The Journey Continues

Another Mother's Day has come and gone and I feel so blessed. It has been an eventful year! There has been great joy as well as great sadness in my life this past year.

My nephew, Connor, underwent a successful bone marrow transplant and is winning his fight with leukemia! Way to go, Connor! And I want to thank all of my readers who have sent up prayers for this little fighter - God bless you all.

We have moved to a new place, closer to our son and his family. The grand babies can run over to see me more often now. And we have had several great sleep-overs already. I love it! They keep me feeling so young and Keilee (13 years old) keeps me up to date on the latest fashion and music!

Speaking of Keilee, she will be graduating from the 8Th grade Friday night. Where does the time go? She really does get more beautiful every day. (Spoken like a true doting grandmother, right?)

I decided to go back into nursing so I am finishing up my Nurse Refresher course through OU next week. I said I'd never work in nursing again but "once a nurse, always a nurse",I guess. It's what I do best so I am excited to be back in my chosen profession.

I already told you about our great sorrow this past September - the loss of my nephew, Shane. His parents and brother are doing the best they can to go on without him. But, oh! how hard it is. Dear Lord please light their path and ease their pain.

This journey through my 5Th decade is a bit of a roller coaster ride sometimes. Both frightening and fun. In spite of the hurt and sorrow, it is still so good to be living this time of my life.

The sunrises are bright and beautiful, the nights are calm and restful and the people around me are sweeter to me than they have ever been before.

The Grandbabies...Campout!

What fun! A weekend with the grandbabies at Cedar Lake! Hubby and I pulled our travel trailer to this lake near our home and had the grandbabies spend time with us there this weekend. Gwynnie was off on a vacation with her parents (our daughter and her hubby) in south Houston and we missed having her with us, but our sons' children are close by. And we love spending time with all of them.

Most people think of Oklahoma as flat, prairie land that is quite boring. But we live in southeast Oklahoma where there are amazing lakes and mountains. It's beautiful country! Cedar Lake is just 20 miles from our home and is nestled in the Ouachita Mountains near Talimena drive. This photo of hubby and me with the "grands" was taken on Talimena Drive.

So we got set up at our campsite on Friday after laying in a supply of all the favorite foods our grandchildren would require. By friday afternoon at about 4pm we were anxiously awating the arrival of our "babies". Hubby and I were walking a short distance from our campsite when we heard a chorus of voices..."Mamaw, Papaw!" They came running toward us as though they hadn't seen us in years (when, in fact, we had seen them only last week).

I can't express with words how it feels to have someone be that glad to see me! It's so awesome!

We hugged and all of us talked at the same time. It was one of those happy family moments that you enjoy now, and remember later with such sweetness. And the weekend was off to a great start.

I began to feel young and carefree immediatly. My energy level shot through the roof! I played and laughed and forgot everything except the joy of the moment.

Oh my! This grandmother experience is so liberating! When I was a parent, I had to discipline, fret, worry, as well as love and direct my children. It was a wonderful experience but stressful, at times. But with grandchildren, it's so different.

I can spoil them, love them, play with them, and then...send them home to their parents for all the other stuff. How fun is that?!! It's a lot of fun! And I revelled in it this weekend. We played games, went fishing, built a bonfire, roasted weiners, went hiking, watched movies as late as they wanted, ate junk food, and basically broke all the rules. I loved it!

There is a magic that goes along with being a grandparent. It comes from having these lovely young souls believe in us, love us, so completely. I'm always mindful that what I say to them will probably be remembered, so I am careful to speak truth and encouragement to them. But, mostly, I just love them. And I let them know that they are loved without question.

I'm back home with hubby now and we are both totally exhausted. Happy, but exhausted! It's very quiet in our house tonight, but the sound of their laughter still rings in my ears and I feel young....so very young!