Czar News

August

2009-01-16T22:06:00.017-05:00

Recap of August:

*The month started out with the girls visiting Nanna & Grandpa Rink in West Va. They worked with Nanna @ her quilt shop Acorns & Oaks

*Next, there was Shakespeare camp for the girls at Covenant Life. The middle schoolers learned and performed The Tempest. The high schoolers learned and performed Romeo & Juliet. Both girls had small parts in each of the shows. Great performances at the end of the week.

Emily playing a boy Rachel with friends afterwards.

*And then... Fair Week ~ One of our favorite weeks of the year!! waiting for the parade to start

w/ dear friends, Susan and Char after the parade.

PC: Ron Moore

Em had another first place cake this year that was sold in the cake auction. It was bought by my parents and my dad's 2 brothers, Uncle Johnny & Uncle Billy. :) All the money goes to 4H.

Emily with Great Gommie at the cake auction (the original baker of the famed cake)

Rachel and Char at the Cheese Booth on PetsRUs day. Rachel worked several other days and loved it here.

The girls takin' a lunch break - grilled cheese & nachos!

the pet show - Rachel and Em took the cats

Caiti and Chris

waiting to show their dogs

Sarah with her pet rock and the girls with Josie and Claire

I love the demolition derby on the last night... it's the farm girl in me, I'm sure. ;)

PC: Emily

*Cook-out @ Peggy Ann & Fred's.

Peggy Ann had some things from Mamaw & Pap Pap for the 5 grandsons. So she invited us all to her place for yummy food and memento of the grandparents.

The 5 grandsons

Jeff, Julie, Zack and Tyler

Kevin, Susie, Brett and Billy

Jeff & PA

all the cousins being silly

*Rachel and I had a super time at the youth retreat @ Sandy Cove in MD

roommates: Libbster, Krissy and Rachie

M&M poker

*And we ended the month with the First Day of School - the 26th (no pics, sorry!)

Two days, Two posts... don't faint! :)

2008-11-22T22:33:00.016-05:00

Now for July ‘08. This will be a big post as there were lots of pics taken. I’ve had a dickens of a time paring it down to the best few pics per event. First off… Our FUN day with the Nams! We’ve missed them dearly since they moved to Phoenix last year. So good to have them back for the month!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rachel took most of the pictures with the Nam kids. I loved the great faces they all make. Other favorites are all the “singing” pictures. If I had to guess, I bet they’re singing a Celine Dion song. Just a guess, tho’. Rachel did a good job capturing Connor, Em and Tay mid-singing. Too bad there’s no audio with these pix! We love and miss them. It was such a short visit. Looking forward to our next trip out there to see them!

Rachel & Taylor

Here are the kids singing and dancing - a favorite pasttime.

Silly Faces

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OK, these are VERY random July pictures. Enjoy our weirdness.

PC: Rachel

The next few shots are when Rachel and Emily played in the rain one warm July day. I had no clue this even happened! :) I love seeing the girls have fun together! It really is something I have prayed for since they were teeny tiny... that they would have a close friendship and be team mates instead of opponents.

Yes, Em - you're weird!

Game night with Uncle Mike.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These pics are from my annual scrapbooking get-away to Camp Hill, PA. There are 450-500 people (mostly ladies) scrapbooking, laughing, journaling, resting, eating, sleeping and making new memories! It's so much fun. Danielle and Cheryl drove up from VB to meet me, Cindy, Teri and Dawn. What a great time we had!

shot of the scrapbooking room

my seat is right there next to Cindy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Next is our summer trip to VB to visit with the Haudricourts. The kids are growing up so quickly!

Lunchtime with Joy. :)

2008-11-21T19:43:00.012-05:00

Trying to be more faithful with posting on the blog. Thanks for the few of you that still check it regularly. I'm touched that you continue to return, even tho' it's the same page, month after month! I'll work on that.

I feel like I need to have a recap of the summer and fall before I can jump into regular posts. So I'll take the next few posts to recap. My last real post as in June when we went to Tennessee with the Kitterman gang. Fun times!

Only 2 other events in June ‘08 to show you. Brian’s company picnic and the H10’s visit. First, the LMI picnic. It was held at Smokey Glen in Germantown. Tons of yummy food, face painting, a mini-carnival, contests, music, games and HEAT! It was a sweltering day!! Each of the girls invited a friend. Rach asked Libby and Em asked Rachel N, two friends the girls don’t get much time with… so it was a treat! And keeping with tradition, Mark and my parents were invited, too.

