stahl family

Girl's Getaway Cruise !!!!

2012-01-20T15:50:00.006-05:00

So 11 of us went on the cruise!!!! Loved the weather.....the ocean....

the laziness!!!! Spent several days at the beach in

Florida. Spoild by a wonderful woman named Carla. She

even had this awesom bus (below) drive us around.

Above: Vicki, Renee, Carla, Wanda, Buffy,

Amanday, Allie, Bonnie, Alyssa,

Amy, Shalene and our Driver

On the ship!!!

Chonda Pierce was so funny....Lysa TerKeurst was one of the
speakers and Jaime Jamgochian one of the singers.....

We were at Cozumel, Mexico....while there Lyssa and some of the
others went zip linning and Shalene & I took a Mexican cooking
class!!! Oh so good.

Needless to say, we were spoiled and ate and ate and ate some

more. The evening dining was fabulous. We did

have a rocky day and got a little yucky feeling and oh the

last flight home was....well lets just say it was an expensive

rollar coaster ride. UGH!!

A view from our hotel balcony.

Enjoying The Christmas Season!

2011-12-22T15:49:00.002-05:00

So our packages are all wrapped.....and just

a bit of grocery shopping tomorrow and I am

finished!!!

(Above) we went driving around town looking at all of the

lights this past Sunday....this was our favorite.

One of the goodies in the advent calander -- red velvet pancakes

with chocolate chips.

Going to deliever gifts to all of the neighbors.

My last holiday creation for the year.

Christmas Journal & More

2011-12-16T19:40:00.007-05:00

So for all of you visiting from the Journal Your Christmas site here are

some of my finished pages and the front....

And for everyone else....here are some of the crafts I mentioned....

I made 6 little house ornaments....

and my snowballs that I made to go with my

lady snowman!! I have had

a blast crafting this christmas.....

Our December.................

2011-12-15T10:05:00.005-05:00

December is here, and with it brings busyness along with

many wonderful family moments....if you take the time

out of your schedule to enjoy them.

We are doing an advent calendar this year that has

coupons in it.....different activities for each day.

Above is one of the activities....enjoy Red Velvet Hot

Chocolate with Cream Cheese Whipped Topping.

The elf came to our house this year. He

has been popping up in different places throughout this

month.

Above: My new decorations I made....
I've been busy making a lot of things this year...
Christmas cards, snowballs, Christmas
Journal, paper mache houses, etc.
Maybe I will get them posted sometime.....
Hummmmmm

My SIL's and I had our annual cookie bake....
we made around 267 dozen cookies -
Anyone know exactly how many cookies that is?

Alyssa was determined to get herself a real
Christmas tree for her hous....she is all bunded up in snow gear
---I think she thinks it is cold outside!

Mifflinburg Christkindle Market.....we went the first evening....
lots of FOOD!!!!!!

And then another Advent activity....they made "snowflakes"

for lunch. Just tortilla shells (the kids cut them)

we fry and load em with powdered sugar....they

love em.

I have determined this Christmas season to make sure I

take time with my family and enjoy....

it is just too easy to get stressed during the holidays.

So far.....I think I'm doing okay.

From our Home to Yours We Wish You All A

Blessed Christmas and A Christ Filled

New Year!

Gathering Supplies for my "Journal Your Christmas Album"

2011-11-14T12:10:00.004-05:00

Well, a big part of creating is gathering and organization. I have discoverd

that old muffin tins and jello molds help me organize and

are so cute!

My bin full of products that I will be using for my JYC album

My protfolio ablum from Pink Paislee that I will be using --

now the fun begins....decorating the front!!!!

My inside pages are all different sizes, the album comes with divided pockets, 8.5 x 11 pages, 5x7 pages and pocked with folds....I also will be adding page flaps and additional pages...

probably a few paper, glassine and striped bags from here.
There are small bags to use for little things I want to save and larger sized ones

that I could actually use for a page or to hold receipts from shopping, grocery lists,

gift cards and such (since I love to keep all of that, it is so fun to look back

and see those things!)

Christmas has begun

2011-11-14T10:19:00.004-05:00

Christmas has begun at our house.....I've started gathering items to create with....

above are the tags that I created for my Journal your Christmas album.

I enjoyed creating these and though I tried to stick with the same idea, using the same punches

and papers, each tag is a little different.

(I used the girls' paperie tinsel & twig paper, did some machine stitching...glimmer mist,

inking and a lot of odds and ends.)

I'm also collecting items for homemade ornaments. (it is tradition

around here for the kids to get a new ornament each year....but this year we

are creating them ourselves) Other things I've been busy with for Christmas....

our advent calendar....gathering supplies for more crafts, albums and we have the

neighbors handmade gifts finished just gotta get tags made up. Oh, and we can't forget homemade Christmas cards and Sunday School Christmas program.

I must say that this year we are having more of a homemade

holiday than a store bought holiday.

So looking forward to the homemade part.

Sweet 16 -- Shalene!

2011-11-14T09:57:00.004-05:00

Shalene is turning 16 at the end of this month! WOW, its hard to

believe. She wanted to do a bonfire so, since I DO NOT enjoy

being cold we had the party at the beginning of the month.

Steve kept the fire going all evening for us...keeping the soup

and spiced cider hot for us.

We had pumpkin carving....which they all seemed to enjoy....
many different creations. Above is one that Alyssa
created.

Here we have our smore's bar....apple cider, vanilla bean, mexican hot choc., butter

pecan, raspberry, gingerbread and more flavored homemade marshmellows.

3 types of grahams and tons of different chocolate along with

toasted coconut, toasted almonds and carmel for the toppings!!!

Though it was a chilling evening, the fire and hot spiced cider kept us warm...

with lots of good fun, friends and fun.....we celebrated the birthday of a wonderful

young lady whom I'm very proud of.

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-12T12:15:00.003-04:00

It's been a real long time since the kids carved pumpkins.

Lyssa found a pumpkin that she wanted to "copy" when she was looking

on pintrest.....so she attempted it. Clayton got in on the action as well.

Look of concentration!

Claytons creation

Lyssa's creation - sorry the p ic is blurred but you can see how the vine

and flowers are....so cute

Spangler Reunion

2011-10-12T11:18:00.004-04:00

We had the Spangler Reunion last weekend. Grandma is turning 95 this month

and she has been hoping that we would all be able to attend.

Below is my Uncle Don telling the kids a story. We had hiked up to the

mountaing to see the view of Lancaster and while up ther he decided to

tell the kids a story.

Mom standing on top of the mountain....what a hike that

was.

Grandma Spangler and I.......she has been such

a light to me.....God has given her a wonderul life.

We were celebrating Dad's birthday -- late -- since I hadn't gotten to see him....

Grandma decided to get in on the party!

Summer Update

2011-10-12T10:58:00.004-04:00

Yes, we are still here....our summer has been full of many things. And wonderful memories.

One bittersweet moment was that Alyssa has ventured off on her own for awhile. She has

a small little cottage in Harrisburg. Now working with Dementia patients while attending school

for nursing. Her little cottage is about thesize of those at Penn View. Perfect for just one person and shehas settled in well.

Shalene and Steve ventured off on the church missions trip this year, and in short...our summer has simply been packed with lots. Here are a few things we filled our summer with.

(OK Renea D. I hope this post makes you happy!)

