Fun with friends

How hard is it to get toddlers to all look and smile at the same time? (And, I'm not sure why this is underlined, but I don't know how to fix it.)We went to Frontier Park the other day because it has a fun playground... but we ended up finding that there's a really cool path around the park. Here are some pictures of our adventure.

A fun stream to throw rocks in!

Madilyn with the Read's on the bridge

And, on a completely different occassion:here is our friend Megan. She is moving to Washington State in a few days to begin a professor's job, and we will miss her lots... we made cookies at her house today! Madilyn really loves Megan and thinks she's pretty much the coolest.

Hello and Goodbye

These seem to be the two phrases most used during this present season of our lives. We are constantly meeting new people, explaining to them what we thought about a PA winter, and telling them how long we'll be here. Or... we are sending off our new friends to the next season of their lives while we stay here in Erie.

I have made 6 great friends over the last year we've lived here. Four of them no longer live here. So, I'm down to 2 girls that I'm close to. Thankfully, their kids are Madilyn's best friends...so it all works out.

It's such a strange season. It's not even close to being as hard as an Army wife would have it ...I know there are couples out there that have it much tougher than we do. But, at the same time, it's hard. It's hard not seeing my husband every evening and getting to hang out on the weekends. It's hard surfacely meeting hundreds of new people but not feeling like any of them really know you or what you're about. It's hard saying goodbye to the closest friends you've had in a year and wondering if you'll meet anyone that's as nice as them to tide you over for the next 3 years until you move again. It's hard.

There are days that are quite lonely during this season of our lives. There are some days that seem like they'll never end. But, there are also days that fly by so quickly that I feel like I didn't get anything out of the day like I wish I had (more hugs from Madilyn, more smiles from Cameron, more coffee with my girlfriends, etc.).

Today, the scripture that really hits home is:

"This is My command-- Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

When I feel lonely--He's there. When I feel discouraged--He's there. When I feel like no one knows me--He's there. When I feel I've messed up as a mommy-- He's there. When I feel like I've failed again--He's there. And, HE IS REALLY ALL I NEED :)

I'm so glad to have Jesus in my life!

Grammy's In Town!

Well, Grammy came to visit this past week, and let me tell you... we had a lot of fun! So much fun, in fact, that I was completely worn out! My mom helped me get my sewing machine going, and we made a plethora of new things including but not limited to: curtains for Madilyn's playhouse, Madilyn a dress, a matching hair bow, hemmed up 5 pairs of pants and more!

Besides sewing, we traveled around Erie and did a lot of the fun things that Erie's known for in the summertime. I'm exhausted just thinking about it! :)

We started off the weekend by eating at Steak and Shake. Yummy!

Then, we visited Waldameer, which is an amusement park and water park. This was Madilyn's first time to ride amusement park rides! She absolutely loved them, and her favorite one was the one that took her up 10 feet in the air and spun around. I was seriously trying to not have a heart attack! She's so adventurous and brave! :)

We also visited the Erie Zoo, which Madilyn thinks is her 2nd home! And we got to go to the children's museum and the beach. It was a lot of fun, and many great memories were made.

In Everything Give Thanks...

When Madilyn and I visited the zoo yesterday, she asked to ride the carousel. This is her favorite thing right now! She even prefers it over the train ...so we got on the carousel. We were the first in line, so Madilyn got to pick her favorite animal to ride on--the brown horse. As we were patiently waiting for everyone to pick their spots, I decided to take the moment to affirm Madilyn. I said, "Madilyn, God has a great plan for your life...do you know that?" She quickly put her hand in my face and said, "Hold on Mommy. Dear God, thank You for the carousel! AMEN!," and she screamed the "amen" at the top of her lungs! Precious! This is the first time she's prayed on her own about something that we haven't prompted her to. Makes a mommy so proud!

As she gave thanks, it reminded me of something. God's Word says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." James 1:17

He is beyond faithful, and He gives good gifts to His children. Take time today to notice the good things, and give thanks to Him!

Friends and Sandboxes

Isn't that what life's all about? Friends and sandboxes? Madilyn is having a blast this summer in Erie! It's the most gorgeous place to be during the warm months... and I remember why I loved it so much when we first moved here. Each day, we wake up and decide if we want to visit the zoo, the beach or play in our enormous back yard (well, enormous on our scale anyway!).

Madilyn's favorite thing right now at the zoo is the sandbox. She and Olivia had a great time playing this week, and there were a few tears shed when it was time to pack up and go.

Another fun exhibit was the petting zoo! This is the first time we've seen brushes there to brush the animals, so Madilyn found an unsuspecting goat and went after it. Notice she's brushing the hind quarters ...right after I took this picture, the goat gave a good kick! :)

I'm telling you ...if you ever want to visit Erie, go to Niagara Falls, eat the original Buffalo wings and see a Great Lake, come during the summer time!

Speaking of friends, one of Madilyn's favorite people here is my friend Sarah Brennan. She and her husband are moving to Pittsburgh next week for him to do rotations, but Madilyn just LOVES Sarah! At first, she called her "syrup" because she couldn't say Sarah. But, now she says her name just fine-- and very often! I am pretty sure she thinks Sarah is her best friend. We are going to miss the Brennan's so much! Sarah is such a fun friend ...but you can usually find us at Starbucks chatting it up after Madilyn goes to bed. It's so nice to have friends that understand the season of life we're in. I know that God has great things in the Brennan's future! We are so glad to have gotten to know them here and look forward to visiting them in Pittsburgh from time to time (only 2 hours away!).

It's Still There...

The beach, that is. It's still there. I kinda wondered if I would ever see it again after all the winter we had this year. I didn't go out there during the snow. I didn't really want to see my beautiful beach/lake frozen and iced over. I guess it was part of my denial that really the whole place was the tundra for month after month.

But, rest assured. It's back! We love going to Presque Isle ("almost an island" in French) and enjoying the beach. Yesterday, we even visited a new restaurant that is located by the beach... Sara's! Let me tell you ...I haven't had any onion rings since we've moved, but that was remedied yesterday. Yummy. We had footlong hotdogs, homemade onion rings and french fries. And a Cherry Coke to drink. So delicious!

I love our beach. I love Lake Erie. I love living in Erie, PA in the summertime. It seriously feels like I'm on a really long vacation. So, we'll soak it up all we can and enjoy the warmth until the snow comes again.

"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under Heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1

The Proof is in the Pudding... or the Lettuce!

Just had to mark this day down in history. Madilyn ate salad. At Olive Garden. She liked it. She ate lettuce and croutons. This makes a happy mommy. I bet her tummy is trying to figure out what to do with lettuce since it's never had the priviledge of digesting it before. But, it will again. Oh, it will again. She loved it!