Strawberry Pickin' Season

If you live in the Lancaster area and would like to pick your own strawberries, our family just visited a farm this evening where you can do just that.  It's a farm on Bowman Road...not far from the Rockvale Outlets.  If you choose to pick your own strawberries (which I highly suggest doing), it's just $3.00 per quart.  They also have quarts of strawberries that are already picked and for sale on a small table on the property; those will cost you $4.00 per quart.  

It's the prime time to pick them.  When we were there today, strawberries filled the field.  It made us wanna just keep picking and picking them...but we settled for just 2-quarts today.  They're delicious!  And it's a fun activity for little ones, too.    

Just a side note...

When you get to the farm, you'll park on their lawn in front of some old chicken houses.  There are two chicken houses and a row of boats in between them.  Walk back between the two buildings until you get to their corn field.  Turn left.  Walk a bit further...and you'll run into the strawberry patch.  We were the only customers when we went and were uncertain where to go...but trust us, there ARE strawberries tucked in a field behind/beside the first chicken house.  It's self-service...meaning, you literally put your money in a tin can that's duct taped to a card table...but it's SO WORTH it!  They also have new quart boxes in a pile for you use, so no need to bring your own containers.  Have fun!!! 

Our little helper probably ATE more than she PICKED.  Ha!

Man, picking strawberries for 20-minutes is EXHAUSTING...but so worth it!

Disappointment - An Important Life Lesson

I wrote this post weeks ago...but never posted it.  For some reason, today's felt like a good day to share it with you.  Enjoy! *********** It's so hard to face disappointment sometimes.  We have expectations, hopes, dreams, and desires, and when they aren't fulfilled (or at least not in the way we envisioned they would be), we get disappointed.  We experience sadness.  Sometimes for just a few moments.  Other times for a lot longer.   But the older I get and now that I'm a mom, I realize how important it is for us all to experience disappointment...even as much as we don't like it...because when we're disappointed, we realize how great things were...or how good things will be again.   We have the choice to be thankful, even in the midst of disappointment.   We can learn to hope and trust...to strive for something different or something better.   We can learn what didn't work or what we didn't like, and we can find a new goal or purpose or vision.   And we can push ourselves to take risks or change behaviors to...Improve things.  Make things better.  Or take things back to normal.   We experienced disappointment first-hand, through the eyes of Mya, a couple of weeks ago.  You see, our family was beyond blessed last year to experience free admission to a local amusement park for its last 45-minutes all of last summer and fall.  Mya rode her first merry-go-round, tilt-a-whirl, flume and many more rides...and experienced great joy!  Because this park is so close to our house, we spent dozens of evenings visiting the park, riding rides, and enjoying the entertainment of their live music and characters.   We literally were counting down the days 'til this park opened for the 2013 season.  When the time came, we loaded up and ventured to the park.  We entered the park and waited at the gate for the 'okay' to pass through.  We listened to the music.  Pointed to the rides.  Created a plan for what ride Mya wanted to go on first.  We were so excited.   But while we waited to enter, a friendly employee greeted us; she must have recognized our purpose in waiting to pass through the gates.  She then informed us that their policy had changed.  That it was no longer free to enter the park for those final 45-minutes.   Our hearts sunk.   Mya had no idea what was going on.  So we needed to tell her.  She began to question why we weren't going in yet.  And in that split-second, we couldn't sugar-coat anything.  We had to tell her the truth.  The honest truth.  And we did.  You could see the sadness fill her eyes; the excitement drain from her face and body.  She understood what was happening.  She was clearly disappointed.   ********* In the weeks leading up to this moment, Mya's behavior was far from perfect.  She wasn't feeling well, and her behavior reflected that.  It was draining as her parents.  And we weren't sure what to expect when we'd share this news with her.  But we knew we had to just tell her the truth: No park for us.   And she proved us wrong.   She handled it with as much grace as a two-year old can.  Questions and sadness.  But no tantrum and no anger.  And in the midst of this disappointment, she was okay.  She pulled through it.  She was still sad...which is understandable and okay...but she didn't let it ruin her evening.  When given the option, she became excited to even visit another local community park that same night.   Because we got so used to just going to that amusement park, we may have been taking that blessing for granted.  And it was good for Mya (and us, too) to realize that we don't always get what we want.  That life doesn't always go as planned.  And we can choose to still be happy and thankful, even when life disappoints us.   We are grateful for the memories of last summer and are hopeful for the new and different memories that will be created during our summer and fall evenings this year.   And so...although, disappointment was a sad life lesson for Mya to learn, we're thankful that even such disappointments can enable us to experience even greater joys in the days ahead.  And can even make an event...like visiting an amusement park...that much more exciting when our family visits one again in the future.

FUNNY FACES -- Activity for Kids

CHECKOUT THIS FUN ACTIVITY FOR KIDS...

(1) Enlarge photos of different family members' or friends' faces.  Or cut out large faces from magazines.  

(2) Laminate them.  

(3) And let your kiddos go wild with DRY ERASE MARKERS as they add silly details to the faces...like mustaches, glasses, hair accessories...or whatever they can think of!  

