Danielle and Nate’s Homecoming

Well, it just so happened that some very dear friends of ours went to were on their homecoming court at Lancaster Bible College and they won for their class. Danielle and Nate, whom I love and my children love. We found out about this and decided to go see them be crowned and honored. This happened to be Micah’s Birthday, but he was sweet enough to sacrifice a day and do this because he loves them too. Shyanne and Evan rode up with us and that was a fun trip in itself.

Evan was always my little guy and now he is holding my little girl.  It was fun to get to visit with him and Shyanne on the way to Lancaster.

When we got there, we found there to be tons of food and so we ate like hogs. The kids did some bull riding which was great and then they also had a huge moon bounce that Danielle was helping to head up. Our kids had so much fun with that and went through it numerous times. They were so excited to see Nate and Danielle. We also all got the chance to dunk Nate in the Dunk Tank. Shyanne dunked him without even hitting the Bulls eye. We still are not too sure how she accomplished that one.

Christian was so excited to see his Danielle

The kids playing in the fun moon bounce that Danielle was in charge of.  They loved it and did it numerous times.  :)

The Bull Rides were awesome. . . and the kids loved them.  They each rode individual too but this time they did it together.

The Adorable couple who we love so much. 

Danielle took us up to see her apartment suit that she lived in. She had it decorated so cute and she even had the pictures the kids had colored and painted for her, hanging up. She also had pictures of them on her mirror so she was reminded to pray for Ava and Christian everyday as she was getting ready for class. We love our Danielley. Here are a few pictures of the fun day we had. I was so proud of them and what they stand for.

It was a very fun day and we are happy to know that now Shyanne is also going to be going to LBC.  Thanks for the fun day Danielle, Nate, and the Smith Family!!

Dried Apples and Old Sleds

Grandparents are great for many things. The really awesome thing about Grandparents is that whatever they do with us, no matter how small, it makes us feel loved, cherished and special. They seem to always know what we need when we need it. They go out of their way to make sure the memories we have with them are never forgotten. They usually have a great way of mixing past and present together to make one really fun moment in time. This is often done with activities that we enjoy and while we are doing them with our grandparents, they tell us of memories they have from when they were our age or when they used to do this with their grandma or mother. It may not always be treasured or fully understood at the time, depending on the age of the grandchild, however, it is later remembered and cherished and for this I am very grateful. I love and appreciate my Grandparents for who they are and all they have done with me in my lifetime. I appreciate the most, the many many prayers that they have taken to the Lord for me and my life. I believe they have truly left me the greatest gift they could ever give me, their prayers. I feel very blessed to have such awesome mentors and leaders in Christ by my Grandparents. They were Heaven sent for sure.

Because of how much my Grandparents mean to me, I realize how much it means to me that my kids grandparents, (Micah’s and My Parents) are so involved in our children’s lives. I love the fact that my kids have real relationships with all four of their grandparents. Here is just an example of how my mother-in-law made my daughter feel special and cherished with just a small activity at hand.

Grandma and Pappy Bumbaugh came to our house one night to have dinner with our while they were there, Grandma dried apples with Ava. They cut them and laid them out on pans and then spread some cinnamon on them. Ava was so very excited to have this time with Grandma and while Grandma was patient enough to allow Ava to do much of the work, she also was telling her stories on how she did this with her mama.

On this same night, Harry, Micah’s Dad, came to the house and brought a surprise for our kids. He was so proud to show them this old Sled that he had Redone and finished to look better than knew. He had completely restored it. It was beautiful and such a great way to tie in their daddy’s past with their present memories. I literally could have cried at how excited the kids both were for this gorgeous refinished Lightning Glider. I love stories where old antique items are used to make new memories. Micah had this sled when he was young and it was a lightning Glider. Some of his favorite memories growing up consisted of him sledding with his siblings and John. Thanks goes out to Pappy Bumbaugh for all your hard work. Job well done.

I know my children will never remember EVERYTHING each grandparent does for them, but the they will remember the feeling of being Loved and Cherished that they felt every time their Grandparents were near. For that I am eternally grateful.

Applesauce and Memories

We decided to get a little ambitious and make our own apple sauce this fall. Brianna and I gathered our apples we had obtained and met at mom’s in hopes to start our new endeavor. Lori, my other sister in law had let us borrow her applesauce maker and so we were prepared.


