Here I am again . . . a day late and a dollar short

I was looking through my spring photos. There are several birthday and celebrity celebration photos.

When these relatives become famous, I could exploit them by selling these photos as “never before seen.”

On the other hand, these are such happy days. Lest they fall into oblivion, it is worth posting them now— for posterity.

There were 8th grade graduations
of Grif and Steven.

Grandparents Day with Seamus

and Hale

Morgan’s 12th birthday

Ryan’s 5th birthday


with a jungle theme--sort of . . .



and a special birthday for Kathi


Morgan and Jessica came to help decorate.
We tried to do a movie theme.
My favorite decorations were the black and white pictures
that had ribbon that looked like a movie reel.


I collected and videoed friends and family recording 50 memories.
They were sweet and funny.

After dinner, we watched the DVD together
15 minutes at a time.
Then 5 or 6 gifts were opened and then more DVD
until we were finished.
We topped the evening with birthday cake and lots of candles.

Kathi’s gifts included:

a flag with 50 stars
50 dog treats
50 gold one dollar pieces
50 pink napkins
50 little seedling plants
50 quart size plastic bags for airplane travel
50 notecards
50 packs of chewing gum
50 pieces of assorted wrapping paper
and more things that I cannot remember.


This was more than a birthday celebration.
It was a special family evening for all of us.

I won’t tell what year Kathi was celebrating.
Some things should be kept a secret.

Held in His hand

Early this spring, I did not blog—not much. Life was a little like riding in a raft on a river with many exciting waterfalls and then suddenly there was one major tsunami.

This huge blow was the death of my husband's son, Andy. Andy left behind a wife and four children. This has been a very sad time for our family. Susan and the family are learning to take one step at a time. We are thankful for family and friends and a God that loves us.


I want to recount a few of the things that Andy’s pastor, Jeff Frasier, said at the memorial service. This is not the whole of his message neither is it verbatim. It did encourage our family as we process this terrible loss.

Andy had given his heart to Jesus. The greatest tragedy of Andy’s death was that he lost sight of that hope. Sin and darkness clouded his vision and he could not clearly see how much he was loved—by all of us at the service and much more by God. Just because Andy gave up on life, does not mean that God gave up on Andy.

As Romans 8 says, For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It is not our grip on God that is our hope; it is the strength of His grip on us.

God is faithful. He pursues us. His light shines. He comforts us and He sacrificed Himself for us. Through Him we have victory over the power of sin and death.

As Jesus said to Mary in John 11, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”

We grieve but not as those that have no hope.

There is a smile on my face and here is why...

When our sons were young, Dale and I used to go and look at them sleeping before we went to bed. We would stand together and marvel at how God had used our genes to create those two beautiful children.

Recently, I had the privilege of hosting four of the five grandchildren descending from those two sons. (Bob was traveling but he was home with the children and me two of the seven days.) My heart was/is full to overflowing. These dear children are such a miracle. I experienced that same sense of awe and joy as I was remembering in the above paragraph.

Bob gets a bit nervous when I talk like this. He thinks that I am bragging and that I should be careful. Perhaps that is correct.

Here is what I am hoping though. I am hoping that other moms, dads, grandmas, and grandpas understand. I take absolutely no credit for these children. I am deeply grateful for each one.

The photos below were taken at Morton Arboretum catching pollywogs. Their faces reflect what I feel when I get the opportunity to interact with and observe my grands. What a blessing.

There are just no words to describe my love and appreciation and amazement for these wonderful and most precious gifts. I am still chuckling and smiling.

Cartwheels for Allie

Introducing . . .

Allie

Alice Madelyn

Born May 6, 2010

He would have jumped at the chance . . .

The goat did not ride in our wagon . . .

I don't think he understood.

RE: Training Wheels

Oh my goodness, this was such fun!

There was certainly lots of nostalgia
watching my son teach his son
to ride bike without training wheels.

There was a moment of sadness as I wished Andy’s daddy,
my first husband, could have been there to enjoy
watching our son teach his son . . .

At the same time, it was exhilarating!

I am sure moms,
dads,
grandmas
grandpas
even some aunts and uncles,
and some neighbors and friends
can relate to the joy of this experience.

When the training wheels come off . . .
What fun to watch the transformation in confidence.

Ryan had just started riding bike and
had started by himself on the driveway
two times
before he asked,
“Could I ride to the park? by myself?"

"I can watch for cars.”

Oh, my goodness, is it a genetic trait?
Nah, just human nature, I think.
As soon as we begin to learn,
we want to take off . . . independently.

Fast forward slightly and Ryan will be saying,
“Dad, can I take the car to _____ ? By myself?

Yes, a lesson in trust and faith in our Father.

Now all glory to God,
who is able to keep you from falling away
and will bring you with great joy
into his glorious presence
without a single fault.
Jude 1:24

Whew-Hallelujah!

A Little Hoopla

We celebrated Ryan's five year old birthday by going to Monkey Joe's with his little friend Josiah. The bigger boys loved the slides but two and a half year old Jakie was a bit too short to manage climbing up to most of them.

I have an aversion to spending any money on video games. Usually my little grandkids are happy just to push the buttons.

However, Jacob came to me and said, "I need some money."

Grandma: "Why do you need money?"

Jacob: "To play basketball."

What's a grandma to do? I did not shout out to others, "Hey? You want to watch my grandson?" No, I can use some restraint.

There must be something in the air he breathes--living so close to Duke.