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!

The Last of the Beach Photos

Ah, he loves his Mama. Kelly 'wands' some bubbles at sunset for Marcus's pleasure.

Melissa frolics with Brianna. She is a fairly serious mother, so watching her PLAY filled me with unspeakable joy!

Alana LOVES her mood ring.

We all love to feed the squirrels.

I'm unendingly grateful to have had this significant time with Kelly and his family before he goes off to war.

My heart wavers sometimes when I think about it, so I don't often think about it.

My son-in-law is home from Iraq and is weaving his family together with some time off before he goes back to the job his boss saved for him.

In fact Chris was offered a $3/hour raise,

a cushy route. and some ready cash to sustain him until May 10 when he returns to work.

We serve an awesome God!