Rachel and Libbster with their snake tattoos

Brian, Tony and Andy

Mark

Em on the waterslide

Rachel's turn

This little girl was actually falling asleep while getting her face painted. I don't know who she is but I couldn't resist, it was so cute.

OK, this poor girl, she had a layer of cotton candy all over her even on the hairs on her arms! She was so sweet, giving out free cotton candy to lines of people.

Rachel and Libby got caricatures drawn.

Rachel driving the racecars

Uncle Mark takes his turn. Do you think he beat the little girl next to him? :)

Rachel shocked me by wanting to get on this bungy thing. I was truely surprised ~ it was great!

She even did flips!

But she was exhausted when she was done.

Andy, the biggest kids at the picnic, came in second in the hoola contect. So close, Andy!

Rachel totally won the limbo contest by a long shot. That kid is so flexible! :)

This was her prize - this crazy hat.

Emily won the bubble blowing contest. This wasn't her winning bubble (i missed it!) but rather her end of the day "I'm tired" zoning bubble. Love her blue eyes!

The winner with their prize hats!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The second June event captured in photos was a visit from Danielle and the kids. They were here for 6 days and we had an exciting time with them. The weather was great and we made lotsa fun memories together. :)

running down the hill.

along the way we found a turtle...

a few of the kids had a turn holding it

the kitty door was quite popular

swinging in the backyard

shucking corn-on-the-cob together

Happy Birthday, Rachie!!

2008-09-16T12:10:00.002-04:00

I Love you, honey!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31296776@N00/

PS Hey Peeps! new posts soon. I promise. :)

Tennessee trip

2008-06-21T19:59:00.014-04:00

We left at 5:20am on Thursday. Brian did most of the driving (thanks, honey!) The beginning of our trip was with the Thompsons. On Sunday, we'll meet 20+ more family members for a Kitterman vacation in Pigeon Forge, TN.

Bristol Motor Speedway

It took us about 7 hours to get to Julie's house where we had lunch and a great visit. Matthew was able to come home for lunch so we got to see the whole fam. Issachar was a great host, showing us all around his home. Ruth took her time checking us out and finally let Emily hold her for this picture without crying. Two hours later we arrived at our cute A-frame cabin in the woods. The Thompsons arrived just minutes after us - good timing. Off to dinner... Dinner at Texas Roadhouse in Gatlinburg. Jenna loved the double kiss from her mommy & daddy!

After dinner, we walked around the town of Gatlinburg. I soooo thought of you, Cliff, when I saw this place! I know you could've eaten here for every meal! 21 varieties ~ wow!! Can you find Uncle Jake in this picture?

Friday: We went to the top of our mountain (where our house is) and the view was beautiful.

They had a fun attraction we all rode. We took the lift up and rode Alpine Slide down. This pic shows Brian and Rachel in the lift in from of me and Emily (Brian's wearing the red shirt.) The white track on the ground is the track of the Alpine slide. You sit in this little wheeled car and fly down this cement track. The car has a hand break, that's it. Quite fun for most of us... some went faster than others. :) Can you guess who?

How many people have tried on those hats?! ewww

Lunch in Gatlinburg at No Way Joses - YUM!

I thought the tree behind the girls was pretty neat, too.

As we walked around The Village in Gatlinburg, this guy had parrots we could hold. He was promoting a show at another location. Pretty neat!

How appropriate. Uncle Jake has a store dedicatied to him!

Brian was in heaven with these caramel apples - one of his favorite treats!

Slick Track in Pigeon Forge

Saturday: Great Smokey Mountain National Park

We hiked 1.3 miles up to the falls. Did I mention there are no porta-johns up there? oh my... On our way back down, we saw a black bear and 2 turkeys. (not the 2 turkeys below... 2 wild turkeys!)

new pet at our house

2008-06-02T19:41:00.006-04:00

Emily received a beautiful teal beta fish for her 12th birthday on Saturday. One of our kitties, Josie, was the welcoming committee. :) She was very curious about the fish and watched the tank from many different angles for most of the day. It was great.

