On Cloud Nine

Good Monday morning friends. I'm going to save my weekend recap post for Tuesday because today is a grandson's birthday, and you know the drill. 

In case you don't know the drill it's this-all my grands get a letter here when their birthday rolls around, and today is one of those days. 

Dear Mancub, 

Today you are nine. With every candle added to the cake you become a little more man, a little less cub, but you'll  always be the Mancub to me. The one who made me Nana and changed the way I see the world and my role in it. 

Nine years ago today we got the news that you'd arrived. It was a bit comical in hindsight, but on that day we worried your Auntie M to no end as she had been trying and trying and trying to reach us, but could not. We worried her so much in fact, that she was getting ready to phone a friend or possibly the police to drive out to our house to make sure we were still breathing. 

We were. Actually we were sleeping peacefully until your other grandmother phoned about 7 AM, her voice filled with excitement, asking how we could possibly be asleep at a time like this??? She told us she'd been awake since she got the call at 3AM!!

Uh. We didn't know? We're still not exactly sure what happened but my phone was right beside me, sitting on the nightstand with the ringer on and the volume all the way up, and your Pawpaw's phone was right beside him, sitting on his nightstand with the ringer on and the volume all the way up,  yet we slept on, oblivious. 

Apparently Auntie M (who was out in Washington hanging with your momma) had first phoned when your mom and dad went to the hospital, then several times after, then sent a number of texts, and left a couple voice mails too, but we heard nada. Nothing. Not a peep. We had 11 missed calls when we finally looked at our phones. 

We can't explain it still and to this day I say this was God's way of keeping our hearts and minds at peace while your momma was in labor with you. Once we finally woke up and WOKE UP you were nearly here. 

God is good. Hold fast to the truth of that all the days of your life. He shows His goodness in ways both large and small and often in ways we didn't expect, and for that we are so grateful. 

This year Nana and Pawpaw took you out for a celebratory birthday dinner. Just you. Your little brother and sister let us know they would love to come too, but we wanted to have some special time with just you. Don't worry, they'll get their turn, but you're the oldest so you get to go first. 

We went to a fancy place we love, and spoiled you a little with ice cold shrimp cocktail, a platter of your favorite Calamari, and a steak you declared was the best you've ever eaten. The restaurant staff signed a birthday card and left it on the table for you and there was a super sparkly candle on a fudgy brownie for dessert. 

You loved it all. We gave you your gift and told you lots of things we love about you (which by the way, is pretty much everything) and we know this will be a tradition we want to carry forward in the years ahead. 

On the drive to the restaurant I asked you some questions and wrote down your responses, and I know it will be fun to see how your answers change from year to year. 

And they will. Because you're growing up. 

We love having a front row seat to the boy you are and the man you'll one day be. You're smart. You're kind. You're sensitive to the feelings of those around you. You're curious. You're handsome. You're clever. You're the very best parts of your mom and dad and we know God has a plan for your life we can't wait to see unfold. 

Keep reading all the books, keep memorizing God's word, keep solving puzzles and building cool things, keep knocking baseballs out of the park. Keep loving your family, and caring about the feelings of those whose paths cross yours. Keep talking to Jesus and keep being you. The remarkable Mancub God made you to be. 

Know today and always your Nana loves you deep and wide xo 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. " Proverbs 3:5-6

DINO-mighty

I always write letters here to my grands on their birthdays and today is one of those days...

Dear Sweet Baby J-

Today you are three. 

We had such a fun day celebrating you on Saturday, with a dinosaur themed backyard party filled with lots of friends and family. Your cousins finally live close enough to attend and you were so excited to see them walk through the door. You refer to the oldest two as 'my boys' which is too precious for words. You cry in the driveway when they pull away and I love the way you're growing up together. 

The little girls are right in there with you boys, and that's fun for everyone to see too.

When someone asks me what you're like I often say 'he's extra'. I don't know how else to say it. You're extra sweet, extra loving, extra joyful. Extra in all the very best ways. 

Some of my favorite things about you are the way you talk, the way you run, and the way you do a little happy dance when you're excited. You are precise in the way you put things together, and want to help Daddy in the garden, the garage, and with any wood working project he undertakes. 

