August Moments

Can you believe that it's September already, summer has flown by for us and it's time again to put together a monthly memories post.

August was a kind of settling month for us, after our youngest son left in the middle of the month, we started to find our routine again. The house was quiet, it was just my husband and I.

My oldest son and wife continue to send photos of our grandchildren on their family outings,we love getting updates from them. Have you guessed that their favorite Baseball Team are the Orioles. Shortly after they got back home from visiting us,they went to another baseball game closer to their home. I heard they had a lot of fun. My son went with his two oldest children, all three ended up getting all ball, which excited my granddaughter most of all.

My husband and I took a little get away in August to the mountains of North Carolina and once back home we tried to enjoy the many little free outdoor events available in our city.

This past August marks the two year mark since our oldest son and his family moved across the country. The children have grown up so fast, they are now all in school full time. I still ask the Lord why they have to be so far away but I am much more at peace with it. There are times when I wonder what's next, but because we have been so busy, those moments don't last long.What I know to be true is that the Lord is faithful in all things, he has been in the past and he will be in our future.

Our life will continue to change, there will be disappointments, grief, joy, successes and failure( a fact I'm really aware of the older we get) but I'm trusting God (who never changes) to see us through and direct our paths along the way. Aren't you thankful we don't have to do this on our own strength.

Summer Memories

In case you think by the look of this post my family is still visiting, they are not. My son and his family left almost a month ago, I'm just that late getting this post up.

My oldest son enjoys baseball and doesn't mind traveling to see a game. Shortly after we heard his family was coming for a visit, he called to tell me that he wanted to get tickets to an Oriole Game. His family was going, did we want to go too? Did any of my siblings want to go? He also wanted to visit his grandparents as part of the trip.

We didn't want to miss spending the day with them so we agreed to make the drive. I wasn't exactly enthusiastic about the idea because it meant a really long drive, we would leave at daybreak and wouldn't be home till close to midnight.

I'm glad that I went because it ended being a lot of fun. My brother planned a cookout, several of us met there visited with my parents, got a bite to eat then continued on to the game. When I think of the logistics of this event I amazed at how well it went. My brother remarked that we should make this a tradition, it could be our "Christmas in July" (We are generally only able to get together at Christmas time because we are all spread out around the country) Who knows it might happen.

After the game (which our team won with a Home Run in the bottom of the ninth inning) we gathered together for a group photo before we all went our separate ways once again. Love the memories we had the opportunity to make this summer.

Grand Visit

 This was a long awaited visit. We hadn't seen our Grandchildren since the fall and we weren't too sure we were going to see them this summer until I received a text back in March asking us if we could have a crew come pick them up at the airport in July. We were thrilled to say the least.

We stayed busy the entire time they were here and before we were ready, it was time for them to leave. We had all decided early on that we would let them set the schedules, after all it was their vacation and we would do or go wherever they wanted to go. We have a beach, they do not, so you can guess where they wanted to go the most.

I'll have to admit, I'm not really a beach person and by that I mean, I like the beach, I just don't like lugging all the stuff you need for a day in the surf and sun, and although I like the water, it's usually too cold for me and I don't like the "jellies" or whatever other critter might be sharing the water with me. In my imagination everything I step on is a crab ready to bite my toes. All that to say our beach days were wonderful, warm warm, no "jellies" and the only other critters we saw were dolphins swimming about 15 feet further out. I spent a lot of time in the water and enjoyed every minute of it. And because we had so many hands, I really didn't have to carry much at all.

Other things we did were pool, zoo, Top Golf and as a treat from my son and daughter in law a Bushel of Blue Crabs. Oh and there were ballgames, two of them in one weekend.

It was a week full of memories, and as always, a chance to reconnect and love on my grandchildren. There were a couple of memorable events, the details of which I will omit, but I will never read Ten Little Monkey's again without thinking of Little Red.

July Moments

 I didn't do much posting in July because our days were busy. Our house was full of some of my favorite people. Here's a little preview of our July memories.

There was an unexpected visit from my siblings and an unexpected opportunity to watch my youngest son perform. There was lots of beach time with all of our visitors, trips to ballgames and lots of good food, including some Blue Crabs, a treat from my oldest son and my daughter in law.

