Joshua Time

 

Today marked the end of Joshua's golf school.  Josh seemed to have a good time.  The kids especially liked getting to go onto the course for the first time today to go onto the green and do some real putting. 

 

Yesterday and today have been fun- I've gotten to have some "Joshua Time" without the girls.  After picking him up when golf was over, he has been coming back to the office with me to hang out.  Since Sherry and I have been flying solo most of the week with Julie out on her big, exciting Alaskan vacation, we welcomed the help.  Yesterday I took him for lunch (at Subway...his absolute favorite) and then we took him back home for the afternoon.  Today, he has declared that he wants to stay with me at the office all day, so we'll see how long that actually lasts.  I have my bets on him deciding he has had enough of the working world by about 3:00, which will make it officially too late for me to make the round trip to Turbotville and back to Lewisburg with enough time left in the day to accomplish much of anything.

 

So, for now, he is setting up his own "office" with tons of supplies and an old phone that he can use to make important calls without actually calling me or Sherry or heaven only knows who else on our real phones.  I made the mistake of showing him how to use the intercom feature on the phone system one time earlier this year- and now he is very liberal with his usage of the "call Mommy" button.  It's cute for about the first 300 times he calls me.

 



I'm grateful for the time to spend with him.  Before we know it, we're going to be buying school supplies (backpacks and lunchboxes are already ordered) and figuring out the routine of two kids in school, as if one didn't just about do me in last year with all of the pickups and deliveries.  Thankfully, this year, my runs to Turbotville mid-day are going to be few and far between, so I will count that a major blessing.

Josh seems to be growing and maturing in front of our eyes these days.  He learned to tie his shoes by himself yesterday.  And I swear he has grown at least 2 inches since school ended.  And he is taking responsibility for things on his own that I normally needed to handle.  I was so proud of him yesterday when we were talking about a rumored ice cream situation that was scheduled for after golf was done this morning.  I told him that I would talk to the teacher and find out what we needed to do for him.  But he said, "Mommy, can I ask Mr. Jamieson myself about it?"  When I said yes, he said, "Does that mean in two minutes you're going to go over there and ask him yourself?"  We giggled, and I told him that I trusted him.  We talked again this morning about what he was going to do about the ice cream, and say "No, thank you".  I promised him I would be there early and just be in the parking lot in case he was worried or didn't know what to do.  But I watched him handle the situation this morning, and handle it well.  Mr. Jamieson remembered that he had talked to him yesterday, and didn't give him the M&M ice cream sandwich that he gave the other kids, but instead gave him three sleeves of golf balls instead of two.  I think it was a very fair trade! 

We'll celebrate today with a lunch from....you guessed it.  Hopefully Joshua will have a little picnic here with me at the office.  I love having him here.

What kind of a mother?

It seems like everywhere we have looked in the past 24 hours, everyone has been talking about the "Royal Baby".  For heavens sake, all of those crazy reporters have been camped out at the doors to the hospital for the past week!  Although I have been intrigued by the whole thing, and a bit in awe of the spectacle that the birth of a tiny little baby has created, I find myself thinking the same things every time I see the news channel switch to the story again.

I keep wondering how Kate and William are feeling about all of this.  Never mind that their new son is a Prince, or an eventual heir to the throne.  Never mind that the entire world, it seems, has been waiting for this moment since their wedding day.  Never mind that this is a baby who has been born into way more than he bargained for.  At the center of it all sits a mother and a father, in awe of the wonder of their new baby.  I just can't help but think that Kate is going through all of the same things that I and every other first time mother has experienced- all of the fears and questions and expectations and disappointments and struggles and tears and sleepless nights.  And all of the joy.  The unspeakable joy.

I heard this afternoon on my run to the bank from a CNN reporter that there are apparently no nannies in place for this sweet baby boy.  They were astonished that Kate, his mother, wanted to keep his life as normal as it can possibly be under the circumstances.  He is a future king, you know.  People seemed shocked that she wanted to be the one to hold him, soothe him when he cries, change his "nappies" and rock him to sleep.  And so, royal or not, Kate seems to be in the same place all of us were when we first held our little bundles after they arrived--- the position of deciding what kind of a mother we were going to be.

It's made me a bit reflective today, about the kind of mother I want to be.  I can only hope that I actually am.

I want to be the kind of mother that my children will remember as present through every season of their lives- the constant in a world that is so quickly changing around them.

