August 16 Emma's Card

This is the birthday card I designed for Emma's birthday this year. Thankfully, taking photos of Emma and Dakota back in July over at Muskegon State Park gave me some good pictures to work with.

 FRONT:  Can you see Emma walking toward me in this picture? This was such a happy day! "Happy are those whose hope is in the LORD their God. He is the One who made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. He is the One who keeps every promise forever . . ." Psalm 146.5  I have been so happy seeing Emma put her hope in the Lord more and more this year. How wonderful that He keeps every single promise He has made FOREVER.

INSIDE:  I love this quote from "Anne of Green Gables". Emma and I watched the Kevin Sullivan production of the whole Anne series years and years ago. In fact, we watched it multiple times. I was so pleased when Emma told me she had listened to all seven books on Youtube--I think it's an audio book situation. Emma said they really do a great job with it. I'm so intrigued that I'm going to have to take a listen to it! In the video production, Anne and Diana are outside of the White Sands Hotel after Anne has given her recitation--Diana was saying she would love to be rich like the people who regularly frequented the hotel. But Anne responded with this:

BACK:  This verse from Hebrews is one we at Calvary have said at the close of all of our summer worship services. Do you see Emma running down the beach? 

That's my prayer for all of us -- to RUN the race Christ has marked out for us, keeping our eyes on Jesus who has never failed us and has shown us how He wants us to live. What a wonderful Savior He is!

August 16 SURPRISE!!!

Sunday:  When we planned this birthday get together about two weeks ago, it was for EMMA's birthday. I can't even find words for how surprised I was when she walked in with a very BIG box and told me it was for MY birthday--wait ... what?!?!?!

And look!!! An AIR CONDITIONER!!! You could have knocked me right over with how unexpected this gift was. But boy, I will tell you--it was SO hot in my little house Sunday--mostly HUMID, but I think it was 85 degrees in here with all of the windows opened and three fans blowing on high. Sticky, yucky kind of hot. I don't generally get overwhelmed with heat--perhaps a few times a year--but this was one of those days. It didn't help that I had the oven on at 375 degrees because I was baking the enchiladas.

Thankfully, between Jesse, Emma, and Dakota, they figured how to install it, get it going, and it didn't take terribly long before we could feel the difference! YAY!

I did reconfigure my furniture a little bit to accommodate it. I'm not sure I will keep it this way or not. David comes to visit in two weeks and he is Mr. DIY himself. He may have an idea or two as to its placement. But for now, this is working just fine.

The other grandchildren were here on Tuesday and were very glad to know they didn't have to put up with the heat in my house anymore. They keep their house on the cold side (in my opinion). We still had plenty of space to do everything we usually do around here and we were not sweating hot the whole time.

I have a few gifts given to me over the years that are really special--one is the painting hanging over my piano. Jesse gave that to me years ago. He saw it at a flea market (I think) and just HAD to purchase it for me because he knew I would love it. I DO love it, because it was given in love.

The same goes for this surprise gift -- it is really one of the nicest gifts I have ever received . . . I know the love that went into purchasing this and am really really happy to receive it. I can't find quite the right words to tell you how loved I feel. Thank you, dear Emma.

August 16 We celebrate Emma

Sunday:  We had a nice family celebration of Emma's 24th birthday today. Jesse and Kaity, Matt, Chris and Ella, Emma and Dakota all came for dinner, birthday cheesecake, and games! My cooking being what it is, thankfully dinner was not the focus. I made chicken enchiladas, which turned out just fine but I'm not sure was terribly enjoyed by everyone. But I did also have a crock-pot full of French toast (which does NOT go with Mexican food, but ... oh well!), and most of that was eaten. I don't think anyone was hungry afterwards and we took some time out before having dessert. Here are a few photos ...

I sat "the kids" around the main table (Daytona is not pictured, but he was sitting next to Kaity in that empty chair), since six people fit okay at that table.

Jesse and I sat at the round table and had a nice conversation during dinner. I am always so glad to have him come over, especially when it isn't for "maintenance" issues ... although I did have him sit at my computer and test the speakers that had been "buzzing" the last few weeks. They were not making any unusual noises today (naturally).

We sang "Happy Birthday" to our birthday girl ... HOW CAN EMMA BE TWENTY-FOUR?!?!?!?! She requested no candles this year due to the fact that they melt all over the cheesecake, AND she is not a little girl anymore either.

We opened gifts -- the family's gift to her was "showing up" for her celebration! I checked Emma's "Wish list" on Amazon and cleaned it out for her! I neglected to photo the gifts inside the box, but there was a cool cupcake/pie holder, a dressy purse, and a jewelry case. And I made her card too, which is always a labor of love from me, something personal and hopefully beautiful too.

We played a game of "Apples to Apples" and I totally forgot who won. But then the REAL game was played--PACHESI! Watching these four play this game is pure entertainment. I'm not even kidding! It's hilarious. They are all SO competitive!

