Today is the Day that the Lord hath made!
I pray that we will all remember the true meaning of this Memorial Day weekend by praying for and honoring those fallen heroes from wars past & present! May God Bless Them & their families!
Memorial Day is the beginning of summer in my mind. My porches and patio are getting closer to being ready for the summer grilling season. The morning coffee tastes better outside on my front porch since its cooler than the patio in the early morning. I need to plant more flowers in my containers since my dogs love to dig up anything I plant in the ground. Hank, my border collie, dug up my brand new Hydrangea bush. He's living on the edge, that crazy hyper active dog!!
Tomorrow begins with the Grandpeeps participating in the local Cotton Row Fun Run. They will run/walk the 1 mile course along with my son Matthew who will be pushing Grandson James in his super cool new lime green wheelchair. For those of you new to my blog and our family, James is 2 1/2 & born premature to my wonderful daughter, Mary Ellen and son-in-law, Josh. James has Cerebral Palsy with the main affected areas being the legs. Cognitively, James is a very bright child & knows his colors, letters, and can read certain words such as POW, POP, etc...
James may be "pushed" in this year's race but with the Grace of God, our prayer is that he may use his own two legs in next year's race. You see, James is having a very life changing surgery on June 10th at St. Louis Children's Hospital which is a 6 hr. drive from our home here in Alabama. This surgery involves opening up his spine and clipping the nerves that cause the tightness (spasticity) in his legs. After a 3-7 hr. surgery, James will be much like an infant motor wise and will begin the long long road of daily therapy to regain/reteach his muscles/legs how to move & walk.
Right now, all we can think of is making it through the immediate surgery and getting James home safely. You can understand why "Running" with his Uncle Matthew in this race is so symbolic for our Sweet Baby James. Please pray with us as we prepare for the difficult road ahead. Pray for the medical team who will perform the surgery, Dr. T.S. Parks, therapists, nurses, parents, &Grandparents, that everything will go as God wills it to go. Pray for us to be able to leave James in God's hands.
This surgery is called SDR for short and you can Google those letters "SDR surgery" and get more info. There may be a person out there with a child or family member in need of this surgery. In fact, my daughter found out thru a blog and her own research about the surgery and Dr. Parks in St. Louis.
Today's post has been more serious than funny but it was important to me to share these thoughts with you.
God Bless America and Our Soldiers
GMAMA
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Last Day of Camp Grandmama 2010
All good things must come to an end and Grandmama Camp 2010 is no exception. The 4 amigos arrived this morningwith a slight "hitch in their get-along" complete with sun-burned shoulders, 1 skinned knee, several bug bites, and starving! Son Matthew said the kiddos were so tired last night that sleep was fitful and restless. A few whines are in order after having played so hard for the last 3 days.
Brreakfast was bacon, scrambled eggs, and buttered toast w/honey plus orange juice. An hour of cartoons let the troops relax, breakfast settle, and energy return. A few sprinkles dictated the morning craft would take place on the front porch. Supplies for painting wood picture frames were set up and directions given. It often amazes me how children will ask, "Can I paint it like this..........?" as though they need permission to be creative. As the adults in their lives, we are always telling them what to do and children have become so afraid to make mistakes that creativity often suffers.
That's why I like giving free reign during art projects. It is important to me for them to "own" their art, for better of for worse. I've seen adults take over children's projects, "fix" them, then hand them back and expect the child to be proud.
I'll try to post the results of the picture frame art project. I took several pictures of the troops so as to choose one to place in the frame as a keepsake. I wonder if those picture frames will mean anything to them in 10, 20, 30, yrs??? I hope I helped make some memories this week.
The last hour or so of the morning was spent sitting together watching two of our dogs, Hamk & Lucy, tear into an old rotten log in an effort to capture whatever critter was lurking. We didn't know if it would be a snake, rat, mole or whatever?? Ryan stood watch, ready to CATCH whatever came out the other end of that log. We couldn't have paid for more exciting entertainment. Purely spontaneous, unplanned, yet another great teachable moment about nature, instincts, habitat, and cycle of life. What was in the log??? Unfortunatley, we never found out because PaPaw drove up in his truck and chased dogs & critters away. Quite anticlimactic but a call for Golf Cart rides warded off any whining.