We first had to clean the apples and them quarter them and throw them into a pan with a small amount of water to boil and soften them. Then we placed them in the applesauce maker and started running them through the apple-saucer. The coolest part was we didn’t have to peel them or take the seeds out, the machine did it for us. It was so easy. The hardest part we had was cleaning up the mess and figuring out how much sugar to add to the apple sauce. Ava was certain we needed to keep adding more. I think Aunt Bleppies was in agreement.

Homemade apple sauce = Success!!

Christian's 4th Birthday Party at the Hunsberger Household

Ever since Ava's birthday, when she turned 5. . . Christian has decided he also picked up another year.  So, since Sept. 6 of this year, rather than hearing the usual introduction, which is, "hi, I'm Ava and he is Christian.  I am four and he is three"  now  you hear her say she is five, and thus, he then interjects that he is four.  However, he doesn't turn four until Oct. 26th, so this is very funny to me.  Also, up until this point, he has held up three fingers when asked how old he is.  Now he still holds up three fingers and says he is four.  Sometimes, he even answers this when asked how old he is, "I'm gonna be 6!!"  Who knows what his logic is behind that one, but it is true.  Someday, he is gonna be six. :)

So, another thing we noticed since Ava's Birthday is that he noticed she got presents.  He thinks that is what birthdays are for, that and Nana's cake. :)  For months before Ava's birthday, every time we were somewhere and she wanted to get a toy or something else she wanted, I would tell her that maybe she could get it for her Birthday.  So, she caught on to this and started telling me all she wanted for her birthday.  Christian realized this and started early pointing out things, and then he would say,  "I get that for my Birday?"  His little voice was so cute and sweet, I literally wished I could buy him everything he said that about.  :)
We tried to get a party put together for him but with us leaving for Missouri for a month, we are going to be gone over his birthday, so it is hard to get it all together.  So, we ended up having to split his party in two.  The first one was held at my parents house.  We said this was probably the last birthday party held there, figuring their house will be selling here soon.

He is one Lucky and Blessed man. . .Loving on some of his women.

We got pizza from Romeos and mom made him a cake.  Of course, all he talked about all day was "I eat my birday cake?"  or "Nana make me my birday cake?" or "Lets do that!!"  When mom brought the cake up and was ready to ice it, he reached out to touch the completely plain, uniced cake and exclaimed, "my birday cake, Thank you Nana, I LOVE IT!!!"  Then Reece and Ava were trying to touch it, and he was yelling and saying "ITs MINE!!"  See, Nana's cakes are defenitly something to fight for and the three older grandchildren know this.  Sofia found this very fact out at her birthday party also. :)  She is hot on the trail. :)

Caught!!! HMMM, wonder why Nana is her favorite?  She is feeding her icing out of the used icing decorator thing.  Don't tell Mama. :)

So proud of his very awesome Hunting Camo coat, Like Daddy's.  :)  Shoot Deer he says.

He sat and watched as Nana decorated the cake.  He also enjoyed his balloons that Nana bought for him.  Then was present time.  Aunt Bleppies bought him a sweatshirt and a Buzz Light Year figure toy that he was so excited about.  He also got a camo coat from mommy and daddy.  The other presents had not arrived yet, so I will blog on them later.

I grabbed him and hugged him so you could see the toy story undies his aunt Bleppies had bought him and he couldn't wait to put them on so he slipped them on over his pants. :)

Finally, time for cake.  The kids gathered around to take turns blowing out candles and then we all got to sing to Christian and then dive into the delicious cake.  Nana made it up to be a hunters cake with a tree stand, four wheeler, deer, and hunters.  Christian loved this idea.  He also picked out his own plates and cups with Sports all over them for his party.

Here Nana H is working her magic on our cakes.

All in all I think he had a pretty good time. He was very happy the night was about him. Happy Birday Christian Boy!!!

Enchanted Night Where Dreams Come True

My hubby is so romantic and sweet. He has so many great ideas and he is a great planner. He started planning my special Birthday Surprise Get-a-way a few months before my 30th Birthday. Due to other events that surfaced, he ended up having to modify slightly but what he did come up with was awesome!!!


He lined up babysitting for the kids and made reservations for our birthday dinner. He told me to be ready by 3:30 because he had a mission before we went to dinner. Our mission was to get us each nice winter coats. He took me shopping and bought me this beautiful coat that I fell in love with right away. He told me I would need it for an activity that we were participating in later that evening.

