Mid-Summer (Almost!) Post

In four days, this handsome young man and I will be boarding an airplane bound for Santiago, Chile, Lord willing.  If you were to ask me about my summer agenda a couple of months ago, my answer would not have included a trip to South America, but God had other plans.  Thanks to the prayers and generosity of many friends and family, God provided for Benjamin and me to take this trip in order to serve the Lord in various ways, including in service teaching at my high school alma mater, Santiago Christian Academy.  It is Benjamin's first time in an airplane, and he is excited to be spending time with his cousins in Chile.  It is really the highlight of his summer vacation, but he has also enjoyed swimming in our little backyard pool and studying the various species of ants in our yard.

This young man just returned from a week of camp at Camp Conquest in Lancaster County.  He has been attending camp there since he was in second or third grade, and this was his last opportunity to be a camper, due to his age.  He has worked a lot this summer in a variety of jobs, and has graciously taken his dear old parents on "dates" to the movies with his earnings.  While I'm in Chile, he will be attending a basketball camp at Messiah College and helping his grandparents care for his younger two siblings.  I think all in all, it's been a good summer thus far for Sabastian!

Nathaniel has another hole in his head, as he lost his second tooth just last week!  He is enjoying his backyard swimming pool, too, and has learned to hold his breath under water and swim around with his goggles on.  I'm going to miss this little guy while I'm in Chile, as he tells me several times a day, "I love you, Mommy."  We are working on writing his loooong name and reviewing his letters and sounds in anticipation of kindergarten at our home school in the fall.

And then there's Sophia.  Home for two years earlier this summer, she is growing and maturing, albeit at her own sweet pace!  Hopefully she will be as excited as this when she realizes she is spending almost three weeks at her grandparents' home beginning this Tuesday!  She amuses herself in a variety of ways during the day, but truly loves to be out and about with the family.  She is much more interested at being outside these days, and we have to watch that she doesn't run out into the road before she gets into the house after disembarking the van!  She certainly keeps us on our toes!

And as for my sweet hubby, he will be holding down the fort and working hard to meet the needs of our family.  His job is going well, but is very physically demanding, especially in the heat we've been having.  I'm very thankful for Dave and his commitment to me and the kids.  Lord willing, he will be visiting our oldest son, Jonathan, while I'm away.  It will be the first time Jonathan has sat down and talked with one of us face to face in almost a year.  It will be good for both of them.

Many thanks to my dear friend and sister in Christ, Naomi Atkins, for taking these lovely photos of our family earlier this summer.  You can find her and her partner's work on Facebook or their blog.  We highly recommend them!  Happy rest of the summer to all!

Gettysburg Field Trip

Last Friday (which seems like eons ago what with the craziness of this week's storm!), Benjamin and I went on a field trip to Gettysburg, PA.  We had planned this trip for awhile with my sisters and their home schooled children.  Both of my sisters live overseas most of the time, so cramming U.S. History information and trips was a priority for them these last several months.  I happen to love visiting Gettysburg, but had not been there since the new visitor's center was completed.  So I was more than happy to introduce Benjamin to the Battle of Gettysburg.

After a quick stop for breakfast, we started our day at the new Visitor's Center and Museum.  It was AWESOME!  The movie they show was fantastic...so well done.  It prepared you perfectly for the layout of the museum and what you were going to experience as you walked through the labyrinth of exhibits.  From the movie we went to the Cyclorama of Pickett's Charge.  If you have never seen this, it is so worth the trip!  There are only two of these 360 degree paintings left in our country.  They used to travel with these paintings around the country before motion pictures and television in order to show people the scenes of famous battles and such.  That in and of itself was an education for our kiddos!

Since the battlefield at Gettysburg is part of a national park, we took advantage of the Junior Ranger program and Benjamin and I worked through several of the activities in the booklet we were given to help him learn the basics of the battle and life in the 1860's.  I think I get more excited about the Junior Ranger activities then Benjamin!  (It's the teacher in me!)  The booklet was geared to match the new museum and its layout perfectly.  We went through each day of the battle and looked for various items in the displays.  I learned a lot of interesting, new information.  The quantity of artifacts they have is quite astounding.  I was very impressed at how they really tried to help visitors see the faces behind the battle.  There were real people with real lives and real families who fought and died on the picturesque fields of Gettysburg those first three days of July, 1863.

