The New Tradition

It was about 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, May 24, that the phone rang at Adam and Sara Beth's house. It was for me. It was Sarah letting me know that my being in South Carolina was really hard on Davey. You see, Davey and I are the best of friends and he calls me pretty much every day when I am at home. We hang out together on the phone. We watch his shows, play his computer games, go outside, eat and do pretty much anything he is doing. He just likes having me there.

Sarah also let me know that some or all of the family would be meeting us at the airport Sunday night even though we left our car at the airport. Here is the story.......

When Tom and I arrived home from our trip to Ireland in March, Sarah and the rest of the family met us at the airport and then Sarah and Davey drove us home to our house. Well......it seems that we were locked out of our house at 11:00 at night. Not one of us had a key to the house so we called Kara to bring her key in to let us in. Because Kara was coming from Chaska and it would be a half hour or so wait, Tom, Sarah, Davey and I decided to go to Perkins and meet Kara there. We now have the makings of a party going on in the middle of the night and now Davey thinks this is how we do things. When gramma and grandpa go away they pick us up, drive us to our house, we will be locked out and then we go to Perkins!

Below are a few pictures of our trip to Perkins.....the new tradition!

Davey (Punkin to me) and gramma at Perkins

Derek and Punkin with blue tongues from the blue drink they both ordered

Sweet little Jackson having his snack at Perkins. His little eyes are so tired. He is getting over his pink eye

You know something? I think I am going to like this new tradition!

A Few More Pictures From South Carolina May 2009

I will miss the early morning get on gramma's lap, snuggle and watch cartoons routine with the boys

Kallsen, Joseph, me and Parker eating home made ice cream at the festival in Seneca

Adam getting Kallsen into the car following Kallsen's graduation

Kallsen with the photo album he received following his pre-school graduation. It had pictures from his entire year of pre-school. It was just wonderful!

Kallsen sitting in the grass at the

Meet for Three Festival in Seneca.

Sara Beth with Kallsen in his cap and gown

Grandpa with Parker

Joseph

Kallsen

Parker

Pictures Of Kallsen At His Pre-School Graduation 2009

Kallsen at his pre-school graduation

Kallsen age 4 in his cap and gown

Kallsen with his mom, Sara Beth, and his brother, Parker age 3

Kallsen studying his rose

Kallsen's daddy congratulating Kallsen on his graduation

I love you son

Kallsen's Dance Recital

It is Sunday and it is the day we head back to Minnesota. The day looks cloudy and like it is going to rain. What a busy time we have had.

While it might rain today, nothing could rain on Kallsen's performance in the dance recital last night. Kallsen has been taking dance lessons for the last year at the professional dance studio in Seneca. He is the only little boy in his class and he has loved it from the beginning. He takes tap dancing and ballet.

I had no idea what to expect. Adam had said Kallsen sometimes does everything, sometimes just the tap, sometimes the ballet and sometimes neither. He is 4 which helps to explain that last sentence.

Last night Kallsen did it all. He did everything. He stood on stage with the other 3 and 4 year old children in front of an auditorium of maybe 200 - 300 people and did it all. He tapped to The Good Ship Lollipop and did ballet to The Baby Bumblebee. He did all the movements, he knew his dances and there was one row of parents, brothers and a gramma and grampa who were bursting at the seams with pride, smiles, laughter and happiness.

Kallsen honey, you did a fabulous job and I am so glad gramma and grampa were here to see you in your dance recital!

Joseph's Post

Now you must of heard about or read about grandma and I watching Zoolander while everyone else was gone. If you haven't heard about it here's your chance. Well, everyone else was gone to do something and grandma and I were at my house just hanging around. I suggested to watch a movie and grandma said sure and I pulled out Zoolander. Now for the people who don't know what Zoolander is it's about Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) who is a male model trying to become the best model ever. Now he's not happy about his competition Hansel (Owen Wilson).

Now for the people who haven't watched Zoolander won't know anything about the next paragraph. People who have go ahead and read it.

Grandma and I shared tons of laughter about the movie especially when they couldn't figure out how to turn on a computer. They started beating on it and howling like monkeys. And we started busting out laughing when Hansel and the DJ started break dance fighting. Grandma started having hysterics about Derek's phone that's the size of a piece of candy. Grandma thinks she's part of the underground now. Grandma had the best time she's probably ever had watching a movie.

