Almost Time......

Two weeks ago we celebrated what we thought would be our last family Sunday dinner before the arrival of baby Shubzda.

We had a little mini party....

Boy or Girl?

Name please?

 That was in February.  Now it is March and we still have no baby. In the morning that will change!

I am hoping that by this time tomorrow the baby will be safe and sound in the outside world and we will know if we have a boy or a girl and what we will call this new addition!

For me the timing has been good...maybe not so for Drew and Heather.

It is suddenly spring and that does nothing but speak of new life and promise!

We went from dreary to trees in bloom.  From clouds to bright sunshine almost over night and that just makes me smile!

Everything falls in place as God has planned and tomorrow will be time for a new life and this Gramma is so ready!

First Date......

 It seems only fitting that a little girls first date should be with her dad!

Brooklynn picked out a dress in her very favorite color...along with high heel shoes and headed to party with her Tim!

 I am really not sure who is the proudest..or most excited!

What a fun night for my much too grown up first grandchild.

Can't even tell you how happy this makes my heart.
So many huge things on the horizon and the best part of it all is that I am right here to experience it all.

Condiments.....

So, this week I decided to dive into what I laughingly refer to as the "temple of doom".

Please note there are no before pics of my ever so nasty refrigerator.  

 On one of the unseasonably warm days we have been having, instead of enjoying time on the patio, I took on the task of fighting microorganisms and taking the kitchen fridge from filthy to fantastic!

 Two trash bags of expired products later what I discovered was that my refrigerator housed nothing but condiments and beverages.

We have 6 kinds of jelly, at least 8 different salad dressings, sauces, marinades, and drinks galore....but really no food.

There was some cheese and one package of lunchmeat but that was about it.  

We did not even have lettuce to use the dressing on and we rarely do.

I think everything that was expired or moldy is gone so now if you want some butter with your A-1 sauce come on over.  Just do not expect to find any food.

My Valentine.........

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Yes, I will come to your party with you!

 When Mandy committed her time to Finley's party, Brooklynn needed a stand in.

Well just twist my arm!!

It has been a long time since I have been to a school party and I am a good bit older than the rest of the attendees but the nice thing is...it does not seem to bother Brooklynn and that just makes my heart smile!

Soon she will be grown up and I won't fit so readily into her schedule.  Until then I will make the most of every opportunity to share in the Valentines fun!

Ash Wednesday 2016......

It is Ash Wednesday today and I love Lent.  What an odd thing, I am sure, but I really do.  I look forward to reaching the Lenten Season as soon as we begin the New Year.  

I NEVER make New Year's resolutions anymore because I know I won't keep them but I can do 40 days of anything....so I am encouraged.

Lent is the one season that cannot be commercialized.  After all the glitter and glitz and craziness of the Christmas Season, Lent calls us to slow down and be reflective.  

I have found that giving something up is not as satisfying anymore.  I can do without a diet coke, and although it would make me healthier, giving up sugar would not really make me a better person internally.

I choose to not give up but to add to...to add to the things I know will make me a better person, a more caring friend and neighbor.  The world has become so harsh and cold.  As our pastor said last week, how many of you all walk into church and take time to greet each person you pass?...or are you on a mission to get to your seat before someone sits in your space.....that could be me. 

This year I am going to focus more on my interior and not my exterior.

I am going to choose to find Christ in everyone, even the lady that brings her snack container to church and takes up a whole space for it while another person has to stand.  

I have a pile of books that I am going to read that I have been saving just for Lent.

I am going to come out better and that is the goal of Lent.

Our church has been renovated....all new pews and now a new pastor.  I believe he is that man that is meant to be there. I have met him and his presence excites me.  We are a fractured parish that needs mending and I know with a community as close as ours is and new spiritual direction it will happen....and in God's perfect timing, He chose Lent to put all the pieces together.

Easter Sunday will find us all healed, personally and as a parish.

It is God's plan and I am going to be part of it.

This Sweet Boy.......

This sweet little boy is two months old...well maybe a week past that in a few pictures.

The time is flying by and I am amazed at his development every time I see him..

He is nothing but pure love.  

 He is a snuggler....can't help but love that!

Believe me when I tel you I take every opportunity offered me to snuggle!

He is beginning to laugh and use his hands.

Babies are incredible little creatures!