I have canned several types of pickles, beans, dilly beans, sauce, pears, hot pepper mustard dip,

peach salsa, pear pinapple jelly, grape jelly, grape butter, grape juice, Pear

carmel sauce and more. We are now drying apples and gonna make applesauce.

This has taken up a lot of our time but it sure tastes wonderful.

We attended the corn festival this summer....I think we ate more than

we did anything else.

Thai food has been top on our list as well. There is a little concession stand who
sets up at the park in Lewisburg one day a week.....she makes the best!!!

Bella had to get a hair cut...she was cold on the way home so she hid

behind Clayton to stay warm. Afterall....I must have my air condition on.

Steve and I celebrated our anniversary but going up to a cabin in the

mountains. Steve ended up doing some fishing and we were able

to see wildlife....me I just enjoyed the "quiet"

And of coarse, I HAD to go to scrapbook convention this year

with Sue and Chris. So here they are working

on some projects in the hotel room. We stayed up late

trying to get some things accomplished AFTER we shopped and attended

classes all day. Of coarse, we had to go to the Cheesecake Factory and other wonderful

places for food while we were there.

Strawberries!!!!

2011-06-14T20:18:00.003-04:00

Class of 2011 - ALYSSA

2011-06-13T13:36:00.006-04:00

Alyssa graduated from High School on Saturday at the State Capital.

There were 1500 students in her graduating class from Pa Cyber

Charter School. She has graduated from High School with

15 college credits!!!!
We are so proud of Alyssa!

Clayton & Penns Cave

2011-05-27T11:35:00.003-04:00

These pictures really do not do the cave justice....however, thought

I'd share em with you.

So, I try and take my kids on "dates" ----- just mommy and me thing ----

Clayton especially seems to keep track of the fact that "its been awhile

since we went on a date!"

I've never been to Penns Cave -- growing up in Ohio -- and living here for 18 years....

wow....never been to Penns Cave. So, thought this would be

something neat to do with Clayton.

Clayton is at the foot of the entrance for our boat tour....

I think I could spend my summer in the cave...stays in the 50's.

What is neat about this cave is that you do get to sit, be lazy, and

ride a boat for the tour.

Clayton ended up with some old fashioned salt water

taffy for on the way home....along with a few other things.

I think he really liked his date.....he has never been

to a cave and thought this was really neat....God's creations

are gorgeous

Update

2011-05-22T20:14:00.002-04:00

What a dreamy picture!! I Really love it.

Well, we have been busy, busy, busy. Preparing for the

upcoming yardsale....which means I need to spring clean closets and such.

Which I'm getting some finished.

Than we have a graduation -- ALYSSA!!! Mixed feelings on this one.

However, we have her graduation this next month in Harrisburg at the

Capital Building and the following week is her party. Therefore,

I have started collecting items and such for this occasion.

Be sure that I will share tons of pics with you when this celebration occurs.

Clayton has been sick for the past week.....weeding and mulching flower beds, along with

the everyday things....scrapbook store, working, laundry, cleaning, cooking,

laundry...oops, I said that but it never ends!!!

We have been busy.

Hopefully this summer will bring you tons of wonderful

family moments. And hopefully I will do better with sharing our photos and memories

on the blog!

you all tons of

Our Church Is Growing!

2011-04-11T21:34:00.002-04:00

Saturday was work day at the church. For those of you who do not

know, we are in the process of building a larger church.

You can keep up with the daily progress by

visiting the church web site here --

the lower left corner has the link for the building

project.

Ohhhh, I think I Gotta Have

2011-03-22T18:49:00.001-04:00

I've discovered the blog of The Blue Chair Jam

I think I'm gonna have to get the cookbook with over

120 jam recipes!!!

I love to make jam and give as gifts! This sounds wonderful.

Happy Birthday Clayton

2011-03-02T20:15:00.003-05:00

Clayton turned 11 today....one thing he wanted for

his birthday was a FOX hat
Enjoying his lunch at Red Robin

His gifts all lined up

No More BRACES!

2011-03-01T21:58:00.002-05:00

Shalene has survived the braces!!! She had them taken off Monday, and now

has a retainer. In the pics you will notice that as soon

as they were off she went shopping for a bunch of gooey foods and

kettle cooked chips!! These are things she wasn't allowed to eat with her

braces. Alyssa even made her a carmel apple so she could have

when so arrived home!!

HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY ALYSSA

2011-02-26T14:32:00.003-05:00

Can't believe it but my daughter, Alyssa, has turned

18. It is with bittersweet feelings that we wish her a Happy Birthday.

She has become a wonderful young lady, with many talents

and such a good heart!

Lots of Love Alyssa!!!

Quote For The Day!

2011-02-26T14:29:00.001-05:00

I have flabby thighs

but fortunately,

my stomach

covers them up!

Go VOTE for me!

2011-02-09T14:01:00.002-05:00

Please visit Facebook

and vote for me.....find the comment on this page...there are

a lot of comments but just keep clicking view previous comments till you find me.

Amy Spangler Stahl

I'd love to win the pink dess for Alyssa's school activity....with a cute bolera (jacket) and heals

--that would look great and even cost better!

Ice Sculptures In Lewisburg

2011-02-05T10:28:00.003-05:00

So, I took these photos with my phone, they may not be the best...but I

thought you might like to see em. (these are just a couple

of em that you can see in downtown Lewisburg)

If your in Lewisburg today, Feb. 5 you could join

in the polar bear plunge (You can get your swimsuit on and jump in the

river!!! Since there is ice on it that should be fun!)

Or, you could do something a bit warm and join in the chilli

contest. Anyway...something fun to do in the winter. You missed the

Chocolate Lovers night last evening...they had lots of activites for all.

But kids can do the cocoa get together today as well.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

2011-02-03T18:29:00.004-05:00

Pillows for my Living Room
IronBoard Cover for Laundry Room. Love
the button picture on the wall....think I'm gonna try to create something
like that

Use old drink bottles (Starbucks) decorate, fill with milk,
top with powdered donut!!!

More shabby pillows.....I so love

Winter Catch Up at the Stahl Household

2011-01-29T12:26:00.003-05:00

Things have been busy this new year but fun. We started the new year with a Stahl get together at our house........ We were able to visit my

parents at the beginning of the month as well as gettting to see my brother and

his family. I must say that when we visited in SC we didn't thing we would have to

leave early because of a snow storm. But that is exactly what happened.

How depressing, I was hoping that one of the benefits of visitng out there was sun and warmth. Not so on this trip! We had a nice visit, went geocaching, which was enjoyable

and just had a relaxing visit.

It took me awhile to get my holiday decor taken down...and if you look close enough you

will find a bit here and there around the house yet.

Alyssa has started her next semester of college, and I now get to

start planning a graduation party for her. She will turn 18 in Feb.

Clayton and Shalene have been ejoying lots of sleepovers here and there.

Grandma and Papal gave them all skates for Christmas so that has been top on

there list of winter fun. Steve and Clay even went out ice fishing!! UGH,

too cold for me. Me, I've been busy shopping!!! The new scrapbook

products all release the beginning of the year so I stock up for the store at this

time. Presently we are getting snow, I must say that I DO NOT enjoy being

cold but snow is pretty. How many of you enjoy the snow? Did you make a snowman

this year? Well, off to keep busy.

Keep Warm!

