LIFE CELEBRATION

This weekend we will be celebrating the 29^th anniversary of our wedding.  I could not have asked for any one more suited to be my better half, the knees to my bees, the dot to my i, the cross to my t, and the completer of my life.  The last 29 years have seen us through a lot.  We have had our ups and downs (thankfully, more up than down), and we have been together through 14 cars, 9 moves (the first 8 in our first 7 years), 4 children (2 that God decided He needed before they were born – yes they still count!), 2 graduations, 2 totaled cars (thanks Ben), one child's wedding, and one grand child!  I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has had His guiding hand in every moment of our relations – from the way we met to today.  We are blessed. I love you Scott – my love grows daily!  Let's see what God has in store next.

GETTYSBURG ADVENTURES

We recently decided to make a long weekend out of a trip to Gettysburg.  The kids wanted to get some photos of Jeremiah at the battle grounds, so we took the RV up for the weekend.  Needless to say, the weekend was quite the adventure!  Scott and I left on Thursday afternoon after getting some errands done.  On the trip up, whilst towing our truck, we almost ran over a lady in a smart car - we found out that our brakes work really, really well.  We were holding on and praying as the RV slid almost all the way through the intersection.  There was a green light, which had just turned yellow.  We were so close that it was either gun it to make it through or slide through.  The smart car made that decision for us.  The interesting part was there was a tractor trailer beside us that had to do the exact same thing.  He was a little more expressive with his language that we were though.

For those of you who don't know what a smart car looks like, here is an image:

And, of course here is a smart car that has exploded because it was full of gas - ahem ahem...

Anyway!!  On with our trip.  We survived the smart car mishap and proceed merrily on our way.  We were after dark getting to our camp ground, so that makes it challenging to find and then set up on the site.  We found the site, then went back down to the store to check in and unhook the truck.  Well, mishap #2.  The truck battery was dead!  Yikes!!  Thank goodness someone happened to be driving by (did I mention it was after dark) who had jumpers and we were back up and running lickity split.  We got unhooked, went back up to the site and backed in the RV and hooked up all the lines (power, water).  I fixed a quick dinner, and we finally got some much needed shut eye.

The next morning, the kids headed up and met us at Gettysburg.  We drove around and looked for some good photo sites, took some pictures and explored a little bit.  We got quite a few good shots.

On the way  back we stopped for some groceries for the rest of our trip, and Becca and I found a shop - which we HAD to get a picture of for Ben, our resident Llama lover:

Needless to say he was quite pleased!!  They sell shirts, but didn't have Ben's size in stock - - not to worry they will be shipping us one soon!!

We got back to the RV, and noticed a small creek running down the front of our site.  Apparently there was a water pressure surge, and one of our pipes in the bathroom had busted.. Water was EVERYWHERE!!  Becca and I went back to the guard shack to see if we could rent a cabin for the rest of the weekend while the boys tried to fix the leak.  The camp ground graciously allowed us to stay in one of their cabins (relatively close to the RV), so we packed up everything and shifted living accommodations into the cabin. 

 Nick and Jeremiah were wrestling on the bunk bed - -

Yeah, J-man wasn't amused =D

The next day the kids went to visit Nicks grandparents (who happen to live up that way).   Scott and I stayed at the cabin and made Bubbee's brisket on the camp fire.  The kids called us on their way back and asked us to meet them at Hershey World so they could do some shopping and site seeing.  Who can resist the smell of chocolate?? 

We went and had a thoroughly chocolate time!  Scott and I decided to take Jeremiah and introduce him to the history of chocolate, since we had introduced him to the history of Gettysburg the day before. Here he is showing him a bear making so'mores =D

And, here he is showing him a cacao tree.

We got back to the camp ground, and the kids wanted a few more photos, so I had to oblige

Once we were done with that, they went to play putt putt (but didn't take any pix) while Poppa and I watched the Lil'gran'man.  After they got back we had our yummy dinner of brisket, potatoes and carrots.  Yummo.

On Sunday we packed everything back into the RV, which had dried out some, and headed back to Crumptonland.  Let's see what our next big adventure holds!!

Pictures of Jeremiah

The many faces of J-man <3 <3 <3

I Now Know

With the birth of Jeremiah, I now know the joy behind my father's eyes when ever I would pull up to his house when the kids were little.  Especially with Becca, who was the first grandchild.  We were building our house when Becca was small.  With me being pregnant at the time with Ben and unable to do a lot of things at the house, I spent quite a few weekend days with my parents.  I would pull up to the house, and my dad would come strolling out of the house, beaming from ear to ear and proceed to the back seat door.  There he would open the door, and start talking in a soft voice "There's my buddy, how's my buddy today".  If Becca were asleep he would take her out of her seat and walk into the house with her and she would never even wake up.  If she were awake the fun would begin.  When she was smaller he would carry her all around the yard and show her things - from buds or bugs on trees, to birds nests or just anything.  I think he was just content to have her in his arms.  As she got older and was able to follow him around, he would take her to any of his many pine trees and lift her up so she could "climb to the  top of the tree".  She was never out of his reach, but oh how she loved to climb.  Her favorite tree was dad's black heart cherry tree which had lower thick limbs that she could sit on.

                     Dad and Becca picking cherries

                        Dad helping Becca climb the swing set


 He was ever so elated when Becca, who was just starting to form words, called him Pawpaw.  He had been calling himself and my mom Maw T and Paw T, but Becca named him Pawpaw, and it stuck. 

                    Becca trying to get Pawpaw to "take a nap"

Becca helping Pawpaw start a fire

 

 

                                         

                    My parents with all three grand kids

I always marveled at the volume of love my parents have for their grandkids - and now I know where than fount comes from in me.  It is such a wonderful feeling to be able to raise your kids, and then watch them begin to raise their own and enjoy every minute of it.  We are truly blessed!

              My dad holding his great-grandson, Jeremiah

                 My mom holding her great-grandson, Jeremiah

HELLO JEREMIAH

We welcomed our grandson Jeremiah into the world on June 28th.  He has continued to bless us every moment since his arrival.  From his ability to make us all laugh when he sneezes like his Poppa (multiple sneezes at once) and then sighs with such relief, to his funny expressions when we are talking to him - he is a GEM!  We are excited to watch this bundle of blessing and joy grow and see what God has in store for him.

Here is a link to some other photos, courtesy of Kimber Wassenburg.

Jeremiah

GEARING UP FOR BABY JEREMIAH

In preparation for the arrival of our first grandchild, we hauled the crib out of the basement, scuffied it up, bought a new mattress and sheets and set it up in our spare bed room.  That way, if Becca comes over, or if we are watching him for her, he will have a place to lay his weary head <3

Here are a few pictures for you.

Scott and I look like we are in jail in this picture - ah haha.

Scott looking all serious in this picture - too cute.

And last, but not least the crib is "llama" approved.

And Crumptonland is going to have its first Grandchild in July!!  More pictures to come soon.  We are so excited