Give Thanks - Be Grateful!

My husband and I were having breakfast this morning.  We sat and talked about this weeks Thanksgiving dinner and how much we are going to miss our grandchildren.  Christmas is only a few weeks away but these next few weeks will be so busy.  When you are married to Santa, this holiday takes on a life of its own.  We try to ALWAYS keep in mind what Christmas is truly celebrating – the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. 

As we were enjoying our breakfast, someone else not far from us began sharing about their experience of giving to help someone else at Christmas.  They own a restaurant and feel that people are not truly grateful for the helping hand, they tend to EXPECT it.  She went on to tell about feeling like they wanted to take care of the gifts for a certain family yet when they took their gifts for the child that wanted something very expensive and very special, they were told “we already got him that, perhaps you can return it.”  Seriously, are people so ENTITLED any more that they don’t know how to be thankful that someone else has gone out of their way to bless them. 

Last spring I was talking to someone from a food bank.  People come to the food bank and they can take anything they want from the shelves to feed their family.  She related that people want to have “Organic” on the label and many have left without anything because they didn't have what they wanted.  "Can’t they have a gift card to Whole Foods," if sometimes asked?  I am serious when I say I am totally blown away by the way people behave anymore.  We needed to take advantage of food stamps for a short time when our girls were little.  Mike's brother asked him how he could "lower" himself to accepting food stamps.  I remember this as if it were yesterday.  Mike said "when all you  have left to feed your family is pride, you get help."  We were so grateful for the help.  We spent our food stamps on ground beef and turkey, which were the cheapest at the time. My brother-in-law filled our freezer with venison. Now people want to "shoot" a hunter who is providing food for his family table.  God provided incredible gifts to us.

I have watched the videos, like everyone else, about the two women lately in two different states that panhandle by the road with their sweet children playing beside them and then at the end of the day they get inside of the BMW and drive off to their gated condo.  What is with people today?  It makes my blood boil, as I am certain it does yours. 

I realize, however, I am not responsible for any of these ungrateful people.  That same savior that is the reason for celebrating this Christmas will sit at the right hand of his Father someday and will examine the heart of each of these people.  I will not be responsible for what their heart reveals.  I am only responsible for MY actions.  My prayer - Lord, may I always be grateful for everything you bring my way.  May I always remember – you are my source.  You are my provider.  If you provide through someone else, may I always remember to say thank you and realize that you have used them to bless me.  How do you feel about this?  Please post your comments.

Modesty - what we do impacts others

I had a conversation with the most wonderful Orthodox Jewish man from New York a while ago at an educational conference.     Aron is Glatt Kosher so he brings all of his own food to conferences.  He always wears a prayer shawl and the traditional covering for his head, a yarmulke,  plus he has a beard that is quite long (check Leviticus regarding beards).  He is a speech pathologist interested in swallowing in New York.  My daughter, Holly, and I came away from our meeting with him in awe of all that we learned.  One item really stood out in my mind and I would like to share it with you.  I had never really thought about this subject in this way before.

Aron, our new friend, told us about a meeting that the Jewish community is having at a stadium that coming summer.  The community is spending a large sum of money to build a wall in the middle of the stadium so the men can worship on one side and the women on the other side.  That fits the tradition of the Jewish church but not the way of the world today.  I never really understood this tradition so Aron went on to explain the tradition to me. He told us the obvious; that men and women are different physically, our thought processes are different and we are different in emotional states and psychology.  He said men are easily distracted by women.  Imagine that!  When he goes into prayer he said the last thing he needs is a beautiful woman distracting him from his time with God in prayer.  I had never thought about this. Prayer is our opportunity to be our true self.  An opportunity to talk to God without distraction; to have a relationship with God.   I was a teenager in the 60’s when the first mini skirts came around.  The ladies in the church I grew up in had fits when young girls were wearing such short skirts to church.  I never understood this and thought they should move into the times!  You may be thinking the same thing right now.  Does moving into the times run true to scripture.

Here we are many years later and clothing has gotten skimpier and women are showing off much more than a short skirt in church.  Not just teenagers but their Mothers too.   I have never been offended by people wearing more casual clothes to church, in fact I like it myself, but I never thought about how what someone wears might distract someone else from entering into God’s presence in worship.  As a mother to two daughters I can only speak about what I felt about the clothing of our girls.  At church, at school or out to a party, we believed our girls should be “modest” in their clothing.