Random Thoughts

2011-01-02T23:39:00.002-05:00

I've been thinking over the past year and all that it held for us....
I must say that it was one of the roughest I've ever had.
Both of the girls being diagnosed with type 1 diabeties, and learning how
to deal with that from day to day. Clayton in a bike wreck and in the hospital with that. Shalene with her gall bladder surgery, not to mention all that we went through with Steve's eye (it will never be back to normal. ) And me, yes, I even had a few tests and a
procedure that I thought they were trying to kill me. BUT, through it all
God was right there with us. Keeping us and helping us. I would never want to go
through any of that without my Savior.
So....to go along with those thoughts I want to make sure I "love" this year.
Not to take the little things in life for granted. And to love my family unconditionally with
no reservations. Instead of sighing at the small things.....count them
as blessings...because if I didn't have loved ones around, there would be no small things
to sigh at.
Have a Wonderful 2011

New Years Resolutions

2010-12-30T23:55:00.003-05:00

So how many of you make New Years Resolutions? I have in the

past and sometimes when I think back on them I find that yes, I have partially

accomplished that.

Well, I'm going to admit that I have several "goals" in mind for this year.

1. "Come here and listen to me! I'll pour out the spirt of wisdom upon you and make you wise. Proverbs 1:23NLT

This verse is a goal for my new year....that the Lord will slow me down when I

get too busy. That I will listen and hear His voice. That I will focus

on God's voice in all situations.

2. I am going to attemp:

Project Life.

Okay, so I love to scrapbook and take pictures but I seem to get so far

behind on what I'd like to have accomplished. So this project is suppose to be

simplified...by this I mean that it comes with most all that I'm going to need for this

scrapbook. I will just need to discipline myself and write on my calendar things that happened each day. AND take a picture a day (at least one!! if not more)

Check out the site...,.its a great way to have a scrapbook at the end of the year.

With a bit of organization it should be fun.

3......Well, I have a couple that I will keep to myself.

So tell me, what is your New Years Resolution for 2011?

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T17:58:00.002-05:00

May you have a Christ Filled Christmas!

(Okay, so I like pink!)

December Brings......

2010-12-12T19:37:00.008-05:00

Lots of things---busy schedules and beautiful things

to deocorate with.

This month has been so busy and full but enjoyable.

Decorating, Baking, Shopping and making memories with family.

Below are some pictures of this months activities.

Had a cookie bake at the beginning of the month. Made over 3300 cookies.

My 2 sister-in-laws along with our girls made these in 2 days. We made:

Ladylocks, peach cookies, chocolate crinkles, peanut butter cup,

thumbprints, cocanut cookies, apricot, nut rolls, amish cookies,

peppermint bark, buckeyes and snicker fudge.

Alyssa has been selling little Gingerbread Houses on her etsy store.

They are so cute.

Some of Decorations around the house.
Countdown (Below) And I love this Handmade Christmas

tree!!!! Got this from Melissa Phillips

Alyssa Making Popcorn/Cranberry strings for the

Christmas Tree.

My snowman picture that I made several years ago.

I have been so blessed this month with TONS of orders from my

scrapbook store. Been VERY busy but I'm thakful.

Decorating for Christmas

2010-11-21T08:54:00.003-05:00

Each year the kids take turns setting up the manger...Shalene

set it up this year.

And Clayton set up the village!

Always have a mess before the end.

Here is one of the ornaments that Alyssa has for her tree. The kids have their own trees in their rooms....but this year they put all of their ornaments on the main tree.

I decorated the kitchen with my whitwashed decor~ Love it.

This is such a cute mix...Read the little card that is in the photo....

I still have a couple strands of lights to purchase since all of mine seemed to decide not to do what I wanted this year. We plan to make some homemade cinnamin ornaments and gingerbread village yet. And string some popcorn and cranberries. But basically I am finished. What a good feeling.

Renaissance Faire

2010-10-07T12:26:00.002-04:00

For the past several years we have gone to the Renaissance Faire with the Cyber School. The smells and sights are wonderful....keetle cooked popcorn and HUGE turkey legs along with monsterous pickles are a few favorites. The girls and I love the masks and hats along with all of the scents.....herbal mixes and all. Waxed dipped roses and full skirts. Clayton loves the baby dragons and swords along with the jousting. Here is a picture (first ont) of the final event where the knights are fighting. Shalene was able to get a picture with
Queen Elizabeth...,.and the final picture is the crew that went along this time. It was a long but very fun day.

Bella

2010-10-07T12:23:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago Bella was this shaggy cockapoo with a mop top and beard...she went for a hair cut and this is what happened. Since its been getting cold out and we haven't turned on the heat yet we find that Bella shivers....so we foun this preme sweater at the thrift shop for 75 cents....hey, it works.

If Life.....

2010-09-28T21:14:00.001-04:00

If life is in fact a box of choolates,

I am in big trouble -

because I ate all mine!

When Life..........

2010-09-28T18:41:00.003-04:00

When Life Gives You Lemons.....

Make Lemonade!

South Carolina Visit

2010-09-07T10:05:00.005-04:00

We were able to finally visit my parents in South Carolina this weekend.

Had tried to get there through the summer and just made it.

I must say we were a bit lazy this time around....hanging out around the house.

Clayton really enjoyed taking the boat around the pond, I think he was

able to get us all in for a trip around at least once. He did do a bit of fishing with Steve

and papal.

Dad always feed his fish and they are quite large.

Clayton also really enjoyed driving the golf cart - which we were all

taken on rides for that as well. I tried to talk him into letting me drive but I never did get too. Alyssa enjoyed the puppies.

Shalene and Alyssa both ended up getting a massage.

The guys spent a lot of time hitting golf balls, not sure how many they lost in the pond

but I believe it was a good bit.

Me, I enjoyed hitting up a couple craft stores and outlets.

Now, it is back to the old routine. I must say that I am a person

who enjoys the routine in life. Its the small things in life that we often

take for granted that we miss the most. There is something

very comforting in the everyday coming and goings.

Normal Schedule???

2010-08-30T08:30:00.002-04:00

School starts today - now grant it we cyber school but hey, I am hoping

for a normal schedule here soon.

Alyssa started her college coarses last week. Yeah, I know, she

is a Senior in High School -- but she is taking some college classes at the

Harrisburg College. She has some buddies she is carpooling with. Getting up

at 5:00 a.m. UGH!!! And I gotta pack lunch. Well, I'm just

thankful that she is still at home. She goes every other day and fits

her high school coarses in as well. AND, she is hunting

a job.

Clayton and Shalene started today, so I am hoping that now we can get

a bit of a schedule going and more will be accomplished. My POOR

house!! This summer has been so rough on it. And we won't even start

on the flower beds. The worst they have ever been.

I keep waiting for things to slow down.

Summer Update:

I will try and get some pictures posted of the missions trip here

soon. Like I said - not sure were my summer/time

has gone.

Shalene has been diagnosed with gall stones. We go tomorrow for

a consultation and schedule the surgery.

Clayton seems to have grown a mile high this summer, growing out

of everything.

Alyssa - well, I wrote about her above.

Steve is still having problems with his eyes, nothing seems to give

him complete clearness in his eyes. It is quite depressing -- Please continue to

pray that he can just heal on his own and all will go well.

And finally, me....I survived the busy summer schedule.

We Are Back

2010-08-20T12:27:00.004-04:00

Visit Eric and Hannah to see some photos of our missions trip.

I will try and post some soon -- just trying to get caught up!

