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Do not forget to narrate the long conversation with Mr. Fox and Kaity today ...
I had a little helper yesterday too. Kaity and I had gone grocery shopping. She was my list scratcher-off-er at the grocery store. It gives her something to do AND let's her know she is IMPORTANT.
I thought SURE we would find a kids' sized rake at Meijer, but there were NONE to be found. We put our groceries in my car and began the drive home. BUT the way home to my house goes right past LOWE'S! We parked our car and Kaity piggy-backed herself right into the store. We asked if there were any nice, small, sturdy rakes for kids and were directed where to find them! Yes! When we got to my house, raking was the first thing Kaity wanted to do.
We began by raking, with Kaity using her shiny yellow rake (and her new princess work gloves) but the goal was not really to clear my yard of leaves. We decided to make a nice big pile of leaves that Kaity could run and jump in.
Kaity thought it was an excellent idea, and put her whole heart into raking leaves into our pile.
She had so much fun running and jumping into the pile.
We had a leave fight too ...
Look at the happy face on this little child!
Priceless!
(My weird pumpkins and Kaity's little rake ... which will also be used by Brendan).
Sunday, after we ate our salad, Emma helped me repair my shell wreath. Gela found this at a yard sale and thought of me and bought it for me! How sweet of her! BUT, some of the shells were falling off. I bought some hot glue and a glue gun, and since I have very little (next to none) experience with using these items, Emma repaired the entire wreath for me!
Emma also thought if might be fun to have a marble run competition, so she got out the bin full of stuff, divided it perfectly in half, and then set my timer for 10 minutes. We had 10 minutes to design a marble run. We both finished with plenty of time leftover and then it was time to test them out. We picked out our three marbles, set them at the top, and did the countdown. We ran them three or four different times. The marbles were not allowed to jump off, and if they got "stuck" somewhere, we could not help to free them. It was a good game and we both liked it.
Going home time always comes too quickly, but we did finally take Emma back to her house by about 3:00. Next weekend is Halloween and their family has lots going on. So next weekend, might be one without grandchildren!
I had misunderstood and thought that the WHALES exhibit was already open at the GR Museum this week ... but it doesn't open until Saturday. Well, that did not stop us from exploring around some of the other exhibits anyway.
Future superman space-guy BRENDAN ANDREW ...
I love you, sweetheart!
Look at our beautiful state of Michigan! I didn't realize our elevations were that significant in the middle/upper lower peninsula! What a beautiful place Michigan is!
Naturally, we did the carousel because it is so much fun to listen to the cool music and ride whichever animal you wish! Brendan ALWAYS chooses one of the giraffes!
His sweet little face!
The museum was closed at 5:00, so I told Brendan that I needed a new pair of black boots and needed his expert help in picking them out! So we drove over to DSW where Brendan patiently pointed out boots as I tried them on. He is SO easy to take anywhere at all ... because he is super interested in EVERYTHING. We had so much fun and I got the prettiest boots ever! And then we ate at Culver's and enjoyed every bite as well as our chocolate ice cream for desert. What a nice way to spend a few hours with this precious little person.
I am so happy for all of them. Happy for Dylan and Kelly to be parents again and happy that Brendan can be a big brother to this little one! And me? I get to have SIX grandchildren instead of FIVE. What a blessing! I could not be happier about this. Thanks so much, Lord, for this little growing life!
Kaity and I actually arrived before Kelly and Brendan. Kaity had never been to this playground before, so she explored the entire thing ... in about five minutes flat!
And then cousin Brendan arrived! Brendan was completely intent upon making this digger work. He calls it an "excavator" and patiently maneuvers it until he makes it do what it should do!
Brendan was showing Kaity some gymnastic moves ...
Since Brendan goes to Gymco preschool three days a week, he has gotten much more bold on playground equipment. He is not reckless ... but he is brave and strong and fun to watch.
These cool swings got a lot of use as space ships actually. We blasted off 5-4-3-2-1-zero, ignition, BLASTOFF! Brendan went all the way to Saturn. Kelly stayed a little closer to home and landed on the moon.
We decided to take a short walk to look for some water. I was hoping to find some rocks to plunk for awhile ... but there were mostly just leaves!
Ada Park is a beautiful place. Every now and then, we met a pumpkin just sitting on a park bench waiting to be chummed with.
