February 21 All my JEWELS

Tuesday:  So rather than bore you with a "same old" Tuesday narrative, I'll jump right to the sweetest part of my day with the kiddos. 

We were sitting at our kitchen table, Erin eating some fruit and Cal munching on his Mac 'n cheese when Erin looked up at me and asked: "Can I see all your JEWELS, gramma?" I laughed (naturally) and thought to myself "Jewels? What jewels?"  We finished eating and I cleaned up the kitchen a bit and then Erin asked again if she could see my "sparkwy stuff" ... so we went into my bedroom and I began taking out small containers of my old and truly junky costume jewelry to show to her. 

Here are a "few" photos of Erin enjoying herself hugely while exploring my treasures:

"Oooo ... look at this one, gwamma! It's super shiny!"

"It's pretty long too ... I think this one is kind of weird." (I couldn't agree more).

"Awww ... wook at this widdle tiny heart, gwamma! It's SO cute!"

"Ooo ... I weewy wike this one! It's boo-ti-ful!"

"This one sparkles, gwamma! I wuv sparkwy things!" 

"My favorite color is purple, but I wike pink sparkles too."

"My mama wuvs GOLD sparkwy stuff the best ... maybe we should take some of this stuff to my house!"

Dear Erin! YOU are the treasure! It took us an hour to go through all of my small containers and little boxes of jewelry. What a sweet time we had.

MEANWHILE ... our young and always ferocious dinosaur was intently feeding Sweetie Pie as many cars as he could possibly find ...

... examining each and every vehicle to see which was most tasty ...

... making dinosaur growls the entire time ...

... priceless.

We left my house at 3:30-ish in order to be back to their house for the older kids to come home from school. We played together in their basement for awhile. Erin helped me clean up the kitchen for a little bit. It was super nice to see Aidan and Brendan (no pictures of them today). I had a nice time chatting with Dylan for awhile too, not as much time with Kelly. I declined dinner due to stomach issues (since yesterday), but what a nice day it turned out to be.

You are too good to me, Lord! How thankful I am for Your daily mercies and love for us.

February 20 A happy afternoon

Monday:  I truly like spontaneity ... but rarely does it come my way! Possibly because I am much too rigid with my personal time. Anyway, rather than trying to figure out WHY I don't just jump up a DO unexpected and unplanned activities on a weekly basis, I'll just tell you what happened today.

I think it was about 11:30 when Brenda called and asked if it was okay for her to stop by for a visit. She rarely ever asks; but the last few times she HAS, I have turned her down--usually due to grandma duties having a greater priority. Anyway, I was totally free Monday afternoon, my Bible study homework was complete, I didn't have a huge list of MUST DO'S for the afternoon; so I said "Yes!"

It was about 12:30 when Brenda arrived. We enjoyed a little dish of fruit and fruit dip briefly before we went outside for a walk. It was a super pleasant weather day, and Brenda hadn't really ever walked around our "park" for any distance; so we walked over to my sister's house (for starters), which is a little over a mile round trip. We had almost returned to my street when I told Brenda about Imperial Mills (off Chauncey Avenue) and asked if she wanted to walk there. Well ... I had forgotten that Brenda has painful feet--she does really well with them, but they do cause her chronic pain. We turned around and instead DROVE over to Imperial Mills. She liked it! I love it there, even though exploration is forbidden ("No Trespassing" signs EVERYWHERE ... as well as quite large dogs). Anyway, we continued driving up Chauncey as it turns into a dirt road and then it turned and became 5 Mile (paved). 

Since we really didn't have anything else to do, Brenda suggested driving out to Lowell to walk around a little bit. On our way down Canonsburg, Brenda noted "Frozen Creek Floral & Produce" which is just off the road. There is a barn there that I have long admired, but never had any reason to drive up the driveway to check it out. I didn't realize there was kind of a "shop" attached to the farm house that sells dried flower arrangements and canned jam, etc. 

I didn't have my camera with me, due to the fact that the snow has gotten SO ugly and the trees are so dreadfully BARE ... but I snapped this quick picture with my phone. Isn't this a nice barn? When it snows again later in the week, I'll drive back and take better pictures (hopefully). We met a very nice woman (Ruth) who could have talked the legs off a chair (!!), was recovering from knee surgery, and showed us all around their 150 year old farm house. We didn't buy any floral arrangements or anything else, for that matter; but it was nice to meet Ruth and have such a nice chat.

