The Things We Grandparents Get to Do for Fun . . . and because of love.

In a recent 10-day period, Steve and I got to host an Easter lunch, supper and egg hunt for 5 of the grands, their parents, and a couple of friends. We drove 9 hours to Ft. Smith to have a "hotel spend-the-night-party" with 2 more and celebrate a birthday. And, we had 2 of the girls for a whole day of music and art activities. I must admit to feeling envy at times for my friends whose grandchildren live in the same town and they get to attend every ballgame or school program. We only have one in an organized ball team, and he lives in Arkansas. We're lucky to make even ONE of his games. We missed seeing Luke and Seth during this particular 10-day period, but I've been invited to go and keep them for 4 days in a few weeks while their parents attend a conference so "it's all good." We are blessed to be able to "go, see, and do" when it comes to these grandchildren who are such tremendous blessings in our lives. We're determined to make the most of each opportunity and to try our best not to whine when we don't see them enough. :)

Allie and Maggie are SERIOUS egg hunters. Granddaddy Steve hid 84 that day. We've found about 70 so far, so I'm guessing eggs will continue to turn up until this time NEXT year.
Penelope is making sure her eggs are still safely in the sack.
Rosie is much more interested in the jellybeans INSIDE the eggs than in the actual search for more. Did you notice that all 4 girls were wearing the same dress style? Aren't they cute?
Samuel couldn't exactly find his own eggs, but he enjoyed the show of watching his sisters and certainly looked spiffy in his tie.
Five days later we drove to Ft. Smith, AR to visit Megan, Nathan and their parents. We stayed at their house just long enough to hug their Momma and grab their suitcases because we were going to have them all to ourselves for the night while their parents had a leisurely date without the babysitter-meter running. After checking in and getting "the lay of the land," we found a nearby park and got busy getting some exercise. (Translation? Being sure everyone would be good and tired when bedtime arrived. Ha!) When Megan (above) sticks out her tongue, you can be sure that determination is in her mind. :)
Whoever thought of side-by-side slides must have had multiple children. Great idea!

After enjoying the park, we headed to a pizza place and got our tummies full. Mealtime conversations can be so revealing and provide so much laughter when no one is in a hurry and when the goal is communication and memory-making. Agree?

By the time we got back to the hotel, got cleaned up and in our comfy PJ's, it didn't take but a few minutes of cartoons to have the effect of a soothing lullaby. They were out like a light!
The next day we took Megan and Nathan back home so we could spend time with their parents, too, and got to celebrate Nathan's birthday a couple of weeks early. He and his Mom have been studying geography a lot in their homeschool sessions, so each of these cupcakes had a different country's flag on top. Nathan got to distribute them. "Here, Grandmomma, you can have France and Israel. Granddaddy, here's Kenya and Germany. Megan, you can have the United States." We were VERY impressed!

We left early the next morning to make the long trip back. We always leave wanting more time but knowing that they have busy lives and need to get back to their normal routines. It's worth every mile put on the car. Thank goodness for my Prius! :)

Three days later it was time for the monthly Music and Art Day between Grandmomma, Allie and Maggie (we let Granddaddy join the fun when he has a few minutes). We got a special treat before we even started on our work for the day.
A whole parking lot full of antique cars were at a little cafe near our house called Geezburger. The owners had apparently decided to stop there for breakfast. We pulled in and got out to get a closer look at each one. They were all works of art in their own right.
Can you tell we studied Georgia O'Keeffe this time? It was fun to discover that she and Allie have the same birthday. :) We played our kazoos again (they want to be able to teach their cousins at Cousins Camp in July) and continued to build rhythm patterns -- this time with drinking straws. Maggie got to make another mosaic picture while Allie and I had a piano lesson. We have 3 duets ready whenever we can find a captive audience. So, beware. :)

I've been a grandparent for eleven years now, and I'm awed by how each child has enriched my life. They teach me so much and are the very best investments of my time/energy/resources that I can imagine. It is no wonder that God describes them as a "crown." Steve and I pray for each of them every day. We pray for hedges of protection around their hearts, their minds, and their bodies, we thank God for their health, their intelligence, their personalities and their Christian parents. We ask God for wisdom and insight into teaching them what God would have us teach. You who are fellow grandparents can totally relate. You who are future grandparents have joys coming your way that are "beyond all you could ask or imagine."