We also rescued this poor pumpkin who had been pitched in the pond! We took a stick and carefully moved it closer to the shore and then we scooped him up and placed him next to his friend on the bench. Brendan and Kaity were very proud rescuers!
These are great little trees to climb ...
And these two darlings are such monkeys!
Brendan thought it would be really lovely to take a walk IN the water. But I distracted him from this wishful thought ...
We played "horse-back rides" (I was the horse) all the way back to the car, switching between Kaity and Brendan at each park bench. Horse was pretty tired by the time we reached the car!
Then we went to my house where we happily played for awhile, ate some warm french toast, watched some "Kipper the Dog" episodes, and then Brendan had to go home to his house!
So Kaity asked if I could make her a little tent/house to play in. We constructed this one in a matter of minutes and invited some of our animal friends to come and join us for a party.
Kaity loves this kind of play so much.
I am a pretty blessed grandma, don't you think?
The four grandkids and I spent a good amount of time watching the penguins Saturday. They were more playful than usual and gave us a lot of joy.
It is getting late in the season and many zoo exhibits are closed. We were glad to visit the grizzlies again ...
Kaity does a pretty big GROWL.
Kaity is pretty enthusiastic at the zoo. She runs from place to place, laughing and giggling. I love to see her happy like this. We watched the frogs (below) for awhile ...
The zoo was dressed up for Halloween. These guys LOVE Halloween.
It was 70 degrees Saturday afternoon! Beautiful!
This little train has been at the zoo since my boys were little, and now my grandchildren play here!
Matthew! He loves to stand on top of stuff ...
After the zoo closed, we went over to the zoo playground for awhile to climb and play.
And NO Saturday is complete without chocolate-dipped cones at McDonald's. We always get Kaity's in a cup with a cone on the side. Here is Emma putting some ice cream into Kaity's cone for her. Emma takes good care of Kaity-girl.
I love you, kiddos!
Brendan is an easy little person to be with. He is delighted at the most basic stuff of life. He LOVES life, LOVES people, LOVES to play ... oh, and he LOVES chocolate ice cream. So we try to include chocolate ice cream every Thursday for desert.
Brendan's parents have a Beatles CD in their car that plays all of the favorites they were made famous for. Brendan LOVES the song "Penny Lane" and can sing all of the words. He sat at my piano (while I was playing a completely different song) and began to sing "Penny Lane" very loudly and with much joy. He has a wonderful voice, perfect pitch, and is very happy performing.
His piano playing did not at all match the notes of the song, but he had the rhythm down very nicely and was happy just to be banging away on the keys.
"Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes. There beneath the blue suburban skies I sit and meanwhile back ..." Here he is pouring his little soul into his music.
"Did you know music is happy, grandma?"
Yes, Buddy! I DO know that music is happy!
I love this little boy--his heart, his soul, his voice, his laugh, his curiosity, humor, enthusiasm, sweetness ...
Thank you for these lovely Thursdays, dear grandson.
Since Kaity loves the outdoors so much, we took the opportunity to spend most of our day outside! We drove over to Roselle Park (Ada) for an adventure. We climbed 90 steps up to the top of the silo to the look-out platform and this was our view (above). The doors to the outside deck were locked (as always), but we could see through the windows in every direction. I was pretty proud of Kaity climbing all 90 steps!
We decided to get as close as we could to the horses after we came out of the silo. Such beautiful creatures. Kaity decidedly liked them.
She wanted to ride them pretty badly--but these horses were not FOR riding. We watched them and talked to them for quite awhile.
We decided to take a nice walk down the main pathway through the wetlands to see what we could see. We saw lots of beautiful little birds, quite a few grasshoppers, some pretty butterflies, lots of squirrels and chipmunks ...
We explored the small observation deck for awhile ...
And then we continued our travels ...
... all the way to the Grand River. So peaceful!
I threw a small rock off this precipice and we listened to the "plink" as it landed. Kaity thought it was great and for the next 20 minutes or so, she went rock hunting and made many different plunking sounds. She was very delighted.
Look at her sweet smile!
Horse was with us for all of our adventures today.
These are the hi-lo's. You can just make out the observation deck at the top of the closest hi-lo. I have never climbed those 90 stairs and found the doors Unlocked yet! But as I am climbing the steps up and up and up, I am reminded of being in a lighthouse ... and I LOVE being in a lighthouse! So the climb is always worth it, even if the door is locked.
There is a small play area by the silos and some good climbing features right ON the silos. It is very nicely put together.