All in all we both had a great time. Who ever said senior citizens couldn't have fun?

Kallsen's Pre-school Graduation

Last night we went to Kallsen's graduation from pre-school. I don't think any of us expected what we experienced.

The ceremony, and I do mean ceremony, was held in the auditorium of the Wallhalla High School. The 25 or so children, ages 4 and 5, performed a wonderful program on stage. They sang and performed little skits to music and their faces were full of smiles and excitement as they entertained parents, brothers, sisters, friends and grandmas and grandpas.

Following the stage production, there were taped interviews of each individual child which were played on a big screen. Each child was spotlighted and asked the question, "If you were President of the United States, what would you do?" The answers were amazing. Each child had some idea of what they would do to help people or help the world and make it a better place if they were President of the United States. Remember, these little ones were 4 and 5 years old.

There was a slideshow of pictures showing each child doing the things they do every day and the slideshow was done to a song that I really have to find. Adam will know or at least he can find out. The words that I kept hearing over and over were "Let Them Be Little." For some reason, pictures of children in all their innocence and joy set to music touches me. I can still see those little faces and hear that music and there is hope for our world. I keep thinking...yes let them be little even when they get big...and they will be the best big they can be. For those that don't understand what I just said...leave me a comment and I will do a post on that.

And, finally, the end of the night came. The children put on their red graduation robes and mortar boards and awards were given and each child's name was called and they walked across the stage to receive their certificates and before they left the stage the owner of the school, Ken, congratulated each student and said "I love you."

No, I don't think any of us expected what we experienced.

Congratulations Kallsen on your graduation!

Love, gramma and grampa.

My South Carolina World This Morning

Tom and I flew to visit our son and family in South Carolina yesterday. We were met at the Atlanta airport by Adam and Parker, who is three.

Kallsen, who is 4, had a field trip at pre-school yesterday and Parker needed a field trip too. So, Parker got to have a field trip with his daddy to go pick up his gramma and grampa at the airport. It was a really good field trip. We got to find and count all the trucks on the road and get some food at Wendy's and go to Walmart to buy some black pants for Kallsen to wear at his two special events this weekend...........which is the reason for our trip.

Tonight, Kallsen is graduating from pre-school and tomorrow night he is in a dance recital.

Both little boys were so excited to see us. Joseph, who is 12, was excited too. Kallsen waited patiently for us to arrive home....that is if you can count his looking out the window and asking Sara Beth ... "When are they coming?" Sara Beth told him, "They will be here at 7:00 tonight." And, from then on Kallsen said, "Is it 7:00 yet? Is it 7:00 yet? Is it 7:00 now?"

And, then it was 7:00 and Kallsen was out the door and in my arms. It was such a nice welcome. Joseph came to greet us too and told me all about the things going on in his world. Joseph is so nice and polite. He said he had to get up for school early and he hoped he wouldn't wake us up getting ready. I told him not to worry about a thing.

I did hear Kallsen and Parker getting up and getting ready though and I got up to see them before they headed off to school. What is it about a gramma being sleepy and coming out to the kitchen and saying hi to little boys and having them say, "Gramma......" and come running into your arms that makes you feel like your world is very, very special? And, them wanting gramma to put their socks and shoes on and tap the bottoms five times when each shoe is on and double tied? And, wanting gramma to read a book before they leave and watch a movie and you have to make plans to do all those things when they get home school? What is it about being wanted and needed because you show up with sleepy eyes and messy hair wearing your flannel nightie and all you want to do is spend those precious minutes with them before you have even one cup of coffee?

Good morning everyone.........Welcome to my world! x x

Arriving In London And The Changing Of The Guard At Buckingham Palace

Tom's and my trip to see our friend, Joe, in Ireland was made even more special by including an all too short trip to London.

On March 12th, Joe, Tom and I boarded a plane on Ryan Air at Shannon Airport. Shannon Airport is only about an hour's drive from Joe's house and Dublin Airport is about two + hours drive from Joe's house. Our good friend, Pat Whelan, drove us to the airport and he included a short trip through Limerick. It was the first time Tom and I had been to Limerick, so that was nice, as we got to see one more part of Ireland.

