then Tuesday we leave for NY! More cleaning and packing still to go!
~H2
I've noticed that she likes to line things up, whether it's her food on the table (like cheerios), or toys in her room, or foam bath toys!
We went to the birthday party of the granddaughter of my EMT partner (birthday girl in the middle).
We went to Busch Gardens for a Steven Curtis Chapman concert. H3 enjoyed the music, but got really excited anytime people started clapping. She would squeal and clap too!
This past Monday, H3 and I drove to Roanoke to visit a friend of mine I used to work with at Liberty. She has two little girls, one 16 months old and one 8 weeks old. The 16 month old and H3 have played before, and this time was no different. They ran around the house chasing each other and playing with toys, and then before we left on Tuesday, we took them to a park and let them climb on the playground (see below).
Wednesday we met a friend and her 3 year old in Williamsburg for breakfast at Panera, then we took the two girls to a park and let them burn off some energy while we moms tried to stay out of the sun. It was still morning, but it was already in the high 80s and very humid. H3 and I headed home by 11 because it was so warm!
For the last couple days, the school has been having half-days. Tomorrow is the last day of school for H1, though they still have a teacher work day on Monday. We're so happy that the school year is closing out! H1 has been busy getting grades together and working on inventory stuff. It's been a good school year. Next year's schedule looks to be a challenge for him, but we'll cross that bridge in September. For now, we're going to enjoy the summer!
This morning H3 and I drove to Auntie Amber's house. After playing in her pool for a bit, H3 got to help collect eggs from the chickens. It was so fun to watch her. She was fascinated by the birds and they were actually pretty tame. They would let us pet them and everything! When H3 picked up the eggs, she was pretty gentle. We let her reach into the nests to get them, and she would take them out and hand them to me, though a bit reluctant to give up her prize before closer examination! Amber was kind enough to let me set up the pack-n-play in an extra room for H3's nap so she and I could get some more chat time in. H3 still naps for 2 - 3 hours in the middle of the day, and since we live at least 45 minutes from everything, it's quite a challenge to get in a good nap for her while we're out. Tonight has been spent in a cleaning frenzy so far. My parents are coing in town tomorrow morning and staying through Monday morning. Monday evening we have a dinner with our church home group, and then Tuesday we leave for NY! More cleaning and packing still to go!
~H2
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