After we enjoyed Roselle Park, we drove back to my house hitting a pothole at 50 mph when almost to my house! Thankfully, the tire did not go flat until we reached my house! Sadly, the rim is destroyed ... but we were safe and in a good place to receive help from AAA, etc. Very thankful.
We parked at our usual free downtown parking lot (under the 131) and hiked a little bit over to where some action was. Our main search was to find the wounded warrior exhibit--the one that actually WON ArtPrize. We did some outdoor looking, and then we took some of the skywalks over to the Grand Plaza where Kaity spotted the wounded dogs before any of us saw them!
There was a ghastly line of people waiting to see the exhibit and to read all of the explanation, etc. We just wanted to SEE it. So we got as close as we could (the children snuck under the barriers), got a couple of pictures, and then moved on. I would really have liked to stand in line so that I could have actually read all of what was in this artists heart and mind as he designed this to honor our veterans. But children do not wait in line very well for very long ...
We did have fun walking around the fancy Amway Grand for awhile. The kids were delighted with the chandeliers and beautiful carpets and art ...
It was pretty windy and cold down there, so we did not have a prolonged visit. But I am glad we went anyway.
Aren't these pictures great of Matthew and Kaity?
We walked on down to the Gerald R. Ford Museum to have a look around there ...
Below is "The Fountain of Tears" which I did not capture very well in this photo. It was really much prettier.
And these pictures of Matthew!
I love these children.
We even went to the gravesite of former president Ford and his wife ...
These are my favorite pictures of Matthew ... they capture his sweet heart very well. Thanks, kiddos for coming with your grandma to ArtPrize.
Brendan is such an interesting little soul. It does not take much to please him. He is very easy to play with and engage. He had quite a bit of fun playing with the window stickers we bought this afternoon at Meijer. He was so pleased.
He loves the toys at my house. I'm so glad he does! He has an active imagination and plays so well. I love to watch him as he plays. He is very intense about it!
Brendan loves my super LONG Richard Scarry Train Book.
We also brought home a carton of Hudsonville (THE best) chocolate ice cream and enjoyed every last lick on our spoons!
And played ever so long with simple wooden blocks and a few of our PlayMobile people (and horses).
We built a fancy house with a very tall chimney ...
Look at his expression (below). Ah! I could eat him up.
Brendan was pretty determined that the horses and their riders have an outdoor fireplace--so he designed this one for them. Very nice, Brendan!
And naturally, we always do a little music around here with this talented kiddo.
The time always goes much too quickly and soon we have to take ourselves out to the car and drive back to the city .... until next Thursday sweetheart!
It wasn't quite as crowded as the usual weekend here because many people probably thought it was too wet and muddy ... and they were probably kind of right! We were glad we went anyway. The kids love to feed the goats.
Because ... the kiddos love animals of all kinds.
We played with baby goats, soft kittens, jumping bunnies ...
These boys ... love them!
We rode the wagon out to the corn maze and all FIVE of us did the maze together.
Emma and Chris each had a map and 3-D glasses to guide us through the crazy twists and turns of this beautiful field of corn.
Naturally, we got almost hopelessly lost!
It was wonderful to be out in God's wonderful creation with the children once again. I can't think of anything I would rather do.
Kaity was a trouper out there in all that corn. She likes to keep up with the big kids, so she did not whine or complain about us being lost.
Matthew, on the other hand, was a little bit tired of our wandering around in circles! I don't blame him! He just wanted to find the EXIT and get out of there! This was after we wandered for 30+ minutes. He did not start out so glum. :)
We finally found the way out ... yes! And then we wandered around the orchard for awhile. Beautiful place.
And we rode the wagon back to the main farm.
Eating apples as we went ...
I love these children so much.
I love autumn more and more every year it seems. I am learning NOT to dread what follows (winter) because every season is SO beautiful.
Kaity-Girl and I had a special tea party with some additional stuffed animals acquired during Nana's move.
Kaitlynn was very pleased ...
On one of our afternoons, she got the animals together and read them stories! YAY! That's quite an accomplishment for our Kaity who does not sit still long enough to have a story read to her!
Paco was a good listener, though. Paco is a real favorite with all of the children.
Kaity got a bang out of the two walking sticks my father designed and used them the other day to help her hike around the beach house.
Brendan and I had a few date nights. This one was at Culver's where we enjoyed some yummy food and chocolate ice cream for desert.
