Party Time

So many fun things are happening right now, I barely have time to keep up with them all!!The boys are growing so quickly and Luke especially is coming to life in a whole new way! He's so sweet, more on his sweetness later.

Here are some pictures of the Anne of Green Gables cast party we had. I hope to post some photos of the play in a bit. There were several photographers there. We had the most amazing time, the script was written so well, the costumes were perfect and the set was outstanding and the actors and actresses shown like stars! It was a lot of hard work, BUT WORTH IT ALL!! The toughest thing about theatre is only performing for such short amounts of time. I felt like I had so much free brain space when I was done. I use to lay in bed at night and go over my lines as I was falling asleep....the first night I didn't have to do that it felt really odd. "What do I do?" I thought? I guess I'll just fall asleep....

Here is my brother Matthew, (in the play that is). I enjoyed being his sister Marilla for a bit. He was a kind brother who died in my arms, (my favorite scene)! No kidding! I loved that scene because it was powerful and grabbed the audience, he is really good at dying!! I didn't like that he was gone for the rest of the play though. Gent! You were such a blast to work with. We laughed ALOT!! I am missing seeing you twice a week, so we will have to make something work out in order to see each other and the cast more often!! Blessings to you as you make your path in life! See you soon.

It's a neat story of how our paths crossed again....all over some zucchini bread I had made. A mutual friend was here for dinner one night and I sent a loaf of zucchini bread home with her. Gentry tasted some the next day and found my blog, commented on how delicious it was and it all went from there. When I checked out his blog I realized that he has a passion for acting/film making and so OF COURSE I contacted him to see if he wanted to audition! And the rest is history!! So, I made loaves and loaves of my zucchini bread in honor of that meeting.....and this time sent him home with his very own loaf! Yippee for zucchini bread! Here are some of the "school girls" playing on the hammock! Don't they just LOOK like drama?? And of course Tyler had to get in on that picture, he liked having all these people here....he loves parties!! Here are some of the boys climbing all over our new ship, (THANKS TO CARL AND FAN @ homeplace structures!!). And yes, that boy is LEAPING off the ship! Cracked me up when I took the picture! I suppose that will by Tyler and Luke before too long!! As the day turned into night we watched movies on our HUGE outdoor screen. Jake rigged this awesome screen on the side of our house. We enjoy having people over and watching movies throughout the summer at our very own drive-in! Here we are watching "The Parent Trap", the old version....and the best I might add!!
snuggling with my little man while watching outdoor movies.....ah, summertime!!We'll be hosting another party before too long, to watch the complete edited version of "Anne of Green Gables." We will have it available on DVD for a small cost. If you're interested in purchasing one, or would like to know more about the arts academy, you can contact Chabod Academy of the Arts.

"Ability is what you're capable of doing.
Motivation determines what you do.
Attitude determines how well you do it.
~Lou Holtz~

I'm bringin' serving back

Just have to give all my friends out there a good laugh...go ahead, fill it up on me....

Lancaster Barnstormers

Here in Lancaster we have our own minor league baseball team called the Barnstormers, (and our mascot's name is Cylo!! How cute is that??) It's nothing to shake a bat at, in '06 they won the Atlantic League Championship!! We were at that winning game and it was WILD!!!!!!!! So, whenever we take/make the time to go to a game, it's always worth our time! A few nights ago we went with Jake's brother, (and business partner) and his wife. It's so neat to see them together because they have such different looks, (kind of reminds me of Tyler & Luke) and their personalities are so different, but that's what makes them such good friends and colleagues. They really do get along quite well.

We had GREAT seats, a sky box right behind home plate. Here's my favorite way to eat a hot dog....piled with all kinds of "fixin's".

It was such a fun night to be with my Man. I enjoy his company so much. I don't really mind what we're doing as long as we're together. Hope you have the chance to go to a baseball game this summer, it's delightful.

"A baseball game is simply

a nervous breakdown

divided into nine innings."

~Earl Wilson

friends and popsicles

With weather like this I'd like to walk around
with no pants on and eat Popsicles all day,
but the neighbors might not appreciate that
so I'll leave it up to these guys...

my new apron & my fuchsia world

My dear friend Jeane
gave me this beautiful little apron.
It's just PERFECT!!
All the lovely detail and the pattern,
it's so HAPPY!
I'm really into fuchsia, (aka hot pink) lately,
(actually, I should probably stop saying that
because I've been loving this color now for....um...
a really long time, as in years and years).it started with our beautiful wedding invitation.
my cousin Freiman painted a lovely picture of us
with a fuchsia flower in my hair.
thus the ribbon tied on the invitation to match
...and the love affair began! some of my favorite shoes our bathroom
our shower curtain
my new swimsuit

my favorite dishes, i only have one plate and a cup and saucer,
but they are my favorite out of all i have.
Rose Chintz by Johnson Brothers.

my car, (HA)
my most favorite shirt
my flower beds this yearmy pj's
my front porch with a cutie my permanent summertime nail color
my flower boxes
my couchand my dream bike.....

so, yes, I like fuchsia in all it's forms.
And THANK YOU Friend for knowing me,
feels so good to be known.
If I have a little girl someday,
maybe we'll name her Fuchsia.
ok, that's overboard....
and thanks to my MAN for loving me
and all my pinkness....
the way I am.

