This is my second Thanksgiving with my little grand girl – Averey Elizabeth. Thanksgiving 2013
An itty bitty baby a year ago.
And this year, she has changed so much. She is a mover and shaker. Loves to play, laugh, clap, squeal, and RUN.
This is her and Bridget at the park last weekend. The baby is running, and Bridget is trying to keep up.
The best part of my outing is when Bridget plops down next to me and says out of breath, “I am tired!”
I guess being an eight-year-old and chasing after a busy toddler is too much for her.
What’s funny is I have photos of her “running” all crazy. And you know? It wasn’t that long ago…
Little Bridget
I am so thankful I have been in her life since she was a toddler.
I am thankful to share the love of Averey with her.
I am pretty sure they will be friends for a long, long time.
I’ve had an entire year plus a few months of being a Grandmother. I wish I could explain what joy that brings me, but it isn’t something you can explain. It is just something you feel in your heart.
I am grateful for this experience. It is a treasure and a gift.
And yes, it is going by way too fast. I don’t want her to grow up, and yet, I can’t stop time. I’m not sure I would want to either. I am enjoying the great changes she is making.
So, I will cherish every moment. Every run. Every laugh. Every squeal.
And I am thankful.
So very, very thankful.
I thank you all for being here. I wish you many blessings and memories on this Thanksgiving Day.
If you don’t celebrate, that is okay. You can still be thankful.
Just take a quick lesson from a very cute fifteen-month-old.
Although today was my day off and I finally got to enjoy our wintry weather, I have worked very hard.
I have worked hard to make sure this day is exactly right. Perfect, if you will.
See, today is one of those days that you never forget. The moment the clock strikes midnight, it settles over your mind. This presence doesn’t just linger around, but it gets comfortable. It fluffs up the pillows, shakes out the covers, and leans back to witness every part of the next twenty-four hours. And although, I want to fast forward the day, because there are other days, I would rather remember…
I just can’t.
I find myself not running away or speeding through it, but settling down too. Fluffing my pillows, kicking my feet up, and just enjoying my time with it.
So, I can remember.
And remember well, as I celebrate my wonderful treasures, and uplift them with great honor.
I thought of a million ways to get this right, but in the end. I made a video.
I hope you enjoy my day, and my walk. I hope you see the beauty in how it is lived and presented.
My Dad died while I was blogging and it means the world to me that this blog holds what was in my heart that day (and continues to). I don’t ever want to forget them and I am so grateful to WordPress for this means to journal and share – the good stuff and the tough stuff.
God Bless you all for watching.
We are having a bit of winter here in Texas…..more on that later.
Today is my oldest stepdaughter’s birthday…she is NINE.
When I met her, she was only four years old.
When I started this blog? Five.
I have watched go from a super smart four-year-old to a dang-near genius nine-year old. The kid is smarter than most people I know. Heh.
She loves every dog in the house for the pets, her iPhone for the music, her sister for the playing, and her Daddy for the hugs.
I’m pretty sure she will grow up to be a Doctor, or an architect.
The Doctor part, because she insisted on performing surgery when she was four. I am still not sure what was wrong with my leg, but when she stabbed it with something sharp and I screamed, “Owwww!” She laughed evilly……
Yep. Doctor.
Or an Architect because that girl can build two-story forts in the living room, and a five-room house with blankets below it. The construction site is a disaster amazing.
She insists on calling me Mom. I am her step-mom…..she knows this. I couldn’t and wouldn’t take her Mom’s place. Her Mom has a kinship with her that can never be replaced. She loves her Mom more than anything. But I know why she does it. I had a step-dad and I HATED the step part. I felt like it took something away from what he was to me. So I get it. I am her mom (step) and I am so proud to be that to her.
This young lady is, no doubt, going to take the world by storm.
She is everything bright, fun, and beautiful and I love her with all my heart.
Happy 9th Birthday to my girl Molly!
In another news, we are frantically preparing for the big Gender Reveal party tomorrow. I can’t believe IN ONE DAY I will know if it is a GrandGirl or a GrandBoy. I am excited beyond belief and busy, oh so busy, getting allllllllll the pink and blue stuff together.
When someone rejoices with you, because your joy can’t be contained…
From all ends of the spectrum. Blessings are no joke. They sneak up on you and they make you realize how grateful you really are. Truly grateful for all the big and small things life throws your way.
When my very young (but grown) daughter told me she might be pregnant about two months ago…
…I was not angry, upset, or sad for her.
What I felt……..was joy.
I KNOW. Nothing is an accident. People make mistakes, but God doesn’t.
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. -Psalms 139:13-16
News to share….
Countdown to parenthood a little over FOUR months. Get ready kids. 🙂
And here they are…two months after she told me.
Sydney’s belly is really growing fast at this point. We didn’t want to announce it all too soon. Of course, we told family right away, but not the general public/social media avenues.
Til now that is…
Which is why I can share my unexpected blessing with all of you. I am going to be a GRAMMA with a grandchild! OMG!
And honestly? I can’t wait.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” Jeremiah 1:5
Easter Weekend 18 Weeks.
It is just hard to believe my BABY is having a BABY. It took me several weeks to really process that. I am not ready for her to be all grown up and a mommy *cry!*.
But she is going to be…..no matter if I am ready or not.
We are doing weekly photos throughout her pregnancy. This one will be all hooked together like a movie watching her belly grow. I found that on Pinterest, because Pinterest is awesome like that.
Of course, I have BIG photo plans for the baby when he/she gets here. No, we don’t know what it is yet. And yes, we will find out. Apparently gender reveal parties are all the rage these days. Not to mention, Sydney and I went to Buy Buy Baby a few weeks ago, it was our first outing for baby and we had to buy something. As in – yes this is real and we are buying a baby thing – but there were very few non-gender things. We settled for a long-sleeve white onsie. Awh.
We told the little girls tonight. I had no idea how to do it. They are six and eight years old. Smart as little whips, but I think I will leave the birds and the bees talk to their mom. Heh.
I showed them a photo of Sydney at week 18 (above) and then I said, “Do you notice anything?” After a minute or two, one of them said, “Welllllll, her belly looks bigger.” I breathed a sigh of relief and then displayed on my phone the sonogram photo next to Sydney’s belly.
This was taken week 16 and the sonogram photo is at about 8 weeks.
I said, “Do you know what THAT is?”
Surprisingly the six-year old answered. “A BABY!?!”
Hands clapped over mouths in surprise, as they looked at each all wide-eyed. Then Bridget questioned aloud, “Is she married?” It made me smile because that is such a six-year old thing to say. So sweet and innocent, and no, they are not married yet and may not be for a few more years (I hope). I want Sydney to finish college and both of them to have jobs and a home, etc…etc.
Then I told them, “You two are gonna be AUNTS!” Except I pronounced it the North East way Aunt, not Ant like we say here. They have Aunts, we have Ants. I think Bridget declared she didn’t want to be an Aunt. Molly giggled some more, and proclaimed she would be a fourth grade Aunt standing up tall and holding her chest out. I think she will make a very fine Aunt.
But when I told them their Dad was going to be a GRANDPA???
It got REAL.
And they laughed, and laughed, and laughed. Molly had TEARS streaming down her face, because apparently, Daddy being a Grandpa is flippin’ hilarious.
I think we are all still smiling. I hope you are too.
Living, Loving, Laughing.... 