Resurrection Sunday

This year I often heard Easter referred to as Resurrection Sunday. I kind of like that. It sounds more dramatic than Easter Sunday. When I think of the agony and suffering that Jesus went through as he died on the cross for my sins, I like to imagine that on Sunday he burst out of the grave just like the song describes: 

Up from the grave he arose; 

with a mighty triumph o'er his foes; 

he arose a victor from the dark domain, 

and he lives forever, with his saints to reign. 

He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose! 

I believe that sounds like a mighty resurrection and one that deserves to be celebrated. Thank you Jesus for your gift to me. May I always remember, not only on Resurrection Sunday, but every day of the year.

Yesterday our family came for supper and the evening. After the meal I had an egg hunt for the children. This year I did it a little differently. I assigned each child a color and they could only pick up eggs of that color. This worked really well, as the eggs could be hidden with varying degrees of difficulty depending on the age of the child. (For example, Hannah's were all placed in the same general area.) I had one color (orange) left over and decided to let the adults find those eggs and that was so much fun I think I will have to make it a family tradition. Josh and Julissa volunteered to hide all the eggs and Josh got great delight in hiding the orange ones in very difficult places. I was surprised at how my adult children and their spouses enjoyed searching for those eggs. There was quite a friendly rivalry going on complete with a race between Jay and Jeremy to get to one first that they both spotted. 

Josh throwing an orange egg high up into the tree.

Julissa hiding an egg in an easier spot.

Shawn, Jeremy and Megan trying to locate the orange egg.

Jay and Jeremy race to get to an egg first while Steve watches.

Hannah picks up one of her yellow eggs.

Mark admires one of Lydia's purple eggs.

Alexis and Mark checking out the candy.

Awstin shows Hannah what is in his basket.

A blessed, fun-filled day. So thankful to know the true reason we celebrate Resurrection Sunday and so thankful for times spent with family.

Favorite Wedding Photos

Already Josh and Julissa's wedding seems a long time ago, but before any more time passes I wanted to post some of my favorite pictures from that special day.

Favorite outside picture of the two of them.

Favorite inside picture of the two of them.

 The beautiful bride

The handsome groom

The groomsmen


 Holding Josh up :)

I never realized how much these two looked alike. Look how their heads are tilted identically.

 The bridesmaids

The bridesmaids and flower girls

Pretty ladies

"I'll walk away if I want to."

The whole party

More wedding party

Clowning around

Julissa's family

With Grandma

Our family

Our children and spouses

Josh and Julissa with nieces and nephews (Mark was done with pictures!)

Our beautiful grandchildren

Lydia and Mark walking in

Still walking

Still walking

Almost there

Alexis and Awstin beginning their walk

Still walking

Awstin looks around at the people

Almost there

Julissa and her dad

The rainbow. I was disappointed that you can hardly see it.

High five

Big hug!

Above the mantel

Favors

Jay and his girls

Shawn and his little man

The beautiful cake

The program and rings

And so ends the weddings in our family. By the time the grandchildren start getting married I will probably be no longer writing this blog :)

Happy Birthday Jeremy!

The first year that I started this blog, I recognized each member of my family on their birthday. Since then, two new members (not counting grandchildren) have joined our family and so this year I will write a little bit about them on their birthday. Today, my one and only son-in-law, Jeremy Paul Kreider, turns twenty-four years old.

When Megan first started dating Jeremy, like any parents, Steve and I were full of questions. "Who is this guy?" "What is his background?" "What does he do for a living?" "How do we know that he will treat our daughter well?" We soon discovered that Jeremy was a very likable young man and a lot of fun to be around. The more we got to know him the more we liked him. He was easy to talk to and had no problem holding his own in our somewhat corny Lehman conversations. Our family can be kind of weird and crazy at times and it didn't seem to faze him. It wasn't too long until we realized that he was probably here to stay and we were happy about that.

I like Jeremy a lot. He is hard-working, conscientious, well-mannered, funny, and a good husband to Megan. Even though being the time keeper at Bible quizzes wasn't something he really enjoyed, he did it because he knew Megan loved to be involved with quizzing. He is handy with the grill and was especially pleased last summer when he tackled chicken barbecue on it and the finished result was delicious. He is also a good mechanic. Oh, one other thing. He LOVES hunting!!! He was very happy to get his first buck this past hunting season.