Great shots, Em. Quick thinking to grab the camera when Josie was being so funny.

GO BACK 3 years to 2005

Here is our other kitty, Claire, enjoying a new beta fish that Rachel received for her 12th birthday.

Not sure what it is with us giving beta fish as a 12-year-old birthday gift.

It's totally unplanned. random.

But I'm glad we got pictures each time. :)

1 fun camera + 2 creative girls = 300+ SPRING pix

2008-04-24T21:56:00.015-04:00

On Saturday, we went to my parents/grandmothers for the day. All of their trees are just beautiful!! The girls took my camera out for a photo shoot and took several hundred pics!! These are just a few fun ones that give an idea of the day... I'm glad the girls enjoyed their time together.

playing with the timer...

a tree growing out of a stump!

2008-04-14T23:13:00.005-04:00

What a neat experience to go on a photo shoot with a *real* photographer! Danielle's friend, Andi, invited her along and b/c I was in town visiting, she let me come along, too. How incredibly neat! We all rode together but poor Danielle left her purse in the other car and they wouldn't let her onto the base so she didn't get to go! Andi is HER friend... and I get to have the fun! awkward! Being positive, like she always is, Danielle turned the disappointment for good - she walked the beach and prayed for the whole hour! You're amazing, Danielle, for sure! Anyway, I just thought I would be changing batteries, holding stuff and LEARNING - but NO, Andi put a camera in my hands and told me to shoot! It was very fun and I learned a ton! The beach at Fort Story was just beautiful, Andi is a fun photographer and really captured the mother-to-be well. Please check out her blog and see the great pics she took! Andi Grant Photography One of my favorite shoots she has posted is the Wolfe Family (posted in March).

18 Years!

2008-04-08T16:49:00.002-04:00

So glad I married you, honey!

Recipe Swap

2008-03-07T17:05:00.008-05:00

WELCOME to those who have linked over from Lysa's blog.

For my 4 regular readers (Hi Ma!) you should check out all the yummy recipes people have posted on Lysa's site. Many of the recipes look delish!

Here is my contribution to the Recipe Exchange. Everyone in my house (except one un-named picky child - Hi, honey!) loves this Taco Soup, made in the crockpot. My second contribution is another family favorite that even the afore mentioned picky child loves. It's called Swiss Chicken and is quite tasty. I hope you enjoy. Please LMK if they are hits for your family!

Taco Soup

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

28 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained

15 ounce can corn, undrained

15 ounce can black beans, undrained

15 ounce can kidney beans, undrained

1 envelope Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix, dry

1 envelope taco seasoning, dry

1 small onion, chopped

tortilla chips

cheddar cheese, shredded

sour cream

Combine the first 8 ingredients in crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Serve with chips, cheese and sour cream.

Note: for our family of 6, I double this recipe and usually only have a little bit left.

Swiss Chicken

4 chicken breasts

swiss cheese slices, enough to cover each chicken breast

1 can cream of chicken soup (I used reduced fat)

1/2 can milk

2 cups stuffing mix, dry (I use more)

1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted (I use less)

Preheat oven to 350*. Spray baking dish and place chicken inside. Top chicken pieces with swiss cheese. Combine soup and milk; pour over chicken. Sprinkle dry stuffing mix over chicken and drizzle with melted butter. Bake uncovered for 1 hour.

No pictures of these meals, sorry. That woulda been a good idea but I've not yet started photographing my dinners. LOL - maybe I'll start!

Misc January Happenings

2008-02-15T19:47:00.011-05:00

We went to VB the beginning of the month and were able to be there for Hannah's 4th birthday party. Danielle did an incredible job, making Hannah's birthday top-notch with a Littlest PetShop theme. Here's the pretty birthday girl: Hannah Rose

Candy dropping from the piñata

Rachel with Juliette (who's SO big and growing way too fast for her far-away Aunt Jen!) More January fun: Emily and her buddy, Sarah got together a few times this month and had a great time together.

Goofy faces

We're very excited about an upcoming trip to see our friends, The Nams, in Phoenix, AZ. I found this in Em's room today - a dry erase board with a "countdown 'til the Nams". I thought it was sweet! It's been a while since we've seen them. Since August 24th @ 4am. But who's keeping track?! (miss you, Ashley!)