I want to be the kind of mother who gives a hug more often than I give advice, and certainly more often than I give criticism.  I want my love to just soak through their little bodies with every embrace, every sweet kiss on their foreheads, and fill them up so much that they can't help but spill love over to others in their lives.  I want to be the kind of mother who can always shower them with love, whether they live under the same roof as Jason and I, or whether they're off at college, or living abroad or living in the town next door as adults.

I want to be the kind of mother that makes each of my children feel like I love them the best.  I want them to someday tell stories to their own children about the "special" things that I did for them to make them feel my love for them.  And I want them to learn, only then, that I did the same things for their siblings.

I want to be the kind of mother who makes it my business to make memories- ones that we will all cherish for our lifetmes.  I want to walk away from the mess in the house and sit outside and blow bubbles when I should be folding laundry.  I want to take walks when I should be picking up toys.  I want to order dinner out when I should be cooking, just to have a little more time to play.  I want to play Candyland and Go Fish instead of balancing the checkbook.  Because those are the things they are going to remember.

I want to be the kind of mother who says "yes" more often than "no"- who can find a way to make things happen when the kids ask me to.  I want to be the mother who isn't bogged down in being so efficient that I miss the chance to be connected to them.  I want to bring them to the office even if it is inconvenient, to bring them with me when I go grocery shopping even if it takes me more time to check things off of the list, to include them in everything that I do so that they feel like I always want them with me. 

I want to be the kind of mother who gives grace....who shows my children how to forgive, especially when it is the hardest to do.  To be the one who accepts a sweet, "I'm sorry" with open arms and a smile that promises them that they will always be forgiven, and who reflects the love of our Lord in the way I can promote peace and offer grace every day.

I want to be the kind of mother who lives by example- who does more teaching with my actions than my words.

I want to be the kind of mother who embraces my flaws, and actively works to improve on them.  I want my children to know that they are not perfect, that God created them with imperfections that will force them to lean on Him.  I don't ever want my children to see pride get in the way of improvement, or to see a breakdown in a relationship because I wasn't mature enough to admit my part in it.

I want to be the kind of mother who is a good example of how to love their future spouse.  I want to be the kind of wife that Joshua will dream of having, and the kind of wife that will show Lauren and Mara how to treat their husbands one day, and how to help build a home for their future children.  I want to be the kind of mother who prays for my future daughter and sons-in-law, and who will be able to love them like they were my own children one day.

I want to be the kind of mother who helps my children to celebrate their successes, but who also helps to pick them up when they fail.  I want to help them learn to view their mistakes as a momentary setback and not as a definition of who they are.  I want to tell them stories about the failures in my life- the struggles, the heartbreaks, the dreams I was devastated to let go of.  But I also want them to see the redemption in the hurt, the rebuilding of the broken, into the story of our lives.  How even the deepest heartbreak can be the opening of an opportunity at something much greater.

I want to be the kind of mother who finds the celebration in every day- who makes the night before the first day of school something special, who turns a normal Friday night into a party that they will remember, who finds a reason to celebrate something all the time.  If memories are built on shared happiness, I want to find something that we all can share to be happy about every day.

I want to be the kind of mother who tells my kids I love them at every possible opportunity.  I never want them to wonder if they are loved, if they are liked, if they are cherished and treasured like the gifts of God that they are.  I want to tell them always how grateful I am to be their mother so they never doubt for a second their worth to us or to God.

There it went...again.



I really had one goal this weekend--- to get the kids OUT OF THE HOUSE!  Last week's heat wave was enough to give everyone a case of a bad attitude.  And by Saturday morning, I had already had more than I could take of the disobedience and the squabbling.  And it was all due to the fact that the kids had been cooped up far too long.  So I did what any good mother would do.

 

I took them to Target.  There were a few things on my list that I needed there, and I thought that it was worth a shot to impact their behavior with a change of scenery, even if it was to buy things like a new water cup, garbage bags and conditioner.  I was partly successful in resetting the kids.  And the other portion of our success in changing their behavior might possibly have had something to do with threatening them within an inch of their lives if they didn't shape up.  Hard to say.

