Dreaming of Hawaii

I am sooooo far behind with my blogging and yet there has been so much happening lately. Now sure if I remember it all. Randy and I had a long phone conversation the other night and he remarked that life seems to get busier and busier instead of slower and slower. Right now I am dreaming of a nice Hawaiian vacation.....perhaps this Fall.

He and Dana are preparing for a cruise vacation.....I think the Caribbean. When they both fly all the time a Cruise is a nice diversion. It certainly isn't their first cruise.....they know what to expect and I am sure they will have a super time. Tom, Shari and boys were recently in Seattle and were able to spend a couple of night with them. Rob and Ted think their Uncle Randy is 'super stuff' and they love to invade his "Man's Land", where you are supposed to have special permission to enter. They were able to watch their favorite DVD there. Man's Land is in their 3rd bay garage.....very comfortable with all the bells and whistles and a total delight to Rob and Ted. They think everyone should have a Man's Land.

Randy and Dana are delighted that Tiffany and Jordan are planning to move to Seattle the first of the year. Randy said he is more than ready to have his daughter close by. We hope this becomes a reality.

I recently had abdominal repair surgery.....a surgery that my Cardiologist was insisting that I have done. I'm doing extremely well, considering my bad back and Parkinson's. In another week I will be back in the swimming pool and life will return to normal. Wayne has been my super caregiver....pampering me far more than necessary - but, I love it!

Rob and Ted delight us with their visits and we enjoy our visits with them in Sahaurita. They have a large play/game room that Grandpa must watch movies with them.....mainly Star Wars. They have been looking for their new Church home and I think they are narrowing down their search.

Wayne is leaving this afternoon for Bellingham.....this will be a quick visit to take care of business.

September/October are beautiful months in the Desert.....our temperatures are beginning to cool and the days are delightful.
We do have an awesome Fall season.

God continues to bring us many blessings and I remain a blessed Arizona Gramma.

First Day of School

As I reflect back through the years and remember the first day of school each year for Randy and Shari, it was always traumatic....and emotional.....for me!! I would always take them to school on that first day, but somehow I just couldn't make myself drive away once I returned to the car. I kept thinking that surely there was something they would need or I forgot to give them everything. Finally, I would have no more excuses and I would drive away with a very heavy heart. After the first day, they would usually ride the school bus and I would let the tears flow as the bus pulled away. It would take a good week before I would get my emotions controlled and see the brighter side of this picture.

Does it get better with the Grandchildren.....Noooooo!! I did a lot of praying this year when Rob and Ted started School in Rancho Sahaurita on August 4th. I told myself perhaps it was because they were entering a larger school in a new town, but I knew I had felt this way the beginning of each of their school years. Well, this Gramma had to drive down and be there when Shari picked them up after that first day of school. Besides it was fun and special to be there to share in their day activities.
We then went out for special treats to top off the school day.

Well....they each enjoyed their first day of school and they like their teachers and now I guess I can relax.....until next year!!
I am so thankful for the blessings of being their Arizona Gramma.

True Friends Are Priceless

I have many blessings to be thankful for, but true friends have to top the list. God has blessed me with the finest and best....friends that are always there at exactly the right time when you need them....they always know the right words to say and are quick to say they are sorry. They are people you love to be with..can laugh and giggle together, cry with and make special memories together.

When Shari was growing up, I tried to instill in her the importance of friends....you never take advantage of them and a true friendship is worth the time, effort and work it takes to nurture a relationship. Never smothering, but loyalty and honestly caring.

Sometimes we are deeply disappointed and hurt by those we care about and perhaps we soon learn that they are not true friends. The same is true within our biological extended families....hurtful words can cut deeply and walls are erected that can not be easily demolished. This is so sad, as perhaps those are the ones that care the most. Do you allow words to destroy those that love you? It is also easy to allow jealousy to creep into relationships.....how sad this must be to God.

God has also blessed me with an array of friends.....close friends from all over. I would like to think he chose each of them for exactly the needs that I have in my life, and hopefully I fulfill specific needs that they have in their lives. Regardless, I know that I love them deeply and am here for them.

When our little Molly dog died last week, it was our true friends who reached out and comforted us and allowed their caring hearts to be here. Thank you all so much.....you are the best!!

Arizona Gramma

Photo Credit: Bing images

Good Bye to our sweet Molly dog....

Precious little Molly was a member of our family for the past twelve years and it is with very sad and heavy hearts that we had to say goodbye to her early friday morning.

Molly was the most perfect dog that we would ever hope for. She was a tiny Yorkshire Terrier weighing a bit over 5 lbs, but she emitted a ton of love and joy. She was not a barker, however she would alert me at night if something was near our house. She never ate or begged for people food, but she enjoyed a little toast with butter. She was the most remarkable traveler and was excited to hop in her travel bag to go anywhere I went. Once she was in her bag there was never a peep out of her. She sat right at my feet on an airplane and was just happy to be there. She was completely trained to use her little potty pad.....I could put her pad down in a bathroom stall at the airport and she would immediately use it. She loved to go to Target with me....sit in the child seat and watch the world go by without one bit of noise. She loved the attention she would get and would act like a princess that expected it. The above picture shows Molly in the center of Muffin and to the right Timmy, who was Tiffany's little Yorkie. Now all of our Yorkies have passed away.

