The Sun Is Shining...

and it's going to be in the 40's today.

Tonight it is going to start snowing after midnight.  It is supposed to be the most snow we've had all winter.  14 days before Spring!  So crazy, but hey, March can be like that here!

At least the girls and I don't have to go anywhere tomorrow, as we are expecting anywhere from 6-12 inches where we live.

I know the younger set are excited!  They've been waiting for at least one good snow storm this year!

By the weekend, it will be nearly 50 and sunny!  Spring is coming!  
Our state celebrated William Penn's father receiving the charter for the land that is now our state on the second Sunday in March, by making all the state museums free to the public! 

We are going to go to Landis Valley again this year.  Several families from church went last year and had a blast!

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There was a lot of fun to be had at our house last evening.  Sonja and Asher, two of our young friends came over and watched movies, at homemade pizza and popcorn.  Their was some train building and some girlie fingernail painting too.  They are so fun.

Are you in the path of Winter Storm Saturn?  Am I the only one still getting a chuckle out of the fact that we are naming Winter storms now?

Gettysburg

After finding out that one of the families, we were going to have fellowship with on Sunday, needed to drop their Bible College student off in Maryland not too far away from Gettysburg, I made the suggestion that we head over that way and spend sometime in the fresh air and let the kids explore.

We haven't been there for several years and one family had never been.  We've plans to go back sometime and maybe take a day or two.  There is so much to see and take in.  I find I feel very reverent at places like this.  There was so much loss of life here.

We headed to Little Round Top, as it takes an hour and a half to get there from where we live, and we were pushing dusk....

This is the view from the archway of that monument in the photo just before this one.  It's beautiful.  And hard to imagine the carnage.

This July 1-3 is the 150th anniversary of this war changing battle.  

Have you ever been to Gettysburg?  Do you know how to pronounce Gettysburg?  I have always pronounced it "Gettys-burg," but many here say "Gettis-burg."

We're funny that way.  People who are from Lancaster County pronounce Lancaster differently too.  They say "Lan'kister".  I grew up with a "Lan-caster" in my home state so I used to pronounce it that way, but the locals, which we are now one of after living here 18 1/2 years, say "Lan'kister."  So if you visit and don't want people to notice your a tourist, you might want to practice!

There is also this funny adding an 'L' thing to words like "draw" and "straw" and so they pronounce them "drawl" and "strawl."  But that is a whole other post!

I am in the store tomorrow, so I hope it doesn't "make down" or we won't have very many customers, don't ya know!

Hospitality

We love to open our home for hospitality. We love to have people over to fellowship and get to know one another better. Our kids, having grown up this way, love it too.

Last night we hosted our church family. This is an open invitation, whoever can make it comes, and brings something to share. We had a baked potato bar last night. It was very good. Such a simple supper, but warm and filling, especially good this weekend as it was very cold here.

The family from Hospitality Lane came, one other family, and Pastor Mike. This is a fun group and we all had a blast! The young adults played spoons in the

basement, but all the sudden we hear running and laughing and a herd of elephants on the stairs! What was happening? The spoons were upstairs here in the living room! They had to run upstairs and through the kitchen, where we were, to get to them! They are a fun bunch!

Then while the adults continued to visit in the kitchen around the table, the younger set, watched Prince Caspian. One of the dad's, who had not seen it yet, started to watch near the end, when his wife was trying to get them all out the door! We promised to loan it to him soon.

Outside to say goodnight brought the most beautiful evening sky - a bright moon half way through is phases, Orion and the Pleides, it was freezing but the sky was clear and shining!

We are so thankful for our church family and friends. They are a blessing to us.