As I promised...

...here are the photos from our pastor's retreat. We had a blast & are definitely planning to make it an annual thing! (And, yes, I did survive being away from my kids, but I was so happy to see them again!)

We rented a guest house in Lancaster & were able to just relax & spend some time having fun together. We arrived there around 4 p.m. on Monday. After checking the place out & fighting over who got the room with the bunk beds (it had a double on the bottom), we decided to go to Shady Maple for supper. For those of you who have never been, Shady Maple has the largest buffet you have ever seen in your life! It was delicious! After we ate, we headed back to the guest house & played an exciting game of Cranium. The guys beat us soundly, but I think Marie provided us with enough entertainment while acting out "Titanic" & "earthquake" that it more than made up for our loss. ;-) We laughed SO hard! After finally finishing our game, we decided to go to Waffle House for a milkshake (Marie was sure they would have them) - but there were no milkshakes & we settled for hashbrowns & chocolate pie. We slept in a little on Tuesday morning, then went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Then, Marie, Christina & I went shopping at the outlets while the guys went back to the guest house to "solve the world's problems" - or just have a planning session. I'm not exactly sure how much they accomplished, but we got lots of bargains! That afternoon, we went to see "In The Beginning" at Sight & Sound. As usual, it was an incredibly well-done & moving performance. Afterwards, we went home & Jeff grilled steaks for us for supper. We played a good game of Rook (yay! Christina & I beat Jeff & Matt) and then decided to try to play a trick on Jim & Marie, who had already gone to bed. SO... we drew a face on a paper plate, taped it to a bucket on the end of a broom, tied a towel around its "head" & added Christina's glasses for a finishing touch. Then, the guys climbed out through Matt & Christina's bathroom window onto the porch roof and held the "bucket man" in front of Jim & Marie's window and began rapping on the glass. Unfortunately, our plan kind of fell through because Marie refused to look out the window when she heard them knocking on it. Instead, she came out into the hall where Christina & I were standing & wanted to know what the guys were doing outside the window. Oh well.... Wednesday morning we ate breakfast @ Waffle House (in case you were wondering, some members of our group REALLY love Waffle House!), did a little more shopping @ the outlets & then headed home. We had a lot of fun & are really looking forward to doing it again next year!

The favored restaurant - Waffle House

Us with Mr. Buckethead

Our idea of a good time is blog surfing together! ;-)

At Sight & Sound

What on earth? Is she paying homage to something/someone?

Huh?

Okay, now I'm really confused....

Oh. The Titanic. ;-) Right.

By the way, we are leaving for our vacation tomorrow morning, so I'll most likely not be posting until I return.

Just posting to say I'll be MIA for a few days. We're going to Lancaster with Planks & Maloyeds for our first annual Pastor's Retreat. Just a few days away, relaxing & spending time together. I'm really excited about it.... but I need lots of prayer 'cause I'm leaving Grant behind! I've never left him overnight before, so I'm really worried about how he'll do - & how I'll do! Anyhow, I'll hopefully have time to post some pictures on Wednesday, before we head off on our vacation.

Finished Object Friday

I've been working on several things this week. Unfortunately, this is the only "finished object". The other things aren't done yet. I was trying to make this beanie for Ryleigh, but it turned out much smaller than I thought. So... I'll keep this one to use as a baby gift sometime down the road & get some more yarn to make a bigger one for Ryleigh. (By the way, it was extremely easy & simple pattern. I'm not a fast crocheter & it took me just a few hours!) To see more "finished objects", go to Chari's blog.

A Week In the Life: Saturday/Sunday Photos + Words

I kind of let things go this weekend. I didn't document things quite as religiously as I should have, but I'm okay with that because it's LIFE. It just goes to show that Saturdays & Sundays are our busiest, least "routine" days of the week.

