Merry Christmas!

I hope all who read this blog had a very Merry Christmas this year!

We spent Christmas Eve with our church family celebrating our Savior's birth. The church service was one of my favorite Christmas Eve services yet, featuring songs from Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God, and of course, songs sung by our church's very cute, lovable, and entertaining children. Most of all, it is a highlight of mine to worship the Lord for giving up his majestic throne in heaven and being born a lowly man all so that he could rescue lost sinners. We have an amazing God, and Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year to celebrate all that he is. It is always difficult not to become distracted by the cares and responsibilities of life during this season, but by God's grace, I hope I was able to at least come back to a place where I could remember the true reason for the season, and also to reflect that truth to Claire.

After church Christmas Eve and all day Christmas day was spent with family who we love so very much! It can be a full and exhausting 24 hours, but I am so thankful that we can see our family that we love very much for Christmas.

Oh...Christmas Tree

I know most of you probably think this post will include a beautiful picture of a Christmas tree all decorated for Christmas. Well, our tree this year came home last Saturday, became beautifully arranged with Christmas lights and ornaments by Tuesday, and completely undecorated and taken out with the trash on Sunday. The poor tree died only days after being brought home. We would be sitting on the couch and could hear the needles dropping to the floor. My parents went to the same Christmas tree farm they always go to, cut it down themselves, re-cut the bottom off of the tree as soon as they got home and put it in water immediately. Sounds like they did everything right...? Oh well, the only thing I can think of is that Claire and I couldn't go along this year to get it, so now maybe we'll get a second chance. We'll all get a second chance to arrange lights and ornaments. :) Seriously, it is fun the first time, but the second time...??? It kind of gets old. I feel bad for my parents, though, who did the most work already by cutting down the first one, putting it up, decorating, taking it down, cleaning up all of the needles, etc. Hopefully we'll have success with Tree No. 2, which the Christmas tree farm is giving us free of charge.

Claire's 4th Birthday (Sorry So Late!)

Okay, so I need to be more diligent with my blogging. Sorry! Life has definitely been busy lately, but I will try to do better with updating this blog. It's terrible that I am just now getting around to updating the blog with Claire's Birthday, since it was almost 2 months ago!! Oh well, better late than never, right??

I can't believe Claire is 4 years old. She is turning into such a little lady. Here are some pictures from her 4th birthday celebration, which was spent with her family...











The last picture was taken at ZooAmerica, which is where Claire's Aunt Erica, Mimi, and I took her to celebrate her actual birthday. It worked out well that her birthday was on Labor Day so that Mimi and Aunt Erica had the day off. It was a great day!!

I thank God every day for the precious gift Claire is to me. His grace is so evident in her life. She is so gentle and kind, and never fails to brighten my day! Lately I've been having trouble with my car, but every time something has gone wrong with it, she says something to cheer me up. What a sweetie!! She also regularly gives me hugs and kisses out of the blue, just because she feels like it. :) God is so kind to bless me with such a wonderful daughter!

Happy Camper Award

I gave Claire the "Happy Camper Award" for our recent camping trip. She went into it saying, "I don't want to go," and came out saying, "I love camping. I want to do it again!" She was afraid of the campfire before we went, and started to cry when the fire was getting started the first day. But before we knew it, she changed her mind and started to love the campfire! We had a great time with our friends from church, talking around the campfire, taking walks, going to the swimming pool, etc. Thanks to our friends who kindly lent us camping supplies (Tim and Nicoli for the tent, Kevin and Jenny for the air mattress, John and Wendy for the propane stove)! Thanks to Ken and Beth for covering our camping costs and sharing a campsite with us - your generosity is very much appreciated, and we so enjoyed your company! And thanks to Suzanne Risser for organizing the church camping trip, giving me advice and pointers, and generally making me comfortable with the idea of taking Claire camping. I hope it is something we can do more of in the future.

Summertime Fun

It seems as though we've been getting swept away with summer activities lately, which can feel overwhelmingly busy at times, but fun all the while. Here are a few highlights from the summer...

Riverside Park with Isabella



Hershey Gardens with Gabi



Swimming at Aunt Erica's



Playing in the Sand in Stone Harbor, NJ



Crayola Factory in Easton, PA with Mimi & Mommy



We would love to hear what your favorite summertime activities have been, so please feel free to leave comments for us!

Now we are off this afternoon to go camping with some people from church at Camp Hebron through Saturday. It will be Claire's first camping trip, and my first time camping in a tent for more than one night. I will try not to wait too long to update you all on how it went!

Our Vegetable Garden

My dad so graciously dug out an area of the yard for me to plant a vegetable garden this year, and it has done very well. Thanks to my dad for the digging and turning over of soil, my grandfather-in-law for giving us several plants he didn't have room for in his garden, and to God for the abundance of rain this Spring, it is looking very well. I have a few peppers that are soon ready to be picked, several small zucchini, some spinach, and some herbs. The tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, red onions, butternut squash, and a cantaloupe will arrive later this summer and early next fall. It is so much fun to watch, and will be very yummy to eat!!