AND, we were invited to Open Gym over at Gymco where Brendan and Kaity played on all the cool stuff ...
Brendan showed us all of the gymnastic equipment ...
And Kaity did quite well for being a rookie! She is quite athletic, though, and a very physical little person.
Brendan was a monkey on the rings ...
We played basketball for a little while ...
And then Kaity was a monkey too!
Sweeties!
Both Kaity and Brendan spent a Monday afternoon over here at the Beach House. Brendan serenaded us on the piano using the chimes setting and pretending it was a clock.
This weekend is Rosh Hashanah ... the Jewish New Year celebration and the Feast of Trumpets. I've been doing a little studying about those ram's horns in Scripture and wondering and hoping and watching to see if perhaps Jesus will return this year to the sound of those ram's horns. Please!
The air temperature and the water temperature were both 76 degrees! It was very easy to get in and out of the water this way--because I HATE cold water and I HATE trying to get used to cold water and I am a complete wimp about it. How nice on my birthday to be able to swim and play on the beach and run back into the water, etc. without it taking so much ... effort!
Chris and Matthew made sand castles, roads, canals, forts, and did an excellent job of all of it.
This was Kaity-girl's first visit to the big lake. She was a little bit intimidated by the waves because even though they were not large, they had a VERY strong pull to them.
I loved watching these beautiful children have so much clean good fun together.
Aren't they so beautiful?!
Brendan spent most of his time IN the lake, as did Emma. They seemed to enjoy each other's company very much. Cousins are a very wonderful thing to have!
After we went swimming, we walked to find a good place to eat. While we were walking, one of these two initiated holding hands. I watched them for quite awhile before I actually remembered to raise my camera and snap a shot. I missed some really touching moments on film, but I will remember them in my head for a very long time--such sweetness.
These two adore each other.
Brendan called this little area on the boat his "boat bed." This is the cool playground behind the YMCA in Grand Haven. It is a really good place to set kids loose to imagine and explore.
My Emma ... my dear Emma ... so grown up, so fast. Why, it seems like just a few days ago YOU were a little tike and now you are a young lady. Fourteen is a very big deal. I remember it well.
Brendan and Kaity played school bus for quite awhile. Brendan insisted Kaity be the bus driver and she very happily obeyed.
Matthew demonstrated a small zip line to me. He was very good at this and not one bit afraid--probably because it is so much smaller than the one he had ridden over at the zoo.
After our time at the beach had ended, I was invited over to Dylan and Kelly's. We ordered some pizza and shared it. Brendan and Kelly had made me a chalk birthday message on their front sidewalk but the message did not show up well in the photograph, so I cropped it off.
Look at this adorable boy. I could just eat him up.
What a beautiful birthday. Thank you, Jesus, for your kindness to my family and for these precious grandchildren. I am SO blessed.
The children all gathered to say hi to him and get acquainted.
The bald eagle was perched just so ...
We visited the wallabies but they were very shy today, so they stayed inside their pens!
We walked on over to where our favorite birds and very cool monkeys live. I forget the kind of monkey that is over on this side, but one of them was having a complete fit because a family was pulling a wagon behind them and the wagon made a loud scraping sound on the pavement. The monkey was quite displeased.
We visited Balli, our cockatile friend--but took no pictures today. He was being highly uncooperative, hanging upside down and acting all aloof and stuck-up. We gave up on him talking to us and moved on to the barn owls.
The kiddos had one last zip line ride for the summer. I thought the event was a $5/person charge, but found out it was $9/person charge and had to walk all the way back to my car in the parking lot to retrieve more money. Meanwhile, the kids rode the zip line and I never got a single picture of them doing it. I forced them to stand by the entrance and pose for a picture. Don't they look super excited about it?!!!
Since we were up on the very top of the zoo, we paid a visit to the tiger habitat and got a very wonderful treat. The tiger was VERY friendly, and bit restless, pacing back and forth, back and forth, allowing several nice pictures.
All of us enjoyed him very much ...
These wonderful, darling, sweet, grandchildren ... I love them so much.
We kept up our vigil for quite a while actually. It was fascinating watching the tiger strut his stuff.
We played for awhile over at the little train, which the zoo moved from one end of the zoo to the very opposite end. Kaity loves this train.
The other children are much bigger now but still climb all over it like a bunch of monkeys.
Aren't these kids the BEST?!!
We talked with our baboon friend a little bit. He was very quiet and not one bit interested in us today.
