FIRST DAY OF MOTHER'S DAY OUT . . .

Today was the first day of school and everyone was very excited about going. We picked the little man and girlie up from their house and, with a kiss for baby Wesley and the car loaded down with all their things, we were headed to school.

But before we could leave the house the little girlie just had to pose with her new lunch pail.

She was very good about carrying all her things and she sure looked like a big girl as she walked to the building. My first thought was "it won't be long before she will be going to a real school".

She just looks so grown up.

The little man was so excited that he was pulling his Papa along . . . as to say "hurry up Papa I can hardly wait".

Once inside the scene changed. The little man went right into his room and started playing while the little girlie clung to me, screaming and crying. I knew that once we left she would be okay and I was right.

They had a wonderful time and when I asked the girlie about her day she told me all about the play area and how much fun it was. While the little man's teacher sent a note home saying what a happy boy he was and how much he enjoyed chapel time where he sang and clapped.

They can hardly wait to go back on Thursday.

THE LITTLE MAN . . .

We have had the grandchildren since Friday morning while their Mom and Dad were busy having their new baby girl.  

On Friday morning the little girlie was taking a nap because she wasn't feeling too well and the little man was watching the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse when all of a sudden MM said "let's do the hot dog dance" and the little man jumped up off the floor and started his dance. I wish everyone could have seen it because it was so funny. The video does not have any sound and it is pretty dark but I think you can still appreciate the scene.

There is never a dull moment when he is around. He can bring a smile to your face, stress to your system and a laugh to your lips.

A NEW BABY GIRL . . .

Today we welcomed a new baby girl, Wesley Megan Mitcham, to our family. She was born at 2:27pm and weighed 6lbs, 2ozs., she was 18-3/4 inches long.

Her big sister and brother could hardly wait to see her and hold her.

Neither could her Papa.

She is a tiny healthy little thing but before you know it she will be grown up like her sister and brother. We thank God for His blessings.

MEET THE TEACHER . . .

Today was "Meet the Teacher" day at North Fort Worth Baptist Church where the little man and little girlie will be attending Mother's Day Out for two days a week. Everyone was very excited to see their teachers, look at their room, and meet some of the other children. This was a big thing so, of course, Mom, LyLy and Papa had to tag along.

The little girlie was a little shy at first but soon got right into looking at all the toys they had in her room . . . which, by the way, is the Monkey Room.

Miss Jamie and Miss Kandalynn are the teachers for the Monkey Room.

Our little man fell asleep in the car but came to life as soon he saw heard all the noise and saw the toys. He wanted down right away so that he could start playing.

Miss Micah and Miss Beth are the teachers for his room . . . which is the Butterfly Room.

Their days will be full of activities and they can hardly wait to start school next Tuesday. The little girlie says, "I will be able to make some new friends".

Tomorrow is another day that we look forward too.

YIPPEE . . .

The heat wave has finally been broken. After over 20 days of nothing but 100+ degrees, our garden ruined and Monday reaching 110 degrees, Tuesday turned out to be a delightfully cool day (in the 90s). We had a nice rain in the morning hours and the afternoon was just right for taking a walk with the little man while the girlie was still napping. Today was even nicer . . . cool, cool, cool. The little ones were even able to go outside and play.

Speaking of the little girlie, she is a huge Tinker Bell/Disney fairy fan. So knowing this, her Aunt Mel gifted her with two of the cutest "TB" nightgowns and as you can see loves to wear them and enjoys modeling them for the camera.

Thank you, Aunt Mel.

Now to the little man . . . he loves our computer. Every time the door is open to the office he dashes inside, climbs up on the chair and starts typing (more like pretending to be typing).

He is absolutely the most hilarious little man I have ever been around.

WHAT A DAY . . .

After spending yesterday going to doctor appointments with Norman we welcomed the grandchildren early this morning. They spent yesterday playing at their little friend's house and must have been very tired from all the fun they had because they weren't their usual active self when they arrived . . . but it didn't take long for the little man to come to life.

You have to understand that before they arrive for the week I move everything out of his reach; however, today I forgot to move one thing that was very important . . . the liquid crayons.

I guess he thought he needed to add a little color to his face or else he was trying out his artistic abilities . . . who knows. As you can see he is pretty proud of himself and his accomplishment.

We are busy getting supplies for the Mother's Day Out they will be attending. I took them to the store to let them choose their lunch pails, of course, the little girlie had to have a fairy one but the little man could have cared less. We have had to order the nap maps and they should be here this week - just in time for the first day which is next Tuesday.

Everyone is getting excited and can hardly wait.

Prayer Requests . . .

Today is a busy day for us. In a few hours we are off to the hospital so that Norman can have procedure called "cardioversion" done on his heart. He has been having trouble with his heart beat for a month or so . . . they call it Atrial Fibrillation. In A-Fib the upper part of your heart beats faster (quivers) than the rest of your heart. Some explain it as "like your heart is going to jump out of your ribs or that your heart is "flip-flopping" around". It has made him very tired, lightheaded and a little short of breath so we need to get this under control.

Also, Norman's cousin's wife, Barbara, has been diagnoised with an adenoid cystic carcinoma. This is an uncommon form of malignant neoplasm that arises within secretory glands of the head and neck. The doctor has removed the tumor and she is to start 7 weeks of radiation on Tuesday.  

Please keep both Norman and Barbara in your prayers.

So since we are away from the house today I am leaving you with a picture of some beautiful wildflowers growing in Vail Valley.

Have a great Monday!

T G I F . . .

