An evening without pictures

One of the things we love about living in Marietta is the "small town feel." There's something wonderful and romantic about a small, old town, rich in history, with traditions all its own. Marietta, for us, is the epitome of all of these things.

Tonight was the annual lighting of the Christmas tree in town. We had actually almost forgotten about it, but another cute Marietta tradition (Santa riding up and down the streets on a firetruck with the red lights spinning all the while shouting "Merry Christmas! Join me at Old Town Hall at 7:00 when we'll light the Christmas tree!") reminded us. We saw the firetruck and flashing lights coming and made it out onto the front porch in time for the kids to wave to Santa. And of course, Santa waved back. Ryan and I looked at each other and said "Oh, goodness, that's tonight!" We even had it on our calendar.

So we hurriedly ate our dinner and got bundled up. We wanted to get there early this year because they are VERY punctual about the whole tree lighting thing and we didn't want to miss it like we did last year. (We were about 42 seconds late last year. Like I said, VERY punctual!) We hopped in the car and drove to the center of town (about a two minute drive at 19 miles per hour). We parked along Market St. and walked over to the Old Town Hall Museum. We got there in time to see Santa and Mrs. Claus ride up on the firetrucks. They were undoubtedly reminding Marietta residents right up until show time! They came off the truck, greeted everyone and then the tree was lit. It actually caught us by surprise because there were no countdown! There was a cute little band playing Christmas carols. It was absolutely picturesque. Then we marched on over to Old Town Hall (just across the street), where everyone waits in line to sit on Santa's lap and then have some cookies and punch. Yes, cookies and punch for all the children.

And there are no pictures of this lovely evening. I'm sure that other people were taking some delightful pictures of the tree, the lights, and Santa. But not us. We even had the camera. But the camera doesn't work well without the battery, which was sitting on the kitchen counter after being freshly charged this afternoon. So, it was an evening without pictures. We'll just have to store the images of this fun adventure in our minds.

Okay, okay...here's your update.

A dear friend recently told me "update your blog!" (Yes, J.M. I'm talking about you!) So here's our update.

Today is Thanksgiving, a day to give thanks for everything there is to be thankful for. I think this year my list is nearly infinite, but I'll try to sum it up:

1. For a God who loves me deeply, passionately and completely, and never expects me to be anything I'm not. And you know what? When all is said and done, I get to spend eternity with Him, this God who created me and loves me so perfectly.

2. For my husband, a man who I am blessed to share life with.

3. For my children, two incredibly special boys who are the joys of my life (okay, so not 100% of the time, but we're being thankful, remember?).

4. For my family (both sides) who supported us when we lived in Colorado and who are still supportive today.

5. For my friends, both near and far, who are a bunch of incredible women. I never dreamed that friendships could be like this.

6. For my church. This one probably should have been higher on the list. What an incredible place. It is an honor to be part of the LCBC church community.

7. For my LIFEGroup. I love you guys so stinkin' much. 'Nuff said.

8. For my sweet Christian Egyptian friend, Triza Habashy, who lives down the alley. She has opened my eyes to so many things.

9. For my house, the labor of love that it is. What a cool project.

10. For our two vehicles that have more miles on them than I ever thought they could.

11. For God's Creation. The mountains, the ocean, the autumn leaves, the stars, the clouds, the sunset, the sunrise, the birds, the flowers, the rivers, the tigers, the horses...

12. Speaking of animals, for my pets. Otis (our nine-year-old Greater Swiss Mountain Dog who has surpassed the average breed life expectancy of eight. I always knew he was above average), Molson (our slightly deranged Australian Shepherd who is loyal to us in so many ways), and Callie (my sweet kitty who seems to know exactly when I need snuggles).

From here on, they are no particular order...just a stream of thoughts.

13. For books like "Captivating" and "Fresh Brewed Life" and "Evangelism Without Additives" - books that challenge me to move and grow.

14. For music. Man oh man, do I love music. Nearly all of it.

15. For my computer - my window to the world. Oh, and technology in general. Do you realize how much fun stuff God has given us to play with?

16. For my journal. My verbal vomit masterpiece.

17. For hobbies - scrapbooking, reading, crocheting, tennis, biking, hiking...

18. For Penn State. Seriously.

19. For Christian counselors. I could go on and on about the value of this one...

20. For quiet spots with time to talk to Jesus.

Okay, so that's just 20. Just a sampling. But it's me. What are you thankful for?

Love to all,

Cindy

Keeners' September Happenings

In September, things started to calm down a bit for us. School was back in full swing, travel slowed down, and we got into a rhythm. Of course, there was still plenty of fun to be had. Since our move back to Pennsylvania two years ago, so much of our memorable times are with family. One such occasion was over Labor Day weekend. Denise suggested that we all head over to Mt. Gretna since this was the last weekend that the Jigger Shop would be open. Mount Gretna is an adorable mountain vacation community, and the Jigger Shop is their fabulous ice cream shop. To see photos of our time at Mt. Gretna, click here.

