randomness

Experienced a beautiful evening last night with this husband/wife duo and my friend Kaelin.  Front row and center, I could see her swallow we were that close!  Sadly my camera battery died so this picture is from another concert they did.  Anywho, if you have some extra money their newest release, "Deeper" is worth.every.penny, (or you could check back in a few weeks 'cause I'm including an autographed copy in my 600th blog post~~Christmas Giftaway)!! The song playing right now is by them.  They were so chill and relaxed and she sang like a bird, effortlessly and full of passion! 
 
Of course I could certainly post some pictures of this past weekends SNOW STORM!!  

Although some of you are completely annoyed with it, (and understandably so if you are STILL without power)!  However, we REJOICE when we see a big ol' storm headed our way as it's part of the our provision during the Winter months.  My husband owns a landscaping business with his brother, so snow is our "manna from heaven" during our off season.  

So, I came across this picture today. 

It made me happy.

h and m summer addition

 I also happened across this little "guide" and it too gave me a chuckle! (click on it you can enlarge it)

A few weekends ago my niece got married.

Oh, it was so LOVELY!!

It's now on my "to post" list which keeps growing, along with the beach trip with my girlfriends, (back in MAY)!!, the carriage house finished product, our annual campout and probably lots of other things I've forgotten about along the way!! 

Guess that's the beauty of having your own blog,
  you get to post what you want, when you want!  (smile). 

Here's one pic from the wedding that came out nicely! 

Man, I love my little family!!!  

 And remember, this is ONE snapshot of life when we're all dolled up and on best, (bribe) behavior!  :)  It's not "real life" in the least!!  There was an entire "children's area" at the wedding so they were quite excited to participate in the goodness that awaited them, (thus the quick smiles)!! 

hope you're monday is going as smoothly as possible and that your laundry isn't overwhelming you too much!

"What is this life if full of care; 

we have no time to stand and stare."

~W.H. Davis~

PORCH SALE TOMORROW MORNING!!

COME ONE, COME ALL.

WE'RE HAVING A LAST MINUTE PORCH SALE TOMORROW.  

LOTS OF GOODIES, VINTAGE AND OTHERWISE!

*BEDDING*

*FURNITURE*
*SHOES*

*HOME DECOR*

*JEWELRY*
*PILLOWS*

*BOOKS*
*KITCHEN GOODS*
*VINTAGE LOVIES*

TOMORROW MORNING 

8AM-NOON

HERE AT OUR HOME. 

FRESH COFFEE AND LOTS OF DEALS AWAIT YOU!  
HOPE TO SEE YOU HERE!!

{PLEASE MESSAGE ME IF YOU NEED OUR ADDRESS~JJ9702@JUNO.COM}

Pinwheels and Lolipops!

During our last outing at the beach we had a fun little photoshoot, (which as you know we rarely do)! haha!  It came together quickly! At the last minute I found out my friend Adrienne, (and her amazing camera/picture taking abilities) were going to be down in Ocean City the same time we were. She kindly said yes to taking a few pictures of us on the beach. THANK YOU ADRIENNE!!  My mind went right into "creative mode" and I thought of what I'd like to see.  

 I called my new friend Candace over at Paper Polaroid, to see if I could purchase a few of her DARLING PINWHEELS.  It was 9:30pm, the night before we were leaving for the beach.  In less then thirty minutes I was on my way home with a BOX FULL of bright, colorful pinwheels!!  You simply MUST visit her darling etsy shop. 

THANK YOU CANDACE!  They were the perfect pop of color and so fun for the kiddos!!

In the middle of picture taking, suddenly Luke jumped down off the boardwalk into the sand.  His little eye had spotted this and boy was he tickled!  

My sister-in-law let us borrow the vintage bike that was at their beach house.

Lollipops and balloons and we were on our way!!
I didn't have expectations, (which is a good way to keep it fun for everyone).  I mean, I did ask for smiles and to look at the camera, but I knew the props would add a lot.  Even if there were only pictures of the kids interacting that would be fine! 

My niece Ashley! One of my FAVORITE shots of the night!  So cute!! 

Yes, Paisley's shirt says, "I love my bike"!  GAH!  How could I say no to that?  Found it at Target.

