2011

Is fading fast!

How can it be Dec already?  Our little Barrett boy turned two today.  He's #4 in the line up, and that means 5 grandbabies born since he came along!  We're waiting for #10 to arrive this month (any day)

Flashback to July....
While the grandkids were here on their visit I made Jessi and Kyrie new matching dresses.  I wonder why it is that I seem to accomplish something like "extra sewing" when I'm in the middle of having 3 grandkids here along with everything else that goes on. Maybe it has something to do with having so many kids around for many years, and just living busy?  Anyway, they turned out pretty cute, and the girls were delighted with them.

The kids had so much fun together, and Grammie & Papa love having them all together here!

 

 

All too soon it was over, and time to take Jessi home.  On my way to ND I made a "detour" thru MN 

 stopping to visit a sweet friend & her family there.  It was interesting to see some new country, as I've not visited that state before.

Kaela and Jessi had a grand time playing with the little girls.

We had a shopping trip and bought Jessi's (belated) birthday present.

Have I mentioned lately how adorable this little Raya girl is?

Jessi, Raya & Barrett -- All three just the sweetest things ever!

#6 and #12 Sisters!  Kaela and Dalayna.

 

And then for the long trip back home--
"Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain...."

On the way home we went west from Sioux Falls and then south down into North Nebraska thru some of SD country that I'd not seen before. It was beautiful!  Kaela was enthralled with the scenery and took pictures out the window with my camera.


Kara had been gone for a month at this point, visiting Jana and some other friends, and coming home via North NE was a good way for me both to meet up with her and visit Jana too.

 And another set of sisters! #2, with #11 & #12.

Time spent with my children is precious, no matter how brief.

Just another day in...

Paradise
I was late leaving the house to get KD to school early for choir practice, Two houses to clean this morning before noon. Painted at my mom's, another school run at 3, took one to piano lessons, went to the store with my mom & sis to look for stuff for my mom, picked up KB from lessons, back to store, took Meshayla to guitar lessons, back to my moms to clean up paint mess, back to pick up girl, picked up supper for husband & dropped it off at his work, brought kids home, House is a mess, dishes to wash, supper to make, Vacuum motor burned out yesterday, Washer is not repaired still after 3 weeks, (Do you want to guess how much laundry is piled up?)
Sent sassy son to bed with no supper, discovered my green lampshade is now faded to blue, Mirror cabinet is still off the wall after falling 3 weeks ago.  Bible study here tomorrow night, 3 cleaning jobs on Thursday, one on Friday plus mom's painting to finish up this week. Company coming in a couple weeks for 2 days that I would prefer having clean bedrooms & bathrooms for besides some food in the house, a new grandbaby that will make her appearance sometime in the next 3 weeks, plus the next three Sundays being our Winter Specials in this area.


Oh, that was facebook that asked me what was on my mind, not you???

Time

 I read this the other day:

 http://www.kellehampton.com/2011/11/busybody.html

I thought she said it very well.
I'm kind of tired of the word busy too.
It's life, and the truth of it is,
all of us generally manage to make time for what we want to do the most. 


That said, yes; from the first of September to the first of November was one big busy blur.  Not only physically, but especially emotionally.  I don't seem to manage to blog when my mind is too full.
I hate it that I let nearly 4 months go by and have no journal record of our days.

They were special days.  Fast days, slow days, Emotionally tiring days and sweet days. Close at home days and far from home days.  Days with family, days with friends.  Days with travel, Unexpected  happening days, Days of death and days of birth.

It reminds me of some of my favorite Bible verses--"A time for everything under the sun..."

And the sun is down,
It's time for bed,
I didn't get my blog post done.  BUT....I'm here again, I'll be back soon to continue.

Even a child...

 My thoughts this morning have went to a verse--Prov 20:11

"Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right."
Who is teaching our children, and how does this reflect on us, their parents?

There is alot more to teaching children than "just" academically.   Teaching our children begins when they are born. (And, as far as I can realize, as a parent and grandparent, do not end until our life is ended) Whether by word or example.

School aside, the most important lessons are learned at home, and those lessons are the ones that will really show to others what and who we are.
If we are not teaching our children, who is?  If we have put the responsibility in another's hands, then ultimately we are still responsible because this is what we chose for them.

None of us are perfect, and none of us have perfect children.  It is an on-going journey.  We can only do our best each day, and seek for help from the one who knows all and can best guide us.

There comes a time when children are responsible for their own choices and actions.  Have they "succeeded" in whatever manner because of the teaching & foundation we've given, or in spite of the lack of it? and what does this say about us?

Ultimately, when they are older, whatever behaviors & decisions our children make are their own and they have to answer for it.

I want to make sure I'm doing my best in shaping and teaching those lives while I am still the one responsible for them.

Blogging joys and woes

 Oh, OH!  My sweet friend Wrena at  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Diesel-Daisy-Design/406431534907?ref=ts  has been at it again.  I am totally in love with my new background and cute signature line! 

As for me and my poor neglected blog posts....Um, I am sorely lacking and have several I'm wishing were done!  Regardless of the heat (some days more than others) I am just totally loving summer & feel so very blessed in my life!
Now I'm off to clean up my poor neglected house.  AGAIN.


 

Summer days

 I have a love/hate relationship with summer.

