Ticonderoga and Hikes

The last week in July and first week of August we spent some down time doing some traveling, hiking, exploring, and tripping!  We took a short day trip up north to go hiking and on our way, stopped in Ticonderoga, one of my favorite towns up here.  I always love to stop at this spot with the waterfall, bridge, playground, and pencil museum.  The Ticonderoga No. 2 pencil is from this town, so there's an entire museum (quite small though) dedicated to the making of the pencils.  

We kept driving further north up to Keene, and near Ausable Chasm.  We didn't go To the Chasm, because I don't know how child-friendly it is.  

Stopped at a beautiful lake so the girls could "soak their feet" as they love to do.  Then we continued on to Keene where we hiked to a waterfall called Giants Nubble. 

I mostly love the sound of waterfalls.  I could sit beside one for hours and just close my eyes and listen.  It's soothing like the ocean for me.  

Found a massive mushroom that was over 15 inches tall. 

And a few videos!

 

Those were about it for the photos and videos I managed to get.  I'll be posting again in a few days about our next big adventure in August!

A Tribute to my Grandma

 These past few weeks have been a blur in the saddest kind of way.  I've known for several weeks that I wanted to make a post on here for my own remembrance' sake, but have struggled doing so.  

June 22nd, my Grandma had a stroke and subsequent fall which took her to the hospital for 3 1/2 days.  There were many factors to consider, and she was not doing well.  During that time, my sister kept me informed of her condition and let me know that she was advocating for Grandma to go home to spend her last hours in her own home.  

I woke up Saturday morning early feeling an unexplainable urgency to go try to see Grandma, so I packed a quick bag, jumped in the car with Eliza, and left Dan and the girls here.  

I drove straight to my grandparents house and arrived at 3PM, where my mom was just ready to leave after her 8-hour shift of caring for my Grandma and my oldest brother was going to take over caring for her for the next 8 hours.  

Grandma was not able to talk at this point, and was sedated to keep her comfortable.  I talked with her, and though she did not respond, I believe she could hear me.  At 8PM, my Grandma passed away and went to heaven, where she is no longer in pain.  

I am thankful that I woke up Saturday morning and decided to make the drive down to PA to see Grandma one last time.  That week was all a blur and surreal because I had spoken on the phone with Grandma just a week and a half prior, and written her a letter just after Eliza was born.  It sounds trite to say that I miss Grandma.  I have lived up in NY state now for 4 years.  For the 2 years before that, I lived in MD, and for the 5 years before that, I lived in California except for the summer and Christmas vacations.  So for 11 years now, I've only seen Grandma when I come down to visit, and some of those trips were so short that I wasn't able to see her during them.    

No mater how long it may have been since the last time I saw Grandma though, she would keep writing me letters, and we would call occasionally (not as often though).  And when I was down to visit, I could be sure that she would plan an elaborate meal for us.  That's how Grandma always was.  

This photo is not flattering of me at all.  But it makes me smile.  I had flown home for Sarah and Billy's wedding, and the Monday after they got married, Martha, Daniel and I took Grandma and Grandpa out to eat at Shady Maple Smorgasbord.  We all road together in the car, and Grandma, Martha and I squished in the backseat where I kept using my voice changer app to record people saying things and change their voice to sound like a chipmunk (I admit to being slightly obsessed with doing it because it was SO FUNNY!).  Grandma had just listened to her voice recording as a chipmunk and was laughing and saying "Well that's dumb!"  and I took this photo.  😁

I can regret the fact that I haven't been nearby to see my Grandma much in the last 11 years, or I can enjoy the fond memories that I will always have of the times I did spend with her.  

This group photo was taken at Katie's house on New Years' 2016. 

And this was on one of our visits right after Lucie was born in 2019. 

Grandma made a huge picnic lunch for us: wayyyyyyy more food than we could possibly eat.  Gwendolyn loved the windmill that Grandpa had just finished building.  

I know my thoughts are coming out jumbled a bit, but one thing I've continued thinking of that sort of, hit a bit harder lately (I've always known it) is that every time we spend time with someone, we should live in that moment, remember that moment, and cherish it (cliché, but so true), because we never know when it will be our last memory like that.  

I can't tell you how many times I've thought "Wish I could call Grandma and tell her...." in the last month.  

My Grandma is sorely missed.  I was blessed to have the best Grandma ever.  

 

Welcome, baby Shedd #3!

 I have severely neglected my blog, and keep having so much to write that it overwhelms me so that I don't take the time to make a post.  

