Summer recap

 

Hello, long-forgotten blog... I'm back!

I always have such good intentions!  However, my follow-through has a lot to be desired.

I love the fall.  I love the cooler weather, the fall foliage, apples cider, pumpkin everything, warm sweaters, mums, my birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

This summer was busy with a long-anticipated visit to Texas to meet our newest grandchild Lexi, and love on her big sisters Lyra and Lucy.  We came home with an unexpected blessing...Lady, our granddog, now our dog.  We flew to Texas but drove back in a rental car with Lady and all her belongings.  Our cats were not very receptive to the new family member but gradually realized she was not going anywhere so finally tolerated her.  

We loved having Becky, Emma, and Danny for two weeks in June and July.  It was an action-packed time with lots of activities, games, side trips, Diva Camp, 4th of July fireworks, and yes, the traditional family photo.  We miss them so much so have to get a year's worth of fun in the two weeks we have together.  Emma is 12, she is so tall and a real beauty.  She loves cats, art, girl guides, acting, and animals.

Suzy turned 40 this year.  How can that be?  My children are middle age!  I turn 70 this November!!  Yikes!  Becky starts her work on her  Doctorate this month.  She hopes to finish by the time Emma graduates.  Emma is entering 7th grade. 

The grandboys seem to grow every night.  Oz started 5th grade, Charlie 3rd grade and Henry is in first grade.  I love that they come running to give me hugs whenever we see them at church.  I know to soak it up now because there will come a day when they will be occupied with cars and girlfriends.


We no longer have our two cats JJ and Lucy.  Lucy was having many seizures each day and JJ had some serious intestinal issues and was losing weight.  They were littermates and lifelong companions.  They slept huddled together every night and neither would have done well without the other.  They were almost 18 years old and are missed daily.


My desire is to write more.  I need to get back to water aerobics at the senior center and fill my days with adventures.

Diva's Favorite things

This is one of my favorite pictures of Lexi Anne.  She is growing so quickly.  It is very hard only getting to see her and her sister once a year.  We appreciate Rachel posting new pictures frequently of the girls.

This is another favorite picture of our current household.  Diva, Poppa, and Dog all together.  Lady has filled a big hole in our hearts and is a much loved, comical relief.  She is always ready for a walk or a cuddle.  She knows our habits and loves to nap with Poppa in the afternoon.  Last night she went upstairs to bed without us.  What a dog. 

Some of my Current Favorite Things.....

Dark Chocolate Hershey kisses,
Blue Bunny white chocolate cookies and cream 
weekly visits to the library 
babysitting with the grandboys
popcorn shrimp
grits and cheese
heart-shaped rocks
daisies
dragonflies and fireflies
seeing the scale go down
baby giggles
funny cat videos
pictures of the family
a rock tumbler
adventures
organizing my kitchen storage
using my air fryer
cooking new recipes
double recliner (big enough for Charlie, Lady and me)
spontaneous hugs from the boys
monthly Sunday Sermon with Charlie at the nursing home
pixel art app
video games
birthday cake
Advent calendars
Fall, leaves, sweaters, mums, pumpkin everything, apple everything
Christmas decorations and tree
chicken decorations
taco salad
homemade soup on a cold day
a fire in the fireplace
a warm blanket
hot herbal tea
a good book
flowers on my table
pandora (Christian radio)
turquoise jewelry and also my favorite color
Sunflowers
a new laptop for my birthday (yes, that's a hint)
spending time with friends
learning a new craft
making hearts with melty beads with the grandboys
binge-watching my favorite shows on Netflix
Thanksgiving
Christmas
Hallmark sappy movies
time travel anythings
mysteries
Diva Camp with the grandchildren
prayer partners
checking off lists
hats
haircuts
swing on my porch swing
flowers in the garden
air conditioning in the summer
scented candles
grilled cheese sandwiches
pockets

cool purses 

JJ and kind hearted Henry

 

This is our cat J.J.  He is an orange tabby cat also known as a Ginger Cat or Marmalade.  He is quite the talker and cuddler.  Poppa read an article that said on average cats only speak about words 6 times a day. Obviously, no told JJ about that.   He has whole conversations withPoppa. Here is a typical conversation:

Poppa:  Good Morning JJ.  How'd you sleep?
JJ:  Meow
Poppa:  If you are hungry meow.
JJ:  Meow
Poppa:  If you are really hungry meow again.
JJ:  Meow
Poppa: Don't be so impatient. I'm going as fast as I can.
JJ:  Meow.
Poppa. :  Hey watch the attitude young man.

If four-year-old grandson Henry is here visiting.  He will ask Poppa what JJ is saying in tabby. Apparently, that one word is very versatile and has lots of meanings.  But then I'm not nearly as versed in tabby as Poppa.

Poppa interprets and Henry always says to me,  "You know Poppa, is really, really smart."  I always agree that "yes, Poppa is really very smart."

  Because Henry has such a kind heart he will give me a big hug and say,  "  That's alright Diva, you are a little bit smart and you are really very pretty."  That's my boy...always add "I love you and you are very pretty" is honey to my heart.

Diva loves Hearts

 

I am a very sentimental person.  I love watching Hallmark movies, even though I know how it will end.  I love happy endings, treats, thoughtfulness, hearts and flowers, and random acts of kindness.  I am definitely "a happily ever after" kind of girl.  

I was reading a devotion today from a book called "Devotions for the Hungry Heart" and she shared this story with her grandchildren that I would love to share with mine.

