The Weekend

 
This weekend was Joe and Becca's 10th anniversary!  Now that they are in Texas, we had the joy to watch the grand boys.
Felix stayed for 4 hours so they could go out on an Anniversary Date.  My responsibility was to give Felix a bottle for the first time. 

Let's just say, he was not a happy camper when it came to feeding time! LOL
We settled for a "sippy cup" and he seemed to like that.

He was certainly happy to have his mama back!!!!

Truman enjoyed playing hide and seek with Erika.  His favorite place to hide was the Pantry, where he wanted her to hide with him. LOL

 Truman will be 3 next month!   Note the gun and sword Miss Alli made for him out of paper. He is a well armed toddler! LOL

Sam just loves spending time with Grampa.  He is a hard worker and LOVES to keep himself busy!
He even helped me fold towels and showed of his towel folding skills well! :)
His favorite thing though is to go out with grampa and work in the auto shoppe. :)  He is such a big boy now!  6 years old, going to school and reading!

 And here is pick up time.....

 Happy Anniversary to two of my favorite people in the world! :)

                                             "MY THREE SONS"

Guess Who's Coming To Our House!!!!

Our Son Joseph, our Daughter  Becca, and our THREE grandsons, Sam, Truman and Felix.....
Joseph is going to begin the Doctoral Program at UTD this fall.  They have been living in Maryland for the last decade! 

I know it is a homecoming for Joseph... but brand new territory for Becca.  She is a Maryland girl!

I am praying that everybody's adjustment goes well and that Sam loves his new school! He will be a big boy in FIRST GRADE!

We are on the countdown now.... August 12th, Joseph will arrive in the car and on August 13th, Becca will arrive by plane! :)

And then.... we will all be together until their apartment is ready. :) 

Stay tuned! This is gonna be FUN! :)
And CRAZY! :)

I like CRAZY! :)

More Birthdays

Mike and Alli already celebrated their birthdays in early February.  But two of our sons and our daughter in law also have birthdays in February.

Happy Birthday Timothy, Joseph and Rebecca! :)

Tim and Joe are not quite a whole year apart.  I remember when Timothy was 4, his brother turned 4, so he decided he would be 6 like his big brother.  When we explained he was turning 5, not six he was very upset... "How come HE gets to be MY age and I can't be Chuckie's age?"  LOL
I loved those little years with my boys. 
And now I enjoy seeing them with their own children, explaining things to them. 
But for our grandson Sam..... whoa! 
His question today, at the ripe age of 5..... "If God is a loving God, why do bad things happen?"
Ummmm....wow, at 5! :)
I know that Joseph and Rebecca will handle this question just fine!  After all, they already covered if God was a Spirit or had a body. LOL

Y'all are getting OLD!

They Are Gone :(

We had a wonderful visit, and we will see them again....but they are GONE! :(
Truman said, "Ya-Ya". :)

When Anna And I Went To The Dentist

This is what was going on at home! :)

Pics of Joe Becca Sam and Truman

 Joe, Becca and Truman at Pei Wei

Sam learning how to use Chop Sticks

Having a good discussion with Joe. :)

Happy Birthday To SAM

I cannot believe it is Sam's 4th Birthday!  He is growing up so fast! 
This is one of my favorite pictures of 4 of my favorite people. :)
3 of them have February Birthdays!

Our Beautiful Truman

This is our 4 month old Grandson Truman! He is soooo sweet! I cannot wait to hold and hug him.
He live EON's away! :(
BUT..... His Mommy Becca has emerged from early babyhood and is blogging again!
YEA!!!!!
You can visit her blog HERE! :)
I love all of my daughter's in law..... Becca is a VERY SWEET mama! She loves her sons so very much and you can see it in her blogging. She is an awesome photographer and is a wonderful wife to our son Joseph. 
Glad to see you blogging again Becca!

Holidays Full Steam Ahead!!!

