9 p.m. madness

A few weeks ago my sisters, my Mom, my nieces and I went to a cottage decor shop owned by some relatives of ours. "midnight madness", but at 9 p.m.!! That's my kind of midnight!! It was such a delightful time. My sister picked me up and kindly handed me a freshly brewed cup of Starbucks white peppermint mocha....ah, yes, the PERFECT beginning to this night. Here is my niece Jess with her own cup! Thanks Shrish!!

Here are my sisters, from left to right, (Jan, Fan, my Mom, Naomi, Von, me). My best friends.

What an inspiring evening, such beauty, creativity, simple pleasures.

My oldest sister Fan, with her three beautiful daugthers. I hope I can look THAT good when I have children that are taller then me, (and it's highly likely that I will...have children that are taller then me that is)!!
And come on, the perfect ending to the night....smores with my Mom. They had a glowing fire just outside the door with all the ingredients! Yes, another wonderful memory to store for the road ahead.

"For there is no friend like a sister

In calm or stormy weather;

To cheer one on the tedious way,

To fetch one if one goes astray,

To lift one if one totters down,

To strengthen whilst one stands."

~Christina Rosetti

Little boys rooms

Hello from Strasburg! I've been meaning to post these pictures of the boys rooms, but am only now getting around to it. I have a camera full of wonderful pictures and stories to tell and yet, not enough time to tell them!!! Here's a quick tour for today: this first picture is of Tyler's room when we had just moved in:

and here it is after a fresh coat of paint called "Nantucket gray." It looks kind of sage in the sunlight and more gray at night. It's warm & inviting, much like it's room dweller. And isn't that just the smallest bed EVER? You would laugh out loud if you saw Jake trying to lay down beside Tyler in this little bed. It's practically the size of Jake's upper body! For the most part Tyler does well and stays in his bed. Every now and again we'll hear him playing when he should be sleeping. I guess if I had that much energy I would play instead of sleep as well! I didn't know what curtains to use, so I just hung some of his cute baby clothes with clothespins on twine.

And here is sweet Luke's room. His room is VERY small, (11 x 9) but very cozy as well. It fits all the basics and that's about it! It was set up as a nursery when we looked at the house, so that was extremely helpful, otherwise I would have never thought a crib, changing table, rocker and end table would fit! Here Tyler is during his usual morning routine of climbing into Luke's crib to say good morning!

This crib has quite the story! It was for sale at my neighbors garage sale, but I thought the price was too high. Apparently I wasn't the only one to think that, because at the end of the weekend it was still there and marked as FREE!!! So, later that night after Jake and I were in bed I said, "oh, shoot, we forgot to get that crib, it will surely be gone by morning." (Okay, so I said the "oh shoot, we forgot the to get the crib" part and not "it will surely be gone by morning," but it sounded like a good sentence)! Anywho....there goes my Darling, in his robe, down to our neighbors house and PUSHES the crib home! I'm telling you, if anyone would have seen him they would have definitely reported him!! When's the last time you saw a tall man, in a flannel robe, pushing a crib through YOUR neighborhood....AT NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!! I found this great chest of drawers at our neighbors garage sale. It's a little worn, but lovingly so. There is a good size closet in this room too, but I forgot to take a picture of it.
There's our little tour of the day, come back again. I'll be here...

a good laugh

So we're sitting on the couch yesterday, a relaxing Sunday afternoon. Tyler was a little grumpy so Jake asked him, "Tyler, are you bored?" His response with furrowed brow, "I no bored, I Tyler!" That was a good laugh to be sure....

"May your hands always be busy, may your feet always be swift, may you have a strong foundation when the winds of changes shift. May your heart always be joyful, may your song always be sung, may you stay forever young, forever young, forever young, may you stay forever young." ~Bob Dylan~

oh, the weather outside is frightful...

but the hot tub is so delightful. so since there's no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow." Here's Daddy & Tyler relaxin' in the hot tub, a place where you can find us on most nights. The boys really like it, we take them out there with their little beanies on and keep them down in the water. Some nights, just Jake and I go out, and that too is fabulous....the snow melting into my hot cup of tea....delicious!