Saturday Routines:
-slept in & took a while getting up & around
-Ryleigh & Grant both slept in later than their normal wake-up times – Yeah!
-Jeff went to his usual Saturday morning bus workers’ meeting @ the church
-Grant went back down for a nap
-Ryleigh & I get ready for the day
-Jeff home around 10:45 a.m.
-Back out the door @ noon – headed to Barry & Dorothy Parthemer’s 50th Anniversary celebration @ the Bannerville Fire Hall
-Ryleigh suddenly acting shy among so many people

-Jennifer enjoys playing with her new phone
-Grant enjoying being held by Jamison, Marie & Christina

-Jeff, Matt & Bro. Plank help Tim Calhoun figure out why his sound system isn't working.

-Marie, Jeff, Matt, Christina & I laughing hysterically over something funny that keeps happening!
-Party is over - congratulate Barry & Dotty & then head for home around 4 p.m.
-Ryleigh & Grant both fall asleep on the way home
-Jeff & I work on straightening up the house for Sunday while the kids nap
-Ryleigh wakes up from her nap & eats leftover tortillas w/butter & cheese for supper
_Jeff & I eat leftover fajitas – definitely just as good as they were last night!
_Jeff & Ryleigh head out the door to Saturday evening prayer @ the church
-Grant & I stay home & finish getting ready for Sunday (setting out clothes for each of the kids, packing the diaper bag, etc.)
-Put Grant to bed
-Sit down at the computer to blog & enjoy my Dr. Pepper

Sunday Routines:
-Grant awake @ 5 a.m.
-I groggily feed him & put him back to bed
-Jeff’s alarm goes off @ 6 a.m.
-Up @ 6:30 a.m. to get Ryleigh up & ready to go to church w/Daddy
-Ryleigh is extremely grumpy – picks at her breakfast & fusses while I try to comb her hair.
-Finally get Ryleigh & Jeff out the door by 7:45 a.m.
-Put Grant back down for a nap while I get ready for church, eat breakfast, etc.
-Running late for church… get there around 9:30 a.m.
-Enjoy the last few minutes of Bro. Richards’ Sunday School lesson
-Get Ryleigh from Sunday School
-She made a lamb mask & is having fun showing it off to everyone
-Jeff, Doug & Steve sing “There Is” for a special song. They do a fantastic job & it sounds really good!
-Good service. End up taking Ryleigh out to the bathroom 2x & Grant to the nursery to feed him 1x. As usual, feels like I’m traipsing in & out all service long.
-Feeling really drained & tired after service.
-Head home & fix lunch – quesadillas & leftover fajitas
-Put kids & myself to bed; Jeff stays up to prepare for the youth service that he’s in charge of this evening.
-Ryleigh refuses to nap & keeps hollering “Mama, I’m awake - I wanna get up, now!”, which I hear as I drift in and out of sleep.
-Finally, Jeff lets her get up & she has fun twirling around & around the living room.

-Jeff ends up going to church early (3:30) & taking Ryleigh with him so that I don't have to deal with getting both kids out the door.
-I enjoy a snack of apples w/dip & a good book
-Grant up @ 4 p.m. – in a really happy mood!
-Feed Grant & let him play beside me on the bed while I read a little while longer.
-Get ready & go to church.
-Pass Grant off to Christina while I take Ryleigh to the nursery to comb her hair.
-Jeff has put together a great youth service. He normally uses his monthly youth service to give an update on the Bus Ministry. This time, he & the bus captains are taking the church people on a “virtual bus ride”. It’s hilarious to watch them re-enacting the way some of the kids sometimes behave on the bus.
-Another good evening service. God has really been helping us in our church services & giving us a spirit of revival!
-Jeff, Doug & Steve sing another song together. It’s not really often that they sing together twice on a Sunday, but it just worked out that way this time.
-A little visiting after church, then home & to bed.