Our flight was comfortable, smooth and just a hop, skip and jump from Shannon to London Gatwick where we were met by Joe's sister, Peggie, and her daughter, Maria. Tom and I had never met Peggie and Maria before and we were so excited to finally meet them face to face. We had spoken on the phone before which was very nice, but seeing them was just wonderful!

When they spotted us in the airport at London Peggie came hurrying over with arms outstretched and a beautiful welcoming smile. Maria, who is full of personality, nearly galloped over to hug her Uncle Joe and hug Tom and me in turn. It made us feel very welcomed and loved.

We got a good night's rest at Peggie's beautiful home and on Friday, the 13th of March, we visited Buckingham Palace so we could witness the changing of the guard.

Later I will write about why Friday the 13th might not have been the best day of my trip.

The first video was taken as we took our first steps out onto the streets of London and the other videos are of the changing of the guard ceremony outside Buckingham Palace.

Enjoy the videos and stay tuned for more of our London holiday! x x

What A Nice Day

I had such a lovely day today. I set my radio for 5:45 a.m. so I could be on the road to Sarah's house by 7:30. Derek had his end of the year pre-school program today and I was invited. Now, how nice is that?

I arrived at Sarah's with a half hour's time to spare before Punkin (Davey) had to be taken to the bus stop. Punkin was gong on a field trip today to the Minnesota Zoo and then going to his Spanish class right after getting home from the zoo. So, I only got to see him for that little bit of time before leaving for school.

But, I got to go to Derek's program and it was fabulous. It had a baseball theme and all the children did such a nice job of singing, doing the actions and dancing. Derek did everything just like a little showman. I was so proud of him and so proud to be his gramma!

Below is a video of Derek (4) in the program and another video of Jackson at home. Jackson is 10 months old now and has started to crawl.

I had such a wonderful day! I don't know how I could be any happier or luckier except maybe if Adam and his family lived closer to us. I love all of you and if I could have kept the older grandchildren little I think I might have been tempted to do just that.

I hope you enjoy the videos. Derek is the blonde boy second from the right in the front row wearing the Oshkosh zip up sweatshirt. He just loves music!

My Son

(Gershwin Lullaby..........Click to play)

Our daughter-in-law, Sara Beth, called me this afternoon. Adam, our son, is in California this week attending a convention for his work at the radio station. It is funny, and yet not so funny, that when Adam called earlier this week I said to him, "I have just one thing to tell you Adam...do NOT get the swine flu while you are there."

In my mind's eye I saw and heard the look I love so much when he replied, "I won't, Mom."

Nobody knew how fast this swine flu would move when he left for California. Sara Beth wanted us to know that California has now put a restriction on flights out of California. She said they will be taking every passengers temperature at the airport and if anyone has a fever, they will not be allowed to fly.

Adam is fine so far. He has gotten face masks, vitamins and every conceivable supplement he can in an effort to remain healthy and be able to make the flight home.

Sara Beth has been alone with the three boys and working for the last week. The little boys love their daddy and simply don't want to sleep when he is not there, which makes for a very tired mommy.

She was sweet tonight on the phone. She told me she said to Adam, "You have to come home. You have to come home."

I know one way or another Adam will come home, even if he has to drive, and with any luck he might make a stop in Minnesota. Now, wouldn't that be nice? I know it won't happen, but a mom can wish!

Two Things

Two things touched me tonight as I watched tv. One was President Obama's response to a question he was asked as he discussed his first 100 days in office. The other one was a commercial for AT&T wireless phone service.

The question asked of President Obama was......."In your first 100 days in office, what has surprised you, troubled you, enhanced you and humbled you." There was a tittering of laughter in the room and one might have expected President Obama not to take the question seriously in the face of the other issues being raised.

But, President Obama said, "Let me write those down." And, he did. And, then, he proceeded to address them with thought and elegance and dignity. I was extremely impressed and touched by the thought that went into his answers. He was human. He is human. He is facing an enormous task as President of the United States and I appreciate so much his humanness as he dares to tred where not many of us would dare go and can so easily criticize.

The second thing that touched me was a commercial for AT&T phone service. It was a commercial for selling shoes. The owner of the shoe company said one line that touched me and made me think.

He said, "When you do well, you can do good." He does all his business over his phone I think he said. And, for every pair of shoes he sells, he gives one pair of shoes away." He has given hundreds of thousands of pairs of shoes away to needy children. It makes me want to cry.

