Church

In just a little over 3 weeks we will be completely moved into and meeting in our new church facility. That's right, November 12 is the first Sunday on the LifePoint campus. I can hardly wait. I just keep thinking, if I've only been here 3 years, and I'm this excited about the move in, how must those who have been a part of this for years and years feel about it all? It is overwhelming. Our church has met in rented facilities for its 19 years of existence. And, for those 19 years we have experienced consistent growth. I can't wait to see what happens once we are in this building. I think things are exciting now, but just wait.

Pumpkin Patch

We headed to Baugher's yesterday for some fall fun. After having fresh apples and apple cider from the orchard, the girls jumped in the giant pumpkin moon bounce, and we took a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch. We hiked all over the hills so the girls could look for the perfect pumpkins and gourds. They knew that they would have to carry their own finds all the way back across the patch, because I had to help Chloe carry hers. Rachel ended up with a pretty large pumpkin, but she was determined to bring it home so she lugged it all the way back by herself!

Praise

Chloe and I were grocery shopping today. While she rode in the buggy through the store she was singing (loudly and repeatedly), "Though my heart is torn, I will praise you in this store." Her version of Casting Crowns' Praise You In this Storm. Then once we got in the car she said, "Mom, I don't want my heart to be torn."

Not This Car

The other day Lance's car battery died. He was at the bike shop not too far from home and he called me to come help him. I had meat cooking on the grill and food in the oven so it was going to be a little while before I could get to him. A guy in the parking lot was getting into his car so Lance asked him for help. The guy immediately said "I don't have cables." Lance said "I do." Then the guy said "Not this car," and left. He was driving a Lincoln, which I guess he thought was too good a car to help out our Mitsubishi. When I heard this, I just thought how different it was than my usual interactions with people. It is rare that we ever run into someone so selfish and unwilling to help. It was really encouraging to be surprised by this guys response.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's . . .

Two blimps have flown over my neighborhood in the past few weeks. Maybe I'm just easily amused, but I find this interesting. The first was a Goodyear, yesterday was MetLife. They really make a lot of noise.

Retreat

This year's Women's Retreat was great. Very nice accomodations, good (and plentiful) food, meaningful sessions and small group times. The speaker, Paula Rinehart, brought such a great message and I am enjoying her books. I also loved the weekend because there was no manufactured, emotional, cry time. Women were open, some did cry, and real life stories were shared. It was so much fun to get away and have a great time with some incredible people. My roomates and I laughed for most of the weekend. The above photos were taken after a worship dance class we took (one of the reasons we were laughing). I came home exhausted from so little sleep, but I felt refreshed from being in the company of these friends.

The Office

I have been looking forward to the new season of The Office for a while (ok . . . all summer). Yesterday was the day. The funny thing is that Lance and I had a party to go to last night so all my plans for having friends over for an "Office Party" didn't happen. The surprise birthday party we went to was fun - I had possibly the best crab cakes ever, and Lance's steak was great. We sat at a table with some really good friends, and we laughed until my stomach hurt. I guess it was worth missing the office. Anyway, that is the beauty of the DVR. We didn't get home until around midnight though, and were too tired to watch it then. I am leaving town this morning for the weekend, so we will finally watch the season premier together when I get home.

Cash Cab

It's been a while since I've watched this. I saw a couple episodes today and was reminded of how much I like it. A fun show. I'm a fan.

Civil War Century

Lance left the house this morning at about 6:15 headed to Thurmont, MD (just west of us) and the Civil War Century Ride. He called me at about 5:15 this afternoon to let me know that he finished the century. He rode 105 miles today. And this is not just a leisurely ride, it is an extremely hilly trek through the Catoctin Mountains. This ride begins with a 6 mile climb. The girls and I are so proud of him. This is a huge accomplishment. The photos above were taken just after he returned home this evening.

Today

I dropped Hannah and Rachel off at school at 7:30. Came home, exercised, and walked a quick 3 miles around the neighborhood. When I got home from the walk, Chloe was up and Lance left for work. Chloe and I ate breakfast. She rode her tricycle to the neighborhood playground with me. There she climbed, slid, and swung "sky high". She rode the tricycle back home. We had a snack, and then finger painted for about an hour. We cleaned up from that and ate lunch. Next she took a long bath. After that we read some books, and she climbed into bed for a nap. Hannah and Rachel will be home from school in less than two hours. I have emails to write and phone calls to make for work. Tonight I'll go to "Back to School Night" at Friendship Valley.

First Day

School

Tomorrow Hannah and Rachel start back to school. They will be in 5th and 3rd grade this year. We all went to the open house at Friendship Valley Friday afternoon and met their teachers and found their lockers. It looks like it will be another great year. This will be Hannah's final year of Elementary school. She plans to continue playing clarinet in the school band and singing in the 4th and 5th grade chorus again this year. Her favorite subjects are reading and writing. She also loves acting and art. Rachel's favorite classes are PE, art and recess! She is very interested in animals (especially dogs and horses). She dreams of having her own veterinary practice and ranch one day. We did 5 out of 6 things on this summer's list (see "List" below). The school supplies have been purchased, labeled, and are sitting by the front door. The new lunch boxes are in the kitchen waiting to be filled. We're ready!

