Celebrate Spring with Us!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/BouncerTownUSAMoreApril2009?feat=directlink

As it is quite obvious from the above Photo Album... we are enjoying our Spring and wanted to share a bit of it with you! On just about any given day, especially the sunny ones, we have ventured out to have some fun, even a rainy day or two hasn't stopped us! City life is perfect for finding things to do and one of our newest and 'bestest' finds so far, has been "BouncerTown, USA", in Greenwood!!! Of course, you can't go wrong with any one of the many City Parks, either! Aly is all-girl, but that doesn't stop her from having a ball outdoors and we're all three looking forward to a great rest-of-the-Spring and the up-and-coming-Summer together!
We had our Family pictures taken last week for the Church Directory and are anxious to see the final outcome in a few weeks... even though Aly was 'down' with a cold and a bit of an eye infection that day, she went through the photo shoot like a real trooper and we were so very proud of her! We'll be sure to post the pictures for you to see soon.

I want to take time to add a special thank you at this time. This past Saturday, after a very stressful week, Greg gave me an offer I couldn't resist... a SHELLY-NIGHT-OUT! Before Greg and I married, this was something of a 'norm' for me and even after we married, (before we had Aly) I would 'take' one of these every month or two. However, since having Aly I hadn't done so. I have 'splurged' several times over the past year and spent little bits of time with a friend/friends, my mom, Greg, etc., but not anything I'd call real 'personal-time'! So, needless to say, I took full advantage on Saturday evening and headed out on the town. LOL I made my way to Family Christian Bookstore, Dealz, Kohl's, WalMart and stopped off at Panera Bread for a late supper. A few hours to re-vamp, re-new and re-lax were just what I needed!!! To top that little story off, Greg also grilled Pork Chops, Baked Potatoes, California-Style Veggies and Sweet Tea for Aly and I last night! WOW!!! A mere thank you isn't much, but I'll say it anyway... THANK YOU BABY, YOU'RE THE BEST AND I LOVE YOU! You are the best hubby and Daddy...

A "Buckeye-Blitz" Kind of Vacation

Last Tuesday, we made sudden plans to drive over to Dayton, Ohio for IHC. Greg and Aly had never been and I hadn't been since about 2001. We had a marvelous time seeing many friends (and family) that we hadn't seen in years!
We arrived in Dayton on Wednesday, around noon and made our way to the Convention Center by about 2:00pm. We were able to attend the G.B.S. Reception later that afternoon and the Evening Service, as well. By the time we got back to our hotel late that evening, Aly was so wound up she didn't go to sleep til close to 1am and needless to say Greg and I were pretty wore out by the time she did go down!
On Thursday, we joined many of our family members, that were also attending IHC, for a delicious lunch at the Spaghetti Warehouse. Again, during the day and evening on Thursday, we were able to see many people that we hadn't seen in a very long time and truly enjoyed the Mass Choir (300+ voices), as they joined together for the IHC '09 Finale. We've posted a video below for you to view of this amazing moment... some of the crowd had begun to leave, but the angelic music from the 300+ voice Choir and large, live Orchestra sent chills up and down our spines as we stood and experienced this wonderful music! Praise be to God for the liberty we now have in America to honor God in this way!!! (You will need to 'pause' our Penn Palz Favorite On-Line Music, to your right, in order to hear the video properly.)
The highlight of Aly's IHC part of our trip, was when she ate a late-night supper on Thursday, with her favorite cousins... La Rosa's Pizzeria is just the best with that wonderful sweet sauce! Those kids had a ball together!!!

On Friday, we decided to take Aly to the United States Air Force Museum for a little field trip. This was a trip that I'd also taken as a small child and it was fun to watch Aly checking out all those planes. This was an exceptionally interesting place to go at this time, being as big brother Wes, is in the process of joining the USAF! Aly really loved the little red remote controlled plane and thought it was her own because it was 'just her size'. After we left the Museum, we couldn't leave the Dayton-area without stopping by, Graeter's Ice Cream, for a yummy taste of their famous "Buckeye Blitz" dish.

We then drove down to Cincinnati for even more fun! We stopped by to show Aly my home-place from our G.B.S. days and see some of the new renovations that have been made on campus. We, then met up with Memaw and Papaw for supper at City BBQ in Hyde Park. No vacation is complete without something SOUTHERN, right??? We ended our little blitz of a vacation, by allowing Aly to play her energy out at a local city park, before the long ride home. She met a new friend at the Park, Cole, whom we found out attends church with our friends, Phillip and Dorcas. (Such a small world, huh?) We arrived back home in Indiana around midnight... pretty tired out but having had enjoyed our 'surprise' vacation very much!



