At the soccer field!

Took in Lil' C's soccer game yesterday and it was so much fun! Practice:

Then it was Game On! Meet the goalie:

(With his handsome dad!) Bring it on!!

That ball doesn't stand a chance...

Told you so!

Hey! Watch your foot! That's my grandson's face!

Oh, yeah! Who's an awesome goalie?

Takin' it to the field:

Phew! What a game!

Team shot:

And what does lil' sis do while he is playing? Well, she practices ballet, of course!

The best fans a boy could ask for...

And that, my friends, was a great way to spend a Saturday morning! Blessings!

On being a Grandma

Anyone who knows me knows that I am crazy about my grandchildren. Sometimes I say that Jayden owns my heart... and sometimes it seems that he practically does. Chris has stopped wondering when I'll not be so crazy over him. These sentiments are echoed time and again by so many grandmothers out there, I know I am not the only one. It is such a beautiful blessing to have him living so near, so that I can see him each week and notice the little changes, watching him grow, astonished at how brilliant he is (just like some of your grandchildren, right?) and have you heard the little boy baby talk? Too cute. I am serious... too cute!!! This weekend Shasta and I traded... I kept Jayden overnight so that she could sleep in and she and Chris took Cody today. (They went to Bass Pro Shop, which Cody thoroughly enjoyed) (Scott was out of town and I worked all day and Clayton and Zoey had plans... so this was a great exchange!) Grandma heaven, I tell you!! First, he tried to plug something into the computer:

Then, Grandma had to tell him no... rather sternly:

If you don't watch him closely, he crawls up to the computer and pushes the power button... I rarely use the computer while he is awake!! He watched the Veggie Tales movie and loved it!

He is totally rocking the flip flops this summer:

We had a bedtime story... "We're Going on a Bear Hunt", of course! (He takes the book to his mom several times a day for her to read to him!)

And then I tell him a little poem that my mom used to tell us when we were little: "There once was a bumblebee who lived in a barn... And he carried his stinger under your arm... And went Bzzzzzzzzz" (At the Bzzzzz part, you tickle the underarm area... in case you don't know this!) Jayden loves the poem. And, for the record, none of us kids were confused about bumblebees tickling us.) Here is Jayden, enjoying the poem, anticipating the tickle...

And the tickle!

I would love for Jayden to grow up loving summer nights as I do... When it is dark and the air is warm and you head out in bare feet on cool grass and smell the warm dirt of flower beds... So, we went to swing in the dark. He loved staring up at the sky, seeing the stars and the branches of our willow tree.

Whenever we snuggle in for a nice swing or such, I cannot help but start to sing... lullabies... hymns... worship songs. So, as we snuggled swinging and I sang some songs, I figured what better way to continue than to spread his blankie out on the lawn and lay looking up and the sky and continue the song fest!

I tend to sing several of the same songs... "La La Lu", "Because He Lives" "Victory in Jesus" (Have you ever tried to sing that one as a lullaby??!)... The Lord's Prayer... It reminds me of the many times I sang to my own children. Such beautiful memories! My girls loved me singing "Bobby's Song" and the Carpenter's "Close to You". I decided it's never to early to begin working their memory banks, so I have recently added in singing the books of the Bible. Anyway, during the singing it was so sweet to watch him relax and it was like he knew that God above is there and it was time to thank Him for His love:

Soon he was asleep in bed...

And what seemed even sooner, he was up again!

After breakfast, chore time!

The dogs were fed and we headed across the back yard to water the garden... I should have known...

Hey, at least his bib was still on to keep his shirt clean!

Mud pie, anyone?? And I giggled to myself that some parents would not just relax and go with the flow... for me it is so worth it for Jayden to step into the water and mud and explore a few moments... after all, bath time is no big deal, so why not?

See? All fresh and clean and sporting the "comb over" that his mother shuns... ha!

Ready for another great day... I know that I put a lot of photos of him up... I think because it's just so fun to do... and also because my own children went and grew up on me... It's just not the same to try to get teen boys to stand in the muddy water or lay out on the grass, you know... Anyway, my heart is so thankful for such a beautiful blessing in my life and I love breathing it in and savoring every moment... some day, Lord willing, he will be a teen, too. What is most beautiful, though, is knowing that as his grandma I can sing into his soul... songs of who Jesus is and what an amazing Savior we have. Little moments that I hope he'll grow up and cherish. Blessings to you all, dear friends! May your weekend be as beautiful as ours!

Roses and Such

Recent rains were quite welcome, that with our well water being so low and all. Added bonus: temperatures didn't drop. Cherry on top: sunshine and warm air that follow!

Thus, I spent time taking inventory of the garden and plants... not all my shots turned out picture perfect (quite the understatement), but we are so blessed! Thank you, Father Above, for creating such beauty, diversity and nourishment!

Here are photos of our future salsa:

Peppers:

Onion:

Tomato:

And spinach for salads and egg scrambles:

The Asian peas are showing off and ready to climb!!

The lilac bush continues to bloom:

And here's a preview of our very own Rose Parade, which will occur when all these buds open up!

Out front on our arch:

The red rose tree near the front door:

Curly mauve and long stem peach, outside the kitchen window:

Fragrant bloom bush hasn't bloomed yet, neither have two other rose bushes. Hopefully they will be active participants in the upcoming Rose Parade.

Joseph's Coat, however, has been showing off for weeks now:
(All of these photos are from the same rose bush.)

And, by far, the most beautiful of all, I present to you the Night-night Rose: