Worth a Thousand Words

There are times in life when the photograph says it all.  

Auntie and nieces enjoying themselves and each other. 

Plays Well With Others

I know my cameras aren't much good.  

That's right, both of them.

One of them is a very nice looking camera.  It looks like it should be better than it is.  It was cheap and you know, you get what you pay for.  It does have a very nice zoom and color correction, so it is useful when I have nothing better.  

The second one is nearly an antique (if any digital camera can be considered such) and when I want to take photos that have the potential for moving subjects, that one is my choice.  

Howsomever, when it comes to taking photos of my grandchildren I need something with the shutter speed in the nanosecond range.  

I'm going to post these photos anyway, just take in the general idea, don't focus.  

hee, hee, hee

My grandchildren were here today, with their mother, of course.  How else would they get here?  They came to visit an Auntie they don't see very often.  They paid her the tribute of playing very nicely together.  

I just love those kids.  

And, no, we didn't clean all the pancake plates off the table.  

Zane

Grandchildren bring busyness, mud, hugs and kisses, mess, and pleasure.  They also bring new social opportunities. It's that time of year again...

School Christmas Concerts.

Zane has changed schools from a small one with 5 students in his class to a larger one in a closer town with 20.  He is doing very well there.  He is doing better in a larger class, since there is more than one...well, that likes lots of attention.  

He's grown enormously this summer and that keeps his mother buying clothes to fit.  He's all dressed up and ready to go.  

We enjoyed the time, the 1st through 3rd graders sang all together and they did a pretty good job, too. 

Once we picked out Zane, he was easy to watch and it was plain to see that he was enjoying himself.  One year makes a big change. He sings, keeps up with the crowd in the actions; he has good control of himself.  

Zane is a busy, adventurous boy, and sometimes he is hard to keep up with in his zest to keep busy. 

I really like to have him help me in the kitchen; he really likes to mix things up.  I have to keep one step ahead of him or too many eggs will end up in the recipe.  

I'm glad to see him settling in to his learning environment to get the most out of school.

It was been so much fun to see him learning to read.  I think I was too busy looking after my own kids, and I missed that part when it happened to them.  His mother reads to him and that is the very best thing to turn your kids into book lovers and readers.  

Even so, no classroom where Zane is will be boring.  

December 7, 2015

Today is a day that goes down in the annals of history as a "Day of Infamy". 

I usually remember the day. Anytime our country is assaulted from foreign shores we need to remember.

There is another reason we are going to remember this day.  It is the day my friend had surgery to remove a sinus tumor. Not just like mine, but close enough. Aggressive, interfering.  Just as her family waited with mine, so we waited with hers.

We waited until the time came, "the surgery proceeded normally, the tumor is removed, everything is going well", and she was safely through recovery and in her room.  She was awake, she knew her family, now healing begins.  

One hurdle is over, there are more to come.  

Remembering

I took a trip down memory lane today. 

Actually, I've been taking a trip down memory lane for the last little while.

About 2 weeks ago we received the sad news that a dear friend has a sinus tumor.  

Here in the same state, a friend of mine, someone my age, our children have grown up together....

 a SINUS TUMOR!!??!!

No one has ever heard of sinus tumors, it isn't something that doctors even think about, and here are two people in the same state who know the fear and uncertainty of having a fast growing tumor in their head.

I feel anxious as I write this, I feel anxious every time I think about it, I feel anxious anytime I talk about it.  

It's like going back three and a half years and remembering.

Remembering the fear, the anxiety, the surgery, the treatment, the hospital stays, the pain, the recovery.  

I don't know what the road my friend will travel will be like.

It won't be the same as mine, but some of the signposts will be all too familiar.   

This time though, I'll be on the other side, and yet by her side.  I'll be watching and yet with her in spirit, because I know what it is like to be where she is.  

I went in unsure and came out fighting.  

And because I was fighting, I know she can, too.