I'm In Love...

Well...life has changed since I wrote last, about six weeks ago. My husband went out of town on business and I fell in love with someone else. It's true. I asked him not to leave... he knew this was a possibility and yet he doesn't seem too bothered by my behavior. In fact... he hasn't even complained that I've neglected things at home...or him, to spend so much time with this new love interest. I think actually... he is smitten as well... I guess it's our new position as grandparents that is creating all the stir!!!!!!

Yes, we are rejoicing over the safe and healthy arrival of our first grandchild:

Liam Joseph

Born April 22, 2008

8 lbs, 10 oz

21" long

Proud Parents: Erin & Micah

(our eldest daughter and son-in-love)

Liam is sporting the little knitted hat I made for him to wear after birth to keep his head warm. He is also wrapped in a handmade blanket we received from Brad's grandmother upon the birth of our first child, Erin

I now understand the reality of what my friends have been saying all along...
Being a "Grandma" is the BEST! The love you have for your grandchild is very special... your children's children!! Amazing! I pray we have the opportunity as grandparents to make a meaningful difference in the life of each of our grandchildren.

And what an honor and a blessing to be asked by Erin to attend the birth of their first child. I am so incredibly thankful that I could witness Liam's birth and the wonderful job Erin (and Micah) did in bringing him into this world. We are all rejoicing at the safe delivery, the blessing of a good midwife and, a good birthing experience for Erin & Micah. Along with the job of being an encouragement (hopefully!) and support to Erin, as well as being the official smoothie maker... I had the privilege of taking pictures throughout the whole event. Yes, Liam will believe his Nana has a camera permanently growing out of her face...I'm sure! Here's just a few pics from the first few days of Liam's life.

Welcome Liam...we've been waiting for you!

The midwife did an awesome job...here she is checking him all out after birth.

Isn't he beautiful?? :-)

The new family...

A sleepy little boy...tuckered out after birth!

We're sure he probably sucked his thumb, even in the womb. :-)

Looking forward to playing... "this little piggy...." with these toes!

Liam wore this on this first outing out to the Doctor's office one day after birth. This white outfit was purchased in 1982 in anticipation of the birth of our first child. Back then we didn't have an ultrasound and we didn't know whether we would be having a boy or a girl. So...we purchased two "going home" outfits...one for a boy and one for a girl. Since Erin used the girl's going home outfit... we thought it would be fitting for her to receive the outfit intended for her had she been a boy. I gave it to her at a recent baby shower given by the ladies at our church. It was neat to now see her own son wearing it on his first outing. Also, the receiving blanket is one I made for him.

Erin went into labor two weeks early...and yes, Brad was out of town. I felt so bad for him to miss out on being nearby for the birth. We were both thankful that I hadn't planned to go with him and could be there to help out for Erin and Micah. Megan got to come into town a few days after Liam was born to meet her new nephew. It was hard for her to return back to work and school...leaving behind such a special little boy! We are sad that Ashley has to wait a few more weeks before she can meet her new nephew. I'm really looking forward to her visit!

Is it really possible that I haven't written for six weeks!!?? I've sure missed my blogging friends. Hopefully I can be a little more faithful in writing here at my neglected blog... bless anyone that is still checking and dropping by for a visit! Blessings, Nana (also known as Diane)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN!!

Where has the time gone?? Can it REALLY be 24 years since

we brought you home from the hospital?!
At six months old...could you have been any cuter?? Don't think so!
This has always been one of my favorite birthday pictures of you. Awwww... those memories of Birthdays at Chucky Cheeses! This was Birthday #3.
Our "Muffy in the Middle"

Still likes her "treats". We're so glad you were able to come home over the weekend so we could celebrate your birthday and have a chance to spoil you a little. The fondue dinner was fun and I'm glad you chose berries, cream and angel food cake for your dessert....yummmy!

We are thankful for you and that God brought you into our family. It was sad to be apart today...the first time we haven't been together on your birthday to personally spoil you and help you celebrate. Here are some balloons for you... Just pretend they were hanging from your ceiling fan when you awoke this morning. :-) Glad we got to have a nice visit on the phone today!

We love you very much!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Muff!!

Happy New Year!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

It appears I'm a little slow on the uptake, but as they always say... "Better late than never!".... err, or was that "Better never late!!"?? No matter...I've decided I am WAY past due in updating my neglected little blog.

