Mommy's Birthday!

We surprised Mommy today by singing "Happy Birthday" to her and giving her a great present.  She loved it!


By the way, there were fuzzy pink slippers inside!

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time!

Xia is a Daisy and she's selling Girl Scout Cookies.  If you are in the Lancaster area, we will deliver any cookies you order right to your door!  Or if you are willing to travel to the Lancaster area to pick up your cookies or will see Xia sometime later in the year say at a family reunion or something and want us to bring your cookies there... well, that can be arranged.  We must receive your order by Monday 1/21/13.

Just complete the form at the end of this post by 1/21/13 for easy ordering.  You will receive an email confirmation within 2 days.  Or you can contact us by phone or email if you would rather and already have that information.  (Don't want to publish that right here on the blog.)

Cookies cost $3.50/box.  Here's a video describing each cookie:

And here is a description of each cookie brand (clicking the links gives you ALL product information):

Savannah Smiles™ (crisp, zesty lemon cookies named in honor of the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting) - 28 cookies* per 6 ounce box.

Trefoils® - a.k.a. Shortbread - (a shortbread cookie) - 39 cookies* per 9 ounce box.

Do-Si-Dos® - Peanut Butter Sandwiches - (peanut butter cookie with peanut butter filling) - 20 cookies* per 8 ounce box.

Samoas® - Caramel deLites (vanilla cookies covered with caramel on top and bottom then rolled in coconut and striped with chocolate) - 15 cookies* per 7.5 ounce box.

Dulce de Leche - (made with milk caramel chips) - 22 cookies* per 6 ounce box.

Thank U Berry Munch™ - (A cookie made with premium cranberries and white fudge chips.) - 14 cookies per 6 ounce box.

Tagalongs® - Peanut Butter Patties (Regular cookie with soft Peanut Butter and coated with chocolate) - 15 cookies* per 6.5 ounce box.

Thin Mints® - (thin chocolate-peppermint cookie coated in chocolate) - 28 cookies* in an 9 ounce box.


* All cookie counts and package sizes are approximate.

Merry Christmas 2012!

Here is our Christmas card for 2013:

 

And a video of our year in review (if you'd prefer to watch the video on your smartphone or tablet, use the QR Code in our Christmas card above or posted below the video):

Oh how the time flies, here are the Christmas posts for 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008. 

The video shows these photos, but here they are as a quick review.

We had some old-time photos taken during our vacation at Rehoboth Beach in July:

We had some family photos taken for our church directory in August:

And here is Xia's Kindergarten picture taken in October:

 

Lastly, some gifts opened this morning from the girls.  

First an ornament from Xia:

 

Next, an ornament from Isa:

 

And a cute picture of Isa taken at the daycare:

 

Wish there was more time to keep this blog updated.  Be sure to follow us on Facebook to stay up to date.

May you all have a very Blessed and Merry Christmas!  Peace to you :-)

Christmas Card and Video 2011

Here's our Christmas card for 2011.

And be sure to check out our year in video at this link, or scan the QR code here or just watch it below...

And if you're interested, what a difference a year makes! Here we were a year ago...



God Bless you all this Christmas!

We were in a Flash Mob!

Mommy learned about an opportunity to be in a flash mob right here in Lancaster a few weeks ago. She received an invitation from a Facebook friend to come to the Hallelujah Chorus Flash Mob in Lancaster, PA event. Oh my, she was so excited! She's been watching YouTube videos of flash mobs across the world for years now and always wanted to be a part of one. This was her opportunity. Plus, she's been singing the alto part of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus from The Messiah since she was in the 10th grade!

We came along with Mommy to 2 rehearsals and by yesterday, she had her part memorized again and we knew some of it too! So yesterday morning we all headed down to Central Market as the 'mob' was set for 9:30am. We've never seen the market so crowded and on cue it went off without a hitch. What fun!

Here's a video of Mommy singing along:



Afterwards, we were interviewed for a newspaper article and lo and behold, this morning the article is on the front page! Mommy is quoted... how exciting!

Also, a professional video of the event was posted. Don't look for us, we're not in it. There were SO many people!



Here's a shot of us after the fun from the new balcony of the market. The market was recently renovated and it is just beautiful to see the original ceiling as well as many other upgrades. We are so lucky to have such a great market!

Hope you are all enjoying your last week of Advent and getting ready for Christmas Day when we can all sing.. Hallelujah!

UPDATE: so many videos keep popping up... someone posted this one to Facebook. If you go to time marker 1:37 you;ll see us :-)

Mommy Takes a Retreat

Hey, Mommy here. From Friday 3/11/11 through Sunday 3/13/11 I enjoyed a retreat in Ocean City MD. I have known some of these people for almost 11 years during my journey to a life of peace and serenity. Plus, I always like being in my old stomping grounds of OC, MD! I lived there the summer of 1990 between my junior and senior year of college. It's hard to believe that was 21 years ago!!

Here's a shot taken early Friday 3/11/11 evening from the balcony of my hotel room. I could see the beach!

On Saturday 3/12/11 I took a walk on the beach during my morning break:

Had to make a movie for the girls:



And take a picture for them:

My friend Kaye had twisted her ankle pretty badly before the retreat. So, we asked the hotel staff if they had some kind of wheelchair for the beach. They did!! It was so amazingly windy when we went for a walk during the afternoon break on Saturday 3/12/11. Here are some pictures of those of us who braved sand blowing us in the face! And I braved pushing that big honkin' chair. Boy was I sore after that walk.

Debbie, Manuel and Kaye:

Manuel, Me and Kaye:

Kaye getting her groove on in her chair we started calling a "Moon Chair" because it looked like something you would push on the moon!



Here are pictures of the sunset on Saturday 3/12/11 from my hotel balcony:

I woke up early on Sunday 3/13/11 to see the sunrise:

Then I drove to one of places where I worked way back when that summer - The Fudge Factory. Ironic since I was at a retreat for Food Addiction Recovery - you gotta love that. No more fudge in my life!!

It was a wonderful retreat and I left feeling refreshed and renewed. I'm so grateful for the life God has given me!

And what did the girls do while I was away...

Isa ran around the living room in circles on Saturday 3/12/11:





And she put on a show for us when I got home on Sunday 3/13/11:



And she and Xia had a blast with the shopping bags on Monday night 3/14/11 after I took Xia to dance and she and I had bought groceries on the way home. It was late and we were all punchy!

Mardi Gras 2011 and Bats...

On Tuesday 3/8/11 we celebrated Mardi Gras with the Volpes (just like last year).

Here's Jim, Silas and Heather enjoying the feast of pizza and cheese curls (what else would you eat before Lent begins?):

And here's Gianna (well the back of her head anyway), Isa, Xia and Isaac enjoying the dinner:

Daddy is READY for the King Cake!

After we ate, Heather and Mommy needed to head off to Praise and Worship at the church where they would be singing with their band, Sound Doctrine. Well, you've heard of bats in the belfry, but have you heard of bats in the chapel? Well, apparently at St. Mary's Chapel where they do Praise & Worship with Eucharistic Adoration the 2nd Tuesday of each month, there are bats in the chapel! Just look at the proof:



I love how John uses a dust mop and Tim has the ultimate bat swatter (or is that a lid to a tub?) Anyway...



The good news is the bat was gone by the time Jesus was brought into the room! Definitely a Mardi Gras to remember!