If you have kids or grandkids, your days will always be filled with lots of love. Taylor, who is in the first grade this year, handed me a note last week. "Gram, this is for you. I hope you keep it forever." Well, of course I will keep it forever! :-)
Ashtyn wanted a Merliah cake for her third birthday. As always, Monica had the house decorated beautifully! I am so proud of this special little granddaughter! Grammie loves you, Ashtyn!
Jake and Presley are now one-year old! They are the sweetest kids ever! (Like all the other grandkids!) I am not a professional cake decorator, but happy to have the honor of making their first cake! After seeing a double dragon cake on the internet, I thought it was fitting for Jake and Presley. Though it was much more work than I anticipated, I thought it turned out pretty cute! They seemed thrilled with their cake and even happier about it when we tore into it! Happy Birthday, Jake and Presley. Gram loves you soooo much!
Ashtyn is thrilled spring/summer has finally arrived. This is one kiddo who LOVES to be outside! She will be three around the end of August, but she talks like a 10-year old! No mistaking what she says either! Oh my. That can be good and that can be bad....hee hee.
Melissa wanted to change Mazie's baby nook into a little princess area, as the "baby" is no longer a little baby! Oh boy! One more opportunity to come up with ideas for a fantastic little girl retreat! Melissa knew she wanted a princess bed for Mazie, but the ones we found were not what she had in mind. So, it was time to grovel at the feet of her brother and husband and get them to build what she wanted. After all, it was cold and dreary outside, so they might as well get busy on an indoor project! Right? Well, as you can see: groveling worked! First, they tore out the closet:
Next, it was time to measure, draw plans for the bed and start building:
Gee, they look like professionals! ;-)
Looking good! Almost time for paint!
Next, came carpet in bubble gum pink! :-) And then, the best part: mom and Gram got to start the decorating process! Melissa knew she wanted Mazie to have polka dots and poodles...so, ta-da! We got busy painting polka dots & poodles! After about two weeks of painting, fabric, window covers and personalization, we were almost finished! The final touches were a gorgeous little chandelier and the installations of televisions in the bed areas so she can watch her favorite movie! (Yes, there's an extra bed in the top!) Too cool, huh? Some people say these kids are spoiled rotten, but every prince and princess deserve to be a little spoiled!!:-) After all--You are only little once!
The area to the right is a cute little hideout that Mazie loves to run in and out of!
Guard dog to the castle.
Window treatments
Mazie dancing in her new room! She loves it! Perfect room for a special little girl!
As you may have guessed, I love children. They remind me to appreciate the simple things; the nothing things...like bubbles that disappear in the air. Kids can sit for hours, totally content, producing hundreds of bubbles that they learn--at a very early age--will be nonexistent in mere seconds.
Still, all kids (and most adults) love bubbles. Last summer as my granddaughter,Taylor, sat outside blowing bubbles, she remarked:
"They go away fast, don't they Gram?
For some reason, I choked up.
"Yes, baby, they do," I replied. But the tears had filled my eyes so quickly that I couldn't stop the huge one that had already fallen down my cheek. I quickly brushed it away; my mind filled with images of family members we have buried the last few years.
James 4:14 says it so clearly: For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
I watched as she continued to blow bubbles. She marveled at the large ones, the medium ones, the tiny ones, the ones that were a bit warped, the ones that had just a tad more color than others. "Oh, look at this one, Gram!"
We would barely get a glance before the bubble disappeared into thin air. "Oh, I liked that one!" she would squeal with delight. "Did you see it?!" Then, on to the next one. "Look! Look! Did you see that one? It looked CRAZY!" she said with laughter...."That one was sooooo funny, wasn't it?" Even the bubbles that moved slowly, floating with ease before popping in midair delighted her as much as the others. "Did you see that one, Gram? It was a lazy bubble!"
Several times she managed to capture a bubble on the end of her wand. She would hold it, spellbound; so sure it was the one that would never go away. But each time--in an instant--the bubble would be gone.