Then we headed to our first destination. He took me to the Dobbin House in Gettysburg. I was so excited. I had never been to this restaurant, but I had heard many good things about it. This is an old house to the Dobbin Family during the Civil War. The rooms fabulous and you could even go up to see the slave hideaway. They had slave quarters and a bedroom that slept 19 children. The floors were unlevel and it was old and candlelit. The china they used was old and had it’s own story. I love it!!! What a great experience. All the waitresses were dressed in appropriate attire that dated them back to civil war times and you felt like you were taking a trip back in time.

The Outside view of the Dobbin House.  Micah was sweet and knew I had to get pictures of all of this experience.

Our dinner was served up in the bedroom.  We had a window seat view also. :)  I LOVE HIM!!

While we were sitting there, I Micah kept looking at his watch. Pretty soon, he said it was time to head downstairs. Believe it or not, he had arranged for a Horse Drawn Carriage to meet and pick us up outside the Dobbin House and take us for a Carriage ride through Gettysburg. I was so excited and it was cold so I was so glad we had our coats. We snuggled under the big blanket and just enjoyed the peaceful ride. The Driver told us that Micah had to sing Happy Birthday to me when going through the square. He did too, he sang it really loud and I loved it.

When the ride was over, we headed home and spent the evening just hanging out, with no children. What a great birthday surprise. I love how my husband knows just what to do to make me smile and to make all my dreams come true. He truly is MY DREAM COME TRUE!!

Hosting H Week

H week was quite full of activity. As per usual, we practiced writing our Letters and this seemed to be an easy one for both of them to write. We also got out Play dough and did some fun activities with shapes and spelling out words that started with H. We ate Heart shaped cupcakes for a snack and then we painted a bird House that we are putting out to feed the birds. Ava loved painting the bird house, which she got for her birthday. Thanks Michelle!!

Daddy brought home a huge box one day from work and we made a house out of it. The kids loved decorating and coloring the house and then of course playing in it. That put daddy at the top of their happy list and mommy’s too. I was so excited he was thinking of H week and remembered this for a house out of a box. The funny part, I am not sure he was thinking about H week, but as luck would have it, I thought he did.

Another activity that we discussed, something that takes huge precedence in our house. . . .HUNTING!! Yes, daddy hunts and he explains all of his tactics and tricks to hunting and the kids seem to enjoy this. They played hunting and practiced shooting deer. Then, to top things off, daddy got a deer while hunting and they stayed up and watched him skin and quarter the deer. This was perfect for H week. The best part was Ava was completely amazed at the sight, but Christian couldn’t stop gagging. Too funny.

We also had a friend Titus over and hosted a party while he was here. We had spaghetti and drinks and Ava took it upon herself to set the table and get it all ready for her friend. Then we played and Hung out with our buddies. Ava also practiced using a Hammer to fix the floor, wall and anything else she could bang a Hammer on. Luckily it was a play hammer.

Ava hosting dinner for a friend. :)

Some fun food ideas were taking a Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich and cutting it into the letter H. This was extremely easy and very fun for both kids. They also like Hamburgers since it was H week. They love ground hamburger browned and mixed with tomatoes. Then we eat it with Tostitos.

The kids learned about Helping people. Kelsey came over and Helped them to do their school work. She helped home school them and they did wonderfully with her a teacher. Then the kids put socks on and Helped me to clean my Hardwood floors as they skated across them with some endust spray. Last but not least, we decided to go to the Hospital to Help Hurting People. This was a fun project and I was so very excited. I will blog about that one on its own.

Kesley as a Helping Hang in Homeschooling our kids. :)

Singing with My Bumbaughs

On Sunday, we decided to go and see our Bumbaughs sing at Brandts church.  The first few songs, Christian was completely mesmerized and Ava too.  Ava lost interest a few songs in and Christian was quick to follow, however, he did keep asking if he could go on stage and sing. 

The last song, they offered the kids to come up and sing along with them.  Christian was so ready to do this and started up but Ava was a bit more timid.  He came back twice to see if she was going along with him and then finally after he realized she wasn't coming, he went running up to sing with his Bumbaughs.  Ava later told me she wanted to go up but then she got "a little bit shy."  :)  However, Christian was not the least bit shy.  Maybe he has his uncle Scott's personality after all. :)

Here are some pictures of our dear family, singing for the Lord.  We love you Bumbaugh Family Singers.

The Bumbaugh Kid Singers. . . .Isaac, Garrett, Renee, and Kelsey

Singing with the Bumbaughs.  He was so good at stage presence.  A natural for sure.

The whole family.  He is over standing beside his aunt Fawn.

Christian was up there dancing to the beat and he knew to sing into the microphone when he had the chance.

Here are the supporters / fans and family.  :)