A special thanks to the "Play At Home Mom" blog for this great idea!

Sharing Mother's Day

A few days ago, I blogged about why Mother's Day was going to be extra special for me this year.  And as Sunday came and went, I was blessed to spend both the morning and a portion of the evening with my mom in her hospital room as she finished up her recovery.  (A praise - She is now home!)  I wouldn't have wanted to spend it any other way.

And as today rolled around, I was finally able to put into words ANOTHER REASON why my heart felt so thankful for Mother's Day this year:

Mya's birthmom.  

You see, if it weren't for her, I would even be able to celebrate the day.  For so many years, I longed to celebrate Mother's Day.  And as I waited, I loved to celebrate my own mom...and still do.  But my heart longed to be the mother that was being honored and celebrated.

And this year as Mya teetered into the room holding a gift for me, a coloring picture, and a card, I couldn't help but be filled with great joy and thankfulness to see that she knows and understands that I'm her mom...not biologically...but in every other way.  And yet, her biological mom will always be a part of her, too.  I feel, in a way, like I share Mother's Day with Mya's birthmom...and I'm totally okay with that.  I wanna honor her, too.

Mother's Day is just another moment each year that I am reminded of Mya's birthmom's selfless decision to give life to our family.

As I look at Mya's big brown eyes, her silly facial expressions, her fun, curly hair, it doesn't matter to me that she and I don't look alike.  It doesn't matter to me that she didn't grow in my belly.  It doesn't matter that she may have totally different interests, likes, and favorites than me one day.  What matters is that she's my daughter...that I'm her mother...and that by the grace of God, we will do our best to journey through life together, loving one another and continuing to push one another to be the best we can be.

With a grateful heart, I thank Mya's birthmom for her precious gift to our family...which has made my heart whole.  

"Mother's Day" Reflection

Mother's Day is all the buzz right now.

TV commercials.  Pinterest ideas.  Advertisements in store fronts.

Ideas of things to get your mom.  Reminders to make reservations at her favorite restaurant chain.  Subtle (and not-so-subtle) suggestions of what every mom needs and has to have.

This Mother's Day is going to be different for me.  You see, this year my mom will be recovering from a recent surgery.  We don't know, yet, whether she'll spend Mother's Day in the hospital or adjusting to life at home as she recovers.  And it doesn't matter.  Because this year, I'm thankful to just be able to celebrate and honor her.

Sitting there in her hospital room each morning this week with her has reminded me of how grateful I am to have her in my life.  I've been blessed, truly blessed, to have a great mom...who's a good role model, gives selflessly, loves unconditionally, and does an intentional job of blessing me (and others) with random acts of kindness constantly.  And sitting there with her in her hospital room, I am reminded of all of the lives she's touched by her friends and relatives that stop by to visit, by the cards she's received, by the flowers and gifts neatly placed on the shelves in her room.  Those sweet gifts remind me that she's deeply loved and that she shows love to many around her.

I know Mother's Day is not an easy holiday for many.  And it wasn't always an easy holiday for me in the midst of our years of infertility and longing to become a mom.  But even in those difficult years, I could always find great joy in the Mother's Day holiday by focusing on my mom, rather than on focusing on the holiday that I longed to celebrate personally.  Mother's Days were still bittersweet for me in those tender years, but I was thankful to be able to shift my focus from myself and my own struggles and onto my amazing mom and the impact that she's had on my life.

I know how much Mother's Day means to my mom.  And just because we can't take her out to lunch or go on a fun adventure this year doesn't mean we can't fill her day with lots of joy, laughter, and love!  I love you, Mom.

Cute BRACELET for Summer!

I love adding accessories to my outfits.  When I spotted these adorable braided charm bracelets for sale on VERABRADLEY.COM, I just had to share them with you.  They're $22.00 and come in several colors...including a PINK one that supports Breast Cancer Research.

Cute Idea - OUTDOOR ALPHABET TRACK!

Once again, the "I Can Teach My Child" blog has shared an adorable, outside activity for your kiddos, students, or the children you babysit.  An OUTDOOR ALPHABET TRACK.  And all you need is: SIDEWALK CHALK
(Click on picture for full description of activity.)

Use a variety of sidewalk chalk colors and write the letters of the alphabet in order, creating a path for your child to follow...either by foot or by bike.  

A couple of VARIATIONS to this FUN ACTIVITY came to my mind, and I thought I'd share them with you, too:
      *Write NUMBERS in order, instead of letters.

      *Toss BEANBAGS onto the letters or numbers and name take turns naming them.

      *Write your CHILD'S NAME in order. 

      *When writing the letters or numbers, write them in a COLOR PATTERN (i.e. red, blue, red, blue...you get the idea!)

      *Create the path to make a SHAPE (i.e. a large heart or circle, etc.)

      *Have the path lead to a SPECIAL SURPRISE like a fun snack, another outdoor toy to play with, etc.

Have fun outdoors with the little ones in your life as we enjoy this GORGEOUS Spring weather!!!