 He took his first trip to the lake last week...and I think he is going to love it like his sisters do!  By summer he will be boat ready.

I am sure between his two granddads that fishing will be a skill he acquires early!

Yes, this is our little guy.

Matthew Joseph you are our bundle of love and our hope for the future as are our other precious grandbabies.  What a blessing!

Just A Day........

It is very seldom anymore that I post a really general, random activity.  My pages are filled with grand babies and why not...that is much more fun than reporting on a crockpot (with a liner because my husband is watching way too much food TV).

It is cold here...like bitterly cold and I am simply not made for the cold.  The genes I should have because I was born in Chicago simply left me years ago and I have no desire to go back up north and see if I can rekindle them.

I dug through the pantry and found enough ingredients for a big pot of overnight crockpot oatmeal.  The advantages....the house smells YUM and I am going to wake up to something besides coffee and yogurt.  Jimmy's excitement stems from the fact he will not have to clean the crockpot....we all win!

My second task because anything that required going outside was scratched was washing the sheets on the crib and raising the mattress.  Soon I will have another grand baby who will be using this bed! I wonder how they would feel about co-sleeping?  I find this all very exciting.  

Next on the agenda....take a seat in the sewing room and peruse all of the 100's of cookbooks lined up on the shelf.  some of the were wedding gifts, and sadly who uses a cookbook anymore.  Technology has just kicked these to the curb...so what do you do with them?

since I was by choice stuck in the house I picked a pile and went through them.  so much trouble.  The computer lets me find 15 recipes for enchiladas in on click of search.  This is labor intensive.

I decided on a cupcake cookbook and am actually going to try and compete with SPRINKLES this weekend.  How hard can that be?

They had to start somewhere so with confidence I am taking this cookbook and going to try and compete.  I have confidence!

And last I stuck my head out the door and took down the final Christmas decoration.  Why wait to long?  Total lack of enthusiasm.  Putting it up is easy...taking it down not so much.  May have to rethink the enormity of my decor next year.  

Looking forward to sunshine tomorrow.  Do not need too many days of being housebound...it is far too much work!

Celebrating..........

One more month and we will welcome another little baby to our family.

Today we celebrated the pending arrival of our baby who's sex and even name is unknown.

This is tough.  It is difficult enough not knowing whether to shop for a boy or a girl, but not knowing what we are calling this little one is really difficult!

So...we shopped for essentials and went with neutral.  

Pink or blue will come soon enough!

I think our family might need some boys.....

It was a fun afternoon. 

 The nursery is outfitted and we are all ready for this little ones arrival...but probably not quite as ready as Heather and Drew are!

Sew Much Fun......

 What do you do when it is freezing cold outside and you are having a "Little Special" day?  

You get out the Hello Kitty machine and sew!

There is nothing that makes this Gramma any happier than a sewing machine and a room full of fabric....combine that with a little girl that seems to share my passion for creation and what a great day it is.

Finley takes directions seriously!

Straight pins placed strategically .....

 And the the right thread for the job....

We did it!  

What a fun day.  

Finley is my little homemaker.  There is nothing more fun than spending the day with this little girl.

End product of our day of fun...a new tag blanket for Matthew!

All materials and tags specially selected by Fin...so what if it has pink ribbon all over it!

He is just a baby...he can't see colors anyway, right?

Not Done Yet.........

I know I have said it every year for the last four years...no more blogging.  

My creativity has died and I just forget to record what is on my mind.

I guess I lied.  Today's mail brought volume number seven of my yearly posts and honestly it makes me smile.  I am most probably the only one that cares, but I do care.  I do not necessarily think that anything I have to say is of any importance but someday it might be to someone.

The more I check into my family history, the more I wish I knew more.  If only my grandparents had recorded their thoughts.  What did they do everyday?  What did Christmas look like each year?  How did they spent their quiet moments?  These are all things I did not know

 would have meaning to me someday.

As boring as it might have become, I am going to continue to post pictures, events, and daily trivia.  The words may not come with any clever antidotes attached, or humorous happenings because honestly all I want to remember is what matters.  I have another grandbaby on the way.

How would he/she feel if my books suddenly stopped before they were born?  

It may be sporadic and this next years book may be the thinest one yet but it will happen...just one more year!

Too Many?.........

In my effort to reduce, clean, purge, get rid of clutter I am still on a mission.