I just got a call from Joseph!  He, Becca, Sam and True are coming for Thanksgiving!  I feel thankful all over! :)

In the process of cleaning, I decided since it is getting closer to holiday time, I'd go ahead and start decorating..... I have these shelves in the kitchen that needed dusting and polishing.  So, I just took everything down and got it ready for the Holidays.  I know it is a little early, but.... before I know it, it will be a little late.  So, I decided to just do it now.

Here are the 3 shelves in the kitchen. :)  The white and red dishes were my old Christmas Dishes.
I had stored them at a friend's house. When they were moving, the box dropped and they ran them over with a truck. LOL This is all that remained. My friend was so sweet. She went and purchased the other Christmas dishes, which I love too.  :)  She really didn't have to, but she did, and I am glad. They don't make these any more that I know of.

I really do love the Holidays, and look forward to making a Ginger Bread House Village with Sam and the girls and any other grand kiddos that might be stopping in and out. :)

Oh... btw- for those of you that are Gluten Free..... this might excite you!  I couldn't believe my eyes!
Gluten Free Clam Chowder!!!!!

 

Random Thoughts Revisited

This is a repost from 3 years ago. :)   This is Joe Becca and Sam (3 years ago)


I was looking at some pictures of our new little grandson Sam. Look at how he is engaging his mom at 3 weeks old! His mommy and daddy are his delight. He trusts them fully. He does not doubt that his mommy and daddy will take care of his every need. When he cries, they are there to comfort him. When he is hungry, they are there to feed him. When he is cold they keep him warm. He is cuddled and loved by them and he adores them.
And now Here we are 3 years later, and I see little Truman Shepherd being loved and adored from his mommy, daddy and big brother Sam, right from the  first minutes of his life.

Now, I think our our own dear little girlies. Left in beds. When they cried, nobody came, so they ceased crying. When they were hungry, nobody fed them, so they found other ways to satisfy their most basic needs. When they were cold, they shivered. When they wanted to talk to somebody, there was nobody, so they cooed to themselves, they comforted themselves, they rocked themselves.

To think, that every moment of every day for Sam's first 5 weeks of life now, he has been cared for; I couldn't imagine his needs not being met, even for 5 weeks. That would be terrible!
But, I know, our own dd's needs were not met for YEARS. How can we fathom Years of neglect?
We nearly can't. Our hearts would break.

What amazes me even more is that they are all blossoming into lovely young ladies, full of love and compassion for each other, for their own mommy and daddy, and for others outside of their immediate family.
I am amazed at their capacity to forgive, move on, grow and explore their new world. It IS a new world for them. To see little babies being cared for the way they never were, has got to bring a tinge of pain to them. After we see the babies, they ask if we can rock them. We do.
I cannot make up for their loss. I cannot change their loss. What I CAN do, is grieve for them, with them, and guide them to maturity. I cannot pretend that they were never neglected or that it hasn't effected them in some way. It has profound impact. My prayer is that they will use it as a tool of understanding that most will never know, and not an implement of destruction to continue the cycle of neglect. I have a sneaking suspicion, that they will use it as a tool for the positive.

Thanks for hearing my heart break for them.
Now I will turn around and smile at them, and continue to love them.
They always have a way of mending my heart.

Happy Mother's Day

To Jodie, Becca and Ivy, and happy FUTURE Mother's Day to Em's!

You are all wonderful....

We're Gonna Be Grandparents Again!

This is what Sam's little sibling looks like at 8 weeks.... :)
According to Sam, the baby is very small and growing slowly in Mommy's tummy! :)
Our children that live in Maryland, are expecting a new bundle of joy, and I am so thrilled for them.
Sam has been a temendous blessing to everybody he meets, and I just know this new little baby will also be a blessing.
We don't know if it is a boy or a girl right now, so for now, we will refer to this one as "Baby Grape"..... :)
I am always amazed, that by the time you find out you are pregnant, the baby already has formed arms and legs, a beating heart with it's own circulatory system.
This baby already has a personality, and features, and a soul. WOW.... that always amazes me.

