My FANTASTIC Weekend!

Okay, so this picture belongs way down on the post where it talks about the boys reading, but I messed up somehow and I refuse to completely redo the entire post. So, when you get to the part about the twins knowing their alphabet, come back up here to see the appropriate picture.

I was able to enjoy the BEST long weekend October 9-12. I left home, by myself, about 10:20 Friday morning and headed down to Frank & Tracy's in Fort Mill, SC. A little over 6 hours and two pit stops later, I arrived at their home and was greeted by a beautiful pregnant lady and two gorgeous redheads. Leah's school was having its "Fall Festival" that night, so after a short visit we headed over to the Elementary School for fun, games, and barbecue.

Rebekah and Leah at the school when we first arrived. What dolls!

There was a hoola hoop contest. Here's Rebekah trying her hand at it and below is Leah trying. Neither girl had ever done hoola hoops before, but they had fun trying. Frank stayed busy helping at the food tables all night. He's Secretary of the PTO and was in charge of the drinks, particularly the lemonade, so we didn't get to see him very much. After the festival we girls drove back home and enjoyed some ice cream. Leah pulled her pony tail out and then sat down at the table and crossed her arms with a disgusted look on her face. Tracy asked what the problem was and Leah gave a look like "isn't it obvious" and pointed to her hair. I almost laughed out loud. Tracy handled it beautifully, asking Leah if she was going to let her hair ruin her fun. After all, we were home now and it didn't matter if her hair was a mess. It didn't take long for Leah to decide to enjoy herself and her ice cream and be her usual sweet self, but I thought the whole thing was quite amusing.

Tracy and Leah

On Saturday morning Frank made pancakes for breakfast, YUM!! Then it was decided that we would go and pick some apples. After we all loaded into the SUV, Rebekah decided she thought going to an orchard sounded "boring" and she didn't want to go. Frank offered to let her stay home by herself, then I asked her if she liked to eat apples. She told me "apples are yummy," and I asked if she didn't want to go get some fresh apples to eat. She thought that sounded good, so we drove to York, SC, to an apple orchard that raised winesaps. This was a good photo op and you can see how tall the girls are getting. I was also able to get Tracy in the picture. She (and baby Hannah) looks great and we got some good visiting in during my time at their home.

Tracy and Rebekah

They had some "critters" around the orchard. Here I am feeding corn to one of the roosters. They sold corn out of one of those candy machines where you feed it a quarter and it gives you a palm full of corn. They actually had a bunch of chickens, a few roosters, a mother chicken with some chicks (the girls liked that), a pigmy goat that also liked corn, and a pigmy pig with piglets. The momma pig was feeding her babies until she saw I had some corn, then she shook them off and came over to get some for herself. I wished I had gotten more corn to give to the goat and pig. They were cute and ate out of my hand.

Leah, Tracy, Rebekah and Frank

Here we are enjoying the "fruits" of our labors. Actually the apple trees were all but bare. Frank was able to find a couple apples way up in one of the trees and lifted Leah up so she could pick them, but the orchard had boxes of apples lying around so we could "pick" our bag of apples ourselves. The apples were really very good by the way. After the orchard, the girls and I set down and watched "Heidi" (the old version with Shirley Temple). We played dolls and Rebekah gave me a couple purple happy faces to match my purple shirt. Frank & Tracy had a baptism to go to so Leah, Rebekah and I had pizza and played upstairs until bedtime. I helped the girls clean up their toys, we read our scriptures, said prayers, read a book and went to bed without too much trouble. Church for them starts at 8:30 so about 7:30 I heard Rebekah talking out in the hall, I heard her say something and heard the word "Grandma" so I thought she was talking to someone. A few seconds later I saw her peek in my room, then she ran over and crawled up next to me. It was so sweet! Both girls were excited to have Grandma visit and I enjoyed the visit tons. After sacrament meeting I got ready to head out and Leah gave me a note she had written during the meeting. It was a drawing of "Hidi" [sic] and was spelled phonetically.. "to Gramu Schwartz frum Leah" (hey, u makes the uh sound, right?)

