Wednesday, December 22, 2010

3 days?

What will I do. I have realized, just this morning, that I am not the super woman I thought I was. I always think I can do it all. Until today. Christmas is Saturday, it's now Wednesday and I still haven't finished the cookies, done all I wanted to do around the house, or even started the food for christmas Eve. I know it will get done, I have an awesome support team at home, but I'm down a man....one has been put on the injured reserve list....the youngest male is down with a bug. I hate when my kids are sick over holiday's that they love so much. Praying he gets better so he can enjoy his time off with his family.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

So much to be thankful for....

It's amazing to me, Thanksgiving is tomorrow....where did the time go? Two things took me off guard today. First was a video montage of a little girl named Caitlyn. Many of you know of her story through me, she is the daughter of a dear friend, a friend I have never met in person, but one I have talked to and emailed with constantly for the past 10 years. Caitlyn has been dealing with two forms of cancer this past year and it's overwhelming for me to think of everything that both Caitlyn and Melinda have dealt with this past year....heart wrenching to say the least. Second, is Bowen, the little baby boy of Matt, from Sanctus Real....who was born with a heart defect and they almost lost a few times. I just read an update on him a bit ago and he and his family will be on ABC news tonight sharing their story.

I have no major illnesses in my life right now, nothing devastating like either story above that just crushes my will to want to continue through each day....but I'm realizing that with no major issues right now in my life....I haven't been as thankful as I really should be.

I have my health..for the most part
Scott's health is turning around and looking better
My kids are both healthy and active and doing awesome in school
I have both of my parents...
Most of my family is close by and reachable within a few minutes
I've found some awesome friends the past year in my newest job at Josh Early

So why do I not feel as thankful as I should be? That's something I'm going to have to ponder the next few days. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful, I just think for myself, and I'm sure many others, we forget what we have, we forget that we do have what we need.....and life just takes over and we don't take that time to cherish those people and relationships that we have.

So the next few days I will surely be thanking God for......
My family
My parents
My new friends at Josh Early
Caitlyn's little life
Bowen's heart
My husbands caring hand with our children and his willingness to put in all the overtime at work
My children and their steadfast love for Jesus
My life.....and the life given up for me.....that's allot to be thankful for....

Monday, September 27, 2010

Reminicing

I spent today..not all of it, reading through my blog from 2008 and all the stress I was dealing with trying to get the house purchase complete. LOL, I am so glad I am finally in our house and content. I can totally feel what my sister is dealing with in trying to find a house and get settled...all around the holiday's. Here's to hoping her process is easier than ours was.

Sunday, August 22, 2010


Where has the time gone? I can still remember Jakes first day of Kindergarten, I can see him with every teacher he has ever had, I can pinpoint every struggle he has ever encountered during every grade...and tomorrow he begins his adventure at LMMS. Sixth grade already. I'm wondering right now who is more nervous, Jake or me...lol. I know he's a little hesitant, just by the way he is behaving, he wishes he didn't have to do this in the morning, but I'm trying to reassure him that Mom and Dad will be with him as he gets his schedule, walks the routine he will walk during school...and all the other fun stuff that's in store. Here's hoping the day go smoothly and Jacob does not wake up with a headache.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Terrain at Styers-Lunch with hubby




On Thursday of my husbands vacation, he had this entire day planned of things he wanted to do, visit, see...you name it, he planned it out. Most of our day consisted of things I had done before, a trip to IKEA, Trader Joes and Whole Foods...but some of the day was made up of new and exciting adventures, all of which I will detail here.

Our first stop was to a place called Terrain at Styers. I can only describe the place like this, grungy meets new and funky....it was such a neat place, I think we spent two hours in total here, both shopping and eating. http://styers.shopterrain.com/ I've included the link so you can see for yourself.

We got a few ideas for our own house while browsing the store, lots of funky type jars, soaps, salts, tons for eating and lots for decorating. As we wandered the store we came upon the spot hubby was telling me about, only he did not explain it in the detail it deserved. This was the cutest spot for lunch, a glass greenhouse with bamboo type shades on the ceiling, full of plants, all sorts of plants and old structures torn out of buildings..just the neatest place to eat our lunch. Hubby had crab cake sliders and I enjoyed a tomato, mozzarella and prosciutto sandwich, both were on freshly made bread. While we waited for our lunch to arrive, we were given a little flower pot...with some tabs of homeade butter, sprinkled with a purpleish color salt and wine...so cute, and oh so yummy...I will be making little loaves of bread in the flower pots one day soon. That was the best freshly made lunch I have had in a long time...pictures above!