You share well (most of the time) with sissy and love to bake with momma. Actually you love anything with momma because she's your girl. You also love swimming, swinging, all things that go, puzzles, and books. You love your people hard, and want them close by all the time. You have a sweet tender heart and move everyone at the table with your earnest prayers at mealtimes.  

Hey, guess what? Not only is today your birthday, it's also the day some forty one years ago that your Nana and Pawpaw got married. You were born on our anniversary, which only makes it all the more special. 

I believe these two milestones landing on the same day is no coincidence. Instead I see it as a gentle reminder love never stops growing. That day marked the beginning of a love story that would expand beyond just the two of us in ways we could not envision or be more grateful for. 

You little man, are living proof love multiplies, and every year as we celebrate our marriage we get to celebrate you too. You're a joy, a treasure, and a gracious reminder of God's love and faithfulness in our lives. Always know your Nana loves you deep and wide xo 

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; 

do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." 

Joshua 1:9

Give Me Five

If you're looking for this week's Hodgepodge questions you'll find them one post down. 

Linking this post today with Joanne's Talking About it Tuesday. 

Penning another letter to my grandson who celebrates a birthday today. His birthday hits five days after his baby sister's, two days before Halloween, and a week before what will no doubt be a tumultuous election day. I never want him to feel lost in the shuffle. 

Dear Max, 

Officially five today! That might be Nana's favorite age. I was thinking about your blog name and how it suits you, but also how your real name does too. Sweet William. Nana added the sweet, but it's the phrase that always comes to mind when I think of you. 

Which is every single day. 

There's a flower I love called Sweet William and did you know flowers have meaning? Out of curiosity I looked this one up, and guess what? It also suits. 

The flower known as Sweet William has multiple meanings including gallantry and masculinity. You, my newly minted five year old, are all boy. You love to wrestle, play 'futbol', baseball, ride your bike, drive the boat fast, pretend you're a knight, a Jedi, a ninja, a superhero. You love to climb and run and throw and jump. 

You have the biggest vocabulary and the best accent of any five year old I know. 

You want to do whatever big brother is doing, but these days you're finding your own way too. You have opinions lol. You're exceptionally bright, articulate, curious, and funny. And since you've recently moved into your fifth house in as many years I guess I should add resilient to your list of strengths too. 

You wear your emotions on your sleeve and your mama has helped you learn to ask yourself if something is a big problem or a little problem before you react. I find myself doing the same and it helps. 

We're never too old to learn little man. 

Pawpaw and I had so much fun visiting you in your Cambridge home last month. We loved hearing your thoughts on all the new things you've experienced...mushy peas, double decker buses, an International school, Saturday mornings on the pitch and more. 

Your birthday lands just a few days before the US election, and let's just say it hasn't been pretty. While it's hard not to wonder what our nation will look like when you're a young man I want to tell you something  Nana knows for certain.

This world may be full of conflict and confusion, but God in His infinite wisdom created you for such a time as this. You are a part of God's divine plan and He made you all the wonderful things you are-strong, smart, curious, and resilient-traits that will serve you well as you grow from boy to man.  

I pray you always seek His will for your life and know how fully and completely you are loved by Him. 

By your Nana too. Deep and wide my sweet William. 

xo~Nana~xo

"Stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Let all that you do be done in love." 

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Seven

If you read here regularly you know I always write my grandchildren a letter on their birthday. Today is one of those days. 

Dear Mancub, 

Today you are seven. 

Once again you're marking a birthday thousands of miles and an ocean away from your Nana. This past week you boarded a plane with your family and moved to England, and you know what? 

Nana isn't sad. 

How can I be sad when you have the chance to live in one of my most favorite places in all the world? 

When your momma was a teenager we moved to England. We hugged her grandparents goodbye and flew across the ocean just like you. We had so many wonderful experiences as a family making our home in a country not our own, and I know you will have that too. 

I also know you'll ask at least a million questions in the next six months. I know you'll love the language and the way words like gobsmacked, brilliant, knackered, and cheers roll right off your tongue. I know you'll learn a lot about a lot, that you'll see so many beautiful new old places, and I'm also one hundred percent certain you'll fall in love with the English countryside, just like Nana did once upon a time. 