Back on the "Neb"

Claire had a strange and unexpected appearance of asthma, accompanied by pneumonia in the beginning of April. One week on a nebulizer and some antibiotics cleared her up just fine. She's been fine since then until yesterday, when after two days of a runny nose, she started wheezing again. The doctor found an ear infection (not pneumonia, thankfully) this time, so we're back on the nebulizer and antibiotics again! It's so strange to me how my little girl can be as healthy as can be and all of the sudden can't breathe. I don't know whether allergies are causing her troubles, or what, but I'm hoping we can get it all under control soon.

The medicine that accompanies the nebulizer has had some interesting side effects. It seems to make Claire very hyper and talkative. She is for the most part a very cheerful (even more than usual) little girl, but occasionally something will upset her and she is having a meltdown. It's like this medicine has her on emotional highs and lows. Fortunately, there have been more highs than lows.

Pictures from April with "Big Night-Night" and the Nebulizer:

Visit to Winterthur

This past Wednesday, Claire and I packed up into my Aunt Debbie's car and took a road trip to Winterthur, Delaware. Winterthur, pronounced "Winter Tour" is a country estate of the du Pont family. It is a historic site as well as a garden. It would take multiple day trips to see everything at Winterthur, but what we saw during our trip was wonderful.

Upon our arrival at Winterthur, we boarded a tram (with a high-spirited tour guide) that traveled through the gardens. The view of the "Azalea Woods" (recently featured on the Martha Stewart Show) was breathtaking, as the azaleas were blooming at about their peak.



Our first stop was the Enchanted Woods, featuring a Faerie Cottage, Tulip Tree House, and more...

Faerie Cottage

Tulip Tree House

Fairy Ring (Circle of Toadstool statues/seats that spray mist into the center of the circle. Claire wanted to dance in the middle of it all day!)

Fairy Tea Party

Labyrinth (Claire enjoyed this, too. Debbie and I enjoyed it, but got a little dizzy!)

Debbie & Claire by the Giant Bird's Nest

After seeing all there was to see in the Enchanted Woods, we walked through the gardens to the reflecting pool, which was behind the mansion (containing 175 rooms, by the way).

Claire and I standing up on the waterfalls that flow into the reflecting pool (used to be the family's swimming pool)

On the other side of the reflecting pool and leading into the mansion/museum, there is a Handkerchief Tree (a.k.a. Dove Tree). Apparently a rare tree in the U.S., the flower on this tree resembles a Hankie.





We really enjoyed our trip with Aunt Debbie. We always love spending time with her, and this was such a beautiful day with beautiful surroundings.

Celebrating Mother's Day

This Mother's Day, I want to highlight two females in my life. These two "women" are the most important "women" God has placed in my life. The first, my very own mother. The second, the one who God graciously gave me to make me a mother, Claire.

First, as I think about my mother, I can't help but think of her generosity. She gives financially, as well as of her time. My mom could have spent her inheritance in many ways, but she decided to pay off the college debt of all three of her daughters instead. Sacrificing an income as we were growing up, she stayed home to care for us. Even now, when she learns of a need (need is used loosely here) from one of her daughters, she is quick to step up and offer help. As a grandmother, she gives so much of herself to Claire. Sacrificing one of the "perks" of grand-parenthood - being able to enjoy grandchildren, but also being able to enjoy an empty (quiet) nest when they go home - my mom embraces having Claire and I live with my parents. Their home is far from quiet at times due to a learning 3-year-old, fully equipped with energy, laughter, singing and dancing, not to mention the inevitable temper tantrum. Yet my mom, who we are so blessed to have, seems to be blessed by us being here.

Another trait I see in my mom is that she is a great gardener. I admire how she toils in this nice, spring weather, not afraid to get her hands dirty (or run into a few worms and bugs). I know she didn't always have time to make our gardens so nice growing up. But I hope she knows that she was toiling a different garden, often getting her hands dirty and running into "worms" and "bugs" of a different sort, as she raised my sisters and I. Her time was well spent, even though I'm sure she didn't see the rewards so quickly as she would have in a flower garden.

I love you, Mom, and I thank you for sacrificing so much for us. Thank you for supporting me in my own mothering. You are a huge means of God's grace to me!

To the second "lady" in my life, my precious Claire. I thank God every day for this gift He has given me. I never imagined what being a mother would feel like until you came along. You have brought me joy in ways I wouldn't have expected. Your laugh lifts my spirits when they are low. At age three, you already encourage me with kind words. I mess up as a Mommy daily, but you are so quick to forgive me every time. I am so blessed and undeserving to have you in my life.

This Mother's Day, even knowing that I will toil myself in the soil of motherhood, I feel so privileged to do so. With what I have in Christ, I am so rich. With what I have from my mother and daughter, I am even richer yet.