Missions Trip

2010-08-03T12:06:00.003-04:00

The girls and I will be leaving this Saturday to go on a missions trip with our
church. 26 total will be making this trip. You can visit the missionaries
here who we will be helping.
Sounds like they have lots to keep us busy...2 VBS services, preaching in the
evening, hopefully visiting an orphange...etc.
We would really appreciate you prayers for this endevor...that we
all may be a blessing!

As a side note: Steve & Clayton will be at home --
Clayton decided that he should have a lesson in doing the
laundry before Mom left. It appears that he had
need of some items while I was away last time--
so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Congrats to Allie & Matt

2010-07-24T20:08:00.004-04:00

My neice Allie was married today!!!

Congrats!!

My Fisherman!

2010-07-24T20:06:00.001-04:00

Steve has been doing a lot of fishing as of late. Takes turns taking the kids with him on the small boat. This past week, somehow he got out of the house by himself -- he came home with this bass.

Catching Up - Reptile Land

2010-07-24T19:58:00.004-04:00

I know, I know, its been a looooooooooong time since I have posted!!!!

Clayton and I took a date to "Reptile Land"

Now, this was not my type of date, but it was for my little

man. My favorite part was the butterfly garden. (Below)

Clayton really enjoyed feeding the turtles -- and touching

the animals.

Proud Owner

2010-07-05T16:23:00.005-04:00

Alyssa is the proud owner of a Toyota Forerunner.

This is her very first car/truck.

I must admit that I was expecting her to choose a smaller

vehicle but hey, this is what she liked!

Looks a bit happy here!

It needs a little bit of work done on it but Steve thought it

was a good price & a safe vehicle. Now Alyssa has more space to load

up all of her belongings. Won't be long till the back of it is loaded down!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T13:07:00.000-04:00

Ohhhhh, What A Face

2010-06-22T23:15:00.003-04:00

This is the kid that loves to ride EVERY roller coaster that she can find.....

well, Shalene prefers all the "spinny" rides...you know the ones

that twirl you till you can't twirl no more!!

Well, we rode these and Shalene happened to get

this lovely photo of Alyssa...I'm so glad she didn't snap one of me.

Hershey Park

2010-06-16T19:14:00.007-04:00

This past Friday we were able to go to Hershey Park....this was a "field trip"

with the kids school....which means we were able to get tickets pretty much

half price....it was a loooong day--but tons of fun.

I really love the sights, colors, sounds and

smells of an amuesment park.

Shalene doesn't care for the rides that are high so she was

a very patient person when she sat and waited for John and

Alyssa (me some of the time) But she was drooling of these

HUGEMONGOUS stuffed animals....I said I'd buy her rings for one round

--so she tossed several, I tossed, Lyssa tossed and John tossed...John was able to

ring one and Shalene got this huge monekey for $2.

Alyssa had John attend with us and they rode just about all of the

rollar coasters -- I fell for it and rode some of them as well...however,

I skipped this water drop!!!! (As you can see for yourself with the sign below..and the splash above) You did not come off of this ride dry at all.

Okay, to me -- you have got to have a funnel cake

when you go to an amusement park!

Steve chasing after Clayton!

The old time cars and these race cars seemed

to be one of Claytons Favorites!

We tried on many hats while there....

this was worth a lot of laughs.

Clayton ended up being a "twizzler" -- this is how they measure who can

ride which rides

Bumper cars - A Family FAVORITE!!

UGGG

2010-06-08T15:00:00.003-04:00

I had visions of catching up and sharing pictures with you this week....however, our house was hit by lightening (I'm at the library at the moment)...the top of the chimney was blown off and piece lay in our front yard...needless to say our phones and computers have problems....I'll be back.

Happy Mother's Day Mom!!!

2010-05-09T21:31:00.004-04:00

I just wanted to take this time to tell my Mom how special she is.

I realize now, not when I was at home, how much my mother sacrificed for us.

We were not well off by any means, but mom made life fun and enjoyable. She also

did without so that my brother

and I could have things that we probably really didn't even need....just thought

that we did.

While living at home -- my mom was the foundation. Keeping us all

in organized and arriving on time.

She was my mom.

As I was married, and life went on, I have realized that

we can't do anything about getting older and time

passing us by. Nothing but enjoy the moments that we have.

To treasure the memories and love as if it were our last day.

My mom has taught me about unconditional love......my mom has become my best friend.

Thanks mom, for being there for me always.

For being you!

Visiting Hershey

2010-05-09T21:06:00.005-04:00

The kids went on a field trip to Hershey, Pa on Thursday. They had a tour of the

police academy -- was able to see the shooting range and horses.....for some reason,

I know I took pictures but I can not find them.

After the Police Acadmy we found a scrapbook store!!!! OHHHHHH, it was BIG.

I than took the kids on a quick trip to Hershey World -- we have

been there before but Clayton doesn't remember the trip.

I'll have to take him again, when we have more time.

Picture above is som thing that is "my kind of food!"

Okay, so I didn't buy one of these, but I'm thinking maybe

I should have!
We did get our photo taken together and had it put on

a hershey wrapper.

You know me and pink -- well add chocolate and you can't

get any better.

Shalene discover the chocolate baked goods!

Our next field trip is this Friday to New York-- Corning Factory.

We get to make a glass and blow eggs....

should be pretty fun.

Fun With Food

2010-05-09T20:58:00.006-04:00

My mom shared this pics with me and thought I'd pass them along..............can you make something like this??? I'd love to see the pics.

Alyssa and a Topsy Turvey Cake

2010-04-25T13:12:00.003-04:00

At the very end I helped Alyssa with adding the balls and staking

the cake. Other than that she pretty much did this on her own...

This is the first cake that Alyssa has made for someone else.....took her several

days to make all of the detailed flowers and such.

But it was so cute.

The flowers are from gum paste. But the balls are from

homemade fondant (she uses marshmellows) Many of the woman

at the party were commenting on how good the balls were.

Guess those were the ones who like marshmellows.

The kitchen was a bit of a mess there but the cake turned out.

Here is the birthday girl, Sue, with her cake....she seemed

to really like it!

And it is.....................

2010-04-20T21:07:00.004-04:00

An adorable ruffle purse,

keychain,

and 2 small to toss inside.

I LOVE this!!!!!

(I got the purse idea and pattern from Tumbling Blocks

thanks Dorie)

Can You Guess?

2010-04-19T11:12:00.000-04:00

So, I've dug out the old sewing machine -- the poor thing, I had gotten it from a yardsale and it is starting to wear out. Hope to find one this year at a yardsale. Anyway, can you guess what I'm making? I'm soon done - but I broke my last sewing machine needle so I gotta get some of those today, than I can finish up.

So take a guess -- what is it?

Long Week

2010-04-15T14:08:00.005-04:00

This week my kids had 3 days of PSSA testing for school...this was held in Lewisburg.....we had to leave the house by 7:30 to get there in time....testing for the younger kids was in the morning and the older kids in the afternoon. SOOOOOO, that means, I got to spend the entire day in Williamsport. On Monday it was 8:45 to 5:00 and Tuesday/Wednesday 8;45 to 3:45....so I had to be creative and find some things to occupy my mind.

Ohhhhh, Jo Ann's -- We do not have one close so I enjoyed this store....purchased material to create a couple purses and aprons....I'm really looking forward to doing that.

And, of coarse we googled thrift shops...we went to 4 different thrift shops. Next week we have testing on Wednesday, and the following week as well. Soooo, we will return to the thrift shops. You never know what treasure it to be had. And it is more in my budget than other places.

