Filled up with Aidan Paul ...

Monday, June 3:  I got to be the one to wake Aidan up from his nap over at his house, earlier this afternoon. I went into his room and kissed his soft face. He woke up with a big smile and crawled right into my arms. We got him ready to go to my house and then played the rest of the afternoon together. He was very happy to see the horses and "neighed" rather loudly at them while showing them off to his stuffed friend ...

 When it was time for lunch, Aidan thought that I would maybe let him sit at the table on a regular chair, but I coaxed him out of that and into a chair where I could have more "control" (ah, now there's a word for you!) ... over what exactly happened to the food he would eat (where it would end up, etc.). It's a pain being a neat-nic. 

"Mmmm ... nothing like a fresh cucumber
and a stuffed rabbit ..."

 Then we strolled over to the neighborhood playground and climbed stairs for awhile. 

 Aidan met an almost five-year-old girl by the name of Olivia, who was quite taken with him. Her great grandfather was with her and it turns out he and his wife have just moved into the complex here. They go to Calvary Church too!

 Then we strolled back to my house and hung out here for awhile. It is not difficult to hang out with Aidan. He is the sweetest little boy I have ever met ...

 We chilled out on the front deck for a while ...

 And then we went inside where Aidan got the trains out and built himself a little layout ...

 Aidan seranaded me on my piano, mostly just switching the pages in my book ...

 Ah, but THEN, Aidan remembered the little bronze shoes that he loves so much. The shoe on the right is a copy of MY first baby shoe. The one on the left is my brother, Kevin's shoe. My grandma Mary had bronze shoes made for every one of her grandchildren--a keepsake for her and for us too. I believe she made duplicates and upon our wedding, we were gifted our little shoe!

Aidan decidedly LOVES these shoes and desperately wants to wear them on HIS feet. Not a chance! So I consoled him by putting them on Paco Pig. They are too big for him, but Aidan is pleased nonetheless.

Paco: "Aidan keeps wanting me to eat HOT DOGS!
Yuck ... never!"

 Aidan always enjoys my fake food and kitchen stuff ...

"Boy, grandma ... if you would just NOT
overcook the waffles ... they would be easier to cut!"

 He even pretended the fake lemon was a football and kicked it around the house for a little while. Oh the things that amuse a 2-year-old!

 BUT THEN ... Aidan remembered the LEGO camera, which completely does NOT take real photos; but Aidan doesn't know the difference. He took "pictures" for the longest time and was SUPER serious about it.

"Smile, grandma!"

 This is the face of a serious future photographer!

"One second ... I have to adjust the lens!"

"Oh, grandma ... that smile was awful!"

"Maybe if I get down on my knees (like grandma does),
I'll get a better shot ..."

"Taking a selfie is harder than it looks!"

"Oh man, I messed up! You should SEE
this picture, it's hilarious!"

 Aidan got Paco in on his photography for the day ...

"Okay, Paco. YOU take the picture. It's not hard!"

"Maybe if I smoosh my nose up to the lens ..."

"Paco ... you can take a banana break while
I adjust the settings ..."

"Man! This camera just isn't behaving!"

"Okay, Paco ... hold that smile ... yes!"

"Sometimes grandma Carol bends WAY DOWN to get a good
picture ... I'll try it!"

 Sigh. Now it is time to take you back to your house, Aidan!

 Aidan was getting droopy on the way home, since it is a 30+ minute drive back to his house at this time of day ... he was almost asleep (which I didn't want to have happen), so I told him we were going home to mama and asked him where she was. "Mama?" Aidan smiled and kept looking for her the rest of the way home.

Spending these hours with Aidan fills me up with warmth and happiness ... love him so much.

My little place

Sunday, June 2:  Just a few pictures of my beach house ... I love the stones and the plants I had put in last fall. I added a few annuals in pots, just to give it some color.

 I've sprayed around the pots with some yucky stuff to deter the rabbits from eating my daisies ... so far, so good!

 And isn't this the cutest flat ever? "SEAS THE DAY!" 

Happiness is ... FLOWERS!

A surprising discovery

Sunday, June 2:  Emma and I enjoyed our worship at church this morning, ate lunch together, and then on our way back to her house, we stopped by Menard's to put in a job application (not for me). I told Emma I would pray that she is able to get a summer job--perhaps this will be the one!

I came home and took a brief nap but then decided to take a walk on this gorgeous afternoon/evening. I walked down Chauncey Avenue, on the other side of Canonsburg, and remembered a road that I had always wanted to explore--for some reason, I had always thought it was "private" and so I didn't wander down it. But today, I was happy to find out that the road was marked like any other road, and it was NOT designated "private" whatsoever.

 Yes! I LOVE exploring new roads! For this reason, I SHOULD have a bike! It sure would be faster to explore new places on a bike instead of on my feet ... but I CAN walk, and with my camera in hand and was ready for ... anything!

