Visit from Family

In the beginning of September, we enjoyed having Elvin & Lena and their kids spend a few days with us.  It’s always fun to have friends and family come and spend some time with us in the south.  We made the most of the short time they were here with us. 

  

One day we took a picnic lunch to the park.  A great place to relax while the children ran off to play on the merry-go-round and splash in the creek. 

We made a trip to Down-Town Birmingham to visit “The Vulcan.”  It’s the World’s largest cast-iron statue.  That’s what you see towering over the children’s heads in picture above.

A view of the city from the top of the Vulcan

  

After coming down from climbing the “tower” the children had fun running down a grassy hill.  Nice green grass is something that we don’t see much of in the south- it makes us miss the nice lawns in PA.

  

And the parents took snapshots:)

The kids had a great time with their cousins.  Thanks Elvin and Lena for making the trip to come see us!  Don’t wait too long to come again!

Projects and Visit to the Country

     In the last 7 months since we moved there have been quite a few small projects we have done to improve things to the house.  One of those have been removing the old steps out the back door, making the first step out of the house deeper and the same level as the floor of the house.  And then the second step deeper as well.  This makes it much more comfortable to step in or out of the house.  Thanks to Vintage Landscape for the donated material and my brother Jeff, for the free delivery service.  One amazing thing about this project was the way I had just enough material. I had a slight idea of how much material I had and needed, but never measured exactly.  So when all was said and done, I had just enough to do what I did. I should have counted the pieces before I started to see if the Hand of Providence multiplied as I needed them.  I believe God takes an interest in the small things of life whether we take time to notice it or not.

 

 

   Here are a few before and after pics of the back door.  As always I have willing and good help to assist me in any of the projects I undertake.  Its great to be able to teach him hands-on.

 

 

This piece of furniture below was one that we refinished recently.  We picked it up along the streets of Strasburg for free, maybe 3 years ago or more.  It has traveled with us on our last 3 moves and now found its place in our home.  When we first saw it my wife agreed that if we pick it up, she would take full responsibilty to refinish it.  Now we needed it and it still wasn’t finished.  Little did she know that as the little one’s came along, also came less time to accomplish the restoration of this piece.  A few Saturdays ago we made up our mind that the day of reckoning has come.  So we (notice the we) sanded, sweated, painted and at last it found a new look.

                                              

This past Saturday evening we drove a 30 minute drive into the country to take in a horse show.  It was advertised at a local hardware store as a horse show and barbeque.  It was a nice drive into part of the country we never were before.  They had a $3 fee for parking and the rest was ours to do what we wanted.  It was a real back country experience, where everyone knew each other( they might have all been relatives).  Either way we soon felt comfortable, people being friendly and making us feel like its alright we were there.  The barbeque was very good $5 bought a plate of potato salad, baked beans, piece of bread and real good barbecued beef. Notice their advertisement on the fence, it seemed to me you could buy your space and sell your business.  We had a good time and the boys loved it.  The guy in the orange shirt offered a ride to the boys as he rode by.  He must have over heard Isaiah saying that he wanted a ride.

  The building you see (to your left) with stairs going up the side was where the announcer overlooked the arena and made his comments.   What intrigues me in these back country places is the looks of their buildings, you gotta like it.  No one feels pressure to have the buildings in perfect condition,  its like an after thought.  The enjoyment of life is not affected by everything being just perfect and looking better than the Jones’ down the street.   Its not a bad thing, unless its a result of laziness which in some situations it is.  

 

    Isaiah still has his love for horses,  on the left he was giving the miniature horse a kiss as we were about to leave. 

I will admit (the picture on the right) we might       have been trying to fit in a little.  Something was telling me that we didn’t appear as locals, but know one seemed to mind.                                              

                                                                     

   

    This kind young lady (below) was more than glad to give the boys a ride on her horse.  She was giving all the details of the horse and the prizes she has won with him, very proud of her horse.  You could tell it was in her blood and she didn’t have a  choice but to love horses. 

 

 

We have enjoyed exploring you might say or driving to new areas and seeing what else you can find especially in the back country areas.

  

Dexter’s Birthday Party!

 

 

 

 

 

Dexter had his 4th birthday on June 21. For some reason its not hard to remember his arrival 4 years ago. Our

first child and the day of his delivery was never forgotten. 

Here he is already 4, growing up so fast. Dexter is very ambitious and loves to learn.  Anytime I find a project

to do around the house, he is always right beside me wanting to help and looking for that approval from his dad.

Making new friends here in the south has not been a problem for him.  May God give us wisdom to direct his

energies in the right direction.

