February 8, 2013
-
Friday Thoughts
This is one of those days when I am missing my babies a lot. I have two granddaughters in N. Ireland, and two grandsons in the U.S. I love hearing about the things they say and do. Here are three of the grandkids. Lucas is holding his special Bible on his lap. I love that he loves this book. It has Bible stories in it. He takes it to church just like mommy and daddy take their Bibles.
Children look at the world with such innocent eyes. They can teach us a lot. We teach them, and then they teach US!
Once when my youngest was about four, she came outside to see me VERY upset because that nasty little boy down the street had pulled up all my tulips by the roots! Oh! I was so mad, and I was not quiet about it! I was commenting on how his parents did not make teach him to behave, and I may have sad a few other mean things about what I would do if I got my hands on that kid. Abby was watching with big eyes, and listening to my tirade. Then she tugged at my hand, looked into my eyes and said, "Mommy. Jesus wants us to LOVE him."
Oh boy. She was right, of course. I had to apologize to her, and to God.... Together we prayed that Jesus would help me love that little boy.
Here is Sianna with the her little sister, Aliza. Sianna is 2 and Aliza is 4 months. Sure wish I could give them a big hug! I talked to their mommy this morning on the phone. Sianna wanted to play Hide and Seek. She is at that age where she really doesn't get it yet. She doesn't really hide, and she keeps going to the same place to.... not hide! Kind of silly! It's silly when we try to hide from God, too. He knows where we are every minute. Does that make you glad, or uncomfortable?
It's hard to be a "Long distance Grandma," but I do what I can. I have a couple of little packages here ready to mail to the oldest two. Nothing special, but just some little things that let them know Grandma is thinking about them. Sianna loves Peppa Pig cartoons, and I found some coloring pictures on line, and copied them for her. Lucas loves cars and dinosaurs, and on a trip to the second hand shops, I scored some little ones that are easy to mail.
Well, it's Friday. I hope you are all going to have a great weekend. I have a lesson to study for Sunday, and the usual household stuff that needs doing.
Remember today that God loves you too much to leave you the way you are!
Comments (24)
And I am a long distant auntie! My nieces & nephews keep on asking when their Europe Auntie (that`s my Nickname for them) to come to visit them again. Which means when auntie comes there will always be present along! LOL
Your grandkids look so cute there! Hide & seek are not for some younger kids and they only know of running after each other and not hiding. hehehehe ...
@SherryAngeLMysteriez - I am thankful for SKYPE. Do you SKYPE with your family? It gives us a chance to see each other. I do puppet shows and read them stories on SKYPE.
I love the innocence of children. The other day when our youngest grandchildren were talking about Heaven, I was reminded how easy it is for life to "take away" the fabulous wonder of Heaven and what is ahead of us for eternity.
I remember stocking some cute bibles like that!
You are racking up quite a collection of grandkids! They are so cute, too.
It's hard to be so far away from loved ones, but you are right, the video visits help a lot.
Such adorable littles you have ~ do you Skype with them?
They are all so sweet. May God comfort you and fill your heart with joy.
I can imagine that it must be very hard for you to be so far away from loved ones. You have given up much for the gospel and your reward will be great in heaven Mae. You are a good long distance grandma! Love you!
I'm blessed to be only an hour drive from mine and you are blessed to have two more grandkids then I do.
I had two boys and you know I would love to have had a little girl or two.
Like you I try to do things that don't cost a lot but say,"granny is thinking of you all the time."
My dear wife flew across the nation to spend a couple of days with our great grand daughters and sons.
She was euphoric with glee and joy.
They do tell the truth--simply and it is so cute.
It totally stinks when you can't be close to your family. There are many reasons that I am thankful for where I live, but being away from Mom and Dad is NOT one of them. I'm so sorry that your heart is all over the place, Mae, I'm sure that's how it feels. I LOVE the pictures of your grandchildren, I didnt' realize you had so many now!
oh, but this tugs at my heart because it reminds me of my own mom and how often she talks of missing the grandkids. mine are the youngest in the family and i know that's particularly tough for her to feel she's missing all their sweet growing up years~ sometimes i wonder why some families can stay together for their whole life, while others live on the other side of the world from each other.. one of those things w/ His plan i don't get, but trust it's all for our best and He knows what He's doing! makes heaven a sweeter place too.. thinking of that time when we're not separated any longer! and YOU! i'll even get to finally meet you my friend.
