Even More Blessed!

Since Ryan and Lisa and the children have been living with us, everyday brings more and more blessings. On Tuesday I took off work and watched Hannah and Gracie while Ryan and Lisa took care of some business. While Hannah and I were eating lunch at the dining room table and Gracie was having her lunch in the high chair, Hannah turned to me and said, "Grandma, when I grow up, I want to be a grandma." I told her that she would have to be a mommy first and she responded, "But grandma's have so much more fun than mommies, I just want to be a grandma." Hannah played like she was going to a tea party and got all dressed up. She wanted her hair curled, so I curled it for her. Then she wanted to wear stockings, so I put a pair of my pantyhose on her and pulled them up high on her legs. She just loved it. She wore a long dress that was Lisa's when she was a little girl. Then we topped the outfit off with a white patten purse that was mine when I was a little girl. Inside the purse she put a mirror, old beautiful handkerchief, and three peppermint candies. We then looked through my box of old scatter pins and she picked out the perfect pin to wear on her dress. Now she needed a hat. So she looked through my old hats and found one to wear. Then she wanted gloves. I couldn't remember where I put mine, so I told her that when her mommy and daddy got home we would go shopping for some. And, that's what we did. She went all dressed up in her tea party outfit to look for gloves. We found the perfect lace pair at one of the local antique shops. Then she thought we should look for a tea party dish set. We looked, but were unsuccessful in locating one, but we did find a box full of hats that she enjoyed trying on. She found one she just had to have so she went and asked the clerk how much the hat was. The clerk told her it was $1. So Hannah purchased the hat and her outfit was complete. Before going home, we had to make a stop at Walmart. The smiles and looks that Hannah received was amazing. I don't think people see little girls dressed up like this very often, because she got lots of sweet comments. And Hannah always responded with, "Thank you!" in her sweet little voice.

Hannah ready for a tea party.

When I come home in the evenings after work, I like to go for a walk. I usually load Punkin in the car and drive down the road and we walk for three to five miles. Now, all that has changed. I now load the wagon, baby stroller, Punkin, Matthew, Lisa, and myself and off we go. It takes most of the evening to load, walk, and unload, but well worth it. Wednesday evening, Lisa, Hannah, Gracie, Punkin, and I went for the walk. We were walking up a hill. I was pulling Gracie in the wagon and she kept wiggling around. There was noise from the wheels of the wagon on the pavement, Hannah was walking beside us and talking, and Punkin was leading the way on the leash. All of a sudden we realized that Gracie had fallen out of the wagon and was on the street at the bottom of the hill. It was a good thing this was a country road and hardly any cars on it. We all ran to Gracie and picked her up, put her back in the wagon and started back up the hill. It didn't bother Gracie too much, and we all had a good laugh about it.

Yesterday, Gracie received a birthday present from Auntie Natalie and Uncle Adam. She opened it and immediately loved it. She got her first American Girl Doll!!! It is the baby doll and before Gracie went to bed, she dressed her dolly in pajamas (she shared hers with the doll) and placed her in a cradle next to her bed. She covered the baby and kissed her good night. This morning she was caring her new baby and wanted the cradle brought downstairs.

Gracie showing me her baby in the cradle.

The boys are always busy helping around the place and riding their three-wheeler and little motorcycle. They have lots of land to ride on. All the animals are doing well.

So far this year, I've made strawberry jam and frozen strawberries. We'll be picking blueberries in about a week. Out of the garden we have had cucumbers, cabbage, potatoes, and onions. The garden looks great and we are all anxious for the tomatoes and corn to be ready to pick.

It's nice to have a house full of children and enjoy the smiles, hugs, and joy they bring to us everyday.

Until next time . . .