Happy Mother's Day

I've found some interesting writings on Mother's Day on various blogs. Two of which I will link you to here:

http://www.cbmw.org/Blog/Posts/In-Honor-of-Godly-Mothers

http://girltalk.blogs.com/girltalk/

You will find it interesting (unless you already knew) how Mother's Day was originally established in the first link. Both links help us all to keep our focus (whether we are mothers or not) where it belongs.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Birthday, Dad ("Pap")

Today is my dad's (and Claire's pap's) birthday. My dad is an extraordinary man (even though he probably doesn't think he is). He has been a faithful husband to my mom for 34 years, working hard so my mom could stay home and take care of my sisters and I. He has also been a selfless dad to three girls (he was hugely outnumbered), supporting us in all of our interests. He's killed millions of spiders (and other creepy crawlers), taught three teenage girls how to drive (yikes!), worked overtime for years without complaining about it, tried to teach us sports (some of us weren't very good learners in that area), took us for hikes and nature walks (and cleaned our muddy sneakers when we got home), taught us about birds and other wildlife, kept our cars (and now some of our houses) in good working order, and always made us laugh (or roll our eyes) with a good, corny joke. These are only a few of the things I appreciate about my dad. Now, he continues to be a supportive grandfather to Claire. He reads her stories (even princess ones) after a long day and long drive home from work, takes us out for breakfast many Saturday mornings, takes us birdwatching, and has even been known to be a bridesmaid in one of Claire's pretend weddings.

Dad, I hope you know just how much you are appreciated!! Happy Birthday!!

Spring Update

I'm sorry I haven't been regular at all with my blogging lately. I will try to do better! Here are some highlights from the past few weeks:

Easter
The night before Easter morning, Claire and I read from her Bible the stories of Jesus' death and resurrection. I was very grateful for the opportunity to remind Claire (and myself) of the real reason why we celebrate Easter (not Easter candy, baskets, egg hunts, etc.)! Here are a few pictures from Easter including a visit with Grammy, Mama and Papa, and the annual egg hunt at my parents' house.

Claire in her Easter dress Mama (Claire's great-grandmother)made for her.

Claire and Mama

Claire, Daddy, and Grammy

Easter Baskets from Mama & Grammy

Egg hunting

Everyone at the Egg Hunt (with 181 eggs!)

Hershey Gardens
We love visiting Hershey Gardens, and thanks to our household membership, we can visit whenever we like. We took the day last Friday to visit the gardens with Aunt Debbie to enjoy the beautiful tulips.

Claire and Aunt Debbie

Stop and smell the tulips

Claire and Mommy

Tumbling Class (Sorry, no pictures)
I enrolled Claire in a tumbling class through our township, which consists of 6 consecutive weekly classes where three- to five-year-olds learn all sorts of tricks. In her tumbling class, Claire has been crab walking, log rolling, walking on a balance beam, and, most importantly, having fun!
It is so much fun for me to watch, too! Claire has also enjoyed making some new friends and is always excited to go back every week.

Learning Center Family Night
My nieces and Claire's cousins, Gabriella and Isabella, participated in a homeschooling co-op this school year. We were invited to their family night. Both girls did a great job in their presentations on stage! It was also wonderful to see some artwork on display and some pictures from their school year. Way to go, girls!!

Claire's First Bowling Experience
Claire got the opportunity to bowl last weekend for the very first time! I was impressed at how far bowling alleys have come since I was younger. The bumpers automatically came up out of the ground when it was Claire's turn, and they had a "slide" she could use to push her ball down, giving it a bit more momentum than it would have otherwise. :) The non-smoking part is a huge improvement, too. Claire was our team's cheerleader...it didn't matter how poorly you bowled, she would always be quick to shout, "Good job!" after your turn, complete with a thumbs up and everything. What a great encourager!! Claire carried her own, 7 lb. ball, every single turn. Thankfully she didn't drop it on her toes! She even bowled a spare for one of her turns!

Happy Easter

"He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." - Isaiah 53: 3-6

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." - 1 Peter 1: 3-5

Wishing you a very Happy Easter as you celebrate the Lord's death and resurrection. May he be at the center of all that we do, especially on Easter day.

"Maglifinding"

Claire received a new toy the other day - a magnifying glass, which she calls a "maglifinding" glass. She loves to take it with her when we go to the store, look at all of the pictures in her books with it, and basically just walk around the house "maglifinding" things. It is so cute!

(Inspecting her water for bacteria???)

Middle Creek

Every March for the past few years, we have gone with my parents to Middle Creek, where the snow geese and tundra swans stop to feed during their migration north. There were approximately 25,000 snow geese and 3,600 tundra swans this weekend (we didn't count them, and I don't know how they come up with these numbers!). Although there were less than we have seen in other years, it was still absolutely breathtaking. We have an amazing creator!

A friendly snow goose coming up close to the birdwatchers:



Fields covered with snow geese:







A few tundra swans flying over the water (these make a beautiful sound):



A cute little birdwatcher:







We also spent some time in the visitors center, which has all kinds of interesting things to look at. Here is Claire feeling the animal fur:



Claire, Gram Gram, and Pap:







Claire & Mimi:



We had a wonderful day birdwatching. In addition to the snow geese and tundra swans, we also saw Canada geese, ring-necked ducks, mergansers, pintails, bluebirds and a belted kingfisher. I am so thankful for my parents who share these awesome experiences with us and teach us all about birdwatching! Thanks Mom & Dad!