Gramma Camp 2016.......

When I was growing up I used to love going to spend a few days with my grandparents.  I have such great memories.  I loved to play in the yard while my Gramma hung the laundry on the clothes line.  She was a tiny little lady so she had to stand on a stool.  I have that stool in my bedroom today.  

At night we would have an ice cream soda and watch my grandad roll his cigarettes.  I can clearly remember the thin white papers and the smell of the tobacco.  

We slept upstairs and I could hear the church bells ringing every hour all night long because of course...we slept with the windows open.

I want to my grand babies to have memories.  Not just the ones we create when I pick them up from school but the ones we can make when we spend a couple of days together.  

So we had a Gramma Camp.  I hope it will be an annual event...at least until they are too old to be interested anymore.

We began by building a bug garden.  

A fairy garden was my original plan but bugs happened to be the in item at Hobby Lobby this summer so that is what we picked!

Finley took great care in the placement of the stone pathways...

Brooklynn took a break to cool off inside.

Dinner was pizza in our own outdoor pizza oven.

Wow...that was one hot oven!

Dessert was ice cream sundaes with chocolate coated waffle cones...

not an ice cream soda but fun!

A little cooking making because you can never have too much sugar!

 No camp would be complete without a swim....
the beauty of a pool, you  can just hop in whenever you want!

 One of our favorite adventures....URBAN AIR!!!
Wow...we just had too much fun!

Last stop...Finding Dory at the movies.
I am not a movie fan but this was just too good.  We went armed with snacks and money for a bag of popcorn because what is better than spending $6.50 for a small bag of movie theater popcorn.
Believe we will of course!
It was a great three days!
I probably have better memories of the time than they do and that is a good thing!

Carry The Load 2016......

Memorial Day weekend.......I used to consider it the beginning of summer and my vacation from the world of textbooks and students...until I lost a son.  Then everything changed and I am not sure what kind of day it was.  Most people are in celebration mode this time of year but that did not seem quite appropriate when it is a day to remember those who gave their lives in service to our country.  

My son did that.  He did not die in battle.  He died training for battle.  He went down in an massive explosion over the Pacific Ocean with three other pilots.  Not bodies recovered.  That is hard to say and even harder to accept.  Matt was my special son....the one that called many times a week and always said I love you mom and he is forever gone.  I love my other children.  They mourn his loss as I do but no one misses like a mom.

 Carry the Load is healing us.  It brings together those with a common purple who all somehow know the pain of loss.  We have grown in our acceptance and PRIDE.  Those lost are not forgotten.  They are honored for what they did.  Most families say their lost sons and daughter would not have it any other way.

 Our kids know why we are here and now so do our grandkids.  Memorial day has meaning for us all.  A new dimension has been added...a namesake for our lost son....

Matthew Joseph Shubzda attended his first Carry the Load and someday will understand the significance of the event and his name.  

I hope he understands what a great man his uncle was.  We always tend to glorify those that leave us but in the is case and I think my son is pretty much worthy of all of the accolades.  

He was much like my dad and that is a good thing.  

I love the pictures.  I love the memories.  I love the friends we tun into who always have stories to share.  I am grateful for the continued support and I am blessed by the love that surrounds us this weekend each year.  

We will all continue to help 

Carry the Load.

Tiny Dancers!.......

I seem to have an insurmountable amount of backlogged photos and thoughts I have not recorded.  Some days just thinking it is time to stop this madness seems like a great idea...but...to do so I would have to give up what makes life fun.  

Things like dance recitals!

 

 Sometimes life seems to be repeating itself.  Who would guess that after watching our boys literally grow up together on the soccer field, we would be watching our grandbabies dance together on stage.

Clay and Tim years as bests when they were young.  Now Brooklynn, Finley, and Henlee don't just go to school together, they are recital partners!  What pretty little dancers they are!

 Brooklynn and Lila's moms also grew up together, and here they are full circle with their own little girls doing the same thing.

 Confident and proud of themselves as they should be!

These little dancers were ready to shine...a little applause please!

All of that attention can just wear a ballerina out!

Happy Mother's Day to Me.......

 It is that day.  That day when I declare a holiday for me. 

Sleeping late..

No laundry..

No cooking..

No cleaning the house..

A day for brunch with the family where there are no dishes for me to wash or menu to plan.

 Yes, it was Mother's Day but somehow Gramps was the "main man".

Snuggled up at the restaurant with the littlest of the "specials", he was his happiest.

And where was the mom of the day....taking pictures of course!

   "Blessed", probably my most used word ever. 

We really are.

Blessed by children, daughter-in-laws, and grandchildren.

Happy Mother's Day to me!

Cinco de Mayo.......

May 5th, Cinco de Mayo, was our yearly Volunteer Appreciation luncheon hosted by the VNA for all those who take on the task of delivering Meals on Wheels.  I actually enjoy going to this.  We have a great group from church that attends.  It is a day to get out and visit and see all the good that is done by those in the Dallas area for those whose need is so great. 4500 meals a day delivered by volunteers.  That is an amazing number of people daily who go to their pick up sight to grab a dozen or more meals for the needy.  The people on these lists are the hidden hungry.  They are not the homeless.  

Today was actually my day to deliver.  I did my 10:00 pick up and I was on the road with my hot and cold bags of food.  I think it is good to do this alone, though most drivers have partners.  It is a little bit of a reflective time as I pick up my list...which is different every month, and then try to map out a workable route for my drive.  It is never consistent.  People drop on and off.  New addresses are added and the VNA never puts the route in an order that makes sense. My greatest challenge is not taking the food, it is navigating a course with my total lack of direction sense.  

As I drove today to some new spots I realized that there is no sacrifice in the delivery.  It does nothing but reinforce how very blessed I am as I see first hand the deplorable conditions that some are forced to live in.  A new address today took me to a house that was probably 400 square feet.  There were cats and flys everywhere.  As the door opened the cats and flys went in.  There are no words for what I saw and how I felt.  I can only think that all those who deliver must leave with a sense of gratitude for having the ability to do this for those that have so little.  I do not think I have dropped off any meals for anyone I thought was not deserving.

Some days it is good to take note of what we are truly blessed with....
and today was that day.

Reunited!.......

I jumped right out of my comfort zone today and went to the 30th reunion for the staff of Luna Elementary!

 I am not usually the go back and reminisce type of person so I can find a million reasons why I do not need to be there, but the truth of the matter is I did need to go!

 All of our family...including myself, was involved in Luna from the time they broke ground!

These people are my friends.  They educated my children.

 I think the beauty of staying planted is that you do develop "roots".

We have been in the same community since 1976.

This is our home, our neighborhood, and our family.

 I worked in this building and watched my children perform on this stage.

Maybe I am getting old and nostalgic....maybe I have always been old and nostalgic but I enjoyed the morning.  

Memories are good....and there were many good memories in those halls and with those people.

Thanks Luna!!!