And I think I totally whiffed on posting December events. We had fun family gatherings, gingerbread houses with friends, etc.... I'll post that next. I think.

from the white sand to the white snow

2008-01-26T14:10:00.001-05:00

We were invited tubing with our dear friends, the Schuchs, Cooks and Hendricks. The girls were thrilled to actually get a snow-day! (homeschooled kids still have school when it's too snowy/icy for public schools!). We drove to Ski Liberty and went tubing for 2 hours. The girls had a great time!

Don't even THINK about it, chickie!

with the Cook boys

Emily

Photo credit: Tim Cook

The girl van - Kim, Em, Rach, Alyssa, Michaela, Di

Last port of call - Nassau, Bahamas

2008-01-23T13:38:00.000-05:00

Our last port was Nassau.

We docked next to a Disney cruiseline and it was much bigger than ours!

I thought this was a fun view our our ship.

We went through this very cool Pirate museum which was very appropriate b/c Rachel's big research paper is about Pirates. It had tons of neat info.

Here are the girls during the YMCA song at dinner. They are with our very fun tablemates, Kristin and Sarah from Michigan.

Sunburned

2008-01-18T17:18:00.001-05:00

Emily and Brian got the most sun. Rachel and I, not as much but we're still a tiny bit pink.

G57 ~ B I N G O!!!

2008-01-18T09:18:00.000-05:00

As a family, we played jackpot bingo last night. The big jackpot is divided among all the winners. OUR FAMILY was the ONLY winner – can you tell from this picture how much we won?? (sign language)

another day at sea

2008-01-17T21:17:00.000-05:00

Pillow fight!

Don't feel sorry for Emily. Brian gets ganged up on a ton!!

This is a picture in the "lobby" area looking at all the different levels.

I can't post many pictures from yesterday at Grand Turk b/c they are all in a cheapo-underwater-camera that will get developed when we get home. But it was beautiful.

I have included a picture of the boat at the dock at Grand Turk just so you can see how BIG the boat really is. See all the tiny people on the dock? (our boat is on the left)

And TODAY we went to Half Moon Cay (pronounced 'key'). It was *exactly* how I pictured a Carribean Island! White sands, blue water, "beachy" trees... This is the first view after getting to the island. We had to take a tender from the ship to Half Moon b/c there's not a big pier. That's our boat out in the water. This island is owned by Carnival and other than the 35 residents (not kidding) it is used only by their guests. Pretty neat.

:)

2008-01-15T19:19:00.000-05:00

Had 5 pics to upload but I can't get the others to work. Having fun but I'm not feeling great...

Here is our room which is quite cozy

When our ship embarked, we went to the back of the ship which was very cool.

photo credit: RLCz

Miami - Day 1

2008-01-14T09:33:00.001-05:00

Having trouble uploading - internet must be dial-up so it's taking *forever*. Another picture on Flickr. We're in Miami and heading to the ship soon. These were taken on Sunny Isle Beach here on Sunday. Hoping to post a pix a day from the ship .

We'll see... :)

Misc. November

2008-01-08T15:50:00.000-05:00

Good GRIEF, I'm behind!

Here are some final pics of November so I can finish up 2007 with December.

Rachel has had her MC Fair 4H and her Youth Retreat wrist bands on since AUGUST! EEWWWWWWW!

She won the contest with her friends, she wore hers the longest. I tried hard to convince her it was time to be done with them and she finally agreed. My favorite memory with the wrist bands was school pictures. The photographer gave a not-so-sure look and asked, "Can you take those off for the picture, honey?!" We said, "No, they stay on. Any chance you can you position her so they don't show? thanks."

Flashback: I so remember a very large turquoise butterfly ring that my mom would have loved for me to stop wearing. Oh my, I think I was 13 or 14 and I thought it was the greatest thing!! But she didn't make a big deal about it even tho' I looked SO goofy, I'm sure. I bet she danced a jig behind closed doors the day I decided to retire it and put it in my keepsake box.

Remember that, Ma?

