Memorial Day Weekend

tents....creek....toads.....fishing.....food over campfires......family......guitar music We left thursday morning around 9:30. drove the 4 hours to petticote junction. set up our tent, and had a great weekend. end or story- with alot in between. I remember thinking thursday evening as i lay on our double high airmattress under a fuzzy blanket & a sleeping bag how "welcoming" it sounded. bullfrogs croaking, the water in the creek (more like a river) that ran by our campsite, the distant sound of cars driving on the road across the creek. it sounded peaceful, comforting. about 4 hours later, i awoke. gone was the welcoming sounds, the peaceful comforted feelings were replaced with damp coldness, and the growing need to make use of the facilities....which were all the way accross campground. Instead, I rolled over soaking up as much body heat from Curt as i could, and burrowing deeper in the covers. lets just say it took a long time for morning to arrive, and i was honestly never more grateful to see the sun filtering through my tent.

Friends

It's been a long week, but it went by fast.... I know, it doesn't really make all that much sense, but I know what I mean. Its been pretty busy, which means we've packed that much in, that it seems a long way since last weekend, but I have so much to do, that I haven't gotten done this week, therefore it feels like it flew by. Last night was lovely. I didnt get out from work as early as I was hoping, but I managed to get home, before Curt, and tidy up the house a little bit, (You know how much tidying up just a little after a hurricane would do? Well thats pretty much all it did. My house is a wreck right now...so please no surprise visits!) before heading to Ephrata to meet Galen & Janessa at Applebees. It was super awesome. The food, -yummy smothered chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli- and definately the company all contributed to a wonderful evening. Then there was that pretty sunset. Did you notice it? So beautiful after all the rain this week :) So, tonight, I'm gonna get alot done. The wash, the cleaning, pricing yardsale stuff & packing it up to go tomorrow bright (or dark) and early. Untill next time. m

The Other Michelle

We met four years ago in New Creations Chorus

we had the connection of a shared name,

four years later, we share much more than that.

The wedding of one of my best friends

Michelle Mummau

&

Glendon Strite

The lovely bride, & her bridesmaids

hiding out in the nursery before

the ceremony.

Lynnae Lisa Michelle & Jen

Brotherly Love :)

Justin, Michelle & Jeremy

The Groomsmen

Jusin, Dallas, Glendon & Jeremy

Ron & Bev Mummau Family

Lisa

Michelle

Jen

Lynnae

Gabriella

Jeremy's liking Lynnae's bouquet

The Whole Bridal Party

To Glendon & Michelle - Congratulations! Wish you guys the best!

We're Related - Barack Obama said so...

I just got done chewing my Dad out. Ancestry has always facinated me. I've wished so often as I read through great great (however many it is) grandparents diary's that I could have just an hour to sit down with them and drink in all I can about what their lives were like. And now I just found out I could have. I received an email from Barack Obama on facebook through the "We're Related" application. Apparently we are fourth cousins once removed... And apparently, I could have had one of those sit down chats with my great grandmother. She apparently died when I was thirteen. Her married name was Pearl Marie Smith. It makes we want to delve into research about her life. Was she in the witness protection program? Is that why her last name was smith? Because none of my grandparents grew up as smith's. And how lucky am I? Everyone I know has 4 great grandparents, mine are: Jake & Esther Newswanger, Aaron & Mary Weaver, David & Elizabeth Weaver, Christian & Rebecca Sauder - now I also have Charles & Pearl Smith! - Cant wait to learn about them! & meet all my 4.5 cousins in person, maybe have slumber parties with my 5th cousins at the White House! __________ In other news, since April 1rst came around, so far I've talked to only a handful of people who actually failed to mention April Fools, or tell me a joke. I can only pray that none of my kids have to share a birthday with me! It can be a real pain! __________ Things I love about today: ~ It's not snowing - a majority of my birthdays include snow ~Early this morning my husband was talking in his semi-conscious state, till I absolutely laughed him wide awake at 2am ~It looks like it could rain - I love rain (except for what it does to my arthritis) ~No matter how old I get, I still love birthdays - I just try to ignore that fact that the age I am makes me sound old, & simply enjoy the day ~ My husband is taking me out for supper tonight ~I keep getting birthday texts, emails & comments - which means I have friends who love me, or love the fact that I am getting older ~I have yummy leftovers in my lunch ~I awoke in a relatively healthy state this morning ~The work week is halfway over

It’s Friday night, the night my husband runs ambulance from 6 to 11. The night that I do things with girlfriends, catch up on house work, or have have me nights. When plans with one of my girlfriends fell thru, I started a list of things I wanted to do tonight.