My all time favorite of the night!  The sunset was amazing and the lighting was just right.  All I did with this pic was up the contrast just a bit!  Cannot wait to save and get this thing made into a giant canvas!  Jake is so gracious, (what's new?) with all my "ideas."  He's not afraid to try some crazy thing I might come up with, (take for instance holding a bunch of balloons on top of a sand dune)! 

Enter: children.

Take 1:

Take 2:

Take 3:

Just forget it:

Personality Picture, that's what I call this one.  Tyler is off in some dreamland, Luke is thinking/inquiring about something and Paisley is amused! 

I may or may not have been saying "stinky fart", "poop" and other such terms to elicit smiles.  

hey, no shame, (except i guess a little since i'm typing this in small font).  

one last dip.

another day done.

"Great, wide, beautiful, wonderful World,
With the wonderful water round you curled,

And the wonderful grass upon your breast,

World, you are beautifully dressed."

~William Brighty Rands~

Our Anniversary Staycation

Here's my honey with a little bit of "scruff" as I call it.  I liked it, but it didn't last long, he likes a clean cut!  We started our 9th Anniversary off at this local restaurant.  We got all dolled up and enjoyed our fine dining.  We love this place, but save it for special occasions.  Our server was my cousin Bev's daughter, she was so good to us.  At the end of our meal she brought us a dessert with "Happy Anniversary Jake and Janelle" written in chocolate!  It was awesome.....and I didn't have my camera!  We lingered for hours and then went to see "Courageous" on it's opening night.  A MUST SEE. Just wish we would have had tissues.  Lots of crying and so much inspiration.

On Saturday morning I had a 90 minute in-home massage!  It was GLORIOUS and such a treat.  The treat part was rolling off the table and into bed for a mid-morning nap after the massage!  Didn't even have to drive anywhere!  We lounged around here and then spent the day in the charming little towns around us.  

Namely Ephrata and Lititz.

 We ate lunch here. Oh my goodness gracious, that food was OUTSTANDING.  I've always heard that "pub food" is so good, but this place totally outdid itself.

 Half way through our meal this guy comes up behind us, (we were at the bar) and wraps his arms around Jake and I loudly proclaiming, "I knew it was you guys!!!"  We were delighted to see our old friend Josh Hendershott.  We've known him since he was a kid, but it's been years since we've touched base.  He was a bartender there and again, we were treated like royalty.  Food, drinks, desserts, he just kept them coming, all on the house!  Such a surprise and very special to us!  If you ever go there, you MUST have their famous sticky toffee pudding, (Shar~you and Ben would LOVE it here). 

 With our bellies filled we hit the town, (my gracious husband allowing me to get my eye full of all the charming vintage shops that Lititz has to offer).  thanks baby! 

 We ended our day here, eating more desserts, drinking chai and the.best.hot.chocolate.i've.ever had, (the lady literally melted the chocolate before making it)!  And she whipped the fresh cream before my eyes!  Deeeelish!!

 The rain started coming down pretty hard right after we entered.  The back door was wide open so we pulled up a seat as close as we could, to hear the rain and enjoy the company.  We read books and magazines, talked when we wanted to and then I beat him in this marble game like 18 3 times in a row.  I'm totally buying him this for Christmas. 

Sunday morning we slept in. We did nothing.  It was amazing.  We fed ourselves, drank hot coffee,  read and stayed in pj's until noon.  We simply EXISTED.  Our kiddies came home around 1pm on Sunday.

As I mentioned in the last post, once I got my attitude in check and put on my perspective glasses, it was a wonderful time. We are so fortunate to have one another, to be in love with one another and to have the resources for such an extravagant experience together.  It is not the case for many that we know and love.  Truly, I feel like this time together was so good for us, (for me especially because Jake is more content by nature).  To come face to face with my entitlement mentality and to be ashamed of myself.  I didn't really know it was there, at least not so grippingly so.  Thank you to my sister for keeping our children and loving them so much.  We enjoyed EVERY MINUTE of our "staycation" I assure you.    

 "Hold my head inside your hands,
I need someone who understands.
I need someone, someone who hears,
For you, I've waited all these years."
~Coldplay~


P.s. My niece walked down the aisle to this song last Saturday afternoon!  It was BREATHTAKING!