What Are These????

My granddaughter has found her hands!

 How cute is that!!!!!!

I Can't Wait!

This Friday my family will be off on our "Family Vac" in North Carolina.  We have been taking these trips for ten years now and have gone to Colorado, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, and now North Carolina.

This is a very special week for me since we don't get to see Ryan and Chelsa very often because they live out-of-state.  We pile Allison and Justin in the back of the Tahoe and strike out on a two-day road trip.  Then spend 5 or so absolutely heavenly days in a house together sitting on the porch, talking, cooking, eating, telling stories we've heard a hundred times but still love, playing board games and cards and Wii.  And laughing--man, do we laugh!  I love that!

 This year will be especially interesting with Leah Rose added to the family.

It is like the credit card commercial--
  Several hundred dollars for a cabin on the top of a mountain
  several hundred dollars for food and beverages
  several hundred dollars for gasoline
  several hundred dollars for motel rooms and food on the road

        FAMILY VACATION -------- PRICELESS!
                          

Leah Rose is Two Months Old!

We can't believe it has been two months since this angel came into our lives!  People used to tell me how much fun grandchildren are, but you just can't understand it until you experience it.  Holding your baby's baby is a precious, sweet, moving, emotional experience and I thank God for allowing me to experience it!

Happy Birthday, Leah Rose!

Four Generations

Allison and I took Leah up to Nacogdoches to meet her Great-Grandmother and Great-Grandfather and her Great-Uncle Bubba, Great-Aunt Susan, and second cousin Kristen.  It was her first road trip and she slept all the way going and coming.  What a good girl!
Here are the pictures...

I thank God that He allowed my parents to meet her!  Everyone loved her!

Tears of Joy

My granddaughter smiled at me today - a real smile - and I cried and my heart melted...

It truly doesn't get any better than this!  Thank You, Lord!

30 Years - I Keep On Lovin' You!

When I heard this Reba song, I felt like she was singing about me and Roger.  Happy Anniversary, Honey...

I Keep On Lovin' You by Reba McEntire

Love takes the patience of Job
That's what my Mama always said
Faith is the belief in something more than what you know
That's what the Good Book says
You gotta play the cards you got
Who knows what fate is holding
At times you gotta go without knowing where you're going

That's why I keep on lovin' you
I keep on lovin' you
Through the baby don't leave mes
And never will agains
And I promise tos
I keep on lovin' you

Lord knows we've had our share of fights
Our sleepless nights, our ups and downs
We've had plenty and then some of baby I'm gones and turnarounds
Sometimes I swear it might be easier to throw in the towel
Someday we're gonna look back
Say look at us now

That's why I keep on lovin' you
I keep on lovin' you
Through the baby don't leave mes
And never will agains
And I promise tos
I keep on lovin' you

Keep on lovin' you
Through the I take it backs...I didn't mean it like thats
I'd never hurt yous...Oh, I keep on lovin' you

I keep on lovin' you...I keep on lovin' you
Through the I take it backs...I didn't mean it like that
I'd never hurt yous...Oh, I keep on lovin' you
I keep on lovin' you...I keep on lovin' you

A Few Precious Moments

My son was home this weekend...he came home to meet his new niece...

We spent the weekend together just sitting around, talking, watching some tv, of course eating, and taking turns holding Leah.  Since Ryan and Chelsa moved away 10 years ago, these times have been few and far between so they are always precious to me.

I understand that my children have homes of their own and spouses and now children, but I still miss them.  I can't wait to see them and I cry when they leave.  Sometimes I dream about when they were little and I am upset when I wake up from those dreams.  I will never stop missing them.

You have a child and you get used to having them with you every moment and then one day they go off to school and you don't have them with you for several hours every day.  Then before you know it, they go off to college and you see them about every two weeks for a couple of days.  Then they get married and move away to a different state and you only see them twice or three times a year.

I guess it is the natural order of things, but it doesn't make it any easier for me.  I thank God that I still have one child close to home and I thank God that I can see her and my granddaughter often.  But my heart still aches to see the one who moved away.

 Thank You, Lord, for the precious time spent together this weekend.