Next are photos from working with Operation Christmas Child during collection week. We worked with friends at a local church collecting shoeboxes that have been filled with goodies for needy kids around the world. Boxes come in from all over our area - and the kids welcome these groups by carrying their boxes into the building, sorting and counting, running a shoebox "hospital" and the grouping the boxes for shipment. The boxes arrive from various churches, ministries, schools, clubs, businesses and individuals. Sometimes 3 boxes come in from a mom and her kids. Other times we received several hundred boxes, maybe from a Christian school or a Girl Scout troop. The girls and I worked 4 days that week and had a great time. Special thanks to the Gallaghers who are in charge of this drop-off location. They work the WHOLE week, from open to close, so joyfully! We enjoyed our time with you 4! The shoeboxes have to be packed in cartons. It's like a puzzle, trying to get as many shoeboxes as possible into one big carton. Emily is very good at it! The cartons are then loaded onto a tractor trailer each night. At the end of the week, this full tractor trailer heads to Charlotte or Boone North Carolina. The shoeboxes are distributed to their final destination from there. Here Emily helps (or watches? :) Grace G. stack the cartons in the back of the tractor trailer. Just kidding - Emily worked hard all week!

THANKSGIVING DAY

We went to Berkley Springs, WV to enjoy a yummy Thanksgiving dinner with Brian's family. Here is a shot of all Mom and Don's grandchildren - we were all together this year! First time in many years! So we had to get a group shot.

violin recital - Nov 29th

2007-12-18T23:11:00.000-05:00

Mom took this shot of Emily from the audience during the performance.

Emily sounded great! I love listening to the girls play!

The only pictures I took at the recital were beforehand... the kids as they were waiting to play!

The sweet Nelson girlies

Rebekah and Emily

Sarah and Emily

Carrie and Ellie

How are YOU doing...

2007-12-03T23:27:00.001-05:00

...in the Christmas shopping department?? Let me know in the poll to the right.

And check out the girltalk blog here. They are discussing Christmas Joy; something I need to be reminded of this time of year. How 'bout you?

I'll leave you with a picture from Christmas past...

Rachel is 5

Emily is 2.5

It goes by so fast...

October get-away

2007-11-22T21:45:00.000-05:00

Here are pictures from our annual get-away with my parents. Maybe the 7th year? We drove to Garrett County, MD this year - to the Deep Creek area. Such a great time together ~ so good to be with those you love most!

These taken at Sideling Hill. link here

At the Spruce Forest ArtisanVillage, we love this artisan, Gary Yoder. Beautiful work! link here

We were on the sidelines for the parade at the 40th Annual Autumn Glory Festival. Here's a pic of Jim Cantori, meteorologist from The Weather Channel. The high school marching bands were my favorite!

Tour of the glassblowing factory - very neat!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T00:31:00.000-05:00

Before the tryptaphan kicks in, cast your vote to the right.

Thankful for you, dear friends!

gobble, gobble

:)jen

PS neat tryptaphan link here

Still September...

2007-11-19T07:50:00.000-05:00

We had a great visit from our best friends in Virginia Beach - Danielle & Keith and their 4 kiddos.

Beautiful children and quite used to posing behind their mommy's camera.

only candid shot taken today

Hello Again!

2007-11-16T18:08:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's been FAR too long... a month, in fact.

I WILL be posting this weekend, several posts probably (read: hopefully!).

Here are some pics from Rachel's bday in September (yes, I'm WAY behind!). The girls took my camera in the backyard and did their own version of a photo shoot - quite hilarious! I'm grateful for these girls in Rachel's life - friend she has fun with but also friends that love the Lord and encourage her in godliness.

September birthday fun

2007-10-15T22:14:00.000-04:00

Rachel and her dear friend, Becca almost share a birthday. They were born 2 days apart and this year, their birthdays fell on a weekend! Becca's b-day was on a Friday and Rachel's was on a Sunday. They both turned 14!! So the girls celebrated their birthdays together all weekend. :) Rachel went up to Becca's on Friday for a fun surprise party/sleep-over. Then Becca came home with Rach on Saturday to spend the night. She got to enjoy Rachel's family birthday dinner, complete with the Leamans, both Uncles and Great-Gommie. After church, Rachel had a few friends over for pizza, brownie sundaes, girl time and birthday fun. (Goofy pictures taken by the girls to follow this post)

The birthday girls

Yummy cake baked by Gommie.

Sunday birthday fun with Cat, Becca and Krissy

Rachel was the princess for the day.

