October Celebrations!

Last weekend I traveled to the Seattle/Gig Harbor area where I met up with my sister from Iowa and attended a baby shower for her daughter-in-law who is expecting her first baby. The shower was a great party, one of the most fun showers I have ever attended. The food was excellent and the caterer made this darling fresh fruit salad decoration as part of the food presentation. What a hit it made!

My sis and I spent some great time with her son, daughter-in-law, and her daughter-in-law's sister and mother from Florida. We shopped, went sightseeing, and enjoyed time together which happens so infrequently. It was refreshing and a wonderful change of pace for me.

This weekend we celebrated Suzie's birthday. The family came for a taco dinner and following the party, Chloe and Claire extended their stay by sleeping over at Papa and Grandma's.

Chris was the life of the party, he kept us all smiling.

Claire went right to work in the "art corner" of our diningroom. She actually spent quite a bit of time coloring and drawing the entire evening as well as the next day.

Aunt Suzie got some help with blowing out her candles...

And the birthday cheesecake was enjoyed by all....

After the other family members left, Claire and Chloe modeled their colorful fall dresses and the following morning,  their new dresses sent to them by Aunt Jeannie.

Life is good, no doubt about that. We are looking forward to some play time with the grandchildren on Tuesday of this next week, come rain (which is predicted) or shine!

October Arrives!!

Paula, Mike, and the children often spend time in the foothills and mountains hiking. It is excellent exercise for everyone, and the children often tell us the exciting things they see and do. A few days ago, Mike sent me this picture of the girls crossing a flume. (Yikes, is what I thought!!!) Claire is in the lead and Chloe following close behind. From what Mike says, Chloe wasn't too keen on that little section but Claire led with confidence. They have completed up to 5 mile hikes which I find quite amazing for 4 year olds.

Chloe, on the other hand had no problem "leading the way" to climbing trees. Mike found Chloe up in a tree a few days ago. Claire was a bit hesitant to try it but when Chloe insisted that Papa and I see her climb on Tuesday when we visited, Claire soon decided it was the thing to do. Papa gave her some hints to get started and up she went too. 

Papa and Chris watch as the girls do their tree climbing.

Our sweet friend Miss Chris sent a little surprise for the kids that will be great for those hiking days. The canteens are so cute and the kids loved them.

They "wrote" thank you notes to Miss Chris. Below you see Christopher working on his with his color crayons.  

Halloween will be here before we know it. The three C's are totally prepared. Chris doesn't model his costume in these photos but I am told his is ready as well.

Chloe and Claire pose with some new dresses that are certainly bright and cheerful! :) When I ordered them I didn't realize they were quite that bright, but they are definitely fall colors and can also be used in Hawaii when we go in a couple of months. Wow, is all I can say! :)

Our visit for this week was so enjoyable and we look forward to a few hours with our grandchildren again on Tuesday. Enjoy your week!

September Birthdays!!

On Tuesday of this past week we had some park time with the grandchildren. Below Chris explores and enjoys the tunnel slide.

We had two family birthdays this week. On Wednesday Uncle Eric celebrated his birthday, and on Friday Daddy Mike celebrated his day. Saturday night the family gathered for a taco dinner.  Our immediate family plus a few extras enjoyed a good time and lots of laughs. Below Cousin Jesse and Chris have some talk time. Chris seems to be thoroughly enjoying the moment.

Uncle Jon lights the candles on the birthday cake for Daddy and Uncle Eric.

Claire and Chloe enjoy the cake and ice cream.

Chris opts for another strawberry. The boy really put away the strawberries and fresh pineapple that we served. Pretty healthy choices!

We heard a funny story this week that I want to include in the blog simply so that someday it will be in the blog book that we make each year. On Labor Day weekend Claire and Chloe spent some time with us. We were invited to our friends' house for a delicious BBQ dinner. Our friend Earnie, the chef, told us this week about a conversation he had with Claire at the BBQ. Earnie had made the girls some little boats out of tin foil so that they could play in the waterfall fountain on the patio. And play they did...what a great time they had. Earnie relayed that he saw Claire wad up some little thing and put it in the boat before putting it in the water. He asked her about it and she replied, "It is baby Moses, but don't worry, I put a life jacket on him." We have sure laughed about that this week.