Devil's Den

We went to Gettysburg, PA yesterday afternoon. It was a beautiful day and, as always, a beautiful drive. After a stop at the outlet stores and a little shopping we headed into the park. We have been through the park several times, and even done the audio driving tour, well almost. This tour takes about 4 hours to complete, if you want to see it all. There is a shorter version that takes about 2 hours. Anyway, we have completed most of the 4 hour tour, but by the last little bit of the tour our kids, and us, always need to get to a restroom and we are tired so we quit. Our favorite spots in the park are Big Round Top and Little Round Top, from there you have great views of the surrounding area. We always enjoy stopping here, and it is right after these stops that we quit the tour and head into town. By quitting the tour there, we have always missed out on the next stop along the way, Devil's Den. This is a rocky area where the Confederate soldiers hid out and set up snipers to take out Union troops up on Little Round Top. Yesterday we went to Devil's Den for the first time. It is more impressive up close than when viewed from up on Little Round Top. The girls enjoyed climbing all over the rocks and exploring some caves. Lance and I enjoyed the beauty of the area and reading and learning a little more about what took place at Devil's Den.

B & A Trail

Rachel arrived at our house Saturday morning to spend the day with Hannah and Little Rach, and Lance and I headed off with Chloe to meet some other families for a bike ride down the B & A trail. This is a 13 mile paved trail that runs from BWI airport in Baltimore to Annapolis. Lance mountain bikes with these guys (and one of the girls) on Tuesdays. They are all great people. I know a few of them that go to our church, and enjoyed meeting the others and their wives and kids. It was a large group, with several trailers for kids in tow. The trail ride was great, but the ride was tough for me once we came to the end of the trail and headed out on the roads through Annapolis. I was challenged by some of the hills and a pretty steep bridge that we crossed. After lunch in Annapolis, we headed back. Again, I toughed it out and made it back over that bridge. I did struggle some, but was proud that I hung in there with everyone. I never quit or walked my bike, I wasn't about to do that. These people, with the exception of one of the wives, ride often, unlike me. We rode a total of 36 miles. I really enjoyed the ride and the challenge. I'm looking forward to trying some other trails soon.

Hiking

Went to lunch yesterday at Legend's Cafe with the girls and Big Rachel. She was right, "My Big Fat Greek Sandwich" is great! So was the crab pretzel appetizer and the "Big Bopper Salad". I think I am liking Legends more after yesterday's lunch experience. Sometimes you just have to try a few things on a menu before you come across something really good. After lunch we headed off to Thurmont, MD for some hiking at Cunningham Falls and a little letterboxing along the way. We took the lower trail up to the falls. It was a great hike and we easily found Lavender's Woodstock Box just off the trail. There are three other boxes hidden off the trails leading to the falls. We will go back for them another time. The area is beautiful. The hike is only a mile long on that trail, and when we got to the falls, we had a fun climb up the rocks all the way to the top. It got a little steep in places, but Chloe hung in there. We started back down the trail at dusk and saw two deer. A great way to end a fun day.

Hershey

We had a fun day yesterday in Hershey, PA. Hershey Park is beautiful. The roller coasters are great. There are tons of rides for all ages. And, some free chocolate was nice, too. Hannah and Rachel are so much fun. They have always ridden any ride that they were tall enough to ride since they were little. Yesterday was no exception. They loved the Comet and the Sooperdooperlooper and everything else they rode. It is strange, now that they are getting older (10 and 8) to see them go off with their friends, without Lance or me, to ride some huge looping roller coaster. Of course, Jason or Rachel were nearby when Lance and I weren't. We're just beginning to enter another new phase of life as they are getting older and are becoming more and more independent. It looks like Chloe is a lot like them when it comes to thrill rides. Of course, she is too small to ride the big coasters, but she enjoyed the Flying Falcons and the Trailblazer more than any of the kiddie rides. She rode the Trailblazer with us three times and held her little hands in the air the whole time! Every time a ride ended, she begged to ride it again. We ended the day with a trip to Chocolate World and the chocolate making tour ride. After the ride, we were given a Take 5 bar. The Take 5 consists of pretzel, caramel, peanut butter, peanuts, all covered in chocolate. It was really good, I recommend it. We returned home at about 12:15 am and crashed.

Fifteen

Thursday, August 10 was our 15th wedding anniversary! After Lance returned home from Leadership Summit that night our family went out to the Olive Garden for a celebration dinner. After dinner, we enjoyed getting out our wedding videos and photo albums and looking at them with the girls. The girls also made us a very special anniversary card and surprised us by shouting "happy anniversary" when we came downstairs. 15 years sounds like a long time, but it has flown by. We have some incredible memories to look back on. And, I'm looking forward to what's to come. When I reflect back on our life together, it is amazing to see God's changing and growing us personally and in our relationship with each other. We have come a long way. I love you, Lance, now more than ever.