Seven feels big. You are growing up and we love you so. You and your momma and your brother and sister too, were able to spend ten days with us before your big move and we had so much fun in the sun.

There was of course, the the annual run off the dock with Nana, but this trip what you really wanted to do was paddleboard. You hopped on the first day you were here and it became a fast favorite way to spend the day. 

Nana still wobbles, but you bounced up on that board like you'd been doing it all your life, and suddenly you seemed not quite so little. 

Hey guess what? While we're not in the same time zone on your big day, we will be on mine. Yay! Pawpaw and I cannot wait to visit. We look so forward to sipping tea in your garden, giving and getting big in person hugs, walking along the High Street with you and your sibs, re-visiting some of our favorite old stomping grounds, and most especially discovering new ones too, all with you by our side. 

Happy birthday Mancub! Remember no matter where you roam in this great big world the God who made it all holds you in the palm of His hand. 

Know too your Nana loves you deep and wide xo

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6 

Prioritizing The Hodgepodge

Welcome to the last Wednesday Hodgepodge in the month of June. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then hop over and leave a comment for the blogger before you. Everybody loves company...at least in the blogosphere they do. Here we go-

 

1. What do you think has remained the same about you your whole life? How has your perception of yourself changed over time? 

I think I've always been a helper, introspective, sensitive, and stubborn. Hubs will testify to that last one-ha! My faith and my family have always been important to me and all of these things remain true today. 

As far as changing over time...hopefully I've grown, matured, learned to recognize what's important and will matter for eternity and what to let fall by the wayside. Course there's still plenty of growing to do. We're all a work in progress, but I do think I'm able to give myself more grace in this stage of life than in prior seasons.  

2. What was the first thing you learned how to cook? Do you prefer to cook or bake? 

That's going back a long way but I guess the first thing I remember learning to make in the kitchen is salad dressing. Which technically isn't cooking but it felt like I was contributing to the dinner by making the dressing. We had a tossed salad pretty much every night so my sister and I were in charge of that from a fairly early age. I learned to cook by watching my mom and helping in the kitchen. 

The next thing would be cookies. All the cookies because my mama has always been the queen of cookie baking, and this was true long before cookie baking became a 'thing'. Every Christmas my mama made dozens of different types of cookies, I'm going to say something like thirty different varieties, not exaggerating. And every December she gave away big trays to lots of different people including her mechanic, my brother's co-workers, neighbors, strangers, and of course we had cookies for dessert every night during the month of December, sometimes into January, because y'all there were so.many.cookies.

My hubs could not believe his eyes the first year he came home with me for Christmas and saw the wall of tins, Tupperware and assorted containers lined up floor to ceiling in the big walk in closet in our family room and a freezer filled with more of the same. He knew right then he was happy he married me. 

My sister and I at some point joined in the baking. We love it still and while there's never the number my mom made, my sisters, daughters and I all carry on baking many of those same recipes. 

3. What are some of your current priorities in this season of life? Elaborate. 

Health for one. Good health feels less like a given and more like something I need to pay attention to in terms of food, movement, and not skipping routine medical checks. 

Family, specifically my grandchildren. I want them to know Jesus and to see Jesus in me. I want to have fun with them, listen to them, encourage them, and pray for them. I want to be their biggest cheerleader as they each walk the path God has set before them.  

Faith. Always a priority for me, but the world is particularly bonkers and slightly scary these days, and I want to be grounded in God's word so I can live with gratitude and hope, not anger and fear. 

Peace. I'm at an age where I don't want to deal with a lot of conflict and negativity. I mean I've never enjoyed that, but for sure I don't want it occupying my heart and mind now. I know sometimes we have no choice, but then again, oftentimes we do. 

4. How much time do you spend on your hair each day or, put another way, what's your hair care routine? Do you get it cut regularly or just whenever the mood strikes? Do you go to the same stylist every time? Do you tell your stylist everything? Any other beauty treatments you indulge in throughout the year? 

Well it is summer and I live on a lake so a pony tail under a baseball cap, or tucked under my 'lake hat'  is pretty standard if we're spending any time at all in the water or on the boat. I'm here to tell you that you' cannot have great hair on a fast moving boat. As the saying goes, 'Boat hair, don't care'.   