 I found a lot of beauty back here on Shiloh Rd. Quiet beauty. Wood-sie beauty. The kind I intensely love.

 Won't this road be beautiful with a fresh new snow cover? NOT in June, however! I'll have to explore it in EVERY season.

Something else surprised me in the last few days. I've learned of an artist/musician who has been around for 15+ years that I never heard of before. A friend posted a music video on FB of the artist singing one of his songs at a Getty concert, backed up by a 400-voice choir! The song really spoke to my heart. The artist's face, his sincerity, his worship ... was so moving. The song is titled: "Is He Worthy?" Rhetorical, obviously. Here are the words:

IS HE WORTHY, Andrew Peterson (2018)

[Verse 1]

Do you feel the world is broken? (We do)

Do you feel the shadows deepen? (We do)

But do you know that all the dark won't stop the light from getting through? (We do)

Do you wish that you could see it all made new? (We do)

[Verse 2]

Is all creation groaning? (It is)

Is a new creation coming? (It is)

Is the glory of the Lord to be the light within our midst? (It is)

Is it good that we remind ourselves of this? (It is)

[Chorus]

Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole?
Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?
The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave
He is David's root and the Lamb who died to ransom the slave

[Refrain 1]

Is He worthy? Is He worthy?

Of all blessing and honor and glory

Is He worthy of this?  He is!

[Verse 3]

Does the Father truly love us? (He does)

Does the Spirit move among us? (He does)

And does Jesus, our Messiah hold forever those He loves? (He does)

Does our God intend to dwell again with us? (He does)

[Chorus]

Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole?

Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?

The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave

He is David's root and the Lamb who died to ransom the slave

[Bridge]

From every people and tribe

Every nation and tongue

He has made us a kingdom and priests to God

To reign with the Son

[Refrain 2]

Is He worthy? Is He worthy?

Of all blessing and honor and glory

Is He worthy? Is He worthy?

Is He worthy of this?

He is!

Is He worthy? Is He worthy?

He is!

He is!

I've played the video, probably 50x over the last three days, and then I did a little internet search on the musician and found that he is also an author! Andrew Peterson has written a 4-volume fantasy series that I simply MUST read ... in fact, I can hardly wait! I went on Youtube Saturday morning and found that this talented fellow has written a TON of beautiful music! I'm going to have to acquire it so that I can download it to my phone and listen to it while I drive ... because it is transforming stuff!

INDEED, HE IS WORTHY!

Welcome, JUNE!

Saturday, June 1:  It was another GOOD Saturday around here, and I'm so thankful. I'm learning that I always, always, always have to have a PLAN B ready due to weather and circumstances beyond my control.

I picked up Emma today at 3:30. We picked Chris and Andy up over at AMC and then we drove over to where Jesse was (he was helping a friend with a renovation project) where we picked up Kaity. We took Andy to her house, brought Chris back to his house, and then just the girls came with me back to my house. Matthew stayed with Jesse to continue working on the project. We spent a little extra car time doing all of this run-around stuff, but do you know something? It was just fine! I like to be helpful, don't you? And the girls were very good sports about it, and it was nice to actually SEE Christopher--even if he was only in the back seat of my car!

Dear Kaity prefers outdoor stuff, and she likes to GO PLACES! But it had rained (most of the week, actually) very hard Saturday morning and all the way until I picked everyone up ... so I told Kaity we would be doing inside play today. She made a sad face, and my heart was sad too--but what choice do we have? Thankfully, I picked up a game that I thought Kaity might enjoy. She was naturally intrigued to hear about a "new" game ...

The game is "Head Banz" and it is one that I've seen Brendan play and enjoy. I bought it Saturday, right before I picked up the kids. Kaity took one look at it and KNEW it would be fun because, you see, it is a guessing game. Kaity is all about hide 'n seek, and a game we call the "Y-E-S" and "N-O" game we do in the car when we are bored. So Kaity and I played Head Banz for an hour! She loved it. Yes!

We also played soccer out in my street. The rain had finally stopped, my street is quiet (as far as traffic is concerned), and Kaity loves to run and chase balls! I'm old ... but I STILL enjoy playing outside and kicking a ball around is good exercise for me! 

And what was Emma up to? Well, she'd been studying for final exams while at her house and she needed a break from that. She was catching up on some of her "phone stuff" and resting while Kaity and I played. We all enjoyed a good meal together too. But then it was time to take Kaity home. We were informed by my neighbor that a storm was on the way, with high winds and possible hail ... so we quickly left my house and drove to Kaity's. Jesse and Matthew were home at just about the same time, anticipating the bad weather. We did get the rain, but nothing severe ... some lightning and thunder, but Emma and I were back here by then.

Emma and I ended up watching TWO episodes of "Sherlock Holmes" before we crashed into bed. Much of these episodes flew right by my brain ... but it is enjoyable just to be with Emma, and she "gets" this show. I love just being with her, no matter what. Thank you, Lord, for such a good Saturday!