ex(PR)essed

I love long weekends. I love a Sunday night with no youth group and then having Monday off work. It makes the whole weekend feel wonderfully relaxing. So, I was very much looking forward to Memorial Day weekend!

The weather was gorgeous. And, Jeff and I did a pretty good job, I think, of accomplishing a few things around the house while still enjoying the nice weather and doing things we each wanted to do (him=cycling; me=stamping). We capped off a weekend of running errands and preparing for Baby Lorow (stroller purchased and assembled!) with a picnic at the Pattons.

Natalie proved she is quite the batter during an informal pitching practice with softball coach Matt.

Emma stuck a lot closer to me, so I have more pictures of her. As always, I found her completely adorable. She was very interested in the “baby in my tummy” and had lots of questions. “Does the baby have a bed in there?” “Can the baby get stung by a bee in my tummy?” Every time she poked my stomach she said, “The baby is squishy!” And, she is totally convinced that the baby is a girl who will look just like her, Jeff, and me. I like the sounds of that!

Emma charmed us all while eating her ice cream cone. She had a chocolate goatee for most of the evening!

Well, in case you haven’t noticed, I haven’t much been in the mood to blog lately. Really, all I want to do is hibernate these days. The post-holiday cold weather inspires me to sleep and leaves me feeling rather unmotivated to tackle anything else. Therefore, though I have cute pictures of a memorable sleepover with those sweet Patton girls and Christmas with our adorable nephew, I feel unwilling to take the time to upload and size the photos and properly recount all my adventures. Please forgive my laziness, and trust that we had a nice holiday, even admidst the traveling and bouts with a sinus infection (me) and strep throat (Jeff).

Well, it was never my intention to let a whole week go by without a single blog entry. This is such a wonderful time of the year for photo-taking and reflecting that nary a day should pass without something. But, alas, a week has passed and here I am. And, to make it even worse, I forgot my camera, so I can’t upload all the adorable pictures I wanted to share. Anyhow, in brief, here’s a short summation of the past week.

Last Thursday was sweet Emma’s fourth birthday. My faithful readers will remember that last year she proudly declared, “happy my birthday” throughout the evening (and Natalie took a series of scalp pictures). This year Emma was quick to remind me and Jeff that it was “her party.” We couldn’t have been happier to help her celebrate. She disappeared near the end of the party…apparently she just needed some alone time with her new ponies. She was busy playing by herself in her room when Jeff and I went up to say goodbye. Sweet, sweet girl.

Last Friday afternoon I drove north to Jamie’s for our annual Christmas extravaganza…a weekend of cookie-baking and crafting. It was also my first time to meet Silas so the anticipation was especially great! We allowed ourselves Friday night to just eat some Emeril’s soup (tradition), chat a bit about our baking plans, and admire Silas. Then, on Saturday, the extravaganza really began. We started baking around 10 a.m. and finished around 11 p.m.! 450 cookies, my friends! Sugar cookies, each individually frosted and sugared; spritz cookies…some red, some green, and some flavored with orange peel; chocolate-peppermint cookies that, sadly, required chilling and weren’t started until quite late on Saturday night (we were weary by the time they came out of the oven); and white chocolate cranberry cookies…you know, the ones everyone skips over on the cookie trays because they’re afraid of fruit. Jamie and I think they’re delicious though, and they look so festive, so we made them anyhow.

Sunday I got some fun snuggle time with Silas before church and then we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon of stamping. Silas was a perfect addition to our extravaganza…well behaved and very helpful! I can only imagine what fun he’ll be next year!

On Monday the mood changed a bit when I learned around lunchtime that my grandmother had passed away. I knew before I left for Jamie’s that she wasn’t recovering well from a bout with the flu, but I was hoping she would rally back to good health, as my grandfather had done many times. This is certainly one of those situations where you don’t want to see your loved one suffer even one more minute, but you can hardly stand the thought of life without them. It’s been a sad week for me in that regard. My grandma and I, as she liked to say, were “very good friends,” and we enjoyed many happy shopping trips, cajun catfish meals at Cracker Barrel, and walks around the family farm together. I will (already do) miss her very much.

I was reminded this week of the blessing of family. My brother came home from California, and it was so nice to see him. We spent time with my Aunt Barb, one of my favorite people. And, my cousin John, who I don’t see enough anymore, was around with his oldest daughter. Of course, I have the best parents, and they were a source of comfort and encouragement during what was certainly a difficult time for them as well. And, outside my immediate family, I felt much love and support from my church family. I am blessed. (Did I mention my sweet husband? He is wonderfully sensitive, gracious husband, and all the Bertrams adore him…especially me.)

So, now I’m wrapping up a rather disjointed week at work and looking ahead to two full weeks off! Tonight, Natalie and Emma are sleeping over…our first overnight with them and their first sleepover in several years. Oh boy! I have much merriment planned…cookie baking and decorating, painting, movie watching, and sleeping (hopefully!) under the Christmas tree. Then, tomorrow night, we’re hosting our small group for a Christmas open house. It will be great to reunite with those friends for a few hours; they were such an important part of our fall.

So, there’s the wrap-up, but, sadly, without photographs. I trust that each of you are well and wish you a wondefully joyous holiday season!