I see my stylist about every 6-8 weeks so she can make my hair look sun kissed. Sometimes I forget I'm a natural born brunette-ha! I have blue eyes and as I've gotten older I like a bit of brightness around my face. 

Do I tell my stylist everything? Pretty much. She's a good listener and we have a lot of similar feelings about the world at large. She's the same age as my daughters so that's fun. 

I love a good facial and also get the occasional, but not weekly mani/pedi. 

5. What is the most awe-inspiring place you've visited? 

Oh my. How in the world do I answer this one? I've been to so many places around the world that inspire awe. I might be able to make a top ten, but even that would be tough. When I hear awe I think of places that are not only beautiful, but that also move me and cause me to feel something deeply. Here's a handful that would make my list-

Pretty Place, Cleveland SC, USA 

The California Redwoods

Mt. Rainier, Washington, USA 

Arlington National Cemetery-Arlington VA, USA 

The Daniel Boardman State Scenic Corridor-Oregon, USA

The Auguille du Midi-Chamonix, France

Canterbury Cathedral, UK

The beaches at Normandy, France 

Mont-Saint-Michel, France 

The American Cemetery at Colleville-Sur-Mer, France 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

There were some thought provoking questions in the HP today and I feel like some deserved more attention than I had to give. Here's the short version-I'm with my daughter2 and her two littles for a few days and it's hotter than blazes as my dad used to say and her a.c. was giving us fits and we left for swimming lessons and were talking so she went the wrong way on the interstate and we had to go something like nine exits to get turned around the right way and while we were doing that the swim place called and said their pool chemicals were wonky so they were cancelling and then just before bedtime the two year old had his first bee sting. 

In spite of all of the above this was still a really fun day, it just did not leave a lot of room for deep. I hope you're all staying cool, thinking clearly, and using a scoop as opposed to your bare hands when you need to remove a bumble bee from your water table. 

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Two-rrific

 I like to write letters to my grands on their birthdays and today is one of those days

Dear Sweet Baby J,

I suppose one day you'll need a more grown up blog name, but honestly this one suits you so perfectly I might be writing you a letter on your wedding day with this in the address. You are the sweetest. 

And now you're two, and you have a lot to say. We love it. For the past month, maybe even a teensy bit longer, when we Facetime you like to tell me your birthday is coming up soon. You are especially looking forward to getting a balloon. 

You love your swimming lessons and are a fish in the pool. You'll swim to the bottom to pick up the plastic ring that's been dropped, and I'm going to say I was not doing that when I was turning two. We all love the water here and there's a lot of it, so we're glad you're learning to swim and loving it too.  

You like the tunnel slide on the playground and you have the best laugh. 

You love your cousins. They spent a long weekend at your house in the spring, and you had a grand time playing and doing your best to keep up with the big boys especially. Nana can't wait to have you all together at the lake next month. We will have so much noisy, water-soaked fun in the sun which is the best kind of fun there is. 

                       

You call me Nene. I know you're saying Nana but it comes out Nene and it's precious. One day Nene will suddenly become Nana and I will miss it just a little. Although, not as much as I'll miss the way you say 'orange' when you finally say the word orange. You pronounce orange 'oi-oil-lioi' and we have no idea why, but it is the absolute best. Sometimes we'll show you something that color or offer you one as a snack just to hear you say the word. 

You like to fish and especially like handling the worm. Your daddy, your uncles, and your grandfathers all like to fish so you're in good company there. 

You also like to vacuum. And Swiffer and sweep and run the Roomba and your future wife thanks you. 

You love cars, trucks, diggers, cement mixers, excavators and  really anything that goes. There's been a lot of new home construction in your neighborhood and you love seeing the equipment in action. Your birthday this year has a construction theme and we're so happy to be there to celebrate with you. 

You like hummus, cucumbers, peppers, and biting in to a whole tomato. And berries. All the berries. Really all the fruits and vegetables and now that I think about it, what don't you like? 

You love your Daddy and want to do what Daddy does. You're like your Daddy in that you have superior fine motor skills and enjoy building and carefully putting things together. 

You are Momma's boy too, and will still snuggle up on her lap for books and kisses. 

You became a big brother this year and again, your blog name one hundred percent suits. You're so incredibly sweet with baby sister and you really never missed a beat with her addition to your family. I think it's because you have a tender heart and know love grows and there is always room for more. 