Our CSA was going strong, with tomatoes, corn, squash, melons, berries and most recently eggplant. I'd love to hear your ideas on cooking with eggplant, so far we have mastered Baba Gnoush.

My flower garden has about peaked and we are now getting ready for the August heat. Lantana and Black Eyed Susan's are blooming now, with the last of the Day Lilly's done.

We did a lot of running around while family was here and the time went by way too fast. I loved every minute of it though and will treasure the memories made. How about you,

what was your July like?

Sibling Visit

 I am a real planner, I don't usually do things spontaneously, to a fault sometimes. In recent years I have been trying to be more open, still have a plan, but try to be more flexible to opportunities that the Lord might have for us. These past several months have really tested my willingness to let go, and although it's been challenging at times, it's been okay. Well it's been more than okay, it's been a blessing

We had one of those last minute opportunities last week. My sister had taken a weeks worth of vacation to watch her grandchildren, then at the last minute, she found out that she wasn't  needed. Since she had taken the time off,  I suggested she come and visit me. I honestly didn't think she would take me up on the offer but she did and she she came with one of my brothers.

Our time together ended up being a lot of fun. We spent most days at the beach and my brother came prepared to cook for us every evening. When I say he came prepared to cook, I mean, he planned the menus and brought a cooler full of food to prepare. We were treated to crab soup, steamed shrimp and lobster (we love seafood) It was his thanks for our hospitality. We were blown away at how delicious everything was.

Another unplanned event was that our youngest son got a gig in town while siblings were visiting, so they got to visit with their nephew for an evening. (and hear him play with a local group) How sweet was that? Plans are good, and I'll probably never stop being a planner but being flexible can have it's benefits.

So how about you, any surprise visitors or unexpected trips this summer?

Cooking Class

When my sons were growing up cooking was more of a necessity than something I saw as fun. We were like every young family with schedules that were full with school, sports, work and managing a household. We cooked for fun during the holidays and I still remember the big batches of salsa we would all put up together in the summer, but most of the time, cooking was pretty basic. I had two sons and they were always hungry, meals were made to fill bellies and hopefully they were tasty too.

Now that we are Empty Nesters we have been able to experiment a bit with cooking and it's something we both enjoy doing. We both like trying new recipes and my husband has perfected some awesome Sourdough Bread which he makes on a biweekly basis. (from a start he received from our youngest son almost two years ago) Our youngest son also enjoys cooking and when he's visiting the kitchen can get a bit crowded with all of us cooking but it's a lot of fun. When he was home last he made a killer Carrot Cake. When I looked at the size of it I was sure we would never eat it all but that wasn't a problem, it was gone in a week.

We have always wanted to take a cooking class so when we went to Charleston we found one that had spots available so we signed up.The class turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip (and yes I learned a few things too) If you come to my house I now know how to make a quick dessert of seasonal fruit and puff pastry (special tip, use frozen puff pastry) We made a four course meal and ate as we cooked, it was a delightful evening, so much so, that we are looking to do it again, perhaps in our little city. So tell me, do you enjoy cooking? Have you ever taken a cooking class, did you enjoy it?

March Moments

It's been awhile since I have put together photos that told the story of the events of the previous month, but I've always enjoyed looking back on them, so I thought I would give it another try.

When March shows up, I feel like we've made it through the worst of the winter. The trees begin to bud and the bulbs that had been planted, sometime years before, begin to pop up out of the ground and bloom. I get excited when I see my first Daffodil, I know it's only a  matter of time before they will be joined by Tulips and Magnolias and Bradford Pears. It's official Spring is here.

Easter was early and rainy and cold for us and of course holidays make us miss our "Fab Four" even more. They had a family weekend at the Mall of America and sent us photos to enjoy. It's not as good as being up close and personal but it brought smiles to our faces as we watched them having fun.They are getting so big!

We got to join up with our youngest son this month and my husband took us all out to see the farm where he and Sweet Lady grew up. We brought boxes and boxes of letters and photos to sort through and it's been fun sharing photos and memories with with Sweet Lady. Her short term memory may not be good but she can name every person in those photos, it's been pretty amazing to be a part of it all.


So here's a little sampling in photos of what our month looked like. Did you all make any special memories last month?

