FALL GRANDCHILDREN PICS

NOLAN

Matthew and Nolan

Matthew's first "two-wheeler"

SHARI AND ESME'

ESME' - Walking!

Esme'

Esme' in the pumpkin patch

Esme' with the goat

Esme' eating her first birthday cake.

Esme's Birthday Video

 OUR GRANDCHILDREN

This picture was taken the week of August 9, 2009.

Shari and Esme' were visiting us from Tennessee and Shelley, Bob, Matthew and Nolan were at our house visiting Shari and Esme' for the day. I have been wanting a picture of all three grandchildren together, but we never seemed to be able to pull it off. This one turned out great with Matthew holding on to both of the littler ones.

NOLAN, 8 months

MATTHEW,  3 years

ESME', 1 year

Oh, Lord, I do not ask for much,

Eternal beauty, or youth, or such, 

Just give me a little hand to hold,

And I'll forget that I'm growing old.

I do not ask for cloudless skies,

A life that's free from tears and sighs.

Just give me a little face to kiss,

And anxious moments will turn to bliss.

For what is there, really, that means so much

As little hands that reach and touch,

As little eyes that search and see

Only the very best in me?

So let me grow more loving and wise

By looking at life through their wide eyes.

For through these little ones, you have given

This grateful grandma a glimpse of Heaven!

Author: Barbara Burrrows

 What precious children they are, and I am thankful for them every day. This verse now has special meaning to me:    

 Psalm 71: 18b  "... let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me."  

Happy Birthday One Year Old!

Esme's Fiesta Birthday Party

How could one year have gone by so quickly? Our little baby granddaughter is now crawling, walking around furniture, saying words, and growing so beautiful! We love her very much - she is the sweetest little girl!

Her party was at her "other" grandparents' house and it was a Mexican fiesta. Shari and Mark made all of the food (very good!), and there was color everywhere!  Colorful balloons, bright roses, colorful tablecloths, and lots of gifts. Esme' wore a colorful ruffled dress and a bright flower in her hair. That is until she discovered that it was there and then she pulled it out! Mark's sister Amy, and her family were there, Mark's brother Jim, and his family, Mark's parents, Shelley and Bob and boys, and two other couples, friends of Shari and Mark, and their kids, and us. Esme' got lots of great gifts. She was a little awed by everything and everyone and it was hard to get a good picture of her all day. She moves very quickly and there were many people to get in the way of a good picture. Today is her actual birthday and they are back home in Tennessee now. It was so much fun having them here for a little while and we will miss Shari and Mark and Esme' until we see them again in a couple of months. But the party was fun and a good memory. I picked her up before I had to leave her  and just cried!  She is so sweet and soft and smiley and I will miss her!!!

Sister Retreat

This year my sister, Carol, and I traveled to Western Michigan to the Ludington area for our sixth annual sister vacation. We have gravitated to that area every year because we both love to be by the water and Lake Michigan is the perfect getaway place. There are quaint little towns, beautiful lighthouses, breathtaking beaches, trees, birds, etc. It is so peaceful and relaxing! The picture above is the Big Sable Lighthouse on Lake Michigan. It is in a State Park and the walk on the beach to get there is about two miles. But it was wonderful! We were very tired and opted to walk back on the pathway through the park, but the walk there was so beautiful! The lighthouse is just perfect. We walked up the 130 steps to the top and the view was amazing from up there!

This lighthouse is in the town of Ludington. We spent time walking the pier out to the lighthouse. The lake was so blue and was full of sailboats, cabin cruisers, and freighters. We watched the sunset one night while walking on the pier. It wouldn't be hard to live in a place with a pier and a lighthouse and a beach!

It was great to be with Carol! We got to talk all we wanted and catch up with each other's lives. Carol lives in Grand Rapids. You would think that we lived light years apart because we hardly ever see each other! I love her very much and always have a great time traveling with her and exploring small towns and lighthouses. I would never want to give up our little vacations and am already looking forward to next year - place to be announced.

We shopped in some nice little towns. Both of us love toy stores! We could both spend all kinds of time in them. Carol and I both have grandchildren and just love to pick out toys ahead for birthdays, etc. It was sad that a couple of the towns we visited seemed like ghost towns! Many of the shops were closed down and out of business. But we did manage to buy a few things anyway!

It is always fun to find new places to eat our meals while away together. We have usually had really good success in finding good places. Sometimes we ask for recommendations from townspeople and other times we search out places CLOSE TO THE WATER! (That is one of our prerequisites!) Some towns just don't cooperate, though. They don't see the importance of great restaurants right on the water!! I can't figure it!

