Lorraine D. Hebler

Fatherless to Fatherfull

By Lorraine

Fatherfull…
isn’t that the sweetest word

I am so thankful for my own dad and father-in-law who now reside in heaven.
I am so proud of my husband and the love he has for our children and grandchildren.
I am so grateful for our son-in-laws as they endeavor to love their wives and raise their children.
And, I am amazed that God calls me His child.
Click on this short video and listen as precious Levi and Lia tell their adoption story in a most endearing way. God is good!
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:15


Fatherless to Fatherfull (Levi and Lia)-DaySpringLevi and Lia tell the story of their journey from fatherless to fatherfull. Their parents are in the process of adopting a third child. He is from Eastern Europe, and his name will be Luca. If you would like to find out more about Luca’s adoption or donate to Luca’s adoption fund, visit: youcaring.com/andlucamakes5If you would like to see other recent videos from Levi and Lia, check out:1. “That Tomb is Still Empty” Easter video:www.fb.com/video.php?v=101554813144551652. “Luca’s Lessons” video – Levi and Lia share all the things they want to teach Luca when he joins our family:www.fb.com/video.php?v=101556042329551653. “Happy Dance” adoption announcement video:www.fb.com/video.php?v=10155414365600165

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Fatherless to Fatherfull (Levi and Lia)-DaySpringLevi and Lia tell the story of their journey from fatherless to…
Posted by International Christian Concern on Sunday, June 14, 2015

always a beautiful song

By Lorraine

Here is a glimpse of some of the music playing at our house…

I peeked into Abbey’s room while she was working on an assignment for her digital animation class and found it very interesting to watch her progress.  Yes, she has two black lights and a blackboard bolted to the wall, black-out coverings on her windows and only about 3-feet of empty floor space in her bedroom with way too much stuff bursting out everywhere.  
 but, she loves what she’s doing!
Jared enthusiastically shows John each step completed as he creates a computer game.
 My favorite $3.00 bench purchased from a garage sale 25 years ago and painted and repaired dozens of times got to the point that John just couldn’t fix it and keep it fixed. Mostly it was the arms that took the brunt of the abuse but even the legs were not staying together any longer.
{ha, that sounds like my body recently}
 We considered making a porch swing from the bench but I really wanted it back in the kitchen to hold all of those little grandchildren. So we sent it off to a furniture maker for a complete overhaul .
Please, please, little bench, stay strong!
We have been moving furniture, boxes and rearranging rooms as Erin and Jared return home. The nursery has become Jared’s room and the guest room is now Erin’s room. Making them feel loved and comfortable, and though sad about the circumstances, we love having them home.
The painting above Jared’s bed was something my sister gave me when she moved out of her house last fall.  I wish I had taken a photo of the before when it was in shades of bright green.  I knew when I saw it I would paint over the canvas. Wanting something masculine for this room, I went to work. Nothing artistic but it works to fill a big blank wall.
We’ve done lots of yard work and home repairs.
Weeding, planting, painting, edging, raking, digging, dividing, potting, sweeping, blowing, washing and, well, you know.  You are probably doing the same things at your house.
 Who would had thought removing 20-year old, dead boxwood bushes would be so hard! Eighteen in all.
 The last five with some much appreciated help from Jared.
Always the sentry, Raider keeps watch while we work.
Now, it hasn’t been all work.
My streptocarpus is blooming profusely in our bathroom.
Jared, the oldest grandson, and Keri, our oldest granddaughter, had a great time together. Last weekend we went to his high school spring musical, Mary Poppins. The following day, after getting those bushes out, Jared tried his best to hit Keri’s wild wiffle ball pitches (one that had to be rescued from the roof) and they had some impressive exercise challenges. As if push-ups aren’t hard enough, imagine doing hand clap push-ups! {The thought takes me back to the old broken bench feeling}
Our favorite time to visit Brigadier General William C. Doyle Memorial Cemetery is Memorial Day weekend when all of the graves are decorated with an American flag. Both my parents are interred here. A perfect place to find a bench, remember loved ones and the Veterans that gave their service for our freedom.
Haven’t had much time with the littles through all of these changes but John snapped this pic of Chloe sleeping soundly the last time she was over. Playing it tiring work!
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
Psalm 40:3

catching up with family

By Lorraine

Spring days ~ busy days!
April was filled with lots a family activities and get together’s!