Camp ended with an hour of golf carting, taking turns driving (even Emma Grace!), and the person in the passenger side got to be the tour narrator. We narrated brush piles, wildflowers, barn contents, playground items, natural habitats, squash report,etc...! Each day we measured the squash and hoped it would be ready for frying before friday but alas, it was not to be!
The day ended early since Mama Jenda came to pick them up around 12:45. Cries of "Why are you so early?", "But we don't WANT to go Home???!!!!"
Thursday, May 27, 2010
CAMP GRANDMAMA Day 3 Pool Party
Pool Party!! Day 3 of Grandmama Camp and everyone is ready to go swimming. Only one problem...the pool party was rescheduled for June 10th and Grandmama didn't read her email stating the change! Can you believe it? So...not to be outdone, I call my son and ask permission to take the children to their own pool. My daughter Mary Ellen and grandson James joined us and Plan B turned out to be Fabulous!
Lots of splashing, giggling, diving, jumping, sliding, flipping, cannon balling, snacking, and all out fun! Little Scott and I paddled around while James showed off his swimming skills with his Mama. That little stinker has so much therapy in the pool, he has learned to swim at age 2 1/2!
After 2 hrs of pool fun, we had a picnic lunch and headed home. Four little heads barely hit the pillow before snoozing off to la la land. What is it about swimming that makes you so hungry and sleepy in that order??
So...tomorrow is Friday and only a half day of Grandmama Camp. Mama Jenda gets to come home at lunch so Camp is dismissed at 11:30. The children are going to paint special picture frames to commemorate Camp Grandmama 2010. Each frame has a special wood cut out to signify a special interest: Ryan/Green frog, Clay
/train, Emma Grace/princess crown, Scott/crocodile, & James/Dinosaur.
Summer begins, camp is out and I have 6 weeks of free time...Hmm??? It's going to be terribly quiet around here...I have so many projects to either complete or get started. I'm missing the kids and they haven't even left yet!
Next stop...St. Louis Childrens' Hospital and James's SDR surgery. I'll talk more about that in the upcoming days. Just know that James will need your intense prayers for this life changing spinal surgery that will hopefully give him the opportunity to walk independently. James was born premature and was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. He is loved beyond measure and expected to do great things with his precious little life. Stay tuned...
GMama
Lots of splashing, giggling, diving, jumping, sliding, flipping, cannon balling, snacking, and all out fun! Little Scott and I paddled around while James showed off his swimming skills with his Mama. That little stinker has so much therapy in the pool, he has learned to swim at age 2 1/2!
After 2 hrs of pool fun, we had a picnic lunch and headed home. Four little heads barely hit the pillow before snoozing off to la la land. What is it about swimming that makes you so hungry and sleepy in that order??
So...tomorrow is Friday and only a half day of Grandmama Camp. Mama Jenda gets to come home at lunch so Camp is dismissed at 11:30. The children are going to paint special picture frames to commemorate Camp Grandmama 2010. Each frame has a special wood cut out to signify a special interest: Ryan/Green frog, Clay
/train, Emma Grace/princess crown, Scott/crocodile, & James/Dinosaur.
Summer begins, camp is out and I have 6 weeks of free time...Hmm??? It's going to be terribly quiet around here...I have so many projects to either complete or get started. I'm missing the kids and they haven't even left yet!
Next stop...St. Louis Childrens' Hospital and James's SDR surgery. I'll talk more about that in the upcoming days. Just know that James will need your intense prayers for this life changing spinal surgery that will hopefully give him the opportunity to walk independently. James was born premature and was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. He is loved beyond measure and expected to do great things with his precious little life. Stay tuned...
GMama
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Grandmama Camp Day 2
My campers arrived to find me asleep in my chair which they found as a great excuse to "pounce"...all 4! Hungry tummys demanded instant gratification however, juice & bananas made the waiting a little less painful while I cooked bacon & eggs with apple butter toast...everyones favorite.
I tried cleaning up the kitchen before the day's events got under way but little minds & bodies were eager to get outside. I did what my mama called a "swipe job" on the kitchen and proceeded out the door to "get this show on the road".
