Happy Birthday Joy!

 At 7 o'clock in the evening twelve years ago the fifth child was added to the Sanger household, Joyanna Pearl.

  Her full name means Rejoicing, Precious.  Joy you really live up to your name! Your JOYful smile and JOYous attitude, you are a JOY to us all! I'm so glad your JOYful spirit was added to the family! We love you Joy.❤ Happy Birthday! 🎉

~Hope

PA Creations | Switzerland

Rachel Sanger, married to one of my Dads cousins, taught the next Creations meeting all about her homeland, Switzerland, where she was born and lived until she was nine.
We planned to have the meeting on Columbus Day so other children who attend public school could come to this wonderful, informative class!

Switzerland doesn't just have one official language it has four:German in the middle, French in the west, Italian to the south, and Romanian in the southeast.

We made a little Swiss army knife out of foam sheets

Some chocolates from Switzerland.

This is a little box that you would receive when you went to school to hold your pencils and pens.

Cowbells are still used there!

For the snack, Rachel and Lillia made a crepe batter from her moms recipe.

Faith and Lillia cooked them for everyone.

Nutella spread and jam are very popular in Switzerland to put on your crepes.

My cousin, Josiah and I

Elainah, Bethany, Hope, and Joy 

Rachel did a wonderful job, I now know so much more then what I did about Switzerland.

PA Creations | Succulents

The PA Creations Clubs first meeting of the year was about succulents. 

This summer my mom stopped at a Mennonite farm who was having a yard sale and also happened to have a succulent business.  My mom asked the two sisters that oversee the business if they could do a class for us.  They agreed!

Most of the succulents they had originated in Mexico and Africa.

These are pumpkins that they were decorating for someone's wedding center pieces. 

They turned an old corn crib into a tea room.

Bethanny, Joy, Ella, Anniston, and Rachel waiting for the class to start. 

They are very creative with decorative skills.

These are ladies without pinterest.  Well, these ladies don't even have a phone!

  
  

The business itself is up on the porch, in the yard, and in a green house. 

The plants that were in the green house were the ones that could not live outside in the winter.

Whereas the ones outside could survive through the winter.

For the class we were able to pick out $5.00 worth of plants and fill the containers that we brought along.

The finished products!

While we were there the two sisters invited us to go to there little log cabin that their family had built one winter for fun.

It took 10 horses to get it moved up from the barn to the spot that they had chosen!

Elainah, Joy, Bethany, and Ella ready to have a sleep over.

These are the two sisters.

Beside the cabin was a fire pit that is well used.

There was also a really cool teepee that they got at an auction.

Aunt Mellissa brought along some of Sis. Hattie Wrights succulents called Mexican mistletoe, and gave everyone a little plant.

If you are ever traveling down Snyder Drive near New Holland in the summer be sure to stop in!