These flowers were begging to be photographed ...
And you will NEVER guess. We actually learned what a fox says! Yes! I'm not kidding. AND after listening to him howl his face off for five minutes, Emma could imitate him exactly. She was so pleased. Me too.
We had so much fun watching and listening to Mr. Fox.
We went into the aquarium to see the penguins for a little while, and the fish. Christopher wanted me to get a good shot of the fish so that he could use it as his background on FB. Here it is Chris.
We played for a little while at the zoo playground, because ... the zoo closed at 6PM and we still had some time left to play.
Sunday afternoon outings are some of my favorite times of the week. I could not be more blessed if I had all the money in the world. You see, I have the love of these little hearts and I get to be their grandma. I also get to love them and share Jesus with them. What a privilege it is.
Brendan loves the pelicans, even though they don't really talk to us. We love to watch them groom themselves. Thursday, we got to see on of them diving under the water for ... bugs I think. My picture of the diving pelican did not turn out very good, so I am NOT posting it.
We visited the wallabies, but they were not super friendly this time. They were content to just lay around and eat. They are pretty cute animals, though, and one of these days we are going to become better acquainted with them.
This rope tube is near where the beautiful birds--the cockatiel and the macaw, as well as some really unusual monkeys. This size is perfect for Brendan to run through. I always pretend he is an exotic monkey running away, which makes him smile, which makes his adorable dimples show.
We did not feed the Bungie birds this time! Brendan wanted to very badly go and SEE the lions. I tried to tell him that the lions NEVER come close to the windows ... not EVER ...
We got a surprise treat today. The lioness was sunning herself close to the big window. She stayed there for such a long time!
She even got up and said hello to us!
She wasn't very impressed with us and lay back down.
Brendan was very pleased that we got to see a lion that close up!
We had such a relaxing and fun afternoon together. So much to be thankful for!
Emma spent the night again Sunday and then we picked Kaity up Monday afternoon. We took her over to Township Park to play in the creek because it is such a delightful place to be.
Emma did a little exploring on her own ...
Kaity went between the playground and the creek ... back and forth ... back and forth.
I tried to get some pretty pictures of the wildflowers ...
Kaity really enjoys climbing on anything whatsoever. Why is it that all little kids must defy gravity and common sense and climb a slide backward? They all do it!
We always take along plenty of creek toys ... We floated our boats and dug with our trucks. It was a relaxing and fun hour. But then Kaity got pretty soaked ...
... so we returned home to get her dry and to play with our inside toys for a little while.
Kaity really loves the little horses I got her for her birthday. We keep them here because she can play with them every time she comes over. Today, we took the horses and their stables over to the train tracks and made up a story about everybody.
This is the kind of play Kaity simply adores. She loves to pretend. It takes a lot of effort to the the story-teller sometimes ... but it is always worth the effort. Love these dear granddaughters.
Last year our time worked out very well because I budgeted enough money, PLUS I put a limit on the amount we would spend, and then I divided up between the kids so that each of them got to ride the go-karts twice, and each of them received 25 tokens in the arcade. That was my limit and I stuck to it!
This year, however, Kaity-girl was old enough to join us so I had to budget enough for her little self to enjoy the afternoon as well. Kaity and I shared our tokens but there were actually go-karts small enough and safe enough for her to ride. She was absolutely thrilled.
This AJ worker/guy was very kind to Kaity and explained that her Left foot was for stopping and her Right foot was for going. She nodded her pretty head like she understood.
Look at her -- isn't she the cutest little thing? Oh my.
And she's ... OFF! Except it seemed that she did not fully understand that she couldn't drive with BOTH feet pressed down at once, so she barely crawled around the track until the worker came and explained once again.
Kaity went around the track one more time and she did better and went a little bit faster. She had a BIG smile on her face too. Ems, Chris and Matt watched her and cracked up.
But THEN it was THEIR turn.
They got all buckled up and ready to go ...
Look at them ... future Nascar drivers.
Christopher is a natural speedster taking every corner without wasting a single inch of space ...
Chris is pretty cocky about it, but what race car driver have you ever met who was NOT cocky?
Oh my word, Emma--you look like you are going to punch someone's lights out!
The race was on!! Everybody drove very well. Chris was determined to pass everyone at least once, and I think he accomplished that.
Matthew took this very seriously. He was an excellent and safe driver too.
