JADEN'S K4 CLASS HAD PARENTS' DAY THIS MORNING

Jaden's teacher gave us several invitations to attend her K4 class Parent Day, so we were there with bells on this morning! It was very impressive and lots of FUN to take a look into the K4 school day. Jaden was so glad his mommy and daddy were there, and I think it tickled him that Grandpa and Grandma were there as well. We enjoyed every minute of watching those sweet 4-year-old show us snippets of what they have learned this year. It looks like they are very well prepared for K5 come August.

Jaden's dad Brian has arrived so that is good!


Jaden turns to watch the door for his mommy to come.


She arrives and he is so excited to have both parents with him.


Letting Grandpa and Grandma know he is glad we are here, too.


Jaden's teachers are remarkable. It was a wonderful "Parent's Day" program.


Video of Jaden introducing himself to the guests at the program:

GOING GREEN!!!

For the first time in years, we have a little garden patch. There are the loveliest green tomato and pepper plants in our back yard. It will be a while before we see any tomatoes, but are already two little bell peppers in view. Our mouths water to think of the fresh tomato sandwiches we will enjoy this summer. Grandpa has had his side kick (4-year-old grandson Jaden) as a helper for two days this week so Granny was out there with the camera. Yep~~ we're going green: with lovely green things growing in our garden.


(Double-click on pic for a larger view!)

SPORTING AROUND

It's springtime which brings about another sports season with the grandkids starring as my favorite sportsters! Isabella is on the Track and Field team at her school and the boys are playing church little-league softball (or T-ball in Jaden's case.) It is a lot of fun to watch them.

Richard and I traveled about an hour out of town for Isabella's first track meet. It was a long 4 hours of sitting there for her 2 events (the one mile and the two mile) but we persevered and she was able to ride home with us. We even treated her to a yummy dinner at a local restaurant in that area.

Starring Isabella in track and field and Josh and Jaden in T-ball:


Belle running in one of her races



Belle (on the right) and her friend after their race:



Jaden running all out



Jaden is the boy in the back... he is catching up with his teammate as they run to the bases after a hit




Amy and Jaden


Josh running a base after getting a hit

Our grandkids' sports keep us on the move.... so to speak!

I'M ENJOYING BABY-SITTING TODAY!

When our 4-year-old grandson, Jaden, woke up from his kindergarten nap on Wednesday, it was discovered that he had a fever. He was feverish all night and unable to go to school today, so Grandpa Richard and I have had the joy of having him here with us today. He feels a little warm but has felt better today and is eating. He was lying in "his" bed here at our house watching a "Storykeeper's" DVD and I snapped a couple of pics of him. I baby-sat Jaden for the first 2-1/2 years of his life and still miss my days with him, so this has been a treat. Here are the couple of pics I snapped. Shhhhhhhhh....... he's going down for a nap.

USHERING IN THE MONTH OF THANKSGIVING

Amy's December 1 birthday has always ushered in the Christmas season for me. When she was a child, I always waited until the day after her birthday to start decorating for Christmas. Chip's January 5 birthday was the always grand finale to all of the holiday season from Thanksgiving through New Years. What wonderful memories I have of my kids' birthdays when they were children.

And now we have GRANDchildren! November 2 was our youngest grandson's 4th birthday. Brian and Amy had a nice party for him on Saturday and then on Sunday, we all ate out together at Olive Garden to celebrate Jaden's life. Now, I can get on with the plans for Thanksgiving!!

Here are a few good pics from the birthday lunch on Sunday:

Grandkids ~~ Spotlight on Two of Them Today!

RUNNER'S WORLD....
We had a fun morning going to Isabella's Cross-Country Meet this morning. She bested her personal record with a 24:30 on her 5K run!!!! She pushed herself and made it happen!! She will be in the Regionals this next week. We are so very proud of our granddaughter!!! In the first picture, she is third from the left and has the white ribbon around her ponytail. (Remember, you can double-click on each pic to enlarge it for a better view!)




After the Race:


Videos of the Race: The Beginning and then the End:





BIRTHDAY BASH..........
At noon, Brian and Amy hosted a real cute "Candyland" 4th birthday party for Jaden. It was attended by both sets of grandparents, his Uncle Matt, Aunt Mary, and Cousin Morgan, and with the following friends: Kristen with her kids Jacob, Lauren, and Leslee, and Alisha with her daughter Hannah. It was a lot of fun, and Jaden was one excited little boy! I can't wait to see him tomorrow on his actual birthday.