September Slip-n-Slide

2007-09-29T08:59:00.000-04:00

Since Scott & Di had the Slip-n-Slide all set up, they had another party a few weeks after the first. Brian took ALL these pictures and did a great job. I love the action shots.

Amanda

Cool view of the slide from the bottom - Dylan

Oliver

Matt and Abigail

Emily and Laura look like seals shooting down the slide!

Caleb (Is this right?)

Emma, Rebekah & Emily

Michelle and Amanda

Rachel's buddy, Sean

Elsabeth and Abigail

Our First Youth Retreat

2007-09-16T14:17:00.000-04:00

Worthy 07 was at Sandy Cove on the Chesapeake Bay.

(photo credit: Kristen Emelio)

roommate: Becca

(photo credit: Kristen Emelio)

blurry... but I wanted to include this pic of Rachel and Catherine.

Baptisms

The ADMIN team, praying before ministry night. THANK YOU for all the hard work you put into this great retreat!

August Slip-n-Slide

2007-09-15T23:14:00.000-04:00

Scott and Di had their annual slip-n-slide party - fun as usual and a great photo opportunity!

Rachel and Jess warming up in the sun - the day started rather chilly!

Jessie

Hudson & Dalton

Emma

Shane

Hunter

Oliver

Andrea

Oliver

Fair Week

2007-09-15T22:11:00.000-04:00

We love the Montgomery County fair every year and this year was no exception.

Fun with Grandaddy

(photo credit: Rachel)

Em and Rachel N.

(photo credit: Rachel)

Our club leader (and friend), Hannah M.

Our club in the parade

Emily walking her 1st place cake in the auction to raise money for 4H

Dr. Skipton bought it for $650!

Midway entertainment

Cheese booth workers

Cass with TJ

Hannah with Snowball (is that the right name?)

Em with Claire

(photo credit: Emily)

Flowers pop up everywhere!!

Emily entered in the Fashion Show with the pj's she sewed

It was a fun week at the fair!

more to come...

2007-09-03T23:40:00.000-04:00

I haven't forgotten... coming up next:

MC fair

Hendricks slip-n-slide party #1

youth retreat

back-to-school

Hendricks slip-n-slide party #2

Tubing with friends - July recap

2007-08-31T14:43:00.000-04:00

Brian's mom and Don live in Berkley Spring, WV. They have a second home - a sweet cottage - right on the Cacapon River; sort of a secluded get-away just a mile or so from their house. They are very generous with their cottage and allowed us to invited the Hendricks and the Cooks to the river for tubing & a cookout. It was just a day trip but fun was had by all!

Here are the guys blowing up the tubes out on the deck. The ladies then drove 3 dads, 6 kids and 9 innertubes to the drop off location about a 15 minute drive upstream. They made their way down the river, taking about 2 hours, I think. The ladies & little Jessica relaxed at the cabin.

The Cacapon River (view from the deck)

The next shots are of the returning tubers as they're coming down the river.

Shane (you might need to click on the image to actually SEE him!)

Trevor

Alyssa

Brian, the cooler & Tyler

Scott playing with Jess in the "chute".

(photo credit: Scott Hendricks)

Di & Lyss playing in the chute

Jess

Linner? Dunch? ...whatever you call it, it was our mid day meal!!

Shane

The Whole Gang!!

Family Reunion - July 2007

2007-08-26T15:04:00.000-04:00

Every 3 years, our family gathers somewhere in the US, organized by one of the "branches" of the family and paid for by the family corporation. We've been doing these reunions since I was... 10, I think?! Yikes!

This year, I think there were 107 of us gathered in West Virginia at Pipestem Resort & State Park. What sweet memories we made!

My Gommie (on the left) with her 4 siblings. Uncle Robert (seated) turned 94 during the reunion! The youngest in Uncle Ralph who is 81. We're so grateful that all 5 siblings could be with us!

(photo credit: Shawn lancaster)

On "shirt" night, each leg of the family took a group photo. This is our family!

All in attendance except Linda & Laurie.

The deer were all around our cabin, not afraid of us at all!

Ellie and Issachar

The Bingo Waltz - crazy game thought up by Brian.

Our horseback riding trail ride was quite slippery after all the rain! Here is Em with her horse Fern.

As always, Zerlin (aka Dickie) WOWed us all, young and old, with his wonderful magic show. Emily was chosen to be his helper (which when I was a kid, I remember always hoping that I would be chosen!)