After the museum and Visitor's Center, we ate a quick lunch, then headed to the wax museum where we caught our 1930's Ford Tour Car for the Kids' Tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield.  Our guide was fantastic, stopping here and there to share some "behind the scenes" tidbits for the kids...and the adults! He took us through the battlefield chronologically, which was great for the kids since we had just been through the museum which was set up chronologically.  Prior to leaving the wax museum for the tour, he also taught the kids about muskets and the nine steps to loading and shooting them.  It was amazing to think that the soldiers could shoot those three times in a minute given how difficult it was!

When we returned from our tour (2 1/2 hours...well worth it!) we took a quick trip to the cemetery where Abraham Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address.  All of the cousins know that we are related to Abraham Lincoln (actually one of his brothers) so they have a strong affinity for our 16th president.  The day was coming to an end as we quietly walked through the cemetery, looking at the hundreds of headstones representing men and women who gave their lives for our freedom throughout the history of our great nation.

I was struck again by all of the "Unknown" engravings on headstones in the section of the cemetery dedicated to those who fought and died in the Battle of Gettysburg.  Each one of them represents a family who never learned the fate of their loved one.  I can't even imagine that.

Benjamin and I parted ways with my sisters after the cemetery and headed home.  We debriefed a little in the car, and I was happy with what Benjamin had taken from the day.  His favorite part was roaming the rocky terrain of Little Round Top, darting in and out from behind the boulders which would have shielded the Union forces on that fateful second day of battle.  The views from there were amazing last week.  I heard one guide share with his group how the whole battlefield could be seen from that vantage point.  Left undefended or taken in battle by the Confederates, the outcome of the Civil War would have been very different had the Union forces not held that hill.  A sobering thought...

I couldn't help but think about the historic times in which we live today, and how we are on the eve of a very important election which has the potential of determining the future fate of our great land as I revisited the life and times leading up to the Great Civil War.  Of course a lot has changed since then, but in other ways, I can't help but feel that we have not learned the lessons that we should have as a nation.  I can only hope and pray that, in the words of President Lincoln, those "dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

God Bless America!

P.S.  You can check out my sister's post on our trip here:  http://www.garcias2chile.blogspot.com/2012/10/gettysburg.html

A Day Out with Thomas

On Thursday morning we got up bright and early and headed down to Lancaster County to the picturesque Village of Strasburg and its famous Strasburg Railroad.  We had heard that Thomas the Tank Engine was in town, and he is a pretty popular icon in our home.  Sabastian was on a missions trip, so it was Jonathan, Benjamin, Nathaniel, and I on this particular adventure.  We also met up with my mom there, which was a treat.  We had to park a little ways away from the railroad itself, and the first excitement of the morning for the little boys was their very first school bus ride!  Jonathan, of course, was less than impressed since he rides one every day of the school year!

After getting our tickets, we got in line to wait for our boarding time.  I love this photo of Nathaniel waiting so expectantly to see Thomas!  What a change from last summer when he was scared to death on the steam engine ride in New York...what a difference a year makes!

Finally Thomas appeared and we could board for our 22 minute ride!  We had a beautiful day for this adventure, and the scenery around Strasburg is some of the best in Lancaster County.  We couldn't have asked for a better day!

Here are a couple of photos from inside the train.  The family next to us was gracious enough to take our photo for us, which we then reciprocated.  Jonathan and my mom sat together on one side of the facing bench seats in the beautiful restored coach, while I sat with the little boys on the other side.

After the ride, we ate a picnic lunch that we had brought, and then the little boys went on the little crank cars three times in a row!  They were pretty good at it!  By the time that was done, Nathaniel was getting a bit cranky himself, so we called it a day.  But what a fun day it was!

A Few More Random Photos

Here are a few more photos from our anniversary trip to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The first two were taken in St. Michael's, and the last three were taken on Tilghman Island as we walked around the area near our B&B. Enjoy!