Well, I have no excuses today because it is only 5AM, and the thunderstorms outside are so intense that there's no way I'll be going back to sleep.  May as well catch you all up on my life happenings!

First and foremost, a sweet little girl joined our family May 21st at 11:35PM.  Eliza Beth came roughly two weeks before her due date, and the birth went smoothly with no complications.  I was able to again, do a water birth, at home, and that was very nice.  

The friday that she was born, I mowed the lawn, shoveled and spread mulch for the church flower beds, and then prepared that afternoon for a visit from our friends who live in VT.  Made some peach cobbler, cleaned the house quickly, and made the meal, and then our friends arrived.  As soon as we sat down to eat at 7PM (we were running a little behind schedule), I began having contractions.  Thinking they were just the normal braxton hicks, I just kept eating.  When we finished eating around 7:45, Dan suggested we take a walk down the road to the waterfall which is roughly a 2 mile walk.  I suggested to him that we rather drive.  We got in the truck and our friends rode in the truck bed, so I called the midwife on the way there and let her know I might be in labor and we made plans for me to call her back after the girls were in bed at 9.  

When we hiked down to the waterfall, I knew these contractions were real, and not going away.  We enjoyed the water for a few minutes.  I didn't want to tell our friends since they were our guests and plus I thought it'd be odd.  When we all got back to the truck, we piled in, and then I called the midwife back on our way home and told her that I thought she'd better come right away.  

When we got home, we ate some peach cobbler and ice cream and then I broke the news to our friends that I was likely going to have the baby in a few hours.  They were already planning to leave soon by then, but they said quick goodbyes and left for home.  I read the girls their nighttime stories and then helped them brush their teeth before bedtime.  By the time the midwife and assistants arrived, the girls were in bed, dishes were washed, and it was just sitting around for what felt like forever, waiting for things to really really intensify.  They did, fairly quickly, and Eliza was born at 11:35pm.  My wish was that she'd come before midnight because I was hoping to not have to labor into what would feel like the "next day".  

She was our littlest baby at 6 lbs 13 oz.

The girls were very excited the following morning to wake up and meet their little sister.  

Right now, life seems to revolve around changing diapers and feeding the baby.  Eliza does quite well at nights, for which I'm very grateful.  

So that is my biggest news piece.  I'm very thankful that she came early, and didn't make us wait until June.  

I'll probably split the rest of my "news" up into a separate post so that this one isn't so much like a book to read.   

As always, I hope you all are doing well and I hope you enjoyed reading about our newest little Shedd!

Anniversary outings and a "new" old camper

 

A week and a half ago we celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary.  Hard to believe these five years have gone by so quickly.  

Dan surprised me with a day trip away from the girls on our special day.  He arranged the babysitter for the girls, and we were off!  I kept asking him where we were headed but mum was the word.  We drove through Whitehall, on toward Ticonderoga, which is as far north as we have been.  I thought perhaps we were going to the Fort at Ti, but we continued on passed it.  Though it was a rainy day, the drive was absolutely gorgeous!  After driving about 1 1/2 hours, I started seeing signs for Lake Placid and Tupper Lake. Soon we started coming upon the huge sports complex, the sites for all the long/high jumps of the Olympics.  We stopped to take a few photos before entering the town.    

We ate lunch at a cozy little restaurant which overlooked Mirror Lake.  Though it was dreary outside, it was so pleasant to be alone and in a new place.  

I'm usually a very typical, "burger and fries" kind of person, but this time I felt like getting a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw.  Yum!

And because great minds think alike, Dan had the same.  

On our way back home, we stopped in a town called Keene and got some ice cream. 

 

We saw so many gorgeous waterfalls on the way there and back that we both determined we'll have to come back another time when we bring the girls! We may even go camping up that way soon.  

And SPEAKING of camping...we did something crazy!  We got a camper!  Dan found it listed for free on craigslist, contacted the man who was getting rid of it, and we went to pick it up last Saturday.  It had been left parked for over 5 years, so after pumping up the tires, we discovered that one was flat.  Dan had quite a bit of work to do with the air compressor, and generator, and the hitches and such, but we finally got it hooked up and some of the lights worked and the brakes on both sides worked as well.  

We made it home safely going about 40MPH the whole way. Dan has fantastic plans to renovate it and we might be able to do some camping in style!  

It's so handy to have a husband like Dan who can fix anything! 

So that's the news for today!  Anniversary day trips, and new old campers! :)  Hope you all are doing well!  Thank you for reading. 

