I smell fishy....

Fishing season has once again started here in Southern Pennsylvania for our family.  We are so deeply blessed to have such a great friend who has an amazing pond that he allows us to fish from.  These fish are his "pets" such a BIG FISH BOWL,  so we never keep them but just like to see what we can pull out.


Last year Guy pulled up a snapping turtle on his fish line and a white albino catfish with amazing blue eyes which are a rarity. Who knows what this year will bring for him. So far he has caught a few catfish, sunfish, bluegills, yellow perch, and large mouth bass...but not the MONSTER fish he's always after.


The children really enjoy fishing for the first few times and then they become bored with it especially if they aren't catching anything. If they only knew how peaceful and relaxing it really is especially for those of us who hustle and bustle all everyday. We are just so blessed to be able to find time as a family to spend such a great times together.

 

This is my all time favorite picture!!

Alexander, is such a crack up!! He didn't want to touch the catfish but it sure does look like he wants to eat it. Lindsey, wanted to kiss the slimy creature of the sea (and I must say she looks cute doing it). And for Guy this is his 1st catfish of the year, it measured 27inches not too shabby.

As for Anthony he was our all-star fisherman this time. I don't even remember his count because he kept pulling them out one by one right after another as  he would just put it. This is a large mouth bass that he is holding so proudly!! Way to go Marc-Anthony!!

For me, well I am a proud fisher woman of two amazing fish. I started out strong this year, but it seems to have been a fluke because any other time we have been fishing I have not been able to pull anything out. My fish was a white albino catfish that measured 28inches and then my large mouth bass which measured at a whooping 17inches, which for being a pond fish is awesome.

Please pay NO ATTENTION to my unruly looks! 

It was a GREAT time though.

I am so ever thankful to have such a loving family to enjoy our times together and build some great memories in our life's.  Thank you to our great friend Darryl who has the land and love of our family to allow us to come to his home and enjoy God's gifts to us.

 

 

Cluck, Cluck, Cluck

Recently Guy had a desire to have chicken/ laying hens added to our animal family.

This past Thursday his dream came true.  He built himself a chicken coop, a luxury one at that with 4 laying boxes for each one of the hens.  They aren't allowed to roam free in the yard but have a nice "dog run" but really it's a chicken run.
They have adjusted to their new home quite well, three of them laid eggs the 1st day they were here but the 4th one isn't laying JUST yet!



I never thought in my lifetime would I be the proud owner of chickens, living right in the heart of the city.  What a whole new world this is for me.



I have to laugh the lady we bought the hens from wanted to get rid of her "rooster"  a rooster that doesn't crow,  when Guy picked up the bird he KNEW right away why it didn't crow because it isn't a ROOSTER it's a HEN!!! A big fat LAYING one at that. We all just had to laugh when we realized no wonder the "rooster" didn't crow.

Here we are a week later and we have our 1st dozen!!

We have big brown ones that are double yolk, medium and small ones. There is one hen that hasn't started to lay yet and the little one hasn't learned not to just drop an egg where ever she feels like it. Hopefully soon she will learn to sit in a box,  any box will do.  Shoot there are even four of them to make her home.


We are all learning so many new things. The boys love the hens and collecting the eggs.

Happy New Year

It's been forever since I have done anything with our family blog. The last thing I did was in the Summer time when our harvest was coming in of tomatoes, a lot of time has passed since then with many adventures as well as some enduring times.

The last part of this year was just a blur to me. I was a bad Mother/ Parent where I did not even choose to get out our Christmas decorations to decorate our home with such wonderful colors of red & green. No baking was done this year either. No gift giving to our neighbors or to co-workers, no thoughts of kindness or acts of kindness. Not one single Christmas event where you could feel the love of Christ and celebrate his birth.
I don't know if a lot had to do with working long hours or the thought that I had to go up 2 flights of stairs to pull everything out, and then have to put it all away in just a few short days. My spirits were not so high, in fact nothing mattered to me. I know it wasn't fair to the children not to go all out and celebrate Christmas but they didn't seem to mind actually.

The night before Christmas I had bought a small little living tree/plant that sat on our dining room table, around it I had placed 3 small tiny stockings filled with lumps of coal, candy, etc....Lindsey had the green one and the two boys were allowed the red ones. It was anything super fancy, where hours required to put it together, but quaint and simple. In fact I think the children enjoyed them just as much as they would have if we had a big tree with the train running around the bottom of it and their stockings were full of unneeded things.  They enjoyed what they were given!