There was a small crash at the end. Here is what happened: There had been several laps and then the worker, without much warning, told the drivers to pull in to the gate. Emma was practically to the curve when she heard him say this, so she quickly turned to go into the gate area (she was listening very well). But Emma's car and the car next to hers kind of crashed on the way in, and then three more cars rear-ended Emma ... BANG!! CRUNCH!! BANG!! Little Kaity was yelling, "Oh no!!!"
Thankfully, it was not serious. No injuries. Emma was very polite and the workers were very nice about it too.
We tried to get a foursome picture ...
Which is always a little tricky ...
Since Kaity is so little, I decided to take her on a boat ride.
Except these boats are SO hard to steer that I crashed about a dozen times. Kaity did NOT like crashing, began to cry, so we ended our ride early. Poor little dear.
Kaity and I shared our 25 tokens. Katie's attention span for each game was about 10 seconds (max), so many times, she did not even play an entire round of a game. I finally gave away our last 6 tokens to the other kids.
But she did have a fun time anyway.
After the arcade, the big kids went back to the go-karts and had one last race.
Kaity cheered them on. I love her outfit.
It was a nice time at AJ's. I love these children and I love to watch them have fun. Thank you, Lord, for this great time at AJ's!
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By: Mom Jones,
on 10/31/2016
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on 10/31/2016
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By: Mom Jones,
on 10/26/2016
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Isn't October the most gorgeous month? It would be my absolute favorite IF winter didn't follow so closely on its heals. I love the colors and smells and sounds. AND believe it or not, I love to rake leaves.
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By: Mom Jones,
on 10/25/2016
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We dropped the kiddos back home after our playtime here at the Beach House. We actually ate some pizza over at their house, we took Matthew to Three Mile and then Emma came back home with me. I don't actually have any pictures from Saturday night. We got ourselves in our PJ's, grabbed our favorite blankets and watched, "It's a Wonderful Life!" This is one of my all time favorite movies. Emma did very well with it, even though is a very old movie! It is always provoking to think about what the world would be like had you never been born in it as well as to wonder how many people's lives have been affected for the good or bad because of your life.
Sunday morning we went to church and LOGOS class. What a wonderful sermon and class time we had together. Emma worshiped with us. What a blessing it was to have her next to me. Such a privilege.
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| Completely repaired and restored SHELL WREATH! |
0 Comments on Another sleepover with Ems as of 10/25/2016 9:39:00 PM
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By: Mom Jones,
on 10/24/2016
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By: Mom Jones,
on 10/21/2016
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I look forward to my standing date with THIS boy every single Thursday! We have so much fun together. I adore this little cutie-pie.
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By: Mom Jones,
on 10/19/2016
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Isn't that so great?!?!?!?!
Dylan and Kelly are expecting baby #2 in March 2017. Brendan is over-the-moon excited about it too. "My mom has a baby in her belly, Grandma!"
I am so happy for all of them. Happy for Dylan and Kelly to be parents again and happy that Brendan can be a big brother to this little one! And me? I get to have SIX grandchildren instead of FIVE. What a blessing! I could not be happier about this. Thanks so much, Lord, for this little growing life!
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By: Mom Jones,
on 10/19/2016
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Monday surely came around quickly this week! I picked up Kaity and drove out to Ada Park where we met Kelly and Brendan. The weather was picture perfect. I love this time of year, don't you?
Brendan thought it would be really lovely to take a walk IN the water. But I distracted him from this wishful thought ...
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By: Mom Jones,
on 10/19/2016
Blog: The Jones Family Junction (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Blog: The Jones Family Junction (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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It has been a tiny bit difficult to make plans for a Saturday with the children because the weather here has been SO unpredictable ... yet at the same time VERY wet and rainy! But the rain went away just in time to allow us a small window of dry weather to enjoy the zoo again Saturday afternoon. Yes!
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By: Mom Jones,
on 10/19/2016
Blog: The Jones Family Junction (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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This little fellow and I have a standing date each and every Thursday, after work at 3:30 until 7:30 or 8:00 PM. And since we get together every single Thursday night, it is something I look forward to very much.
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By: Mom Jones,
on 10/12/2016
Blog: The Jones Family Junction (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Monday afternoon was a perfect fall day--upper 60's, sunshine, a light breeze. The trees are just starting to turn here in W. Michigan. It is deliciously beautiful.