We wandered off to find an old campmeeting after lunch. With hubby being so much into the campmeeting history..I figured I might as well let him explore a bit. We found this Chester Heights campmeeting and wandered through there...it was a bit sad, the place looks really run down, cottages are falling over yet there seems to be some sort of group trying to make a go of it...some of the cottages were so cute..and then others...well...not so cute.

After that we drove over to IKEA to check out some bathroom items, we found the base vanity we want as well as the accesories.....now it was off to Trader Joes and Whole Foods...after that we were starving, so we checked out Chipotle...wow...such yummy food, we so need one of those here in the Lehigh Valley.

We were now home and exhausted, but what a fun day it was

It's Ceiling Time









In 2008 when we purchased our house, we also purchased all the tin tile and molding we would need for our kitchen ceiling....and we did nothing with it, until NOW.

With hubby having the week off, our initial intentions were to take some day trips together while the kids were visiting with their Aunt and Uncle. When Friday rolled around and we realized we couldn't get in for our lunch like we wanted, I mentioned the tin pieces sitting in the basement and off to Lowes's we went.

We settled on a hammered brown rustoleum spray paint for the tiles.....started with two cans to see how far it would take us, one can will cover 6 tiles......we are now on can 12......lol..that's alot of paint.

I've attached some photos below, you can see how gross the ceiling was, and how cool it now looks.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Learning To Let Go.....


It's been very hard for me this week to "let go" of my first born child. Jacob isn't a little kid anymore, he's almost 12 and he's maturing emotionally so very quickly....too quickly for his Mom....I'm learning this week that sometimes, I have to put the well being and safety of my children in the hands of others. For a parent, that's one of the hardest things to do.

I spent the first day or two of this week in utter worry...why? I have no idea, I have nothing to really worry about, except for the fact that my soon to be 12 year old is 45 minutes away....in a place that I just loved for three summers of my life...a place where if i could go back in time...I would go back to 1987-1989...Twin Pines Camp....those were the years where I learned to have confidence in myself, where I taught other children about the love of Jesus Christ, and where I made some of the bestest friends...friends I've lost touch with...and have now reconnected with in some way because of...you guessed it...FACEBOOK!

Jacob is now half way through his first full week at Twin Pines...in the woods...with a good friend from Church..and I'm hoping they are having a blast with all they get to do this week.

I've gotten over my worry and it's only Wednesday! I look forward every morning to signing on and viewing the photos from the previous days events, anticipating seeing Jacob in the photos.

I'm learning this week...learning to adjust to the fact that my 11 pound first born baby is now an almost 12 year old middle schooler who can do alot without his Mom....

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

9 years ago today


My sweet Emma was born. Nine years has gone fast...faster than I would have liked, but she is growing up into such a neat little girl....she gives us our fair share of minor torment, but she is such a sweet heart, from her caring side of always asking about a friends little girl named Caitlyn, to her giving side when she is "looking" for things to do around the house for mom, to her adventurous side of checking out the mulberry trees in the yard for berries...she is my little sweet Emma.

We knew Emma was a girl from the start. We wanted a girl to complete our little family. Our experiences during the pregnancy were scary none the less....from the umbilical hernia surgery while 6 months pregnant, to two hospital stays once she was here.....and then the whole insulin dose every day...she was worth it, well worth it.

She's grown up so much the past two years alone, I can hear her voice changing, her questions becoming more serious, her reading becoming more intriguing.....she's definitely forming her own little personality...one that I will enjoy watching mature over time.

I'm going to surprise her tonight with a little store bought cake, since we already celebrated her birthday this weekend and I put most of my effort into making her cake already, I think she would enjoy a little cake on the actual day of her birthday.

Happy Birthday little Emma, I love you so very much...you have no idea.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

One more day....


At the beach and then we head home. It's been eventful, I can say that for sure, changing by the day, that's a fact....but it's been spent with family, and nothing can compare to spending quality time with your family.

It's been nice and cool with no humidity the past two days so yesterday we visited the OC MD boardwalk. Had our lunch on the boardwalk, came home and Scott made us dinner. Mixed a few bike rides in there and some walks to town. Last night we played on the beach while Pop and Wendy listened to the band concert on the boardwalk.

I went for another walk to town this morning, I think this is one of my favorite things to do here. Town is so darn close and everything is within walking distance, I love this place. Spent the day on the beach again today, wasn't real hot so it was nice to just sit and relax.

Scott took his new "old" video tape recorder out and used it a bit to practice shooting while I took the bike for a spin. Later in the evening we walked up to town and listened to the army band again, saw dad go up and stand while they sang a song to the veterans. Had some really yummy ice cream and custard at dickies....yummmmmm.