I love TJ Max.....it never fails to share something that I love. The decor section is wonderful.

And Ross - we always love to go here as well, great clothes and home decor.

So, I must say that it wasn't "terrible" to be stuck around all of those wonderful
stores....

Update on the Stahl Family

2010-04-08T22:53:00.004-04:00

Lyssa has been working in the garden....she found a few babies.

They are cute, but not something we want in the garden.

Its been awhile since I posted some "normal" pictures of our family. You know...nothing in the hospital.....So here a few of the family!!

This is the newest addition--Bella Boo

Easter Sunday - Need I Say More?

2010-04-04T18:48:00.001-04:00

Photo by South Light Sutdio

Clayton Is Home!!!

2010-03-29T20:56:00.004-04:00

Thank the Lord Clayton is now home.....he is not to be "active" for 2 weeks and will go back in for a check up than.....Thankfully he did not have to have any
surgery and the swelling on his colon appears to be going down!

Poor little guy, he had so many blood tests done, iv for fluids since he couldn't

eat or drink -- wasn't allowed to walk around so he had

some legs wraps that would "massage" his legs every now and than...monitors stuck

all over him -- Ugh

he was a bit hooked up there for awhile. But I must say

I'm proud of him. He didn't complain or fuss, he just said he knew

it was for his own good.

The poor little guy hadn't eaten from Friday evening until this evening (Monday) -- he

had seen the commercial while in the hospital advertising the new

burger at Burger King -- He made sure we stopped on the way home to get one.

Says it tasted better than he exprected.

Thanks to all who have prayed, visited and sent good well wishes. Clayton

mentioned that getting those balloons and things really

helped him to feel cheerful

Clayton in Hospital

2010-03-28T11:20:00.005-04:00

My little man

has made it to the age of 10 before he had a BIG boo boo!!!
Saturday, he was riding his bike on our stone driveway. Many
of you know that our driveway is very long and downhill!!!
On his way downhill his tire must have hit a rock. The front of his tire
turned sharply and as he flew over the handle bars one of those handlebars decided
to make contact with his side/stomach. Now these handlebars have
seen better days. The plastic/rubber coverings that are on the handlebars
were wearing off and he now has a perfect indention of that metal "pipe" that was
his handle bar right in his side. Kindda like he was "branded"

I was at work and received a call about the accident. Steve and Alyssa cleaned him up and
he was very quiet. About an hour later he started throwing up. Off to the ER we went in
Lewisburg. Thankfully, he was admitted asap. We were there for about 6 hours. They found that he had some internal swelling so transfered Clayton via ambulance to Geisinger.
Upon arriving to Geisinger, Clayton and I were taken into the trama unit!!!!
More tests, to discover that his colon is swollen....... that is when they had to determine if they

would perform surgery. It was decided that since he was young they would watch and make sure no leakage from the colon would occur.

Next stop -- Pediatric ICU
that is where he is at the moment. He has been a real trouper... All the blood work, iv's and

poking!!! Many of the doctors and nurses have complimented him on how well he has done!!

I would really appreciate your prayers through this....
the Lord can heal him!!!

3:30 Sunday afternoon

Clayton has been moved to a regualar room...still no food

or drinks.

Our New Addition

2010-03-23T16:13:00.004-04:00

Okay, this is the stack or should I say mountain of laundry in her room.....Bella seems to enjoy making her bed here.

Her favorite place to be - under my desk.

Well, from the day we were married my hubby has made that statement that we would never have a dog in the house. We have had dogs, but never inside (well, the one lives in the garage) Bree - our cocker spaniel - had a litter of 6 girls...the one had a "cosmetic" problem with her eye, we brought her in the house because it seemed like when things were cold outside it would bother it.....well, now all is history ---- she is officially OUR dog....her name: Bella, we call her Bella Boo. Needless to say, she has brought us many laughs and well, I gotta be honest sometimes frustrations.

So, our new addition to the Stahl Household is Bella Boo - our cockapoo.

Cake Decorating - 2

2010-03-12T22:47:00.002-05:00

Shalene and I survived our 2nd cake decorating class. That poor teacher seems to have a wonderful gift of patience!!!! (there are 4 other girls Shalenes age and 4 other ladies in the class)

We learned to transfer a pattern and some basics with that. Shalen and Ihad such a problem with our icing.....it was too thick!!! (LONG and I mean LONG story!!! Lets just say that the first batch Shalene made -- well she didn't read the directions correctly and added a "bit" too much water -- we tried to thicken it but it kindda ran off her cake. So we did another batch -- this batch worked but we didn't realize that we were to make some thinner icing as well for the decorating part -- we had a mess at class (we weren't the only ones, thankfully)

So, between the icing and a BAD package of "bags" that kept breaking!!! The teacher told us to contact the company because something was wrong -- I first thought it was the "person "--ummmmm ME -- that was filling the bags and cutting the tips who was messing up.........but when the bags started having stuff ooooozzzzzzzing out the sides of the bag in little squirts, I realized it wasn't me. SO we did get our cake accomplished.....and we started learning to create rose...NO, the ones above are NOT mine. I'm a beginner you must remember that. Mine DID NOT look like the ones above, but I can always dream.

Hopefully my brain will remember to take my camera next week and take some photos. 2 more classes in this beginners and than we get to move to the 2nd class.

I must say, I'm enjoying my time learning and spending it with my precious daughter Shalene. Its always nice to have one on one time with my kids.

Celebrating

2010-03-09T11:55:00.004-05:00

Okay - so for Alyssas birthday (end of Feb.) she didn't want me to get her any gifts. She wanted me to take her to the thrift shops in Harrisburg. We have a cirlce we make and usually can hit 4 stores - however, we ended up having to skip one because we got a later start. We did eat lunch at Red Lobster and supper at Chuckie Cheese.....

The first thrift store we hit was the one that has bins that you dig through (forgot to take my camera with me!!!) anyway, everything is .75 cents. Lyssa found 31 things there at a total of 23.25....not a bad price for Aeropostale, Express, American Eagle and Gap stuff. We than had lunch and headed to the next two. She found skeetchers lights for $5.00 -- they look NEW.....as well as a shirt from Julicy Coutour and many other great brand names.

I found a few things for the rest of us but the main thing was to spend her birthday money. The picture with the garbage bag.....that is the bag she got at the bins!!!!! In all Alyssa ended up with 18 skirts, 21 shirts/tops, Skeetcher, Clarks shoes, books and some heart cake pans -- spending a little over $60....not bad!!! Not bad at all

Cake Decorating

2010-03-06T01:10:00.004-05:00

Shalene and I have officially started our cake decorating class this evening!!!!! It was so much fun. We learned basics, some of which I did know but some that I didn't. I found it to be very interesting.

You see, when Alyssa was at Penn View for part of her home ec. class they did cake decorating....she LOVES to do this and Shalene and I decided that we wanted to as well. (Since we cyber school now, we don't have home ec...well, unless you call me making job lists!!!!)

So off to Michael's we went for cake decorating classes. We will go every Friday this month for Class 1......once we move on the Class 2 I think Alyssa plans on joining us. You will have to keep checking back - we will try to take pics of the things we do and you can see if we are learning and improving as we go or not!!!

So, next week we are to take a cake to class with us -- frosted the way we were taught today -- with different colors of icing ready to go. We will learn how to transfer an image. And we get to learn how to create ROSES!!!! But the best part -- taking it home to eat.....well, I don't know, I think I will enjoy the creative part as well.

