Category Archives: Grandchildren

Magnuson Part II

For this day in between the remembrance of the crucifixion and the Resurrection of Jesus I decided to post Katie and my second walk at Magnuson Park that we took on Tuesday April 4th. I wonder what agony the followers of Jesus had during the time in-between.

Katie was hoping that we would see the blue heron her and Andrew had seen on their walks through the wetlands. We were excited to have that hope realized on this day.

Bufflehead Ducks

Red Winged Black Bird

I love having walks with our girl.

The lake was calm on this day and there was no rain during our walk.

You can just barely see Mt. Rainier in this photo.

Looking forward to tomorrow and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Such a great time of rejoicing.

We are having rain, rain and more rain. Here in Northeastern Washington more roads have washed away and traveling is getting more complicated for a lot of people. Everyone is looking forward to a good dry spell and for all this water to recede. We still have good access to town and everything we need.

Here is a collage of our smiley granddaughter next to her smiley daddy when he was a wee one.

Baby equipment has really come a long way since 1981!

Are you preparing for an Easter service and Easter meal at your home?

Grandpapa or Gramps?

Maybe even grandfather or grandpa.

Time will tell what Addy decides to call him but in the meantime they are having some nice conversations.

I’m reading many of your posts because that is easy to do while holding an infant but I cannot leave a comment easily because that involves two hands and my hands and lap are occupied several hours during the day. Here in Eastern Washington we’re making plans for Easter day and when Dear and I return home we’ll have a belated Easter celebration with our other kids.

For now I’ll leave you with an Easter postcard from Dear’s Great Great Aunt Emma’s stash from the early 1900’s.

A Peaceful Walk

Rayna ran out ahead of us excited for a walk down the drive. We took advantage to the sunshine on this day.

Our walk photos were all taken from our son and dil’s driveway.

A different view without snow.

Horses were having a walk, too.

After the fresh air Addy had a peaceful sleep, too.

I drove Katie to the Spokane airport today (Monday April 10th) and we had snow, rain, and hail on our way. She got home to Seattle before I made it back to Colville. The flight from Spokane to Seattle is about 50 minutes! I’m sure her hubby appreciates having her back home.

Auntie Meets Her Niece

Addyson May is Katie’s first niece. The photo on the right is at their initial meeting right after we made our drive from Seattle to Northeastern Washington. We made a stop in Spokane to pick up some food for dinner for us all to share from Costco. Our next stop was at the Home Depot to pick up a new toilet which is one of the projects that were planned for Dear and Dan while we are staying with them. You should have seen us rearranging the back of the RAV4 to fit the toilet in and then to use our Tetris skills to get all our belongings and gifts and other project goods back in the car! We did it and Katie wasn’t too squished in the back seat!

On Friday we got to have lots of chillin and cuddling time while the guys worked in the wood shop installing more lights and then they installed the new toilet. Uncle Andrew is still waiting to meet his niece. The University is keeping him too busy for trips across the mountains.

Infant hands and infant feet are the best.

The winds were howling and thunderstorms blew through on Friday. When things cleared up in the afternoon we took a nice walk. I’ll show some photos from the walk soon. I’ve been taking a morning shift holding Addy while mommy and daddy sleep for a good couple of hours. It’s very quiet during that time and nice to see the dawning of a new day and good to thank God and say some prayers for family and friends near and far.

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
    in the morning I lay my requests before you
    and wait expectantly.

On this Palm Sunday my heart goes out to the people of Egypt and the senseless bombings that killed so many who were gathered to remember our Lord’s Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem. Such sorrow for the police officers who died stopping the suicide bomber from entering another church. They were doing their job heroically. May God comfort all who lost loved ones. Maranatha…

More Than Cherry Blossoms…

…we spotted these beautiful Magnolia blooms, too.

There were more than Cherry Blossoms blooming at the University of Washington. Hope you enjoy these images.

Now here’s the view we are enjoying for the next several days.

This is our favorite view. Photo credit to Kimberley LaDuke

https://www.facebook.com/kimberleyladukephotography/

Daddy and Daughter…

Here’s the side by side, Beth! I need to get a newborn photo of Jamie to scan to do a side by side comparison, too.

1 week old sent to us by the kids.

Posting the rest of my random photos until we travel east again to get some fresh photos!

And speaking of random here’s a photo of my dear old Pop with his great granddaughter Ellie taken several weeks ago.

Ellie is about 14 months or so here and Pop is almost 94! We so enjoy the instagram and facebook photos and videos of our dear little grandniece Ellie. Right now our Addy is Pop’s youngest Great Grandchild that we know of.

Continuing on the random theme…Yippee for some random sunshine here in the Pacific Northwest. We had a good church service on Sunday talking about being doers of the Word and capped off with Communion. Came home and had a nice breakfast of eggs and waffles with a couple hot dogs cut up and served alongside the scrambled eggs. Do you ever use a hot dog for your breakfast meat? Nathan’s skinless are my favorite. I donned my grubby work clothes and wellies to pull some weeds while the earth was still moist and weeds were easier to pull. I will also mow the lawn for the first time this year if the sunshine continues on Monday! Here’s a sneak peek at some paths Katie and I walked on last week. I’ll share more as the week progresses.

Linking up to Mosaic Monday with Maggie at Normandy Life.

Missing Little AMB

Friday March 24th I got some more cuddles in and while we made cookies little Miss was snug as a bug in her little portable cradle.

Rayna rested close to her, too.

Later in the evening we were all relaxing and Gramps and Addy had a little snooze time together. I really enjoy this photo. Too bad copying it from phone to computer gets a little grainy.

I have missed this close up view of her for a week now. Sigh.

On Saturday morning March 25th we packed up the car and sadly said our goodbyes.

