Growing, Growing

Baby Collin seems to be in no big hurry to come out and meet his family. He seems to be growing and growing. The plans were for Jayme to be admitted to the hospital on July 6 (next Sunday) and then begin induction on July 7. However, she has made no progress on her own, so her doctor doesn't want to induce until she does something on her own. Please pray for Jayme and for Baby Collin as the date of his delivery comes closer. Jayme has a clotting factor deficiency, so her delivery requires a little extra planning. Her doctor would rather she not go into labor on her own, just progress a little.

Don't be mad at me, Jayme.....but, I had to add this picture of you with your beautiful pregnant belly--can't wait to meet that little guy.

I Am Stuck on Band-Aids

Bryce has always been afraid of Band-aids. We figure it's because whenever he has to get a shot, they put a Band-aid on it. So, Jayme and I have always thought that he associated them to the shots, therefore was terrified of them. Well......things are now different. He had a little hangnail about a week or so ago and Jayme convinced him that a Band-aid would make it feel better. So, after he saw that it didn't hurt at all. He now adds a new one every few hours. I counted today and he had 7 on him....from head to toe.

While I was there today, helping Jayme around the house a little, I got a little cut on my leg. Well, Bryce came to my rescue with a Ratatouille Band-aid. Then he thought I needed another one for my hand, so the germs didn't get on me. He met me when I got there in his pajamas looking the way he does in the picture below....told me "Nana (prounounced by him with a long "a" sound) you can help Mommy for a little bit and then you can play with me, o.k.?" It was a fun day.

Slumber party

This past week, on Thursday, I had the privilege of having Maleigha spend the night with us. Her mommy and Daddy had an anniversary on Thursday and decided to go to Cincinnati to celebrate with dinner and some shopping. So, Miss Mia got to spend the day and night with Nana, Papaw and Uncle Josh. God has blessed me so greatly with 2 wonderful grandkids and I am so happy that I get to spend time with each of them. Mia is a great baby and was no trouble at all, except that Nana is getting old and gets worn out easily!! Then today, Krista and David had an opportunity to be a part of a vow renewal of some friends in Athens. So, Mia got to stay with Nana again. She went to a jewelry party with Aunt Jayme and Nana and was the center of attention there.

I tried to get some good pictures of her while she was here. She's a sweetie and pretty good about pictures. Here's one that's pretty cute.

Patiently Waiting for Baby Collin

I'm a week behind on my blog it seems. But, last Saturday some very sweet ladies at church had a baby shower for Jayme and Baby Collin. He got some great new clothes, lots of diapers to fill up and some useful things for his nursery. We are all anxious to meet this little guy, especially his big brother. Anyway, Jayme didn't know it, but a friend from church and I invited our former pastor's wife to the shower. I snapped a cute picture of Jayme when she saw Jennifer come in at the shower. The Duncans were like family to us and any time we get to see them is automatically special. I am so thankful that God allowed us to get to know them and love them for over 5 years.

Isn't the look of surprise on her face great? The shower was great--the Beckett ladies did a great job. And, as my title said, we are still patiently awaiting the arrival of Baby Collin.

Here's a great picture of Bryce with his future wife, Anna Kate. They had a great time playing together again. I love the look on his face in this picture.

Where the Wild Things Are

Have you ever seen the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are"? Well, I'm pretty sure I've found the "wild things" the last couple days in my swimming pool. I know that anyone who reads my blog is probably getting tired of seeing pool pictures of the grandkids. However, I promised Bryce last night that I would post the pictures of him going off the diving board--"with nobody to catch him". And, then Mia was here this evening, being absolutely wild too. She wanted Krista to just let go of her and let her go. She's a wiggly, squiggly baby girl. Uncle Josh was just commenting today, too, about how wild Bryce is in the pool--not afraid of anything!! He was everywhere last night. They threw him up and tossed him and pushed him on the jet ski, etc.



















The jump and the splash!!! He's good at the diving board now!

Bryce does a cool Doodlebop game with his dad too. I'll have to post pictures of that sometime soon too. He's wild!!

Krista blew in Mia's face to get her to hold her breath. Then it was down under the water she went. She looks a little startled in that second picture, doesn't she?

I will try to post something a little more exciting in the near future. It won't be long before there will be pictures on here of the new baby, Collin. I praise God for my grandkids. They are very special to this Nana. It sounds like I'm going to get to spend quite a bit of time with each of them in the next few weeks. Please pray for the safe arrival of Baby Collin, sometime during the first week or so of July--the dates are still up in the air a little.