Bathroom Remodel

 Well folks, it's spring, finally!  A few weeks ago, we had about a week straight of weather in the mid-70's and I jumped the gun and turned off the furnace, quite certain we wouldn't be needing it again.  Well, last week I was surprised to have two hard frosts in a row, several days of weather in the 30's and 40's and then out of the blue, a snowstorm!  We got about 3 inches of snow on Wednesday.  The next day it melted away but continued snowing all day.  I'm pretty sure that was the last of it.  Winter just didn't want us to forget that he'll come back in November, a few short months away.  

Needless to say, the furnace is back on.  

Dan completed work on the house he was renovating, so he was anxious to do a project here at the house where we live for a change.  Since we moved into the church parsonage nearly 4 years ago, we have not made any adjustments to the living quarters of the house.  But there have certainly been some things that needed changing.   

The downstairs bathroom has had this very large, jacuzzi tub in it since before we moved in.  While it is a nice feature, it was impractical for us, because you'd turn it on, and after 3-4 inches of water was in it, the water was going cold.  You'd have to turn off the water, wait for it to heat up again, and then start again.  By that time, the water you'd already run was cold, so essentially, your option was a cold bath or a mostly cold bath.  

Also, the previous pastor here made the decision to put this tub in where there was previously the washer and dryer.  Since we've lived here, the washer and dryer have been in the upstairs bathroom, which I didn't mind so much...except that the previous pastor took this closet away from the master bedroom in order to install the washer and dryer. So since we've been here, we haven't had a closet.  Dan has to keep his clothes in the office, and I keep mine in the girls' bedroom closet.  But as you can imagine, the girls room is going to be more crowded soon, and we'd like to have a closet.  

The flooring in this downstairs bathroom was installed incorrectly and had huge bubbles underneath it.  So Dan started with removing the tub and these strange steps getting up to it.  Lucie had fun peeling the flooring up.

Such a big helper!

Tub is gone!!! Yay!

Dan installed new sheet rock.

Then he painted the bathroom a new color I chose.  I prefer blues, greys and shades of white to any kind of pink....

We got a new used vanity off of facebook marketplace, and some new flooring that I Love!!!

And now I have a beautiful new laundry room and bathroom that is practical.  

I definitely am very happy with how it turned out.  

We are so excited to have a summer intern coming to help us at the church this summer.  She will be staying in our downstairs spare bedroom and this will be her bathroom, so it is nice to have it complete before she arrives in this next month.  

Hope you all are well!  April seemed to fly by, which I'm grateful for!  One month closer to having our new little Shedd arrive!

Beauty Surrounds Us

Has this year been crazy or what???   Last year at the beginning of March, I never could have imagined where our country would be today.  

Quite honestly, I've refrained from mentioning much about the events that have that transpired this past year because it is talked about, heard, and thought about by people so constantly that I figured it might be nice to be able to go somewhere (perhaps Virginia's blog!) where one wouldn't have to be bombarded with more of the same.  

So that's why I don't mention it.  But like everyone, we've been affected by it.  Mostly the church and us.  People who are christians and whom I've known for years as faithful followers of Christ have become bitter and angry at a pastor/leader in their church who either continued having church, or shut down a church.  Who either followed every mandate known to man, or didn't...who followed partial guidelines presented, or who followed all...

My husband, like all pastors in this country, never could have foreseen the impact of a virus with a 98% recovery rate upon God's church and His people.  

Some people will never go back to church because of a virus...  

And the hurts that pastors have had to carry this year with having people mad at them NO MATTER WHAT they ultimately had to decide will be enough to cause many to quit.  Many pastors I know already have quit.  

Dan's personality is one that is high-energy, and constantly moving.  I'm thankful for that, since this past year could have hurt so deeply that he would have quit, if not for the fact that he continued to focus on the future.  A man who loves to sit and think and not be active much would have been much more deeply hurt perhaps.  

Dan looks for things to do with his hands when life gets discouraging.  He rakes gravel, he builds, he fixes vehicles, he trims bushes...and for that I'm very grateful.  

Despite the craziness of this year, have you taken time to notice things like that?  

I have.  

Despite the discouragements and frustrations of this year, have you taken the time to look at the beauty that surrounds you?  We each have something beautiful around us: even if it's something as simple as a potted plant on your kitchen windowsill.  Maybe even a freshly cleaned mirror!  Look for the beauty!

We did this the other day when we took a walk down the road to our favorite local waterfall.  I've posted photos of this place before, but I love it so much, that here it is again.  