Ryan is on a baseball team so he is eagerly trying to teach Clay & Emma Grace the nuances of little league baseball. I try to stay on the sidelines during free play and let them resolve any discussions about rules or other violations. However, the first dissonance of the day revolved around EG wanting to play the position of batter. Ryan insisted she knew nothing about batting and therein began the disagreement as to who was playing what. After eavesdropping, the root of the problem became very apparent. EG was saying "batter" when she meant "catcher". When I brought this observation to Ryan's attention his reply was priceless. He said, "You mean all this mess was over Emma not knowing the difference between a batter and a catcher? We could have been playing instead of arguing all this time."
WOW! was that what I call a teachable moment! You can rest assured I put that puppy to bed. Why can't we adults take a hint from my grandchildren and realize over half of our problems begin with miscommunication?
CHEESE ISLAND:
Remember yesterday's post about Cheese Island? Ironically today, Cheese Island got a makeover and a new name "Everybody likes everything.com" Don't ask me where that came from because it sounds like they pulled that out of their butt cheek. Ryan went on to tell me their hide-out now had a web page!! Oh my word, all of you who are as old as I am! Times have certainly changed when the hide-outs of our youthful memories now have webpage addresses. If that don't beat the bugs a bitin'
Vintage Sayings:
We've all heard them, those "old sayings" from our parents, grandparents that make no sense and yet make all the sense in the world, all at the same time??? Well, my mother was the QUEEN of vintage sayings. Some are quite innocent while others are quite colorful to say the least. I plan to have an entire section on my blog dedicated to vintage sayings gleaned from my mother who has since passed away but lives on in the things we say, think, and do. Please comment if you've heard one or perhaps expound upon it's deeper meaning. Have fun with these winners:
"If that don't beat the bugs a bitin' " OR MY FAVORITE
When someone was being exasperatingly slow, my mama would say, "You're slower than smoke..." It wasn't until you gained some age that she would tell you the rest of that sentence which goes like this: " You're slower than smoke off dog's poop." One cold morning she took Mary Ellen outside after our dog had done his "business" and sure enough a small plume of smoke began to arise from that little pile of poo!!! Now tell me the truth, betcha never heard that one before!!!!!
GoodNite Irene
(A popular song back in the day, so that when my mama told you good nite she always said Good Nite Irene. The girls and I say this to each other with a chuckle!)
GMama
I tried cleaning up the kitchen before the day's events got under way but little minds & bodies were eager to get outside. I did what my mama called a "swipe job" on the kitchen and proceeded out the door to "get this show on the road".
Ryan is on a baseball team so he is eagerly trying to teach Clay & Emma Grace the nuances of little league baseball. I try to stay on the sidelines during free play and let them resolve any discussions about rules or other violations. However, the first dissonance of the day revolved around EG wanting to play the position of batter. Ryan insisted she knew nothing about batting and therein began the disagreement as to who was playing what. After eavesdropping, the root of the problem became very apparent. EG was saying "batter" when she meant "catcher". When I brought this observation to Ryan's attention his reply was priceless. He said, "You mean all this mess was over Emma not knowing the difference between a batter and a catcher? We could have been playing instead of arguing all this time."
WOW! was that what I call a teachable moment! You can rest assured I put that puppy to bed. Why can't we adults take a hint from my grandchildren and realize over half of our problems begin with miscommunication?
CHEESE ISLAND:
Remember yesterday's post about Cheese Island? Ironically today, Cheese Island got a makeover and a new name "Everybody likes everything.com" Don't ask me where that came from because it sounds like they pulled that out of their butt cheek. Ryan went on to tell me their hide-out now had a web page!! Oh my word, all of you who are as old as I am! Times have certainly changed when the hide-outs of our youthful memories now have webpage addresses. If that don't beat the bugs a bitin'
Vintage Sayings:
We've all heard them, those "old sayings" from our parents, grandparents that make no sense and yet make all the sense in the world, all at the same time??? Well, my mother was the QUEEN of vintage sayings. Some are quite innocent while others are quite colorful to say the least. I plan to have an entire section on my blog dedicated to vintage sayings gleaned from my mother who has since passed away but lives on in the things we say, think, and do. Please comment if you've heard one or perhaps expound upon it's deeper meaning. Have fun with these winners:
"If that don't beat the bugs a bitin' " OR MY FAVORITE
When someone was being exasperatingly slow, my mama would say, "You're slower than smoke..." It wasn't until you gained some age that she would tell you the rest of that sentence which goes like this: " You're slower than smoke off dog's poop." One cold morning she took Mary Ellen outside after our dog had done his "business" and sure enough a small plume of smoke began to arise from that little pile of poo!!! Now tell me the truth, betcha never heard that one before!!!!!
