Andrew, Grampa and Gabriel...chillin

We were blessed in late September for Travis and Andrew to spend another week with us. During that time, Andrew wanted Grampa to hold him and of course, Gabriel wanted to be held, too. It turned out to be a really sweet picture though. You can tell that Andrew is really enjoying the time. Isn't he a beautiful little boy? And...Gabriel is cute, too. :)

What a cute little "skink"

Saturday afternoon, we were in Kendra's and J.D.'s new back yard and just checking it all out when I saw a lizard. I showed it to Kendra and she proceded to catch him. She informed me that it was a skink. She then showed it to Dylan and he was quite anxious to hold it. I did not ask to hold it. (Shiver...ooh!) While Dylan was holding it, Bill snapped a picture of them. As, with the previous photo, I did a little enhancing and turned it into a cartoon, too. Then added a frame and here it is for you to enjoy. See the concentration on Kendra's face? She is telling Dylan to be gentle. After holding it a few minutes, they turned it loose.

And...not being a bit prejudice...aren't they beautiful, too? (I'm not talking about the skink.)

Special Time With Grampa...

Goodness! It has been a month since I blogged. I don't know where the time went. But, I'm back again and just have to share a very precious photo with you. Bill and I went to Oklahoma this weekend (on Saturday) and spent Saturday night in Stillwater with J.D., Kendra and the boys in their new home. It's really nice. I'm so proud for them.

Anyway, soon after we got there, Gabriel decided he needed a "walk" and Dylan wanted to go along. As they were walking down the street with Dylan holding onto Grandpa's hand, it was more special than I could stand and decided to grab the camera and snap the picture. They were almost out of site before I could get the camera ready, but it still turned out great! I used the Kodak Easy Share program and the Corel Snapfire program to enhance it a little. This is a cartoon feature of Kodak Easy Share. It is awesome. I really think this one will have to be enlarged, printed and framed. It warms my heart to see such a beautiful site. Dylan really loves his "Grampa." By-the-way...Gabriel is already "behind the tree." He really needed this "walk." :)

Fun at Six Flags Over Texas

Our Labor Day Weekend was really quite full. Jamie and Allison came down on Sunday and spent the night with us. Then, we got up on Monday and went to Six Flags. It was a fun time. Sort of hot and humid, but still a lot of fun. One of the areas has a huge chair that lots of folks take their picture in. Here is one of Bill and Jamie. A very cute Dad and Daughter picture isn't it?

Our Babies

Over this past week I was able to get some pretty good pictures of our "babies."

Isn't Gabriel a handsome little boy? Don't you think Callie is a pretty little girl? We think so. They certainly keep us entertained. They actually like each other now.

Nature's Beauty

I've developed this urge to take pictures of God's majesty and beauty. It is all around us...everywhere. Sometimes even when something looks plain to our eyes, when we photograph it, it seems to develop it's own glory.

Well, yesterday, I was outside with Gabriel in the back yard and there were butterflies everywhere. So I went back in the house and got the camera, in hopes of capturing one is action. I sort of got one and was able to enhance the photo a little with Kodak Easyshare program. I think it is very pretty. I may want to even enlarge this one and frame it. What do you think? Do I have a future as a Photographer? Nah...probably not. But I enjoy trying anyway.

Fun week...

This has been a fun week for me. Travis had training to attend in Dallas this week and he brought Andrew with him. They stayed with us and while Travis attended his training, I got to babysit Andrew. It was a fun time. I look forward to having other grand-children come stay with us, too. (Hint...Hint!!!)

I really can bake a pie from scratch...

This past January, I got in a baking mood and decided to bake a lemon meringue pie. I hadn't baked one in a long time and family was beginning to think they had only dreamed I used to bake them. So, I got all the ingredients and got busy. This is a picture of the results. Doesn't it look delicious? It was!!!!

The Long, Long Year

I just realized today, that it has been over a year since we began the process of moving from Minnesota to Texas. We put our home in Minnesota on the market in June, then found our home in Texas the first week in July. Due to the housing market, our home did not sell until the end of November. We moved to Texas and closed on our home the first week of December. (Yes, we were actually homeless for a week.)

So much has happened in that time since we moved. I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with my mother. She had been going down in health for quite a while, showing signs of Alzheimer's and dementia. But, I got to have her come home with us a lot between December and May. She loved coming to visit and spending time here. I would wait on her and take care of her and it made her feel so special and
loved. Here is a picture we took of her on March 27, 2007. It was her 82nd birthday. She looks really good here, and this is her natural color of hair. (I hope I have her genes.)

Then, in mid April, she began to complain of her stomach hurting and every time she would eat she would feel sick. So, she got to where she would not eat (or could not eat) very much. She began to lose weight. And, she never was very heavy. She just seemed to get weaker and weaker. Finally, my brother called me and told me he was going to call an ambulance and take her to the hospital. We both knew she would not go if we just took her. They admitted her and began to do tests. She was admitted to the hospital on April 30. They did tests and May 1 and on May 2 she was diagnosed with cancer. It was in her kidneys, her stomach, her spleen, her liver, her colon, and the lower part of her lungs. The doctor said she had less than 6 months. It turned out she had less than that. She passed away on May 23. Exactly 3 weeks after being diagnosed with the cancer. She never knew what she had.

It is so difficult to write about this, but I feel I need to. I love my mother so much and I am really, really having a tough time with her death. God gave me 6 months to spend with her before He took her home, and I am so grateful for that time. But, I still needed more time. I know that sounds selfish, but I can't help it. She was the most wonderful mother, ever. She always said, "My kids are my life." And, she meant it. She made so many sacrifices for us and we always knew we were loved. She always told us she loved us and it made it easy for us to tell each other we love each other, too.

I will try to write more later. I'm not as good at blogging as Bill is, but maybe I can get better at it. Maybe someday I will actually have some "treasures" to put on Grandma's Treasure Chest.