The Back Porch...

We have this lovely, little, screened-in porch at the back of our house. It's where we spend a lot of time, especially in the summer...It's breezy, and cool, and quiet there. I love early mornings on the porch reading and sipping coffee and listening to the birds sing. And afternoons drinking blueberry lemonade and playing games with the little ones. And evenings recalling stories and events of the day while enjoying ice cream cones...Sometimes we even sleep on the porch [that's the plan tonight anyway :)] Every moment on that back porch is a good one. This is what you would have seen on our porch if you had joined us mid-morning... :)

Adventuring at Freedom Falls!

One Sunday after church, we went exploring with some of our dearest friends...armed with yummy food and refreshing drinks stuffed into picnic baskets, we headed to a nearby park for lunch, and then drove over to Freedom Falls--a quiet waterfall and swimming creek near the Allegheny river. We also went "tunneling" in the Rockland Tunnel, which is pretty much a long trek with flashlights through an old, dark, cold train tunnel. It's almost like caving, but you don't get dirty or have to feel claustrophobic. ;) In fact, since it's a part of the Allegheny river trail, you can even ride bicycles through it! We had a lot of fun, especially because it's located so close to our home, but we never even knew it existed until just a couple of weeks ago! :)

A visit from a friend!

In between the everyday late Spring work of gardening and mowing, finishing school until the next school year begins again [the majority of it anyway!], deep cleaning and remodeling...we had a friend come and visit us for ten days! We've known Aleita and her family for eight years, and this was the third year in a row that Aleita was able to travel to Northwestern Pennsylvania to come and see us. The kiddos look forward to Aleita's coming even more than they anticipate Christmas-time! :) We had LOTS of fun...we spent a day at the lake, enjoyed a special alfresco dinner party, played bocce and volleyball, had numerous picnics and cookouts, went hiking and "tunneling" with friends, visited Niagara Falls [and even squeezed some girl-time in for mani/pedis and coffee at Spilling the Beans!]. Even though we only get to see each other once a year, Aleita is so much a part of our family and we really appreciate her friendship, encouragement, and godly example to each of us. We miss you already and can't wait until next year, Aleita!

I'll slowly post some of the [thousands] of photos we've taken over the last couple of weeks... to start with, our dinner party! Small, intimate, shared meals have become a sort of passion of mine lately, so I wanted to create an extra special one while Aleita was here. Most of our meals are pretty informal, but we definitely went all out this time with a simple but elegantly decorated table and yard, and five gourmet courses--from baked date crostini appetizers all the way to grilled pineapple, nutmeg, and caramel sundaes for dessert! It was delicious. :)

P.S. If you love pie [and we sure do!], you definitely must read Herriott Grace's For the Love of Pie. A weekly series that celebrates the simple things and shares some super-yummy pie recipes. :)

mother's day

I wanted to write something long and brilliant today...something that would show everyone just how beautiful and caring and selfless and wonderful my mother is, but somehow I couldn't find the words. So instead of writing something special, I'm going to go and give The-Best-There-Is-Of-All-Mothers a fantastic hug and say "I love you" again, because I know I don't do that nearly as often as I wish I did....and I love her so.

And my view of the flowers [and blueberries!] in our backyard this afternoon was entirely too lovely... :D