Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few." ~Matthew 9:37
The next two days are relatively uneventful, although we make it to our hotel in Reading, Pennsylvania, on Friday afternoon. We settle into our hotel room, planning to visit with Danny's brother, Dominic, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Saturday, we just hang out at Dominic's house, catch up on all the news, and have dinner together. But the next day, Dominic picks us up at the hotel early, and drives us to a beautiful apple orchard/farm. Once there, we meet up with his son, who is also named Dominic, his wife, Heather, and their five-year-old son, Vito.
Vito sitting in the pumpkin patch!
Heather is in the red sweatshirt. Her cousin, Peter, is toting the pumpkin wagon behind his wife. Vito and his cousin, Cat, are holding hands. If you look to the left in the distance, that's me talking with Dominic, the younger.
The two Dominics!
Three generations
The race is on!
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We're going to order a pizza. It tasted great!
While Vito plays in the hay maze . . .
And here I am with my bag of apples.
Before we know it, it's time to pack up the cars and head over to Dominic's and Heather's home for an afternoon visit and a lovely supper of chicken pot pie in the evening. Vito has to give his cousin a parting hug. :)
It has certainly been a tremendous day filled with fun, family and new friends. It made both Danny and I wish, not for the last time, that our family members didn't live so far away . . .
Amen!
What a beautiful day you had with your extended family! My kind of day...to an apple orchard and pumpkin patch with young ones in tow! I love seeing the excitement in young Vito's face as he enjoys all the activities. He reminds me of the way our grandson Noah was at that age. Those are sweet memories. They grow up so fast. I do understand your last sentence ever so much. Our grandson is now 23 and lives in Maine and we haven't seen him now in about 4 years, and it really hurts not to be able to see him more often. But moving to Maine is not an option for us...and I understand your dilemma too, with those beautiful 3 granddaughters living so far away. (((hugs))) Will you be able to get together any time during the holidays? Praying for you, sweet friend. I totally understand.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your kind and thoughtful words here, Pamela! We're hoping to see the grands over the Christmas holidays, but nothing is set in stone yet. We did get to visit with them later in the sequence of this recent trip - a short visit, but so sweet! I will be writing about it two posts from this one.
DeleteI do hope you will get to see your grandson sooner than later, my friend. They do grow up way too fast . . .
Love and blessings!
What a lovely time you had meeting up with family again. As you say, it is so difficult when people live so far away. Even here in the UK, where distances are shorter, people seem to be so far away. We connect via email and phone whenever we can.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you and your whole family, Martha.
I certainly hear you, Victor. Maybe it's that I'm getting older, and time seems to be going by too fast for my taste, but I find myself missing family daily. We do stay in touch, though, via email and phone chats. I especially love FaceTime calls with my daughter and the girls.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Family time is always the best.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that, Glynn!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Time with family is such a precious gift, isn't it? Of course, we have to approach it as that. Am so enjoying your storytelling of your latest adventures. God's blessings and Happy Thanksgiving in case I miss you next week my friends.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is a precious gift from God, J. D. I'm glad to know you've enjoyed my storytelling, too. I'm going to try to squeeze in two more posts before Thanksgiving. Hope you have a wonderful holiday!
DeleteLove and blessings!
What a delightful day spent in the fresh air. I love that photo of Vito sitting on the hay bale. You're so cute with your bag of apples! Good times!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliments, Myra! Yes, it was a great day being outdoors; walking on uneven ground was really helpful for my physical therapy practice. It's one of the cited goals, and I was able to meet it, finally!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Dearest Martha Jane,
ReplyDeleteThat sounds and looks like a meaningful family visit!
Your family members by no means live far away... compared to ours living 5,281 miles away—one way that is and expensive flight.
See final photo here:
https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2014/03/happy-mom-on-her-90th-birthday-thanks.html
Yet we did go home to visit 67 times in total—regardless the heavy sacrifices.
Hoping you will do this more often as it is by no means too far.
Big hugs,
Mariette
PS and don't even talk about our foster–daughter Anita living 11,806 miles flying away ONE WAY: https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2012/07/fly-with-us-to-jakarta-indonesia.html
ReplyDeletehttps://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2016/07/foster-daughter-anita-on-other-side-of.html
ReplyDeleteThat is a long trip, indeed, Mariette, but you all did well to get back "home" as many times as you did. I will check out the posts your referenced here.
ReplyDeleteLove and blessings!
Thanks for checking out my previous posts Martha Jane—we had a funeral today so I'm late in replying...
DeleteI know you had to be preoccupied, Mariette. I truly appreciate your getting back to me.
DeleteLove and blessings!
💞
DeleteYour photos say it loud and clear: nothing's better than spending time with family! And I know just what you mean, that you wish family lived closer. I often wish the same!
ReplyDeleteI think that's something we all long for, Nancy, when we can't live close together. Sometimes I find myself missing my kids and grands so much, that it physically hurts. So grateful for this time we had.
DeleteLove and blessings!
I love these photos and descriptions, Martha! What a fun visit. This turned out to be such a memory-making trip for you and Danny. God bless!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Karen! Yes, wonderful experiences, adventures and memories made.
DeleteLove and blessings!
It's really great fun to spend a day with good people.
ReplyDeleteAmen! It sure is.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Hi Martha, you certainly had a nice time with family, lovely pics you have taken. I too wish family were closer, they are all over the UK. God bless.
ReplyDeleteBrenda, it sure sounds like your family members are spread out, too. It does make it more special when we can finally get together.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Every time we make that 4 1/2 trip to Ohio and have to leave we wish we lived closer. But, as you know, it is not to be. Therefore, like you and Danny, we savor those times together. So glad you had a great time and made memories.
ReplyDeleteI hear you loud and clear, Bill. Family is so important, and every moment we can spend time together is precious.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Looks like a wonderful visit and so perfect for this time of year. I'm glad you were able to make the trip.
ReplyDeleteI'm so grateful for the trip, too, Barbara. Great memories!
DeleteLove and blessings!
What a wonderful day, Martha. And chicken pot pie—YUM! Love the pictures.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, sweet friend!
Aw, what a sweet post! It sounds like you had a wonderful time with your loved ones. Vito is adorable and so affectionate! Times with family become more precious as the years go by. May the Lord bless all of you!
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