 The son of our cousin, Caroline, was married in a lovely wedding.
Caroline, with her family including the newlyweds, Dan & Abbey 
(photo taken from facebook. Tyler Boye Photography)

As is so popular now, they had a photo booth situated in an obscure corner. All I can say is that my sister, John and I got some of the funniest pics ever!  So silly, that Carol made me promise never to share on any social media! Just imagine, John in the center with a crazy hat and over-sized glasses with basically the same expression in every photo and my sister and I making every goofy face we could possibly think of. Oh, my! Each time I look at the photos, I crack up all over again!
(photo taken from Stephanie’s facebook page)
Then there was a christening for our cousin Karen’s grandson, baby Mark.
 Together again with Carol, her daughter, Christine, John and I. Later noticed the framed photo on Karen’s mantle. It is of our daughter, Erin when she was just three year old performing flower girl responsibilities in Karen’s wedding. Such sweet memories!
 There were random, every day moments too.  I caught this scene of, Erin, Jared and Abbey studying in the family room.  Erin is completing her master’s degree, Jared is a high school Junior and Abbey is studying digital animation.

Noah and I went to breakfast one morning and later we did some cooking together.

I even got a pic from Erin as she drove through center city the other day and saw the old Divine Lorraine Hotel. 

 We had a trip to The Pop Shoppe with the kids, celebrated our dear friend’s 91st birthday during Bible study and peeked in as the kids helped Aunt Abbey create a 5-little monkeys video for a class assignment.
Noah went to work with PopPop and learned about nuclear engineering. 
Jared was inducted into his schools Technology Society.
pics with his proud mom and PopPop
Each day that passes, each achievement obtained, each celebration shared, each difficulty acknowledged, each experience learned, each encouraging smile, each laughter and giggle, each conversation, each hug and embrace are all gifts.
“We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary,
small (and yet really not small) gifts.” 
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Gratitude paints little smiley faces on everything it touches.” 
Richelle E. Goodrich
Smile Anyway: Quotes, Verse, & Grumblings for Every Day of the Year

Amish Peanut Butter Spread

By Lorraine

Easy to make recipe for Amish Peanut Butter Spread. Sweet, creamy and great on bread, toast, crackers and apple slices.  This delicious Amish Peanut Butter Spread was just a small part of a delightful day celebrating John’s birthday.  The day included a trip to Lancaster to see a play with precious friends and dinner in a lovely Amish home.  On the table was Amish Peanut Butter Spread.  What a delicious treat!Continue Reading

i am chloe

By Lorraine

can you guess i am
2
by
my antics
my expressions
my spontaneity
my elfish behavior

We went to our daughter’s house Saturday morning to watch the kids while she ran in the Philadelphia 5k Rocky Balboa race
chloe was perfectly 2-years-old
she pulled on an over-sized skirt  
plucked a princess crown on her noggin
and went about the business of being 2
I had the joy of capturing some of her magical moments
the princess and her pop-pop
being sweet
being coy
letting PopPop kiss her cheek
(oh, who can resist those soft cheeks)
being resolute in a stare-down
being vocal about a sibling offence 
being aggrieved
 raider has a special attachment to chloe
she shares her food with him
but only if she wants  
 each child… so unique… overflowing with personality and individual talents 
jammie clad… climbing cherub… crafty keri… chocolate faced… chapped lips…
photobomer…chillin’ sisters… quiet play…
hanging out at their house is truly delightful 
and their mom (with  a friend) braved the chilly morning temps to run a race.  she did it in 9 min 7 sec miles with a 28:22 finish.
what . a . champ!

Our Anniversaries

By Lorraine

Celebrating anniversaries together is lots of fun. These two couples took a cooking class together and not only learned something new but had a blast.
Celebrating anniversaries. What do you do when celebrating your anniversary?  Maybe something different every year. A quiet dinner together? A vacation? Exchange extravagant gifts. Take a walk along your favorite trail? John and I celebrated out 39th wedding anniversary and my cousin, Karen and her husband John will be celebrating their 33rd anniversary early November. So, we decided to spend a day together. We picked Atlantic City because John and I haven’t been there since we were children.

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Grandmom Elsie’s Graham Cracker Pie

By Lorraine

Foods from childhood can evoke wonderful memories not just because we love the taste but also because it is associated with special people or events.  Do you have a favorite dessert from your childhood?

