Hertzler Doings-Dec. 21-27, 2009

Mon.-Today, Susan and I watched 'Julie and Julia' again. We watched for 30 min, worked for 30 min, watched for 30 min. and so on. I was so inspired that I made a double batch of cornmeal venison scrapple, a batch of homemade rolls, 6 lbs of venison sloppy joe mix, and a very large turkey. Susan is working on her rabbit cage. Suddenly, their are two rabbits who are very pregnant and she needs to make sure they are separated.(Post note: We now have 13 baby rabbits.) She is diligent in her care for animals and documents the things she learns. We watched 'Christmas with the Kranks' in the eve. before Phil and Philip got home( around 8:30.)

(I am rethinking the reasons that I blog. After viewing the movie about the girl who blogged through Julia Child's cookbook in a year, and checking out my friends 12 favorite blog sites, I realize that I don't come close to being a really good blogger. But do I want to have a wide readership? Didn't I start this with the intention that my family would have something special to read when I am dead and gone and hopefully before that as well? I have a few close friends who read what I write and that is gratifying but what if no one read what I wrote. Would I still write? Would I write for myself and would I write for God in case He wanted me to write the things on His heart and His word? I would. I would still write. And I must move beyond the desire to hear a word now and then about whether what I write means anything to anybody else. At the right time, God will give me that reassurance. Meanwhile, I pray that if there is something that I write that someone needs to read, God will lead them to my blog on that particular day, and they will be blessed and learn to trust God more and not give a hoot about the one who wrote the words. Blogging without receiving feedback, is one more way of being invisible. And that is a lesson I am learning at this stage in my life. )

Tues.-Susan and I spent most of the day with Betty and Kelly in Farmville. It's our Christmas tradition. We met at Amy's to get our hair done. Lindsay showed up with Addison to get her ears pierced. I held her on my lap while Amy got the earring gun ready on one side and Kelly F. was on the other. On the count of three, they pulled their triggers. Adi stayed relaxed in my arms and gave one little whimper while her good mother hid behind a large hand-held mirror and fought the guilt feelings that the Walmart clerk sent her way when she purchased the stud gun. "You are not going to pierce the ears of that child, are you?" she asked with an 'it is my business' attitude. Adi's ability to remain unfazed helped Lindsay get over her guilt feelings quickly and Adi looked so adorable in her little diamond earrings.
We went to Macado's for lunch and we gave Betty and Kelly some consumable chocolate candy and Betty gave the girls identical frog fleece pajama pants. Kelly gave Susan a WOW CD and Betty gave me a movie. I thought that our getting together was our gift to each other, but since Betty's love language is gift giving and mine is most likely 'quality time', the appearance of our gifts looked different.
We then went to The Daily Grind where I picked up Michael's gift for Freeman and Betty picked up a package left there for her as well. I had a good talk with Nanette. What a treasure she is.
Then we went to 'The Sleeping Bee' and 'The Wooden Heart' and Walmart. Oh my. That was crazy but it had to be done. We parted ways there and Susan and I went to the Shoe Store and got her some warm boots. We went and picked up some goodies at a friend's house and stopped in at the Bantons to check on Adi's ears and borrow some movies. Susan and I came home and put away our things and watched the Hoosier movie which was really well done. Michael and Philip went to Christi's party at Harvest and Philip shot Nerf bullets at the guys in Christi's Quatemalan pictures. (She showed pictures of her time over there.) Soon after we went to bed, I discovered that we had no water. And I had no water in the tub!

Wed.-Philip fixed our water problem this morning before going to work. He just flipped a switch and it came on. Running water makes life so much easier. I was about to fill the toilet tank with snow. The Edmonstons came over and we showed them how to take care of rabbits, cattle, and the wood stove. We took Susan's needy rabbit and her frogs to Lori who fell in love with the cuddly bunny. Made monster cookies for the boys-Chace, Erik, and Daniel P. were here in the afternoon. The boys made a fire down at the river and roasted some venison steak. Philip browned burger and added cheese dip and salsa and kept it warm in a crock pot. They came in the house and ate it with tortilla chips. Dan's folks lived in Morgantown years ago and moved out to Wisconsin. He's so easy to be around. He told Philip the story about his brother Derek. Derek and Philip were in the mother taught preschool at Conestoga. We were at the Petersheim farm and were looking at their pond. I was on the dock with Derek and heard a noise. I turned around and he wasn't there. Looking into the water, I saw him struggling, wide-eyed, to get to the surface. I reached down and pulled him out with his hair. Dan, Chace, and Erik are boys I would be proud to call sons along with my own. Made 12 turkey sandwiches for road trip tomorrow.

Thurs.-Left Va. at 10:45 and arrived in Elverson 6 hours later. Got to talk with Karen about Robert for awhile. Met at Mom and Dad's with 50 other family members and neighbors and went Christmas caroling from 7-10. At one point, 2 snowmobiles full of people pulled up to our cars and asked if they could have the experience of caroling with us at one place, so we went to Phil's cousin Dave's place right across the road. My highlight of the eve. was the opportunity to sing for Arnie, Esther, and Rachel. Esther looked so good, even after her surgery on Monday, and she sang all the words of the songs with us. It was an emotional experience to see her after knowing bits of her struggle after the fall that injured her brain, her rehab, her surgeries, etc. She's going to make it and have quite a story to tell.
After caroling, we went to Jim and Debra's for food and fellowship. It was good to catch up with some of our friends. Got to bed around midnight.

