Trippin' Two

After seeing to Mom last month I travelled south to the homes of my children and took in the deliciousness of grandchildren which you will see below. Kelly's youngest, Marcus, was very anxious to show me his very own new tool. The small 'Leatherman' was used for "projects" while I visited. Project Number One: The cutting of his hair!

He proudly came out of the bathroom telling us that it not only looked good,

but that he didn't even cut himself!

We got such a kick out of his pride in this project that no one objected, however Melissa DID take him for a buzz cut later in the day. We went to my favorite ice cream place, Big Jim's, where Kelly called us from Afghanistan, and you can see Marcus talking ever so casually to him.

Brianna is growing into a lovely young girl who is not only beautiful on the outside,

but beautiful on the inside too!

And Christina is Melissa's right-hand girl!

She is supposed to be going to school, which she is, and spends HOURS a day on facebook.

She's a darling thing too.

At Kimber's I had the pleasure of babysitting Dante for a bit while Kimber went to pick up Isabella from school. Dante had disappeared for a LONG time, so I went looking for him.

This is what I found. I love that he is already a reader!

We went to Isabella's school to have lunch with her, Kimber, Dante, and I.

Is he not the cutest, curly-headed little boy you ever did see?!!!

We also went to the school library where Kimber takes him every week to interact with other pre-schoolers with a librarian who reads them, leads a craft with them,

and lets them dance to music.

Kimber told me she hates craft time because Dante just wants to tear up all the other kids' pictures and then throw the crayons at them. He thinks it is P.E. time, I guess.

And Isabella comes home from school. She loves the brown dress wtih pink circles on it so much that it is now a long shirt over her jeans. She cracks me up!

So, these pictures are not only for your pleasure, but are for my Kelly-JellyBean's too;

he called this morning from Afghanistan wanting 'the rest of the story'.

Here it is kiddokidoke!

Plant Yourself!

Give me a Fanny Garden!

Plant yourself down for a cruise through the pictures of my going west to see my precious son, Kelly, home for two weeks on leave from Afghanistan. I was blessed to be invited to spend time with him and his family.

He greeted me at the door in very non-military attire...bib overalls and a big smile, as he was happy to see me too! Marcus has REALLY missed his daddy and spent a lot of the time very close, if not on Kelly.
Marcus made his very own dinner...a jelly sandwich, and wanted NO help making it!!! There was a small dab of jelly spread thinly on one piece of bread with another piece of bread smashed to it. He later asked for more jelly. We love eating together, he and I.

My great-grandson Cameron was at the house too, with his mother, Mandi (my oldest grandchild). Brianna had made a breakfast with Kelly of scrambled eggs and French toast with strawberries and whipped cream. Cameron and Marcus are fast friends!

Here is the darling Brianna who rustled up the delightful breakfast. She had requested cooking b'fast with Kelly, and Alana had requested making spaghetti for dinner with him. We were well fed, believe me!

Clowning for the camera, Marcus isn't setting a very good example for Cameron, but Cam was watching his Mama, fortunately.

I stayed at the Comfort Inn with an indoor heated pool so that there would be plenty of room for the others at Kelly's house. We all went swimming together, another request of an activity the girls wanted to do with their dad while he was home. We swam Saturday morning before lunch and in the evening after dinner. Cameron and I are snuggling up to get warm and dry.

If I'd been in this picture it could have shown 4 generations.

After church with Kelly and his family I drove to meet my sister Margy at Borders Books in Vancouver for a couple hours before attending to Kimber's family.

Dante is now a year old!

He is still small and darling with some blond curls, mellow personality, and ready smile.

He KNOWS who his Grammy is!

He doesn't walk yet, but does stand alone when absorbed in some activity, forgetting that he's standing by himself.

Toys from Isabella's babyhood are brought out of storage for Dante's pleasure...and Isabella's

It was tough getting back home before Thanksgiving. The weather was not conducive for travel. So, I did it in spurts. First I left Kimber's later than I'd anticipated Tuesday morning. I stopped by Stacie's for a much-welcomed and encouraging visit with her and Margaret.

Stacie's hubby had taken the 5 older ones to the beach for 4 days to give her a mini-vacation. Lily (20 months) was the only one at home with Stacie, so our visit was nearly uninterrupted.

I had to wait out the storm one more night, so Kelly's invited me to camp on his couch Tuesday before braving the tough driving conditions on Wednesday. Marcus had found one red mitten which he loved wearing just after getting up on the morning of my leave-taking.

I could not believe the stark reality of winter's descent upon us.

I took this along the Columbia between The Dalles and Walla Walla as I drove.

I just pointed the camera at the river and landscape. My little all-wheel drive Subaru with new studded tires all around did just fine. It was a long journey home, many hours of concentrated driving, and I'm glad I made the trek to see my kidlettes and theirs.

I have been richly blessed!

Good byes...

Since there is new snow on Grangeville Mountain and my heart is wanting to take a dip in the shallow end of the pity pool, I'll focus on something else besides gardening.

Below you see my lovely granddaughter, Alana, at her 8th grade promotion ceremony. The venue was way too small, so we ended up sitting in the isle on the floor! But, here is her dad, holding Marcus, as he lifts a bouquet for her.

Alana is truly a lovely girl, and especially so in her beautiful dress for the big ceremony. Her smile says it all!

Another event that occured while I was there for the ceremony was that my favorite son left his family to begin serving his 400 days of war duty.

He had pictures made of each of us with him, and below is mine.

Of course, while there, getting some cuddle time with my great grandboy, Cameron, was a plus.

Marcus and I got some cuddle time too.

And, below, you see my granddaughter Mandi with her Cameron.

She is a wonderful and attentive mother. They were visiting for their last hugs with her daddy before he left to begin his 400 days.

I was able to deliver Kelly to Pendleton before the transport to McCord Airforce Base where his unit was flown to Ft. Hood, Texas for 30 days of special Afghan training.

He is a Chinook helicopter mechanic and had me get into one of those HUGE things at the hanger, sit in the pilot's seat, and wear a heavy headset as if I were a real pilot. We hugged quickly and I drove off. This is the hard part, knowing he won't be available for many, many days ahead, knowing that Marcus will notice that he hasn't come home for a long time, knowing that birthdays and anniversaries will pass without him. My heart is heavy sometimes.




And one last one of baby Cameron. He is well-behaved and LOVES his truck Grammy gave him for Birthday Number ONE!

Mission Accomplished!

He's a Beauty; don't you think?

Dante Christopher Giordano, my grandson.

Kimber did so well on bedrest for all those weeks of never knowing whether he could stay in long enough to develop fully. He came 4 weeks early, and he's perfect. Her milk had not come in, and skin-to-skin time is vital in stimulating it. Here they are, skin-to-skin.

He is bright eyed and alert and weighing only 5 pounds here.

He rests beside a doll dressed in 'newborn' size clothes and wearing the booties for

which his Great-grandma Boothby (my mom) is famous.

His Daddy was able to stay for his birth due to the Red Cross's efforts to delay his going back to Iraq for some days. Chris's own dad had tripple by-pass heart surgery the same day Dante was born, an eventful R and R from the war!

I was gone for nearly 2 months caring for Isabella and Kimber before Chris came home and before the baby came, then afterwards until Kimber could drive and take care of much around the house. She has learned to order groceries online and have them delivered; she has learned to depend on busy family members and Isabella.

I praise God for all He has done in this situation!

Not only was His mission accomplished, but mine in "being available" which was the Word He gave me back in April!