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By: Mom Jones,
on 10/9/2016
Blog: The Jones Family Junction (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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So ... yesterday was the LAST day of ArtPrize and I had not seen a single piece of art yet from the entire two weeks! Yikes. SO ... I asked the kids if they wanted to come downtown with me for just a little taste of the displays.
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By: Mom Jones,
on 10/9/2016
Blog: The Jones Family Junction (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Years ago, if anyone had told me how wonderful being a grandma was--I don't think I would have believed them. I guess it is just something I had to experience for myself. It is wonderful. My heart is happiest when I am with one or the other or all of them.
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By: Mom Jones,
on 10/5/2016
Blog: The Jones Family Junction (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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By: Mom Jones,
on 10/5/2016
Blog: The Jones Family Junction (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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We've had a cold wet first two weeks of fall, but finally caught a "break" in the weather late Saturday afternoon. I picked up the kids and we drove out to our favorite fall place, "Schwallier's Basket" over on Alpine and 9 Mile.
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By: Mom Jones,
on 9/30/2016
Blog: The Jones Family Junction (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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I'm not sure when I have spent a month like this past month has been. Here it is the very last day of September and this is the only time I am posting any pictures or narrative ... and SO much happened these last four weeks. But the MAIN thing that happened was moving mom to her new living situation. I would take a very long time to describe all that has happened in the past 7 weeks actually; but God has been very gracious and I am so thankful that mom can be in a safe and kind environment. Moving her was exhausting and I'm still trying to catch up on stuff that I neglected all month long.
The kiddos and I did stuff throughout, but I was pretty tired and lacked the emotional and physical resources to do what is usually done in a month with my grandchildren. I did see them and we did play and visit places, but I cannot remember all of it and my narrative will be sketchy at best.
This weekend is Rosh Hashanah ... the Jewish New Year celebration and the Feast of Trumpets. I've been doing a little studying about those ram's horns in Scripture and wondering and hoping and watching to see if perhaps Jesus will return this year to the sound of those ram's horns. Please!
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By: Mom Jones,
on 8/31/2016
Blog: The Jones Family Junction (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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By: Mom Jones,
on 8/31/2016
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By: Mom Jones,
on 8/29/2016
Blog: The Jones Family Junction (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Monday, August 22: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! For my birthday this year, I requested that all FIVE of the grandchildren come to Grand Haven with me for the afternoon. Thankfully, Kelly was willing and very happy to bring Brendan and me and the other four grands out at Grand Haven.
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By: Mom Jones,
on 8/29/2016
Blog: The Jones Family Junction (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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August 21--Sunday afternoon: The grandchildren and I had a late afternoon visit to the zoo last Sunday. It was a perfect-weather zoo day! The pelicans were resting on the rocks ...
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By: Mom Jones,
on 8/23/2016
Blog: The Jones Family Junction (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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By: Mom Jones,
on 8/23/2016
Blog: The Jones Family Junction (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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August 18: Every visit to the zoo is a little bit different, especially when Brendan is along. He loves to just meander from animal to animal, very patiently watching and listening and wondering. I love going to the zoo with Brendan.
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By: Mom Jones,
on 8/16/2016
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Once upon a time (not very long ago actually), I dreaded that you would grow up. I wanted to keep you young, laughing, skipping into your grandma's arms. For years you were so far away, many miles, many states, no way to be with you as I longed to with all my heart. I am so thankful we do not have all of that distance any more.
I am not afraid of you growing up anymore, Emma. I have let you go and given you to Jesus. You are HIS GIRL, not mine. As we have studied stories about Jesus these last months, I have been so gripped by His love for both of us. I trust Jesus to take care of you, dear granddaughter.
This year, more than any other, you have become a close friend. I'm not sure exactly what has done this--perhaps just the fact that you and I understand each other and love each other just as we are. It is nice to be loved with a no-matter-what kind of love, isn't it?
So ... let's keep following the great God who made us, sweetheart. He will never leave us or forsake us. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is strong for us and loves us with an unending forever love. You are a gift to me, dear granddaughter, and I love you so SO much.
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By: Mom Jones,
on 8/16/2016
Blog: The Jones Family Junction (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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I tried to get some pretty pictures of the wildflowers ...
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By: Mom Jones,
on 8/16/2016
Blog: The Jones Family Junction (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Summer is almost over (practically), and every year I PROMISE to take the kids over to AJ's to ride the go-karts and to play in the arcade.
 |
| Little Kaity marching over to her go-kart |
He was very kind to our Kaity.
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