Had a nice time with Shalene this evening and looking forward to learning.

I must confess -- this is NOT a cake that we created. We are on the very BASIC beginners class. Let me say that again.....VERY BASIC. But we can dream and hope that we will get that good.

Lots of Good Laughter

2010-03-04T23:24:00.003-05:00

We went to the Ken Davis concert this evening......I must admit that we were in need of some laughter!!!! You can visit his site here. Seems like things here are taking us awhile to get adjusted and we just need some good, clean laughter to lighten the load!

Or visit here on you tube and watch some short clips of Ken Davis yourself.

YouTube !!!

2010-03-03T17:36:00.001-05:00

Many of you know that I have an online scrapbook store.....well, one of my customers loved all of the stuff she had gotten and made a video for on you tube....be sure to check it out.

Field Trip

2010-03-03T11:36:00.004-05:00

Our local homeschoolers group went on a field trip this past Monday....Clayton went along and Jennifer went along with us. We went to the Giant Grocery and than "The Daily Item" (our local newspaper). Afterwards we went for some lunch....I tried to talk em into going for Chinese but McDonald's won - playworld.

Red Robin

2010-02-28T17:45:00.002-05:00

My parents were in to visit from Thursday to Sunday. We gave them a cold and snowy welcome since they came in from South Carolina.

Alyssa celebrated her 17th birthday, which is hard to believe. And Clayton will be turning 10 on Tuesday. Wow, where does the time go. I have such a hard time thinking about how fast they have grown. But than on the flip side I think UGH, if they are that old, how old and I??

Well, we all went to Red Robin to celebrate. Alyssa still wants to go to Harrisburg to the Thrift Shop and dig in the 75 cent bins.......and Clayton, he is collecting his money to make a big purchase.

Had a nice time with my parents!!! Wish I could have went with them to the 50 degree sunny weather.

Temporary Home

2010-02-22T12:20:00.003-05:00

A wonderful song by Carrie Underwood.

2010-02-22T12:20:00.001-05:00

Clayton's Valentines

2010-02-16T17:44:00.003-05:00

Here is Claytons Valentines project....you can get the pattern here. I know its late but you could always save the idea for next year.

New Pa Driver

2010-02-16T17:35:00.003-05:00

Well, my Auto insurance is going up in price. Alyssa is now officially a Pa Driver!! You can't see because of the background but she is holding up her license.

Still Adjusting

2010-02-16T11:13:00.006-05:00

Well we are still adjusting to things here. The girls have been having some problems with getting their medication at the right dosage, but we are soon to be there. Since we are still adjusting to that, it means that we get up in the middle of the night to check the girls and see how they are. They have had some lows where they start shaking, hands go numb and they start seeing black.....this can be a bit scary....and than they get highs where they will get really bad headaches.....so the nurse has been great with working with us and we hope to soon be on a regular schedule.

Some of you may realize that it is important for a diabetic to wear some form of id on themselves for emergency reasons. It can mean life or death for a diabetic if they would be in an accident, pass out from a low in their meds or any other emergency that someone would face. I guess it just means that for those of us who do not have diabeties, we are in danger during an emergency....well for a diabetic....its even worse

For those who are interested (especially if you who are diabetics or know someone who is you may want to read this article --MOM) Diabetic Bracelets should be worn read the article here.

So you all know that being a teenager is hard enough as it is....but than to be "different" , as the girls put it, makes things even harder. Many of the medic alert bracelts are very , not to be unkind, but bulky and ugly. So we set out on an adventure to find the girls something cute and not so "Bright and stand outish" Below is what we found on etsy.com.....we have ordered one that is a bit different but this is basically what they have. (small pearls, in the photo it looks a bit larger or bulky but in person it is the most adorable and petite) In the bottom photo is a picture of one of the more "generic" bracelets and that one is cuter than some!!!

Anyway, It was my mission as a mother that I could help my girls make the best of a bad situation. They already feel like they stand out, because anytime they go away and eat they have to figure out the carbs, determine how much insulin, go to the bathroom, take the shot and come back out to eat. By than everyone is half finished and their food is cold.....they have been getting a little depressed with this. So than to top it all of they have to wear a UGLY medical alert bracelt......therefore, if you see my girls wearing something cute -- its to help them in an emergency and with adjusting and trying to make it a little easier.

For those of you interested if you go to etsy.com and search diabetic you will see some cute alternatives to the generic ids......they cost more, but it makes adjusting just a bit easier for a person.

I would like to thank all of you who have been understanding......who have been praying for us and showing concern. There have been many discouraging moments and lots of tears. But we are thanking God that things are not worse. That there is help and it is a livable situation. And God has been with us through each step of the way. I've been amazed at the wonderful help that Geisinger has given us through this. Many papers telling us what all to expect, one thing I was suprised to see is that diabeties really does affect the learning ability as well as the emotional state.......so all of this wonderful information has helped us in dealing with all of the changes and the workers that have spent time in teaching us!!! They have been wonderful. GOD is so GOOD and we know HE is there for us. Again, thanks to all of you who have asked about the girls and who are praying. We need all of God's help that we can get!!! so please continue to pray.

Here is another great link for diabetics and others on taking care of your phsical needs with the right foods and vitamins.

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Update on Steve and his eye:

Steve is now on antibiotics to try and take care of what is causing all of his eye problems. It seems that he will constantly have to have shots in his eye to help him with the floaters and see. Therefore we are trying alternatives to try and take care of what is causing this and avoid the shots. The shots can cause problems later.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-12T15:27:00.001-05:00

Valentine's is one of my very favorite days....make sure you tell your loved ones how much they mean to you!

Baby it's COLD outside

2010-02-10T17:01:00.003-05:00

Peeking through his fort window

Clayton is making a snow fort....can't believe he took his gloves off...loonie

One Day at A Time

2010-02-08T20:27:00.002-05:00

Well, we are still here.....learning to take things one day at a time.

Some days are more emotional than others, lots of things to adjust

to. And being a teen makes things a bit harder for the girls.

Alyssa and Shalene did attend the 2010 Youth Convention at the Beavertown

God's Missionary Church and had a wonderful time.

I on the other hand have been busy with lots of paper work and forms

to fill out for all that is involved with the hospital and such.

Please continue to pray for us.....that we can take things one day at a time -

and make the best of the situation.

God has truly been good to us.

What a SWEET surprise

2010-02-03T18:49:00.004-05:00

Laura and Shalene

Lizzie and Alyssa

The Calhoun family use to live here in Pa and the girls (Lizzie and Laura) went to school with Alyssa and Shalene. Many hours were spent together and at each others homes. This past year the Calhouns felt the Lord calling them to Alaska.....so the girls kept in touch through letters and texting. Well today, the Calhoun family drove down our driveway and surprised the girls!!!!! They are visiting family in FL and coming back to Pa later this month but before they left for FL they stopped by to see the girls. (and brought them some beautiful flowers!) I must say that Alyssa and Shalene were so thrilled to see them - just added a bit of sunshine to their day.

Alyssa

2010-02-03T18:47:00.001-05:00

Lyssa would probably have a fit but I wanted to share this photo with you all....Can you tell that we are getting ready to leave the hospital...she was a bit happy!!!! The other photo is Alyssa with the nurse she had for most of her stay. She was so sweet.

Normal???