Box

While in Dallas we were able to track down another letterbox. We first went to the aboretum but struck out there. I guess a grounds keeper found that one and removed it, because it wasn't there for us. After a walk through the gardens and the incredible display of ultimate tree houses done by local architects, we were off to White Rock Lake to try again. This time we were successful and found the "Lady of the Lake" box fairly easily. We said farewell to our hitchhiker, "Woody the Butterfly" and left him there with the "Lady". All in all it was a fun find and cool to be able to take "Woody" so far from where we found him.

Home

We arrived back home Monday afternoon. We had fun and enjoyed spending time with everyone. It is always hard to say goodbye, knowing it will be months before we see family again, but it is so good to be home. I am glad to be back to cooler weather and a lot less humidity. I love Maryland, and I realize that more each time I travel away from here. Much more than that, I love my husband, and I missed him terribly for the two weeks we were apart. Life is getting back to normal after being away for so long. Lance makes things easy on me by taking such good care of the house, laundry, dog, etc. (He even washed and changed the sheets before I returned.) I spent yesterday and most of today catching up with friends, things around the house, and work. Our new church building is amazing and I was ready to get back here and continue setting up those beautiful infant and toddler rooms. The latest is that we should be completely on the new campus by November 12. That still gives us plenty of time to finish projects and be ready for our first Sunday at the new place. Exciting, to say the least!

End

Our trip is quickly coming to an end. It has been an eventful couple of weeks. My cousin died last week, so I was able to be here for his funeral. The circumstances were sad, but it was good to see some family members that I haven't seen in a long time. We went to a wedding rehearsal dinner for another one of my cousins last night, and will attend her wedding and reception tonight. In between the vistis with family and such, we rented and watched about 8 movies, went to see The Ant Bully (pretty good), went to Party Central (like Chuck E. Cheese, only much bigger and cleaner), and did some shopping. We also drove over to Longview Wednesday morning and spent a fun day with Glynn and Dee. Greg, Tempa, and Tina and their families joined us that evening for dinner. Chad arrived in Shreveport yesterday for the wedding, and we will head back to Dallas with him tomorrow. I will miss my Mom and the girls will, too. We have enjoyed spending time with her so much. We fly out Monday morning. Yeah! I am ready to be home and can't wait to see Lance!

Travel

The girls and I had a great flight down on Monday. We got to spend a couple days of shopping, eating, and swimming in Dallas with Chad and Mom. Chloe loved The Magic Time Machine (Cinderella was our waitress). Yesterday we drove over to Mom's house in Bossier. Today has been a much needed rainy day to rest. I'll probably run down to Wal-Mart Supercenter a little later. I've got to take advantage of the good old Supercenter while I'm here. Maryland still won't allow them. That will change some day - it's inevitable. Right Rach?

Letterboxing

I checked the letterboxing site yesterday and was excited to see that a new box had been planted near us just last week. Big Rach, the girls, and I set out to find it today at the Union Mills Homestead. Once we got on the right trail, we didn't have much trouble. Just a bit of walking in the heat. In the end the location of the box was really neat. It was also very cool to be the first ones to find this box. Much to our surprise, when we opened it, we found a "hitchhiker" inside. This was a new twist in the game for us. Apparantly, a "hitchhiker" is a letterbox with no permanent home. The "hitchhiker" is carried from one box to another where it is left for some other person to find. When you find the "hitchhiker," you stamp it as you do any letterbox, but then carry it with you to be left at the next letterbox you find. The girls and I will be flying to Dallas next week to spend some time in Texas and Louisiana. The "hitchhiker" will be making the trip with us. Our plan is to find it a new temporary home in the south.

Movies

I am loving the free family movies that the Westminster Mall shows on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the summer. There are two shows playing each week, one G rated, and one PG. Last week we saw Babe 2 Pig in the City, today we watched Zathura. Both were fun. We will try to catch a few more before school starts. And, did I mention they're free?

NCR Trail

We have been having tons more summer fun these last couple of weeks. Our family went biking on the NCR Trail. The trail runs from Baltimore north to York, Pennsylvania. It follows the Gunpowder Falls River. So, you have the view of the river on one side of the trail and beautiful forrest and rock formations on the other. Hannah and Rachel rode well, and Chloe did great in her trailer. We rode 19 miles of the trail that day, and we can't wait to do it again.

List

Every spring Hannah begins to dream of all the fun things she will do during her summer break. Several years ago, I suggested she write up a "summer list" of things we wanted to do, which we posted of the fridge. The summer list has become an annual tradition in our household. The list always contains some new things as well as simple family activities that are hard to find time to do during the school year.This year was no different than the last few, and sometime in April or May Hannah's potential adventures showed up in written form in our kitchen.

This summer's list looks like this (minus her cool drawings, fonts, and colors):

Summer List

1. Washington DC National Zoo (pandas)
2. Bowling
3. Dutch Wonderland and/or Hershey Park
4. Go camping
5. Devil's Den
6. Cordoras Park swimming pool

We don't always get around to everything on the list, some years the list has been quite lengthy. So far this summer we spent a great week camping in North Carolina and Virginia and also went to the DC zoo. I'll keep updating on further summer adventures.