I love a more relaxed schedule, long days, sunshine and GREEN.  The freedom to pack up and go somewhere without dealing with kids and school schedules.
Not that that happens very much, but just knowing it's an option is lovely.

I love being able to have my grandkids come spend some time with us.  I love being able to go visit our kids.

I have realized tho that I'm really not so fond of hot, hot and HUMID weather that comes along with summer.  I would really prefer about 75* and a nice cooling off in the evening with a breeze that keeps the mosquitoes away.
Eh? You think that's too much to  ask for in this fine state of ours?
Yes, unfortunately I suppose it is.
I've been lamenting that I can't have relaxing lazy long days of summer and get anything accomplished at the same time.
The heat and humidity zaps my energy and keeps me from accomplishing most of what was on my "summer" WANT to do list.

Bother.

I hate it that the days and weeks of "summer" go so quickly, and that my calendar of events is a little too full of things that I have to do, leaving less time for some of the things I WANT to do.

In Jan-March I dream about Spring, planting gardens & what I could preserve.  We often have cool, rainy, stormy springs and it seems to delay getting my garden in.  Until the end of May.  By the time the middle of June hits & things are starting to come up, then is when I want the stuff, but it isn't matured.
By the middle of July it's HOT and the weeds have taken over, and I have no appreciation for gardens or desire to work outside.  I'm wondering what on earth was I thinking!

(Oh yeah, never mind the 4 children that live here & the fairly steady stream of other company and extended family meals I make that I need to have the food for)

One of my friends wrote a couple recent blog posts on "Valuing the process, and loving the moment"  Oops--Very guilty of not doing that. It's human to want instant gratification on our projects. It's easy to wish things different or complain instead of just appreciating each day for what it brings.  Time goes fast enough & the weather is not going to change to suit our wishes or plans.  I just need to change my ideas and plans around to suit whatever the days & weeks bring.

The chickens are growing.  They've been in movable pens outside, and we need to get the chicken house finished (yesterday!) so they will have a inside place to roost.
Last night a bit after Kara did the chores she looked outside & said "Oh no, the chickens are out".  So she and I (being the only ones home) got our exercise shooing them back in the pen.

 Back to the first part of July, & grand-kid time

 The porch made a good playroom.  Shade from the sun, and kept the toys out of the (SMALL) living room.


Derek came over on Saturday with 3 more kids, and the cousins all had a day together.  Navaeh wanted to stay over that night, and after a long hot day of play we stuck them in the tub.  Serenity wasn't about to be left out, so we had....

 

  THERE WERE FIVE IN THE TUB.......

 AND THE LITTLE ONE SAID.......

 MOVE OVER, I'M COMING IN TOO!



 

Snips & snails & birthday tales

 I am a very happy Grammie.
 Our 3 oldest grandkids are here to visit.  This is the 2nd summer now they all 3 have got to come stay.
It's a little different this year than last because our 3 older "at home" kids are gone else-where visiting and we only have our youngest here.  Youngest, but she is nearly 10 in just a couple more weeks!
Having a 10 yr old around is a good combination with these other 3.  She's not too old to play with them, but old enough to read to them & help keep an eye on them. 

I wish I had a picture of them sitting in their chairs the other night before Bible study.  My sister walked in and said it looked like a scene from some years back.  Just a little Jeanne, Lynisha, Dalayna and Ryan sitting there!  I may have to re-stage it for a photo.

It's been busy days around here.  Hopefully fun ones for the kids too.  I have such wonderful memories of spending summers at my grandparents home, I hope my grandkids can look back on these years with as much enjoyment as I do my memories!  I wasn't fortunate enough to have cousins to spend my summers at my grandparents with, but I did have best friends that lived just down the street and that was a huge part of our enjoyment of spending time at Grandpa & Grandma's.

 Kyrie & Trey spent a  day  very impatiently by themselves before Kaela and Jessi got back here.

 They like to take their shoes off, but leave them on the trampoline & watch them bounce around while they jump.

 The front porch makes some nice shaded outside play for inside toys.

Thursday (June 30) was our first really really hot day and since I had a cleaning job, it worked out well for Leon to take the kids to the water park for some play time.  I met up with them later.

 They thought the swans were very interesting until one decided to get too close with what looked like the intention of taking a bite out of Trey!

 Then they ran pell mell back to the play ground.

 Doesn't this look like fun?  It's new since I'd been there last.  It's a pirate ship play ground with dolphins to ride. The kids thought it was pretty neat.  It spurred their imaginations but we didn't spend much time on it t, as it was so hot & the kids had been outside for long enough.

After getting ice cream cones, we headed home and the kids went to work baking me a birthday cake!
They didn't want me to watch or help, told me I should go take a bubble bath and a nap!  I wasn't quite brave enough to leave them totally on their own but I did stay out of the kitchen and gave the phone to Kaela with instructions to call her sister if she had questions!

 I couldn't resist taking some pictures tho....
We did have a funny moment when I overheard the phone call of "what do I do now" and I peeked in the kitchen and noticed that she was pouring the batter into the cake pans however she'd NOT added the cake mix in with the oil, water & eggs!!  Opps!!

 While the cake was cooling I went and took a nap while they decorated.  They wouldn't let me come down-stairs until they had it all done.

It was supper time, but we had cake and ice cream anyway--
after all, it's Grammies house, they're on vacation & we're making memories!