GoodNite Irene
(A popular song back in the day, so that when my mama told you good nite she always said Good Nite Irene. The girls and I say this to each other with a chuckle!)
GMama
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Grandmama Camp & Cheese Island
Grandmama Camp had a successful Day 1...complete with French Toast Breakfast, morning baseball game, sandbox, swings, Cheese Island(will explain later), planted sunflowers & zinnia in the garden, and most importantly...Aunt LaLa (Anna Laura) brought prizes of whoopee cushions and "Flarp".
Yes folks, body function noises always rate high on the list of any little boy and my grandsons are no exception. Emma Grace needed some instruction in the nuances of the "body function extravaganza" but to her credit was an extremely quick study. Flarp is a new product to me but extremely effective in imitating sounds heard only after eating bad mexican food. If I have laughed louder or harder in the last week, I don't remember it. In fact neighbors up the road could hear us laughing outside in our back yard.
Today was Anna Laura's 26th birthday and she just HAD to come home and see her mama even though her Birthday dinner is officially planned for Thursday evening. Having Anna Laura was definitely a great decision after everyone thought PaPaw & I were crazy for having a 3rd child when we already had 1 boy & 1 girl. God knew we weren't complete without her. Our whole family adores Anna Laura because she brings so much joy & laughter to all of us!
Now back to Cheese Island...What is it?? Growing up did you ever have a special clubhouse, fort, hide-out, tent, or secret place only you and invited guests could occupy?? Therein lies the purpose of Cheese Island. Located in the woods, next to a creek, between our barnyard and house, complete with rescued yard items suitable for a homeless shelter, sits Cheese Island...randomly named for the snack food snitched from Grandmama's pantry to fortify the troops. One afternoon, I asked the name of their hide-out. Desperately searching for an answer, one grandchild pulled "Cheese Island" out of their buttocks after having furtively glanced at the food of choice being served up on an old nasty log. From that day forward, Cheese Island has represented long ago times, far away as well as not so far away places, and make believe worlds full of Princesses, Kings, Crocodile wrestlers, frog catchers, crawdad hunters, Space travelers, Jedi Knights, Star Wars, Cops, bad guys, good guys/gals, and survivors tested by the toughest challenges nature can provide. To the untrained eye, Cheese Island may look like an eyesore of mud, old logs, warped yard furniture, and assorted items rescued from Papaw's "junk"; but in reality, any Grandmama worth her salt, recognizes Cheese Island for a true masterpiece of architectural genius.
Cheese Island will live on in the childhood memories of 5 precious children long after the wood has rotted and the area reclaimed by nature. For now, this Grandmama will sit in the wings and watch the drama played out on the stage known as "Cheese Island".
Grandmama Camp Day 2...Stay Tuned
Yes folks, body function noises always rate high on the list of any little boy and my grandsons are no exception. Emma Grace needed some instruction in the nuances of the "body function extravaganza" but to her credit was an extremely quick study. Flarp is a new product to me but extremely effective in imitating sounds heard only after eating bad mexican food. If I have laughed louder or harder in the last week, I don't remember it. In fact neighbors up the road could hear us laughing outside in our back yard.
Today was Anna Laura's 26th birthday and she just HAD to come home and see her mama even though her Birthday dinner is officially planned for Thursday evening. Having Anna Laura was definitely a great decision after everyone thought PaPaw & I were crazy for having a 3rd child when we already had 1 boy & 1 girl. God knew we weren't complete without her. Our whole family adores Anna Laura because she brings so much joy & laughter to all of us!
