Grandma C's 90th

My grandma turned 90 on Friday, and today her children threw a lovely open house birthday party for her at the beautiful Peabody Public Library.  Hundreds of loved ones came to wish her well this afternoon.

I foolishly left my camera back at Mom's & Dad's house, so I just have a few snapshots I took on my phone.  (Not even one of Grandma!  She was constantly surrounded by people giving her hugs.)

These girls love to spend time together.  Tessa calls her cousins "The Kids!"

When the twins arrived...

...they were the hit of the party!

Such sweeties!

Hopefully I'll get some of the pictures Dad and I took on his camera.  I think Grandma was blessed and overwhelmed by the party and all the people who came to let her know they love her.  She is a special lady!

"How I long for my Indiana home."

It's been another whirlwind, cram-it-all-in, busy weekend here in Indiana, but we are so very glad we got to come!  The time always seems too short, but always filled with precious moments.

We loved seeing the twins, who have grown SO much!  They are 4 months old now, and such happy, precious boys!!

Grayson

Bryce and Mamaw

He is a smiley guy!

Great G'ma C had crocheted hats, so the kids and Uncle Trav had fun modeling them.

Caeden loves babies, and liked entertaining Grayson while he was swinging.

Jeremy was helping Travis and some other friends and family take off their old roof so a new one can be put on next week.  Since the pitch of the roof isn't too terrible, Jeremy took each of the kids up to see what the view was like.

None of them were afraid, and they actually all though it was pretty awesome!

The guys sure had perfect roof-removal weather!

It is really cool for me to see my brother and sis-in-law with their kids.  They are great parents, and it's obvious they love and appreciate the 3 blessings God has given them.  

Travis had asked me a couple weeks ago if I would sing with him at church.  It was so fun to get to sing with him again; it's been years!!  He chose the song, You Were There, by Avalon, which is so powerful it always gets me all choked up.  It was wonderful to sing with Travis again, and I hope I didn't embarrass him too much.

After church, we made a quick stop at McD's for lunch.  Sylvia found a fun punch-out mustache on the side of her Happy Meal box.  :)

Blizzard Flip

This weekend we are visiting family in Indiana.  Jeremy came over Thursday night, and the kids and I came after school Friday and arrived about 8pm last night.  We were able to spend a bit of time with Grandpa and Grandma Lopshire and Great Grandma DeHaven this evening.  

We've heard about some of the things Uncle Walt has been doing around and in the house for them, and enjoyed being able to see his handiwork.  He's taken out some bushes from in front of the house, and it made me happy to see this sign again:

After admiring the house, we all went to Dairy Queen in Albion for supper and ice cream.

The kids thought it was cool when the DQ workers brought their Blizzards out and flipped them upside down to show that they were properly made and really thick!  Grandpa said they are always supposed to do that, but it was the first time we'd ever seen it.

Fall on the Farm

Although it was a busy day, we made time to take a walk around Dad's farm and enjoy Autumn coming in.  It was so perfectly beautiful!!!

We loved seeing the leaves falling in showers as we walked through the woods!

Annah liked this giant leaf.  

She knows most of the types of leaves and trees she sees, thanks to Krampa.

Sylvia and Caeden were intrigued by the walnuts.  Krampa explained the different coverings, and how you actually get to the meat part.  He gave them a bucket to collect some and told them they can make walnut fudge next time they visit.

It was a gorgeous day, and such a special time watching the kids enjoy little pieces of nature as we walked the trails.  Dad and I both got teary-eyed more than once; we were so grateful for the blessings.

"The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed." 

- Daniel 4:11-12