Taylor

From Ft. Mill I headed north thru NC to VA. The leaves are just starting to change good, so the drive was beautiful. After the 6 hour trip on Friday, the 3+ to Blacksburg went really fast. I totally lucked out. Typically Blacksburg Ward meets from 1-4pm but this Sunday was Stake Conference so when I arrived at John and Amy's around 1 o'clock they had just gotten home and changed from their meeting. John was asleep after working 7pm to 7am Saturday to Sunday and he had to go back for another 12 hours that night. Carrington was napping, so I was able to talk to Amy and watch TV with the boys. Amy is a whiz at making the cutest tu-tus. She made a Tinkerbell one for Carrington's birthday on the 17th while I was visiting. I wrestled a little bit with the boys. Taylor is getting so big! Jonas and Sullivan were easy to "zerbert" but Mason just stood to one side and took it all in. He was a quiet boy that day. When Carrington woke up, she was such a doll! Amy said she was cranky but she seemed like a total sweetheart to me. I'm afraid we weren't as quiet as we should have been and John woke up and came out. I got to hear about some of the things he is doing now. He's on an ER rotation and he was on Homecoming Weekend for Virginia Tech. He got to do quite a few stitches and several other interesting things. He said it beats the heck out of the general practice rotation. We enjoyed a delicious dinner, then before I knew it Carrington was going to bed, John was going to work and the boys were being sent downstairs to bed/quiet time. I enjoyed the visit so much.

Jonas and Sullivan

Mason

Carrington

Amy and I talked until around 9pm, then I took off for Roanoke to spend the night with Stephanie. Once I got to Stephanie's, we stayed up until about 11:30 before we decided we better get some sleep before the twins woke up around 7 the next morning. It was after 7:30 before I heard the boys awake and pulled myself out of bed. Alex and Jack call me Gramma Baba. They were so cute when they got all excited that I was there. We went into their play room until Jon came home (he had worked all night at the hospital), then we went down for breakfast. Stephanie made pancakes, YUM!! I guess my kids know they are my favorite breakfast.

Jack on the slide

Alex on the slide

Jack and Alex playing. Check out the concentration on those faces.

Jon tried to visit for a while, but he was so tired Stephanie sent him off to bed. She and I were able to really talk and visit while the boys were running around playing. It was so much fun to see the different personalities of the two boys. Jack is so layed back and willing to sit and let you read to him or to show off what he knows. Alex is always on the go and shows a strong will. He didn't want to get his jammies off and his diaper changed until Steph insisted, then once he was just in his diaper, he didn't want to get his clothes on. Jack was easier to talk into changing and he let me dress him. At one point Alex knocked a stack of books off the bookshelf. Stephanie told him to pick them up, he refused, so she started to count to 3. Alex started to pick up the books, then told Steph, "Jack help". Stephanie said, "Jack didn't knock them down, you pick them up." Alex finally did, but it was obvious he likes to try and push the envelope. The boys get along and play together really well.

(see picture at top of blog)

Stephanie, Jack and Alex. Jack knows his alphabet and Alex knows a lot of it.

Stephanie got out an animal alphabet book for Jack to read to me. He has recently learned "big" and "little" with his Fisher Price farm animals, so he would say "A, big a little a" and then tell me the animal... in this case "armadillo". And so on. He did think the big K looked like an X at first, but he did really well. Alex came over to help, too, but he is more into cars than books.

Alex and Jack

Snack time and Alex wanted to eat at the boys' little table rather than the kitchen table. Stephanie told him he needed to eat in the kitchen and the little table was in the living room, so Alex carried the chairs into the kitchen area and then grabbed the table and said, "Mommy, table" to get her to carry the table in for him. I had to laugh. What can you do besides carry the table into the kitchen? What a clever little boy. In the picture above you can see the Halloween pictures the boys had made during nursery at church the day before. Their teacher is into stickers and you can see what wonderful artists the boys are. After snack time came nap time, so when the twins went down at 12:30, I headed back to Fredericksburg.

I owe so much to my brother Cale and his wife Diane for taking care of my mother so I could make my trip and especially to my darling husband Frank for letting me go on this trip. It was a total tonic to my spirit. I had missed seeing my kids and grandkids so very much! I had originally hoped to visit Lauren, Mike and their boys in GA on Sunday, but little John had viral pneumonia and visitors were forbidden. As it worked out, I got to see my Virginia kids instead, so the trip was a HUGE success in my eyes. It was also not so very expensive since my wonderful little Toyota Camry Hybrid averages about 40 MPG on the trip. This is a trip I will cherish for a very long time.

