The Jones Family Junction: October 2015

Two Halloween cuties ...

Little Fellow is all ready for Halloween. His costume is ready, and his mama is showing him a new coloring book about the minions.

Brendan really really likes his costume. He is the ultimate BATMAN in all of his chunkiness. He is SO serious when he is dressed up like this!

And SO dramatic! I could not get one smile out of him! Just this haunting kind of ... scariness! Kelly was very amused (me too).

Brendan showed me many of his defender "moves" and was kicking his legs and throwing his body around their living room, rescuing imaginary victims.

My other Halloween cutie is Kaity-Jane. She was over the other day dressed in her pumpkin tutu. I think she looks very pretty in orange.

Kaity was very pleased with her costume and danced like a ballerina for me.

I love these pictures of her. She is our pixie-girl.

Love you, Kaitlynn!

Emma and I have not had an afternoon together, just the two of us, since she was ... two years old. This is not at all because I haven't desired it, longed for it, asked for it, etc. But it just has not happened in all of these years. Today it happened completely on a fluke and I will remember it always.

It is too long a story to explain how this happened: suffice it to say that Emma and I went out to lunch together, and then we drove out to Pickerel Lake and hiked the entire lake together ... just Emma and I.

I did not photograph the longest boardwalk this visit, but you have to cross over it as you begin the hike around the lake. Emma has been terrified of it for a very long time and in past hikes has refused to set foot on it! We have always had to take alternate routes to avoid it. But today was different. She told me, rather emphatically, that it was "time to conquer her fears." So ... we walked across that very long boardwalk, chatting happily all the way. When we were about 3/4 of the way across, Emma asked me how deep the water was out where we were. I responded that I did not know for certain, but I thought it might be about 3' or so (it is rather boggy and swampy out there). She was SO surprised and said if she had known that it wasn't deep water, she would not have been afraid in the first place!

We had such a nice talk as we hiked. I must tell you something here. I have known and felt this for years ... Emma is a friend. I know that she is my grandDAUGHTER and my very first grandCHILD (which is special enough right there!), but she has become a dear friend. We share confidences, Emma and I. We are comfortable with each other. We laugh at the same stuff. We crack up together. We can look at each other briefly and know EXACTY what the other one is thinking. And mostly, we love each other just as we are. And that is the best kind of love I think ... not that we don't encourage each other to grow and learn and become better people--but we understand and appreciate each other unconditionally. It is such a gift.

Emma had her tablet with her and was very much enjoying being a photographer today.

Pickerel State Park is a deliciously beautiful place. I will cherish this memory ...

Emma and I ...

Brendan at the Mall ...

Just two very random pictures of my date with Brendan out at Rivertown Mall. This is the little children's play area. Brendan has a lot of fun here. I am going to have to remember to bring Kaity-girl out here some time soon!

We also rode the carousel together, ate a little bit of a dinner (while Brendan was climbing on all of the "rides" near the merry-go-round), walked around some shops, and just enjoyed each other. Winter is on the way ... we will be back!

My childhood friend, Laurie ...

God has always been very kind to me when it comes to FRIENDS. This is Laurie. She is the nicest friend I have ever had ... a childhood friend. We met in the sixth grade. Our teacher was Ms. Simone. I remember exactly where we sat in her classroom! Not right next to each other. Laurie was two rows over and closer to the front of the class than I was. She was also much smarter, very social, had a ton of friends ... but somehow God allowed our friendship to be very special.

Laurie lived two blocks from me. I spent a lot of time at her house. She had very nice folks, two adorable poodles (Spunky--the boy, and Misty--the girl), and she had two older brothers who were very kind to me as well. In the sixth grade, I remember that Laurie and I were both 4'11" and weighed 86 pounds. That was BEFORE I grew ... because I did grow 4" taller in the 7th grade (without putting on much weight, much to my dismay).

I have tons of wonderful memories from our friendship. Mostly how much Laurie was there for me. She and I never got into "spats" or little jealousies. We saw each other almost every day. They had an above-ground pool in their backyard and we lived in it every summer. Laurie taught me how to dive for pennies and how to properly breathe under water without holding my nose! She also taught me how to sew and we would oftentimes work on making shorts or scarves or headbands together in the sewing area of her basement.

We also shot a lot of hoops in her driveway. She always always WON because she was very athletic. But even though I was clumsy and not one single bit athletic, I never felt awkward around Laurie. She was a true and faithful friend. Many a Friday night was spent overnight at her house, eating Oreo cookies, watching Carson's monologue, laughing with her brothers. Good times. Good memories. I had a lot of admiration for my friend, and still do. She was born really intelligent, but also, even though she was really smart, she studied hard and earned her good grades. She spurred me on to better academic things, to try harder, to achieve more. I loved her intensely. When we graduated from high school, Laurie moved to Michigan State and I moved here to Grand Rapids to go to Baptist. We kept in touch, but not closely in touch--so much happens at college. We have always exchanged birthday and Christmas cards! Recently, we have been closer in touch via FB and arranged this face-to-face meeting. We shared lunch at my house and then hiked Pickerel Lake. It was a wonderful time. I am so thankful to God for this friend, who meant so much to me as a child, who I still admire and love today.