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| ~ photo by Bekah ~ |
There were many years of great distance between us and our son's family. Visits were once a year, or sometimes even two years. When they moved back to the East, visits were a bit more frequent, but there were still long stretches when we could not be together.
But now...oh, how wonderful it is for us to be able to hop into the car and head on over for a weekend! We met Baby Paul in early December, and then, less than six weeks later, we got to see him again! We are actually going to be able to watch him BE a baby! Not only that, but we are forging new relationships with the other three children! We are no longer faces on a computer screen or names on a "happy package" or voices on the telephone, but we are Gran and Papa in the flesh! A couple of days before we visited, Sarah told us that Peter kept saying, "Two more days 'til Papa and Gran come!" and then he'd clap his little hands. We LOVE that!
(I know I'm using lots of exclamation points here, but I am feeling exclamatory!) :)
So here I am with a very grandmother-ish post...with lots of pictures of our time together.
Peter had drawn a picture of Papa and Gran to greet us.
Aunt Kati met Paul for the first time! (She had to work the first time we came.)
So this time there were THREE women to take turns cuddling Paul!
Presents for all!
Eve (7) with Aunt Kati
Nora (almost 6) with Aunt Kati
Aunts and nephews.
Paul and his mama, our beloved daughter-in-law Sarah.
Guy time at the grill.
We played our own version of Pictionary...fun for all!
Three generations.
On Sunday, Kati did a photo shoot with all the children.
We had a mini birthday celebration with Nora who will be 6 in a few days.
Good-byes are not so painful these days.
Instead of tears and sniffles, we hug and say, "See you next month!"
I totally love that!
How exciting to be able to visit so often. Our children have both nearby and far away grandparents. Though they love all their grandparents, there is definitely a different relationship with the ones they get to see more often.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, thank you so much for introducing yourself and for your very kind words!! It seems such a short time ago that I was a stay-at-home mom to young children...and suddenly my youngest is nearing 14 and I have 9 grandchildren! We moms need Him in the moments, because the moments pass all too quickly!
ReplyDeleteSo wonderful for you to be able to see the "grands" more often. Beautiful family. Aren't they the best things--so much fun and so much love. We were able to enjoy our two this weekend (they live about 3 hours away). Happy for you. Blessings, Sharon D.
ReplyDeleteWhat cute kids! And how wonderful that you'll be able to see them (and their parents, I suppose) more often. lol We feel the same way about our daughter's family who moved from 11 hours away to 2 hours away. Enjoy every minute, Grandma. :-)) xoxo
ReplyDeleteYour delight in being closer to your kids comes through in every word (and every exclamation mark)! So wonderful.
ReplyDeleteOh, such lovely photos. Nice!
ReplyDeleteI am SO happy for you (while being just a bit jealous--all 11 of our grands live some distance from us making it difficult to see frequently)...
ReplyDeleteSuch a good reason for all those exclamation marks! What beautiful children and I know you are feeling so blessed to be so much nearer!
ReplyDeleteCheryl, family is just the best and I'm so happy that you are able to have your grands closer. Your photos are priceless! ♥
ReplyDeleteAhhh...so sweet. Love the papa and gran drawing. What a great visit. I'm so glad you are so much closer to them now.
ReplyDeleteOh goodness how wonderful is this! And such cute grandkids! I can't think of anything better then them being close enough now for week-end visits! How I would love that if it were the case with my Mel! Your photos are always soo good, but these are especially so. Just such a sweet post!
ReplyDeleteLove this post so full of excitement and precious family! And what a beautiful family you have! Being a grandmother, I totally understand your joy!
ReplyDeleteAnd what a fun grandmother-ish post this is! Baby Paul is just a precious little one as well as the other grands...and how blessed you are to finally have them close enough to visit regularly! I understand this since I have a son and grands in Nashville, a day's drive from here. We have been fortunate to have been able to visit about every three months or so...for the past 10 years. Thanks for sharing your joy!
ReplyDeleteI like your grandmother-ish posts! And your exclamation points!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteYour grandchildren are so blessed to be in a closer relationship with you and Ron. Such love is beautiful!
Those exclamation marks say it all...what a beautiful family and I loved finding "the rest of the family" in that final photo.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! It's good to hear some GOOD news today. Your family is precious and beautiful and I know how happy you must be. My yougest daughter and her Marine hubby just returned to the states in June from a 3 year tour to Okinawa Japan. I didn't get to visit them there. They're 15 hours away by car now, but at least on the same soil. My other daughter and sil with kids are 3.5 hours away and we drive that pretty often. It looks as if your kids and grandkids are as happy or more about the new arrangement. Looking forward to sharing your joy as you're able to be a bigger part of their lives! You use all the exclamation marks you want!!!!
ReplyDeleteSo happy for you, dear Cheryl. Beautiful children. Many blessings.
ReplyDeletei'm really happy for you Cheryl, I know your going to enjoy being closer to those grands, I had to smile at the *Happy Package* because we do the very same thing. I must have missed that previous post you wrote that described them. We grandma's are like minded (our boxes also decorated...lol)
ReplyDeleteHope you have a wonderful weekend