Late night french fry runs with the cousins.

A cool gondola ride thru' the WV mountains

A deer coming to check out what Cassidy was doing.

Zander

Cass and Kai

(photo credit: Cindy Thompson)

I'm so grateful for my family! I can't imagine life with out these 5 people!

July recap...

2007-08-25T14:48:00.000-04:00

Ok, July 4th photo's are from the Thompson's - not great but snaps but still our family memories...

Allie, Em and Jenna watching the fierce pool volleyball game.

Rach and her best buddy Quay!

watching Uncle Jake's awesome fireworks.

Going... going... gone.

2007-08-25T14:34:00.000-04:00

Have I *really* not posted all summer?! So sorry!

I'll do a recap thru' pictures over the next few days.

July 4th

family reunion

tubing

MC fair

Hendricks slip-n-slide party

youth retreat

back-to-school

Thanks for missing my posts, friends.

:) jen

Claire had a fun morning!

2007-06-25T21:33:00.000-04:00

This went on for almost an hour - two squirrels taking turns eating at the feeder (which I had just moved there to fill). I thought she was gonna go thru' the glass! Such funny sounds can come from a cat!

click to make larger

Cherries!!

2007-06-18T15:37:00.001-04:00

One *very* full cherry tree...

(best viewed larger)

Two hot & sweaty pickers...

(with their Mama helping when not behind the camera:)

Three full containers of cherries...

Nine pounds, 10.5 ounces of cherries = 14 cups...

Three cups of cherry pits... (photo credit: Emily)

One (hopefully) yummy sour cherry pie...

(my first attempt!)

I'm *really* hoping this tastes better than it looks! We'll see tonight.

Thanks, Wendy for remembering that Brian loves sour cherries and for offering your tree! What fun to surprise Brian this way! :)

Summer begins!

2007-06-03T16:52:00.000-04:00

Perfect hot day for the water!

Her LAST day being 10!

2007-05-30T22:05:00.000-04:00

dedicated

thoughtful

enErgetic

organized

playful

reMarkable

athletic hard working

hilarIous

responsible excited

friendLy

thorough

multi-tasking

wittY

committed

God-honoring

My baby's growing up!

I love her so....

CG Camping

2007-05-28T12:32:00.000-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Scotty-Boy who celebrated his birthday this Memorial Day Weekend. We're grateful to be in your CG, Scott and Di! Love you guys!

photo credit: Scott Hendricks photo credit: Scott Hendricks photo credit: Scott Hendricks photo credit: Scott Hendricks

photo credit: scott Hendricks

Can you see the vertical pancake?!?! Good snap, Scott!

photo credit: Scott Hendricks

photo credit: Scott Hendricks photo credit: Scott Hendricks

photo credit: Scott Hendricks

photo credit: Tim Cook!! :)

Travel Fun

2007-05-19T00:00:00.001-04:00

We had such a fun time in Virginia Beach with the H10 family. Brian had work in the Tidewater area so the girls and I tagged along. (thanks Brian!) We got a hotel on the ocean front allowing the girls & I visited with Danielle and the kids every day (and night!) We hit the park, the beach, the pool, a Norfolk Tides game, lunch out twice & dinner out. (thank you, Rachel!) So good to be with such dear friends!

Josh, Rachel, Emily, Hannah & Joy

Hannah ~ 3 years old

Joy ~ 6 years old

Juliette ~ 10 months

The Whole Gang

Sing your heart out!

2007-05-07T23:19:00.000-04:00

Rachel with buddies Abby and Sean

Friday night was fun for Rachel & Emily. After months of practice, they sang in the choir concert at CLC. They did a super job and more importantly, had a great time! And I had fun getting snaps of all of the different kids.

The 2nd and 3rd grade choir was so cute! It was hard to pick just 1 pic to post here!

First Post

2007-04-16T22:52:00.000-04:00

Well, I've joined the blogging world... just testing the waters at first. I enjoy journalling so we'll see if this is along the same vein. Writing my thougths in a notebook on my night stand is one thing... putting them out there for all to see is quite another. But I also appreciate technology so this might be the blend of 2 things I enjoy. I hope to learn how to add pictures but that'll be another midnight at my computer...