Improving Barbara

I don't actually have many pictures of me because I'm usually behind the camera and I don't like showing off my expanse. However this is a picture of me with Mother and you can see my "before" I decided I was really ready to start losing weight to improve my health and self confidence.

The above picture is of me on Mother's Day with my most beautiful Mother's Day corsage. Yellow roses (of course) provided by my loving daughter Lauren's family. They also sent a wonderful magnolia to Mother (Grandma) to wear. I feel loved!

This was my old hair style. Okay, the other profile picture of me was from years ago.

As a reward for having lost weight, 18.6 lbs at this point, I treated myself to a new haircut. I love it! If makes me feel better and Dad even loves it and says it makes me look younger. Yay!

This shows the back of said hairdo.

So that is me so far. A work in progress and, for the most part, enjoying my life right now.

Grandma's Brag Book

What can any grandma say about her grandchildren? I personally have 13 of the most handsome/beautiful, smart, talented, and all together amazing grandkids in the entire world. (Of course some of that has to do with their outstanding parents.) For the last 10 years I have been blessed with at least one grandchild a year and so here is my chance to show them off.


On the right is #1, Evan . He was born in 1997 and taught me how absolutely wonderful it is to be a grandma. I was blessed to be at his birth and as special and wonderful each of my kiddos are, there is something about being the first.
#3, on the left, is Adam born in 2000. Both of these fine young men are sons of Lauren and Mike.

#2 is Taylor , born in 2000, son of John and Amy.

#4 is Jonas, born in 2001. I wish I had a better photo, he was wearing an eye patch in this one. He is John & Amy's second.

#5 is Mason, born in 2002. John & Amy's third.

#6 is Brian, born in 2003 to Lauren & Mike.

#7 is Leah, born in 2004 to Frank & Tracy. If you will note, at that point my 3 youngest grandchildren were blonde, brunette, & redhead. Again, I wish I had a better picture.

#8 is Sullivan, born in 2005, to John and Amy.

#9 is Rebekah, born in 2006 to Frank & Tracy.

#10 is Alex, born in 2007 to Jon and Stephanie.

#11 is Jack, born in 2007, twin to Alex.

#12 is Carrington, born in 2008 to John and Amy.

#13 is John, born in May 2009 to Lauren & Mike. John wasn't due until the first part of August and weighed in at 3 lb 4 oz. At this time he is still in the hospital, but I feel confident he will be coming home by the time his due date arrives.

Well, there they are, 13 of the most wonderful children in the whole world and the absolute joy of their grandmother.

Update on Lisa

With basketball over, Lisa moved on to bowling. This is by far her favorite sport and the local Special Olympics group is able to offer bowling on most Saturdays. Three games each time, at no cost to the athletes. Grandma Haren always went with us to watch and cheer Lisa on.

March 25th, Lisa celebrated her birthday. We asked Uncle Cale, Aunt Diane, and the rest of the Haren clan to join us at a Mexican restaurant and then to come back home for cake afterward. Everyone came (Grandma, Cale, Diane, Tyler, his girl Tori, their baby Andrew, Jake, Autumn, Dad and me) Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera with me so we didn't get any pictures there. Uncle Cale suprised us by paying for dinner. It was a nice surprise! They also got Lisa her own basketball and some clothes. It was very good.

There was a local bowling tournament on May 9th. Bowlers from several counties came and there was a good turnout. The groups are made up of 4 bowlers with similar skill levels. Grandma and I went to watch and Lisa took the blue ribbon, first place, in her group. That's when we learned she would be going on the the State Special Olympics in Richmond for bowling.

Lisa brought home the bronze medal from the State Games. She left for Richmond on Friday morning, June 12th. There were all kinds of activities planned for the athletes and Lisa seemed to have had a great time. There was a dance on Saturday night after the games were over and after that they went back the dorms where they were staying and had a pizza party. She returned home on Sunday and enjoyed showing her medal to everyone here. I am so happy that we have a good Special Olympics program in this area.

Special Olympics Basketball

We love Special Olympics in this area!

I knew Lisa missed having any sports in South Carolina, but I didn't really appreciate how much until we came here and she has started participating again.

Basketball was first, starting shortly after we moved here. Here you can see Lisa particitating at one of her tournaments. I haven't figured out how to place the pictures the way I wanted but I will try to explain these.