Despite the weather being 50-degrees, the area by the water still had about a foot of snow, since the forest is dense and the sun hardly can peek through the trees.

A short video of the falls.  I could listen to that all day.

We even managed to get a family photo!  

So...if you've read this far, go find something beautiful to focus on today!  I just ate a brownie, and while it didn't look beautiful, it tasted very beautiful, so it could be something as simple as that! 

There's too many discouraging things we COULD focus on that would draw our attention away from the giver of beauty- GOD.  Don't focus on those things...focus on the beauty: and ultimately, the Giver of that beauty.  

 

School for toddlers

 

Greetings from thawing-out NY! I was glad to hear from several of you that you take time to read my blog still.  I enjoy writing posts, even though they may not be regular.  But knowing that I'm not just posting for my own benefit is important, so thank you for those of you who reached out and let me know you still read it.  

When I first found out that I was pregnant with my second daughter after only 3 months postpartum after Gwendolyn was born, I was a bit overwhelmed.  Some people were saying things like "Oh wow, you'll have your hands full!" and "Hope you can keep up with two toddlers at once!"  

And others said more encouraging things like "I think it's nice having them close together."  or "My two who are a year apart are still best friends today." 

When Lucie was born, I spent about 2 months being slightly frazzled, but once she was out of the tiny infant stage, things improved.  Looking back now, I'd want it no other way.  

This past year I've particularly loved seeing them grow and learn.  

  Several years back, one of our church's previous pastors had thought of starting a school, and had stored the church attic full of old wooden desks.  Because I love to teach, I brought over 2 small wooden school desks from the church back in October.

I have no desire to push my girls to learn a vast list of things before they are even officially in school, but Gwendolyn showed a desire to learn more, and to have structure.  

We began with one day a week, but they loved school so much that we took to doing it twice a week.  We now do school on days when it fits my schedule.  

The girls love to paint  

We always have a snack time mid-school time.

They each have a preschool workbook they use.  Lucie just colors each picture in hers, and Gwendolyn doing hidden picture puzzles, mazes, tracing, and matching.  They aren't special books...just ones that people have given the girls for birthday presents or Christmas.  

I am by no means an expert in the area of raising children!  But if I've learned anything, I've learned that my girls thrive under a schedule/plan.  If there is ever a day (we had a few of these in my first trimester of this pregnancy) when I am not able to rise from the couch for long enough to do anything, the girls go haywire.  When they know that there is a scheduled play time, they play nicely.  But if I say to them "Go play" without adding something like "for 10 minutes while I make this bread and then we will do...."

I don't know if it's just my children....but they don't do well with open-ended play times.  

The other thing I've begun to implement is helping with folding laundry.  I've had to relax a little bit on having all of the washcloths facing the same way folded exactly into a square.....

But Gwen is able to fold all of the kitchen/bathroom handtowels and washcloths now.  She takes great pride in it.  

The last thing I'll mention about this subject of raising two girls who are a year apart is that they love to explore.  Whether that is going on a short hike, walking down the road to see where the pileated woodpecker is pecking holes in a tree, or going to the local library, go EXPLORE!  

For awhile last year, our library was closed, and that made us quite sad.  But when they opened, even though they wouldnt allow any kids in the kids room, and we could come by appointment only, we went.  Each week, the girls would read the books we brought home and they've really grown to love reading since we began our library ventures.  

Our library has a second floor entirely full of taxidermy (a natural history museum).  I take the girls there at least once every other month.  

This last time we went, they had a small childrens table and chairs with a stack of books set up.  

Gwen and Lucie sat right down and read and read and played with the puppets for about 35 minutes.  

So what have I learned in the past year of raising these two?  I've learned to seize every opportunity for learning possible.  When I am writing letters, Gwen and Lucie do as well.  When I am folding laundry, they are helping.  When I am starting the laundry, they are helping me put the detergent and dryer sheets in...

When we go for a walk, we point out all the different types of birds we see and their colors.  We count fence posts.  We read books....constantly.  

We do everything we can to make learning enjoyable, and not a bore.  

So far, it's working, very well!  

It takes discipline and diligence as a parent to constantly be guiding and directing every situation, experience and activity.  But it will pay off.  Soon I know that Gwendolyn will be reading on her own, or reading to her baby sister.  Soon Lucie will be able to get down the crayons on her own and color a lovely picture, AND stay in the lines!  

But everything good comes with time.  And it comes because I'm working with them now.  

So if you're a mom, don't quit working with them, no matter how busy you become.