Can't believe the last week of September is upon us! The best part is that the weather should cool down just a bit. Enjoy your week!

Tuesday, the Best Day of the Week!

Tuesday was the day for seeing the grandkids. So in this case, Tuesday was definitely the highlight of our week.

Claire and Chloe are now in the 'Busy Beavers' class at pre-school and Claire is modeling the official hat she made to announce that she is now a 'Busy Beaver'.
Chloe put her hat on Papa's head so he could feel like a 'Busy Beaver' too. He, however, was a one-eyed version. The girls told us lots about their class and filled us in on all the details of their new friends and the events that have taken place so far. Chris spends lots of time on Papa's lap or snuggled up beside him on the couch. Can't say that Papa minds that at all.

We all took a short outing to the store and stopped for bean burritos on the way home. Chris loved his burrito, and Chloe ate hers entirely, in short order, leaving a small trace on her face.

Claire had opted to try a new kind of burrito and found it to be just a bit too filling for her.

We are looking forward to some fun hours on with the C's Tuesday, coming up this week. Given some of the other appointments scheduled, it will definitely be the highlight of this week too!

Goodbye August, Hello September !

Life has improved for Papa Norm. He is stronger, in way less pain (at times none), and he is able to get around much easier than when first home from the hospital. Last week we offered to stay with the kids for a few hours at their house for the first time in quite a while. We were excited and so were Claire, Chloe, and Chris. There is one thing about going to see them at their home, we are ALWAYS greeted as if we had been gone for a year. It does our hearts good. Here Papa and the joys of his life are posing together.
Claire had lots to tell us.....

Chris continues to smile for the camera...no matter how close....

Sweet Chloe giving me the pleasure of snapping a picture. She is the least interested in posing most of the time. On this day, no problem. :)

Claire, still working on all she had to tell us.....

On Sunday, after Sunday School, we brought Claire and Chloe to our home for a couple of days.

Chris was facing surgery on Tuesday morning so the girls hung out with us until Chris was home on Tuesday afternoon. Among other things, we decided to have a semi-fancy tea party. Claire and Chloe were very excited and we found some old hats for them to wear for the occasion. We got out the lace tablecloth, my grandmother's antique teacups and saucers, and made some tiny fancy sandwiches. We had strawberries, carrots, sandwiches, celery with peanut butter, and tiny cupcakes for dessert. Claire and Chloe had pineapple-orange-guava juice for their "tea" and found it to be quite delicious. We cut flowers from the yard and made a bouquet for the table and then they took it to their Mommy for taking such good care of their brother.

Chloe and Claire got the "pinkie" in position at just the right time for these two pictures.

We had a lovely time at the tea-party which ended a great two days of swimming time, park time, lots of story time, and time to work with the Lincoln logs. Papa read to them from one of my Dad's old, old, old, books called "Billy Whiskers". They were so interested in the story. Papa will have to read more the next time we see them.

The doctors think that Chris' surgery was successful but future tests will tell the tale.

Here, as you can see, he has a sleepy, quiet look. With all the anesthesia and other medications he wasn't exactly himself. He was, however, hilariously funny, at times, looking very wild eyed and being very silly. We sure laughed at him. Hopefully his pain will diminish soon and he will be back to normal. His private nurse/Mommy took wonderful care of him and and as you can see he was happy to be in her arms.

I am reminded, once again, how blessed we are!

Welcome September!

Some Extra Rays of Sunshine on a Sunday Afternoon!!

Claire, Chloe and Chris have all had some "bugs and fevers" for the past couple of weeks. Since Papa Norm was recently in the hospital and is still working hard on stamina and strength, the kids haven't visited nor have we visited them. We really didn't want to take any chances on Papa getting sick. Today, however, Mike and the C's came up to swim and visit. Chris didn't go near the pool....except an occasional moment to throw something in.... but the girls took a swim. Chris prefers the hose most of the time. The water, to me, was pretty cold, but Claire and Chloe didn't seem to notice. One of the funny things about a Sunday visit was that a week or more ago when the girls called, Chloe told us that they would probably come up Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday. (She must be learning her days of the week). Anyway, after she said that on the phone, Claire cut in and said, "Chloe, Hellloooo, Sunday is not available, we go to Sunday School on Sunday."
Norm and I have laughed about that for days.... I forgot to point out to Claire today that you can, in fact, do more than one thing per day. The conversations we have with them keep us entertained for days after.