God shows us His love by showing us heart shapes in nature.  They are all around us and pop up in unexpected places.  I like to see them so He shows them to me.  It's like a little note from heaven right in the middle of the day.  When I see it, I think about how much God loves us and I have a little party in my heart.

Had to laugh at the heart-shaped bum.













I loved the hearts on the wings of this butterfly.













Heart-shaped rocks.



So my darlings, I am hoping to have some heart adventures with you this summer.  I will start collecting some I can show you and start taking pictures of the ones I find.  Don't be surprised if we go on a heart hunt adventure.   I hope you know you are always in my heart and never far from my thoughts.

My little Nija

 

Our little Henry didn't let an arm injury stop him from trying out for a new belt yesterday.  Look at this boy rocking one arm pushups.  

He had an injury from being bounced on by a bigger child at a bounce house activity.    They had his arm x-rayed and then put a splint on it to keep it from being further injured.

He stilled showed me all his forms and helped Poppa sweep and pick up trash.  He likes to earn quarters for his piggy bank.

I like to call Him "TinyTim".  He makes me laugh.  He likes to play "Simon's Cat" on my phone.  He loves Icee Pops (mostly green ones but he will eat other colors )  He enjoys having Diva and Poppa all to himself.  He is growing up too quickly for this Diva.  He will be in Kindergarten his fall.  

Here he is on the first day of pre-school.  He was so excited about going to school and having his very own teacher and classmates.  Poppa and I went to his graduation.  He is standing next to his friend Elizabeth.  She is a special friend.  She likes to hug him, "even when he's not ready for a hug."

Slow down, Henry.  Diva's not ready for you to be grown yet.  We love you and pray for you and your brothers every day.

One of the great joys of my life is listening to you pray at night.

What I love about your Mom

 

This picture reminds me of my daughter Suzy.  I have seen so much personal and spiritual growth in her lately.   She is the mother of 3 active boys, works full time as a school librarian, and still manages to find time to greet each person who comes into the library with a friendly hello and a smile. 

She is a little bit cheerleader, a little bit magical, the keeper of secrets, and seems to know just what book you need (even when you don't). 

She loves to dress up during book week as a favorite character in a book.  She loves to see who can guess what character and from which book.

She recently has had to face some hard truths and decide what is more important to her...financial gain or ministry?  She chose ministry.

Ministry costs time, energy, creativity, and full commitment.  Ministry entitles you to be misunderstood, criticized, and have your motives questioned by those who feel intimidated by your giftedness.  In short," ministry is not for wimps."

So baby girl, know how proud I am of you and your commitment to the Lord.  Hold on and Jesus will carry you through.  

You are an amazing mom, a great daughter, and the first one I want to talk to whenever life is good, (and especially when it is frustrating!)  

Diva Remembers Skating

When I was 8 years old one of my favorite past times was roller skating.  The picture below is the street skates I used, complete with a skate key to tighten up the clamps on my shoes.  The skate key was very important or else the skate fell off every time you picked up your foot.  I lost many skate keys growing up and had to get my dad to use a pair of pliers to adjust the clamps so I could skate.

Not only were the skates heavy and awkward but I learned to skate on the sidewalks outside our home in Abilene, Texas.  Our sidewalks were cracked and if you had any speed at all and hit the rough and uneven pavement a fall was the predictable outcome.  I don't remember how many times I fell but I usually had bruises, skinned knees and elbows and lots of colorful band-aids to show for my skating adventures. ( Remember this was long before knee and elbow pads and helmets.  So if occasionally Diva acts goofy its probably from a childhood skating accident.)  Occasionally my parents would take pity on my injuries and take us skating at the local roller rink.

Ah.....the roller skating rink with a smooth wooden floor with lots of room to skate and shoe skates that they rented out.  Back in my day, it was 8-year-old heaven.  For my 8th birthday, my parents rented out the roller rink and had my birthday party there.  I was the most popular girl in school for that brief week.  I was able to invite all my classmates, Sunday School class friends, Brownie troop, neighbors, and friends. What could be better than shoe skates, birthday cake, presents, music to skate by as well as skating games and" couples only" skating time.  I skated with Jerry Cleveland my third-grade crush....he had braces, bright red hair cut in a crew cut, thick glasses and was the smartest boy in my class.  (Yes, sweet Emma....your Diva was attracted to Nerds even back in the day.  Jerry was a math whiz and did my math homework for me. (But don't tell great grandmother--she just thought I got really smart in math in that year!) 

   I broke my arm roller skating.  It was the first of three broken wrists that I experienced in the first, second and third grade.  My cousins used to say that "I was slippery", I think they meant that I was breakable.  It was my left wrist.  I was going too fast down an incline and couldn't stop myself from hitting a parked car.  I used my left hand to try and stop myself but it bent backward and I heard it snap.  I wore a cast on it for 6 weeks.

In high school, I used to watch Roller Derby on TV.  The girls skated on a banked track and it was really a physical contact sport.  My friends always laughed at me that I enjoyed watching it and called me the Roller Derby Queen.  I actually got to go to a game in Norfolk and meet one of my heroes...Joan Westin of the Bay City Bombers.  I laughed when Auntie Becky told me she was interested in skating with the Roller Derby in Saskatoon.

  Who knows maybe your she will fulfill one of my long lost dreams and be a roller derby queen

As I write this for you today I want you to know how excited we are to see you play soccer, skate, dance, write and create.  Poppa and I love you very much and pray for your every single day.  Know that you are always in my heart and in my thoughts.

Your Roller Derby Skating Queen......Diva