Suddenly, Clara isn't just the little baby anymore. She is an active, happy toddler who tries to keep up with her siblings. I am always amazed at how children change in the first year of their lives and it was fun to see Clara develop her own personality as she moved from infant to one year old. We celebrated Clara's birthday at her house last Sunday evening. (Her birthday was July 16.) Clara wasn't sure what all the fuss was about and was uncertain about blowing out the candle and eventually gave in to frustration and started crying. Of course it was adorable to all of us, but for her it was a little overwhelming.
What's all the fuss about?
She liked the lighted candle but wanted to touch the flame.
After the meal and birthday cake, she enjoyed opening her gifts.
Here is the video of the birthday song and trying to blow out the candle. It is a little challenging when the older siblings are so anxious to "help" her blow the candle out. Like I said, she is a little overwhelmed, but I think it is adorable. She is a sweetheart and we are so thankful for her.
This little guy that brings sunshine to our lives every Wednesday is five years old! We celebrated with a birthday cake that Melissa brought to our evening meal on the Wednesday before his birthday which was July 12.
Awstin was delighted to put the candles on his cake...
...and delighted to blow them out after we sang to him.
Somehow five years old seems a lot older than four. He is changing and growing so quickly. In September he will be off to kindergarten. I am so thankful for Awstin and it is with some sadness that I realize those precious times spent with him on Wednesdays are soon coming to an end. (Although, thankfully kindergarten is only half days, so we will still have some Wednesday time together.)
Just like last year, we decided to have a family camping weekend in our park. Shawn's and Jay's brought their campers on Friday and set them up. Steve, Shawn & Jay spent a lot of Friday evening figuring out how to hook up electric to the campers so they could have air conditioning (it was VERY hot!), and thankfully in the end were successful. The rest of us "camped" in our own houses :)
On Friday, Megan, Melissa, Julissa and I went to Green Dragon during the day. We had a great time and all came home with a few treasures. Did I mention that it was hot? By the time we got back into the car in the afternoon, I was feeling a little lightheaded. Thankfully, after drinking plenty of fluids, I felt a lot better.
After setting up camp on Friday evening, the toys came out. Awstin and Hannah were always speeding around together in their jeep and Mark drove the tractor with the loader bucket in front.
Because of the extremely wet Spring, the park hasn't dried out yet and there was a lot of mud everywhere. Of course this didn't deter the children and Awstin kept driving the jeep through muddy places and he and Hannah would get stuck and have to figure a way out.
Awstin gets out to survey the situation.
Awstin tries to push the jeep (and Hannah who is still in the jeep) out of the mud.
Mark brought his battery-operated car along and enjoyed showing it off to everyone. It didn't work that great on the grass, but it was still fun to try and he even left me try my hand at driving it :)
Josh and Julissa brought games along and Alexis and Lydia enjoyed playing some of them.
Julissa and Alexis play Mastermind
Kristen & Lydia play Cootie
After a good nights sleep and a wonderful breakfast on Saturday morning, we headed to Lake Tobias. We knew it would be hot, so tried to get an early start so that we could ride the safari bus before the day got too brutal. We boarded the bus right around 11:00 and it was already very warm. We were glad when the bus moved and created a breeze. Amazingly, the animals were still out and about and not completely hunkered down and refusing to move because of the heat.
Not our bus, but one just like it.
This guy blocked our way until the driver/guide threw him some food.
Shawn points out an animal in the road ahead to Awstin.
Melissa was the lucky one who got to sit with this cutie :)
That's a lot of ponytails :)
Watching the animals
Hannah wants one to come close enough to touch.
The animals came really close to the bus and the children that wanted to did get to touch a few.
Those are some really big bison!
After the safari bus ride, we enjoyed a picnic lunch together at one of the pavilions. Afterward, we walked around the zoo for a little while, but honestly it was so hot that we soon called it a day and headed for home. We made a stop along the way for some cold ice cream. Yum!
Back at the park, the children were happy to get into their swimming suits and splash a little bit in the pond, stream and wading pool. The adults relaxed in various places around the park and pavilion and Grandpa started the campfire with a little assistance from his helpers.
Alexis with her net. I'm not sure if she caught anything other than mud.
Clara liked the little wading pool
Lydia and Mark liked helping Grandpa get the campfire built.
Jay relaxes in the hammock
Just hanging out in the pavilion
Sparten shows his affection for Josh.
Alexis and Mark showed off their log-walking skills to me.
Supper was delicious....thanks to Jeremy
Somethings funny!
Some of us went out to the Buck to see the fireworks while others opted for an early bedtime.The children loved the fireworks display and it was a great way to end the evening. I didn't take any pictures because it was too dark.
