How Grandkids see their Grandparents

Recently my aunt sent me one of those ‘forward’ emails. I usually don’t send those on, but this one I had to, and decided to share some of it here: 

How Grandkids see their Grandparents: 

·         She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup, under the watchful
eyes of her young granddaughter, as she'd done many times before.  After
she applied her lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, "But
Grandma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!"

·         My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday.  He
asked me how old I was, and I told him, 62. My grandson was quiet for
a moment, and then he asked, "Did you start at 1?"

·         After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into
old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair.  As she
heard the children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew
thin.  Finally, she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their
room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings.  As she left the
room, she heard the three-year-old say with a trembling voice,
"Who was THAT?"

·         A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own
childhood was like.  "We used to skate outside on a pond.   I had a
swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard.  We rode
our pony.  We picked wild raspberries in the woods."  The little girl
was wide-eyed, taking this all in.  At last she said, "I sure wish I'd
gotten to know you sooner!"

·         My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, "Grandma, do you
know how you and God are alike?" I mentally polished my halo and I said,
"No, how are we alike?''  "You're both old," he replied.

·         A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather's word
processor. She told him she was writing a story. "What's it about?" he
asked.  "I don't know," she replied. "I can't read."

·         I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I
decided to test her.  I would point out something and ask what color it
was.  She would tell me and was always correct.  It was fun for me, so I
continued.  At last, she headed for the door, saying, "Grandma, I think
you should try to figure out some of these colors yourself!"

·         When my grandson Billy and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the
lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects.
Still, a few fireflies followed us in.  Noticing them before I did,
Billy whispered, "It's no use Grandpa.  Now the mosquitoes are coming
after us with flashlights."

As I said, I’d forwarded it on to others, and was laughing all over again when they responded with things their own grandchildren/children had said. So precious are the children.

Last week was busy with a surprise birthday party for my ten-year-old great nephew…he was more than surprised. Stunned speechless was more like it. The party was wonderful and on Saturday we attended the wedding of our neighbor ‘boy’. Still hard for me to admit all these kids are grown up. He used to check what we were having for supper, and then check what his mom was cooking before deciding where he wanted to eat. The wedding was fabulous, and his wife is adorable.

I’m off now to work on final revisions. I’m digging deeper into the hero and heroine’s emotions for this story, making them deeply ponder why they are falling in love, and I’m loving it.

Stay happy by thanking the Good Lord for all you have!

How-Do!

Here’s Bear, Granddog extraordinaire!  

The sweltering, humid days of the temperature reaching over 90 in Minnesota are here. Yes, it’s hot, but I refuse to complain. Summer’s too short for that. We had two high school graduation parties last weekend, my step-grandson James, and great nephew Tyler. So proud of both of them. Great boys with their futures ahead of them. One party had a dunk tank, the other a swimming pool, to help tackle the heat and we had a marvelous time. 

My sister-in-law from Kansas called to say the gals she works with are reading the Quinter Bride Series, and how she had to prove to them I was her sister-in-law.  Between hubby and I, the poor girl was on the phone for over an hour.  My mother read the first drafts of all my books, and said I could write a million books and Guardian Bride-The Quinter Brides Book 4 would always be her favorite. I now believe it was because the spirit of Jonas Quinter, the father of all those boys, appears in that book.  Mom was so ready to be reunited with Dad.

Speaking of The Quinter Brides, I just received this five-angel review on Badland Bride.

Oh, and I must mention, we are no longer dogless. We inherited my mother’s shih tzu, Pooh.  He’s settled in just fine, and follows hubby everywhere, but then he did that before since this was his second home. He’s a nice little dog, and we are enjoying him, however, the neighbor dog’s nose is a bit bent out of shape. 

I completed the edits on one story and sent it in, and am working on the other two, while also outlining another story. Our trip through Wyoming left me with so many wonderful bits of research I have to get them down while they are still somewhat fresh in my mind. 

Blessings to you all!

Life as I know it has changed

 My wonderful mother passed away June 25^th. This photo of her with two of my granddaughters was taken the first part of June. She was a genuine, amazing woman.  I miss her greatly, and always will, yet at the same time I find honor in the fact I was so very fortunate to have called her “Mom”. She raised eight kids, and at the time of her death had 24 grandchildren and 37 great-grand children.  A unique, little known fact about my mother was that she was given the name of Arlene Ruth at birth, but when she was 18 months old her name was legally changed to Mary Jane. Her older sister, Betty Ann, had passed away at the tender age of six. Betty Ann had always called her baby sister Mary Jane, so after Betty Ann succumbed to meningitis, my mother’s aunt paid to have her name legally changed from Arlene Ruth to Mary Jane. That had been in 1933 and cost my great aunt over $300. I’ve always loved that story about my mom.

Besides being my mother, she was my greatest fan. One of the last entries in her journal said, “Lauri got good news from London.” And this morning, I heard her whisper in my ear. “You have edits to work on today.” And I do. I have three stories that have deadlines, so with my mother's never failing encouragement, I’m going to end this blog post, shut down my internet, and immerse myself in the Wyoming Territory with a mail ordered bride.

“A mother holds her children's hands for a while, but their hearts forever.”