Closing out 2024

 

Christmas Family Picture 2024

Hard to believe, but here we are at the end of 2024. I think I will combine this Blog post with November and December happenings along with a few reflections.

November was a relatively quiet month with no birthdays to celebrate. February and November are the only two months of the year where we have no birthdays or anniversaries in our family. We of course did celebrate Thanksgiving. Jay & Kristen hosted us at their place and we had a wonderful time. I did not snap any pictures just stored the memories in my heart.

Hannah has a December 21 birthday which we celebrated early in December. She has now reached the big 10! Hannah is quiet in her own way but yet is very self assured and delightful to talk with. She is the only one of the children to have braces so far and also wears glasses so that gives her a uniqueness from her brother and sisters. She is so helpful and kind and you can't be around Hannah very long until you are smiling because she just makes people happy!

Hannah - 10 years old

Megan and Jeremy hosted Christmas for us on Sunday, December 22. Everyone was there and healthy which was a nice change from last year, when we actually had to postpone our get together. The evening went so well and even though the house was full there was plenty of room for talking and laughter and I was struck by how much we all like each other. I know this is not the case in many families and I am just so thankful for the love of family.

Us and our 13 grandkids

This what our family looked like in 2011!

The day after Christmas we had all the grandchildren 4 years and older for the day. We left Jake squeak in because he is 1 month shy of 4 years old so there was a total of 9 grandchildren. We did some crafts in the morning and after lunch we had free time, movie time and game time. Then we piled them in the van and took them to Maplehof's for ice cream and to see the Christmas lights at Herr Foods. After coming back we had cookies and hot chocolate and then took them home. It was a fun day and I hope the children grow up to  have fond memories of their time spent with Grandpa and Grandma and cousins. I took a picture of each of them holding their craft that they did. 

Alexis

Lydia

Mark

Awstin

Hannah

Hannah did an additional craft with candy.

Clara

Bryce

Janae

Jake

The last four were too young to come, but here are recent pictures of them because I like to show off my grandchildren. :)

Cassidy

Kyle

Seth

Naomi

That concludes our November and December happenings. As far as the year goes, it was a good one. I really enjoyed being an employee of the store and not the owner. I still worked a lot, but it was so less stressful because I didn't have to make any major decisions. Julissa and Melissa are doing a fantastic job of managing it and I am very content just to work my hours and help out wherever needed. I also like that it gives me flexibility for keeping grandkids. Bryce started preschool but I still keep him every Wednesday and now on Wednesday morning (when Bryce is in preschool) I keep Cassidy and Seth so Julissa can work the store. Megan and the boys stop in often and I am just trying to soak up these little ones as much as I can, because I know how fast they grow up and then Grandma's won't be their favorite place to come anymore. I still offer the Wednesday night suppers to whoever wants to come. Jay's family doesn't make it, but the rest usually show up. Alexis and Lydia and Mark are doing Bible quizzing again. Their quiz tournaments are once a month and it is nice that we can attend them and it is a good way to stay connected with their family. Living in Manheim, it's not like they can just pop in often like the others do.

Steve continues to taxi Amish and he is still enjoying it. He plans to take a work group  to North Carolina the second week of January and is really looking forward to that. His health has been okay. He has had no heart issues and his meds are keeping his diabetes at bay, but there are definitely times that he still struggles to keep his numbers down. We always know when his numbers are up because his feet go numb and tingle. A lot of times he can correspond it to something he ate that he shouldn't have but there are times when we just don't know what caused it and that can be very frustrating.

We continue to attend Victory Church and teach Sunday School to elementary students. We love our church family and are so grateful to have a small group that we really feel connected with. Steve and another guy started an accountability group for men and that has been going well too. 

I will be 65 in March and realize that I am a lot closer to the end of this life journey than I am to the beginning. That is okay. I will take each day that the Lord gives me and appreciate it. 

I think that my motto for the year is this -- Love God. Be thankful for the love of family and friends. Be content.

October Events

The year just continues to march right along. October brought us three grandchildren birthdays! We started out on October 9 with Bryce's fifth birthday. This year he started preschool at Mt. Nebo Church and loves it. He is the oldest of the younger group of grandkids that live nearby and he genuinely seems to really love his little cousins. Jake and him get along splendidly and recently he and Cassidy have begun to really play together when it is just the two of them. He adores Kyle and Seth and it is so cute to see him converse with them. He and I have a wonderful time together on Wednesdays and his cheerful smile always makes my day.

All smiles for the birthday boy!

