Monday Musings

What a weekend it's been! Again!

Starting Friday when I found out I was the Ultimate Shrinkvivor, the last three days have been a whirlwind of activity and emotional highs! For the rest of the day after I viewed the Results Vlog, I was pretty worthless as far as getting anything done. My biggest priority was trying to find a way to most effectively thank the many people that supported me. My other priority was talking on the phone and reading emails and almost swooning over the seemingly impossible win. If you haven't seen the list of prizes, go here. Can you believe it? I really can't yet either!

Adding to my emotional giddiness, Eli's baptism was scheduled for Sunday and several family members would be in town and staying with us. Dave, one of my identical twin sons, and his wife Patty, along with their four amazing children were driving in from Burke, Virginia a suburb of Washington DC.

Amy, our second daughter and her two youngest were heading in from Belleville MI with her older daughter and two grandsons. Oh happy day! We were going to have a houseful of people again!

For the last three Christmases, our family has rented a large house along with guest cottages in Beachwalk here in Michigan City. We just became too large for our very modest five bedroom (worst of all one bathroom) house to accommodate everybody. Because of that it's been a long time since our house was filled with the happy, chaotic bustle of a large number of houseguests. Occasionally, we might have two families here at a time but never three. And finally, this weekend, we had fourteen people overnight. One bathroom is a challenge for so many but just as we had to do when our kids were all home, the bathroom is for showers and bathroom necessities. Hair drying, styling, and make-up can all be accomplished in bright, well-lit bedrooms.

I had forgotten how much I loved having a large group here. With air mattresses and sleeping bags, we can make a lot of room but that large air mattress better be deflated and put away as soon as possible so that the playroom can be a playroom again. Otherwise all those toys and books are going to be all over the place. I love how everybody pitches in for meals and the only drawback about the whole situation was that it didn't last long enough.

Saturday night we had a late birthday party for Zachary.

who obviously wondered why he was getting a birthday party over four months late.

But then, decided to just roll with it and enjoy the bounty.

Then we had some preparations to do for the baptism on Sunday which was one of our excuses for staying up a little too late Saturday night; but thanks to setting our clocks back an hour, we were there in plenty of time.

Eli seemed eager to become the newest member of his church and cooperated flawlessly through the almost two hours that he was in church.

Just prior to the actual baptism, his new, loving Godmother makes the sign of the cross on his sweet forehead.

And he remained interested and cooperative throughout the ceremony.

He didn't even mind posing for pictures afterward.

All too soon the ceremony was over and everyone was in a joyous frame of mind.

The festivities continued at Beth & Brian's where they served a delicious luncheon and where Beth dressed Eli in this ridiculously cute shirt and tie which matched what his big brother, Noah, was wearing.

All too soon, everything came to a close. The visitors piled into their cars and headed for home and Mr. Right and I were, once again, watching our favorite shows on TV in a very quiet house ..... which in itself has it's own merits.

But my most overriding thought? I can't wait until Thanksgiving when we have a houseful of family again!!!

Monday Musings

Of course I already talked about what a great weekend we had despite a couple of little glitches (computer crisis); but there are a couple of things that I keep thinking about.

I'm thinking about how stoked I am that the weekend is over, my Weight Watchers points have reset, and I never even used all my flexible weekly points much less my activity points. I'm also thinking about how relieved I am that my weight has budged a little after my dramatic loss last Wednesday where it seemed to get stuck.

I'm also thinking about this family.

They're so young but I'm so impressed with them. I took these pictures even as Jack was suffering from a finger wound he'd incurred as they walked out our front door. So his mom and dad worked hard to comfort him and distract him so I could get that picture that I wanted.

Nobody complained and Jack didn't even cry but it was a distraction for them that they overcame for me.

And then I look at my house after this weekend. The playroom looks better than it did when they got here. The bed is made and the pack and play is put away along with all it's bedding. And there are no toys, coloring books or crayons around the house. Furthermore, they cleaned everything up so seamlessly that I didn't even know they were doing it or I would have told them not to bother.

What an agreeable little family. They also had to divide their visit between us and Amber's dad and his family; and, once again, the goal seemed to be to try to please everybody. I'm so impressed.

And most of all, they let me take pictures of them constantly. Wait! They didn't just let me. They tried hard to pose when I wanted them to and go about their business when that worked better for my photos. I love them for that.

There was only one tiny little sign that maybe I was overdoing the pictures. Nobody said anything really. I just got the vibe that maybe I should lay off a little.

Okay, next time they come maybe I'll give them a little break from the picture taking. After all, I can't have my great grandson giving me raspberries every time he sees me.

Great Weekend All Around

First of all I'm back on my desktop again thanks to our wonderful son-in-law, Brian. He's got to be the best computer guy EVER and we're so lucky to have him in the family. Don't be jealous. Really I wish everybody could have a Brian in their family. It would be such a good world.

Getting my desktop back was, of course, a highlight of the weekend but it wasn't the only one by a long shot.

Friday night, Amber and her family arrived. They live about 3 1/2 hours away so it was a weekend visit and, as everybody knows, there's nothing better than having family over for at least a weekend.

We didn't have a lot of time to visit, especially with the kids, on Friday because they arrived a little on the late side.

But we made up for it on Saturday and this morning. Jack who is twenty months old started his Saturday with Toaster Strudels for breakfast and I love that you can see by his face his great enthusiasm for them. That's how my face looks too when I eat them. I could go for one right now if I weren't trying to survive the Shrinkvivor challenge.

Dane who is just five weeks old posed patiently while his brother ate.

Later on Beth and her family came by and Noah and Jack proved that a pair of sunglasses doesn't have to be in perfect condition to be fun to play with.