 

Jason and I got to enjoy another night out on Saturday night.  It was spontaneous- something we aren't really good at anymore, although we used to be better than we are now.  But Jen was available to stay with the kids and we took advantage of the opportunity to sneak away.  We went to the Turkey Hill Brew Pub and had a great meal.  I even (gasp) drank 3/4 of a beer.  Jason will be quick to point out to you that I milked it, and took over 2 hours to finish one beer, but I would like it to be noted that this was the first beer I have had to drink in.........well..........long enough that I can't really say when it was.  It was probably before Joshua was born.  It was a sad state of affairs.  But our dinner was awesome.  We ended up heading home earlier than we expected, but it was still nice to be out two weekends in a row.

 

Sunday, after church, we packed up the kids and headed to Knoebels for the afternoon/evening.  I don't know whether Disney had us park'ed out or what, but it just hasn't been high on the priority list to get to Knoebels this summer.  But the kids had been asking, so we figured we'd take advantage of the cooler temperatures and have some fun.  The kids loved riding the rides.  We find ourselves, though, in the first situation where we have one child who is way too big for the kiddie rides, while the others are still too small for bigger rides.  Joshua was a real trooper, indulging his sisters while they rode things he had no interest in.  He did ride a few of the smaller rides as a chaperone to Mara, who we weren't certain would remain seated or heed the straps that kept her in the ride.  Luckily, she was pretty good on the rides, but there were a few moments of uncertainty on a few of the rides where she looked concerned, and it appeared as though she might just try to climb out.

 

Joshua's highlight of the night was his first ever ride on the Phoenix.  I won't lie-- I was a complete basket case about him going on the huge roller coaster.  I believe the woman who just fell out of the one in Texas may have caused my concern, but Jason assured me that he would hold on to him tightly.  When they came off the ride, Joshua declared that it was "AWESOME!"  He also enjoyed the Haunted Gold Mine and the Haunted House.  He insisted on riding the frog hopper, but looked like he was going to cry the whole time he was on it.  He was fine when he got off, but I don't think that will be on his list of favorites.

 

Knoebels is best shared in pictures, so here you go...



 

We brought home three filthy, tired kids.  But I guess that was the point.  Weekends are going by awfully quickly these days, but then again, so is the whole summer.  We hope yours was as great as ours was.

Beating the heat.

I haven't been feeling like the mother of the year the past few days based on how little the kids have been able to be outside this week.  With temperatures in the upper 90's, there just isn't any good reason to be outside in the sweltering heat more than absolutely necessary.  And so, we have found ourselves cooped up inside more often than usual.  Poor Mara has been doing everything in her power to show us through charades that she is dying to get outside to blow bubbles!  And I think Joshua fears that the basketball hoop might fall down if he doesn't use it for at least an hour each day.  I am hoping that the heat will break soon, and we'll be back to our outside routines.

We were blessed to get an invitation from one of Jason's clients to come and visit them last evening so that we could all enjoy their swimming pool.  Even though the water temperatures had to be over 90 degrees, it still felt good to be in the water.  And I don't think the kids minded one bit.  Joshua took off swimming all over the place in his water wings, while Lauren and Mara were much more reserved.  It is times like this that I wish we either spent a lot more time at the pool, or that I had invested the time in swimming lessons for the kids, because I know it just takes effort and repetition for them to get comfortable.  I have no problem with effort, but taking time out of work schedules to handle swimming lessons just isn't a luxury that we have right now.  So, we do the best we can.  Sadly, a thunderstorm sent us packing out of the pool a lot sooner than the kids would have liked, but we had a nice dinner together and enjoyed their company greatly.  How nice of them to share their beautiful pool with us.

We are looking forward to a rather quiet weekend at home this weekend.  We have a few things planned, and are keeping a Knoebels trip under a veil of secrecy for Sunday in case it cools down enough to venture out with the kids to have some fun there.  We aren't mentioning it to them in case it is either a. still too hot to think about it, or b. Sunday rolls around and Jason and I don't have the energy to make it happen.  But we know that, even one word to the kids about it means that we're hooked.

Wishing everyone a cool, relaxing weekend.  I'm hoping to catch up on laundry, start checking things off of my pre-back to school checklist, and squeeze in some time to read a book.  If I get past number one it'll be a miracle.

Feeling blessed.

Today marks my 35th birthday.  Or, as I've been telling myself all day, the sixth anniversary of my 29th birthday.  I certainly have been feeling blessed.

