Giving Thanks 2013

Today I am thankful for my family and for these six

healthy, happy, and active grandsons!

Thankful that the boys were able to fill their tummies

from our bountiful Thanksgiving buffet.

Out of all of the selections the only thing that made it on every

child's plate was my homemade dinner rolls.

One child feasted only on dinner rolls and plain jello. Another just turkey and a roll.

While others a big pile of mashed potatoes and gravy and rolls.

Thankful for a son who can make the best buttery and creamy mashed potatoes!

Thankful for a husband who is the best helper in the kitchen.

He baked the pumpkin pies this year, kept the pots and pans washed up, watched the rolls bake,

helped set the tables, and countless other things both little and big where he 

can see the need and always pitches in to get the job done.

Thankful for a son in law who is able and very willing to follow

through on Thanksgiving assignments and in the care for his three boys while 

my daughter spent her morning at urgent care and in 

bed the rest of the day with strep throat.

Thankful for my daughter who recently made us empty nesters 

(except we're not really empty nesters since we share our home

with my mother in law who has Alzheimer's.)

who spent Thanksgiving in another state. She texted her dad and told 

him that I needed to plan on her coming back home to help in 

decking our halls for Christmas.

Thankful for a daughter in law who loves family gatherings,

our family traditions, and who makes our family time a priority.

We made a plan on Thanksgiving to share in a leftovers feast on

Sunday. Two of my daughters who missed our

Thanksgiving feast are very happy about that and

will be here for our do-overs.

So very thankful for that too!

Thankful for Kabella, she was the only girl in the

bunch that could wear the Pilgrim Bonnet in our photo shoot.

So thankful for the fun and love that is shared in our family.

I missed those who were not with us but I am so thankful for

the gift of memories of the mind and heart.

Note to self: Must make fresh rolls for the do-over. You know why!

You Gotta Love It

Modern technology is amazing and it's being used between 

the generations even with all of my grands living within 10 minutes of me!

Our grands know how to start skype sessions

with Papa and I and this grandson used this email

video to share one of his recent inventions with 

Papa and I.

Update on My Front Door Guests

A few days ago I shared the perfect little nest we found

nestled into our front door floral.

It has now turned into a tiny nursery.

Four perfect little babies!

It is very weird that every time we swing our door open

we are bringing a nest of baby birds into our home.

I've got my eleven year old grandson who is very good

at electronic gadgets working on a project to install a

spy cam above the nest so that we can watch the care

and the growth of our little house guests on our computer screen.

Somehow I think Grandma's House is

going to be very popular for a while.

Much Better Late than Never!

We had nearly a two month delay in this little gals birthday outing with Papa and I. Things kept coming up between our schedule and her family's schedule that kept our special time together from happening.

We had celebrated her actual birthday with her but her birthday gift from us was the outing.

Birthday Celebration on the Lake

The outing was to include a movie of her choice, a dinner out of her choice, and a shopping trip. Her special day finally arrived. She is our little chatter box and she talked non-stop all of the way to the movie theater. It was fun hearing all she had to share.

We went to see the new Smurf movie. She plopped herself down right between Papa and I in the movie theater (still chattering). She couldn't have been any more excited about finally getting her special one on one time with us.

It was a really cute movie by the way.

After the movie we went to dinner.

She chose Wendy's.

Cheeseburger, fries, and a Frosty

was her order!

(It was hard for Papa and I to get a word in over dinner!)

When asked where she would like to go shopping.

It was a quick

Dollar Tree!

All in one breath she said:

"All of my friends always talk about going to Dollar Tree!"

"My mom will never take me to Dollar Tree."

"I really want to go to Dollar Tree!"

Dollar Tree it was.

She and her sisters love playing school so I

suggested looking in the teachers supplies for

some more things to add to their school playing box.

(Still chattering.......)

We were in Dollar Tree for no less than 45 minutes.

She carefully make her selections.

She could hardly wait to get home to show her

sisters all of the new school stuff she had chosen.

I had her pick out a big birthday bag 

to tote all of her new supplies home in.

Papa and I loved our special outing with our

seven years and 2 months year old.

She thanked Papa and I for each and every thing along the way.

We heard the words thank you at least

twenty times throughout our

time together.

One on One birthday outings

with our grandchildren are an absolute keeper!

So Very Thankful

My Labor Day weekend was spent with family on the deck of our mountain cabin, shared cooking for a group of 30+ family members, grandchildren playing amid the Pines, lots of good food, and wall to wall sleeping family members at bedtime. A favorite activity for the children was to be treated to a ride on my son-in-laws Ranger. There had been nearly every combination possible to ensure that the 13 kids who were there got their fair share of time on the Ranger.

The children were safely buckled into the five point shoulder harness seat belts and they were off. At dusk they headed out for the last ride of the day. My son in law was driving and five children were on board. Two of my grandchildren, a grand nephew, and two family friends.

We began to worry when they were gone longer that we thought they should be. As the time ticked away I know many silent prayers were offered for their safe return. Many of us stood at the deck at the top of the hill and listened and watched for the Rangers safe return on the road below.

Instead, an emergency vehicle arrived with my son-in-law and my two grandchildren at the bottom of the hill. The children ran up the hill to the cabin with the message to send down the parents of the other children on board. We received our first information from a eight and ten year old who were doing their best to answer all of our questions. There had been a fire. The adults were asking "Is everyone okay?" We got word that one of the family friends had been slightly injured.

The men in our family rallied to do what they could to help. They loaded up and headed to the scene. It wasn't long before those of us at the cabin were receiving emailed photos of the results of what had happened.

Gratitude filled our hearts to know that there were no serious injuries after seeing the destruction. A fire had started directly behind the center back seat. The boy in the center felt the heat below him and leaned forward, the boys in the back saw flames and yelled fire! My son-in-law stopped quickly and four of the children were able to unbuckle and get to safety. The little boy in the center had to lean away from the flames to keep from getting burned. This made it impossible for him to unbuckle himself. My son-in-law reached through the flames to release his harness.

It was reported that the flames were 50 feet into the air. Within minutes nothing but the steel frame was left and parts of the Ranger had melted into the blacktop below. The brush and the tall trees at the roads edge were badly singed but thankfully no forest fire was ignited.

Before long all of the children had been released by the emergency workers to their parents. The one little boy who was sitting in the middle had badly singed hair on the back of his head and the back of his shorts were melted. His only injury was a very slight burn on one of his arms.

Every parent and grandparent there couldn't help but think of how differently this could have ended. Many of the children had sat in the exact seat just hours before. Our silent prayers turned to prayers of gratitude for the quick actions of my son-in-law and for the Heavenly protection that they had all been blessed with.

The children who witnessed this horrific accident considered my son-in-law a real life hero for saving their little friend. We were reminded as a family just how quickly bad things can happen. 

I am so very, very thankful that things turned out as they did. We were truly blessed.

Hug those you love a little tighter today!