You still have the best cheeks of any little guy I know. 

You have a twinkle in your eye, a million dollar smile, and you're happy almost every minute of every day.

Happy birthday sweet baby J! You are sunshine in the form of a two year old boy and your Nana loves you deep and wide. ~xo~

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Juggling The Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. We've had a few new bloggers participating in recent weeks so if you're an 'old-timer' here hop over and say hello to someone new to you. 

So glad you're all here today and thanks for playing along! If you've answered this week's questions add your link at the end of my post. And definitely leave the blogger before you a comment since that's what keeps the Hodgepodge rolling right along. Here we go...

1. What are you currently juggling in your life? 

The calendar, highways and byways, family logistics...all of the above always and forever it seems. Also needing to figure some things out for an aging parent. Providing proper care while allowing some measure of independence/control where possible is for sure a juggling act. 

2. How often do you buy new clothes? What was the last piece of clothing you purchased? 

Is periodically an answer? I don't have a regular buying schedule. I just notice I need some new tops, or a dress for an event, or something looks worn and needs replacing and I replace it. I do subscribe to four Stitch Fix boxes a year, basically one for each season. I get them in March, June, September and December. I've had various stylists with them through the years, but the one I've had the past few 'fixes' seems to get me and I'm sticking with her.  If I remember I'll try to post what's in the next box. 

3. What food festival would you most like to attend? If you need help here are links to some of the bigger and more popular food events around the world-

Ten Food Festivals Worth Traveling To Find

2024 Best Food And Drink Festivals And Events In The US

20 Popular Food Festivals Around The World In 2024 For Your Unconditional Love Of Food

So many of the food festivals around the world sound like a fun thing to be a part of. There are actually two popular food festivals every year in towns not far from where I'm living now but our calendar doesn't usually line up date wise. See question #1. 

Hong Kong has a Dumpling Festival and I love both the city and the food so that might be one I'd enjoy. Also there are several Salon du Chocolat festivals in various cities around the world, but the one in Paris is intriguing. There's a fashion show where outfits are embellished with or even made from spun chocolate. 

As the saying goes...'Paris is always a good idea'. 

No argument here. 

4. May is the 5th month of the year. Tell us something you remember about your 5th grade year. 

I loved fifth grade, my teacher, my friends, and school in general. I remember my teacher reading aloud to us every day right after lunch and I enjoyed that so much. I grew up in a great neighborhood with loads of kids, lots of freedom and outdoor play, and I had good friends, most of whom I'd known since kindergarten. It was still an age of innocence for my crew.

5. What are your favorite five words right now? 

Nana, spontaneity, anticipation, home, and orange,  but only when orange is pronounced by my almost 2-year old grandson. Y'all it is the absolute best. It comes out sounding like oi-loy-lioy. No idea why but it's the same pronunciation for both the food and the color. My daughter and I both say we'll be sad when one of these days he comes out with just plain old orange.  

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

One month before we 'officially' dive into summer...

Some of us like a head start. 

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What To Expect When You're Expecting (not that kind)

The kind of expecting where you're looking forward to something happening and then it does, but not in the way you expected. 

I spent this past weekend with daughter2, mostly holding baby girl who we've decided going forward will be known here as 'Sugar'.  She's so sweet y'all. 

Anyway, I spent almost all of my time with this little miss in my arms so daughter2 could hold her brother. He was feeling puny, wanting momma and only momma. You kind of forget what it's like to have sick kids in the house until you have sick kids in the house. 

Was this our weekend plan? 

No it was not. The original weekend plan was for both my girls to be in Tennessee with their littles while all of our hubs had their own obligations to tend to. I'd been looking forward to this for weeks because it's been a long while since it was just us girls (plus their 5 small children, but whatever). This was going to be both girls and me in the same place at the same time, no boys allowed. 

Except for the 6 and under set of course. 

Anyway, we girls were going to have some fun, take a picnic to the park, laugh a lot at all the cousins playing together in their matching cousin t-shirts, share deep thoughts and skin care products, and gab late into the night (well, later than 8:30 which is our usual bedtime when kids are in the house) for three complete whole entire days. 

Didn't happen. 