 

Jason and I took the opportunity on Saturday night to head out for some alone time while the kids were with Jen (our new favorite babysitter).  They were having a ball at home, and we were certainly appreciating being out without lugging the kids along.  We went to our favorite Mexican restaurant in Williamsport.  Although it is in a less than desirable part of town, it's worth the risk to get in the door.  The food is really good.  It was nice to have good conversation and hot food and no worries about what or who might have touched a peanut in the last 24 hours.

 

On Sunday morning, we were off to church.  It was fun to watch the kids get up and sing one of their songs from Bible School, as well as watch the slide show during the time that we were waiting for church to begin.  The kids really did have a wonderful time.  We headed home at lunch time to get ready for our very exciting visit from Nana and Pap, and Aunt Libby and the girls.

 

I had mentioned in passing at the Lodge that what I wanted for my birthday was for us to have home made ice cream sometime this summer.  I was shocked, and very pleasantly surprised, when Mom suggested that this weekend would be a good time.  We grilled some steaks on our new grill and did some beans and a salad, as well as a cake that the kids decorated and the ice cream.  Everything was so yummy!

 

What was even better, though, was having the time to spend with everyone.  We're so busy, and so often don't make the time to just be together.  I appreciated that so much--- that Mom and Dad took the time to make the trip to us and lug all of the fixings for the ice cream, and that Libby went to the trouble of packing up the girls and making the trek on her own since Zig had to work.  I know it made for a long night for her last night, but hopefully it was worth it to be able to have the time to spend together.  The kids had a blast running in the sprinkler and throwing water balloons at each other.  They were out there playing and giggling for over 2 hours-- music to my ears.  Maybe not our neighbors, though.  The kids were filthy and exhausted by the time dinner rolled around, but I think that's what makes for a good summer day.  And good memories.

 

This was Mara's first taste of home made ice cream...a Richard tradition.  She wore about half of the bowl, but the part that actually made it into her mouth put the biggest smile on her face.  Me too, baby girl, me too!  Although I have set my next weight loss goal, I think Dad's ice cream and the kids' cake that they made was well worth the diet sabbotage this week.

Three happy cake and ice cream kids!  Lauren couldn't even slow down enough to look at the camera!

So...my wish for my birthday is to fill this year with these kinds of days--- the kind where I am surrounded by people who love me, and who I can shower with the love I have for them.  The kind of days that are full of more laughs than worries, more smiles than tears.  The kind where I can lay my head down on my pillow at night and fall asleep even before I'm done running down the list of blessings I have to thank God for. 

18 months!

I walked off without my camera this morning, so this will be a pictureless post.  But I had Mara to the doctor for her 18 month visit to the pediatrician on Wednesday.  I haven't done a great job of keeping her monthly updates going....I blame that on the fact that there are no stickers left....but this one seems like a milestone worthy of a blog post.

In terms of stats, Mara seems to be growing nicely.  I wish I could say that's because her diet is so full of wonderful, nutritious food.  She is a relatively good eater, probably better than the other kids were at this same age, but we are quickly taking a turn into the land of toddler-hood in terms of eating.  She has developed a preference for junk, and has the hard headedness to go along with it.  However, her frequent ice cream cones after supper have perhaps helped in the weight gain department.  Which I guess isn't all bad.  She weighed 22 lb 5 oz which put her in the 20th percentile for height (a 2 lb gain in the past 3 months).  She is still about a pound lighter than her brother and sister were at this same age.  She was 33 1/2 inches long which put her at the 92nd percentile this time.  And her head is apparently exactly average for her age.  Which I suppose is good.

Both Jason and I have been a little concerned about her language development over the past few months.  She has very few words that she uses frequently other than Mama and the occasional Dada.  She will say "baby" and "bottle", "hot", "no" and her favorite, "Nana".  She tries to say a lot of other words that don't end up coming out anywhere close to right, but I know what she means.  When I addressed this with the doctor and explained her way of communicating through gesturing, motions (such as the way she pretends to blow when she wants to blow bubbles), and her own version of sign language, he said it was nothing to be concerned about as long as she was making an effort to get the words out.  He said the words she has at this point are very normal in their quantity and which ones she is trying to say, and that this should continue to develop normally over the next 6-12 months.  He asked about her interest in books, which has skyrocketed in the past few weeks.  He asked about whether she can identify and point to objects in word books and get the right pictures, which she is definitely doing.  So I felt much better about that whole situation after talking to the doctor.

