Waiting for new little Ritchie

Rambling...  Stan and I traveled to Pennsylvania yesterday, and are here caring for the two grandchildren while their Mom is in the hospital....  we haven't heard that the new little sister is born yet...  maybe during the night...  Maybe tomorrow...  We wait.

A Month in Pennsylvania

Rambling - well, we've been rambling for a month and are glad to be back home.  We enjoyed the fellowship of friends and family in Pennsylvania so very much, but not so much that we regretted coming back to Maine!  Mom is such a dear to live with, and it is abundantly clear that Maine is where we belong now.

While in PA we met with various friends for meals and fellowship, celebrated a son's birthday (Seth), attended a Mark Lowery concert at CLA, enjoyed a "Christmas party" with our bicycle club IC3, dog-sat for a friend, moved a daughter (Ruth) from OCH apartment to condo, visited grandchildren - and their parents (Josiah & Rachel), made a pie with Ruth on PI day - March 14th, shopped at The Manning's and visited with my dear friends there, attended a children's concert at CBC, knitted seven hats, went GeoCaching with Seth, Miriam and Ruth, took Miriam to Dulles airport to see her off to South Africa where she will work a few months with WOLSA, volunteered at ABWE candidate seminar to prepare new missionaries, and attended the opening Sunday gathering at York LCBC.    I'm sure I've forgotten something, but yes, we kept busy.  Wouldn't have wanted to miss a bit of it.

Stan and I have just spent a week in Maine visiting relatives - most especially our mothers. But first we went to Lake Placid to watch Scott Perschke: IRONMAN!

Then we traveled across VT (riding a ferry across Lake Champlain)and NH into Maine. It's always good to visit again with Kathy and Steve; they are taking SUCH good care of Mum. Dear, Sweet Mum is 91 this month. We love her so much!

We enjoyed doing puzzles and taking walks with my Mom - including a visit to Cadillac Mountain and the Carriage Trails near Jordan Pond, and a meal at our favorite and hers: Helen's Restaurant. Thanks Mom! It was also fun to communicate through technology with our girls in far-away countries (who turned 25 years old on July 30) while sitting at Mom's table, filling her in on their comings and goings.

And on Thursday we enjoyed a meal with Mom's siblings and their families. Always good to reconnect with those we love and hold dear. Since Leah couldn't be there, I stopped in to see her on the way to Charleston and left Stan to run from her house to Kathy's! He needed the exercise after the lunch we had!

On Saturday we left Maine and headed home. We had planned to take two days, but Stan got behind the wheel headed home and just couldn't stop! After a stop at L.L. Bean in Freeport, Maine, we headed home and arrived around 2:00 AM Sunday. So we enjoyed the pleasure of being in our own church for Sunday School and Church this week.