• Work on a dress I’m sewing for my sister
• Clean the house top to bottom
• Catch up on all the laundry
• Do baking
• Clean the kitchen spic and span
• Organizing paperwork/bills/receipts
• Catch up with some work on our budget

But none of that happened…. Instead, this list is more like it.

• Get a call from my husband at 5:10. he says he’s gonna run a brush fire call, and I might have to bring his uniform up to the ambulance station, cause it will be cutting it close for him to be on at 6
• Hear on the scanner that it is no longer a brush fire, but a building (shed)
• Hear ambulance on location ask for the second ambulance to respond class three for an injured firefighter
• get a certain feeling, that the injured firefighter is my husband. Two seconds later, hear my phone ring, its my husband, he confirms he is that firefighter
• stop all cooking/ supper prep, get ready to head to the ER with my in-laws
• get to the ER, find my husband, who is in significant right knee pain
• sit and wait for them to do xrays
• hear the news that nothing is broken, but possibly torn or badly sprained
• we go to the doctor Monday for further instructions
• get dropped off at the the hall, help my husband in the passenger seat, and I drive us home in HIS truck (it’s a big scary truck)
• try to situate my uncomfortable immobilized husband on the sofa

Basically the story as best I can tell, the shed is burning as are some pine trees next to it. He looks up, and the electrical wires running above his head are also burning. He twists to turn and get out from under them, his knee goes out, and he goes down. Next thing he knows, a cop and three firefighters are hauling him away from the fire, to the ambulance, where they convince him to go in and get it checked out.
now he’s sleeping here beside me, and I’m grateful for all the bad things that didn’t happen at that scene, that could have me sitting next to him in the hospital instead.

“You’re acting like a child” - this was the response I heard Monday, from a customer who was not called when his parts were ready, because we noted that he would stop by for them on his way home from work. He was positive that he was supposed to receive a call to verify that his parts were ready; I calmly explained that there must have been some miscommunication, and that I was sorry. His response was that I was being childish by not owning up to “my” mistake. As I hung up the phone I was quite perturbed at his commanding rudeness. I let out a frustrated sigh, and put it behind me.Later that afternoon, an older gentleman came in for his order. We chatted as I got his bill together, and of course the conversation came to the impending snow. I mentioned that I think I’d be ok with a good snowstorm again. (Like I have any say in it!) It’s been a while since we were actually snowed in. He smiled & kind of chuckled and replied, “at my age, mild winters are just okay, you must still be a child at heart.” There it was again, only this time with no negative connotation insinuated. I smiled back, and affirmed that this might just be the case.Monday night we went shopping. Berean Bookstore, Old Navy, Circuit City, and that wonderful almost heaven on earth place called Michaels. There is just something about crafts, stickers, decorations, paper, and all that fun stuff, that makes me want to spend hours looking through each and every scrumpcialicious (yes I’m making up a word) individual item. One of my treasures of the evening was a box of 64 Crayola Crayons. We have nieces, we have nephews, we have coloring books, and now we have some delightful crayons. Colors with delicious names like courage, Bear Hug, Purple Mountains Majesty, Granny Smith Apple, Macaroni & Cheese, Super Happy, Tickle Me Pink, & Wisteria. Yesterday I was at home all day, and I pulled out my new box of crayons, each of them with a perfectly sharpened tip, all smelling so amazingly new; and I took each one from the box, and wrote their names on a piece of paper. Yes, perhaps I am a child at heart. It still grants my heart such great joy, to use a never before used crayon. And yes, the thought did cross my mind, to go upstairs and dig out the coloring book, but instead, I put the crayons back in their place, left out a contented sigh, and took a nap. Yes, I may be a child, but I’m okay with that. We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing. So next time it snows, no matter your age, go outside. - make snow angels, build a snowman, have a neighborhood snowball fight, chase snow flakes with your toungue sticking out. look silly, be silly, have fun - be a child at heart.