I'm really into decorating with fuchsia/pink ribbon, fuchsia pillows, fuchsia blankets, pretty much anything fuchsia and bright...even our Christmas cards are hot pink!! It's such a FuN color.
The Christmas season is here, it always amazes me how quickly it comes....and goes, leaving us with a few new gifts and memories to last. I really want to live a Christmas-lifestyle.

"I sometimes think we expect too much of Christmas Day. We try to crowd into it the long arrears of kindliness and humanity of the whole year. As for me, I like to take my Christmas a little at a time, all through the year. And thus I drift along into the holidays--let them overtake me unexpectedly--waking up some fine morning and suddenly saying to myself: "Why this is Christmas Day!"

~David Grayson

of new aprons & little helpers

I got a new apron. It matches my kitchen and makes me want to bake all sorts of yummy things. I found it on ebay, it came to me from Kearney, NE and cost me $7. It is vintage in the best of every way, a handy pocket on the right side, long ties on either side and great rickrack detail. There's something comforting about putting this apron on. Somewhere at sometime another woman lovingly wore this apron while she too provided for her family. I love being connected to the past. Here's my little helper. He loves pulling the "schtooley," (bar stool in PA dutch) over to "help" me pour, mix, sprinkle, beat and stir. Here we are making zucchini bread. I added these delicious treats and it gave it such a yummy, minty flavor.


I must have been feeling very ambitious because I doubled the recipe, (which is already large) and I was putting stuff in the oven for hours! Well, now I have loaves to share and isn't that point? Thanks for dropping by today, it's a cozy Monday. Here's the recipe if you'd like to give it a go:
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325*
Beat eggs until light and frothy, (the key to making this delicious I do believe)!
Mix in oil & sugar.
Stir in zucchini and vanilla.
Combine remaining ingredients and add to egg mixture.

Bake for 60-70 minutes, (depending on the size of your loaf pan, smaller pans = less time).

The Stoltzfus Family

Hello all, just wanted to send you our latest family photo. This was taken on Thanksgiving day at my sisters home. I LOVE MY BOYS!!!

A Friend of the Sweetest Sort

Earlier this week my dear, dear friend Jeane treated me to a few priceless hours of girl time to commemorate my 29th birthday!! She took me to the Hershey Pantry for a most delicious breakfast. I had some of the best orange juice I've ever tasted, served in a chilled glass I might add. We ate cinnamon french toast, with fresh fruit, a lovely bacon and egg sandwich served on sun-dried tomato bread and of course, we had several cups of HOT coffee, (with flavored creamer)! I am eternally thankful when I get to a.) sit down, b.) eat food that was prepared for me and c.) drink HOT coffee, (as opposed to reheating it because someone needed something and I had to put my coffee cup down only to return to it 15 minutes later). Most of all, I am eternally thankful for the company in which I partook of all these wonderful things. I assure you, there is not a quiet SECOND with us, (not counting when our mouths are full). We laugh A LOT. Even on the way to breakfast I was laughing so hard my stomach was hurting. After breakfast, Jeane gave me one of the most thoughtful gifts. A beautiful book called, "A friendship book" in which 24 writers talk about what friendship means to them. Shakespeare, Bronte, Dickens...etc. She also framed a recent picture of Jake and I in an adorable shabby chic frame and lastly, she ordered personalized "calling cards" for me, note paper with my name on top and return address labels. They are BEAUTIFUL. Thank you Jeane, for being such a kindred spirit to me. Lets be friends forever....

"A friendship can weather most things and thrive in thin soil--but it needs a little mulch of letters and phone calls and small silly presents every so often--just to save it from drying out completely." ~Pam Brown

Central Market

Last month my dear friend Esther came for a visit from Holland. It was SO WONDERFUL to be together with her again, to sit and chat for hours at a time. I had the privilege of introducing her to Lancaster's Central Market, the oldest continually operating market space in America -- it has records that date to 1742!!! Needless to say, the history is quite amazing. We spend some time meandering through the ageless aisles, purchasing a few home baked goodies.

After our time at Central Market, we headed over to Prince Street Cafe for a delicious lunch. The boys did so well and Tyler sat w/ us at the big table eating his good ol' scrambled egg!

