Grandchildren

There is something very special about my grandchildren. But then I venture a guess, all grandparents would argue the same thought. "Mine is the best...no mine...," but in the end, they are all special and I am reminded on a daily basis that they are a gift from God. And what a wonderful gift!

What makes them special? First of all I look into their faces and I see a little bit of my own child, their father or mother looking at me and I am reminded of the first day I held them in my arms. Each pregnancy was different and each birth different and each child grew up differently, however the one constant was me. I remained the same; although I must admit I grew up in the eight years I delivered four babies.

I had no parenting skills, no clue as to what was expected of me. My only concern was their safety, maintaining their overall quality of life (food, shelter, etc.), a spiritual upbringing, but most importantly to know they were loved. Because when it all boils down to it, love is all that counts. That's why, in my opinion, you don't have to give birth to love a child. A case in point is my daughter-in-law, the mother of my grandson. Adopted at birth, she was raised by two wonderful loving parents and today is a perfect wife for my son and wonderful mother to her son.

Today, I am privileged to witness three of my children baring the responsibility of being a parent. I am equally proud of them all. Each grandchild is unique and special and yet the same - a part of me. My name to them is Mimi, given to me by the oldest, Paige.

I have four years of pictures of Paige, Daniel and Debbie's daughter. I have been blessed to share in the care of Paige since she was born and will continue to do so while she remains in preschool this year. We have great plans for the park, library, swimming pool and taking care of her new cousin Hayden this summer. She celebrates her birthday tomorrow. Happy Birthday Paige~

Jennifer and Kevin's daughter Alexandra Anne Swing, or Lexi or Little Lexi Lou Lou just celebrated her first birthday a month ago today. I don't get to see her as much because she lives in Charlotte, NC, but thanks to cell phones, Skype and frequent trips by her parents to Chattanooga, I'm keeping up with her life. Although tiny, Lexi is a burst of energy who has her mother's nose and smile and her daddy's dimples. She started daycare this week and got her first "big girl" haircut~

The newest member of our family is Hayden Vaughn Shartle, Jason and Laura's son. Born three months ago, he is already three pounds lighter than Lexi! He is not fat - just big and probably in six to nine months clothes by now. So far his eyes have remained a deep blue, like his grandfather Mark's. He has his father's widow peak and long eyelashes and his mothers nose, lips and chin. He is precious and loves giving out wonderful smiles to us all. This summer he will be staying with me along with Paige two days a week while his parents are at work. How lucky and blessed I am! Hayden is sometimes called Junior, not because he is a Junior, but because Jason nick-named him that while Laura was carrying him. Paige picked up on it and it might just stick. Welcome to the world Junior (a.k.a. Hayden)~

I don't get a chance too often to take pictures of me with all three of the grandchildren, but when I do I treasure them. I repeat, each is unique and each is special, but the one constant is the love I have for them. I thank God for gift of my grandchildren and the opportunities I have to share in their lives both in person and long-distant.

EVERY DAY IS A GREAT DAY!

My Morning Ritual

My favorite part of the day is when I "do" my devotions. I find that if I don't partake in this special time each morning then my day is just not right. Things are not in sync and I miss it more than I can explain.

Doing my devotions is more than reading a few passages in a book or the Bible. It is sacred time that I spend with God. First I light some candles. Doing this sets the tone and centers me. I begin each day with an Irish prayer. Then I spend about five minutes praying for my family and friends. I spend another five minutes or so reading from a spiritual book. Right now I'm reading Be Still and Get Going by Rabbi Alan Lew. It is a lesson on meditating and I'm learning so much. Finally I spend my last five minutes writing in a journal five things I am grateful for from the day before. I also write on a small piece of paper a prayer of affirmation on the healing of my nephew's wife who is fighting breast cancer. I take each piece of paper and place them in a prayer box afterwards. The last fifteen minutes is writing in my journal things that call to me from the four or five devotionals I read each day.

What amazes me is that these devotionals all come from many different sources and yet somehow they all connect each day. For example, today several of the readings focused on the light of God and the paths we choose to take. I blow my candles out and then set the timer to fifteen more minutes. I pick a spot and close my eyes and meditate until the buzzer goes off. I found that if I didn't put the timer on, I spent too much time worrying about how long it had been or if I'd meditated enough. Sometimes I spend more time praying for family and friends and special needs and sometimes I spend time writing poems or prayers that come to me at this time.

I leave refreshed; inspired and enlightened. God is life and life is good!

Happy Birthday Uncle Bob

My brother-in-law Bob Jordan (dark blue shirt) celebrates his birthday today and so I say "Happy Birthday" to him. I believe he is celebrating by driving to the country with his wife Wesley Anne (on the left) to spend the weekend with his brother.

He is not only celebrating his birthday but good news from the radiologist that the scan on Thursday showed the recent chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma is clear. Wes sent a text on Friday thanking everyone for the prayers. One last side-affect of the chemo is the resistance to antibiotics and a nagging ear infection so prayers are still accepted for a quick recovery to that nuisance.

Since Bob married Mark's sister Wes, he quickly became a favorite to his nieces and nephews. When they were very little he invited them to spend time at the farm with he and Wes where they walked in the woods, played in the dirt, rode the horses, and wore themselves out having fun. Bob always wore a bandanna around his neck to wipe the sweat from his face and when he and Wes attended our son Daniel's wedding, he presented Daniel a bandanna to remember those early years on the farm. (This was at the rehearsal dinner which Sticky Fingers catered and bandannas were used as centerpieces on the tables.)

Later when Bob and Wes bought a plantation in Clinton, Mississippi, they moved it and restored it brick by brick and then invited the entire Shartle family to visit. I'm not sure if the kids enjoyed the swimming pool or the fireworks the most, but I venture a guess that it was Bob's invitation to ride on the tractor as he drove them around the acres of land surrounding Avondale Plantation that impressed them.

Ice cream after a great day at the park in McComb, Mississippi; then another drive through the woods on a three-wheeler seeing a huge (their words) snake; and over 100 TV channels on a satellite disc - all great memories that Bob provided the kids at their first home in Mississippi.

The kids grew up and the trips to Mississippi ended but Bob and Wes never failed to share in the wedding memories; first Brian's here in Chattanooga; then Daniel and Debbie's on the Oocee River; next Jennifer and Kevin's in Foley Beach, South Carolina; and finally Jason and Laura's in Phoenix, Arizona. All great fun and made special because the Jordans were present.

And so I close by wishing my dear brother-in-law, Bob Jordan, many more Happy Birthdays and thanks for all the great memories!

Love,

Pris

On Becoming a "Blogger"

Today I created my Blogger account and although I consider myself pretty good at computer "stuff" this was not easy....actually, once I signed on my comcast account instead of my gmail, it worked beautifully!

I understand from friends, family and fellow writers that Blogging is an amazing tool, therefore my goal is to write something everyday. I look forward to hearing back from everyone soon.

So let the Blogging begin....