We found a game to play while we were there and we played it in the motel room two evenings. It was a very competitive game and lots of fun. We also went to a movie the first night we were in Ludington since it was a rainy night. We went to see Julie and Julia and it was a very good movie - two true stories incorporated into one movie. 

We almost ran out of gas one day while trying to find a beach or lighthouse. I can't remember which! It seems every year that happens to us, but we have never actually run out of gas yet. We are just so lucky! Actually, the Lord is so good to us and is taking care of us!

Here is a picture of one of the beautiful sunsets that we saw on Lake Michigan. They were awesome! Another year has gone by and another special time with my wonderful sister is over -

I will always treasure these times we have spent together just talking, exploring, and catching up. I can't wait until next time!

"There's a special kind of freedom sisters enjoy.

Freedom to share innermost thoughts,

to ask a favor, 

to show their true feelings.

The freedom to simply be themselves."

Author Unknown

When I read my daughter"s version of "not me Monday" these past few weeks, I told myself that I "would never" write a "not me" Monday post on MY blog! Never! Because I just don't do things like THAT! Well, here is what I did NOT DO this week!

First of all, Shari did NOT call to say they were coming to Michigan this week to celebrate Esme's birthday when we had planned to go to Tennessee in two weeks. I DID NOT take all of the wallpaper off the bathroom walls two days before she called. The bathroom is NOT a total mess along with the rest of the house that I DID NOT let go while stripping wallpaper! Shari is NOT staying another whole week while I am scheduled to go on a sister vacation with my sister three days after she gets here!

I certainly did NOT type the whole bulletin for church with a note to parents about an "important meeting" to discuss policy, procedures, and future activities and told them NOT to miss it ----but forgot to put the date!!  - so that Pastor Bob DID NOT have to make a special announcement about that date left out of the bulletin! I was NOT embarassed a single bit!  Not me!

I did NOT purchase a beautiful piece of luggage for my son-in-law Mark's birthday and then decide that it was too small and had to be returned. I DID NOT buy another piece of luggage before I had taken the other one back. I did NOT forget to take my receipt with me all the way back to the mall when finally deciding to return the first piece of luggage and did NOT only have my gift receipt with me. The manager did NOT tell me that I could only have an in store credit or exchange with a gift receipt! I WOULD NOT HAVE driven all the way back home to get the original receipt and WAS NOT mad all the way home and BACK - NOT ME! I DID NOT call the company to complain about their return policy - NOT ME!!

Later that SAME DAY at four o'clock in the afternoon, just after I had emptied two refrigerator shelves and placed everything on the kitchen table while I gave the refrigerator a much needed cleaning, Terry did NOT call to tell me he had forgotten to take the car that morning and needed it to take his dad out to eat in an hour.  After I had put everything back into the refrigerator, driven in rush hour traffic to trade vehicles with him and gotten back home to remove everything from the refrigerator again, I DID NOT receive another call from him to tell me that I did not leave the keys to the car on the floor of the front seat like I said I would! I did NOT have to repeat the whole process again to drive back to the church in worse rush hour traffic to give him the keys! NOT ME, I WOULDN'T!

Next day, Saturday, after deciding to give some of our windows a much needed cleaning, I DID NOT place a plastic container full of water on a high window sill while washing the track that the window slides on. The "black" water did NOT get knocked off by me and DID NOT splash all over the clean curtains, rug and wood floor in the room Shari and Mark will be staying in for two nights while here.  And I DID NOT wash the curtains in the washing machine even though the tag said, "DRY CLEAN ONLY"! Enough said!  :(   And I did NOT write this post when I am supposed to be cleaning the house, cutting the grass, grocery shopping, and doing laundry!

JULY 4TH - 2009

 

This whole weekend was a beautiful one! We spent much of it working in our yard taking out our very overgrown bushes in front of our house and replacing them with some updated and more colorful ones. Bob helped Terry pull our bushes which completely covered those bottom windows to our family room by cutting them down and then pulling the very deep roots by tying them to a rope and then tying them to our truck and backing the truck up. They worked very hard because those bushes had been there probably about 30 years! 

On the fourth, Terry and I went and bought some new bushes and plants and mulch to replace the old stuff. That was the fun part! I wish we had done it years ago! We had just had our trim painted and a new chimney and porch done while we were on vacation. Now we have to cut down a huge pine tree right in the front of our house. :( I love trees and really don't want to do that.