On Sunday after church we opted to eat lunch in the air-conditioned kitchen. It felt good to not be hot and sticky and the children were happy to play in the cool basement with the toys. Shawn brought his ice cream maker and we made raspberry ice cream. Very refreshing!
As the afternoon wore on, each family made their way to their own homes and by 6:00 the house and surrounding areas were quiet again. As I looked through these pictures, I realized that there is not one of me. That is what usually happens as I am the one behind the camera, but I should have asked someone else to snap a picture of me at least once. Oh well. Maybe next year.
It was a lovely (though hot) weekend and as always, we feel so fortunate and blessed to call this wonderful family ours. Happy memories!
I know we've only been grandparents for 10 years, but we already attended a graduation! The graduation was from preschool and the graduate was Awstin! I remember sitting on those same pews not so long ago (at least it feels that way) at the Mt. Nebo United Methodist Church for the graduation of Megan. Time sure does keep marching on.
Of course it was a cute program. What preschool graduation isn't? Awstin beamed proudly and stood at the front of the church with his classmates as they went through their program. They sang quite a few songs and then they had the graduation ceremony. Awstin was the first one to walk in. Here is a short video clip of him coming down the aisle.
Here is a picture of the entire graduating class.
In September, Awstin and his peers will begin kindergarten at Martic Elementary and I am well aware that all too quickly we will be attending their high school graduation. But I'm not going to think about that now. There is a lot to live between now and then, and many more memories to be make and milestones to be achieved. Awstin is a child who is full of energy and zest for life. I have no doubt he will be a wonderful asset to every classroom he is in. Congratulations Awstin! I am so happy to be your grandma and to watch you journey through life.
A few weeks ago we celebrated Lydia Eileen Lehman's 7th birthday. Lydia has always insisted on party hats for her birthday and we would always oblige and wear them while we ate our meal. This year, Lydia opted for one big hat and so she was the only one that got to wear it. As you can imagine, the rest of us (especially the adults) were really disappointed not to have a hat to wear.
It is so amazing to watch your grandchildren grow and mature. Even though Lydia still has boundless energy and continues to love anything outdoors, squishy, or furry, she also enjoys crafts and quieter activities as well. Her smile lights up the room and her big brown eyes sparkle beautifully.
We enjoyed a birthday meal with Lydia and her family and Kristen's parents. We always look forward to these celebrations and are so glad to share these milestones with them.
Happy smiles
Here is the birthday video. Lydia surprised us at the end of it by not blowing out her candles. It was pretty amusing.
We had the family for the evening meal on Easter Sunday and as usual the highlight of the evening was the egg hunt. One of the things we did differently this year was to have an adult egg hunt after the children's. The grandkids got to hide the eggs with Grandpa and Grandma for their parents and aunts and uncles to find. They had such a good time doing this and they chose incredibly hard places (like inside the grill and in one of the car muffler's) to hide them! I wasn't sure if the adults would be able to find the eggs. I shouldn't have worried though. Some of the children couldn't wait to tell everyone where they hid them! It was so funny. I didn't get any pictures of the adult hunt but it was a great time and I think a tradition that we will continue.
Here are some pictures of the children with their baskets.
Alexis
Lydia
Mark
Awstin
Hannah
Group Picture!
This little girl didn't go outside for the egg hunt but she was happy to have her own eggs to play with inside.
There are two things I am very thankful for on this my 58th birthday. They are glasses and a driver's license. Both of these items I had to wait and/or work for and that is why I am so appreciative of them.
As I mentioned in my previous blog, I had cataract surgery on my right eye on January 29 and on my left eye on February 12. Although the cataract surgeries were successful and I am so pleased with the result, I spent the last 6 weeks using reading glasses because my doctor wanted to wait 4 weeks after the second surgery to give me a new prescription. It was so incredibly annoying to carry reading glasses with me everywhere I went and to put them on and off every time I switched from reading to distance. I have a new understanding and sympathy for Steve who loses his reading glasses at least once a day. I couldn't believe how often I set them somewhere and then couldn't remember where and had to search for them. Finally, on Wednesday, March 7, I went back to my surgeon and he updated my glasses prescription. I went right to Hocke Optical and ordered my new glasses and lenses. On Monday, as I was driving to work, I got a call from them that my glasses were ready. I immediately detoured and went to pick them up. Words cannot adequately express how thankful I am to have glasses back on my face all the time and for the clear eyesight that I now have. It is truly a gift that I appreciate!