Now were back at the house and were tired, especially with getting up early in the am, I mean, a girl needs her coffee...right?

Monday, June 28, 2010

Day 3...and the heat continues


It's wicked hot here on Bethany Beach. This isn't always a bad thing if you plan to spend your days on the beach and in the ice cold ocean water. That's what we did today again, there was a cool breeze off the ocean which made it nice to sit...but the kids got bored yet again and we ended up leaving in spurts....It was still a nice day at the beach and once again I think I look like the indian that my parents brought home from the hospital...lol.

Tonight was eat out night, so we went over to Harpoon Hana's for dinner. Once we sat down the storms started, it got pretty windy and we saw some pretty cool lightning, but by the time we left it was all over. The fun began when we got back to Bethany and realized we had no power and the streets had some pretty nice size puddles!

Let the games begin! The kids pulled out their games and Scott and Jake and I ran to the grocery store for some food and candles. I would say all together we may have been out of power two hours, not bad..especially with this heat.

We didn't go anywhere tonight, pretty pooped from being in the sun two days...tomorrow is always another day.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Day Two...the adventure continues


Jacob and I started out day two at the farmers market two blocks up...how cute that was! Lots of homegrown produce, the fresh peaches smelled awesome so we had to grab some, we bought some fresh organic cheese and tomatoes and cukes.....corn was $1 a piece, so we passed on that.

We readied for the beach after that. Spent the whole day there, Jake ended up with a headache, but we think it was more him wanting to rent his bike, Aunt Wendy ended up taking the kids up to the boardwalk to look for sunglasses and stuff so Scooter and I caught a nap on the beach. By the afternoon the wind picked up and we were actually a bit chilly...but it was nice.

Once we arrived back at the house everyone showered and I drove the boys up to rent their bikes for the week. I drove home and they went for a ride. Pop Pop even went for a few rides with Jake once we were all home!

Aunt Wendy make us a yummy pork loin for dinner tonight, she's a good cook! The kids all went to the park after dinner and then Scott and I took all the kids for a walk around town so they could look at all the stuff they wanted but couldn't afford.

While up in town tonight we noticed people running to the beach, we walked down to see what the excitement was and found out that someone caught a shark on the beach, it wasn't a big one, but a supposed shark none the less, the police were keeping people back, pretty exciting....

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Vacation Day One-Bethany Beach


It was smooth sailing the entire trip down, traffic was null and void, nothing on the road caused a problem.....that could have been the problem. Once we got to Bethany beach and figured out where the house was, we ran and grabbed lunch...it was a little later, but we were hungry. The kids were anxious to see inside, so we waited for Aunt Wendy to arrive with the Key and off they went exploring the house.

The kids are in love, it's a big house with lots of room for them to have fun in. The adults on the other hand are wiped out. Scott so much so that he felt faint...achey...kinda concerned cause we just went through something like this with him last month and we still, or rather, the doctors still can't figure it out. We all have our theories, but we have Nurse Wendy with us this week to see to it that he's ok.

We were not starving for dinner and we want to keep Scott's meals kinda mild, so we explored town a bit and took a walk, the beach is two blocks down, as are like 4 coffee shops, pizza shop, subway, surf shops, french fries, you name it, it's here.

Tomorrow morning bright and early there is a farmers market that will set up in the bank lot two blocks down , you can bet were stopping down there to see what we can find.

We found a few seafood places where we can get fresh seafood and cook here at the house, that's always fun.

Right now every one is back and vegging...Emma is showered and the Shook girls are watching a movie, it's been a long day and I really just want a night where I can sleep (in a king size bed this time) and not wake up at 5am...I think I get that from my dad...thanks dad....ugh..an entire week of waking at 5 am for no reason whatsoever...no alarm, nothing...hate it.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Wow...April?

Yeah, that's the last time I blogged...been to long yet again.

It's been busy since April. The second job has let up a bit, so I have more time with the kids and the house...not enough with the house but at least that means I'm with the kids.

The vegetable garden is in, I have tomatoes already , kinda early I think but, I'm not complaining. My cucumbers are taking off like crazy and my pepper plants look really healthy, crossing fingers that nothing invades. I put three raspberry bushes in and am hoping to put my five grape vines in tonight. I also cleared off part of the hill and have that planted...along with two strawberry plants...they are already producing fruit!

The tractor has been giving us issues for a while now, but we have realized that prayer works...even on a tractor!

The kids have gotten over the "I want chickens" phase, especially since the pool opened.

This week were preparing for vacation, this time with Scott's sister and her family as well as Scott's dad......should be nice, the cousins get to "hang" for an entire week....

Today was also the kids last day of school, they are relieved...and mommy fears they will want to stay up as late as me....ugh...