King David in the book of Psalms 139:13 "You formed my inward parts" "You wove me in my mother's womb" Psalms 139:14 "I am fearfully and wonderfully made, my soul knows it very well. "

God doesn't make mistakes... EVER.... in his wisdom, love and compassion, He gives us what is best. Sometimes, that is an imperfect body. Sometimes it is a handicap, sometimes it is a special gift.... in all cases, each person, in personal worship, in total dependence upon the ONE AND ONLY, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, brings GLORY to GOD which is our highest purpose.
God knows us, very well. He knows what we need, and he knows what our parents need. Romans 8:28, says, "He causes ALL things, to work out for the good, for those who love him, and are called according to His purposes.

This little baby grape, can already, in his or her soul, bring glory to the Creator who has made him. As his inward parts are formed, as he is knit in Becca's womb, I pray that this little one will know that he is called to please the Lord and Bring Glory to Him.

I am excited for this future little Minich.... and for his big brother and mom and dad too. :)

Beeca's Hair Blog

My daughter in law has a new blog about doing hair for weddings.
It is really beautiful. She does a fabulous job. She did hair at one of our
other son's weddings, and she is always available to do hair when she visits. :)

If you are in the DC area and need a hairstylist for your wedding or prom or any special event, or if you just want to look beautiful........ She is the girl for the job!

Below was her most recent wedding work. :) The bride was stunning.

A Day of Visiting

Mr. Will


Baby Charlie
Mr. Sam
Baby Marcus
Joe and Sam and Marc and Will (Lord help the teeter totter) :)
Cousin Stuff
Brothers and Sisters

More Cousins

We had a full day of visits. It was so wonderful to see the little guys interacting with each other.
They got along grandly. I was so happy to see them run and play and kiss and hug.
Sam pulled me in the wagon (strong guy) and then I got to pull him in the wagon. When Will came over, Ya-Ya was replaced with Will, and those two played all day long!
We missed seeing Chuck, Jodie and the grand girls today. (hopefully their coughs will be all better tomorrow!) We are so blessed as a family.
Those two little grandboys remind me of the two bigger ones together when they were little.
I am so happy today.

Samuel on the Farm

Joe , Becca and Sam, made it safely to Texas!
YEA!

We are so excited to seem them.
Sam could not wait to meet the animals.

Sam and Ya Ya were on the teeter totter. I managed a picture with him up in the air.
Sam and Sweetie Pie
A boy and His goat. Sweetie pie is so gentle. She let him put his arm around her
and walk.
Awwww. Grand sweeties, are so awesome!

If The Lord Wills......

JOE BECCA AND SAM ARE COMING FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!

WHOO-HOOO!!!!!!!

I am hoping Becca's Family can join us too.

Time for a new family picture. :)

The Blessing of Children

I thoroughly enjoyed Mother's Day yesterday. I don't make a big deal of it myself, because everyday is Mother's Day, but it was nice visiting and hearing from each of the kids. I am the proud bearer of a new necklace from the girlies and daddy that says, "The less we see with our eyes, the more we see with our hearts." We also have have beautiful flowers sitting on the counter from other kids. I loved hearing from everybody. As our family gets bigger and bigger, it is so lovely just to sit and observe the Lord's blessings in our lives and in the lives of our children and grand children.


What an amazing journey life is, with its twists and turns and surprises, both in pleasure and heartache. But all in all, God is in control. What a peace that brings upon my heart. :)

Here is 4 year old Lilly explaining how daddy got out of gramma's tummy. :)

Happy Birthday To Tim, Joe ,Becca and Sam

February is a very busy Birthday Month for us.
Here are a few pictures I happen to have on the computer of the Birthday boys and Girl!



This is Tim when he was very sick. He was a preemie and we are very fortunate
to have him around.:)

This is Tim and Joe when they were 1 and 2. I was in the hospital on complete bed rest with their brother Marcus.

I love this picture of Joe and Becca!

Here are Joe and Sam. Sam is going to be two at the end of the month.

This is one of my favorite little boy pictures of Timothy.

And here is Tim and Emily on their wedding Day. What a difference 21 years can make. :) (between birth and marriage)
Happy Birthday Ya'll. I'm very proud of each and every one of you. :)
Love,
Mom