Four years ago in early 2014, when my driver's license was up for renewal, I tried to process it online and I was denied because the social security number I gave did not match with the one they had on file. Irritated, I mailed in my check and received the card back which authorized me to go to the DMV to get my picture and my new license. At the DMV I asked how my social security number could be wrong and what I had to do to correct the problem. They informed me that a data entry person must have typed my number wrong when they were imputing social security numbers and adding them as a requirement to everyone's driver's license. If I brought my social security card in as proof they would be able to correct it in their system. That sounded easy enough, but I had lost my social security card years ago so it meant I would have to go to the Social Security Office to get a new one. I figured I had four years until my next renewal so put it on the back burner of my mind to do sometime.
After Megan got married in 2015, she mentioned that she needed to go to the Social Security Office to get her last name changed. I jumped at the chance and asked if she minded if I tagged along and got a replacement for my card. We went together and I soon received my new Social Security card in the mail. I filed it in a safe place and figured that sometime before 2018, I would stop at the DMV and get them to make the correction. Of course I never got there and in January I received my driver's license renewal in the mail. I knew better than to try renewing online so in late February I sent them a check, thinking that I would receive my card in the mail like I did four years ago allowing me to go to the DMV for my new license. WRONG!! They cashed my check, but I received a notice from them on Monday of this week, that I would not be able to renew my license until I proved with my Social Security card that I was indeed who I said I was.
I only had 4 days until my current license expired so on Tuesday I decided to go to the DMV before work. I walked in around 8:45 and the place was packed. Practically every seat was filled and the line was to the door with people waiting. I didn't have that much time, so I left. When I got to work, I told my coworker Elaine how full the DMV office had been and that I hadn't been able to stay. She suggested that I try the Oxford office which was only about 20 minutes from work and very rarely had much of a wait time. I called the DMV center and told them my problem and asked if any DMV center would be able to correct my Social Security number or if I had to go to the Lancaster office. The man assured me that any DMV office would be able to help me. I drove to Oxford which turned out to be a very tiny office only to be told that they could not correct my Social Security number. Only Lancaster or Harrisburg could to do that. Why do they have someone telling you incorrect information over the phone? Needless to say, I was beginning to get very frustrated.
I was determined to get this problem solved once and for all, so made the decision to leave work early and head back to the Lancaster DMV. Surely, it wouldn't be as full as it had been in the morning. Wrong again! I got there about 2:50 and groaned when I saw all the people, but this time I wasn't going to leave. I told the gentleman at the desk why I was there and he gave me a number but said that the guy in the booth at the end might be able to help me. It was an express line and as I stood behind the one man who was in line before me I hoped desperately that would be the case. I glanced at the number I had been given and it was 744. They were now waiting on 631. Over 100 people were still in front of me if I had to use that number!
I explained to the gentleman in the booth what I needed and he kind of grimaced and said he wasn't sure if he could help me. He muttered and punched in a bunch of stuff on the computer and finally came back and told me that there was a block on my license that only Harrisburg could remove. He had corrected the Social Security number but until Harrisburg removed the block, they couldn't process my renewal. He said that he would send a request to Harrisburg and I would just need to wait my turn and hope that by the time my number was called, Harrisburg would have cleared me. With a huge sigh of disappointment I sat down between two gentleman in the crowded waiting room. It was 3:05 and they were now waiting on number 639. The gentleman on my left said that he had been there since 1:00 and his number was 668. The center closed at 4:30 and I wondered what happened then. The guy said they told him they would lock the doors at 4:30 but finish waiting on everyone who was there. I figured it would be between 7:00 and 8:00 until my number was called and with my luck, Harrisburg wouldn't have done anything with the guy's request. I had been scheduled to meet with someone at 4:30 but I texted them and told them we would need to reschedule. I texted Steve and told him I wouldn't be home for a long time. Then I settled down to wait.
After about ten minutes of waiting, the guy in the express booth looked out over the crowd and said, "Is Mary Lehman still here?" I jumped out of my seat and went to his window. He said that Harrisburg had removed the block and he would process my renewal! Hallelujah! I was ecstatic. He typed everything up and then asked if I was prepared to pay the renewal fee. I explained that I already had and he asked if I had proof. Thankfully I had thought ahead and had a copy of the cancelled check along which I showed him. Believe me if I hadn't had it with me, I would have just gladly paid the $30.00 again! He handed me my renewal card and told me to go over to the side that takes the pictures and issues the licenses. Gratefully I took the card, went over to the picture side and within twenty minutes I was on my way out the door with my new license that doesn't expire until 2022!
It certainly shows that I am getting old, when the two things I am most thankful for are driving privileges and glasses. It reminds me of something that a very elderly person would be thankful for. But you know what? I would rather be 58 with glasses and a driver's license than 30 and blind with no driving privileges. I'll take these two "birthday gifts" and be happy!
