Quiet Joy

An Evening With the Girls

Last night our daughter and son-in-law, Maria and Eric, had an artsy function to attend. I went over to their house and had a lovely evening with our beautiful granddaughters.

The girls admired and adored their gorgeous Mom a bit before she took off to meet Eric. He had responsibilities at the event so he had gone on ahead.

 Maria looked beautiful.

Cordelia liked the idea that Momma was having a Cinderella event.

As Mom left, we headed to the  backyard for some fun!

Cordelia showed me how to pick tomatoes...only the deep red ones!

Elise was to hold the bucket and keep the little tomatoes safe.

She took her job quite seriously.

...but then...

Elise wanted to pick some as well.

Cordelia tried to keep her away, knowing that Elise wasn't careful to pick only the red ones.

Cordelia got distracted and Elise saw her chance.

 When Cordelia realized that Elise had pulled some tomatoes that were not the required deep red color,

she snatched them from Elise and buried them.

Confused, I asked why she would do that.

"Because," she said, "I don't want Momma to know Elise picked those orange ones."

She was protecting her little sister from the shame of it all.

Sweet.

Eventually, it was time for their baths.

Elise is currently not much of a bathtub fan so her's was very quick.

Cordelia loved splashing and playing, though.

Suds...funny faces...pretending she was in the ocean... 

The fun went on and on!

After bath time

I watched the "Elise" show.

It was pretty cute! 

She was in entertainment mode, trying to think of new moves to put into her act.

Is there anything cuter than a freshly scrubbed, happy little one-year-old?

 Meanwhile, I brushed out Cordy's long, lovely locks.

I couldn't believe how patient she was.

We couldn't forget bedtime snacks.

Elise had her own sippy cup but Cordy explained to me that Elise preferred

to share with Cordelia. 

 Aaaah, hug and kiss time.

And a wee bit of Netflix for Kids to wind down.

And in case you want to know, when an artistic Momma leaves 

notes for the evening, they come complete with illustrations.

It was wonderful.

The Grandma From Adams Park

Last night I went with Mike to a wedding rehearsal and the dinner that followed. As a pastor, he is usually invited to rehearsal dinners. I didn't know anyone in the wedding party but I went along as Mike's date. It isn't always my favorite thing because I feel awkward, but I usually end up having a good time. Also, my friend, Celia, was related to the groom so I was hoping she'd be there as well.



At the dinner the groom started introducing us to his family. One lady came rushing forward saying, "You're the grandma from Adams Park!" I must say, no one has ever called me that before! It took me a second but I realized she was the other grandma from Adams Park.


Last Saturday I took my granddaughters to the park, remember? Well, she was that little boy's grandma and we'd visited for about an hour that day. Toward the end of our time at the park, our daughter Maria came to meet us and she also met the lady. Her grandson had run up and given Maria a hug that day, much to his grandmother's surprise. She had told us that he never gives hugs.

Last night, as I visited with her, I learned more. I saw my friend, Celia, arriving. I asked the other grandma if she knew Celia and her husband. Well, indeed she did! She was my friend's sister! There's more to it than that! My granddaughters live in the house where the other grandma, and Celia, grew up!

To be honest, I didn't really even want to go last night. I had gotten up at 4:30 yesterday and an evening of relaxing sounded pretty good. But see, I had a delightful time and learned all these cool little connections.

Flash Decorating

Yesterday the Director of Nursing (DON) for our clinic became a new grandma.  She worked most of the morning but knew that her granddaughter or grandson would be born early afternoon by planned c-section.  One of the other nurses, Kelly, asked me to help her decorate the boss' office when she stepped out for a few minutes.   I was a bit perplexed when she handed me a couple of packs of Post-It Notes and told me to "Hurry!"  I caught on, though.  I'm quick that way. Others rushed in to join us.  We all quickly returned to our work stations with innocence all over our faces.

I think it turned out well, showing our great taste and classiness.  

Elegant, don't you think?

  Since the gender was as yet unknown, we chose to use a pink and blue theme.  

I expect others will be contacting us, wanting us to decorate for their parties...maybe even weddings!  Feel free to use this idea.  You could even Pin it on Pinterest to show your great sense of style!  

Sunday Evening in Snapshots

An Armful of Grandaughters!

First, in case you've not read my comment on yesterday's post, it was indeed a car wash photo.  I was shocked when I thought blue confetti was blowing down on me, then I also saw yellow and pink.  Within seconds it foamed out like that, much to my delight!  I get my happiness in all sorts of ways, don't I?

Maria took some photos of me with my grandaughters.  I love those girls!

Starting Traditions

I have become more and more aware of how precious tradition can be to the story of a family.  As such, I've got a few traditions I started when Cordelia was born; things I want to do for my grandchildren.

As I mentioned before, one thing I want to do is give each child some piece of jewelry that is mine but that they will inherit someday.  It doesn't need to be an expensive piece of jewelry.  I just wanted something that they see me wear, see in photos from the day of their birth, and something that represents what is important in my life.  I chose a ring with a cross on it for Cordelia's birth.

I made certain that I was photographed, holding newborn Cordy, with the ring in view.  I wear it frequently so that someday, when it is her's, she will remember it being mine.

This is what I have chosen for this next baby girl:

I've got it on and I am ready to go!  I think it will be soon! 

One of My Favorite Things

Probably the time in my life when I felt the most like "me" was 

when I was rocking my babies to sleep.  

They are all a bit big for that now and those days seemed behind me.  

However, grandmotherhood (if that is not a real word it certainly should be) 

gives me a chance for a bit of a rerun of one of my favorite things.  

I love that!

Cordelia Fun

I have been fortunate enough to have some Cordy Time this week.  Yesterday she was out and about with her parents.  Maria texted me and I found out they weren't far from my location at that moment so I made sure our paths crossed.

Cordy was so excited and hugged me say, "Grandma, you are a surprise!"  Then she turned to her parents and said, "These are my friends, Mommy and Daddy!  They are my family!  And Baby _______ (you'll have to wait until her birth to learn her name) is going to come out and she is my sister!"

The day before that I enjoyed some shopping time with Maria and Cordelia, followed by swimming time and a picnic.  Mike took a lunch break to join us for lunch.  It was one of those weather-perfect days and the morning was pure delight.  I hope you enjoy the photos...

I will forever be grateful for my family.

Happy Birthday Carol!

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday and I want to wish her a lovely day.  She is a generous and caring woman with an elegence all her own.  And because I know she most likes it when my blog has pictures of Cordelia, that will be a gift from me to her today. 

(Photo by Nicole Z.)

 OK, so it was like a present to myself as well.  We grandmas know what we like!

Happy Birthday Grandma Carol!

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