We spent the rest of our weekend with Shelley, Bob, Matthew, and Nolan. It was fun! Bob was helping Terry part of the time, but we had a few meals together and played with the kids and watched a ball game also.  We had drumsticks after dinner one night. Matthew did really well eating it, but mostly liked the chocolate and peanuts.

Nolan got to taste the vanilla ice cream also. He thought it was wonderful! Who wouldn't after eating that stuff babies usually eat?

We spent some time playing with the kids. I decided to show Matthew the camera on my computer that allows one to take a picture of yourself and there are many options to enhance it. I use the word "enhance" loosely!

Matthew thought this was great fun and begged to keep doing it until I had to finally make us stop!

I love this one. He was laughing so hard when he saw it, he could barely sit up! Don't I have a handsome grandson?

We had lots of fun playing and eating and talking and working. Shel, Bob, Matthew, and Nolan went home to watch some fireworks from their house. Matthew is afraid of the loud noises so they were going to maybe watch from inside their house.

Terry and I decided to take a walk and watch all the fireworks around our house. Most years it sounds and looks like a war zone around here on the fourth. This year it was rather quiet with only a few fireworks. It was a beautiful, cool night and we were so tired after the weekend that we probably went to bed before all of the loud noises. We didn't hear a thing!

We are reminded on this day how good it is to live in this country. Freedom is not something to take for granted - especially in the world we live in! God has blessed us with the privilege of growing up in America. Why? I know that I can't even imagine what other people in less fortunate countries live with every day. I just want to be so thankful for our beautiful and free country! Thank you, Lord!

Vacation 2009 - Knoxville and Cocoa Beach

It Was HOT!!

This is one of our favorite spots in Cocoa Beach - The Cocoa Beach Pier

I know it is hard to believe, but this pier actually has two large restaurants a bit farther back on the pier. One is very casual and one is more high end. We eat there a couple times while in Florida.

This year we were once again back in Cocoa Beach! We own a time share at the Resort on Cocoa Beach and we like it so much that we have gone back every year. Well, that and the fact that Terry gets stuck in tradition and doesn't want to try new things. We do love it there, though. It is just a beautiful resort right on the ocean.

We were on the seventh floor this year and had a beautiful view from our balcony. On one side we could see the ocean and from this view we could see the inter coastal waterway. It was very pretty at night with the sunset and all the lights.

The resort has a beautiful pool that we used quite a bit this year. It was in the 90's all week and very hot on the beach. We also had Esme' with us and it was easier to go in the pool with a baby than the ocean.

This was the view from our balcony on the ocean side. I just love being near the ocean and could easily live right there! I love the soothing sound of the ocean waves and the wonderful breeze. This year there was little wind and hardly any waves and it was HOT!!!

It was very fun having Shari and Esme' with us. Esme' turned 10 months while we were there. She is crawling and loves to put her head down like in this picture. She actually comes to a sitting position this way. She boosts herself up on her hands and feet, then crosses one leg over the other and eases herself into a sitting position. It is too funny!

We got to spend a lot of time just playing with Esme'. We hadn't seen her since Christmas and it is so hard to be so far away. She grows so fast! Grandpa enjoyed playing with her and thinks she is pretty special.

We ended up eating out most nights. There are many great restaurants in the Cocoa Beach area. It is tricky with a baby along, though. Babies don't exactly love being in restaurants. One night is was so beautiful outside and there was a wonderful breeze. We went to a restaurant on the Indian River. This river is where the huge cruise ships dock and use to get out into the ocean. The restaurant is a favorite of ours. This evening we chose to eat outside. There was live entertainment that night and Esme' was mesmerized by it. The guy who sang and played the guitar kept coming over to her and playing just to her. She got a lot of attention that night and didn't seem to mind!

At some of the other places we went, we didn't have as much luck with her!

We especially had fun in the pool on those hot days. Esme' loved it and we spent many hours in the water. We could just walk right in because it was so warm.

Shari brought along this apparatus for Esme' to use in the water, and it was great. She loved it and it was more relaxing for her than being held all the time. She looked so cute in it and lots of people came up to talk to us.

Grandpa entertaining Esme'

We got lots of reading done out on the balcony in the hot afternoons. Esme' had to nap, and Shari had school work to do. She is taking classes online for a degree in Interior Design. She has a two year degree in Graphic Arts, but would now like to get a bachelor's degree. She and Mark would eventually like to start their own business. 

