Saturday, November 12, 2016

A Surprise for Grandma! Friday and Saturday.....

Amber and I had planned on going to Fort Worth to surprise Mother and Aunt Deanie with an impromptu visit! While we meant to go Friday morning, we were flexible when events and schedules changed so we changed it into an afternoon visit. Amber picked me up on her way west and we stopped in Benbrook at a Starbucks - since Amber knows how much her dearly beloved Aunt Deanie LOVES Starbucks - for Mocha Fraps all around!


Mother was in the bathroom when we arrived so the quads were sitting on her bed when she came out!
SURPRISE!!!!!


And she was!!! So was Aunt Deanie and Uncle Charlie when we arrived!
Charlie told Amber, "You have MADE her day!" Meaning Deanie because she was the one Amber MOST wanted to see. Deanie has had a great deal of health problems over the last several months (and YEARS)  and Amber has been busy with Kailey's heart surgery issues and other things so - let's just say Amber was VERY much wanting to see her Aunt Deanie with her own eyeballs - MY expression! The main purpose of this visit was to see her Aunt Deanie! Did I get a pic of them together? No!

 

But here's Amber with her Grandma! 
Every grandchild in our family call my mother 'Granny!'
EXCEPT for Amber and Benjamin.
Amber decided that 'Granny' was not acceptable and proceeded to call her 'Grandma!'
Ben followed suit.
By the way - 'Grandma' was what the quads were SUPPOSED to call ME!!


Except Kailey - Amber's Mini Me - had an other name in mind!
SHE called me MeeMaw and the other three followed suit just as Ben did with Amber!


Mother enjoyed our visit!!!


Family time is always a GOOD time!!!


I played outside with the quads - Amber thought ahead as she always does - and we had balls, color papers and all sorts of activities to do - so she could visit with her beloved Aunt Deanie.
Amber and her Aunt Deanie formed a close relationship during Amber's engagement to Mike.
It has only grown through the years and the birth of the quads.


Uncle Charlie is also a favorite of the family!
Deanie, Nita, Lonnie and I have all married well in our 'old age' and our spouses are also favorites with our children and grandchildren!
There is no one in the world who DOESN'T love Uncle Charlie!!!


Boo! Boo WHO????
We made a lot of happy 'noise!'

Let's just say - I imagine the quiet they felt after we left was deafening!!!


Amber and I are always up for an adventure - and she is teaching her children to roll with the flow of life and experiences!
So....is it any surprise that we drove all the way to Granbury (only 20 miles!) to eat at Taco Casa???



So we could shop at our mutual favorite grocery store of all time - HEB???
I took two and Amber took two - and away we went!!!


It may have been late but the quads were up for it!
They had naps on the way to Fort Worth and I love how Amber is preparing them for LIFE!!!!'
There's always something to disrupt a schedule. So do you embrace the situation or hunker down in what was planned?
I am so proud of the way Amber has introduced flexibility and versatility into their lives!
That's LIFE and that's how they ROLL!!!


As late as it was - we still stopped by my sister, Nita's, to deliver her birthday gift!
She was waiting up for us and sitting on her front porch with a candle burning and a glass of wine.
Her birthday was November 5th so I was a bit late. My gift was a tin of Popcorn Crunch .....


and two velvet pumpkins! They are made from a favorite velvet skirt I wore in long years past.
Back when I was 'young and beautiful!'
Too bad I didn't know that then!

This morning (Saturday) Louis Dean and I had our coffee and reading out in the gazebo.


No sweaters! Still not really seasonable weather here in Texas.
He went to work in the storage building and I went to a birthday party!


Little Nicole is 7 years old!
I have known her since her birth when her family lived across the street.
Things change and people move but friendships continue.

When I came home, I found Louis Dean bewildered and walking around in circles.
The old storage building clean up was more than he could handle.
He was about to call in help when I arrived.
No need!!! I took off my scarf and pretty hat and pulled on a pair of those heavy duty kitchen gloves - and proceeded to sack up nearly a dozen bags of really and truly DEBRIS!!!!! NOT the decorative kind Louis Dean lovingly calls 'debris' but really and truly DEBRIS! or you could call it TRASH!
Although a lot of it wasn't really trash. Just stuff we we never ever use!