To give from abundance and to make a difference touches me deeply. I know I believe we all have an abundance of something. It may not be money. It may be time or love or compassion or caring or a simple smile.

It feels good to really listen to people, take them seriously and to give out of our own gift of abundance, whatever that may be.

My Dad Singing To Jackson Toby

I had a wonderful birthday party today! I will tell the whole story in a different post but for now I wanted to share a video I took today.

The video is my dad, who is 96 years old, singing to Jackson Toby at my party. My dad used to sing this song to me when I was little. He just changed one little word is all.

Heading Home From Ireland

We are heading home tomorrow. The last few days have been so nice and relaxing. And, when I get home and get some time, I will have lots to post about.

For now I can say that we saw many new things in Ireland and in London, but for me this trip was so much about the people......seeing Joe's children and grandchildren, his sisters and Neil again and for the first time meeting Joe's sister, Peggie and her family, who live in London. And, always, always, always, it is wonderful to see Pat and Greta. We have also met two more of Joe's friends, Dick and Betty, who have already made it a point to say we must come to dinner during our next visit!

My heart is full and I am going to take so many memories home with me. Joe was a wonderful host and gave us the run of the house. We felt so at home and we can't wait until he visits us in June. The three weeks went by in a flash. This was the longest vacation Tom and I have ever taken and it was wonderful!

This will be my last post for a few days now. There is a day of travel tomorrow and I will see how the jet lag treats me at home.

Thanks everyone for enjoying this trip with us and Joe, thank you for everything. We love you!

From My Heart

(Lean On Me)

I was getting ready for church this morning and, as is customary for me, I started to think. It seems I do some of my best thinking as I am getting ready for the day. I have wanted to say some words about why I have not yet posted about our trip to London.

We were in London from March 12 – March 17. It was a time filled with wonderful site seeing, my 66th birthday walking along the Thames River and crossing the Tower Bridge along with Tom, Joe, Maria and Louise, meeting Joe’s sister, Peggie, and being so graciously hosted in her home, and meeting Peggie’s extended family, who so warmly helped me celebrate my birthday.

While we did not have internet access during that time, I know that was not the only reason I have not posted about London. My original plan and goal was to compose posts in Word so I would be able to capture the excitement and beauty of each day as it happened. Then I would just have to copy and paste them into my blog and add pictures and videos.

But, on the first day of site seeing, just outside Westminster Abby, I fell and hurt my left arm (I was run over by a pram/buggy and ended up in the street) and as I thought about it this morning, I knew I wanted to say that it, regretfully, defined the remainder of the time in London.

Tom, Joe, Peggie and Maria all thought it was a good idea for me to go to the ER. I knew I should and I didn’t want to. They ended up taking x-rays and while a break did not show up, there were indications that the tip of a bone had chipped and I left ER with a sling. There was nothing else to do.

While my arm hurt, the hardest part was losing my independence. I had no strength in my arm, I couldn’t turn or twist my arm, couldn’t get dressed alone, open a jar, cut my meat, and the things I could do made my arm hurt. I wanted to hold onto someone to walk because the thought of stumbling or falling again was frightening and unacceptable.

Absolutely everyone accommodated me. They were kind and helpful, compassionate and caring. I was a brave and good girl. I said my mother’s line when faced with adversity, “It’s just another role to play,” and I wanted that to take care of how I felt too. But, it didn’t.

I felt bad. I hurt. I didn’t like needing help. I didn’t like having my energy taken from me as I accommodated the pain. I didn’t want to worry about falling again. I wanted to be me. I wanted to be the me I know. I don’t have pain as a rule. I always say “I don’t do pain.”

So, I guess what I am trying to say is that when I look back on London and all the places I saw and visited, it has been through the eyes of a me I don’t know very well. And, I expected myself to be able to be the me I am usually able to be.

My hope is that writing this will take away some of what is in the way of being able to feel the beauty and excitement of London and be able to do my posts with the good feelings that were under the pain.

I asked God this morning, “What is it I am supposed to learn from this?” I know there is always something I am to learn when I experience something that is hard for me. I may not know for a long time what that is, but I know there is something.

So, that is it! A short story made long perhaps. But, that is how I do it. I have talked out loud to anyone who reads this, and you got the long version………..you got the paragraphs and not just the headline or abbreviated version…..

