Four hours of outdoor play meant early dinner, bath and bedtime for my grandchildren. The second day of spring offered nearly perfect weather punctuated by an unexpected thunderstorm. The parents coaxed the siblings through baths while I layered peanut butter and jelly on toasty blueberry bagels with strawberry cheesecake yogurts on the side for everyone …
Ransomed
“I want a turn to ride the scooter,” Thomas repeated as Amelia sped past him through the living room. “If you catch me, you can have a turn,” Amelia replied, circling around again. She laughed heartily as Thomas ran after her several laps through the kitchen. Finally he planted his feet and declared, “I caught …
Cast Off
Fair weather and longer afternoons means lots of outdoor play for the grandkids. Boat rides in the evening after dinner at Lolly and Poppy’s are a special treat. It has been so windy of late that only recently did we dust off the cobwebs for a sunset cruise. Last year, Timothy and Ezra, both pre-walkers, …
Beyond Belief
Ezra skipped his nap today. He’s nearing two and he is definitely beginning to test boundaries. He sees his older sister and cousins playing independently and even though he amazes us all daily with his climbing and running and new vocabulary, being the youngest, he must feel like he’s always playing catch up. Today he …
Rich Enough
“Yolly, I’m going to Dollar Tree to win a prize!” Amelia cheered as she bounded into the kitchen waving her dollar bill in her hand. “You mean you get to choose a toy to buy,” her mom corrected with a grin. I was immediately taken back a decade and a half, thinking with a grin …
Surrendered
Ezra went down for his nap like clockwork and I’ll be honest, I was amazed. The long anticipated move is underway. After only two weeks on the market, the offer came and with it, a ten day closing. No one is ever truly prepared for a move. Packing up your entire household, even after only …
Finding Him Faithful
When I was pregnant with our second child, everyone in both of our families was convinced that I was carrying a girl because we had a son first and I carried the two very differently. If you’ve been pregnant, you’ve heard the old wives tales and all of the awkward questions. No doubt you’ve experienced …
Clingy
Sick babies want to be held even after they are on the mend. The comfort of their mother’s arms soothes much of what they cannot control, making the effects of the germ at least bearable. Ezra introduced the stomach bug to his family last week on Thursday. By Sunday night, his dad succumbed and Amelia …
It’s All There
“Forty-three, forty four, forty-five, oh no! Two are missing! We need to go on a zoo animal hunt. Our turtle and our lion are missing.” Amelia was climbing all over the bed where her mom was trying to change Ezra. I was doing the daily zoo animal headcount as the kids prepared to head home. …
Care and Keeping
Thomas added his weight to Timothy’s against the glass door of the restaurant where we were standing watching the birds outside while their mom gathered her things. The look that danced behind his eyes just before Thomas pressed the palms of both hands against the glass let me know this was sort of an experiment, …
A Fitting Reply 