We drove down Canonsburg until it kind of dead ends into Lincoln Lake Road, where we turned right and took it all the way into Lowell. There was a shop Brenda wanted to check out; but it turns out the shop had moved and we couldn't figure out where it had moved to. Since we were so close, I told her about the very cool pedestrian bridge that crosses over the Flat and Grand Rivers (at Grand River Riverfront Park), so we drove over there and walked across it.

My dear friend, Brenda!

I have hundreds of picture of this pretty bridge, so I didn't snap any more of it. I am glad I took one of Brenda, though. I hardly have any pictures of people who are NOT my grandchildren! Good grief. You would think that's the only important part of my life.

We drove a different route back to my house. We stayed on Grand River Drive until it round us around to Ada. We passed by this maple production place pretty close to Ada. Brenda turned the car around and we went back. I learned that Brenda grew up enjoying true MAPLE syrup on her waffles (at her grandmas), and it was one of those good memories Brenda has of growing up. We went inside and spoke with "Connie" for awhile. Her family has carried on this business for several generations. She gave us samples of their syrup. Neither of us was carrying any cash, so we did not purchase any syrup to take home. Brenda promised to return in the next week or so to purchase some syrup for she and Russ to enjoy.

I enjoyed being with Brenda so much today. She likes to explore new places! Trespassing signs don't bother her! YES! I am ashamed of myself for not making more time in my life for this kind of relaxing fun. Thank you, Brenda, for spending the afternoon with me. You are the best.

February 18 Kaity's last soccer game

Saturday:  This is the last soccer game of Kaity's very brief winter soccer season--they only played five games! I'm glad she was able to do this, though, because it's just ... good for her. Kaity is very athletically inclined and enjoys sports a lot.

Yesterday, however, Kaity was not at her best physically. She just seemed exhausted ... not running as fast as she usually does. I felt sad for her. 

I am glad she and her best friend, Kenzie (AND little Harper) got to play together, though. It's always good to be able to do good stuff with friends.

After the game, Kaity and I came over here. Like I said, Kaity was super tired. She was very much looking forward to my special rice and chicken meal, so I got started on the preparation. Kaity cuddled up with Belle and was on her phone ... I think playing games ... or watching a show perhaps. Anyway, we ate a good meal together. I had lots of fruit available too--Kaity likes most fruit--especially watermelon and grapes.

Kaity went back to the couch while I cleaned up. When I came into the front room, she was sound asleep with Belle-Belle. I read a book for awhile, edited some photos, worked on a few greeting cards ... and waited to see if Kaity would wake up.

She finally DID wake up and I challenged her to a came of UNO. Belle wanted to play with the cards, but we didn't let her. She tends to make a real mess of them. Anyway, Kaity won a very well played game, which lasted quite awhile. We didn't have time to play another game--it was time to drive Kaity back to Jesse. We listened to beautiful music all the way home, praising Jesus for His goodness, and I was once again reminded how thankful I am to be grandma to this dear granddaughter.

February 16 Conflict

Thursday:  We had an ice/snow storm descend on us mid-day today and the roads were a real mess. I intended to pick KT up from Jesse by about 4:00 and then I was going to ask him to come here by 8PM to retrieve her; thus, I wouldn't have to drive on the dark slippery roads. However, at about 1:40 (ish) I got a text from Jesse stating that KT was sick and hadn't gone to school. He asked if I could come to his place to take care of KT while he did some Uber-ing. Sure.

What I failed to remember was ... well, actually quite a number of things. #1: KT does not like school;  #2: KT doesn't always get enough sleep on school nights; hence, when it is morning, she isn't jumping out of bed all excited to start her day; and #3: KT really doesn't like to go to school (I know--I know--I have already stated that fact--but it can't be overstated).

When I drove up Jesse's driveway at 4:00, I found KT-girl outside, playing in the snow, waiting for the school bus to drop off her chums to play with. I'm not sure why this caught me off guard--but it did. I just pictured KT inside the house ... not feeling well ... rather subdued. 

I was wrong.