2010-02-02T12:52:00.002-05:00

Well, we are told that Lyssa will get to go home this afternoon. Her diabetes was not as advanced as Shalenes. I guess Shalene having ketones was very bad (we were told 10% die and 20% have mental problems when there ketones get too high) Thankfully Lyssa did not have those and we caught Shalene just in time. As for Type 1 diabetes - out of all those who have diabeties 90% are Type 2.....so you tell me....how in the world did I get two kids, within one week, diagnosed with the same thing?

We will stop by and pick up Lyssas stack of meds and such -- and hopefully life will adjust fast and we will get back to NORMAL???

Please continue to pray for us. We want to thank those who have sent flowers and called to check on the girls. But most importantly we want to thank those who have prayed.

I Can't Believe It

2010-02-01T17:07:00.003-05:00

Okay, so Alyssa DOES NOT want me to say this, however, I am asking for more prayers for our family. If you can believe it (which I can NOT) I am now at the hospital with Alyssa -- Yep, you guessed it - same problem as Shalene!!!!! Type 1 is NOT hereditary, so they say, so they are baffled that both of my girls have the same thing within the same month. UGH!!!

Please pray for us!!!

Adjustments

2010-01-27T19:48:00.004-05:00

Shalene is still being spoiled!!! Pastor Matt and Christina stopped by to visited and brought her the beautiful roses and teddy bear. I must say Shalenes room is smelling good.

We have been feeling very overwhelmed with trying to count and get the right dose and such. Trying to keep in mind that we take it one day at a time and eventually things will come naturally to us. Its a little more overwhelming once we arrived home and realized that it was just us now. The counting carbs for each meal and such seems overwhelming, but again, I have to keep thinking that things will click in as time goes and it will become easier. I do ask that you continue to pray for us.....Wisdom is needed and God's touch daily to help us with this overwhelming task ahead.

This evening Shalene has been having an extremly rough time....things are beginning to really bother her and she is having a hard time dealing with all of the life changing things that this involves. Looking at the years to come she is really getting overwhelmed and stressed. .....I ask that you would pray for her to take one day at a time and not get overwhelmed. Its really hard watching your daughter, who has her life ahead of her, go through this. But with faith we are trusting God.

When the nurse spoke with us today to see what Shalenes counts have been she was very happy and said she could not ask for anything better. This was ecouraging -- they are still monitoring things and making sure that they have the correct dosage and such for her or if things need changed.

Back Home

2010-01-26T21:32:00.004-05:00

This is how Clayton was feeling when Shalene was away. He was so sweet...when Steve arrived at the hospital with her bag of jammies and blanket, etc. we found notes stashed throughout all of her stuff. There was even a note taped to the corner of her blanket!!! Such a sweetie.

And this is how He looked once we arrived home....his playmate is home.

Below is what we came home to. Ugh, I must admit that we are feeling a bit overwhelmed. However, the Lord has been with us through this whole ordeal. The first evening in the hospital was very difficult...her IV was in a very uncomfortable spot (her veins would hide) she was having a lot of pain that evening. We prayed together and the Lord filled the room with his presence. Shalene commented about God being there to help her. Shortly after that she had complete relief.

We are told that if we'd have waited another day to bring her in she would have been in the ICU and taken longer to be discharged...so though we are learning we are thankful things are not worse.

Doing Better

2010-01-26T12:14:00.003-05:00

Isn't this the cutest!!!! An arrangement that looks like a sundae...Shalene says that it makes her hungry!!! Its so cute.

Shalene is doing better!!!! Some of her tests are coming back better and Shalene is feeling a bit more encouraged. She has enjoyed the flowers and all the wonderful things that have been sent her way. Many visitors have stoped by and encouraged her.....

They have been wonderful here at the hospital-- the nurses are great and the staff has gone above and beyond with helping us. Shalene will probably be getting at min. of 4 insulin shots a day so life will be taking a big change at our house. (When she first arrived she was getting insulin shots every 2 hours so she is thrilled that that has stopped) The Lord has really been good to us through this whole ordeal and we have seen the Lord working in all things.

Thank you to all who have visted, called, sent flowers and most importantly prayed for Shalene. We do ask that you continue to pray for her as life will not be the same as it had been......things will change and it will take awhile to adjust but I'm sure the Lord will help.

Pray for Shalene

2010-01-25T11:31:00.004-05:00

We are at the hospital right now with Shalene. Our doctor sent her to the ER yesterday afternoon (We are at the Geisinger hosptial) and they have admitted her. At this point they are saying that she has Type 1 Diabetes. (This was VERY unexpected!!!) She had a rough evening with tests and shots every two hours.....these pictures above are this morning after the iv and all were taken out...feeling better. She will be in the hospital for several days until she is regulated and taught all of the stuff that is needed to know....we would appreciate all of your prayers.

Haiti Missions

2010-01-19T22:34:00.007-05:00

Update: Jan 24th -- Here is another blog that you can look at for more photos of the team and what they are accomplishing. There were 2 teams sent out so the photos have some of all of them in. Continue to pray for strength and wisdom for the workers and especially the missionaries who will still be there once our teams leave. Shalene, Alyssa, Phoebe, Stephanie and Sofia worked on getting the baby supplies together....formula, diapers, meds and stuffed animals.

Here is one of the crates Valerie and I compiled....IV Drips, surgical tools, gloves, and lots of surgical items...

Dr. Slaves is one of those going on the trip. Along with Meagan and Matt from our church. Several other local God's Missionary Church nurses will be attending.

Tried compiling the pills (you know all that open space at the top of each bottle) that way we could toss several bottles and make more room.

Rows of supplies....needles, meds, IV's, gloves, etc.

Members of our congregation are joining the medical team that heads to Haiti tomorrow.

The God's Missionary Church has sent several medical groups to assisit the GMC missionary that is in Haiti.

Tonight a group of us (Shalene, Alyssa and Amy among lots of others) gathered and helped package over 30 crates of medical supplies and items to ship out with this group ....thanks to many who donated supplies and helped in this.

You can see updates on the mission trip and what is going on here.

Please pray for safety for our team that goes as well as wisdom and strength.

Farm Show

2010-01-18T22:28:00.004-05:00

Reuben and Clayton enjoying the animals.

Clayton and Reuben LOVED to walk through and get all of the food samples....below is Clayton expressing how much he enjoyed the food.

Here is a view of the arena....I think they said about 6,000 were there for the jr. rodeo. Below are pictures that I had to zoom in ALL the way across the arena.....as you can tell Shalene and Alyssa went off with friends and didn't hang around mom and dad.

Stephanie, Katie and Shalene....blurred because they were all the was across the arena.

John, Alyssa and Phoebe.

Okay, so its blurry but I had to have a little fun...and pink ALL the way.

For those of you who did not attend....here is the butter sculpture. 1,000 pounds of butter -- 10 days to scuplt...will be processed into fuel.

(Okay Tom, hope this is updated for ya!!!)

Catching Up

2010-01-18T22:24:00.002-05:00

Okay - I'm so behind on the blogging...here are pics of Shalene's birthday from Nov. 27th.....The holidays really did me under with getting so behind on everything. Anyways, Stephanies spent the weekend with Shalene. Saturday I took the two out to Red Robin and shopping....they had fun.

More Catching UP

2010-01-18T21:44:00.005-05:00

Well, I'm trying to catch up with my blogging and posts. Here are some pictures of Christmas in Ohio. My grandmother is 93 and not doing the best health wise...we wanted to spend the holidays with her and had a wonderful time.