(oh my word, even my blog has fuchsia in it...just realized that one!!)

Happy 3rd Birthday Jacob Tyler!!

Today our little boy turns 3!! How quickly the years have gone. I read once, "the days are long, but the years are short" and I am seeing how true that is! Tyler was born in the early morning hours on June 7th, 2005. Actually I remember well that just one minute after he was born Jake's alarm clock went off! So, that would be around 5 a.m.!! My labor and delivery went so beautifully with him. We lived in our darling first apartment in Goodville, PA. and had him at home in our bathtub!! That was NOT on purpose, but he came so quickly I didn't even have time to get out of the tub!, (thus beginning my love for water birth). I will never forget the first time I held him in my arms, "oh honey, it's a boy! you have a son!!" I just cried and laughed and cried some more. He was so calm, just looking around at everything. Jake held him for the first half hour and rocked him and sang to him. And that moment when I crawled into my bed and held this miracle in my arms....time. stood. still. As tired as I was I just couldn't fall asleep, I kept opening my eyes to look at him because I couldn't believe he was actually here. And now we fast forward three years and I still look at him and can't believe he's here, he's our little boy, our firstborn, our guy. Tyler has such a sweet spirit. He is very social and loves to be around people, (I can't imagine where he got THAT from!!). Although he also enjoys playing by himself and pretending for hours with his precious Thomas trains. He is very particular about things being in order and being placed where they should be. He likes order, (after he's done playing and making a mess)! Tyler loves anything that has to do with cooking or baking, he could sit for hours and watch the Food Network. Whenever I am in the kitchen you can be sure he'll pull up his little chair and "help." He also has a very gentle spirit toward others, when they fall he wants to make sure they are okay, if he has something to eat, he wants to make sure others do as well. One of my greatest and deepest prayers for Tyler, (since he was still in my womb) was that he would be kind to others. Through the Grace of God I hope to instill that in his heart and mind because when we care about others first, that is when True Life begins. Sweet Tyler, WE LOVE YOU and we're so glad you were born. Happy 3rd Birthday Guy!!!

"The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and stars were the gifts you gave
to the dark and the empty skies, my love."
~Roberta Flack~

today

feeling lazy, but trying to motivate myself.

it's not working.

it's just better to not rely on my own strength because it is SO FLEETING!
I am so thankful I have a Place to go to,

Someone to call on,

Strength unending to fill me to overflowing.

Thank you Lord for being here with me,
for cheering me on in the dailiness of life.

I give you what I have which honestly doesn't feel like much sometimes.

But you look at my heart and in there

there is A LOT to give!

"And its only by your mercy Lord, I come

I bring an offering of worship to my King

No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing

Jesus may you receive The honor that You're due

O Lord, I bring an offering to you

I bring an offering to you."

~Paul Baloche~

* artwork by Freiman Stoltzfus entitled "Hope"

Memorial Day Memories

Jake and I truly had a vacation during the Memorial Day weekend. I'm realizing that
vacation is not so much where you are, but it is a state of mind.....we just disconnected from everything and spent time enjoying the company
of each other, our boys, our family and friends.
It was so fabulous to just BE together and have FUN, FUN, FUN! We laid on the hammock eating Popsicles, played with the boys, went for long walks around town, got pizza and ate it at the park, went to the local Memorial Day parade, (thank you Tom for
the "box seats" your darling front porch w/ the perfect view... played football with our "new" friends, (our neighbors we met at our last garage sale)
relaxed on the front porch with cups of hot coffee
and cold bowls of cereal, ate amazing food made my our dear friends Wendell & MaryJo, played in the creek, had long, deep conversations over fresh strawberries, and drank homemade wine!!
(Thanks to MaryJo for the hours, months and
one entire YEAR that went into making this homemade peach wine....
it was AmAzInG!!!)

The boys had a blast with Josephine, running around
their ENORMOUS backyard....

The boys were exhausted after a long weekend of fun-having! The one night after the boys were in bed we lit the fire pit out back and relaxed on the hammock, it was so peaceful. Again I was filled with such gratitude for our lovely home and the peace that surrounds us. We have so much to be thankful for. I don't EVER want to take the things I have for granted.

"Thou has given me so much...

Give me one thing more,

a grateful heart."

~George Herbert