BUT ... I was a little incensed about KT being outside playing when she hadn't attended school that day, so I ordered her INSIDE. She was not happy about this. Anyway--the story is a little lengthy; suffice it to say that Jesse left to Uber, Kaity closed the door to her room, I made dinner and when it was ready to eat, KT came out of her room, and then she was okay with me. Not that it should have mattered to me actually. I truly believe that if KT doesn't go to school, she needs to remain inside and not expect to play with her friends like any normal day. However, that is NOT my call to make; so I overstepped my bounds, which I don't usually do. My excuse is that I was just unprepared and ... REACTED.

Anyway, after we ate KT went over to Jesse's computer and was able to figure out how to get it up and running (including the password). She then played a rather interesting video game (I forget the name) with people she doesn't even know ... my distance glasses were out in the car, so I couldn't see the screen very well (I was sitting on the couch); so I kept describing what I thought I was seeing (which apparently wasn't even close to what was actually there), which cracked KT up. Anyway, we ended up NOT having a terrible time. Jesse came home a little before 8:00 and I drove home safely, without any slide-offs or incidents. I was thankful that KT didn't hold a grudge against me the whole time I was there; but if she had, it would just have had to be how it was! Anyway, I love her to pieces. She really and truly MUST go to school though ... every single day that school is open. I'm praying about this for her.

February 14 Valentine's Day

Tuesday:  Dylan and Kelly texted me this morning that Aidan is running a slight fever and will not be going to school today. They wondered if he could come over here with Erin and Cal today and just "lay low" ... well, of course! How sad for Aidan that he had to miss his Valentine's party at school, though.

Naturally the first thing Mr. Aidan wanted to accomplish with his time at grandma's house was ... another BOOK. He got right to work on it, without delay.

Erin was busy making teensy tiny hearts and coloring them in. SO CUTE.

Cal was rather pleased to play with our treehouse for awhile ...

He even got to play with it SOLO for quite awhile because the other kids were making stuff at the table.

Cal soon abandoned treehouse living for life on the tracks (once again). He plays and plays and PLAYS with trains, cars, and trucks.

Here is our author, hard at work. Seriously.

Here is the cover of his latest novel: "The Book Weard" ... which is how I read it to him after he was finished; but he totally insisted that his book was titled: "The Weard Book" ... so ... okay then. And yes, I realize the spelling is actually WEIRD but I did not correct his work.

Here is a sample page. On the left side, our artist has rendered a 10-wheeled "car" ... remember now--this is NOT a bus or a truck--NO WAY--it is a C-A-R. Aidan then showed me the squiggly way his 10-wheeler had gone on the road (notice the squiggles on the opposite page). He insisted on having a flap: "WAT LOOK" (Wait, look!) and under the flap is printed ST and then OP is underneath the ST. STOP.

Dear Erin still has a continuing cold. I asked her to give me the tiniest smile and she gave me a thumbs down instead! What?!?!?

TWO thumbs down in a row!

Then a partial thumbs up with a sweet little smirk ...

THEN a thumbs down on her NOSE. She kills me.

Look at this little dude. This kiddo plays with intensity.

I've never seen a child who loves cars and trucks more than this one. I think Brendan loved trains excessively (in a good way)--and Cal enjoys trains too--but nothing can top a few trucks and cars for this little one.

I shared the Valentine cookies Kaity and I decorated ... however, the only one who really seemed to enjoy them was Aidan. Erin kind of picked around at hers, and Cal crumbled his in a million pieces on his high-chair tray and then asked for more. However, since he hadn't even taken a bite out of the one I gave him (which he crumbled up), I distracted him from having another.

In case you can't figure out WHAT this is;
it is a UNICORN with pink feet.

Mr. Cal does enjoy a nice bowl of ice cream though.

Later in the day, we drove back to their house so that it wouldn't be empty when Brendan came home from school. Once again, I failed to get any pictures of Brendan.

Aidan (because he is a hilarious child) modeled three pair of glasses simultaneously for me ...

The entire time he had them on, he was cracking up.

And this little monkey did a bunch of climbing stunts for me -- she absolutely has no fear whatsoever.

Dylan and Kelly returned home from work with fancy heart-shaped pizzas from JETS (my favorite); so we enjoyed dinner and the kids for awhile. Kelly showed me a very funny routine she does with Cal. Kelly will sing a few bars of a song--which song I am forgetting right now--and then she'll stop and Cal will open his little mouth and BELLOW out more lyrics as he sings. He has an amazing voice ... a born entertainer, this kiddo. 

Ah ... the love and JOY of family. I am so blessed.