We made a trip to 'Amish country' yesterday! Meghan, Sara and I are intrigued with the Amish way of living, have read many,many books about it and have adapted some of those ways for our lives. So....after Autumn visiting with us all week, we met her parents, our friends Mike and Jolyn in Sugar Creek, Ohio for a day of seeing the sites, shopping, visiting and enjoying time with our friends. First, the weather held off on the rain until we drove home, so we had a beautiful day to site see. Driving past and around
Tappan Lake was gorgeous! It is so beautiful there! Entering the country, the gently rolling hills, farmhouses and barns were so peaceful and beautiful...we enjoyed the drive
immensely! We met Mike and Jolyn at
Heinis Cheese Factory for our first tour!
This was an interesting trip for me, as I was here with Meghan and Sara 10 years ago...and I spent the day remembering our past trip and seeing things
thru new eyes. My reaction 10 years ago was awe....and a lot of wishing I could live in a similar manner and do a lot of the things that the Amish do.....now, it was interesting to me as we spent the day yesterday, thinking to myself..." I now DO a lot of this" and looking at the different crafts, quilting, and food that yes, I can do these things myself....am I an expert? No...especially in quilting, but I can do it! I've learned so much over the past 10 years....about living simply, enjoying the simple pleasures of life, enjoying simple, old-fashioned living and home arts , cooking and baking from scratch (I have chocolate chip/walnut
biscotti in the oven now, smelling up the house!)....and I think the Lord has led me to study the Amish way of life so much over the past 10 years, to learn from them.....to not be concerned with what the 'world' or 'society' deems "normal" or "in"....to live in the world, but be as
separate as we can, and to live humbly, simply and gratefully!
Here are Autumn, Mike and Jolyn reunited after a week away from each other....they were so happy to see each other!
Our gang touring the cheese factory..it was so neat to see how everything was made...then to eat all the samples! Of course, we brought some cheese home with us!
Jolyn and I....seems the Lord is deepening our friendship very quickly, and drawing our families together as well.
My guys...of course, they had to wear their Penguins matching shirts and hats!
Autumn and Sara....what a pair! They are very much alike, and had a wonderful time together...we're already planning future get-
togethers....and at least once a month visits for our families!
After our cheese factory tour, we drove to Berlin...parked and walked amongst all the shops! Of course, our favorite shop was little used book store! (the girls and I could have spent hours in there!) Mike and Jolyn were such gracious hosts...always waiting while we 'oohed and
ahhed' over things...wandering
thru the craft shops, and quilting shops. From there, we headed to a huge indoor Amish flea market! Wow! It was huge! Tons of craftspeople selling their wares...we all had a great time! Funny....10 years ago I would have bought so much...but now, I got lots of great inspiration to make my own!
On to our last stop....an Amish buggy ride! Ronnie and Anna wanted to do this all day! They loved it! Our horses name was "Shirley" and she would speed up on certain places and the little ones would squeal! We talked about if we only road in these instead of cars, how we would have to live relatively close to everything, and everyone...relatives would have to live close to visit, or they wouldn't see each other very often. Not like our trip yesterday....hop in a car and drive for 2 1/2 hours!
At the same place, we wandered thru a large antique mall...Meghan was in her glory! (I could have spent hours there, but NOT with little ones who want to 'touch and hold' everything!) The little ones saw the animals and saw 6 tiny new kittens. (Of course, Anna wanted to bring them ALL home with us!) Sara and I made a quick stop at a quilt shop (could have spent time there as well, if everyone wasn't starving!)....again, I got some great inspiration from the quilt shop as well.
On to dinner! We went to an Amish
restaurant called Der Dutchman! The girls and I had eaten there with my friend, Stephanie, 10 years ago....and it hasn't changed! Incredibly good food!!! It did NOT taste like
restaurant food....everything was homemade (of course) and delicious! We were served family style...with chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes, stuffing, creamed corn (it was so good!), and fluffy homemade warm rolls....with wonderful apple butter! At the end of this delicious meal...everyone could choose a piece of pie. We were so stuffed! Mike insisted on treating all of us....what a generous spirit he and Jolyn have! We were truly blessed! (we hardly ever go out to eat, all 6 of us....it just is not in our budget!) The weather held off until we were done....then the heavens opened up! Jolyn's son, Michael, called to tell her that there was a tornado warning! The wind was incredible, and the sky was green with the rain coming down in buckets, sideways!.....we ended up following the storm most of the way home...sometimes driving in it, sometimes behind it. We saw some gorgeous lightning strikes lighting up the sky...and some very cool cloud formations as well! Once a
homeschooler, always a
homeschooler...no matter where we seem to be, there is something really cool to learn!
Ron, me, Jolyn and Mike
~This is the end of our visit...while the storm was raging around us! Thank goodness they are coming to stay with us on the 4th of July (Ron's birthday!)....and go to Ty's first birthday party the next day and spend some time with the rest of the family! I feel so very, very blessed that the Lord saw fit to unite our families! My children are all calling them Aunt Jolyn and Uncle Mike....and we are planning on many, many get-togethers in the future! We are planning a trip in August to Ohio, to spend a few days with my friend Stephanie and her family, then driving down to spend a few days with Jolyn and her family....I THINK that Ronnie and Anna will be having a special adventure of their own , staying with Grammy and Buppy overnight for a few days while we are gone.
~Now....it's off to finish the biscotti, and get ready for a graduation party today. We have to finish some Father's day surprises for tomorrow as well!~ Sue
Anna and Dawn's youngest son, Luke are only 6 months apart...and they had so much fun playing together!
Kenna, Briana, my Sara, Maria and Julia....all cousins! Meghan was playing photographer, and successfully avoided being in any pictures!
Ronnie played volleyball with us...along with many other games he was into today! What fun we all had! They had a snowcone machine that everyone thoroughly enjoyed, along with all the great food!
Anna and Maggie, who is Kim's youngest daughter. Anna loves Maggie and follows her around whenever we are together.
Dawn, Kim and I
Anna and Dawn's youngest son, Luke are only 6 months apart...and they had so much fun playing together!