Now that we have returned from our holiday travels north to visit Ashley & Casey (youngest daughter & SIL) & my brother and his family, I am slowly returning to post-holiday living. Do I even admit that we STILL have Christmas decorations gathered, waiting to be boxed and hidden away for another year? I have high hopes of completing my project to organize and store holiday decor in a more accessible manner than in the past. Wish me luck!! I suppose the success of that project depends somewhat on my ability to tear myself away from another interest we've recently rekindled...working on our family history / genealogy. (more on that later)

I guess I'm one of those personality types that struggle with an "all or nothing" challenge in my time management balancing act. I tend to pour myself into the project at hand, sometimes to the neglect of the daily grind of life. Because my projects are usually more fun and creative than cooking and cleaning...I tend to sometimes... well...uuuhhh..."overlook"..."put off"..."neglect"... some of the more mundane tasks facing me. So, that being said, I have been admonishing myself to keep up with my daily disciplines and have enjoyed some success this past week. I began using my computerized calendar program to help me with my task list and schedules (Microsoft Outlook), I've begun my exercising again, and working on consistently completing my daily Bible study for the Ladies Day study of John that resumed last week. Baby steps....

So...I won't rattle on any more as I thought I'd catch you up to date by sharing some pictures of what we've been up to over the past 5 weeks.

It was a treat to spend time with Ashley, Casey (and Lacey) over Christmas.

We just don't get to see them enough!!

I had some time to kill one afternoon while Ashley & Casey were at work...so I abused their dog, Lacey, by making her endure a doggy "photo session". :-) I'm sure she'll be happy when the grandkids come along so I will have new subjects to hold hostage.

I have to give her credit...she was a pretty good sport and I had fun practicing with her.

Lacey has that killer instinct...see...she captured a goose... oh, it's a stuffed toy you say?? Shh, don't tell Lacey, she thinks she's the GREAT WHITE HUNTER!

It's always great to have the opportunity to spend time together...

Brad & I enjoyed the chance to spend an afternoon with my brother. He taught me how to make a writing pen...from wood...on his lathe. Really neat!! My pen is made from pink wood brought from Africa!

We took Ashley's dog for a walk one afternoon and I had fun capturing some neighborhood sights...Christmas time in PA! The snow and cold weather reminded us of growing up in Ohio.

Nothing like freshly fallen snow...especially when the weather is mild enough for a walk.

This old barn down the street has so much character...couldn't resist.

Snow...and more snow...

I don't miss THIS part of living where there is snow...the shoveling, the dirt and slush...the driving in it! Notice the hill in the background...certainly NOT a sight you'll see around where we live in Texas. Nope... flat as a pancake here! So I always enjoy being in countryside with some movement to the land. However... Texas does have some great advantages...

You don't have to shovel sunshine!! These perky flowers greeted us upon our arrival home ...Awwwww...Christmas time in Texas!!

Can you believe we still have flowers blooming!? Although the last picture was flowers from our front porch...this picture was taken out in front of a local mall... (I was bored sitting close-by at a stop light a few days ago and "just happened" to have my small camera in my purse. ;-)
Brad and I got to spend a lot of time together during December as he had several weeks of vacation to use up. This is a pic of me showing off one of the "stocking stuffer" gifts he gave me...this REALLY cool spatula.

New Year's Eve gathering with Erin, Micah and some dear friends / neighbors!

January 6th, Brad and I celebrated our 29th Wedding Anniversary! Brad brought me a dozen of these beautiful roses!!

One of the highlights of our year is to start out with the annual "Mulberrian" Dinner. A group of dear friends originally all from the same church and a home Bible Study we hosted for over 15 years. (from 1982-1997) Although many of us have moved and attend different churches now...we still keep in touch and share in each other's lives. A few years back we began inviting our older "kids" / couples to join us. Even though we were missing one couple and several of the second generation "kids" this year... we had 20 (plus 3 unborn) in attendance. I hope some day to have us all together...the group would be pushing 50!! One of the sons is in Iraq, so it brings the war a little closer to home for us. It's one of those rare groups that have gone from baby showers to bridal showers....and now back to baby showers again!!

Our three "Mothers-in-waiting": Lisa (due any minute), Mimi (delivered their son two weeks ago) and Erin (due May 4th)

It was also a treat over Christmas to see Salem, Erin's best friend. We are ALL delighted that, like so many major events in life, they get to experience pregnancy together. They have been friends since they were 7 years old, shared an apartment together during college, married within months of each other...and now are expecting their first baby within weeks of each other...both sons!! Congratulations!!

It has been so nice to have Megan back in town a few times over the past month!! We have been able to spend some fun times together talking, doing lunch, shopping...doing lunch again... ;-)

Meg was pleased with this cute pair of shoes she found when I took her shopping for some Christmas gifts. Too bad we didn't catch a picture of the skirt we got to go with the shoes!!