New Years has come and gone. New Year's resolutions have been made by all in the family. We each have made them, but I am sure keeping them is a different thing all together.


So with that I hope I will make more of an effort to blog here, just a lot of things in life that take up time.

A Simple Harvest

A simple harvest for some simple farmers. We don't have much area for a garden so we make due with the area we do have, which is out front on the side of our home in a boxed  garden bed that Mr. Sheely had made last year. The farming hasn't been all that great to us due to some neighbors who either purposely or accidental poisoned our tomato plants. Either way needless to say weed killer does it jobs and kills innocent victims such as tomato plants.

We haven't been faithful as were last year picking off the cherry tomatoes ( oh how those are abundant, more than anyone could ever eat)  so a lot of them have fallen to waste. Today I gathered some of the larger tomato's so they could be spared of going to the birds and bugs which is NOT the reason we planted them. I know they mus be yummy to them too, but there are a few people in our home that can't wait to eat them.

 

I was surprised at just how many tomatoes were ready to come off, as well as the ones that were filled with bugs, or decaying from NOT being picked. I also picked off a few of my green peppers. Nothing in this world is better than biting into your OWN HARVEST.  How good those peppers were this morning.

 

Now,  this is my favorite pepper. I love the colors....

 

RED & GREEN....

 

1, 2, 3 Back To School For Me.

The 1st day of school began last week. Lindsey this year is an exciting Sophomore, full of many new experiences & adventures as she makes her way around the hall's of Hanover High. She sat down the 1st day and marked all the classes she was going to fail, I was somewhat in disbelief that she would already lower her standards....however that girl knows that failing in this house in just not an option so I know she will do awesome. She also found out that the Fall play is going to be The Wizard of Oz, I hope she tries out!

Anthony is becoming a fine young man going into the 6th grade. He told me that he really like's his teacher, not because of any OTHER reason than the single fact that he has a male teacher this year. I know he too will do well this coming year as he has begun to grown & mature this Summer.

Alexander is now a big 4th grader at Clearview Elementary. He hasn't expressed much happiness for the new school year, but neither has he said anything negative. His teacher this year is Miss Nicholas, who last year, was Anthony's teacher at the Middle School. 

As parents we or most of us can't wait for our children to go back to school for different reasons. Mine are simple and selfish reason such as:

~ Only having to worry about cooking ONE meal for them during the week.
~ No more silly arguments  between everyone on who gets the remote ( when we have 2 or more t.v.'s )
~ Being able to  keep my home downstairs clean & tidy for unexpected guest.
~ Spend quality time with my husband since we both have the same days off.
~ No more of the children being home unsupervised, due to working parents....well working

I know they will all do well with their each individual talents and their own uniqueness. We wish them the best this year and look forward to the many adventures it will bring our family.

Sorry, there are NO pictures, I left my camera in the van which at this current moment is down in Maryland. Of all the times NOT to have it.

WELCOME BACK KIDDOS!

Meet Cindy

Announcing Miss Cindy, the newest member of our family!

Anthony has been promise a gecko since Christmas time, in fact he even had a gift card for the local pet store for a gecko of his choosing. However, Anthony decided to do something ( which of course I do not recall now ) to his sister or her belongings which warranted him to work back his gift.

All Spring & Summer he has said " when I get my gecko at the end of school, I'm going to do...." or " when I get my gecko at the end of Summer I am going to do....."

Finally the time had come for him to take his special trip to the pet store, parent's on board and money in hand. But wait there was a CATCH.......

After much reading on gecko keeping I didn't think as his Mother he would be quiet ready yet to put all the time and energy he needed to so this animal could have a happy life. Some simple words were spoken to Anthony and with perfect explanation of all that you have to do for a gecko such as;

- Gut-fill the cricket before feeding time
- Shake the feeder worms and crickets in calcium powder
- Have a heater light
- Have a warming blanket underneath 1/2 the glass
- Have all the food, water and calcium bowls
- Make sure the floor isn't too warm
            ETC, ETC, ETC.......