So Shari set up Terry's laptop out on the balcony where she could work and still enjoy the ocean view. Not so bad! She worked almost every afternoon while Esme' slept.

These are pictures of the beautiful beach on the the ocean. The bottom picture is taken from a restaurant on the Cocoa Beach Pier. There is a great view of the beach there and lots of surfers. The surfers were not as prevalent this year because the ocean was so calm. 

Terry and I have been going to Cocoa Beach for at least eight years now. We found our time share one year while in Florida trying to view a Shuttle launch. Every year the shuttle launches either before or after our vacation. It is very frustrating because we would LOVE to see a launch. We can see Cape Canaveral from the beach in front of the resort. This year they finally had a launch scheduled in the middle of the week that we were there. It was set for 5:40 in the morning and we were out on the beach ready...then we found out that it was canceled until later in the week or possible until July. The next week the launch was rescheduled for that week. Again we got up early and were getting dressed when we heard that it had been canceled until July. We were very disappointed since this is to be the last Shuttle launch ever.

The second week in Cocoa Beach, we stay in a friend's condo in Cocoa Beach, but on the intercoastal. The screened porch is about 25 feet from the water. It is different there because we can see Manatee and porpoises play in the water behind the condo. It is almost directly across from Ron Jon's and only about a 10 minute walk from the ocean and Cocoa Beach Pier.

Shari and Esme' spend a couple of days with us there and then we took them to Orlando to catch a flight back to Knoxville.

This picture got out of order. It belongs down away and I will explain it.

Babies are funny. They can have every toy on earth, but what do they like the best? ANYTHING that is not a toy. Esme' liked the kitchen measuring cups so much that I bought her some colorful ones while we were in Cocoa Beach.

After Shari and Esme' went home, Terry and I moved to the condo on the intercoastal. We spent a lot more time on the ocean, though. We walked on the ocean every night and one afternoon drove south of Cocoa Beach for about an hour and walked on a different beach. All of the beaches were different from one another. That beach had piles and piles of larger shells! It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed just being by the ocean.

One morning Terry and I went golfing. I should say that Terry went golfing and I just rode in the golf cart! Terry loves to golf and went several times while we were in Florida, but mostly by himself. The whole course was being redone, so it was like you were on a detour the whole time. All of the regular greens were being renovated, so there were alternative greens and holes. It was hard to navigate and figure out where the next hole was. There was a sprinkler system going in certain areas also. Terry was driving the cart and forgot that I wouldn't want to go right through a sprinkler and get wet. Men don't worry about that as much. I guess!  Anyway he went driving along the walkway right through a large sprinkler. I got soaked on one side of my body! I guess it was kind of funny, but it sure wasn't comfortable after that!

On one of our last days in Florida, NASA rescheduled a liftoff of an unmanned rocket to the moon. After missing the shuttle because the liftoff was postponed until July, we were excited to at least watch a large rocket go up. We had seen one last year and it was spectacular! We found a place called Jetty Park which is very close to Cape Canaveral. It has a large wharf that goes out quite away and makes a good viewing spot to take pictures. 

We got there in plenty of time. There were hundreds of people on the wharf ready to take pictures. We kept hearing from people there who were talking to people who were on the internet that it was being delayed 10 minutes and then 10 minutes more, etc. Finally there was a time set for sure. We had been talking to people around us who had come from all over to see this rocket launch. The people beside us had driven all the way from Tampa that day to see it.  

When the time was near, we saw one of the big cruise ships coming our way. It would have to pass right in front of us! Everyone was worried it would completely block our view. But it got by without doing that. When it was time for the rocket to take off, we were all poised with our cameras. Nothing happened. Then Terry said, " I wonder what that tiny light is up there?" It looked like a small plane with one headlight. Then it disappeared and a couple of minutes later we heard the loud booms overhead for quite awhile. We then knew that that tiny light had been the rocket! It was very overcast and we had not seen one thing! Everyone was flabbergasted that it was over and no one had even been able to get one picture!! But there was another cruise ship coming about that time and we got lots of pictures of THAT!

We had a wonderful time this year. We ate out too much, but it was fun! We did a lot and even though we won't get to see the shuttle launch, it was a fun trip. We ended up by driving through Knoxville and spending the night with Mark and Shari and Esme'. We had to return all her things to her that she couldn't take on the plane. So we got to spend more time with them. We made dinner and played games that night and got up and left in the morning. The driving is hard. It is a lot of hours in the car. Terry and I listened to a book on tape this trip, so that helped to pass many hours. So until next year, goodbye Florida!