Ella won the game, even though she had been "sent home" more times than I could count. When four people play this game, it's a series of getting SENT home and SENDING someone home, back and forth! But the game isn't totally the roll of the dice--you do have to strategize with your four pawns and position them in the best places in order to stay ahead.

Chris was completely out of control (I'm joking) ... but look at his expression (below)!! 

I hope Emma had a good time with her siblings tonight. She loves her family so much. They've been through a lot together, and family is important!

Our time together actually began with quite a surprise for ME--but I'll do a separate post on that.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, dear granddaughter. You mean the world to me.

August 14/15 Aidan's sleepover

Friday:  Aidan and I went to Deer Tracks today, arriving at about 4:30. Aidan's favorite thing at Deer Tracks is the PIGS. They are super cute. 

The three little mostly black pigs are just eight weeks old. When we purchased our animal "feed" today, we got a cup of carrots and a cup of apples. These little pigs liked both of them just fine. It was a really nice time of day to be here--not very crowded at all. 

We passed by the EMU on the way to see the pigs. The EMU are so funny. You have to watch them SO closely though! If you approach them with a cup of "feed" and get too close, they will grab the entire cup out of your hands before you can barely blink!

These guys were so BOLD today. I had to have a really LONG carrot to reach out to them if I didn't want my fingers bit in the process--because they stand really still and watch you, but then ... suddenly, they BOLT at you and grab the food from your fingers. It's difficult NOT to crack up in the process.

Aidan fed this little goat at each of the "WANTED" windows ...

Don't goats have the weirdest eyes?

Even though it was late in the day when we were here, it was super hot and humid--too much so for Aidan to wear the head-lamp when he was climbing. He opted for a small hand flashlight instead, and away he went ...

UP ...

UP ...

to the very top, except I missed taking his picture up there ...

I sat in this train car, out of the hot sun, while Aidan climbed around. At one point, he was directly overhead and we had a conversation through the ceiling ...

The TUBE is always fun, if you want to pretend you are a human hamster ...

Aidan is very good at doing a controlled walk, not too fast--if you go TOO fast, you get dumped over on your head.

NOTE:  We did not visit the budgie pavilion today because Aidan doesn't tolerate swarms of birds very well. The last time we were here, we walked through the entrance to the budgies and were inundated with a dozen or more birds immediately, and Aidan turned the corner and exited right out of there! Consequently, I didn't even purchase any seed sticks today.

I wasn't aware that the park closed at 6pm, but they announced that the park would close in five minutes and then we knew. Thankfully (because of the heat), we were ready to go. After all, who wouldn't want to go and eat at Culver's on a hot sticky day?

Aidan was very keen on ordering a milk shake with his kids' meal today. I think he got a vanilla one.

He enjoyed every single sip of it too!

It was nearly 7pm when we drove into my driveway. We were pretty not and tired. Aidan and I played for awhile, but then Aidan suggested that instead of a long movie, we should just watch an hour of "The Road Runner" instead. We watched a few funny "shorts" I had saved in my bookmarks on "X" first, but then I popped the popcorn and we got serious about watching to see how many stupid moves Wylie Coyote would make in one hour.

When our hour was finished, we played one game of Chess and then got ourselves ready for bed. I played the piano for awhile and Aidan built some roadways in the play room, but I think we were both sleeping shortly after 10.

Saturday morning:  We slept in today until 8:30! When I offered breakfast to Aidan, he insisted that Professor Piggy be served a small bowl of cereal to eat while we were eating our yummy French toast. Meet Professor Piggy, purchased at Target in their $5 section. Aidan loves pigs and has quite a collection of stuffed ones! I think this little one is very cute.

After we finished eating, I suggested that Aidan build a really cool homestead for our professor while I washed dishes. He got right to work on it. He used my MagnaTiles, MagnaCubes, some Hot Wheels tracks, a few small battery operated lights ...

This is a combination palace, university, and home for our much loved PIG.

Aidan decided to place a CROWN on Professor Piggy's head so that he would feel honored in his castle.

I think Aidan will make a fine architect one day, don't you? He's quite a creative builder and he truly loves making things.

I sure had a nice sleepover with you, Aidan! Thanks for coming over!

August 13 Roselle Park

Thursday:  I've been trying to walk a mile per day--it's not much, but it is at least a start! I sometimes walk on the treadmill over at the exercise building here where I live. If I walk there, I also ride the stationary bike for ten minutes. I find the treadmill very ... boring. It helps if am listening to beautiful music and singing along--but I can only sing along when no one else is exercising too.

Since I was going to be out and about this afternoon before going over to Jesse's, and since I had seen how lovely it is over at Roselle Park just the other day, and since there were many trails over there that I had not explored, and also since it was hot but not terribly so, I decided to drive over to Roselle and get my mile walk accomplished that way.