Lastly, we stopped at my cousin Freiman's art gallery. Unfortunately, for us, he was in Paris, France at the time, but we enjoyed his amazing artwork nonetheless. If you have the time, please do check out his website. Here is only one beautiful example of his work:

Thank you Esther for taking the time to spend the day with me and my boys. We had a delightful time with you and anticipate your next visit to America! I love you!!

"Don't be dismayed at goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes is certain for those who are friends."--Richard Bach

Esther took this picture of Tyler....come on, how big is he getting??? So sweet!

who needs toys?

take notice to poor Mr. Puppy being tossed into the air for the ride of his life!!!!!!! SO FUN!!
Who needs toys when you have a perfectly good couch with tons o' pillows? Not these two boys, that's for sure. Thanks for the fun time Owen, our home is always open for you and all your funness!!

So much to be Thankful for...

Tyler age 2 1/2 and Luke at 8 months old. He's crawling around this house like a pro and starting to pull himself up on anything he can grab hold of, namely my legs! Tyler is starting to talk so much more and is so stinkin' FUN! He's really into singing lately, "hallelula" seems to be his favorite song as of now. Just that word, over and over and over! How precious! "I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all Your marvelous deeds. I will rejoice in you and be in high spirits; I will sing praise to Your name." Psalm 9:1
Here's Luke taking the chance to beat up on TYLER for once!!! He'll just lay himself down in front of Luke and he'll take slaps at him, it's almost like Tyler thinks that Luke deserves a shot at him every now and then....just for that sake of fairness!!
Here's our early Christmas gift...being put together by my awesome man!!
TA-DA!!!! This lovely fireplace from Home Depot now graces our home and heats us through and through. It's such a cozy addition to our home. I am thankful that we are able to heat our home this winter. Oil prices being have been so high so we decided to try an alternative route this year. To have a warm home with a refrigerator filled with food, a husband that provides for me and my children, healthy bodies, true laughter, to be a servant to such a kind King, and to have peace in my heart of hearts.....there really is so much to be thankful for.

The same pillow

Good Morning to all. I thought I would begin this fine Friday by giving you a small glimpse of our previous home. Although we miss it, there is no comparison to our current, darling home. Jake had lived in "the Bachelor pad" before I came along, so when we got engaged he did some renovations. One of them included my favorite room in the house, our bedroom. He built this incredible archway over the bed, enclosed the front porch to expand the bedroom and added french doors. It was such a beautiful bedroom for the first years of our marriage...and the first year of Tyler's life. He was born in this home so it will always hold special meaning to us. I will never forget that cozy June morning, climbing into my own bed with our newborn son in my arms. Delight. Relief. Joy. Awe.
And now onto our current home in progress. Here is a picture of our bedroom before we moved in. The floor was in desperate need of being leveled, (it was about 7 inches off level)!! It seems that nothing is square in this house, but those little quirks just add to the character of it all. The "front" of our home was built in the 1882 and the "back" (kitchen/master bedroom) weren't added until the 1900's. A man named John stopped by a few months ago who had lived here for 20 years. He had quite the stories to tell about this home. It's so special to know it's history. He said the front is log cabin underneath....so, in the future we would like to expose the inside beams. My brother Tom owns a home in Strasburg and has done the same thing...it's amazing! Maybe I'll post some pictures of his home someday. By the way A VERY HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAR BROTHER TOM!!! I LOVE YOU!!!! MAY THE NEXT 40 BE EVEN RICHER!
Here Jake is with my brother Leon and my brother-in-law Lin, leveling the floor. They laid 2x4's right over the existing floor and then plywood on top of that and finally some plush carpet. I'm a big fan of carpeting in the bedroom. I like a cozy floor for my feet.

Tyler, our ever present little "helper"...18 months old at the time!!
Jake and I, (and Luke inside, I was 7 months pregnant at the time) painting our bedroom. We decided to paint it the same color as our previous bedroom. Our bedding matched that color and we had really grown to like the cocoon feeling that this blue gave us.

There were no closets in the bedroom, so Jake built a "his and hers" on this far wall. This is "hers", twice as large as the "his" version!! Thank you Honey!! They are lovely.

"What a happy and holy fashion it is that those who love one another should rest on the same pillow." ~Nathaniel Hawthorne~ And I couldn't agree more....