A Week In the Life: Friday Photos + Words

Friday Routines:
-Wake up at 5 a.m. & realize that Grant is crying. I try to ignore him & hope that he goes back to sleep. No such luck….
-Go get Grant & feed him. Smell a funny smell & realize that the reason he woke up so early is that he has a messy diaper. Jeff’s alarm goes off while I’m changing Grant.
-I put Grant back to bed & try for just a few more minutes’ sleep.
-I’m barely conscious when Jeff comes to kiss me goodbye as he heads for the woods.
-Oops! I slept too long. It’s 7 a.m. & I wake up to hear Grant crying & Ryleigh hollering, “Mama, Grant’s crying!” I have NO idea how long this has been going on! ;-)
-Grant plays for awhile in his playpen while I make myself a cup of herbal tea with honey. My sinuses have been draining & some hot tea sounds like just the thing to soothe my sore throat.
-Morning devotions while I’m drinking my tea.
-Jeff comes home early from hunting. He’s in the mood for a hot breakfast & offers to make potatoes & eggs. I won’t complain!
-Put Grant down for a nap after breakfast because he can barely keep his eyes open. Ryleigh wants to kiss him goodnight. She says, “I wuv you, Grant!” and just melts my heart!
-I take a little bit of time to do some recording in my Word document & then it’s off to Curves.
-Back home. Feed Grant
-Jeff decides to take Ryleigh with him when he goes visiting.
_Grant down for a nap.
_More research online for a new doctor…not having much luck. Most of the good doctors are either not accepting patients, don’t accept my insurance or have moved out of state. Now what?
-I decide to go take a much-needed nap while the house is quiet. Maybe things will look better when I’m not so tired.
-Wow! I slept for an hour and a half. I woke up when Ryleigh came into the room to inform me that Grant was crying. They just got back & heard him crying when they walked in the door. No idea how long he’d been at it. Poor guy.
-More documenting.
-Working together (Jeff, Ryleigh & I) to make fajitas for supper

-Ryleigh wants to help with the tortillas.
-Jeff gets a text from Matt saying that they really like the pictures. That makes my evening!
-Working on more laundry

A Week In the Life: Thursday Photos + Words

Thursday routines:
-Woke up @ 6 a.m. when Jeff came to kiss me goodbye (he was going hunting).
-Grant woke up a few minutes later
-Nursed Grant & then put him back to bed
-Downstairs for my cup of coffee & devotions.
-The Vanilla crème coffee is nasty – I only have a couple of sips
- This is really bad – I’m falling asleep & not getting very much out of my Bible study.
-Considering going back to bed…
-decide to check something on the computer
-get sidetracked & wake up enough to continue on w/my day
-comb my hair
-catching up on documenting from yesterday
-to do list for today
-search for some recipes on line
-upload photos
-checked for a thyroid doctor recommendation from topthyroiddoctors.com - I really need to find another good thyroid doctor since Dr. Hoffman is no longer seeing patients
-Ryleigh’s awake & asking for pears for breakfast
-Eat breakfast & get laundry started
-Grant wakes up @ 9:30 a.m.
-feed Grant & read “Letter Perfect” by Cathy Marie Hakes
-Ryleigh plays on the bed beside us
-Grant plays in his playpen
-I comb Ryleigh’s hair while watching “All Creatures Great & Small”
-Jeff gets home
-Jeff, Ryleigh & I work on pureeing & freezing pears
-Ryleigh really enjoys dropping the pears into the food processor
-Leftover lasagna for lunch
-Discussing vacation plans with Jeff as we eat lunch
_Jeff gives me a history lesson on Plymouth Plantation ;-)
-Walk to the park for a photo shoot with Matt & Christina - they need photos to send out with their wedding thank you's
-Ryleigh enjoys walking her baby doll in her stroller
-The weather is absolutely gorgeous & Ryleigh really enjoys playing while Mommy does her thing.
-Grant is lulled to sleep by the stroller & the breeze rustling the tree branches
-At home, Ryleigh goes down for a nap
-Grant plays on the floor beside me as I work on editing photos & blogging
-Not long after Grant goes down for his nap, I let Ryleigh get up. She never did take a nap – soooo frustrating!
-Listening to Dr. Laura as I do more photo editing
-Break for supper – leftovers/sandwiches
-Ryleigh & Grant take a bath.
-Ryleigh is off to bed – very unhappy b/c she can’t have juice.
-Jeff & I work on folding the massive amount of clean laundry that has somehow managed to pile up