Mt. Gretna revisited

My nephew, Isaac, was in town a couple of weeks ago to spend a whole week with his grandparents - his vacation away from his sister (so he says!)! Last year when he was here, I took him and some of my other nephews to Mt. Gretna for the day. They had a great time and became friends, so I promised to take Isaac again this year. Only Gabe was available to go along this year, but we had the addition of my little munchkin, Sebastian. Despite some rain showers, the boys had a great time. And Sebastian experienced "swimming" for the first time. Just when I was trying to introduce him to the water for the first time, a little girl - innocent as can be - ran past him and splashed the bejeezers out of us both. He was NOT a happy camper... So I waited a good while before attempting again. And slowly, I cupped my hand and filled it with some water to pour over his little toes, then his legs...and finally I lowered his body into the water. He was sporting the cutest swim diaper... and certainly was the cutest little boy at the beach that day.

Grandma Judy came along, and we all enjoyed a good day. Our biggest dilemna was whether to stay an extra 45 minutes later at the lake, or leave earlier and stop at the Jigger Shop for ice cream. Each of the boys had a different vote... I'm sure if Sebastian had cast his vote, he would have been the tie breaker for ice cream, but in the end we stayed and played.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the day...

Family Weekend Getaway...to a cabin in the woods!

Tim's parents arranged for a family weekend getaway to a Cabin "up north," and we were all able to make it, except for Jill & Daniel, who live in Florida. Although we missed their presence, we all had a great time - the weather cooperated for the most part, we rested and played, we hiked and skipped stones across small ponds, we climbed trees (well, not all of us! :)), and we enjoyed good food, family time and most of all... being together. This was the first time I had joined in on a family trip since we're married. It was quite a successful weekend, in that no children (there were 7!) got injured, the cousins all played very well together, I was just shy of 31 weeks pregnant and did just fine, and our newest family member, Ryan, did very well for his first trip away at 5 weeks old.

Christmas JOY!

We had full days over the Christmas week, with something to do and somewhere to be every- single-day for 8 days straight! Fortunately we managed to squeak in some rest and relaxation time amidst some wonderful moments with our families.
Our nieces and nephews are such a joy to watch grow up, mature and develop each of their personalities a little bit more. They are each soooo different, and each wonderful. They're all loving and affectionate, well-mannered, and respectful (I'm sure this is how they are always behaved in their own homes, too!). Our youngest niece, Ella, is almost three, and really starting to come out of her shell and warm up to us now. She's so fun to watch and so full of energy! I don't know that my brother ever expected to have his sister reincarnated in his own daughter, but I see little glimpses of myself as a child in Lauryn each time I see her!
We had some time to celebrate Christmas while Jill & Daniel were still up north before heading back to Florida. We also had some time with my parents, and with Tim's family, including all the siblings and their kids. Before Christmas, we attended the annual "Zimmerman Family Christmas," which is Tim's maternal side's gathering of anywhere from 130-160 people (yowsers!). We had a much smaller gathering of the Johnsen family after Christmas, with my dad's siblings and just a few of the cousins.
I think we were both very thankful for the peace, quiet and soft-sung worship that we were able to experience (albeit only for an hour and a half), while we soaked in all aspects of the Candlelight Christmas Eve Service at our church. With all of the hustle and bustle of the season, it seemed like just what we needed to help us inch our ways a little more into the Christmas spirit... the real spirit of the season! We've celebrated the birth of our King and Savior - the greatest gift of all!
Here's a sampling of our photos to share the memories of our Christmas joy! We are abundantly blessed!

Full of Thanksgiving

We enjoyed a very full holiday and weekend, but it was great. I was the rounder all week at the hospital last week, and on call on Thanksgiving Day, but we managed to squeeze in two turkey meals with both of our families. We enjoyed a wonderful time with our parents, siblings and nieces and nephews. I managed to get a photo of the feasting table at my parents' house, but forgot all about it at Tim's parents' house. By the time we got to Tim's parents' house, I was very tired, and the tryptophan was kicking in - I think it took over my photo taking natural tendencies! Friday night we headed downtown to enjoy the Mayor's Christmas tree lighting, a tuba Christmas concert, a walk through Central Market, and a meal at one of our favorite locales - Spyro Gyro. Yummy Greek food! Steve, Isaac and my parents met us down there, while Traci and Lauryn stayed at home nursing a pending cold in my niece.

We had a fun outing on the Saturday after Thanksgiving with my parents, brother and sister-in-law and my niece and nephew. It's beginning to be a tradition now to go to Frysville Farms to get our Christmas tree. We pick out our favorite concolor fur, get some hot apple cider and meander in awe through the aisles of pointsettias. The kids spoke to Santa, ensuring him that they were very well behaved, and each getting a toy in return. And to top it all off, we had a horse-drawn hay wagon ride through the tree orchards. Now we can enjoy the aroma of our citrus-smelling tree as it pervades the living room!
We have so much for which to be thankful. It's so easy to forget that in the midst of how busy life gets, what's going on around us with war, bad economies, global warming, worsening crime, etc. and seeing the sorrow of so many others around us. We have a warm house, good food which is abundant, good secure jobs, wonderful family, health, love, education, our faith, terrific friends, a baby growing inside of me and each other. We are blessed! Thanksgiving shouldn't be just a single day, but a way of life... everyday.

A trip to Mt. Gretna with my nephews

My nephew has been visiting for the week with Grandma Judy and Papa Roy. Tim and I adopted him for an evening on Wednesday night. We took him down town to Spyro Gyro's for Greek food with some friends (his choice off the menu was not saganaki or souvlaki, but rather a cheeseburger :)), and then he spent the night at our house. We all slept in the tent in the backyard. Tim left us early to go to work, and Isaac and I got ourselves together, made sandwiches and packed lunch for 6 people and headed out to meet up with Grandma Judy, Grandma Martin, Tristen and Gabe. We made our way to the lake and beach at Mt. Gretna, just as they were opening for the day. Tia (yours truly) was smart enough to put sunscreen on the nephews, but not on herself, so she came home a little sun burnt, but a good time was had by all. The boys played well together, enjoyed the water and the beach, the picnic lunch and a treat at the Jigger Shop afterwards. Isn't summer great? Too bad it slips away all too fast...