Tag: Grandchildren
Path Perspective
Sometimes the path is cold, cloudy, empty and feels lonely
Other times it is filled with sunshine, joy, chaos and love
Our path continues to grow with the addition of a new grandbaby
Our family is a circle of strength and love, with every birth and every union, the circle will grow, every joy shared adds more love, every crisis faced together, makes the circle stronger.
The Heard on Black Friday
It’s not this time of year without the madness of the Black Friday frenzy. And, while I have, in past years, jumped on the bandwagon in search of savings, this year I had no desire to join the crowds.
However, I did feel the need to get outside and make the most of the sunshine and mild temperatures. With such good weather my daughter and I made a plan to visit dinosaurs and explore trails at The Heard Museum in McKinney, Texas.
Arriving earlier than the rest of the family I was able to get in two miles before we met up. I enjoyed the solitude in nature as I encountered fewer and fewer people the farther out I went.
The water, the turtles and our version of autumn
When they arrived I met them on the dinosaur trail, and as I came up behind the kids I was met with the wonderfully familiar sound of “NAAANNAA” as they caught sight of me.
Dinosaurs – oh my! Let’s take a a selfie.
As we wandered along we came across a trail that none of us had been on in a while and decided to follow it. Five year old Kolbe was convinced that this was the trail with the giant white sycamore and really wanted to find the tree. Despite the rain a few days ago everything had been relatively dry so we thought, “okay!”
It may have been a little muddy in a few spots.
We were thoroughly enjoying our hike when we came across areas that had obviously been flooded. Seeing a bridge which had been washed away from who-knows-where along with all of the piled up branches, trees and debris we commented on the damage.
See the bridge?
Walking a bit further we suddenly found the spot where the bridge had been. And, it was where we needed to cross. 
We wondered, “Should we turn around and retrace our steps or see if we can get across?”
Now let me set this scene for you. We were a party of seven. One Nana – that’s me, one daddy, one pregnant mommy, two school-age kids and two young-un’s.
The littlest ones
What the heck – it was time to be adventurous. If we fell in the water or slipped in the mud it wouldn’t be too bad. After all, it was 62 degrees with sunshine and no wind!
It’s an adventure payoff! We all got across and no one fell in!
Time for another selfie. Or two!
AND – we found the giant sycamore! More than 160 years old!
As we came to the end of the trail we realized we had been hiking a closed trail. Due to damage from flooding. Oops.
I don’t know what happened to the sign at the start of the trail, but our ‘adventures’ made a good day truly memorable.
Big Tree, Little Baby
A couple of years ago I was playing around and took a ‘scale’ picture of my small granddaughter against a big tree. At 4.5 months of age she was too young to sit by herself so my husband held her up while I backed away some distance. Then with a “ready, set, go!” he ran out of the shot, I click,click, clicked and then he ran back in and grabbed her before she could fall over.
Teamwork!
Little baby. Big Tree.
Overall, she really wasn’t too thrilled with her modeling gig. But, she’s a happy baby and quickly forgave us as soon as we catered to her every whim. 🙂
And, just because I can….here’s her adorable face today.
WPC – The Future
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know well the plans I have in mind for you – plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.
The future: Life growing inside a mother’s womb.
The following pictures were taken to chronicle the pregnancy of our daughter’s first child.
16 weeks
26 weeks
35 weeks
39 weeks
Claire
For Claire the potential for accomplishments are endless. Maybe she will cure cancer or end poverty. Perhaps, though, she will quietly work behind the scenes to make the world a better place.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Indoor Seating
As soon as I read the prompt my mind jumped to an image of my husband and granddaughter.
Sitting on hard bleachers with no back support for extended periods is never thrilling or exciting. So, why would someone stay in place any longer than necessary? For the love of a sleeping child.
At 14 months-old the anticipation of her father receiving his doctorate was exhausting. Or, maybe it was just way past her nap time. Whatever the reason, she fell asleep in grandpa’s arms and him, not wanting to disturb her, sat in the seats for several minutes after graduation ended and the crowd had disbursed.
What a sweet baby. And what a loving grandpa.
WPC: One Love
In my world one love has a domino effect.
Matthew 22: 36-38 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”37 He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and the first commandment.
1 John 3:16a The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us.
Matthew 22: 39 The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (represented by my beloved family)
1 Peter 4:8 Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins.
authors note: Photo cred for the crucifix belongs to me @terezpics. However, photo cred for the group photo of my family goes to KYon Photography. Check out more of her pictures on Facebook.
Parties and Parades
The first weekend of December is typically a busy one for my family and this year was no exception. Hosting the first of two parties on Friday night I would have to say it was a success. Everyone seemed to have a good time and there may have even been one or two headaches the next morning when people woke up.
That’s what happens when your husband makes excellent homebrew AND your home has a full-size bar with a 4 tap kegging set-up.
The last seven years have seen us getting up early and driving a few miles south so one – or both – of our sons could participate in the Richardson Christmas Parade with their band.
This band is HUGE as it includes several private schools in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex. It’s been a fun experience.
With this being the last year at the current school for our 8th grader it was a little bittersweet. But, new and bigger challenges are waiting for him as he prepares to go to high school next year. And, I have no doubt we will find something to fill up Saturday mornings of the first week of December. 🙂
Sunday, after Mass, we headed over to our place of business (retail appliances and flooring) to watch our hometown Christmas Parade. It is always a fun afternoon and this time was no exception.
Granddaughter, Claire, rode with the American Heritage Girls. She had the easy part.
Daughter, Krista, walked the whole route while carrying a sleeping Therese on her back.
Husband, Ronald, and son, Patrick helped with LifeTeen group from our church hand out candy and treats to the little ones.
After Grandpa and Uncle Patrick passed, granddaughter, Gianna, had had enough and decided to sit and enjoy one – or several – of those treats.
Post parade grandson, Kolbe, showed me his big bag of treats and candy. It’s almost better than Halloween!
And, finally, Santa and Mrs. Claus came down the road in style. Firetruck style that is. Stopping for a minute at the exact spot my family was standing the grandkids were able to have their own private conversation with him. Their day was made for sure.
Blue skies, brilliant colors of autumn, mild temperatures and Santa on a firetruck. What better way to end the weekend?
And, now, the weekend is behind us and the daily countdown has begun. My son, Joshua, and his wife, Emma will be home in less than 6 days. (read that post here ) The excitement continues to build. I can’t hardly stand it!
Merry Christmas!
WPC: Eye Spy in Hide and Seek With Kolbe
This weeks photo challenge gives me an opportunity to showcase a game of hide and seek with my grandson, Kolbe.
“Nana, I’m hiding. Can you find me??”
“Well…..I spy one blue eye….”
“And, now I spy two blue eyes!”
“Found you, Kolbe!”
Thanksgiving Weekend
Today was our annual Sunday-before-the-holiday gathering at Grandma’s house. It was a good day, as it usually is when we are all together. And, when I say ‘all together’ I mean somewhere between 25-40 of us. Continue reading “Thanksgiving Weekend”
My Crazy Graced Life 