Getting rid of stuff is an emotional decision.
He and I are both making it.
It is time.
This will be my fall storage area. I am so excited!!!
I will be able to both store it away and get it out - all by myself!
No more attic and dealing with the heat!

Progress is being made and we are both so happy!!

15 comments:

Jutta said...

You do good to all - and your LD really loves you.

Wanda said...

Family is so important, and you take it very seriously. Love getting to know your family and all your activities. You mom looks great.

Glad you have space for all your Fall DEBRIS. Have a great Sunday.

Ginny Hartzler said...

All these empty shelves are a beautiful sight. And now on to the stuff you really WILL use, and being able to get at it anytime you want to. What a fun and impromptu visit! And I can tell by the way everyone is dressed that it is very warm there. NOT here. It is in the 30's now. Amber is so beautiful as usual!

Nancy Chan said...

What a happy visit with the quads and I am sure your mom and aunt Deanie will miss the presence and noise after you all left. You are so blessed with beautiful family members.

Kathy said...

What fun to surprise your mom and sister that way! I know they loved the visit just by the videos. It is good to be flexible and go with the flow. Smart of Amber to be teaching the kids this at an early age. I know people who are inflexible and it's not a pretty sight.

Look at all those pretty clean shelves! Just in time to store all your fall things. It is hard to get rid of things. We are in the midst of that too.

Changes in the wind said...

So nice you can work together on the shed and it will be a blessing to you both. Love how your Mom was surprised by the quads:)

Arlene G said...

I do think it is good to teach children to go with the flow. I see so many young adults who have been catered to their whole lives and they cannot cope with reality. I liked your story about the names. All the grandchildren in our family called my Grandmother Henderson, Grandmother. But the youngest grandchild came along and called her Maw Maw. My children picked that up so she was Maw Maw to all the great grands. I am Nana....I chose it and so far they are going along with it.lol The other grandmothers are Mimi and Granny. Little Audrey calls her grandmother kim by the Korean name for mom's mom. Yes, they have different names for the paternal and maternal grandparents. I thought that was neat.

Susie said...

Linda, You may not be as young as you once were (you are not so old), but you are still a very beautiful lady. I love that you went to visit your mother and sisters. To take the little ones along must have given all their spirits a lift. So happy you and LD are tossing out things...I need to get back to my sorting and tossing too. Blessings to all of you, love , xoxo, Susie

Vee said...

I see your friends have hopped all over the "back when I was young and beautiful" comment. Good! For you are one of the most beautiful women I "know." And for further support in my opinion, you can always just ask Louis Dean. And age is a state of mind and heart so you are one of the most youthful women I know as well.

What fun to have an adventure and to just pick up and go! I love days like that. Maybe I'll have to plan one of my own. Wanna join me? Ha!

Oh the thought of the quads sitting on your mother's bed just tickles me. I can tell that she was just as happy as could be.

Yay for your progress in the shed! I only wish that I had some empty spaces (that I could fill right back up) in the garage. So much of sentimental value and that's about it. I have, at last, figured out that I can toss old plastic flower pots.

Say "howdy" to Louis Dean for me. Love his helpful ways...

Linda said...

A near perfect day I would say.

MadSnapper said...

I love the look of that empty shed.. good job to both of you.. so glad you all got to visit your family and I could see how excited your mother was to find the quads on her bed. Amber is a fantastic mother. I wish I had been as good as she is

The Brown Recluse (TBR) said...

Quads! I bet that makes for wild birthday celebrations! How precious your mom is...I know the children were just what she needed!

I think schedules for kids should be interrupted every so often...of course there are exceptions. Sure looks like you all had a great time.

NanaDiana said...

Our grands all roll with the punches, too. It is smart to teach them that early because life is full of unexpected surprises.

Your mom looks really GOOD and happy! What a blessing to have mom alive at this age. Wow!

Good for you for pitching in and PITCHING...lol I did a lot of that this last year. It was a great feeling to just get rid of so much 'stuff'.

Hope you have a blessed week- xo Diana

Bev said...

Wonderful busy day!!...and you your shed is looking good!!

Carla said...

Pitching stuff is hard for me too. It's time for me to start de-cluttering. Come this spring we'll be putting the house on the market. Scary but necessary so that we can start building on the farm. Love the picture of Amber and your mom.