This week has been a hard one. It has been so hot here that the little dude and dudette can't get outdoors to play, take walks or anything so all we do is either stay home or go swimming (twice this week).

So on Thursday I decided that we would do something different. The girls would make some chocolate chip cookies and my little helper was delighted. 

However, as you can tell she ate more chocolate than we put in the cookies.

While the little man decided he would lay on the living room floor and read a book until . . .

He couldn't stand that the girls were having more fun than he was so he decided to join in and, you guessed it, a little disagreement took place so off to take a nap for them both.

Almost every day that mom comes to pick them up the little man has a hard time. He hates getting into his car seat and isn't afraid to show you just how much.

Papa finally was able to get him buckled in and off they went until next week.

Our church . . .

We love our church. We like the pastor, the music, and the people who attend. Even though it is a large church and has three services you still always seem to run into someone you know.

I especially like the contemporary service because I love the music. So I thought today I would share a video of one of the songs that was written and performed by the contemporary worship leader, Brian Kieta, along with his wife, Jennifer, and the other band members.

Brian is a very talented young man and you can tell through his music how much he loves the Lord.

Hope you enjoy it.

Monday, Monday . . .

Yesterday the grandchildren and I went down to my mother's house to help her put together a carpet steamer she had purchased a few weeks ago. Of course the first thing that the little dude does is touch everything in the house and open every door of every cabinet in her kitchen.

Next they love to spend time with my brother who is confirmed to a wheelchair after he had a stroke a few years ago. They especially like to pretend they are turning his wheels and the little dudette even likes to go behind him and push him along.

He is so patient with them and loves to have them come visit.

Of course, the morning was not without any incidents . . . the little dude was bothering his big sister so she decided to take a bite out of his finger. While she had to go into time-out, he was being consoled by his great grandmother.

Don't you just love kids.

Early morning hours . . .

I thoroughly look forward to the early mornings when the world and our house are peaceful and quiet and I can read my Bible and plan my day. I sit by our large picture window and watch the sun come up and the morning activities begin. Neighbors taking an early morning stroll, newspapers being delivered, yards being watered before it gets too hot and one of our neighbors who reports the weather on a local station leaving for work.

However, one of the best parts of the morning is the little bundle of joy that the good Lord sent to our flower bed all summer long. I love watching him drink from the feeder, fly away and then return for another and another. He brings a smile to my face and joy to my heart.

As I sit watching our little hummingbird I see a white Honda van turn into our driveway and know that our day with the grandchildren has begun. I know that they will hit the backdoor with more energy than I will have all day but you know what . . . I love having them here and wouldn't want it any other way.

They are precious children that God has given to us and we are so thankful that we are able to keep them.

A typical day . . .

The grandchildren arrive early in the morning and are always hungry. The little dude will follow me around the kitchen while I prepare breakfast and can hardly wait until someone puts him in his chair so that he can snack on his Cherrios. While the little dudette likes to help and is ready to eat as soon as it is ready.

Yesterday we were in a hurry to eat, get changed, and over to Uncle Eric's house for a morning of swimming. Anyone reading this blog would think that all we do is swim, but when you have over 13 days in a row of over 100 degrees that is all a person wants to do.

Lucky for us that Uncle Eric will let us swim any time we want.

The grandchildren were really impressed to see Lyly dive off the diving board and swim . . . guess I am not too old after all.

The water was cool and refreshing and it was a wonderful way to spend the morning swimming, laughing, and having fun.

Swimming with the kids . . .

Monday we took the dude and dudette to the Randol Mill Aquatic Park in Arlington for an afternoon of swimming. What a neat place to take toddlers to swim. The facility includes a shallow water play structure, current channel (or as I called it the "lazy river"), water slides and an area especially for the tots. 

The afternoon was not without a few melt downs by the little dudette. She was very upset that they would not let her go down the big waterslide because she was not tall enough. While the little dude was just content to swim and swim.

They finally got the hang of sliding down Mr. Frog's tongue and, when time to go, did not want to leave.

For a little while Monday afternoon we were content to be young again and enjoyed the time at the pool with the children and (my personal favorite) to float down the lazy river without a care in the world!

TLC's Four Weddings . . .

Our church has different areas in which one can volunteer to help. I chose to volunteer to help the wedding director at the different weddings being held there. One day last week we received an email asking for more volunteers for an upcoming wedding which would be held on Friday night. This wedding was going to be featured on a TV show called "Four Weddings" and would required more than just the usual one volunteer per wedding. The program is broadcast on the TLC network and since I had never seen or heard of it I was interested in volunteering to see what it was all about.

The show asks that four brides attend each other's wedding and rate each wedding in 4 different categories. The couple with the highest wedding rating would win a fabulous 5 star honeymoon. For this wedding the Main Sanctuary would be used for the ceremony and the Small Sanctuary for the reception. What an experience this was. The Main Sanctuary was very simple, all that was used were candles but the reception was something to behold.

One of the church members is a wedding planner and donated her time and a lot of the beautiful decor items you can see in the pictures. She worked magic and set the stage for a wonderful time for the bride, groom and the guests. Since the bride and groom were young (19 and 18) they decided to go with a theme that would work for the "young crowd".

There was a Candy Station,

a Cookie Station,

 

a Milk Station,

and, of course, the Food Station.

They also had a Photo Booth and a Drink Station where lime water, cucumber water, sweet tea, raspberry tea and lemonade was being served. The cakes were beautiful but the groom's cake was really unique . . .

a guitar and amp.



















It was a very late evening but very rewarding to be able to help this young couple. Win or lose may they have many happy years together.