LOOK WHO'S SPECIAL

We had a time for celebration tonight. Our oldest grandson, Keith, had great scores on new math concepts being taught. Keith is the sweetest child you will ever meet, but struggles academically. He is dyslexic and tries very hard to keep his grades up. His teachers are excellent and go the extra mile to see that his needs are met. Keith realizes that his younger brothers do not have difficulty reading and he becomes very frustrated. His mom called me after school and told how Keith grasped the new math concept being taught and we had reason to celebrate. I decided to cook his favorite meal and he could eat from the special plate.

Look at this sweet boy....smiles most of the time. Yes, he is eating his favorite. Chicken casserole, rice, peas, corn, and yeast rolls. Truthfully, Keith loves ANY food. When his youngest brother, Griffin, saw the "YOU ARE SPECIAL" plate, he wanted to know why Keith was getting to use it. We explained that Keith had the best day in his math class. Griffin quickly said, "Well, I didn't have silent lunch today." Perhaps that should have been reason to celebrate this accomplishment for him!

Here's Griffin and Zack. Griffin decided he would smile when he realized that I would make his picture also. All three boys are special and they will have their turn with the "Special Plate".

MY SURPRISE

See this ceramic Christmas tree? I LOVE IT! No, my Christmas decorations are not still up. This tree is like one that my mother had years ago. I loved that tree and it was accidently broken before it became mine. This afternoon my daughter and son-in-law came over with a big box that had been shipped to them today. Amy had won it on Ebay. They had me close my eyes and when I opened them I saw the tree. I almost cried right then, but thought the grandsons would think I was crazy....crying over a ceramic Christmas tree. It was still lit up when my husband came in. I can't wait until it's time to decorate again. Surprises are so nice....especially those that bring back memories.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Our precious granddaughter is two years old today. This picture was taken in September at her sister's birthday party, but it is still one of my favorite pictures of her. She has the sweetest smile and has been talking (using complete sentences) for quite some time. My heart melts each time she says, "Gigi" or "I love you, too!" There are stories that I will remember about each of my grandchildren, but I know that I'll never see a frog and not think of this sweet girl. We sure wish we could see her today, but being two states away make that impossible. However, it won't be long before we'll celebrate with her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMMA ROSE!

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW

Recently we have seen more birds outside our window, including BEAUTIFUL cardinals, which are my favorite. Most of the time I will look out my kitchen window and see five or six birds eating at one time. This morning I watched as birds would fly in and eat. I knew that the feed was disappearing fast and thought nothing about it because of the number of birds I would see. However......I looked out a little later and saw the real reason the food was disappearing so quickly. This is what was there.......

Look at the squirrel eating away. His friend was on the ground about to join the feast. I watched them for a few minutes and wondered how long this has been happening. Guess I'll continue to feed birds and squirrels.

THIS MORNING

Oh, what a beautiful morning! I have a routine that I follow each morning. Alarm goes off at 5:45 a.m. I shower, get my cup of coffee, read my Bible and spend time with God. As I'm finishing, I know that the sun will be coming up, and I always glance over to see the beauty. This morning I grabbed my camera and captured the sun as it was coming up. BEAUTIFUL!!

I have been so bad about posting for quite some time. I read other blogs each day but have been lazy about writing. I will try and do better. So happy that the weather has been warmer here this week. Makes me wish for an early spring. I'm sure there are many cold days ahead but I enjoy the spring-like days as they come. Hope each of you have a great week-end.

CHRISTMAS RECAP

Thought I'd share a little recap of our Christmas holidays. On Christmas Eve it was quite "blustery" and during the night the wind was very strong. I only noticed a wreath missing from an upstairs window, but later on Christmas Day my husband went outside and saw this in our pool. Our gas grill (still covered) was in the bottom of the deep end of the pool. The temperature was nothing like it is today (thank goodness) but still very cold. We knew no way to get the grill out other than him going in. The water temperature was 47 degrees! When he got under the water he was unable to stay because it was so cold. However, the sweeper that was under the grill was used to bring it to the surface and it is now out. YEAH!!!!!

It is a tradition that each Christmas Eve is spent with my best friend and her family. We have been doing this for about 15 years and you wouldn't believe the food and fun that we have. Below is a picture of me and Jane. We are as close as two people can be.
This picture is us with our spouses. We have been "best" friends for over 25 years.

The week after Christmas my husband and I went to the beach for a few days before going to see our son and his family. It was great to be able to relax and spend some time together after all the busy time during the month of December.


I'm looking forward to a brand new year with family and friends. Hope all of you are blessed with the best year ever.

THE CHILDREN WERE NESTLED....

.......all snug in Gigi's lap before going to bed last night. We had such a great week. The first part of the week my husband and I spent at the beach relaxing and doing just what we wanted to do. On Wednesday we headed to Louisiana to see our son and his family. The three girls sure know how to make a Granddaddy and Gigi two happy people! Enjoyed seeing what Santa brought them and getting all the hugs and kisses we could in a short time.

This picture was made this morning as we were leaving. Breanna and Emma came out to wave goodbye but Maddie was inside crying because we were leaving. It sure hurts to leave but we know that the tears stop shortly after we are gone. Being with these sweet girls was a great way to start a new year.