On Saturday afternoon, I attended my first L.N.O. event, "An Afternoon Tea at The Ruby Pear Tea Parlor". L.N.O. is a new Facebook Group for local gals to have a chance to chill, relax, de-stress and just hang out with friends every other month or so. My personal menu was that of unlimited Dragon Pearl Hot Tea, a homemade Dark Chocolate-Orange Scone (served with Lemon Curd or Berry Spread), a huge Chocolate Covered Strawberry and two of their famous Fat Rascal Cookies. Did you know the only Tea Plantation in the United States is located near Charleston, South Carolina. HMMM, yet another southern touch to my week! Our L.N.O. 'Tea' was fabulous and I can't wait for the next event!
( Well, I have found there is always a way to 'capture a moment'... even when your camera battery is dead or the camera is MIA or just nowhere near where you are at the time... check out the pictorial view of our vacation here: http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/BuckeyBlitzVacation?feat=directlink ) Here's to another fantastic week for everyone and may God bless!

An Easter We'll Never Forget

http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/HappyEaster2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCIb9087knbDiDw&feat=directlink Click Here! to view our Family Easter 2009 Photo Album

The pictures pretty much tell the story... we had a very busy week leading up to our annual Easter Egg Hunt at church. Greg and I were in charge of this event, so you can imagine the behind-the-scene work that had to be done beforehand. We had a wonderful turn out... close to 3,000 eggs were filled, hidden and ready for the kids to 'hunt' when they arrived. There were 7 large prizes given away, in addition to several hundred 'prize eggs', which were hidden with the filled eggs. Aly had a ball hunting eggs and even more fun on her first visit with the Easter Bunny!

The Sunday Morning service was absolutely incredible! The Cantata went exceptionally well and it seemed the Holy Spirit was there from the moment we set our feet in the building. During the Finale, 'Jesus' returned from the grave as the Choir sang, "We Shall See Jesus"... you could feel electricity filling the air, as people began to shout and praise the Lord! Hallelujah, He is risen! He has risen indeed! We are so thankful to be able to raise Aly in services where the presence of Jesus is evident enough one feels as if they can almost touch Him in a physical sense.

We also enjoyed a lovely Sunday afternoon with family. The meal was as delicious as ever and the fellowship was great fun, as well! We are so blessed!!! The kids had a BALL with their Easter Baskets and probably received entirely too much candy!

We trust you all had an incredible Holiday surrounded by those you love, as well...

Did We Skip Over Summer & Fall Right Back Into Winter???

With the chill in the air again, it would seem that we have skipped right over Summer and Fall! Where has Spring gone??? Guess she must just be taking a 'nap'... maybe she wasn't ready to "wake up", yet? No matter, if Spring is awake or not Easter Sunday is just days away and who isn't thinking about the life, death and the Resurrection of Jesus right now? One thought that has been on my mind lately, comes from a great song and says, "Who am I that a KING would bleed and die for me?" However, I am so grateful HE did! The best part of the Easter story is the fact that HE is coming back for ME!!!

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I'm learning a 'new trick', (new-to-me, anyway) on Photo editing and thought I'd share a couple of pictures with you... CLICK HERE to view: http://picasaweb.google.com/thepennfamily2007/ADateAtTheMall?feat=directlink
Well, we've had a very busy week to say the least. We've spent many hours planning the annual Easter Egg Hunt, which is to take place at Church, this coming weekend. Of course, we've spent quite a bit of time on the road shopping for Easter clothes for our Angel-girl, too! Needless to say, Aly is now prepared for Easter Sunday but, there is still much to buy for the Egg Hunt! As you've seen in the photos, we were able to throw a "Mall Date" into the mix, as well!
We would like to send our sympathies out to a dear friend of ours, Dawn (Zimmerman) Pence. She and two of her precious boys suffered a great loss, when her husband, Michael and their youngest son (9 year old) Devin, were killed in a tragic car accident this past Sunday afternoon. Mike had worked the 3rd shift on Saturday night and being very fatigued after the morning services and Sunday dinner, he fell asleep at the wheel. DAWN!!! You and your family are in our thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time!!! We are so sorry for your loss! Remember the song lyrics, "It won't rain always... God's promises are true... the sun's gonna shine in His own good time... He will see you through." We love ya'll!
Now, with one last and final wish for a Happy Easter 2009 to ALL of our Blogger-Palz, we bid you farewell until next week!

April Showers Bring ...

... May Flowers

April showers bring May flowers,

That is what they say.

But if all the showers turned to flowers,

We’d have quite a colourful day!

There’d be bluebells and cockleshells,

Tulips red and green,

Daffodils and Chinese squill,

The brightest you’ve ever seen.

You’d see tiger lilies and water lilies,

Carnations pink and blue,

Forget-me-not and small sundrop

Glistening with the dew.

We’d have fireweed and milkweed,

And many more different flowers.

Mexican star and shooting star

Falling in the showers.

And if all the showers turned to flowers,

On that rainy April day,

Would all the flowers turn to showers

In the sunny month of May?

Due to a very busy week, please watch for a FULL Post next week! Until then ...

(Aly and Papaw, taken this past Sunday, the day before she turned 17 months old)