I had to laugh when he asked if her siblings did a lot of talking for her.  I mentioned that they are never quiet, and he said that it likely is an issue of her not being able to get a word in edgewise.  Makes perfect sense to me.

She had to get two shots, and has had an awful time with them.  I think the DTaP is to blame, but she has been fighting a fever and has been holding on to her leg and crying like it is really hurting her.  On Wednesday evening, until she got a serious dose of Tylenol into her system, she wouldn't even put any weight on her leg.  It just broke my heart.  Let's just say it made it extra fun to lug her around at Bible School knowing that she was going to burst into tears if I put her down.  The fever continued all day yesterday and through the night last night, but seems to be a bit better this morning.  I'm hoping she's feeling better today.

One more night of Bible School to go tonight...and although I wish I had a far better attitude about the whole thing, I am thrilled that we have made it to the end of this very long, very exhausting week.  We have a really fun weekend planned with home time tomorrow during the day, DATE NIGHT tomorrow evening, and then what has turned into an early birthday celebration for me on Sunday afternoon.  I wish I didn't have the "getting a year older" thing going on, but I will take absolutely any opportunity to see my family and spend a nice afternoon together with them.  What a treat!  This might turn into the best birthday!

Pictures next week...promise.

The day where I drove around in circles.

I have a job.  Although lately you wouldn't know it.

 

 

Had it not been for my cell phone, I think I would have accomplished nothing at all yesterday.  This week just isn't a good one...and it happens that way each and every summer it seems.  But I will say I am doing my best to maintain a positive attitude.  Some days have been better than others in that respect so far this week.

 

We got up yesterday morning, still groggy from the night before at Bible School.  We have been returning home somewhere in the neighborhood of 9:00, which is way too late to be beginning the ordeal that is bathtime at our house.  But given the fact that it has been about 117 sweltering degrees in the preschool rooms that we are spending our time in at VBS, the kids have desperately needed baths to wash the day off of them.  But it was Joshua's first day of golf school at Bucknell and he was so excited.  We scarfed down breakfast and hopped in the van for my first trip to Lewisburg of the day (keep track if you wish).  I dropped him off to start his 8:30 lesson, and then headed for my first appointment of the morning.

 

I found the house I needed to see for insurance purposes and took the necessary photos and then jumped back into the car to go to the office.

 

An hour later, I returned to the golf course to retrieve Joshua.  Although it was raining, he seemed to be having a great time.  Later in the day, he declared that yesterday was the day he started to love golf.  And we all know what happens when Joshua decides he loves something.  Reference the Presidents and basketball in case you need a memory jogger.

 

We returned to my office for about 2 hours until it was time to take Joshua home.  During that two hours, Joshua called me using the intercom feature on our phone system no less than 34 times to alert me that he was the President and that he needed me to report to his office because I was the Secretary of State.  Clearly I can't keep the Commander in Chief waiting when he needs me.  Being that I am the highest ranking member of the cabinet and all.

We stopped at Subway because apparently an hour and a half of golfing makes you starving.  He had already eaten an apple and a bag of popcorn while in the Oval Office.  But I'm not one to turn down Subway, so we stopped and both ate our lunches on the way to the house.

We arrived in Turbotville around 12:00 and I immediately switched Joshua for Mara and headed back to Lewisburg for her 18 month checkup at Lewisburg Pediatrics.  Where we waited until 1:45 to finish her 12:50 appointment.  I don't get what takes so long.  But anyway.  I then put Mara back into the van and returned her to Turbotville because she needed a nap if I intended to have even an ounce of my sanity while dealing with her during 3 hours of Bible School running around that evening.

After which I returned to Lewisburg to the office.  I was there for maybe two hours before I headed back home again, racing this time, because I needed to change clothes, eat supper, pack up Mara's stuff, and make Joshua's snack for Bible School that night.  Then, at 5:45 we were back in the car on our way to the church.

I was beat.  And Mara was a fevery, sore mess from her shot that afternoon.  The poor thing wouldn't put any weight on her leg where she got her shots, and until the Tylenol kicked in was really feeling crummy.  Poor baby has been fevered and miserable ever since.

Although that last picture doesn't look very miserable, does it?  She was really liking the music in the closing ceremony last evening, as was Lauren who was dancing and singing her sweet heart out.

We got home last night around 9, did tubs, got snacks and basically crashed.  Is it Friday yet?  Although I love that the kids are having such a great time at Bible School, I have to admit that this is my least favorite week of the entire summer.  There just are not enough hours in the day, and this routine highlights that ever so clearly for me.