Since Megan and Jeremy have been married they usually join us on Wednesday evening for supper. I always look forward to those times and it is fun to hear Jeremy's stories of his week's adventures. He has quite a way with words and usually has me laughing as he humorously recounts an experience that he had or something that happened to him. I like that Jeremy is comfortable in our house and will just go to the cupboard and take out a cup and then open the refrigerator and get the iced tea and pour himself a glass.

Above all, he makes Megan happy and that is what counts the most. As parents, we love to see our children happy in their relationships and their life. Jeremy is a wonderful addition to our family and I am thankful to call him my son-in-law.

Happy birthday Jeremy!

Distribution Day

Saturday was Lehman distribution day. As I said in an earlier blog, the children chose the items that they wanted from Dad and Mom's house and now it was the grandchildren and great-grandchildren's turn to choose theirs. 

Each grandchild was asked to make a list of the things they wanted. Most of them wrote down between twenty and thirty things. They were given a couple of hours to walk around and browse through everything and then at 11:00 am, we all congregated outside. Each grandchild was given a pallet that they could bring the items back to after they picked them up. Steve was the "auctioneer." After everyone was standing on their pallet, Steve called out their names in order of age. He started with the oldest and went in order down to the youngest, and then from the youngest back up to the oldest. When their name was called, the grandchild had five seconds to say the item that they chose and then they went into the house or garage and picked it up and returned to their pallet for the next time their name was called. If the item was too big for them to carry, they were given a sticky note to write their name on and put it on the piece they had chosen. This ended up being a lot of fun and there was a lot of laughter as each person claimed their choices. Of course there was an occasional "shucks, that was MY next pick," but for the most part everyone was able to get what they wanted. Megan said that there was really only one thing that someone took before she got to it on her list (and she is the second to youngest grandchild) and I heard other grandchildren saying that as well. Great-grandchildren enjoyed helping their parent pick things up and "guarding" their pallet. 

Just to add humor to the day, Steve donned that silly wig and Dad's big overcoat that I showed you pictures of on my previous blog. It was funny to watch the expressions on the grandchildren and great-grandchildren's faces the first time they saw him. They all kind of did a double-take and then looked again and laughed. Alexis and Lydia were a little unsure about their Grandpa and kept looking at him to make sure it was really him. Here's a little side note on the wig: Steve and I were the first ones to arrive at the house in the morning and he put the wig on and then went outside to unload the pallets. While he was working, a neighbor lady who was walking her dog, saw activity at the house and stopped to inquire of him about Elsie and if the house was going to be put on the market. I looked out the window and saw Steve with the goofy wig on talking to this lady. He had forgotten he had it on! I went out on the porch and pointed for him to take it off and he quickly reached up and snatched it from his head. I'm not quite sure what the lady thought but it was pretty funny!

When it appeared that the grandchildren were struggling to come up with more things that they wanted, we simply opened it up for everyone to walk through and take things. The great-grandchildren really enjoyed this part. They were allowed to choose one toy from the toys that were in the toy box and then those that were old enough and wanted to, just walked around and browsed through everything else. Alexis was especially fascinated with half-filled bottles of cologne and perfume and I'm pretty sure added them to her family's stash. 

After the family was completely finished we invited some refugee families to come to the house and take things as well. They were so appreciative and had a hard time believing that everything was free. At the end of the day, the house looked quite a bit emptier. There is still some stuff  to be sorted through but overall it was a successful and satisfying day.

I didn't take pictures of all the rooms but this is a good example of the many things there were to choose from.

Even Mom got in on the wig fun. It was good to see her smiling and happy on this day that had to be difficult for her.

Steve and his brother in deep discussion. Think Dan is telling him he looks pretty ridiculous in that wig?

Grandchildren on their pallets and ready to go.

More grandchildren (and great-grandchildren) waiting patiently on their pallet for the proceedings to begin.

The accumulation is beginning. Alexis is guarding their pallet. I believe the things in the front are Shawn's. Not sure why they are not on a pallet. He did eventually move his stuff to one.

Josh relaxes on a chair he chose, Kaylene checks her camera, and Judy and Keith talk with Krista, Tasha and Brianna. Yes that is Awstin running in the foreground with a yardstick.  

Here is Mom and Dad's desk  that we got the other week when the children were choosing their items. I am so pleased with it. It fits so well in our house and has wonderful nooks and crannies that I love!

It seems like we are closing a lot of chapters in the last couple of months. We are hoping to have the house sold in a few months and that will be the final chapter on this house at 15 Troy Drive for the Lehman family. It is good to see the way the family can work together with Mom and support her as she moves on to the next chapter of her life.