Of course, I was taking pictures along the way--so this was not a breaking sweat kind of walk; but at least I was walking.

This was a very happy mile walk for me today! It's so lovely here. I felt like I was walking through oceans of wild flowers. The beauty nearly took my breath away. 

It's about a half mile walk to the river itself, but there are other paths along the way as well. I walked "the loop" today, which means I took the path that winds over to the river and then circles back to the park.

Green, green, GREEN everywhere. I just love it.

I am definitely going to walk here in the Fall when all of the colors turn ...

These twin silos are the landmark for this park. When Jesse's kids were younger, we walked up 70+ stairs to the top of the one silo because there is a lookout deck at the top that we thought would be fun to take pictures from. BUT ... every time we climbed it, the glass door to the outside deck was locked. We still got a nice view from the top, but it would have been so much better out on the deck! We were up there one spring when the Grand River flooded almost all the way up to the silos!

This is a little creek that runs off the Grand River ... a frog hopped across the pathway just as I was taking this picture.

I am thankful for the beautiful outside walk I was able to take today. I had my ear buds in and was listening to beautiful music and singing along the way--don't worry--no one else seemed to be in the park at all--so I could sing, without bothering anyone. 

August 11 At the park and at home

Tuesday: Kelly asked me to meet her and the kids this morning, 9:45, at Roselle Park. At first, I couldn't picture WHERE this was. Goodness! Then I remembered!

At Roselle Park: This play area has received an upgrade or two in the last few years. Kaity and I used to come here and play often! So did Emma, Chris and Matt many years ago! 

This little fake tree that Cal is balanced on is exactly where Kaity and I crawled and hunkered down in a rain storm way, way back!

Since Gregory was wearing GREEN today, he was happily imitating a FROG--notice the tongue is out and ready for any bug that might just possibly fly by.

I remember, like it was yesterday, all of Jesse's children climbing on this fake rock. These guys are great climbers too!

I missed out on seeing them climb the outside of the tower using the hand holds, but they all told me they DID climb up as far as they could go.

This park is surrounded by grasslands, wildflowers, little streams, and beauty everywhere you look!

Kelly had an appointment to keep, so I talked the kids into "walking to the river", telling them it wasn't TOO far. Truth is, I had quite forgotten just how far the river was! Brendan had been at the park earlier practicing for Cross Country with Forest Hills High. He told me they ran this pathway and that he'd already SEEN the river, etc. Brendan and Aidan were less than enthusiastic walkers, but they were very good sports about it. I told them that if we walked as far as the lookout (below) and still didn't have a view of the river that we could turn around and go back to my car.

We made it to the lookout and took a vote. Who wants to turn around and return to my car? Brendan and Aidan voted "yes", but Erin and Greg voted "no." So we split up, and the 2 littlest walked a bit further until we finally reached the Grand River.

The kids had fun throwing rocks and watching them "plop" in the river. They were not throwing these huge gigantic rocks (!!), but just a few smaller ones they found in-between the big ones.

If we had just walked maybe another .10 mile, we would have reached a much better place to throw rocks; but these little ones were quite exhausted at this point and we still had to walk all the way back (!!). You should have heard the moans and groans--but again, they did really well and seemed pleased that they'd made it all the way to the river!

We heard all kinds of birds chirping, as well as crickets, bees (they were NOT chirping), and met many other walkers who had their dogs with them too. We got to pet many dogs on our way back to the car.

I've been inside these silos with Jesse's kids ... all the way to the lookout deck. The annoying thing about it was that after walking ALL those stairs and reaching the top, the door to the outside deck was always locked! Goodness. What a disappointment. And dear Emma--it was all she could do to look down! She has a pretty morbid fear of heights.

At my house:  We arrived at my house at nearly 11am. The kids were ready for some French toast, and even had seconds--except for Erin, who said she'd had enough.

We had a very low-key few hours over here, just hanging out, playing with so many nice toys, doing some sketching, etc.

Erin grabbed my phone and took a few "selfies" ... she is so funny when she does this! It was a pretty humid day today (notice Erin's curls), but thankfully the temperature was just in the upper 70's.

We played a very fun game of "Apples to Apples". It's so great to crack up with these kids. We laughed a LOT.

I love their ready sense of humor, and I like the way the play games together. Little Greg isn't a reader yet, so he needed assistance. Aidan was very willing to help him read his cards, and Gregory was a very enthusiastic participant.

Erin won! Aidan and Brendan were tied ... then Gregory, and then ME! 

After we enjoyed our root beer floats, I introduced them to "Tweety Bird and Sylvester" (on Youtube) while I cleaned up the place. They had never seen one of these cartoons! Can you even imagine?!?!? A few months ago, I introduced them to the Road Runner and Wiley Coyote! They love watching them. As I am picking up the stuff in each room, the sound of their laughter carries all through the house. It's one of the nicest sounds ever.