Anthony made a wise choice in  NOT getting a gecko. We made the trip to the store, looking at all the creatures available, the ooh's and aha's with geckos, bearded dragons, ferrets, gerbils, & hamsters his final choice was this cute, furry creature he so adoringly calls " Cindy"!

Anthony and his furry pet, hidden inside.....

She's oh so pretty!!

 

Her new home....

  Making her debut...

Anthony with Cindy.... Welcome Home!

Anthony made a great choice with Cindy. She is a Djungarian Hamster and oh so pretty with the stripe down her back mixed with grays & whites. I know Anthony will take great care of her, love her, feed & water her, and most of all love playing with her. His love for animals is apparent with all of the other creatures that call our home their home, but this one is HIS VERY OWN!

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery a peaceful place.


A place for silence & respect.


A place for reverance and observance.


 A place where our FREEDOM wasn't free.






Our trip was amazing. We were able to grab the Metro down in Maryland as we came up from the tunnel there in the beautiful sunlight was the National Park of fallen Soldiers of Men & Women. 

We choose to ride the bus tour around the park, seeing how hot it was ( well into the 90's) we figured walking was just not an option since most of the park is uphill. We grabbed the tour bus and headed off to our destination. 

This sign below is how I think all Cemetery visitors should conduct themselves, to show the ones who have gone before us the UP MOST RESPECT!!

 Just a few facts:


There are over 360,000 thousand men and women buried here.


Over 15 funerals a day, over 6,900 funerals a year.


 
They estimate that Arlington will be filled in 15 years where there will be no more room for graves.


3 unknown men are buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider.


Changing of the guard is every hour on the half hour during the Summer months and every hour on the hour during the winter months.


We visited the only three places you can really visit in Arlington which are:

Arlington House
The Tomb of the Unknown
And JFK & The Forever Burning Flame

                                                                                                                                                                 Arlington House is simply an amazing creation. Just looking at the sandstone they used to build it you knew this home was exquisite even during that era.  
This home was the home of Robert E. Lee and his family for several years before it was taken over during the civil war.
This home was built as a memorial for President George Washington by his step grandson George Washington Parke Curtis and his slaves back in 1802 and 1818. Almost 20 years to build.
There are two slave quarters behind this home as well. 
Originally the property of Arlington National Cemetery was a plantation known as Arlington Plantation and that is how the park got it's name.

Each room has a fireplace or two in some, made of marble and engraved with maple leafs and acorns.

I can't even begin to imagine what it was like in this amazing structure. The room are all hardwood floor, massive crown moldings, walls that reached at least 15 feet. It was simply beautiful as well as amazing!! Oh, they knew how to make homes back then.


John F. Kennedy, his wife Jackie and 2 infant children are buried in Arlington. Jakie had expressed a desire to have some kind of marker at her husband's tombstone as the tombs of the Unknown.

JFK was suppose to be buried at the family's plot in Massachusetts, but Jakie made her desires known stating " he belongs to the people!"


What a woman full of class!

Even while writing this my emotions are heavy. To give the American People the President who had been killed by an American, but had done so much for the good of the people. 

A place of solace, quietness, feeling content and remembering....We remember even if we weren't alive.



The Tomb of the Unknown

This is a place of complete reverence and respect! 

All guard's are volunteers, they guard this tomb 365 days a year in every kind of weather!

The guard's are the elite of the 3rd U.S. Infantry from Fort Meyer, Virgina. Guard's have a 2 week interview process and must meet certain requirements such as a perfect military record, a height requirement and in great physical condition.


From the fall to the spring time the guards change every hour on the hour, but due to the HOT weather they are changed more frequently during the summer to every half hour on the half. We were able to watch this process where THEY COMMAND COMPLETE SILENCE! 

This is the 1st guard when we got there. They walk 20 paces, stop for a minuet or two then turn around clicking their heels. They stroke the bayonet, click their heels again and walk 20 paces & start it all over.

The beginning of the changing of 
 the guard.

 Meeting in the middle and giving their salutes, following commands.

 Giving respect to the men who are buried in the unknown tomb.

 Being escorted off the post. One will stay and being the exact march of 20 paces as the other.


It's a lifetime experience to visit this National Memorial. 


I am thankful for our freedom, for the ones who choose to give their life for my rights.


I will never forget what it means or take it for granted!


Thank you is not enough!