A more positive post tomorrow.  I promise.  (As long as things go well at Bible School tonight.)  :-)

In the words of Joshua...."Best. Day. Ever."



You know how it is when you get home from a trip.  The unpacking.  The laundry.  The empty refrigerator that doesn't help you to fill the bellies of the children who insist on eating every single day.  We returned from the Lodge on Saturday at lunch time.  I am ashamed to admit it, but Jason and I ended up needing to drive two vehicles on the trip because of the quantity of crap (I mean, necessary items) we had to take with us.  I continue to be amazed at the sheer volume of things that need to accompany our crew on a trip like that.  Anyway, because I had been in my own vehicle, I had pretty much formulated my to do list for the rest of the weekend in my own head on the 2 hour ride home from the lodge.  It basically went like this:  get organized because next week is the hardest.freaking.week.of.the.summer.  That meant, get unpacked, get out my planner and map out everything that needed to be done this coming week.  I also intended to take a shower since I hadn't done so before we left (gross, I know, but I am all about full disclosure).

 

When we walked into the house, Jason said, "I'm thinking we should make ribs tonight for supper.  With coleslaw and corn on the cob."  I'm pretty sure he could see the look on my face that said, "I was planning on pizza."  But, we moved ahead with this plan, because who doesn't like a good rack of ribs smoked on the new grill?  This girl certainly does.  Jason quickly jumped back in the truck and headed for Byerly's to find some delicious looking ribs.  And he stopped at the little Amish stand to pick up some corn, which was advertised to be freshly picked that morning.  When he came home with the ribs, and I saw their SIZE.....I realized there was no earthly way that the two of us and the kids could consume them on our own.  And so we called for reinforcements---- and the Mowry's were the MVP's of the weekend for helping to save us from the ribs!  And so, a little party was born.  The girls and I ran to the grocery store, picked up the things we needed to make it through the week and finalize our dinner party menu.  When we got home, our neighbor knocked on the door and handed me a quart of freshly picked blueberries.  And what do you do if you have friends coming for dinner, haven't unpacked from a week long vacation with not one, but TWO carloads full of stuff you haven't unpacked, and you haven't gotten a shower in 24 hours?  You make a blueberry custard pie, of course.  I just know my Grandma Mary would have been proud.  And I was ever so grateful to my mother for having made one while we were away to 1. show me how to do it, but 2. remind me how much I loved them!  Somehow we managed to power through the to do list, and found ourselves with a yummy supper, a shower and all of the bags unpacked and laundry done before 6 pm.  I know.  I'm amazed as well.

 

And why is it that some days when I have all day long to do 3 simple tasks, I can't manage to get them done?

 

We had a great night.  The ribs were yummy, and the company even better.  It was an awesome way to lift the spirits of the kids when they were so bummed to be missing their cousins and their extended family.

 

Sunday was to be our restful day, and we did our best to do that at least a little bit.  We had gotten a beef tenderloin to smoke on the grill for Sunday and had a nice dinner planned.  Which was fine until we lost power.  Turbotville seems to lose power on a regular basis, but it doesn't usually last long-- maybe a second or two.  Well, this little episode went for 2 hours.  Which effectively scared both Jason and I out of eating the tenderloin for fear of food poisoning.  Some may say we have no sense of adventure, but I say we were wisely cautious.  And so, we have found the one downside to Jason's new grill--- you can't very well cook in it if there is no power since it runs on electricity.  Of course, this happened at 5:00, and the kids were starting to complain of grumbling tummies around 6, so we did what any good, responsible parent would do with no way to heat anything up.  We fed them ice cream for supper.

 

Joshua declared it the BEST DAY EVER.

 

Believe it or not, this was actually on my list of fun things I wanted to do sometime this summer.  I may digress here a bit, but I used to babysit for a family who ate ice cream for supper every Sunday night.  Their kids loved it.  And I secretly did too when I was asked to watch the girls on a Sunday.  They usually ate a big dinner after church on Sundays and then had an easy dinner that night if they wanted anything at all.  So, I guess in a way, this was a mission accomplished.  I will say, though, that I felt a bit guilty for the lack of nutition in the kids' diet that night.  But we figured they would survive til morning when we could load them up with an extra Flinstone vitamin and a healthy dose of carrots with ranch dip and call ourselves caught up.

