It's Been Awhile

I know it's been awhile since my last post. Trust me, it's not because I haven't had anything to say. It's just that words have seemed so insufficient.

My oldest daughter is going away to college in January. And I do mean away. She's leaving for Minnesota. Now, since we're in Nebraska, that may not seem so far to most of you. But to me it may as well be the other side of the world. Keep in mind I cried (sobbed) when my daughters moved to north Lincoln. Don't get me wrong. I am SO, SO happy Jenelle is going to Northwestern College in Minnesota. It's a very REAL Christian college. Not the kind where everyone walks around acting super-spiritual and trying to impress everyone, but the kind where you have very real kids trying to make sense of everyday life intertwined with their Christianity. I'm so glad she has this opportunity.

I'm just going to miss her so much.

Then there's my younger daughter. Two weeks from giving us our second grandchild. What a blessing. And yet I can't resolve it within myself. She's just a baby herself, isn't she? How did she grow up so fast? Could she possibly be a mother of two already? She takes such good care of her husband and her daughter. And in two weeks she will have a son. It's overwhelming. Delightful, but overwhelming.

All I can say is I love the different stages of life. And I love the fact that God sees us through each one of them. They are so wonderful, yet so heartbreaking. How could I ever celebrate the joys triumphantly or recover from the pain so completely without Him?

Life is so unpredictable. So wonderful. So painful. So amazing. And I'm so glad I have a loving Father to walk with me through every stage.

The Princess and the Bumble Bee

Have you ever seen such beautiful granddaughters??? (Says every grandmother in the world!)

There's got to be a great children's story that could be written about a beautiful princess befriending this stunning bumble-bee. Certainly there would be no comparable adventure as they live through some incredible life-lesson together that, of course, has a moral at the end that you want to embroider on a pillow.

Leonard's son, Brad (who I proudly call my own son, too!) and his wife, Jess, dressed Keaton in the cutest little bumble-bee outfit I have ever seen! She and Ellie ended the night together at our house playing with playdough and Ellie quite literally bouncing off the walls from too much sugar. (Can you see Uncle Brad giving her one more lick of the little pacifier-pop????!!!)

This is one of my favorite times of the year... right up there with vacation time! I love the Fall Festival, followed by Halloween and getting to see the sparkle in all the children's eyes as they come dressed as their dream character! Next is the greatest meal of the year and Leonard's favorite holiday...Thanksgiving! And then we get to enter full-blown Christmas mode!

All these holidays, all the family time... it sure makes winter a whole lot easier to take!