After swimming we had some lunch. Below you see Claire on the phone with Aunt Norma Jean who lives in Iowa. Claire wanted to warn her about the volcano that might be exploding near her. (Claire hasn't quite figured out how far Iowa is from Yellowstone yet). She told her of the dangers that might come her way.


Chris will now flash a huge smile whenever he sees a camera. We laughed a lot as he posed and smiled for me.

The sisters and best friends posed in a couple of their new tops. We, as a family, are Hawaii bound in January, and they certainly have to have some bright and tropical looking things to wear!

Chris was proud to show me his Iowa shirt and once again very happy to pose for my camera. Bless his little heart. He also got a new tropical print shirt among other things. Now I just hope Daddy will let him wear it. :) Mike would not be caught dead in a tropical print, flowered, shirt. Maybe we can change his mind this next trip but I won't hold my breath.

Just a few minutes ago the phone rang and it was Chloe and Claire. Claire thanked me for the "great day" and Chloe thanked us for "everything". I must say these children do have good manners and seem to appreciate lots of little things. It does my heart good. As usual, they wanted to talk to Papa too. I told them Papa was laying down not feeling too well right now. Chloe replied, "Grandma, I know he will feel better if he talks to us." She was right, he mostly listened, but it did perk him up a bit.

A beautiful afternoon for us and a great way to start the week!

Catching Up With Things!!

I can't believe that it has been a month since I have posted to our blog. The time, in many ways, has flown by, but in other ways seemed like a long, long, period of life. During those weeks, one of the most favorite things for Claire, Chloe, and Christopher was time spent at the lake with Paula's extended family. Claire and Chloe were so excited to tell us the details when they returned. I am borrowing a couple of pictures taken by Paula's cousin, I believe, of Chloe "driving the boat" and Claire and Uncle Vince driving as well. What memories were created for them during the week together with cousins, uncles, aunts, and Nonnie and Marc. Incidentally, I have never been sure how to spell Nonnie (Paula's Mom's nickname for Grandma) but today I verified it on a New Parents Guide website so I guess I will go with that, which for me was the natural spelling......

Also during these past weeks, Papa faced a hard surgery which ended up being a 21 day stay in the hospital. A few days prior to surgery day, sweet Paula brought the kids up for a play date with Papa, a great distraction for what was ahead. We started out by fixing lunch. Rather than start up the great big grill, we decided to "grill" our hot dogs on the grill pan on the stove. Claire and Chloe did a fine job of cooking with just a little help from Paula and me.

After lunch we took a quick trip to the park while Papa rested a bit. Back across the street, Chris got a little hose time in while the girls practiced their softball with the batting "T".

Papa's nearly 7 hour surgery went well. He is feeling quite good the evening of the surgery day. Pretty amazing, considering how sick he sometimes is after anesthesia. He did have some rough days following this picture, but in the end it all came out well.


Claire and Chloe visit and are very curious about all the things around Papa's hospital bed. They brought him art work for his room.

After a few days Papa was moved to the rehabilitation hospital where he worked very hard to gain his physical strength back. During the week, he had 6 therapy sessions per day. He also got some rest time which gave him time to play bridge and hearts on his computer.

After about a week and a half, Papa was given a four hour furlough to come home. He really enjoyed watching the kids swim, visited his birds, visited with friends who came to help me set up a couple of things for Norm's home coming, and had a good day overall.

One day Paula and the kids brought a special treat for Papa to the hospital. Here Chris stands on his tip-toes to get a little bite.

Chloe engages Papa in some conversation. Behind her you can see the art work that they brought when they visited. They visited several times which always served to be the highlight of his day and made the days go faster for him.

We are so very thankful to be home where Norm is resting, taking a couple of short walks per day, and enjoying the peace and quiet. Soon he will start three or so therapies a week, and will hopefully continue to build up strength and balance, as well as heal. We are also thankful to God for His healing and care during this time and for our many friends and precious family members that supported us in so many ways. Now on with summer.......