I had my little Chrissy – who is almost nine! – spend the night with me on Friday.  We went for groceries, had chocolate chip cookies with green icing, and stayed up until almost 11pm!  When it was time for bed, Isabelle – her new American Girl doll – quickly donned her new PJ’s – complete with eye mask – and climbed into the spare room bed.  They both slept all night with nary a peep!

Saturday we pretended it was Isabelle’s birthday, and wrapped a gift for her and made posters to hang up.  The neighbor girl Torilyn came over and shared lunch with the ‘girls’, and watched another American Girl movie – McKenna. 

We had a great time together, and I feel very blessed to have my girls so close to me.  Love you! 

Well, here is my very handsome actor/friend Bear – whom I have known and supported for twenty-five years.  I am his # one fan – which he knows and freely admits! 

Friday night Joni and I ushered for ‘Lend me a Tenor’ at the Ligonier Theatre – and Bear was one of the stars.  Along with Bear (Barry, actually!), was a friend of mine from the dealership, Jon, who was the Tenor. 

The play was a fun, and we had a great time.  I never miss a play that Bear is in, and always get my hug and a quick friendly kiss. 

So, break a leg, my friend, and I can’t wait for the next performance — Love, from your biggest fan….. 🙂

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned to my mom that while one of the managers was on vacation, I had the task of opening the company mail and distributing it to the correct recipients.  She didn’t seem to think this was too much of a task until I started to explain.

First I need to explain that the amount of mail received daily can fluctuate to a large degree.  Sometimes the bag is totally full (in case you can’t tell, it’s an army-issue duffle bag) and sometimes it’s just rattling around in the bottom.  Today, the bag was full.  Mostly I like it when it’s magazines and packages.  They take very little time to sort and distribute.

Today, however, it was mostly envelopes.  Business #10 envelopes.  The mail is first sorted into sizes – magazines and newspapers, large flats, mid-size envelopes, and normal business size.  Then comes the task of slicing all the envelopes open.

I like to slice all the envelopes open first, then go through them to see what the content is and who whom the correspondence belongs.  That is easier than opening a piece, setting aside the slicer, going through the envelope, then putting it in the proper pile.  Sometimes the contents are obvious:  checks, invoices for payment, titles, advertisements.  Often they are NOT so obvious, and I have to go through each piece, read and interpret it, and decide the department to which it belongs. 

After the mail is sorted, it is banded together and placed either on the manager/owners desks or placed in the corporate mailboxes in the office foyer.  Today this took me about 2 hours.  Luckily I can switch the radio on and listen to Y108 (Pittsburgh’s Country!) while I am slicing and sorting.  Mostly I have no problem deciding where the mail should go, but there are pieces that totally stump me, and I have to do some research to find out where it belongs.  Every time I open the mail, I learn something or find something new.  It’s an adventure, but it certainly does take time.  So when I say I have to open the mail, it’s no small thing.

Just thought – – you’d like to know!

I decided to play outside for a while tonight.  First, I went up front and made sure Snoopy and his Woodstock buddies were still hangin’ out.  They seemed to be quite settled.

Then I went to work, shoveling and clearing the driveway, walks, porches, steps and patio. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as I thought it would be, and the 45 minutes it took me went by quickly.  By the time I got to the top of the driveway, however, the whole thing needed done again!  I did a couple of quick swipes at the bottom by the garage, but that was enough.  I could have kept going and going – it’s STILL snowing!  I’ll have to get out there in the morning anyway.

Once the work was done, I took a walk down to the bottom of the hill and back – my 10 minutes outside rather than on the treadmill to close out the day.  But I couldn’t go inside until I had thrown myself in the front yard and made a snow angel!  It was amazing to lie there on the cold ground, looking up through the trees, while the soft, chilly white flakes drifted down on my face.  It was so peaceful and still I really hated to come in!

But as I will have to get out there again before daylight and clear the drive again, I came inside, typed this page, and now am headed to bed.  Goodnight, white night!

Happy Valentine’s Day!  I sit here typing, watching the snow fall and swirl and the wind blow it across the deck.  I guess Cupid can perform in any weather so here we are!

Somehow flowers from someone who loves you can make even a cold and blustery day feel light and warm!  There are many ways to say love, but on this day, I’d venture to say that flower will say it louder than most ways!  Normally – people who know me well will share M&M’s and Snoopy cards.  So the beautiful roses and the cute, romantic card (and by the way, with that hat, the little guy could be Ron as a child with no problem!!!) made a statement. 

I know Valentine’s day is traditionally thought of in regards to ‘sweethearts’, but I’m here to say that you can tell anyone who means something special to you that you care about them, and that they speak to your heart and life in amazing ways.

So, Ron, I say that to you, but I will take a little of those Valentine wishes and share them with my family and friends, and with those people who make my life richer and fuller every single day –

And to a God who’s love surpasses all we can think of or imagine.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Last night four of us had the honor and pleasure of attending the Action For Animals fundraiser at the Latrobe Country Club.  It’s called ‘Love is in the Air’, and as far as the animals are concerned, there certainly is!  Smail’s are a corporate sponsor for the annual event, and we enjoyed representing them at the function.

