Sunday, December 23, 2012

A Hope-Filled World


Such a very special day!
 
Thirteen years ago,
Emily Hope 
was born.
 
And my world changed...
for the better!
 
Being the world traveler that she is,
our times together are not frequent enough.
But when we are together,
we pick up right up where we left off.
 
Our Nana/Hopers Days
are part of my favorite memories.
 
 
Our slumber parties
(with a girl who has always been a night owl,
and who moves all over the bed
"like a monster" (Christs's words)) when sleeping)
have made for some very fun (and sleepless) times.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Conversatons with her have always reflected
a wisdom beyond her years.
 
And from such a young age,
she has always amazed me.
 
 
 
And when we're together,
all is right with the world
 
 
 
 
 
...and she makes me very, very happy!
 
 
 
Hope,
you are a beautiful person!
 
Inside and out!
 
 
 
 
 
 
And I am so proud to be your Nana...
 
 
 
...and I love you very, very much!
 
Happy Birthday,
sweet girl!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Saturday, December 8, 2012

A "Childhood" Perception

 

 
"Never worry about the size of your
Christmas tree.
In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall."
~Larry Wilde
 
~~~
 
This is the third year that I'm putting up
an artificial Christmas tree
 
And tonight,
when I put the sum total of three sections together
and stood back to take a look,
I literally laughed out loud.
 
Because,
I had an immediate flashback of my
childhood Christmas tree.
 
My memories of that tree were
one of beauty and grandeur,
and I was sure it reached to the ceiling.
 
Then,
 sometime in my adulthood,
I saw a picture of that family tree.
 
And it was short and spindly,
and I 'm sure it was missing whole branches!
 
(So,  I do think Mr. Wilde knows what he's talking about :)

 
Now, as the nights go by,
and I complete my gift of decorating,
I will stand back,
and, like Lucas,
I'll say, "WHOA!"
because
 I'll see beauty and grandeaur,
and the tree will totally fill my field of vision.
It may even rival Rockerfeller Center's attraction!

~~~
 So,
as we count down the days
to THE DAY,
"Cheers" to you this Season,
and during the hustle and bustle,
may you truly experience...
 
 

...and may you always see your tree
with child-like eyes!
 
 
 
 


Saturday, December 1, 2012

Playdate

 
 
I'm a Nana to Lucas... 
 
 
Sherry's a Mimi to Gabriel... 
 
 
And we were finally able
to get this Jax boy and this PalmCoast boy
together in the middle...
 
 
And I think that us grandmas
enjoyed it as much as they did!
 
~~~
 
There was some guitar-strumming
with unique picks...
 
 
...and porch-strolling...
 
 
"hey, slow down!"...
 
 
"That's better!"
 
 
 And if you think at this age
you need expensive toys,
think again!
One small plastic star
and a sing-songy voice
saying "Star hat, Star hat",
and that's good for passing a fair amount of time...
 
 
~~
There was a
game of Follow the Leader...
 
 
...and amicable sharing of toys...
 
 
And wishful thinking of having
Mandy join the fun!
 
"Hey, let's break her outta there!"
                                                                                                                                            "Sorry, Mandy!"
 
~~
Gabe shared his books with a
fellow book-lover...
 
"There's Saint Gabriel"...
 
"And aren't the pics of my mom and dad funny?!"... 
 
 
...before taking a stroll to the beach!
 
 
Where, we come to find out,
both boys are bird lovers,
and everything had to stop whenever
a seagull/osprey/egret/sandpiper
flew by...
 
"There's another one!"...
 
 
...and the boys had some of their own flying time...
 
 
 
 
 
~~
(Now, Moms, don't look! because....)
 
There was some rock-climbing time
since these boys are
daring...
 
(Hey, wait for me!!)...
 
 
 
But calm your hearts, Moms,
because there was also some
sedate shell-finding time!
 
 
~~
Overall,
the day was a success,
and I see more playdates in the future...
 
 
 
because I believe a friendship has been forged!
 
 
 
(Disclaimer...
Gabe is in his pj's for the beach shots
because his dad dropped him off with no
outfit in his diaper bag...lol...
Gabe kept trying to pull his "shoes" off
to feel the sand between his toes!)
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Tuesday, November 27, 2012

A History Changing Event

 
 
Twenty-eight years ago today,
history was changed.
 
Christa Jean entered our lives,
and we have been much better off ever since!
 
 
She was active...
 
 
...and mischievous...
 
 
...and kept us on our toes!
 
~~
 
She had quite a sense of style...
 
 
...and, apparently, liked to pose with dead vegetation :)
 
~~
 
We enjoyed watching her, watching life...
 
 
 
...discovering her joys...
 
 
 
...and growing up...
 
 
 
 
...much...
 
 
...too...
 
 
...fast..!
 
 
~~
 
And as she reminded me yesterday,
 
she is now a lady...
 
 
 
And I couldn't agree with her more!
 
~~
 
Happy Birthday, my Young Lady!
 
You bring joy and happiness and laughter
to my life every day...
and every day
I thank God for you!
 
And I will continue to enjoy
seeing you write
 the continuing story of your life...
 
and watching history unfold!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 


Monday, November 26, 2012

Gratitude



Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
 
 
 
 
 
It turns what we have into enough, and more.
 
 
 
 
It turns denial into acceptance,
 
chaos to order,
 
 confusion to clarity.
 
 
 It can turn a meal into a feast,
 
a house into a home,
 
 
 
 
a stranger into a friend.
 
 
 
 
 
Gratitude makes sense of our past,

 brings peace for today,
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
and creates a vision for tomorrow.
 
 
 

-- Melody Beattie