I did drive to daughter2's on Thursday, and daughter1 did plan to arrive with her crew on Saturday. 

There's that word again-plan. 

Things started off nicely. Friday morning daughter2 needed to visit the jeweler so we loaded up the baby and big brother and off we went. While my daughter was in the shop chatting about an order I was outside with the mister watching a large construction crew operate all the big equipment just across the highway. There were cranes and bulldozers, dump trucks filling and dumping, and best of all a 'digger', all making a lot of noise and moving a lot of dirt and rock. Little man was in heaven. When he waved at the digger operator the driver lifted the bucket up and down in the form of a wave back and it was the best.

We had lunch before heading home for naps, but by the time we got to the house it was apparent sweet baby J was running a fever. Bother. We finally had to tell daughter1 not to come because we certainly didn't need to share those germs with her family, and that was that. Plan blown. Expectation unmet. 

What can you do? 

Nothing really. Life happens and we have to adjust and move forward even when what we really want to do is stomp our feet and rail at the universe a little bit. 

We don't though. We adjust and move forward. We choose to find the silver lining...the bright side...the blue sky if you will. Maybe not in the first five minutes but we do get there. We pull on our 'let's make the best of it britches' and then we do just that. 

There are hours and hours of snuggles with a lapful of Sugar. 

There is the same book read no less than fifteen times because sweet baby J is not his usual oh so happy self and when Nana reads '....sometimes you're happy, sometimes you're sad'...and makes a great big sad face, he laughs. Somehow my sad face makes him happy and it's pure gold.  

There is sunshine. Glorious sunshine. We load everyone up in the strollers and feel the sun hit our faces and Vitamin D flood our veins and we can say with complete honesty that there is beauty in this day, this weekend, in spite of cancelled plans and unmet expectation. 

After babies are tucked in tight me and my girl (just one not two, but we're making the best of it remember?) sit on the couch and watch Next Level Chef. We discuss in great detail the choices these contestants make because we both love to cook, but we talk about many, many other things too.  

And suddenly, somehow, I feel grateful, not for cancelled plans, but for being right where I need to be. Lending a hand (or a lap), and having a front row seat to watch my baby girl mother her very own babies. What a gift. 

There is grace for the day y'all. 
For the ones that go swimmingly and the ones that fall to pieces too. 

April Showers Bring The Hodgepodge

Welcome to another edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for your neighbor there. Here we go- 

1. What's a talent you wish you had? 

Singing. I've always wanted to sing well, or at least in tune lol. 

2. In one word, what's your state of mind right now? 

buzzing

3. What's the next major purchase you need to make? Will it happen this month? This year? 

We need a car. Probably two cars, but we'll start with one (hubs). It won't happen this month, and while we'd love to wait until next year, I think it will probably end up being sooner. 

Have I told you car shopping is my least favorite kind of shopping? 

4. Tuesday (April 2nd) was National PB and J Day...did you celebrate? Is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich something you eat weekly or more? What's your favorite kind of jelly? 

I did not celebrate. I like peanut butter and jelly okay, but I very rarely have it. I can't remember the last time I made a pb & j sandwich. I prefer peanut butter on toast, no jelly. 

What's my favorite jelly? It depends on what I'm in the mood for, but apricot is probably my fave. 

5. Are you easily intimidated? Who or what intimidates you? 

Easily? Hmmm...I hate conflict, but I wouldn't say I'm easily intimidated. I'm pretty comfortable in groups and in places where I don't know anyone, and I don't mind speaking in front of a crowded room.  I know some people find that sort of thing to be intimidating. 

Bullies. I cannot abide them and yes, there are still grown adults who act like bullies. I suppose dealing with them can be a bit intimidating, but I think that's mostly because I know there will be unnecessary conflict. I avoid interacting with a bully when avoidance is an option. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Enjoying a couple of days with daughter2 and her two little cuties in the house. This little guy had a big time kayaking with his Pawpaw...

Happy Wednesday everyone! 

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Stuck In The Middle With You

Today my second born grandson turns four years old, and this fabulous little boy needs a letter from his Nana. 

Dear Max,

It's your birthday! Today you're four and I cannot wait for you to be celebrated big by your family and friends. Your birthday is number five in a family of five, and it's not easy to be the caboose on the family birthday train. 