That day brought full meaning to the scripture in James. We are all so much like those bubbles. Some of us are small, some medium, and some large. We all have our own mix of colors that reflect from us in many different auras. Some of us may appear perfect on the exterior, while many of us can't even attempt to hide the fact that we are a bit warped. Some of us are downright funny, some CRAZY, some quiet, some lazy. And undoubtedly, our creator is delighted with each of us.
While we are here on this earth, we are here for a purpose. We've been blown into this earth's atmosphere, created to be or (and) do only what we alone are created to be or (and) do. One thing is for certain: we are here only for a little time. One day, just like the bubble, we will quickly vanish away.
I don't know why...ornery, I suppose. But, anyway, back when Thomas (grandson) was about three years old we decided, as we often do, that he needed a new toy. So, he and I loaded up and made our way to the place that has plenty of toys:
Wal Mart.
As we pulled into the parking space, Thomas piped up:
"Gram, what 'dis place called?"
"Neiman's," I heard my mouth answer, as I laughed out loud.
"Neeemun's?" He asked.
"Yes, Neiman's."
"I like Neeemun's, they have good toys for me."
"Yes, they do! Let's go find you something."
And so, the place that everyone hates but surely shops--Wal-Mart--became Thomas's Neiman's.
Each time we head in the direction of the store, he asks,
"Gram, we going to Neemun's?"
And, each time he says it, I chuckle.
Until.
Melissa (Thomas's mom) and Wes (Thomas's dad) had plans to meet some rather important people during the Christmas holidays for an evening meal at a nice restaurant.
I offered to keep Thomas and Mazie (Thomas's little sister). But, my daughter refused. "No, we want the kids to go. They sent the kids a Christmas card and $100 each for Christmas. They've never even seen Mazie and it's been a long tine since they've seen Thomas; I think it will be good if the kids go with us."
And so they went.
Family of four, dressed to impress, glitter and bows, boots and starched polo's.
The evening went swell. Mazie and Thomas were on their best behavior and made quite an impression on the couple.
Then the woman asked,
"Thomas, what is Santa bringing you for Christmas?"
"I don't know," Thomas replied,
"But, I like the toys from Neemun's the best!"
Uh-oh.
(Houston, er, um, GRAM! we have a problem...)
Melissa said before she could explain,
the woman's mouth had
dropped open and she
replied with a
hearty laugh,
"WELL GOSH! SO DO I!!""
Thomas and Melissa, Christmas 2009
If you've ever been haunted by a life-or-death decision you've made in regards to a loved one, you may begin to wonder if your mind will ever provide a sense of comfort regarding that decision.
For those who struggle after the fact (after the death) our minds can be very cruel, often seeming only to exist just to beat us up day after day.
Yes, death has come. Life has ended. We must go on. But for many who are left behind, our minds can be like the mean schoolteacher who wields a ruler. One wrong move, or in this case--thought--and our minds oblige us with a sharp, stinging blow.
Many may argue the loved one is gone, so you should put it behind you; however, some people never find that "behind" place they desperately seek. I have not. I've long known my mental struggle is due, in a great part, to the decisions made by other family members and my decision not to challenge their decision.
The decision had been made to "make the person comfortable" until they die. To stop all forms of nourishment.
Comatose + Starvation=Death.
I understood.
But after arriving at my daddy's house and sitting with him seven days as he lay comatose with no fluids provided, until his death, things arose during those seven days that caused me to question if what was being done to him was right or wrong. I will never know. I do know this: he is gone.
Recently, Anemona Hartocollis wrote about the controversial subject of rendering someone medically unconscious until death. Download Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep
While America is up in arms over a government that seems anxious to help the elderly exit this world via end-of-life counseling (i.e. euthanasia), medically assisted death--shall we say, euthanasia--is already an all too common "choice" made by relatives and doctors who find themselves making decisions for a loved one that perhaps no one should make, have to make, or have a right to make.
Under the glossed-over wrapping of doctors, morphine, xanax, lorazepam, and other drugs, lies a deceptive, yet accepted, method of death that is already in use: euthanasia. While we prefer not to call it what it is, it is what it is.