Unity in the Body of Christ

I have been challenged (or maybe convicted) recently by the thought of having "ill" against a brother or sister in Christ. As a Christian, I am part of the body of Christ. Our pastor used to ask the question "Who is the Church?" Well, "the church" is not the building, the pews or the contents of the building, but the people of the congregation--those who are part of the Body of Christ--a Christian. The Bible tells us that we are to forgive those who have done wrong against us. I have read several passages relating to that and prayed for God to help me to forgive those whom have hurt me. But, just in the last couple weeks, I've discovered how hard that is!! Then I think about how much I have or have had in my life that needs God's forgiveness and He has already forgiven those things--past, present and future. All because of Jesus and His death, burial and resurrection. (Can you tell that my poor mind has been having a tremendous wrestling match??)

It's easy to tell others, "You just need to forgive that, forget it and get over it". However, when the hurt involves you or those you dearly love, it gets harder to actually put into practice. We need to pray constantly for one another that we will have a forgiving spirit and remember the things that Christ has done for us. Colossians 3:13 says: "bearing with one another and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

So, as I begin a new week, please pray for me that I will be able to forgive the wrongs I have seen done against me and those I love--that I will forgive seven times seven. I pray that I will be able to remember those things that God has forgiven me of--because I am in Christ. As we are at the present time without a pastor, it is even more important that we pray for one another and pray for unity in the body of Christ--in our local body. Praying that each person will perform the duty that he or she is called by God to do.

A Promise Fulfilled

Today the girls and the kids came over to swim for a little while. Bryce has a new "trick" he does--jumping off the side. I took some pictures of it and promised him that if the pictures turned out good, I would put them on my blog. So, here are the pictures of Bryce's new trick.

Mia did a new trick today too, but I was in the pool at the same time and didn't get pictures of it. Krista blew in her face and put her under water--and she loved it. She spit and sputtered a little, but really liked it. It was a fun day.

Learning Lessons

Our pastor (whom we dearly loved) resigned and left our church in February. From that time on, we have had a different preacher each Sunday to fill the pulpit. Some have been "potential candidates", while others have been there to preach just for the one Sunday. It's hard sometimes to go from week to week, knowing that there will be someone different there each week. However, there have been some men who have preached whom have truly blessed us with great messages from God's word and presented the Word of God very well.

We had a local pastor who offered to fill the pulpit last night just for the evening. He has been a pastor at his church for 21 years--a great deal of time for a pastor to be at one church. He was very encouraging and yet challenging at the same time. God has brought one certain phrase to my attention about 10 times in the last 6 weeks or so. I heard it again last night. The pastor was preaching about unity in the local church and forgiving those who have wronged us in the church. (That was the challenging part to me!) He then said that we needed to remember that our lives needed to be lived to glorify God--pleasing an "Audience of One" (that's the phrase!!). I have been praying that God will show me how my life needs to be led to be pleasing to Him--with Christ living through me, may I see that I need to be pleasing to that "Audience of One".

God uses people in my life each and every day to teach me a new lesson. Sometimes it's a message I hear, sometimes it's through one of my own kids or grandkids. :) I am thankful that He loves me and wants me to be more like Jesus Christ and that He wants me to learn lessons.

Happy Birthday Jennifer!!

Happy Birthday to my very special friend, Jennifer today. We met when her husband came to be pastor of our church. Actually, they had only been there a short time when she and Scott and their tiny baby Benjamin came to live with us for a few days during an ice storm. We really had a great time laughing, eating whatever we could find and just hanging out--passing Benjamin around, etc.

Jennifer and I have always joked that we were sisters--we share many of the same issues and worries. We are sisters in Christ and no matter where she lives, I will always consider her to be one of my very best friends. We could talk about anything and many times she was there for me as a shoulder to cry on. Thanks so much for that!!

So, here's to you, Jennifer.......have a VERY happy birthday. (Tell your mom thanks for "letting" me borrow the picture, the only one I could find of you was from Krista's wedding--just a few weeks before Anna Kate was born!!) I love you so!

My Water Babies

The kids came over to swim today. It was a beautiful day for it--the weather was warm and the pool water is getting warmer. Dawn and Jesse came down to swim for awhile with us too. I praise God for my family--it seems like they are here just when I need them most. I was having a "feeling sorry for myself" kind of day and that changed quickly. God is so patient and good. Here are some pictures from the day. I try not to put pictures of my grandkids on every day--I don't want anyone to get tired of seeing them. :)

Bryce showing his skills at swimming. This was the first time he had been in the pool this year, but wasn't a bit afraid.

I'm not sure what this face was about--it's cute, but she had a blast in her turtle floatie thing. She was content to just float along and enjoy the day!

Bryce enjoying the sandbox and his new sand toys. He let Granny play with him for a few minutes in the sand.

What do you think? Is she having fun? She was cracking up when Mommy threw her up in the air.