Very early this past friday morning, Molly began to have labored breathing and runny eyes. I thought she was having problems with allergies. I kept her right beside me and soon knew I had to get her to the emergency pet hospital. But, before I could reach for the phone she collapsed. I immediately called my neighbor, Jim, who came in seconds. Molly seemed to revive a little, but before we could leave for the hospital she died. Her little heart had just given up.

Wayne flew home immediately and arrived Friday afternoon. Our entire family has been grieving over this little Angel dog. Her DVM sent us a beautiful poem from Pawprints:

I am the wind blowing through your hair
and the warmth you feel in the air,

When that smile creeps on your face,
remember that I am in a good place.
And when you're feeling sad and down,
recall memories of me running around,

You don't need to look low and high,
just search way deep inside,
And know that we'll never be apart,
for I have left my pawprints on your heart.

Molly left more than pawprints in our hearts and she will be remembered with much love and happiness.
It is so sad to say farewell to this precious Angel dog who was my shadow for 12 years.

Thank you Molly for filling our home with many memories and happiness.
Your Arizona Gramma.

Another Birthday

Summers are one busy time for many family birthdays. July 15th was Tom's birthday, but he was in Boston on business. So.....we gathered on Friday the 17th to celebrate when he returned home. Rob and Ted are always elated when he is returning from a business trip that they wanted to plan a mini surprise party for him. Tom loves and prefers pies, so Shari made his favorite Banana Cream and Blueberry Cream pies. She is an excellent pie baker, which made him an extremely happy guy. The boys took their Dad to their local water park.....he couldn't understand why they were so eager to leave at a certain time, as they usually have to be pulled from the water. He definitely was surprised when they returned home to find us there waiting for him. Gleeful noises were made and birthday wishes shouted and yummy pie was devoured.

The following Sunday Tom's father, Rod, treated the entire family to dinner at McGraw's Canatina. Happy Birthday to a very special son-in-law that we dearly love.

With blessing like this.....it is easy to be a very happy
Arizona Gramma

This and That

Where o where does time go? Each day my mind has a long agenda that I hope to fulfill, but at the end of the day I haven't made a dent. Wayne made a remark the other day that he has never grown old before and therefore isn't sure what he is supposed to be feeling. I told him to just keep thinking those young at heart thoughts.

This will be the first time in many years that I will not be visiting up north for a few months. I will miss that time with family and friends, but until my back gets better I know I am more comfortable to stay at home. Hopefully by Fall I will be running around again. We are still planning a Hawaiian vacation this coming winter, so my back had better be back to normal by then. I will soon be beginning a new spinal treatment....I will give updates on this. The Insurance saga goes on and on.

One of the joys of staying at home this summer is enjoying our summer monsoon season. Yes, it is extremely hot, but we are well equipped for the heat....our mornings and evenings are delightful and afternoons are siesta times. You definitely learn to live in the Desert. But monsoons make the hot summers more than enjoyable. The National Geographic published a large report several years ago stating that Tucson is the lightening Capital of the world and I totally believe this.....the storms appear out of nowhere....they are violent with torrents of rain, blowing wind, lightening crashes and the roar of thunder beyond belief......and I love every minute of it. They can be over in a very short period of time and the bright sunshine will be smiling again. Flooding can happen rapidly, as our ground is very hard and bone dry and there is no place for the water to go. At least our rivers and washes finally have water flowing down them.

On the home front.....everyone is doing well. Rob and Ted are enjoying their new home and resort area. Our schools begin session the first week in August and they are excited to begin this new journey. They are looking for a new Church home to have like minded friends. Tom left this morning for a business trip to Boston.....we will be celebrating his birthday later this week. Shari continues to be busy with her fund raising activities for Children Charities. We are thankful that they are all well and happpy.

Randy and Dana, plus their two dogs, are doing well......they are looking forward to a cruise later this summer. I look forward to Randy's weekly phone calls. They so enjoyed their visit with Tiffany and Jordan and they wished they were living in Seattle rather than Sacramento.

As I write this.....our temperature is 110 and Wayne is literally enjoying an afternoon siesta. As I pause to reflect upon things around us, I have a joyful heart for our many blessings.
Arizona Gramma

Cowboy Rob's 9th Birthday

Cowboy Rob's ideal birthday celebration was spending the day in Bisbee and Tombstone, AZ with another side trip to Old Tucson. He loves the wild west and can tell you all the stories of Wyatt Earp and the other characters of that time. For over a year, he has been writing "his novel" transposing his friends to the wild west characters. He actually does a very good job and I can see a History Teacher and Writer in his future.

Rob is a very tender hearted boy, well mannered and appreciative, plus a very caring big guy. He is an excellent student, very obedient......loves Jesus and will be the first to lead everyone is prayer. He is a caring big brother and Ted calls him his best friend.......Needless to say, we are very proud of him.

He received his first "Stetson" cowboy hat for his birthday. We didn't think he would ever take that hat off! He was kind enough to tell everyone that their gift was his best, but that Stetson hat just could not be beat.

Rob had a hard time moving into the new house, as he is very sentimental......however, now he thinks his new room is pretty nice and he happy with the big house. He old house has become the "vacation" house and until it sells, he and Ted love to visit and enjoy their big pool.

We loved being with you on your birthday, Rob. We love you so much and we are so proud of you.
You are a big blessing to me and you definitely help make me a very happy and blessed
Arizona Gramma