Sweet Natalie, the first child of my dear friends Robert and Allyson, made her debut as Mary last night at her preschool Christmas paegent. And, let me tell you, I was so proud to be there as a chief member of her fan club! Natalie is a wonderfully sweet, nurturing little girl, and she seemed perfectly authentic as Mary — unassuming, quiet, thoughtful, and obedient.

Overall, the paegent was…well, noisy! And a little chaotic. And a lot cute!

My favorite moment of the evening was when, just before the paegent started, Natalie was sitting on my lap and suddenly and very discretely reached over to hold her mom’s hand. She just needed that little bit of reassurance that her mom was right there to support her. It was a dear gesture.

And, though Natalie was the star of the show last night, it was certainly a joy to see Emma too! Unfortunately, she’s been a bit under the weather, so she wasn’t quite her normally joyous self. But, she managed a smile or two for me. Tomorrow night we get to see the girls again to celebrate Emma’s birthday!

Yesterday, sweet Natalie celebrated her fifth birthday, and the Lorows were pleased as punch to be invited to her party. It’s hard for me to believe that it was five years ago that I sat with her parents in the Carlisle Hospital the day after their little miracle entered the world. It took me about 30 minutes to warm up to the idea of holding her that day — she was so tiny! Now, I have no qualms about running around the yard with her on my back or hanging her upside down!

I always love taking photos of the Natalie and Emma, but yesterday I was especially excited because the party gave me the perfect opportunity try out my brand new camera! I am the proud owner of a Nikon Coolpix P80, and so far, I LOVE IT! If people thought I was obnoxious with my camera before, they won’t know what to do with me now!

Anyhow, Emma, Natalie, and Erick brought much happiness to my day yesterday. I hope you enjoy reliving the day with these photos as much as I enjoyed being there to take them!

If you’re a faithful reader of this blog (hi, mom and dad!), then you might be anxiously awaiting some more Natalie and Emma photos and stories. Well, as someone who adores those little girls, let me tell you that I had been anxiously looking forward to spending some time with the girls. My opportunity finally came last week.

Because of vacation and other schedule conflicts, it had been weeks since I had really talked to and snuggled with the girls. Our happy reunion began on Wednesday night at church. It started with a calm, happy embrace from Natalie and ended with Emma running at me, giggling, arms wide open, and a long, silly embrace. Allyson told me that Emma had been asking about “her Beth” for two weeks. Love that, and, just ask Jeff, I had been asking about “my Emma” and “my Natalie” for equally as long!

Yesterday morning I was doing my monthly stint in the nursery, and I got to spend some more quality time with Emma and the many other cute kids who hang out there during the service. I also learned from Allyson that Emma had even played “Jeff and Beth” one time with Emma playing the role of me and Allyson playing Jeff.

After church our Killer Uno-playing friend went to lunch, which is where the photos were taken. Natalie sat with me and Emma sat with Jeff. For as excited as Emma was to see me earlier in the week, she certainly only had eyes for Jeff at lunch. They were too cute!

Emma: “Me and Jeff are best friends.” Pointing at me. “You and Natalie are best friends.”

Beth: “But what if I want to be best friends with Jeff?”

Emma: “No. You’re best friends with Natalie, and I’m best friends with Jeff.”

What a fun weekend! But, boy am I exhausted. Like really tired. It’s possible I might have even prayed for a minor ailment that would keep from having to come to work today. I feel like I need about an additional 10 hours of sleep.

I got to spend time with some of my favorite girls this past weekend: Allyson, Natalie, Emma, Anita, Rachel, Amanda, Mandi, Ruth, Nancy, Brenda…it was fabulous! (I’ll see the rest of my favorite girls next weekend…that means you, Linda, Jamie, and Karen!)

On Saturday, Rachel, the Amandas, and I went to King of Prussia for the Creating Keepsakes Convention. Imagine: an entire convention center full of scrapbooking supplies and giddy scrapbookers. It was awesome!

I felt so inspired being in that space with all those happy, creative women! We took a quick break around lunchtime to set-up an Amish picnic on a tiny little sliver of green grass in the middle of the convention center parking lot. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, trailmix, and York Peppermint Patties for everyone!

Yesterday, cute Brenda and her family hosted us for a picnic so we could see Bren’s boy, Ryan, again. The Patton girls were there, and I had lots of snuggle time with Emma. We finished off the day with an exhausting game of Ultimate Frisbee with the youth group. I took a dive, scraped up my legs, and missed the frisbee. Bitter disappointment!

And, now it’s Monday, and I’m tired. Really, really tired. But also really, really grateful for a great weekend!

On Saturday night, Robert and Allyson hosted our young married couples’ small group for a picnic at their house. While I very much enjoy the fellowship of this group, I just could not stay out of the backyard and away from the girls! Natalie and Emma played on the slip-n-slide and on the swingset for hours with their friend T.J. I think it’s safe to say that a good time was had by all.

So, if you need a reason (or two or three) to smile on this Monday morning, allow me…

Thankfully, I got to spend a few minutes with Allyson and the girls last night. It’s a good thing because they leave for Canada later today (returning to the land where Robert grew up, according to Natalie. He actually grew up in Clarion, not Canada. But really, why get sidetracked with the details?), and I won’t see them for more than a week. That caps off a month when I barely saw them at all, and I simply don’t care for that.

So, while our time together was short, it was special. And, I’m grateful to have captured a few more photos of these lovely girls.

Even though it will Natalie-and-Emma-less, I am looking forward to the weekend! Come on 5 p.m.!