Fri.-Merry Christmas! Went to Mom and Dad's for our noon meal of turkey, filling, gravy, green beans, cole slaw, cheesy carrots, mashed potatoes, cranberry salad, raspberry fluff, rolls, butter, jelly, Karen's three desserts....We sang carols while we waited for Dave and Anne and incorporated their names in a song as they walked in the door. "Glory be to God...here comes Dave and Anne..." We had 33-34 people in Mom and Dad's kitchen. We exchanged gifts in the afternoon and played 'Now you have it, Now you don't'. Janelle gave us a promise of a copy of her book coming out in March-"Seasons of Solace". The kids played the Farming Game, Monopoly, pinochle, etc. The adults sat around and talked. Paul showed me Katie's honor solo of 'O Holy Night' on his laptop. So beautiful and pure. Spent some bittersweet time with Annie, hearing and experiencing some of her life's story. Susan spent the night at Jim's, sleeping in the LR with her cousins.

Sat.-The boys went and visited some of their friends and ate breakfast at Shady Maple. Phil, Susan, and I went to see my mother, where I experienced another highlight. She looked great! She is down to 3 mg. of prednisone a day compared to 60 mg in August. It's been a rough year for her. She had a fever for 5 months and the finally diagnosed her with vasculitis in her lungs in Aug. Then we went to see Anne and Dave's house near Bowmansville and piled in their vehicle and went to Weaver's store where Phil bought some boots and hard pretzels. We stopped at King's store and got some bean dip, tortillas, cole slaw, and orange gumdrop slices. After we got back into our own car, we went to Walmart to get ice cream, batteries, and firm toothbrushes. Came back to Joe's. Susan had a little time with Grandma H. before we went to my oldest brothers place in Lanc. My brother is a gourmet cook among many other things. He served clam chowder and salad as appetizers. Philip ate 6 bowls of the soup and saved the turkey, ham, oyster filling, gourmet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, harvard beets, jello salad, celery and olives, rolls, butter, jam, dried corn,etc. for the rest. Everyone brought cakes or cookies and we were filled to the gills. Kelly and her husband came and little Noah gave me a hug right away. My brother has two grandchildren too and my sister's son and his family from Ohio were also there . Five great grandchildren for my mom. I remember my great-aunts and I hope that I can be as great of a great aunt to these children as they were to me. I helped mother with the traditional game with the grandkids-'Now you have it, now you don't.' It's been 7 months since my nephew's death and my sis-in-laws, my mother and I, spent some bittersweet time with my sister, as she talked about him, and showed us a hard back creative memory book about him that a friend had put together. She also showed us what his gravestone looks like. It is black and etched with a wildlife scene. The words, 'In His presence is fullness of joy...' is also etched in the granite. She reminds herself about where he is and what he is experiencing and that helps a little when she misses him the most. His absence has left a big gap in our family and I am filling my own personal Abie-gap with the awareness that every living person around me is more precious than ever, and I want to treat them with great love, because really, I don't know how long I will have them. While people are alive is the time to show them how important they are to me. We got back to Joe's around 9:30 and went straight to bed.

Sunday-Nice leisurely coffeecake breakfast with Joe and Karen. Church at Hopewell at 10:30. So wonderful to see our friends. How lovely to hear the voices of those across the aisles singing during worship. Good sermon, too. The Mast family gathered at 1:00 in the Fellowship Hall for their annual Sunday after Christmas reunion. Everybody brings food and place settings. Each of the Mast siblings got up and shared a highlight of their 2009 year and a childhood memory and then led in a Christmas song. There were 8 siblings represented. We've been without Aunt Miriam for two Christmas's I think. I noticed several things. First of all, there really is "Love at Home"-the song Uncle Milford led. And, every grandchild is handsome or beautiful. And, they can all sing. And they are all nice and responsible individuals. I had mothers talking about their daughters and saying how wonderful they are. We all exclaimed over each other's children's growth. One of the cousins had finally adopted two children...a court battle of 4 years. We ate lunch with Jitter and Freda and Jit gave Phil a book of hunting stories to read for a Christmas gift. Oh-we were about to leave but then some of the cousins asked Phil to please sing, 'Forever Young' so the Hertzler boys got up and asked Anne to come up too, and first, they sang, "Stand by your Anne..." which they sang at Dave and Anne's wedding reception. Then they sang 'Forever Young.' Some of the relatives told Phil that this is their highlight every year.
We left around 3:15 and got home around 9. Unpacked everything and got to bed around 10:30.
Dave and Anne are hoping to come see us in Feb. Katie-end of March, and Karalee in Aug. John and Terry are hoping to come in Jan. Last year, we didn't have as many visitors from Pa. but there was a wedding and several funerals...Maybe this year, I won't get as homesick, with family coming down to visit and mother doing better.