Because that is how I do it!

Thanks for reading words from my heart. I feel better and I wanted you to know why I hadn’t written about London. It really was spectacular and now I think I can write about it from the “inside” and not the “outside.” And, as they do in London……..x x…...

I really do love that…….kiss…………..kiss!

Thanks Tom, Joe, Peggie, Maria and Louise for letting me lean on you!

First In A Series Of Three Posts....I Hope You Enjoy Them!

Joe, Tom and I had a day at home yesterday that included a trip to the grocery store known as Tesco's. We went specifically for what Joe calls minced meat, which is hamburger to us. But, Joe tends to shop like I do, which means I go to the store for one or two items, and come out of the store an hour later about $100.oo or more poorer.

Poor Joe! Poor, poor Joe!!

Not only was Joe in the store, but both Judy and Tom were in the store.......and, I think we were all hungry which is never a good idea. Tesco's has great stuff!

It has a great selection of everything and I love the layout of the produce. I took some pictures to show you some of the shelves and also our purchases as we checked out.

In the following post you can see our shopping trip to Tesco's in a slideshow. And, in the post after that you can see five......yes five........videos of Joe making his now famous Shepherd's Pie!

Our Shopping Trip At Tesco

Joe Cooks Shepherd's Pie

Here are five videos of Joe cooking his now famous Shepherd's Pie for dinner on Thursday night. Joe is a good cook and only had to have one humungous glass of Diet Coke to calm his nerves!

He was also a really good sport to let me video him! Thanks, Joe!

A Nice Story From Our Night At Bunratty Castle

Joe, Tom and I were the guests of Pat and Greta Whelan last night at the Bunratty Castle for a medieval dinner and evening of entertainment. It was a spectacular evening that was preceded by a visit to King John's Castle. This is only one post of the few I will do on this evening.

King John's Castle was wonderful. The dinner and entertainment were superb and the experience of eating with our fingers and one sharp steak knife was fun. I have pictures of the food that I will post, but tonight I will just tell a story.

Below is a picture of a little girl, who is 11 years old, and her father. They are from Nashville, Tennessee. They were our table partners. As we got to talking, we learned that the little girl had done a unit on Ireland in her Geography class at school. She had to learn the distance ,I think, from her capital to the capital of Ireland. I am so sorry if I don't have this right. I think I am remembering part of the story but not all of the story.

The little girl decided to look up how much it would cost to fly to Ireland and said to her father, "Look how cheap it is, Dad!" And, before you knew it, the dad and daughter had come to Ireland where the little girl got to have her 11th birthday. How special is that!

The evening was filled with fun, music, good food, messy fingers, talk, laughter and new friends!

I am using the picture with the permission of both the little girl and her dad.

Just A Note

Hi everyone.....this is just to let you know that I am still working on downloading and getting stuff organized to continue with my posts. We slept in a little bit this morning. We were all tired last night and didn't even pretend to want to stay up. I love that we can be just however we are with each other. Thanks Joe for making your home our home.

At the moment we are waiting for Pat Whelan to pick us up and then we are heading out to do some site seeing. I think we are going to St. John's Castle and then on to Bunratty Castle for an evening of Irish food and entertainment.

Joe just said we might not get knives and forks to eat with because it is to be a medievel dinner. Perhaps that will be the entertainment to watch each other eat.

So, off we go and I will be posting as soon as I can.

Home Again In Ireland

Tom, Joe and I are back home in Ireland now. We arrived at Shannon Airport about 4:25 this afternoon and our friend, Pat Whelan, picked us up. We had a wonderful time in London and had a lovely visit with Joe's sister, Peggy, and all her family while we were there. More gracious hosts we could never imagine.

I am going through pictures and videos as fast as I can and will start posting about our trip as soon as I can. I have so much to share! Five days of travel without benefit of the internet will test my memory but not my heart!

In the coming days you will see and hear about Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard, a day with John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, a day on the Thames River where I spent my 66th birthday and also my trip to the ER in Lewisham to treat my run in with a pram (buggy) as we walked along outside Westminister Abbey.

Yep, I have stories to tell, pictures to share and videos to play. And, now, I am going to bed.

Good night everyone....kiss kiss......I love that!