) what a happy place that's going to be~ friends, family, the Lord! can't wait.
those babies are beautiful. i especially like the shot of the little sisters. sweet sweet.
love and hugs to you dear one.
They are beautiful grandchildren.
Hugs to a wonderful grandma! It's hard being long distance. I long for my parents to know our boys better.
I love your last line. It really grabbed me this morning as I was waking up. I'm not sure why I clicked on my Xanga sub email before getting out of bed, but I wager it was because of that line. Sebastian has been trying for negative attention the past 3 days and I'm worn out. I hate to admit it because I'm sure we're in for YEARS and not days of this, and Pieter will be next, but I'm really trying to take my attitude to God. I'm good in the morning, but his eardrum-piercing screams (we're trying to teach inside/outside voice because of it), and constant need to sit on the dogs or hit them with toys...all to get us to pay more attention to him...I'm not handling it with grace as the day wears on. By the time Steve and I are together praying before goign to sleep, I feel like a worthless mom! And so your line gives me hope. Thank you.
@fwren - Oh yes! We do skype often. I read them stories and do puppet shows for them! My grandson, who is almost 4 called yesterday. He took me (on the phone!) on a hunt for spiders. It was so sweet that he wanted to share that with me. However, he kept thinking I could see through the phone. I kept explaining that I could only see him when we talked on the computer, but he kept saying, "See, Grandma?" It was funny!
@grace_to_be - Yes! Heaven is going to so amazing! Let's meet for coffee.
I know we cannot even begin to imagine what is in store. Just think... being in the presence of perfect love forever!
@BigToePeople - Oh, that is a difficult stage! When they are so young, they just don't understand. When my girls did the negative attention thing, I picked them up, carried them to another room (all the time explaining that their behavior was NOT acceptable!) and left them there for a few minutes. I would explain that it is not nice to be around someone who is screaming/teasing the dog/jumping on furniture or whatever. Then I would sit them on my lap and tell them how much they were loved, and how happy I was to be their mommy. We would talk about doing the right thing, and I would cuddle them for a bit. I know every child is different, and they respond to different things, but this seemed to work pretty well for me. Also, even a very young child can understand the time out chair. You are a GREAT mommy, Chris! I know some days are very trying, and I know you are still not getting a whole lot of sleep! It will get better. Honest!
@DanishDoll - Thank you, Mae! I was able to reflect some this weekend. Steve took Sebastian to the park on Saturday (it's so cold lately that I'm loathe to go outside and only go when Sebastian asks) and he was so much better behaved for the rest of the day. He's a boy and needs to be tired out and needs fresh air! Also, I realized that Sebastian is acting out because his babysitter moved nearly 2 weeks ago. He's used to time with her 6 kids, especially her 3yr old and her 18 yr old. One is a playmate, and one was like a mentor. Sebastian is so musical and Kimmi's oldest son would play the guitar and Sebastian would sit at his feet. The two became really close over his guitar playing and other music he listened to. Kimmi's house was so exciting and Sebastian got out a lot of energy there. We're praying that something similar comes along when we move to Amarillo, and we're planning a July trip to visit Kimmi and her family. Meanwhile, Sebastian doesn't have words to express that his week is missing something so significant. And I'm not teaching this semester because we're moving this spring, so I'm rather grumpy myself! That was my adult time, and the two morning of being a professional was so good for my self esteem. Thank goodness, I got to hang out with a bunch of the squadron spouses last night and came home feeling a bit human again! This motherhood thing is an amazing journey. It's a real test and an utter joy. I really appreciate your encouragement!
@DanishDoll - PS - I've tried something similar with Sebastian a few times. After reading your method, I'm going to do it more and see how that goes.
I would not have gotten made at the boy, myself, but I would have had him come and help me replant the tulips, so that he could learn how to plant and how to care for flowers as well as see how much work was involved in planting them.
If more parents spent time teaching their children the value of working together, including how much joy can be gleaned from it I think our society would be much healthier.
@Aloysius_son - I agree!
@BigToePeople - Sometimes we forget that little people can get bored, too! Bright children need a lot of stimulation! I know too many parents park toddlers in front of the TV because it's easy. (Not saying YOU do that!) You are so right that little people need to get that energy out!
Happy move!
Hello Dear Mae, I love this post and your sweet grand babies. I know that has to be hard being a long distance grandma, but it sure makes those little packages even more loved. Knowing grandma sent them
!
That is too cute about the spider hunt ~
Your grandchildren are so very cute!
Comments are closed.