The three of us down on the farm. My guys managed to dig up a clump of daffodils (with an old piece of metal found on the property) to take home to plant in my garden, thats love!                            

Monday's Memories

This pink Barbie Car was a gift to my oldest granddaughter, from her mom and dad for Christmas one year.Her parents found it on ebay and had it shipped to our house, where it has "lived" in our garage ever since. I think Miss B was either four or five when they bought it for her and it has been used by each grandchild.

Whenever the children would come over to our house and the weather was nice, they would try to convince their Pop Pop to pull it out so they could drive it.

Even though it was pink, it appealed to both my granddaughters and grandson, and any other child that came to visit. Yes that is my grandson with that red hair!

When the two oldest were too big to ride in the car, they would run along as the two youngest girls took turns driving.

Sometimes it didn't turn out so well. This was a memorable photo.  I'm sure my son will pull it out when my granddaughter decides it time for her to learn to drive. No real harm was done to either car. We did get a lot of laughs over this. You see how fast Little Red is getting out of the car, she didn't want any part of the accident.

Last summer the girls drove the car when they came to visit. Little Red did just fine but Little Miss found it a bit cramped for her long legs, she managed however, she didn't want to miss the opportunity to drive the pink Barbie Car. It was apparent they were going to be too big for the car soon.

My daughter in law has given me the okay to sell the car, she doesn't think anyone will be small enough to drive it the next time they visit, but I'm not quit ready yet.

I hate the thought of the car leaving,  Maybe I'll get a chance to see a grandchild ride in it one more time before I have to let it go. Who knew there would be so many memories associated with a pink Barbie Car.

December Moments

Since I was negligent on posting my November Moments there are a few November photos included in my December Moments. The last couple of months have been a blur for us. Having Sweet Lady in Rehab has knocked me off my routine a bit and taking photos, let alone putting them together for a post was real low on the list of things to do.

December gave us lots of opportunities to celebrate the season with friends and family. We made a trip to visit my extended family and my youngest son came home for Christmas. There was also plenty of face time that was done with the "Prairie Family"

Sweet Lady continued in Rehab with physical therapy six times a week

I made several trips to FedEx to ship packages to loved ones far away. They may not know me by my first name yet but I am recognized when I come in and they know all about my far away family.

We walked the Million Bulb Walk at the Garden's again this year, it really is a pretty site and I love the lights that are set to music.

Our December was the warmest in decades, I still have flowers blooming in my yard. Folks were Christmas Shopping in shorts and sandals....for the record I pulled my flip flops out.

With my youngest home for a bit we were able to spend some time playing games and the guys enjoyed flying their new quad copters all over the place. (it's a bit unnerving when they fly them right above your head but my son and husband seemed to get a lot of pleasure from doing just that)

December was a busy month to be sure and even though I've enjoyed it, I'm ready for routine again...can you relate?

Here are some glimpses of our December Moments.

Visiting Our Grands

One would think from this post that we spent Thanksgiving with our Grands, not so, this visit happened over a month ago, I'm just behind in posting, priorities you know!

Our trip out west was a short one, but we filled it with as many memories as possible. I learned that my son and DIL do not live out on the Frontier at all, but the Prairie, so I guess I will have to rename them my "Prairie Family". The Landscape was a lot different then I was used to, and it's usually pretty cold, but the weather was mild so we were able to spend a good bit of time outside. I heard the temperatures dropped the week after we left, I was thankful we missed it.

Other random things I was thankful for were that we were able to make this trip at all, (it was questionable with everything going on with Sweet Lady) that we caught each and every flight (three coming, three going back) that our luggage made it on all flights, and that everyone stayed healthy so we could enjoy the trip.

My DIL made sure our schedule was full, there was a day at the park, a day at the museum, another day we explored a Pumpkin Patch and on the last day we went to the zoo. In the evenings we taught the children some games (they had never played Mille Bornes before) which resulted in lots of laughter and giggles. My son took his dad into work, (which my husband thoroughly enjoyed) and we got to see a high school football game and watch my granddaughter cheer. Thank you dear DIL for making us feel so welcome and for thinking of fun things to do while we were there, it couldn't have been a sweeter visit ( I'm already thinking about when we can see them again! ) The photos included in this post are just some of the memories we had from our visit. Warning!!!! Lots of photos, because there were so many good memories!!