I have continued to get rid of at least one bag a day...be it only a grocery store bag,

 full of something that I truly do not need.  

Today I gathered glasses.  I am a contact wearer.  At night when the contacts come out I do go with a pair of glasses for reading before bed.

I have glasses in the kitchen, in the car, in my bedroom and in the family room...but not just a pair in each place.  What I discovered was that I have way too many pair!!!

I do want to clarify that they all came from Dollar Tree.  That means that they were purchased for only $1 each.  Does that justify the fact that I have several dozen pairs?  Probably not.  

I am learning.  I am not only cleaning, I am getting purchase wise.  

It is an ongoing project...I am a work in progress!

And Suddenly.....

Finley is four!

I stood there as she was born.  I remember having concerns that I could love another grandchild as much as I loved Brooklynn.  Brooklynn was the first and she was my "special".

Love for Finley

 was almost automatic.  Her sweet little face grabbed ahold of my heart and her daddy aptly nicknamed her "sunshine", and so she is.

She is definitely her own person.  Mature and smart well beyond her years she is witty, and strong willed.  She is a hugger and oh how I enjoy snuggles with her whenever she is here.  

Finley is independent and crafty and moves at her own pace.  Just try getting her out the door on your schedule.  I find often that there is no way that it will happen!

Finley has a mommy heart.  She is nurturing and cares for her new brother like a ten year old.

She was the first to give Matthew a bottle and did so with the greatest of confidence.

She is my second little "special" and holds a special place in my heart.  

Go forth little girl.  Your such a confident young lady.  I hate to see you grow up but I have no doubt you know what direction you are headed.

I love you sweet Finley.

40 Bags In 40 Days......

It's a challenge and I am totally up to the task.  My house is a mess!  It is not dirty but it is full of unnecessary junk.

Let's start with the pantry.  Should there be a catastrophic event that would close down the grocery stores for a month, well come on over.  We could feed you.  I do not guarantee that all of the food I have is not well past the expiration date but if you are willing to eat it, we have it.  

The above picture is the floor of my pantry and it gets worse the higher you go.

It is massive overbuy and I do it in every area of my life.  I am starting today, though it is meant to coincide with the 40 days of Lent.  I simply cannot wait that long.  

40 bags does not have to be 30 gallon garbage size bags.  A simple grocery store bag counts as long as it contains clutter.  

It is not a race.  One day, one bag at a time.  I am excited.  I have long felt guilt for what my children will encounter when I die.  I have STUFF and I know that no one wants it...not even me.

I am pondering tonight and tomorrow I start.  I feel good.  I am not sure where to begin but I can choose just about anywhere and accomplish something.  My sock drawer is even fair game...maybe two bags full from there.

I am ready...armed with fruit snacks from my pantry floor.

A Last though or Maybe more!....

Prayer for Good Humor
by St. Thomas More

Grant me, O Lord, good digestion, and also something to digest. 

Grant me a healthy body, and the necessary good humor to maintain it. 

Grant me a simple soul that knows to treasure all that is good 
and that doesn’t frighten easily at the sight of evil, 
but rather finds the means to put things back in their place. 

Give me a soul that knows not boredom, grumblings, sighs and laments, 
nor excess of stress, because of that obstructing thing called “I.” 

Grant me, O Lord, a sense of good humor. 
Allow me the grace to be able to take a joke to discover in life a bit of joy, 
and to be able to share it with others.
                                                Amen

Here We Are.....

 Yes, here we are.  It is 2016 and I do not know how we got here already.  I am amazed how quickly the years fly by.  I just get used to writing 2015 on correspondence and it is 2016.  There are so many things to look forward to each year but I do not want to wish time away, so I will have to learn to be patient.  That is a huge task for me!

So many things on my list for the upcoming year but the most important thing is just to be happy.  I am finding more joy in things every day.  I am in a good place in my life and I cannot wish for much more than that.  

With time moving by more quickly I have made a decision.  I am letting go of my blog.  It has become a drain.  It takes up time that I would rather spend doing other things.  It has served it's purpose and all of the books that have recorded the events of the last six years make me smile.  I will still have the memories but just not in the same way. 

I am happy about moving on.  

We all need to find time for that....and I know this is the time.

Good bye blog world.

Hello more free time!!!!