You were right there beside your big brother when he had his extended celebration(s) this summer. Then earlier this week your sweet little sis had her first birthday, and you were there cheering her on, still waiting your turn. 

And now it's here.You honestly didn't seem to mind the wait and I think that's because there's something very special about you (many things actually), but one big thing is this- 

You my sweet boy are the one in the middle. The middle child. The younger brother and the older brother too. But not the oldest brother. And not the baby either.

A lot has been written about the middle child phenomenon, but Nana is going to tell you a few things she knows first hand, because guess what? Nana is also a middle child. If you were sitting beside me right now we could fist bump. 

I'm a little sister and a big sister too. But not the biggest sister. And not the baby either. 

I'm like you, only not quite as smart. You're so smart Max, and you have the vocabulary of someone much older. In fact sometimes we forget how old you are because you have so many words and you know how to use them. 

You're always working things out, the hows and the whys, but also context, tone, and nuance. It's pretty remarkable. You wear your emotions right there on the surface too, and sometimes they spill out all over the place, occasionally in the form of mad tears, but more often in the form of the biggest best hug anyone could ever want or need. 

You moved this year, your third house in four years. There are grown adults who've lived in fewer places, and you Max have settled in so well to this new home, new neighborhood, and your new place in the middle of your family. 

Did you know middles are good at lots of things? Waiting for one. We come into this world never knowing what it's like not to have to share or wait a turn. We become good at negotiating and keeping the peace. We're often introspective. We form strong bonds and learn to go with the flow. We want fairness and we're trustworthy friends. 

Who wouldn't want to be a middle child? You're surrounded by love on all sides, and that is a marvelous thing. 

You played on a soccer team this fall and I think you liked it. You work your own Lego projects now, have become skilled at riding your bike, love trips to the zoo, bugs and lizards and playing outside, books books and more books, and most of all your big brother and your baby sister. You have opinions and big feelings and the absolute best smile in the whole wide world. 

Happy birthday 'baby wheel'. You keep us laughing, on our toes, and feeling ever so grateful for the gift of you. Keep bringing the fun, keep learning more and more about this big beautiful world and the One who made it, and who made us too. Know always your Nana loves you deep and wide xoxo 

"Stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Let all that you do be done in love." 

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Words and Time and Memory

When you don't blog in real time real time flies right on by. 

It's hard to go back and write about simple things that weeks ago brought joy when time is racing forward. When the wider world is screaming in war and heartbreak. Why even bother? 

I was chatting with someone recently who didn't know I had this little corner of the internet, and when I explained what my blog was she asked, 'So what's the purpose'? She wasn't asking in a snotty way, she was genuinely curious about the point of it all. 

I struggled to answer in the moment, but have given it a lot of thought since, and here's where I land-there is no point. Ha! Actually there are many many points. This blog is a place for all my many words to rest and jumbled thoughts to put themselves in order. It's a place to record what life looks like in this time and this place and also remember what life was like in other seasons, cities, stages of parenting and how a family is growing, stretching, and changing. It's mainly a place I love to visit from time to time to see how God has worked, protected, and walked with me down many a winding road. 

If there's one thing growing older has taught me it's that while the 'big milestones' in our lives will likely remain etched in memory, the small, ordinary, often achingly beautiful ones do not. Blogging allows me to record what would likely be lost, but is oh so worth remembering. 

This was not where I was going when I opened my computer today, but here we are. Blogging ala stream of consciousness which is not unusual here. 

What I was thinking about today was a big ol' photo dump to bring things current, so let's do that too. Maybe a downsized photo dump since this is a little on the long side (also not unusual here). 

Recently...

There was a gorgeous hike on a blue sky day-

Fun with friends at a Steely Dan Tribute band concert-

Peace, quiet, and coffee with the morning sunrise-

The lazy dog days of autumn-

Boat rides that sparkle-

Punkins-

Sister time-

Teenage nephew photo bombing sister time-

Momma time-

And so much beauty in the changing colors of fall-

I read back through this post and smile. Small joys. Beauty. People I love. Ordinary days full of goodness and grace. 

I know blogging isn't for everyone, but it's still for me. 

'For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven...'

Ecclesiastes 3:1