We also spent the weekend of September 15th at the beach. This weekend was particularly nice because my Saling grandparents were there as well as my aunts, uncles and several cousins from that side of the family. It was quite breezy, but we still managed to spend some time on the beach. Of course the beach is Drew's favorite place to be. He didn't care that it was a little chilly and breezy, he just went about doing his thing. Mostly, his thing was digging. And digging. Oh, and did I mention digging? The funniest thing about it was that he never put the shovel in the sand in the same place twice. He would dig, toss the sand in the air, shift over about a foot or so, and then dig again. Here are some photos of his digging escapades.

We finished off the month with a wonderful family dinner at Mom Keener's. She makes incredible chicken pot pie, and we were more than happy to gather together to eat and hang out together. We even had a little adventure! Mom's van needed a new tire, and Keener Tire Service (originally owned by Linc Keener, Ryan's grandfather) is right around the corner, or across the corn field, depending on how you look at it. We decided to pile in the van to take it over to Keener Tire Service and then walk back. Instead of taking the road to the shop, we took the lane. And the walk back was a lovely autumn evening stroll. Check out our photos here.

So that was our September. Overall, a good month. What will October bring?

What has the Keener family been up to?

I realized that I haven't talked to some of you for quite a while. So here's a little update.

We are still working on our 1800's labor-of-love house in Marietta. We haven't accomplished much over the summer because we've been doing lots of fun stuff including Dutch Wonderland (click on the link to see pictures of our time at DW), a trip to Virginia, and a trip to Washington D.C.

Ben started first grade!! He attends Riverview Elementary school, which is just over a mile from our house, so he and Ryan often ride bikes to school. He really likes his teacher (Miss Wasakoski - not the easiest name for a bunch of first graders, but Ben manages all right) and has already made several friends.

Drew goes to preschool two days a week at the Hildebrandt Learning Center in Mount Joy. He is also quickly making friends (those of you who know Drew well know that he makes friends easily WHEREVER he goes).

Ryan continues to work for Intel and is branching out into new and more challenging projects under a new manager. As many of you know, Ryan lost his father to multiple myeloma on July 1st. Part of Ryan's way of dealing with his dad's death was to build a tree house for our boys. Now when I say tree house, I really mean tree mansion complete with a deck! This thing is impressive! Ryan encouraged them to decorate the walls inside in any way they want, so they have been busy painting. They love it! If you come over, you'll need to sign and date one of the walls!

I (Cindy) am on staff with the kidMinistry at LCBC (Lancaster County Bible Church a.k.a. Lives Changed by Christ), where we have been attending for the last two years. I love it! It is mainly an administrative role, and I get to work with a fun group of people who are passionate about reaching kids and teaching them about their value in Christ. There are 16 of us on staff in the kidMinistry department alone, so there is never a dull moment!

Keeners' New Blog!!

Okay, yes, it really is 4:14 a.m. But here's the story...

I was sleeping soundly when I heard the door to the boys' room opening (it's got a little bit of a creak to it. Actually as Drew would say, it's a "big bit"), but then heard no little footsteps out into the hallway. I decided to get out of bed and check it out. As I entered the hallway, I noticed that the lights were on in the boys' room (again, not a shocker since this is one of Drew's middle-of-the-night hobbies). I peaked in and saw Drew sitting on his bed with all of his "friends" in his arms (Eeyore, Bear, and Cow). I asked him what he was doing.

"Nothing," he said.

"Okay, well you need to go back to sleep," I wearily replied.

Drew - "But I don't know where my puppy is."

Me - "Let's just find him in the morning. Let's go back to sleep."

Drew - "Please find him." (Sad, lonely tone of voice in full swing.)

At this point, I crouched down to check under the bed ("friends" often slip between the bed and the wall and end up on the floor), but Puppy was not to be found. Then I remember that he had taken him to preschool on Monday and I hadn't remembered seeing Puppy since we brought him home in Drew's backpack.

Me - "I think Puppy is downstairs in your backpack."

Drew - "Please get him." (Sad tone still very much present.)

Me - "Okay, I'll be right back."

So, after snuggling my littlest man and his puppy back under his covers, I retreated back to my bed for what I hoped was a few more hours of good sleep. Ha. Very funny. As I tossed and turned to get comfy, I heard the loud shrieks and cries of cats fighting. Awesome (Um, for those of you who don't know me very well, I tend to use sarcasm from time to time). Callie is outside and is known to be the neighborhood snob. So, slippers go back on the feet, and I head downstairs. I open the front door, am quickly greeted by the chilly night air (I'm not exactly dressed appropriately for outside activities at this point), and call for Callie. After a bit of convincing, she comes inside.

Now I realize that I'm not all that sleepy and actually a little bit hungry and so sleep is not probable at this point. So I sit down at my computer to check email. Earlier in the day, I had gotten an email from Becky Wile, a wonderful friend who has started a blog for her family (www.wilefamily.blogspot.com). I hadn't previously checked out their blog, so I decided to take a look. Cool stuff!!!

So here I am. That's the story of my night. Actually, that's only part of the story. The night also included a large pile of Molson's regurgitated candy corns at the top of the steps, but that's another counseling session.

I'm sure you'll hear from us again soon. Love to all....

Cindy