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

I want six mom!


My eleven year old wants six chickens...so do I, don't get me wrong, but now? Were so not ready for six chickens, not even one! We have an idea of where we want to put our chickens but that area just isn't ready yet. It was nice to visit the chickens on Saturday, but then again, do I want to buy my chickens from Tractor Supply or do I want to find a farm closeby and buy some eggs to incubate myself....decisions decisions....I think that decision will be made next summer.

Monday, April 12, 2010

The adventure continues.....


I did it, finally got my seeds started for the garden. I was wondering if that was ever going to happen, thank God it did, with little Emma's help. I also weeded the most prominent area at the house, the one that faces Brookside Road....and I started sunflowers there as well, anxious to see if they come up and do well.

Scott managed to cut the entire lawn with a push mower this weekend, eventually he will man up and get the tractor working, but until then, he has his work cut out for him.

Jacob started his soccer games this weekend as well, for some odd reason this season he is really hyped up for the games, and I'm glad, don't get me wrong...I've wanted to see this enthusiasm from him for a while and I'm glad it's finally appeared.

The candy store has dwindled down in activity, so when I do have to work, it's kinda slow.

Hoping to spend some time in my vegetable garden this week getting the beds ready, pulling out more growth that I can't figure out what it is and trim some trees....I'll figure out how, I always do.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Hot Tea.....


Fitting caption not? Yeah, that's what my life consists of right now. Seems I've been kissin' on my kids a little too much the past couple days and now we are sharing some germs....germs that mommy really doesn't need right now cause she has to work at the candy store all weekend. Ugh.

Were suppose to get hit with some good solid rain soon, I'm really hoping it doesn't interfere with me getting a garden plot ready for my peas and onions. I really want to get them in the ground so I don't have to worry about them, I also want to start my seeds soon so I have to start that list as well.

What's growin' in your garden this spring, hopefully more than just weeds?

Oh, I have to tell you all, Jacob came home with an awesome find last night. He is my garbage picker in training. Someone in the neighborhood was gettin' rid of a pretty decent looking gas grill....at least it looks 5 years newer than ours...so he rolled that baby home and made his momma proud. Way to go Jake!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Awesome weather!

Wow, I hate to see the last time I updated my blog, makes me upset to know that I have deserted the one thing I love to do! I love reading many blogs online and finding new ideas for the house or the garden.
The weather since Friday has been awesome in the Lehigh Valley area and I have taken advantage of it. I have been off from the candy store for a few days so that left me an entire day to spring clean, a weekend of hanging out wash, a chimney cleaning and I even found time to cook out on the charcoal grill and have a fire pit. That's alot.

Tonight I'm back to the candy store with my favorite girls. Easter is on the way, so the candy must be packaged and sold for all those lucky Easter baskets.

I have to get my garden ready for spring peas, they must be in the ground by st. patricks day....that's my goal. That is also the goal of the amish as well, who I might say are also busy at work in their gardens as I witnessed this weekend. I so enjoy sitting by the side of the road and just watching them as they work, not a care in the world.

So here is my goal now, to blog at least once a week for the next month, and then to move that to twice a week and so on.......

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Planning


Christmas and New Years are over....the tree is down, the bins need to go up and the Valentines need to come out....but the garden needs to be sketched out as well! This has got to be one of my favorite times of the winter. I remember last winter, we had recently moved into our new house (err...100 yr old house) but new to us none the less!
I knew that with the amount of property I had and the amount of sun light and success that Nana Schaeffer had, I could have a pretty neat garden.
I will admit that last years garden was a "I can do this just wait and see" type of garden, and I did, with over abundance and some really tart pickles to try out in the end. But this year it will be different, everyone sais that , I know, but it will, cause now the hubby is involved. He realized after everything I harvested just how much we got from our garden, that we could level up and make an even better garden. So he is planning now as well. We tore down all the vegetable beds already and we will start the sketching soon. His main objective is to have vegetable beds that we can drive the tractor around to cut the grass. This could get interesting.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Welcome 2010!



Where to begin? At the begining! What a year we left behind. I'm honestly glad that 2009 is over. You can ask my husband, but I hate odd numbers, I think they are cursed.
I enjoy opening the door to a new year and an even year at that.

Our family is looking forward to some changes in 2010. We want to eat healthier, garden alot more, spend more time with family (we can check that one off already) and just enjoy the time we have with each other. Time is so short....every moment has to be cherished.

The kids are doing awesome in school! I'm so glad for that and for the obstacles they have overcome so far.

I have started working a second job at a local candy store and have made some awesome friendships. I know I was put there for a reason.....and I'm so very glad.