 

 

We had some neighbors over to celebrate his birthday and help eat the cake.  Did you notice the cake my wife

created herself, no need for the local bakery this time. 

Playmobil and goggles brought the smile to the face as he unwrapped the gifts and discovered what he had.  The

goggles are for swimming, but we had to wear them for the next couple days.

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We enjoy socializing with the neighbors and are thankful for their friendships. Not sure what we would do

without them, its definitly an act of God that we have the opportunity to live in this neighborhood.

Above, the carport has turned into a screened in sitting area so we could enjoy

evenings outside without the bugs.

I had to post this pic, our dear neighbors James and Vonelle Horton use the gator for travel to neighborhood

functions and to do his work projects for whoever.  The boys, Dexter and Isaiah, are always waiting for a

ride offer, which Horton loves to give. 

Picture Post

 

   

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Visit from Family

The last weekend March we had a visit from my mom (her first time here) and brother Jeff with his wife and two sons. We thoroughly enjoyed the time we had with them and especially having mom here for the first.

We did a lot of relaxing over the weekend and had some of the neighbors meet my family. On Saturday we went to the Birmingham zoo and visited more of our relatives!! (that was supposed to be funny)

We had all kinds of goodies to eat from, thanks to the kindness of, those back home, along with mom and Jeff's. We especially love the meats, cheese and pretezels that only Lancaster County can produce. This would be a negative of the south, not finding food like that.

Dexter and Isaiah had such a good time with their cousins, we actually had very minor disputes to settle. Hours were spent outside riding bikes and never know (which was probably a good thing) what you might find the 4 of them discovering or trying to organize a game plan. The explanation to the picture above has Isaiah pushing the button to operate the door opener (he can't be seen because of where the button is) and the other guys are trying to see who can hang on the longest as the door goes up. Gotta admit it had to be fun!

The ice cream truck made its rounds the one day which had grandma running for her purse as the grandsons were thrilled to realize the truck offered some treats and it was on grandma. What is not seen is the music being played and since this experience Dexter catches the sound of this truck before I pick it up. The hard part for him is that not everyday grandma is here, dad is not as kind you might say.

Enjoying their treats, thanks mom for your kindness. I know dad would have loved to do the same thing.

We always look forward to and love the visits we get knowing that it is a sacrifice to drive 14 hrs from Pa. So anyone wondering if its a bother for us to host visitors, no, we really do enjoy it. Come and see us!

Spring Time In Pleasant Grove

I think spring was more exciting to see come this year than others, not knowing what all to expect and see come to life. The warm weather was a welcome, allowed for some energy filled boys to be outside and the neighbors to see that there are some new kids on the block. They spend hours outside riding bike, playing ball and picking any flower they see bloom to give to mom. One of the things we like about this place we have is the space to ride outside and a fenced back yard, not really to keep the boys in their boundaries but to keep the stray dogs out.

We have enjoyed seeing things bloom and something that is plentiful here more so than the north is the azaleas. As the grass started to grow we came to realize our backyard is a weed patch. So this landscaper is supposed to figure out a way to grow a nice yard. Well, I am still observing and trying to figure out how that's done. We are thankful for the space we have to grow a garden and the soil here is nice enough for it. With the help of my neighbor, Mr Horton, he came by with his equipment to help me out.

One day when i got home from the prison he was in the back yard cleaning up brush and getting an area ready for my garden.

This man is one of a kind and loves to be a help to anyone. He's been seen doing projects for the other neighbors as well, never wants any pay. In no time flat we had an area all ready to plant.

This was the last step in this whole process, what he is doing here is making the rows for me or what he called it
"laying it off ". So now we wait and see, hoping for some fresh vegetables that we won't be able to find along
roadside stands like in Lancaster Co.

You need to work for food around here. Dexter loves to help his dad with whatever the latest project is, in this case it is planting strawberries. He does a good job and its fun to have him by my side even though it slows up a project.

When I was landscaping there were times when I would take one of the boys with me to a job for part of a day. Dexter was the one that got that privilege most of the time and he loved going with me. That is one of the things I miss not being able to do with the job I have now.

The garden is planted and now we hope that all the labor will not be in vane. That makes me think of the work I am involved with in the prison, I have been talking to guys and hearing their stories or journeys they have been on. And they have built of thick walls of hatred and unforgiveness from things they have experienced. Talking to them feels at times like talking to a brick wall and I wonder what in the world am I doing here or I ask the question "is this really worth my time". These were some discouraging thoughts going through my head and I hope and pray that my labor will not be in vane. God is teaching me to be faithful to what He has called us to do and not faint even if at the time we see no results. He is the one doing a work of changing hearts made of stone. Thank God that it is Him and not me doing that.