Cassidy turned three on October 26. She has matured so much in the last couple of months and her vocabulary has grown in leaps and bounds. I love to listen to her tell me about something that happened to her as she uses big, grown up words to describe it. She often appears shy, but she has a smile that lights up the room. I love to see her bound into our apartment with BaaBaa (her stuffed sheep) tucked securely under her arm. We have all learned that if Cassidy is upset, we need to make sure she has BaaBaa and soon she will be all right. She still loves trains so Julissa put one on her birthday cake.

Such a sweetheart and she looks just like her mother! :)

Finally on October 29, Mark turned twelve! Mark just recently had a growth spurt and suddenly is beginning to look like a young man. He is very capable and knowledgeable with equipment  and he and Alexis did most of the combining of the sunflowers for Jay this year. He also seems to have a knack for electronics which is very handy in this computer crazed world. Every time we see him, he engages us in conversation, asking about our lives and telling us funny jokes. He is such a pleasure to be with and I always look forward to spending time with him.

Next year he will be a teenager!

October was also vacation month for Steve and me! One of the couples in our small group owns a timeshare in Hilton Head, SC, which was gifted to them by one of their parents. They invited our small group to go for a week  and we were more than happy to take them up on their offer. It was just a wonderful time of relaxation and rejuvenation and spending time with friends. It's hard to believe that we didn't even know these people four years ago and now they are such an integral part of our lives. God sure knew what we needed when we stepped into Victory Church.

Full moon on the beach

Outside of our condo

Beautiful fountain

It was a little windy!

We climbed to the top of the lighthouse

View from atop the lighthouse

Amazing sunset over the water

Palm trees

We were so excited to see an alligator!

Our wonderful, amazing, caring small group

One other thing I did in October was take Awstin to the Choo-Choo Barn. If you have followed my Blog you will remember that this is something I started with him when he was quite small. Although all kids like the Choo-Choo Barn, Awstin LOVES it and can never get enough of it, so I try to take him once a year. Even though he is older now, he is still just so excited and we had such a wonderful time.

His favorite place

Can't go to the Choo-Choo barn without taking a picture on this train

Selfie!

Well, that pretty much wraps up October. I'll be back at the end of December to close out the year. 

Seth's First Birthday and other happenings in August & September

This little cutie turned 1 year old on September 10! He is such a sweet little guy who is rapidly trying to catch up with his sibling and cousins. He likes to walk around things and is standing on his own so it is only a matter of time until he takes off. I enjoy watching him and Cassidy every Wednesday morning while Julissa works the store. He likes anything with wheels so Julissa made him a wheel cake! But Cassidy had to blow the candle out for him!

He definitely enjoyed his cake!

The wheel

Is this for me!

Another birthday that we celebrated was Alexis! I can hardly believe that the girl that made us grandparents is 15! Alexis is wonderful to chat with and is a very capable girl. She helps with all her siblings and especially enjoys the baby stage of Naomi. Her favorite thing in life is Bible quizzing and she is  delighted that the new season has gotten underway the beginning of September.

15 years old!

Steve and I also enjoyed some time away in August to the 1000 Islands. We toured several castles and climbed a lighthouse.

Singer Castle

More than a castle is seemed like a mansion

Beautiful gardens all around

Boldt Castle

Rock Island Lighthouse

We made it to the top!

Another thing that I enjoy doing with the grandkids is taking them to watch trains that go and come back to the Strasburg Railroad. I took Bryce on a Wednesday in August and then in September, Thomas was at the Strasburg Railroad and I went with Megan and her boys to catch a glimpse of him. There is just something about trains that I enjoy and so do the grandkids. It is a fun, free thing to do with them.

Waiting patiently for the train

I don't have a video of Thomas but we sure had a good time. Sometimes it is just too difficult to take a video. They also had a little petting zoo there and the boys enjoyed that.

Kyle and the pot-bellied pig

Feeding the goats

Just a boy watching the train come (yes Thomas is backward in this picture but that's how they do it.)

Waving

Here is comes! "See, I'm pointing!"

Another annual tradition is the Solanco Parade. Shawn drove the truck and Awstin, Bryce, Jake & Cassidy rode in the little trucks. Jay and Kristen and family didn't come this year so the other trucks were filled with children from Josh & Julissa's church.

All shined up!

There they go!

I guess that's it for summer. Fall is just around the corner and we are looking forward to a vacation to Hilton Head, NC with our small group the middle of October. I'm sure there will be other things to share as well. I do love Fall!