Happy (Very Belated!) Anniversary to Us!

With so much busy-ness in our lives these days, I have not had the time to blog as much as I would have liked. But I'm trying to do better. So, I thought I would share some pics from our trip in late December to the Eastern Shore of Maryland...Tilghman Island, to be exact.

On December 29, Dave and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. For Christmas I told Dave the one thing I really wanted was to go away, sans children, for our anniversary. He said that was fine, so I began looking for a place to visit. I checked out all of our usual haunts...D.C. NYC, the Jersey Shore...but nothing was working for us. I then went on VRBO, which had been a great resource for our FL trip in November, and I started to see some areas in MD that looked interesting. Tilghman Island kept popping up, so I did a Bed and Breakfast search for Tilghman Island and The Chesapeake Wood Duck Inn was on the list.

Dave and I used to love visiting bed and breakfasts before we had children, but they are not too kid-friendly, so it had been quite awhile since we had stayed at one. The Chesapeake Wood Duck Inn had great reviews, and was running a "Winter Escape" special. I sent an e-mail early on Christmas week asking about the weekend right after Christmas, and thankfully, they had availability. In fact, we ended up having the whole place to ourselves! The innkeepers, Jeffery and Kimberly, were wonderful, asking about all of our food preferences for the four course dinner for two that came with the special offer, and sending us detailed directions and such on very short notice.

After spending Christmas day at my parents' house in DE, we left the kids in their care and my sister's care, and we took off for MD on Saturday morning. It wasn't a bad drive at all from DE, and we made really good time. There was a fire burning in the fireplace upon our arrival, and we quickly made ourselves at home with the XM radio and wireless computer connection. Dinner was absolutely incredible, as Jeffery is a gourmet chef, and his recommendation of filet as our main dish was superb. Saturday night we had our dinner, and then we enjoyed two gourmet breakfasts the next two mornings which were out-of-this-world amazing. The innkeepers were very easy to talk to, and very helpful with directions and information on the island and surrounding towns. The Eastern Shore is very busy during the summer, but quite void of tourists in the winter, so we enjoyed the solitude and stark beauty of this unique landscape in winter. I would highly recommend The Chesapeake Wood Duck Inn and a trip to the Eastern Shore and we hope to visit again soon. Enjoy the photos!

a side view of the inn...the 1890 structure was used as a guest house originally, and was refinished by the current owners

a view of the back of the inn and the big yard

LOVE these adirondock chairs...unfortunately, it was a bit chilly to use them!

this is the view from the backyard of the inn...it is the working marina with fishermen coming and going all day long

one of the many fishing boats in the marina

thought this was pretty cool!

another view of the marina and the fishing fleet

Overdue Vacation Pics - Part One

A few weeks ago (although it seems like a lifetime ago now!) our family, my sister's family, and our parents took a week long trip to Orlando, Florida, for a mini family vacation. We rented a beautiful house with a pool that more than accommodated all 14 of us (that would be six adults and eight kids!) and ventured out and about each day to various area attractions. The first night we were there we went over to one of my favorite places in Orlando, Downtown Disney. The following pictures are from the Lego Imagination Center there...more pics will follow from other things we did that night and later that week, but I have so many pics, I need to chunk them into groups to keep the posts semi-manageable! Enjoy!

the wall of single Lego bricks you can buy by the pound

I love the sky behind these two pics of the boys!

my happy two year old!

attempting to climb a mini climbing wall

cousins working together on a Lego creation

one of the few decent pics my teen allowed...and he's actually helping his brother!

Benjamin's finished product...he wanted a picture to remember!

Dave and the younger boys enjoying the beautiful scenery and weather!

Vacation Photos...Part 3!

Here are the photos from our ride on The Arcade & Attica Railroad. You can read the original post that I wrote on the day of our excursion here. It was quite the trip! Nathaniel was pretty scared on the first half of the journey since we were right behind the noisy engine, but on the return trip he just chilled. Our friend, Ruth, went along...you will see her in the photos, too. It really was a lot of fun and a day our younger sons will never forget!