A Wonderful Surprise!

When I woke up this a.m.  I checked my emali, and to my wonderful surprise, there was a picture of Charlton and Lillian!!!!
Thank you so much Jodie!

Our sweet Lillian is such a joy.  Since they moved away to NM, there has been a big hole in my heart for all of them.
Lillian is going to be 9 years old soon.  She is just as precious as the day she was born.  She loves her daddy, our oldest son, Charlton and adores her mommy and big sister too.  What blessings!

Our grand daughter Kate is working this summer and will be a Senior in High School next year! I can hardly believe it!

Jodie and Charlton really like NM.  I don't blame them at all. I loved it when I lived there, and many times, especially during long, hot summers, think about NM and the mountains and camp sights where I would pile all the boys in the car on a whim, drive to the other side of the mountain , have lunch and take a hike .
There was this wonderful campground for the handicapped we would go to so Timothy could use his wheel chair.
I'll never forget the time he got a little too far ahead of me, hit a curb and tumbled down an embankment.  I was terrified, but all his tears were because he thought he broke his wheel chair. LOL

Yes, My gray hairs started early in life! :)

I do enjoy talking to Lilly on the phone and hope to see her sooner than later!  Oh how I wish NM wasn't so far away.

Oh My Goodness!

I have missed my Kids and grand girls so much!!!! They arrived early this a.m. after driving all night from NM!
I couldn't wait to hug them. :)
Here are a few highlights of our day:

 They were hugging so fast I couldn't get a good picture. :)  Together again.

 Erika knitted a scarf for Katie

 Tea Party Time

 Everybody made Chocolate covered Rasberries. YUM

 I think Lilly wears chocolate quite nicely. :)

 Uncle Bob is here! YEA!

My sweeties!
We've only just begun.... Tomorrow, the others are coming! :)

I'm Thankful For

Grand Children. :)

 Katie and Lilly

 Joey and Chris and Ilse

I

 Sam and Truman

 And Will and Charlie

and: Baby Olivia.... and her mommy Ivy too. :)

Coming Home!

Guess who's coming home for Thanksgiving!!!!!!  But there will be an extra girl to administer torture! :)

Lilly Logic

Well, Jodie and Katie are in NM! Katie thought the mountains were rather scary. :)
Being a Texas girl, she is in for a lot of FIRSTS. :)

I loved living in New Mexico in the late 1980's. Apparently the town has nearly tripled in size since them. That must mean it is a great place to live! :)

Lilly is staying with us for another 3 weeks, but she has a hard time understanding what is going on.....

Today, her mamma called to say they made it safe and she asked, "Mama! Can I spend another night with Ya-Ya?"
Jodie said Yes you can.

She said, can I spend 2 nights??? Her mama said, "Yes, Lilly you can."

I told Lilly, "Ask your mama if you can spend 21 nights!"

She got all excited. "CAN I SPEND 21 NIGHTS???"

Her mama said, "YES YOU CAN!
And then she said, "OH WOW! THANK YOU MAMA! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!!!! LOL

So it is settled now. We will make the calendar so she understands how many night night times until Mommy comes back.

Leaving

Tomorrow morning, Katie and Jodie will be leaving for Albuquerque. Katie has been a huge part of our lives since she and her momma became part of the family 9 years ago.

Jodie is an awesome mother and she is a very dedicated Radio Program worker. ( I don't know the title) But she has been transferred to ALBUQUERQUE NM!

Chuck and Lillian will stay behind for 3 weeks, and then join them in Albuquerque.

I am sad, happy for them, and sorrowful at the loss of 2 grand daughters who live close by and have been such a big part of our lives. :(

I am so thankful for the time we have had! (and that stupid mouse is chewing again!)

I pray that this move will be great for all of them. We are going to miss them terribly!

Tonight, we took Kate out on the lake. She has never been in a boat. She did awesome!

My Sweet Grand Girlies

In about a week, my sweet grand girlies will be moving away to New Mexico! UGH! My heart aches for them. They have lived so close and we could see them all the time! Now, they will be 10 hours away! I know it is a good move for them, as the salary increase will make things so much easier for our son and his family, but oh, how it hurts to see them go so far. :(

I am so glad that Kate has a knack for photography! She took this picture of herself and Lillian. I am also thankful for modern day things like Facebook and Blogs and email, where we can stay in contact all the time, even if we don't live close by.

Pray for my kids as they move so far away, that they will be surrounded by good friends and a good church for them to attend.

We LOVE them so very much.

Holiday Highlights

We had the honor of Chuck, Jodie, Katie and Lillian coming over on the 4th to help celebrate. Here are a few pictures of our evening. I couldn't take pictures of the giant Mortar Shells Mike and Chuck sent off into the atmosphere! They were amazingly LOUD and Beautiful too. :)
I love living out where we can have a little pyro-fun. :)

An Afternoon at the Lake

We live about 5 minutes from the Lake. There is a wonderful beach front and swim area that we love to go to in the summer time. Today, we picked up Katie and Lilly and whisked them off to the lake with us for a fun afternoon in the sun.

Here are a few pictures of our day. :)

Some Pictures of our Day