My husband remembers his grandmom Elsie making Graham Cracker Pie for nearly every backyard cookout.  It is really a humble pie of creamy vanilla pudding poured into a pre-baked graham cracker crust.  Often times the pie is topped with meringue so the unused egg whites aren’t wasted. Grandmon preferred lightly sweetened whipped cream sprinkled with additional graham cracker crumbs.
Elsie Rebekah 
I imagine Grandmom Elsie baked lots of pies in her day as she and her husband raised eight children.
John (on right with baby on his shoulders), his brother on left with Grandmom Elsie and Grandpop.
Here she is holding my twin babies (her great-grandchildren) as she told me of her own twin sons born many years prior.
Grandmom Elsie’s
Graham Cracker Pie
GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs 
1/4 cup sugar 
1/3 cup butter, melted
In a bowl, mix crumbs, sugar and butter together.  If desired, reserve 2 to 3 tablespoons crumb mixture for topping. Using the back of a fork or the bottom of a measuring cup, press remaining mixture firmly and evenly against the bottom and side of pie pan. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool

VANILLA CREAM FILLING 
2/3 cup sugar 
1/4 cup cornstarch 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
3 cups milk 
4 egg yolks, slightly beaten 
2 tablespoons butter, softened 
1 tablespoon +1 teaspoon vanilla
whipped cream for topping finished pie
Stir together, sugar, cornstarch and salt in sauce pan. Blend milk and egg yolks; gradually stir into sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils.  Boil and stir one minute. Remove from heat; blend in butter and vanilla. Immediately pour into baked pie shell; press plastic wrap on to filling. Chill pie thoroughly, at least two hours.
When pie is completely cool, top with whipped cream. Sprinkle with remaining graham cracker crumbs. Refrigerate any unused portion.

Cousins Camp ~ Part 3

By Lorraine

~ DAY 4 ~
John took a vacation day on Monday to join us at Sahara Sam’s Oasis Indoor/Outdoor Water Park.
This place is less than 15 minutes from home so we saved travel time and gas mileage plus we qualified for discount tickets using our AAA card.  No one was happier to officially be a senior than John that day as his ticket was FREE!  And, FREE makes him very happy 🙂

 After the girls had their early morning tea on the patio, we all met at the water park and it was off to cross the crocodile flats on swaying lily pads. 
Here Jared convinces his PopPop he will not get drenched along the Lazy River Congo Bongo.
Would you had believed that boy?!?
One of us preferred to stay alert and avoid most of the deluges 😉
 For the kids, getting waterlogged was the goal.
 Silas, the youngest stuck close by Jared who kindly accompanied him throughout the day.
 over and over and over they climbed the steps, hopped into their tubes and zoomed down the winding shoots to be deposited in a pool of water at the bottom
 There are four slides and the kids made use of them all. A 350-feet body slide, Snake Eyes for a single person tube or a double person tube and the Kilimanjaro that is family size.   
 Jared accompanied the girls many times 
And you didn’t think he would let me off the hook, did you?
That first curve was quite jolting so I prayed, relaxed (sort of) and looped and swirled to the bottom.
All of the colorful slides wind around the outside of the building.
We saved a bundle of money by bringing lunch.  There is NO food or drinks allowed to be brought into the park so I packed hoagies I made in the morning, orange slices, chips, cookies and drinks.  We headed to the parking lot to have our tailgate lunch.  Not very elegant but the kids devoured it all, even the ones who usually have small appetites!
After lunch, they wanted to return to the inside park.  Then they saw the awesome wave pool.
After watching some really amazing people on the FlowRider Surfing Simulator, Noah and Ryan wanted to give it a try.  We had to sign a special waiver before they could and we weren’t sure how they would do. We’d been watching a lot of people and it looked quite challenging.
I love their faces of determination as they rode the waves and managed to stay on their boards for the duration!
  It was hard to end the day.
“Just once more on the…. 
just once more?
We stayed to nearly closing.

Cousins Camp ~ Part 1

By Lorraine

We had an action packed July with grandkids and I know they are looking forward to seeing photos of our adventures together.  It will probably take me all of August just to recap July!
I guess I will start with this week and work backwards 😉

Cousins Camp

 
~ DAY 1 ~
 
Cousins Camp began by meeting at a halfway point (Clarks Summit, PA) to pick up our New York grandchildren.
We had lunch with their parents then piled the kids and luggage into our car for a week long adventure.
 

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