 



 

 

Hemlock Point Lodge 2013

A few years ago, a new family tradition of spending time together in the woods began with our family trip to Benezette when Joshua was about 2 1/2.  Ever since then, as the family has grown, we have been bursting at the seams at Winslow Meadow Lodge in Benezette.  This year, we tried to find a new spot for family memories, and really weren't sure what to expect.  Jason found an option in Hemlock Point Lodge in Thompson, PA, just a few miles from the PA/NY border and did some investigating.  He even went so far as to make the 2+ hour trip one weekend in April just to make sure that the pictures online were true to life.  He had assured us all that this lodge was beautiful, but we were all floored to walk through the doors of the lodge last Sunday afternoon to see the beauty that awaited us.  With plenty of space to spread our wings, a beautiful lake, a hot tub on the deck overlooking the lake, bedrooms and bathrooms aplenty, we were in for a fantastic week-- the kind where memories are made that we'll treasure forever.

While the grownups got busy unpacking and getting settled in for the week ,the kids didn't take long to get busy playing.  There were giggles and squeals echoing from the tall, tall rafters of this beautiful home as the cousins reconnected and looked forward to all of the things they were going to get to do while we were there.  They immediately fell in love with the game room-- its air hockey, pool and foosball tables, and figured out which of the bunk bed rooms they were going to claim as their headquarters for the week.

Mara got to spend a lot of time with her Nana and her Aunt Libby.  She had been asking for Nana for weeks, and when asked who we were going to see at the Lodge, she would always reply, "Nana!" with a huge smile.  I loved watching her to get to spend time with them, and them getting to spend good quality time with her, enjoying her quirky personality and silliness.  There was no shortage of enjoyment of her antics, her tricks and her goofy facial expressions.

Although the weather was a little less than awesome the first few days we were there, it didn't stop anyone from enjoying the beautiful deck on the back of the house that overlooked the lake.  The kids spent as much time as they could being outside blowing bubbles and exploring nature.  We were slightly panicked about them being near the weeds as we encountered one small milk snake that Lauren discovered while standing near the lake.  Zig quickly took care of him, and I believe with the way he was smashing at the snake with my Dad's walking stick, alerted all other snakes in the greater northeast PA region that we weren't interested in meeting them.

Joshua's new found love of fishing was certainly nurtured this week.  Every day, Josh and Jason, along with Brooke and Zig and sometimes my Dad, fished in the lake.  At one point we called Josh the "Fish Whisperer" because all he had to do was put his line in the water and he would pull out another fish.  He is now casting his own line, baiting his own hook and taking the fish off of the hook after he catches it.  I am just amazed at how much he seems to be loving it.

 

The lodge has a row boat, a paddle boat and kayaks that are available for the use of people who come there to stay, and we certainly took advantage of all of them.  The kids loved fishing from the row boat, and caught quite a few fish out there.  Jason and Zig got up for some early morning fishing one morning, even.  Jason and I took a spin on the paddleboat as well as spent about an hour in the kayaks one afternoon.  I hadn't been in a kayak since we were on our honeymoon in Alaska, and I forgot how much I loved it.  It was wonderful to have some time just for the two of us on the lake, knowing that the kids were having a blast with the rest of the family.

I absolutely could not get enough of sweet Hayden this week.  I swear, she is the most perfect baby there ever was.  She was content to be with anyone, smiled just about the whole week, and played so sweetly wherever you put her.  She napped like a champ, ate so well, and just all around was amazing.  I threatened on more than one occasion to bring her home with me, but Libby seemed not to like that idea so much.  Regardless, I snuggled with her every chance I got, and soaked up her gorgeous smile as much as possible.  The kids absolute adore her as well.

I will cherish this family time for ever.  I know that, just like the memories I have of Poe Valley as a child, our children are going to remember the time that we spend together as an extended family, and it will serve as the roots of their lives just like it did for me.  I feel like their smiles were bigger last week, their hearts were fuller and their giggles were louder than I have heard them for a long time.  I think that was because of the love that was abounding at the lodge.

When we were packing up to leave on Saturday morning, about to pull out of the lodge, I looked back to find Joshua in tears in the back of the van.  When I asked him what was wrong, he told me that he was afraid we would never get to come back to the Lodge again.  I assured him that we would be back, and that even though the trip was over, we could always remember it in our hearts.

And that's just what we will do.