Action for Animals needs $1500.00 PER DAY to house, feed, and vet the animals under their roof.  That is a daunting task, and takes amazing effort to meet those needs.  They never turn away requests to rescue animals if there is room at the facility, and along with helping take care of the animals, they provide assistance when necessary to adoptive ‘animal parents’ who need help keeping and caring for their animals at home.

Their mission is to always stay full; no space is empty for long after a pet has been adopted.  All the animals have names, and they are all happy and well cared for.  In fact, they routinely have to call pest control to prevent rodents from being a problem.  The cats are so content that they ignore the mice and just co-inhabit!

If you’re considering a pet, consider adopting a rescue dog, or cat, or even a rabbit.  Get in touch with Latrobe (PA) Action for Animals and be a foster mom or dad!  Later this week I’ll tell you about Penny, the therapy dog that was rescued and adopted through Action for Animals.  Penny is an amazing animal, doing amazing work in her own humble way.  I’ll share some of her story later….

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just get the feeling that life is hard and things are just frustrating to deal with.  Everyday life seems to pull me down just because I’m tired or bored or ill or lonely (for the second!).  But this story should make you feel joyful and happy and thankful and humble – at the same time lifting prayers of hope and encouragement to a family that is up against their last hope. You can see a little of Nevaeh’s story on KDKA-TV’s video from last night’s news.

The young lady in the photo is 8-year-old Nevaeh Griffin.  She had an aggressive form of cancer that has reached a treatment level that offers no future improvements.  Nevaeh is Autmn’s cousin. 

Last Monday I received a txt message from Autmn, saying that they stopped treatment on Nevaeh and she was probably going to die.  That is a terrible thing to have to face, but I am comforted by the fact that she followed that with: “I prayed for her five times already today.”  For someone so young, such profound comfort and truth. 

Nevaeh and her family, however, have not given up.  They are going to California to seek aggressive and innovative treatment there, and are hopeful that an answer will be presented. 

Please pray for Neveah and her family.  I don’t know all of these children, but I know:  Little Kevin, ?, Autmn Rose, Summer, Katylina, Penny, ?.  God has the answers.  Thankfully.

Well, that crazy Punxy Phil saw his shadow.  So that means 6 more weeks of winter.  Why is it that from Feb 2 to Mar 15 is 6 weeks???  Strange.  Anyway, this post is not about that crazy rodent!

We may be in the midst of winter, but summer is on its way.  That’s what keeps me going.  That, and getting my ‘spring’ cleaning done while I’m stuck inside the house.

I just felt inspired by this summer photo, taken when Kelly and Matt were dating back in the early 2000’s.  The quaint little covered bridge is the main way to the Hancher home, which for now houses Matt, Kelly, Matt’s Mom (Ma), Peyton, Logan and Chase.  They are hoping to build next summer – but in the meantime it’s cozy there to say the least!  But even though this photo is inspiring, the picture that Kelly sent me Saturday morning gives the current story: It’s a picture post card!  I almost expect a horse and sleigh to come through there. 

Summer or winter, the bridge is inspiring and inviting.  Happy winter, says Phil!!!  Happy winter!

It was my job to buy the present! 🙂  My daughter Kelly, her mother-in-law Ruth Ann, and I went together on a gift for a mutual friend.  And although the decision was made on their end, I was closest to the store.  So be it.  Labor of love! (No pun intended.)

Trent and Michelle are expecting their first child in March.  We are all excited for them!  Trent is my ‘personal banker’ (thanks, Trent!!!) as well as a family friend of my son-in-law’s family.  Helping to celebrate was an honor and a pleasure.  It was wonderful to have ‘dad’ included in the celebrations, to help make all the guests feel welcome and to open gifts with Michelle.  I think Trent had more fun with the toys than that baby will!

It was also somewhat rare that they did not want to know if their baby would be a girl or a boy, as stated on the cake.  We’ll all be excited to fine out the answer to that mystery once the little one makes an appearance.  I love baby names – can’t wait.

Congrats and good luck to the soon-to-be parents.  We’ll all be your prayer warriors as you embark on this wonderful life-long adventure of family-hood!   God Bless! 

Life is what happens while you’re making other plans!  I worked late tonight, then had all intention of catching up on all the things I didn’t accomplish during the week:  laundry, paying bills, groceries, cooking real food (!!!), online orders, errands.  Well, I no more than made it through the door when I had a call to order!

My younger granddaughter was home with a fever, and her dad had to take the neighbor to work.  Could I sit with Chriss?  Of course!  So I changed my shirt, pulled on snow boots, grabbed my grocery list, and headed over.

Chrissy’s head did feel warm, and she did have a headache.  She tucked herself on the couch under several blankets, watching TV.  It wasn’t long until the Tylenol kicked in, and she was pushing off the heavy blankets.  That was when the cat, Tigress, decided it was time to cuddle.  The cat jumped up on Chrissy’s tummy and just got comfy.  They buddied up the rest of the time I was there.  They seem to have an appreciation for each other.

I’m glad to see they have a friend in each other.  I’m sure Tigress was a great comfort to Chriss, and Chrissy knew exactly which ear to scratch!  Rest well, my little buddies – you’ll feel good as new in the morning!