Happy our kids thought to take a photo of the 3 of us before we hit the road for home. We said to the kids when we were heading out the door that we wished we lived around the corner from them.

Heading down their driveway…

Still on their driveway looking out at flooded areas of Colville.

Heading into town to connect to highway 395.

Looks like there were a few more newborns in the neighborhood of the animal variety.

Once we connected to highway 395 I took a lot of photos of the flooding in Stevens County as we drove south to Spokane to connect with Interstate 90.

There’s a little town south of Colville that is named after our granddaughter. 🙂

More flooding…

The city park in Chewelah was flooded and there was water over the roadway.

I could share a lot more but this post is getting long.

I’m itching to get back over the mountains to see our sweet little Addy and her folks! We just might have to invite ourselves over for Easter with the promise to cook! I can now really empathize with all you grandparents out there who live a long way from your grands.

We had a dry day yesterday! The weather people said things like…”today you will experience dry pavement for the first time in weeks”. We didn’t get our paws wet yesterday and it was quite a treat! Thursday Katie and I did manage to walk the grounds of Bonhoeffer Botanical Gardens and the University of Washington Quad missing the rain showers. I will share a lot of those photos soon. Here’s a preview of one from the Cherry Blossoms in the Quad.

APRIL FOOLS Y’All! Hope this is the mildest prank you have all day!

Three Days Old…

The view outside the kids windows on day three, Thursday March 23rd. It was nice that the sun was shining this day as this would be Addy’s first appointment at the hospital after being discharged. Later we all ventured over to Jamie’s Uncle Scott and Aunt Rhonda’s home for a birthday party for Uncle Scott.

Addy’s first party gathering. We are all hoping Addy will be sporting a cute dimple like her daddy and mommy.

Four generations here with Jamie’s Granny, Jamie’s mom, Jamie and Addy. Granny’s middle name is May and our Addy’s middle name is now May, too.

Linda (Jamie’s mom) with her brother Scott. Great Uncle Scott got to hold Addy since it was his birthday party but then somehow Addy ended up in the arms of…

Great Aunt Rhonda and Great Granny, too! Addy is blessed with lots of love.

It was a short time at the party then Addy got tucked in her baby car seat and off to home just a couple miles up the road.

Thanks for letting us celebrate with you Scott and Rhonda!

Behold the Hodgepodge

1. ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’  What’s something you’ve seen recently that you thought was beautiful?

Our new granddaughter born on March 20th is the latest most beautiful thing I’ve seen.

2. Our culture and beauty…your thoughts?

The nosiest people in our culture usually try to force what they think is beautiful upon us. Beautiful to me is someone who’s inner being is loving and kind and who stands up for what is true and what is right. Someone who will make a stand quietly yet forcefully not giving in to bullying. Being comfortable in your own skin is beautiful to me.

1 Peter 3:3-4 (ESV)

3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

3. Age before beauty, beauty queen, beauty mark, beauty sleep…which beauty-ful phrase resonates with you today? Why?

 I’m going with age before beauty in the sense that as my outer beauty fades I will be content in my grey state because of all I’ve already experienced and learned and continue to learn.
Isaiah 40:8: The grass withers, the flower fades,
    but the word of our God will stand forever.

4. I read here a list of the top ten beasts animals that scare us the most-alligators, coyotes, black bears, birds (but pigeons in particular), sharks, bats, bed bugs, rats, rattlesnakes, and the black widow spider. 

Which ‘beast’ on the list scares you the most? What is the likelihood of you having an actual encounter with that particular beast? Did a movie contribute to your fear of this creature? Have you ever had a real life encounter with any of the animals listed?

Because they are so hard to get rid of the scariest on this list are bed bugs to me. I’ve never experienced them but just the thought gives me the creeps. I have had life encounters with bats, coyotes, a black widow spider and rats in the attic!!

5. Where were you when you last heard a bell ring? Was it alarming or musical?

At Providence Mount Carmel Hospital on Monday the 20th of March when our granddaughter was born the hospital played a lullaby over the loud speakers throughout the hospital letting everyone know a baby had been born. We were in the waiting room and we all cried when we heard the bell toned Lullaby and Good Night over the speakers. It was musical and beautiful.

6. What’s your favorite carb? How’s that for random?

Bread, all kinds of bread, plain, savory, and sweet. I’m so thankful I’m not gluten intolerant.

7. Let’s wrap up another month of Hodgepodging and life with an acrostic. Recap your month using the word MARCH.

March brought
Addyson May into our lives causing
Rejoicing in our family and putting
Colville on the map as our favorite place to visit for the joy of
Holding our precious little granddaughter

Addyson May was born on the 20th. We left our house at 4am to drive 5-1/2 hours to Colville Washington to be at the hospital when Addy was born.

Our son’s response for us when he came into the waiting room to let us know all was well with his fresh wee babe and her mama.

Rejoicing over our first grandchild.

Colville is going to be our favorite road trip so I can do more of this…

Holding her and just watching her breathe and listening to her baby sighs is heavenly.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

March 2017 is an epic time for us as we entered the world of grand parenting. Looking forward to getting back over the mountains and through the woods to spend some more time with Addy and her new parents! My blog posts have been all about this new time in our lives and hopefully everyone will bear with me as I share what I can’t keep under my hat. Rejoice with those who rejoice.

Linking up with Joyce at From This Side of the Pond for Hodgepodge Wednesday.

L is for Love at First Sight…

Daddy and Gramps looking lovingly at Addy May on Thursday March 23rd. She’s 3 days old in these photos.

Addy and her mom.

Isn’t She Lovely

L is for the love we have for our first grandchild Addy May who is lovely and has stolen our hearts.

Linking up to ABC Wednesday with Mrs. Nesbitt, Roger and the lovely team of administrators.