Now back to Cheese Island...What is it?? Growing up did you ever have a special clubhouse, fort, hide-out, tent, or secret place only you and invited guests could occupy?? Therein lies the purpose of Cheese Island. Located in the woods, next to a creek, between our barnyard and house, complete with rescued yard items suitable for a homeless shelter, sits Cheese Island...randomly named for the snack food snitched from Grandmama's pantry to fortify the troops. One afternoon, I asked the name of their hide-out. Desperately searching for an answer, one grandchild pulled "Cheese Island" out of their buttocks after having furtively glanced at the food of choice being served up on an old nasty log. From that day forward, Cheese Island has represented long ago times, far away as well as not so far away places, and make believe worlds full of Princesses, Kings, Crocodile wrestlers, frog catchers, crawdad hunters, Space travelers, Jedi Knights, Star Wars, Cops, bad guys, good guys/gals, and survivors tested by the toughest challenges nature can provide. To the untrained eye, Cheese Island may look like an eyesore of mud, old logs, warped yard furniture, and assorted items rescued from Papaw's "junk"; but in reality, any Grandmama worth her salt, recognizes Cheese Island for a true masterpiece of architectural genius.
Cheese Island will live on in the childhood memories of 5 precious children long after the wood has rotted and the area reclaimed by nature. For now, this Grandmama will sit in the wings and watch the drama played out on the stage known as "Cheese Island".
Grandmama Camp Day 2...Stay Tuned
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Grandmama Ran Away
Grandmama & PaPaw ran away on Saturday to attend the Ala. Sports Hall of Fame Induction Banquet. Papaw was the High School Coach for one of the inductees back in the mid 80's. He used to tell Howard that once he became a famous football player, to send Coach two things...an autographed picture and a new truck to make up for the one he rode the wheels off hauling Howard and his buddies back & forth to football practice! Got the picture... but no truck! HA!!!
The whole weekend brought back so many memories of being a coach's wife and feeding whoever or however many boys PaPaw decided to bring home on any given afternoon...I never had any advance warning but I could always stretch supper to feed at least 2-4 more. Our children thought it was normal to have 6ft. boys sitting on the couch or around our supper table.
In fact, it was not out of the ordinary for Matthew & Mary Ellen to wake up and find one of the football players stretched out on our couch watching cartoons on a Sat. morning waiting for Coach to get up and Mrs. Coach to fix breakfast! I would wake up around 9:00 if not before and look in the living room to see how many I was cooking breakfast for on any fall Sat. morning. Coach Papaw would get up and he and his "other boys" would sit around rehashing Fri. night's game while I fixed breakfast. One of my extra 'boys" was usually good for cutting my grass or doing some odd job around the house, so I never complained. All have grown up to love & respect us and tell their children stories of eating at my house.
I used to fix lasagna every Thurs. Night for whomever scored a touchdown or had a part in making the score happen...amazing how even a lonely lineman can figure out his part in a touchdown when a free lasagna dinner is on the line. Not long ago, a young man of superior height/weight was helping me transport my ailing mother in an ambulance when he recognized me, gave me a huge bear hug, and told everyone on the medical staff " this woman used to feed me every Thursday night and she could make the best lasagna I ever ate". Note: Stouffer's had not invented frozen take out lasagna at that time so everything was made from scratch.
The memory of all the laughter in my house from those days of being a Coach's wife remind me of how PaPaw successfully negotiated the extra time needed to coach football to coincide with family time. Although our children were often called 'coaches rats" and grew up on a football field or outside a locker room, they were never a voice away from their Daddy's influence. Not only did the football players benefit from our "family time", our children watched their Daddy make men out of boys. I was just there to make sure everyone was fed & watered.
One of my best memories is receiving 2 dozen roses on a Thurs. (at the school where I taught special education), after football season was over, for no other reason than to say "Thank you for feeding my boys. I know it was hard work after you taught school all day. They love you & I love you."
That's why Grandmama still likes to run away with PaPaw every once in awhile!
Gmama
The whole weekend brought back so many memories of being a coach's wife and feeding whoever or however many boys PaPaw decided to bring home on any given afternoon...I never had any advance warning but I could always stretch supper to feed at least 2-4 more. Our children thought it was normal to have 6ft. boys sitting on the couch or around our supper table.