Here is grandma praising the Lord while they were singing hyms. Shalene and dad along with others were having a great time.

See they really do love each other

This is our New Years Party (above and below....due to Steves grandma passing away we really didn't have a Stahl Christmas) We all gathered at our house and had TONS of food, games and fun.

Marlin and Myrna opening gifts.

Some fancy layered cupcakes that Alyssa created.

A Good Laugh

2010-01-13T09:51:00.003-05:00

AMAZINGLY SIMPLE HOME REMEDIES:

1. AVOID CUTTING YOURSELF WHEN SLICING VEGETABLES BY GETTING SOMEONE ELSE TO HOLD THE VEGETABLES WHILE YOU CHOP.

2. AVOID ARGUMENTS WITH THE FEMALES ABOUT LIFTING THE TOILET SEAT BY USING THE SINK

3. FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE SUFFERERS ~ SIMPLY CUT YOURSELF AND BLEED FOR A FEW MINUTES, THUS REDUCING THE PRESSURE ON YOUR VEINS. REMEMBER TO USE A TIMER.

4. A MOUSE TRAP PLACED ON TOP OF YOUR ALARM CLOCK WILL PREVENT YOU FROM ROLLING OVER AND GOING BACK TO SLEEP AFTER YOU HI T THE SNOOZE BUTTON.

5. IF YOU HAVE A BAD COUGH, TAKE A LARGE DOSE OF LAXATIVES. THEN YOU'LL BE AFRAID TO COUGH.

6. YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE - WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE. IF IT DOESN'T MOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THE DUCT TAPE.

7. IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.DAILY THOUGHT:SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.

A frazzled day. And a camera.

2010-01-07T12:20:00.003-05:00

This is what happens when he comes home from a frustrating day of work.

The play-by-play according to me, his daughter :)
___________________________

So... he goes to work.

He's tired, but he gets through the day and *hopefully :* wires all of that electrical stuff the way its supposed to be.

He then climbs into his truck... and watches for the Miffliburg policemen as he races toward home.

He pulls his truck into the garage and turns the truck off.

(The following is a daily ritual- one that nobody can figure out)

He then sits in his truck. while it is off. in the garage. and he sits there. I think he messes with papers or something... who knows?!? Maybe he just admires his handywork and how good it feels to have a garage.....

Next- he walks into the house.

And this day, the camera is sitting on the counter. Just tempting him. To pick it up.

He yeilds to temptation and.....

This is a true story. I really didnt make it up. (I was uploading pictures for my puppy website when I found these mixed in with all of my puppy pics)

P.S. PLEASE PRAY!!!!!!! He isn't going to be very happy when he finds out about this. I may only have a few days left to live!

♥Alyssa

Living Statue of Liberty

2009-12-29T18:19:00.002-05:00

This picture was taken in 1918, can you imagine the time and effort involved to get 18,000 men into the correct position. Click on picture to make larger and get a better view.

FACTS:

Base to Shoulder: 150 feet

Right Arm: 340 feet

Widest part of arm holding torch: 12 1/2 feet

Right thumb: 35 feet

Thickest part of body: 29 feet

Left hand length: 30 feet

Face: 60 feet

Nose: 21 feet

Longest spike of head piece: 70 feet

Torch and flame combined: 980 feet

Number of men in flame of torch: 12,000

Number of men in torch: 2,800

Number of men in right arm: 1,200

Number of men in body, head and balance of figure only: 2,000

Total men: 18,000

Gram Stauffer

2009-12-22T09:40:00.003-05:00

Steve's Gram Stauffer passed away this morning at 5:00a.m. We would appreciate prayers for the family - especially for Steve's mom, who had been taking care of Gram for the past several years.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-21T20:14:00.000-05:00

May you have a Christ filled Christmas!

Crunchy Carmel Reeses Cookie Bars

2009-12-15T16:55:00.001-05:00

Well, look what I baked today -- along with some mint/grasshopper brownies. For the recipe for the cookie bars above visit picky-palate. They are VERY good.

Cookies Galore

2009-12-10T10:54:00.003-05:00

Here is the photo of all of the cookies we did at the cookie bake.....I still want to do some chocolate chip cookies!!!

Truffles

2009-12-09T10:27:00.003-05:00

Alyssa makes these wonderful cake truffles and truffle pops (she sells them on etsy.com under the name "Tickle my Tummy" Anyway, the Penn View Bible Institute/Academy is having there Christmas Concert this Friday and Saturday....they will have a Victorian Candy Store set up after the concert - this is to raise money for new items the orchestra and choir need. So she volunteered to make cake truffles....I think she ended up with around 120. Kayla came over to help her dip them (Shalene and Clayton took the pics) My favorite are the oreo cake truffles!! YUM YUM

Random Photos

2009-12-08T10:57:00.002-05:00

As many of you know, Alyssa has been selling puppies on line (www.wetpuppykisses.weebly.com) Here is one of Brees puppies that we had to deliever, we neeeded to do a bit of shopping before taking the puppy.

Our Christmas countdown......the kids are enjoying this!

Cookies and More Cookies

2009-12-08T10:39:00.005-05:00

As promised here are some of the cookie bake pictures that I took.... it took us a day and a half but we have our holiday baking done and that is such a wonderful feeling......we also had a wonderful time visiting with each other as we baked. Filling the apricot cookies

Steve taking some of the cookies home -- more to come!

Clayton even got into the spirit of helping!!!!

Courtney working on the thumbprints

We got a little backed up at the stove.

These were all divided amoung 5 families -- we did have help from our daughters and from Susan Lara - she was our teacher for the day and she did a wonderful job. Anywho - each of the 5 familes took home 49.5 dozen cookies. Thats a lot of cookies!

One of my favorite cookies - peach - these have a cream filling and a cherry in the middle......So Good!

Here I am getting ready to fill all of those ladyfingers....well, I did have help! Lyssa loves this job.

Farm Chick Website

2009-12-07T22:54:00.001-05:00

For anyone who loves unique things here is something that is really adorable....great cooking ideas and such.

Cookies

2009-12-04T23:00:00.002-05:00

Pictures are to come

Last evening and today from 9:30 am till 10:00 pm I was at a cookie bake....we made approx. 3,018 cookies or 251.5 dozen....meaning I brought home 50.3 dozen or 603.6 cookies....WOW, I love it....We made: nut rolls, apricot rolls, tassies, amish cookies, mint brownines, peaches, ladylocks, skillet cookies, snowballs, peanutbutter cup cookies, hershey kiss cookies and thumbprints.....Did this with my sister-in-laws Vickies and Vicki. My neice Courtney and Kayla along with several other ladies....lots of fun.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T22:41:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!
Enjoy shopping on Black Friday

Gingerbread Village

2009-11-23T19:54:00.004-05:00

I must admit that I am overwhelmed with how fast the holidays have snuck up on us. I am so not ready for this. So today, we turned on the Christmas music and created our Gingerbread Village. In hopes that we would have a good time and that it would help to spur me along and realize that YES, it is the holiday season and I better get a move on it.

Autumn Splendor

2009-11-16T10:01:00.002-05:00

Update on Steve

2009-11-15T08:56:00.001-05:00

Well, the doctors decided that the medication would cause more side effects than what it would help....therefore, Steve has had another shot in his opposite eye and we are hoping that will clear things up for him...long term....

Alyssa has come down with the flu so we would appreciate your prayers.