Chris taught Jack to play his first musical instrument:

which required a lot of concentration from Jack but he did it!

Later, Dane showed off his physique for a couple of quick pictures before he went to bed.

Then, this morning Amber played with Dane

while Jack practiced smiling. He had been watching everybody else smile for pictures and he began to work on it too. His first effort looked a little more like a grimace

but then with the help of his hands, he began to get it down

Then, before I was ready, it was time to take that final family picture

before they drove cheerfully away, leaving me to wonder when they might hurry back for another awesome visit.

The only thing I know for sure is that it won't be soon enough.

Triplets and Visitors

We went to a graduation party yesterday in Michiana Shores and as we were leaving, spotted a doe and.... her triplets. I was able to get one decent shot.

We have three grandchildren with us for three days. They're Dan's kids and they're from Colorado Springs.

Here's Grant, 15:

Evan, 13:

And Tessa Mary, 3:

That cord is connected to her brother's Nintendo controller.

Anyway, it's good times at our house for Grandma and Grandpa. Now we're off to find something to do so that it's good times at our house for Grant, Evan and Tessa!

Houseguests

Recently our 'lovely' youngest daughter and her family spent a couple of days as our guests.

Adding to the fun of spending every moment with her family is the opportunity to capture special and everyday moments on film .. er....digital...um....format.

Here's Sarah with her newborn. I can't even tell who looks happier or more comfortable.

And of course Proud Daddy has to have his turn.

And it's not often that I can catch a photo of a new grandson watching his grandpa talk to him but I did here. Trey is obviously QUITE amazed at some of Grandpa's perfectly articulated baby talk.

But soon he became a little bored and after a hearty stretch, turned his attention elsewhere.

And if you look at this picture closely you'll see how poignantly beautiful it really is.

And of course we can't forget Trey's big sister and brother who added so much fun and love to the visit.

And then there's that final family photo just before they head for home. It's the new look of their family and it's absolutely perfect!

We may not get to see them as often has we'd like but these little in-house visits are truly priceless.

A Very Good Night

Whenever I get blog blocked, I have to remind myself that this entire blog effort is a journal. A place for me to look back on my journey into and through (hopefully) the sixties. That's when I realize that there are unspecial moments and events that I want to remember. Like tonight.

Our granddaughter, her husband, and Superbaby are still with us which is great! Unfortunately though things have been so chaotic that we really haven't had an entire evening together. They're often invited to her dad's for dinner and don't get back until Superbaby's bedtime. This is fine and we're happy with the arrangement however it goes; but I forgot how great it is to have them here for dinner.

I forgot that my granddaughter will always help get dinner on the table (the reason that seems foreign to me is that yesterday she was just an adorably spoiled little 3-year-old) and that our grandson-in-law will do whatever he can to help. And how pleasant it is for us all to sit around the table and eat a home-cooked meal and how much I love showing them a new recipe or meal for them to add to their repertoire of meals and dishes. And then afterwards everybody pitches in with the clean-up and takes turns playing with Superbaby.

That's when I realize yet again that it just doesn't get any better than this.

And it doesn't hurt to look outside at the miserable weather and remind myself that I don't have to walk 9 or 10 miles in it tomorrow and that I can take all the time I want tonight to enjoy my family because I don't have to start getting everything ready for work tomorrow.

Life is unbelievably sweet and I'm unbelievably thankful.

North South East and West

They've all left now. The wonderful, joyful feeling that I had on my last post is history now. No happy anticipation, no wonder that they're coming, and no looking forward to the next get together.

Granddaughter and her family are headed to the Detroit area. Little Baby Daughter and her family are headed to Louisville Kentucky. Firstborn Army son and his family are headed West to Colorado and Secondborn Army son and his family are headed East to DC. The house is empty and quiet. All that's left is tracking each one's progress home.

But there's something else. There are memories and pictures of brief, precious moments to reconnect with those wonderful, perfect grandchildren that we don't see often enough. And time spent with the children that we raised and loved and now miss everyday.

What a wonderful weekend it was.

It Really Doesn't Get Any Better Than This

Some of the family is here now. There are children around and grandchildren and a great grandchild. And there are more on the way. And my heart just swells with happiness that so many of us will be together for a couple of days. (Unfortunately not everybody could make it but I can't let that little bit of negativity take away from my happiness.)

So I'm puttering around trying to clear away every bit of clutter because we'll need all the room we can get. I'm planning lunch, cutting a canteloupe, looking forward to Beth, Ariel, and Racecar's arrival and thinking about where Second Born Army Guy and his family is right now. I'm thinking they have about 8 hours to go.

Then my wonderful grandson-in-law was dealing with a fussy baby who was really, really tired but only wanted his daddy to entertain him. He refused his paci, shut his eyes tight, and yelled. So I got a cup of water to dip the paci in and it worked! And my grandson-in-law, after putting Superbaby down for his nap said, "That water idea was brilliant".

Right after that, one of my Colorado Springs grandsons had trouble playing a game on Mr. Right's computer so we rebooted it, downloaded some updates, and it worked. I asked him how the game was working and my sweet grandson said, "Great!".

Then one of my 3-year-old namesakes came up and said, "Grandma, my hair!" I put her barrette back in place and she literally jumped with appreciation and said, "Yeah!".

Back to back to back I got to feel useful and helpful to people I love. And, I wonder if, when we reach a certain age, maybe somewhere in our sixties, we stop feeling quite as useful. And maybe that's what's wrong with getting old.

But a little while ago, I got to feel very useful and helpful. And my family is coming and my heart is light. If someone could bottle this feeling, they'd be the richest person in the world because it's pure happiness. In fact, if someone could bottle this feeling, everyone could feel like I feel right now.

And it really couldn't possibly get any better than that!