A Walk With Gatlin

I got an opportunity to be with Gatlin for about an hour last night so we decided to take a little walk down to the river. We sat on the bench and enjoyed watching another family on a dock fishing. He saw a boat, a tiny frog, a motorcycle and lots of other things that little ones notice with their eager to learn eyes. Gatlin is really smart and is talking very well now. I missed him a lot while I have been gone so it was so good to be able to spend a little time with him.

Being With My Mom

Being here in Florida with my mom for two weeks has been a little bitter-sweet. When a parent begins to fail in health it elicits all sorts of emotional ups and downs. You begin to realize that time is short and every minute spent with them is precious. You are especially cognizant of every physical variation from the norm for them. For my mom, one day will be good and my emotions are high then she might have a little physical problem and down my emotions go. With all of that you are constantly thinking about the little memories of their past and wanting to hold on to time and make it stop. "Just keep her where she is right now and don't let her fail anymore, Dear Lord". Tears come often. But you fight them back and try to put on a happy countenance and have faith that God is in control and knows best. I realize that everyone has to go through this time with their mom and dad and someday my kids will experience this with me, but it is still hard. So, I get up each morning and try to do all the things I can do for her that make her comfortable and happy. I try to bring up little stories of that past that we can laugh about and ask her questions about things so she can enjoy her memories too. I am blessed to have many good memories to enjoy with my mommy, Marian-the best mom that a girl could possibly have.

A Little Beach Time

Making memories is what life is about. And with Gabe and Chloe here in Florida with their other gramdma and poppy, Jane and Mike, it is nice to be able to go to the beach with them. We had a good time watching Gabe and Chloe play in the waves of Daytona Beach. I hope Gabe and Chloe will remember these good times.

Ellie and Her Cakes

Ellie loves cake. We found that out when she was visiting us two weeks ago. (Is it already two weeks that they have been gone? Miss you little girls.) She kept wanting a piece of Chloe's baptism cake that I got at Ingles. It was a big cake and we did not use much of it before I threw it out because we did not like it too much. Several other times she asked for cake and we began to laugh about it. So here is a picture of her with a Father's Day cake she helped her mommy, Katie make for her Dad this weekend. I especially like the look on her face so wanted to post it for all to see.

What's Happened Since May-Pictures

Here are a few more pictures of our family fun this last month. You can read about it in my post below. Don't you think Adam and Trish's family looks special in this picture? My first grandchildren are graduated from high school, twins, Caitlyn and Bryan. Bryan awaits his entry into the Marines and Caitlyn is anxiously waiting to see if the Army will take her inspite of a tiny health problem. The next picture is of my mom's yard in Florida. They had 26 inches of rain in a few days. More flooding than any hurricane there and in the 49 years she has lived in this house.