Thursday, June 27, 2013

Time to Say Good-by


Every day we took at least two walks! Little miss loved to be outside. If she felt we weren't paying enough attention to her and she wanted to go out for a walk, she would bring us our tennis shoes and then point to the door! Who needs to use words???
 Every little seed, leaf or stick would capture her attention.
 We would always make enough time to sit and relax a bit...
And maybe tell Grandpa how much she loves him???
 Ok, little one, you totally won our hearts!
It was hard to say good-by, but we were also excited for the next chapter in our kids' lives--new home, new jobs, new city! Congrats, and God's rich blessings as you move forward!
Farewell to a lovely city, and a wonderful place to visit!

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Enjoying Our Kids

 On Sunday (Father's Day), we actually had some time together with M's whole family. (With their crazy work schedules, it seemed that one or the other of the kids was either sleeping or working, so we were seldom all together.) After a leisurely breakfast, we got ready to go into the city.
 First, a family photo...
 ...then, while mommy and daddy enjoyed a meal together, the grandparents had the joy of taking little miss to the children's museum! She obviously had been there several times, because she knew exactly where she wanted to go! These ducks were a favorite spot, and she was especially partial to that blue duck...
...or maybe just ducks in general???
 So many fun things to play with!
 Even a horse and cart to ride in.
 This was the bedroom for the three bears, with a teddy bear in each bed...which little miss promptly removed and carried someplace else!
 She loves books...
 ...and rocking chairs.
 When the parents returned, she was invited to help feed the fish. It was such a fun day together. 
We concluded our day with the evening service at the kids' church. What a perfect way to close out that Father's Day, and also to honor our Heavenly Father for all the blessings that He brings into our lives.
 Playtime!
 The lush green woods was such a refreshing sight for us. We miss the beauty of the forests...
 ...but not the humidity! One afternoon, after a thundershower, we went outside for a walk. We could literally see the "steam" rising up from the warm tarmac where the cool raindrops had fallen. 
 Yep, it was crazy humid!!! (but green!)
 Little girl loves dogs! Every time we saw a dog while out walking, she would make a b-line for it.
This little dog was especially friendly and she even got "up close and personal." Such good memories of our days together!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Visiting out East

We have had the joy of visiting our son and his family out east for the past week. We had a rather tempestuous flight coming here, though. 
 The flight was uneventful until we were close to our destination, then we hit turbulent weather and quite frankly, the way our plane pitched and plummeted, it felt like we were on a roller-coaster ride! We had to divert to an airport south of our destination where we waited for two hours as the storm passed. This was the view of the sky from the airport shortly after we landed. Yes, it was a very bad storm! We were just so thankful when we finally arrived at the place where we could leave the plane, rent our car and drive to the kids' house. It was late when we arrived, so we saw our grand-daughter and daughter-in-law just briefly, then headed for a comfortable night's sleep.  
 It is wonderful to be surrounded by the lush green of this area, but the humidity is a bit overwhelming for us, after living so many years in a drier climate. 
 The main reason for our visit was the graduation of our son from his medical residency.
The proud doctor after four years of hard work!

 We've enjoyed so many precious moments with our youngest grandchild.



 On Saturday evening, the hospital hosted a celebration ceremony for the graduates. We were so privileged to be there for this special event.
Goal accomplished, signed and delivered!
Well, done son! We are so proud of you!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

A Time to Celebrate: Grad and Birthday!


 This post marks two very important events, so here goes...
In mid-May, my cousin and her family came to stay a few days with us to celebrate the completion of her daughter's Master's degree in counseling.
 It's amazing to think that just two years ago, we met this young lady for the first time and instantly formed a bond with this family. Even though we are blood relatives, our paths had never really crossed before now.
Now we were celebrating the end of her studies, and praying that the Lord would guide her in the next step of her journey.
 We did not attend the graduation ceremony, but were invited to the "hooding" ceremony and dinner.
 It was so fun to watch this mother and daughter interaction! They really are close and love spending time together. 
 It was wonderful to see the whole family celebrating together. 
 Sister and brother 
One proud dad...one proud grad!!!
The end of May, we also celebrated Jim's birthday. We were so happy to have our grandsons with us for this special event! 
 They brought along their bikes so they could ride in our "big driveway." (Of course, daddy had to get in on the action also!) 
Little brother was very cautious...
...big brother was very daring...
...daring in every way!
Even Grandpa got in on the action!
 Then came time for decorating the birthday cake, Grandpa's favorite--German chocolate.
Little boys asked how many candles we should put on the cake...we decided that we needed ALOT of candles, at least two full boxes-one for each boy!
 "Happy Birthday to you..."
 Because there were so many candles to blow out, Grandpa had to have help blowing!
The best part of the party..."I clean off candles!" Happy Birthday Jim, and many more to come!