In fact, it was not out of the ordinary for Matthew & Mary Ellen to wake up and find one of the football players stretched out on our couch watching cartoons on a Sat. morning waiting for Coach to get up and Mrs. Coach to fix breakfast! I would wake up around 9:00 if not before and look in the living room to see how many I was cooking breakfast for on any fall Sat. morning. Coach Papaw would get up and he and his "other boys" would sit around rehashing Fri. night's game while I fixed breakfast. One of my extra 'boys" was usually good for cutting my grass or doing some odd job around the house, so I never complained. All have grown up to love & respect us and tell their children stories of eating at my house.
I used to fix lasagna every Thurs. Night for whomever scored a touchdown or had a part in making the score happen...amazing how even a lonely lineman can figure out his part in a touchdown when a free lasagna dinner is on the line. Not long ago, a young man of superior height/weight was helping me transport my ailing mother in an ambulance when he recognized me, gave me a huge bear hug, and told everyone on the medical staff " this woman used to feed me every Thursday night and she could make the best lasagna I ever ate". Note: Stouffer's had not invented frozen take out lasagna at that time so everything was made from scratch.
The memory of all the laughter in my house from those days of being a Coach's wife remind me of how PaPaw successfully negotiated the extra time needed to coach football to coincide with family time. Although our children were often called 'coaches rats" and grew up on a football field or outside a locker room, they were never a voice away from their Daddy's influence. Not only did the football players benefit from our "family time", our children watched their Daddy make men out of boys. I was just there to make sure everyone was fed & watered.
One of my best memories is receiving 2 dozen roses on a Thurs. (at the school where I taught special education), after football season was over, for no other reason than to say "Thank you for feeding my boys. I know it was hard work after you taught school all day. They love you & I love you."
That's why Grandmama still likes to run away with PaPaw every once in awhile!
Gmama
Friday, May 21, 2010
Grandmamas Blogging Journey Begins
I'm entering new territory here but so many have encouraged me to "blog" I've always called it "telling my stories". I'm Grandmama to FIVE FABULOUS children but then we Grandparents all think our Grandchildren are the best. My mother used an old saying" Every mama thinks her bird is the blackest". So let me introduce you to the cast of characters in my life and hopefully you will find in this blog a touch of humor, wit, wisdom, insanity sprinkled with a little reasoning, and/or simply something that you may relate to as a parent or grandparent. Parenting is hard work and you end up being the bad guy lots of times. Grandparenting can be difficult at times but mostly its like eating dessert before you've had your supper...you get to do the fun stuff and leave the bad stuff to the parents. Grandparenting is God's reward for not having killed your kids!
Life on the Farm
Cast Of Characters:
PaPaw
Grandmama
Matthew (son, 1st child)
Jenda daughter-in-law
Their 4 Children:
Ryan 8
Clay 6
Emma Grace 5 (EG)
Scott (Scotty What, the one I keep every day)
Mary Ellen (middle daughter)
Josh (son-in-law )
Their 1 son, James (2 1/2)
Anna Laura (Baby of the family/26 yrs) Single
I'm tired and going to bed. As EG put it the other night "So many people want more of me". EG has a soccer game and Ryan has a baseball game, both at 9. I guess we will divide and conquer...Papaw goes to Ryan's game...I go to EG's game...
I'm sure I'll have a story or two by tomorrow night.
Gmama
Life on the Farm
Cast Of Characters:
PaPaw
Grandmama
Matthew (son, 1st child)
Jenda daughter-in-law
Their 4 Children:
Ryan 8
Clay 6
Emma Grace 5 (EG)
Scott (Scotty What, the one I keep every day)
Mary Ellen (middle daughter)
Josh (son-in-law )
Their 1 son, James (2 1/2)
Anna Laura (Baby of the family/26 yrs) Single
I'm tired and going to bed. As EG put it the other night "So many people want more of me". EG has a soccer game and Ryan has a baseball game, both at 9. I guess we will divide and conquer...Papaw goes to Ryan's game...I go to EG's game...
I'm sure I'll have a story or two by tomorrow night.
Gmama
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