Well, that about wraps up my photo blog for life over the past month. I hope to have a chance to drop by and visit with my friends in blogville soon!!

Children Are A Blessing

Ok, so I'm behind in updating my blog...but this post will make up for it...trust me.

Megan was in town last week and it was nice to get to spend time with her...that is in between all her outings that filled her busy social calendar. All week I had been looking forward to having the in-town family together for lunch after church on Sunday. (daughter Meg & her boyfriend Josh, and daughter Erin and SIL Micah. Youngest daughter, Ashley & SIL Casey, of course, live out of town and were spending the weekend visiting his parents in New York.

On Sunday, when Erin & Micah arrived at our home, Erin was chatting on the phone with Ashley. Erin quickly switched her phone to speaker so that Ashley could make the grand announcement to us that she now has a new job. This was an interesting statement due to the fact that Ashley had just begun a new job at the University the previous week. It was with this announcement that Erin handed Brad and I the following piece of paper...that's when I knew something was up and began "a shout'n"!!

Wanted:

~A loving Grandma who will teach me, pray for me, read me stories, bake cookies with me, take pictures of me when I'm being cute, and encourage me when I need it.

~A fun Grandpa who will teach me, pray for me, do ALL the funny voices when he read me stories, tease me, play chase and hide-and-seek, and show me how to do cool stuff.

The Requirements:

1) Both Grandma and Grandpa will need to be available for their duties by May of 2008.

2) Grandma and Grandpa must both have enough experience with children that they can help Mommy and Daddy know what to do when I baffle them. (Just between you and me, I think they'll have a lot to learn!)

3) This is a life-long commitment, so please only accept the positions if you can put in the time!

Job Perks Include:

Lots of hugs and kisses, "I-Love-You"s, smiles, happy memories to make, the privilege of spoiling me without being liable for the consequences, and the opportunity to be looked up to as two of my very favorite people and biggest role models. You will also get to select your own official job titles!

A personal note, should you decide to accept the positions...

I'm sorry I won't be able to meet you until May! I'm afraid I'm a little tied up until then. But I wanted you to have a pair of my slippers to hang on to until I see you. Every time you look at them, you can think of me and pray that I'll stay safe and healthy. Maybe later I'll even have some pictures for you!

Love, Baby

We told them we'd think about it and let them know next week.....

Haaaaaaa! After the hugging, yelling, teary eyes and more hugging....we accepted the position in about 1/2 second flat!! Megan received AND ACCEPTED her own job opening for the position of AUNT. Of course Ashley had accepted her job long distance. I was glad she got to be a part of our celebration...at least via the phone.

Grandpa, Grandma, Mother in waiting/Baby,
Aunt Ashley (on phone :-), Aunt Megan, and Proud Papa
Huggin' on my babies...both of them!

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Ps 127:3-4 Micah, Erin & Baby

Enjoy that flat tummy now dearie...won't be long....

Boys will be boys.... Brad, Micah & Josh

"Grandchildren are the crown of old men..." Prov. 17:6

Hmmmm, new stage of life. I guess that makes me an old woman! As usual, I guess we're in this thing together.

Wouldn't want it any other way!

Congratulations Erin & Micah!!!

We Love you and are praying for your new life as a family.

Happy Birthday Brad!!!

Happy Birthday Brad!!!!

Out of all the blessings the Lord has given me, Brad is certainly one of the best! I am so privileged to share life with him and thankful for the 28+ years we've had together as husband and wife. The Lord certainly knew what He was doing when he brought us together 31 years ago.

I've always appreciated Brad's desire to honor the Lord, his integrity of spirit and godly character. He is very dedicated to the relationships the Lord has given him; as a husband, father, son, brother and friend. I've appreciated his steadfastness of purpose and the way he puts his family first. Although he has had short seasons of time when he has had to put in more time in "at the office" than he would like, for the most part, Brad established early in his career the habit of drawing strong boundaries. He makes it a priority to make sure he was home and involved with the girls and I. He has always taken seriously the job of providing for his family. I can not even describe the amount of appreciation I have for his support, encouragement and provision that has allowed me to stay at home and raise our family and focus on homemaking endeavors. Through example, action and deed, he continues to teach our girls what a great husband looks like. (And yep...I have to admit, he's even more of a Hottie now than the day I married him!! ;-) We are very blessed.

So, to my incredible husband, my best friend, and my partner for life!!

...HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY!!!

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at our favorite restaurant!!!

Complete with a complimentary dessert (Brad chose key lime pie)...yummmm!

Here's a look back....

just a few years!

He sure was a cute baby!!


I look at some of these pictures

from his youth

and can see the resemblance to

our own children's baby pictures.

What fun memories!!