Pics

I would like to share a couple of pics made of Chip made this weekend and then of the GRANDkids made tonight. Brian and Amy looked too tired for pics when they came in to get the kids at 8:45 so I will catch them another time.

Chip ready for church on Sunday morning...




Chip is the "baptizing pastor" at the church and they have new converts to baptize nearly every week. We were blessed to be here for this one...






The pastors and children's director of the church were recognized at the end of the morning service as October is Pastor Appreciation Month.




Our Sunday night return home was so sweet with lots of sweet greetings and hugs from Brian, Amy, and the grandkids. I didn't make any pics last night but made these of the kids tonight when Grandpa and I had them over while Brian and Amy attended a work-related meeting. I should have made their pics earlier but forgot until after they had had their baths....

Isabella and Josh...




Jaden...

I Knew It! I Knew It!!!

Acts 15:36 ....Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city...

I knew my sister's visit would be the Balm of Gilead for my heart. I have so many GOOD and DEAR friends here, but I miss my sisters! It was such a joy when Karen called a couple of weeks ago to say they would like to come down for a quick visit. They did ~~ it took place over the past 24 hours~~ and we enjoyed having Paul and Karen here immensely.



They arrived at about 3:00 and so we sat for a while and talked. They were interested in our recent trip to Alaska so we shared a lot of information with them. Karen helped me prepared dinner ~~ in tribute to the blessed memory of our parents, I had planned to have Dad's "honeymooner" sandwiches and Mom's shrimp salad.

Brian, Amy, and the grandkids came over to have dinner with us so they could fellowship with their Uncle Paul and Aunt Karen, too. After dinner, the four of us went to a restaurant across town that specializes in a delicious key lime pie so that was fun. (Note: I cropped Paul out of this pic as I don't think he wants his picture on the internet.)

On Friday morning, we got up leisurely, enjoyed a few cups of coffee (well, Paul and I enjoyed the coffee. Richard drank his diet coke and Karen had water)' and then at about 10:00, we shoved off on an excursion. We rode out to visit a museum, left there and went to a seafood restaurant for lunch, took a scenic drive, and then visited our infant sister's grave. Sharon was born and died just a few weeks before Karen's 2nd birthday some 4-1/2 years before I was born.


















We arrived back at our house just in time for Paul and Karen to shove off and return to their home for their weekend activities:

(ROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

I cannot express the joy in my heart regarding their visit. Thank you, Lord, for the fun time I had with my loved ones.

BEING A GRANDPARENT IS TOO MUCH FUN!

Richard and I kept Jaden today while his siblings started their first day of the new school year and Jaden's class doesn't start until Thursday. We had so much fun with him. We got out right after our 7:00 a.m. breakfast and helped Richard a bit with the shed he is putting up from a kit. We then got ready and went to a relatively new park about 10 miles from here. It was very nice ~~ just hot today. We had packed and taken our picnic lunch but were so hot by the time we had been out there for an hour that all we could think about was coming home to jump in the pool and eat our picnic lunch pool-side. Jaden didn't argue one bit but said, "Grandma, I'm sweating, too!" Here are a few pics from our park play, but I didn't make any at the pool or picnic lunch.

THEY'RE OFF AND HE'S HERE!!!!

THEY'RE OFF: Isabella and Joshua were out bright and early (6:45) for pics to be made on their first day of school. Belle is in 8th and Josh is in 4th. Of course, their mommy (Principal Amy) has been back to work for six weeks but today will be a busy day for her as all of her prep-work comes to fruition and she over-sees her (15+ but I didn't ask her how many this year) 4th grade through 6th grade teachers and all of the students who are under her supervision. I made some pics of them as they came out and were ready to leave this morning. We all had to chuckle at Belle when she came out the door with ALL of her stuff.






AND HE'S HERE: Kindergarten had Open House on Sunday afternoon for the students and their parents to find out who their teacher is and where their classroom is located, but they don't start class until Thursday. So, it looks like Jaden is in "Grandpa School" today!! We have plans to take him to a real nice new park just for kids for a picnic lunch.