First is Lisa with her two second place ribbons. She always wears each ribbon to church the Sunday after she gets them so the sisters in Relief Society can see them.

Second is "take the shot". Lisa is # 50 and is poised to get a basket.

Third is "defense!" Lisa is always very good at playing defense and trying to block the other players' shots.

Forth is "get the rebound!" Lisa plays "half-court" and really enjoys getting in there and playing hard.

The last is a good picture of Lisa in her uniform. She was unable to make it to the state tournament this year because of problems with her right ankle. She broke the same ankle twice in the past and because of the way it healed, it is causing her to suffer from arthritis and pain. (especially on cold and wet days) She is seeing an ankle specialist Doctor about this and hopefully will be able to participate in the full season next year.

Happy Anniversary! "We've Only Just Begun"

I just figured out how to use my scanner or I would have posted this on December 28th. This picture is 36 years old.

Thirty-six years ago the Carpenters were very popular and so I chose their song, "We've Only Just Begun", as the music to be played as Frank and I left the front of the chapel after being declared "Man and Wife". It has been one beginning after another and every time we end up starting over, we look at each other and sing that song.

We got married, Frank quit working, moved to El Paso, Texas, and I finished up my nursing degree. Then we moved to Mexico so he could go to medical school. We ran out of money four months later (the first of many times) and had to move back to the United States and eventually Virginia. Frank started working for the man he had sold his practice to originally, and we started growing our family. Each move bringing a smile and a chorus of "We've only just begun."

The years flew by, our family grew, Frank decided he wanted to go to Veterinary School and we sold his practice and moved to Blacksburg, Virginia. "We've only just begun" We ran out of money (again) and Frank went to work for Affordable Dentures, then opened his own office. (sing chorus) Our children grew, graduated, and married. Frank's health deteriorated. He had to close the doors of his office (we ran out of money). And I went to work in a Dialysis clinic in South Carolina (sing chorus). A little over 2 1/2 years later I quit work and we move back to Virginia (sing chorus).

Thirty-six years have come and gone, we now have 12 wonderful, handsome/beautiful, brilliant, etc., grandchildren and look forward to even more. It certainly hasn't been all smooth going, there have been some very rough spots and bumpy roads, but after all is said and done, we still deeply care about each other. So happy anniversary, sweetheart! Let's hope this new beginning will help us grow closer.

Such a Blessing!

It would be difficult to describe how proud and happy an new grandchild can make you feel. I was so very glad to be able to go to Carrington's blessing in Lynchburg on Nov. 30. Grandma really enjoyed getting to come along. How wonderful to see John & Amy and the boys, my beautiful new granddaughter, Stephanie & the twins, Katherine & Todd Dubyk, and the all of the Halpin clan. It's always good to visit with the Halpins and I am very thankful for their generous hospitality to all of us.

Dad didn't tolerate the trip very well. It took almost forever to try and get him ready to leave. We all poked and prodded, but he just would not be hurried. Of course that made us late to church and the blessing. We ran into the building just as they were calling the priesthood to the front for the blessing. I ran back to the truck and got Lisa and Grandma, but I missed most of the blessing. The part that I heard was beautiful. Carrington looked so very beautiful in the same blessing dress that Amy wore for her blessing! Dad never even got out of the truck and I got to walk Scooter (the dog) in the rain outside the church building. After church we headed over to the Halpin's for lunch and fellowship. Dad said he wasn't going to come in, he wanted to just head home, so Grandma, Lisa and I went in to enjoy the company. After a short while, Frank came stumbling in the front door. He had fallen trying to get up the front steps and had soiled himself. Bob & Sandy Halpin were kind enough to lend him some clothing and no one said a thing. Lunch was wonderful! Getting to watch the Schwartz and Dubyk boys play and getting to hold Carrington made the day awesome.

On the down side, it rained all the way home. Dad had to get out of the car to relieve himself and fell in a ditch filled with water. We were afraid to walk the dog in that mess, so twice the dog got very upset and ended up pooping on Dad. Hey, it wasn't the dog's fault we wouldn't stop! (Luckily it was solid enough to grab with a tissue and toss out the window) After we got home we realized Dad's suitcase had been left at the Halpin's. We called and they found it. Amy took it home with her & we made plans to go pick it up the next weekend. But that's another story....