Happy Birthday To Our TWO YEAR OLD!

Our youngest granddaughter is TWO!!!

She is spunky and cautious and was the slowest one to warm up to me........

......AND Santa!

She is an absolute JOY
And is the easiest baby ever!

Happy Birthday to our
Baby Doll loving
Mommy loving
Paci loving
PRECIOUS beyond words
Youngest granddaughter!

Nonny and Poppy love you BIG!

Happy Birthday To Our FIVE YEAR OLD!

This big boy
Our oldest grandson
Is turning FIVE today.

He is pretty amazing!

His heart has compassion like you've never seen!
For people.
And for animals.
And for the feelings of others.

He is dagum "smart as a whip!"
And doesn't miss a trick......
Which is good AND bad!
He definitely keeps us on our toes!

I adore this boy!

I pray he uses his intelligence and compassion
to bless others.
And I pray he lives every day of his life 
for the one who created him.

Nonny loves you big B!

You and your 
toy loving 
friend loving
water loving
HEART!

Happy Birthday BUDDY!
Love, Nonny

Happy Birthday To Our SIX YEAR OLD!

This baby girl was born six years ago.

She was grand #2, 
and we welcomed her to our family
 with so much excitement and anticipation of what it would be like 
to be grandparents to more than one grand!

She did not disappoint!

Good grief! How could we NOT love this smiling angel???!!!

You know when you are expecting your first baby and you wonder if you could EVER love another one like you loved the first one? That's exactly how it feels with the grands too. And then, the next one comes, and you love just as big as with the first!

A is stubborn and spunky;
artistic and fun

 independent and feisty

and has an opinion on all things related to fashion!!!
She is gorgeous and humble 
and knows EXACTLY what she wants,

....and I love everything about her!

"And though she be but little, she is FIERCE!"
William Shakespeare

Sweet A, 

I pray you take that precious, sweet, determined spirit 

and serve Jesus in a BIG way!

I really do love everything about you!

Happy Birthday!

Love, Nonny

Happy Birthday First Born

I was 19.

Didn't have a CLUE what I was doing.

But God, in His perfect ways

38 years ago,

Loaned me this boy to love:

He is still cute.
He is still my first born.
And he might even still wear initials on his shirt.

But,
How in the world is he turning
38?

I'm proud of you, B!
Go do great things.
And always remember the ONE 
who made you who you are.

Happy Birthday Ace!

Love, Mom and Dad

I'm Nonny To An EIGHT Year Old!

On the day of your birth I had no idea how much room I had in my heart to love you. 
You were one of the most alert babies I had ever seen.

I fell completely in love with you....and you loved me in return.

You still do.

And I still do too.

You have a servant's heart and always put others before yourself.

That's a quality that makes me so proud of you.

Girlie, If you don't become a school teacher, I will be SHOCKED! It's your favorite thing in the whole wide world to play!

You are more than ready to be EIGHT! The world needs more girls like you. Go be a light! 

Nonny is proud of you!

Happy Birthday E. C. !

Nonny loves you BIG!

Happy 4th Birthday C + T

They were born WAY TOO EARLY and fought for every breath just to be here. But God, in His gracious way, allowed them to bless the socks off us! 

I pray every day that their lives will always be a reflection of HIM.

May God Bless these boys all the days of their lives!

Happy Birthday C + T.

Nonny loves you BIG!

Who Would Have Ever Dreamed?

Every year I love you more.

Every year brings changes and a newer you.

I promise to love the new you every year.

Thank you for making me feel safe.

And secure.

And for loving me in spite.

Because 

EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED IN A MARRIAGE IS RIGHT HERE.

Happy 40th year.

photo by:jenny conklin

Back To School

Five of the nine had *back to school days* recently!

I love those first day mornings! Their hair is combed and all slicked back. Their clothes are new and ironed. They get up and get ready in time to actually eat breakfast and have their pictures taken. Their lunch boxes are packed with healthy food and their moms feel pretty darn good about the new school year! It's a new beginning...a chance to get it right! 

So thankful we have a chance to get it right every day!

"His mercies are new EVERY morning"

Lamentations 3:23

It's His Birthday

My baby boy turns 34 today!

You are a GOOD soul J.

So thankful for you and your heart for Jesus and people.

You do life well and dad and I are blessed to call you son.

Happy Birthday!

Love you BIG.

Mom

August 2015

I guess it's safe to title this August, since it seems I'm not blogging more than once a month! :( 

We returned this past weekend from our family beach trip. It was a great trip and actually was a little easier this year than last! The nine grands are getting a little older and they all play together SOOO well! They range in age from 14 months to seven years. (funny how that seems OLDER.) Our eight year old niece goes with us too (and my parents) so technically we have 10 playing together! We have a total of 20 on our trip and it's GREAT!

Our DIL has us spoiled by making a video of our trip! Probably nobody enjoys it but us, but I am sharing it in case you want to see our trip.

It's Her Birthday!

Another DIL has a birthday this month!

Yall, I am so blessed in the DIL department! When you can call your DIL a friend(s), you are blessed indeed! She loves people well and is surrounded by friends and family who love her too!

I love J's adventuresome spirit! She is the BEST boy mom but has a beautiful feminine side to her too!

Thank you J for being fun and happy go lucky!

WE are the lucky ones!

Happy Happy Birthday!

(first photo by Pam Bonney)

(last two photos by Jordan Maunder)

One Special BIRTHDAY!

Shoot the fireworks.............It's HER Birthday!!

Our DIL, K, juggles lots....and does a great job at it!

 So proud of her and love her so! 
Her attitude is always so upbeat and positive!
Thankful she is in our family and loves us!

Happy Birthday K!
We love you big!

Nonny and Poppy

Cousin Camp #6 2015

It's a Cousin Camp Miracle! All 15 looking at the camera!
 Ages 10 months to nine years! 

This was the sixth year we have had Cousin Camp! Hard to believe we started six years ago with only a handful and now we have 15! The kids all have such a great time and though it is exhausting and hot, camp is such a fun thing to do! We spend all our time outside when we are at home and we also spend a day at our local Children's Museum! We eat lots of junk food and skip naps and play in water and ride golf carts and just enjoy spending time together! Long after Poppy and I are gone, we want them to all remember the importance of family. Some of their best memories will be of their cousins!

Poppy is incredible! He works tirelessly for days to make Cousin Camp happen! There is NO WAY i could do it without him. The kids always enjoy the slow golf cart rides through the neighborhood! It takes three carts to hold all of us!

Again this year the cookies are from Sweet Stuff by Meredith! You can find her on Facebook. She is local to me but she DOES ship and her cookies taste as good as they look!!!

I ordered the shirts from Blanks Boutique! A friend did the appliqués!

I may invest in a new sign next year! I never dreamed when I scribbled this on an old chalkboard back in 2010 that we would still be doing CC every year!

I won't bore you with the other 100 pictures we took! But, if you have any questions about CC, please leave a comment with your email address and i will try my best to answer your questions!

Until next year……..it's a WRAP!