Daddies sometimes don’t want to rock the boat when it comes to their girls and will allow them to pick out clothes that make them look far more grown up than they are.  Moms will do that too, but they add to it the fact that they want their daughters to be their “friend” – they don’t want their daughters to think of them as a MOM.  Of course God’s word teaches us that we are to be more like Him each day and be an example to our children.  You’ve read that, right?

Our oldest was a prime example of a Daddy letting his little girl pick out an outfit that she wanted and he didn’t want to say “no”.  The outfit came from the store UNITS, which had beautiful clothes but also had some that were more progressive, or what I would call barely there.  Daddy had taken her to the mall where she was going to buy an outfit with her own money.  She and I had talked about the “skimpy” side of the clothes at this store.  One of their pieces could be worn as a skirt or over your breasts.  You could even get two of these “bandeaus” together and make an outfit and that is just what she did.  When I got home she came out of her room and showed me her new outfit.  I was in a state of shock that my husband had let her spend money on this outfit.  She told me that her Daddy said she looked really cute in the outfit.  I was certain she had misunderstood so we agreed that I would stay out of sight when he got home so he couldn’t be influenced by me when he saw the new outfit on her at home.  We agreed there would be two questions asked.  The first was “Dad, how do you like this outfit on me?”  Just as expected, he said you look very cute.  She then asked the second question “Where may I wear it?”  His reply was startling for her when he answered “Not one step outside this house.”  Sometimes we are so busy trying to be our child’s friend, or trying not to rock the boat, that we miss teaching them a valuable lesson.  Mommy’s, do you remember how your hormones acted when you were a teenager?  How about Daddy’s hormones?  How were they?  What did the guys dwell on in their mind 24 hours a day?  Do we need to spell it out for each other?  I don’t think so.

Are you a Mommy that would cause someone else to be distracted in a worship service?  How low is the front of your dress cut?  How short is the skirt?  I know we are in the year 2014 but when you think about it, does the year have anything to do with what is “modest”?  We are so easily distracted from God’s word in 2014.  We have books, TV shows, movies, music and a myriad of other distractions on a daily basis.  When we are in church; when we are in our time of worship; when we are witnessing to others – what is the most important thing?  My answer would be the concentration on God, not what the person next to you or across the room is wearing.  Could what you are wearing be a distraction to someone around you?

God instructs us how to teach our children.  He expects us to be parents, not friends.  He is explicit in how frequently we are to talk to our children about God and his promises.  God’s promises come with a “if you do this I will do this for you.”  Our children need to know this about His word.  God says in Deuteronomy 11:18-19 that we are to “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.”  Awesome responsibility!

Can we really dress the way we want to dress?  Absolutely!  Our days are filled with choices we make on our own.    Just keep in mind that I Corinthians 8:9 says “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak.”  Let’s take it one step further – is what you are wearing showing the light of God within you, or is it showing so much skin that your witness can’t be heard because ears are easily distracted by eyes?

Do I care what you wear?  Not at all.  I am another woman and not distracted by your clothes.  Can a guy be distracted by what you are wearing?  Absolutely!   Are there things you could, or should, change?

Give or Take? What you see in your home is your example! It doesn't come from a village!

Recently I was watching one of the weekend talk shows on the television.  The “talking heads” were talking about single moms who are taking the benefits provided by this country and continuing to have children so they can get more money from the government.  Many have several children by several fathers and many of the fathers are now in prison.  The talking heads acknowledged this; all of them, liberal and conservative.  They said we need a new way to incentivize the country to get the women to stop having babies.  They didn’t offer a way to accomplish this task but thinking back to my childhood, I think there is a way to do this easily.

When I was 11 years old my father died.  He had been 49 and my mother was 44, and 2 months pregnant with her fifth child.  My oldest sibling was 19 so Mom couldn’t get any survivor children’s benefits for the oldest (too old), and the youngest hadn’t been born.  That meant she would only get benefits for 3 of us until the new baby was born.  Mom had been a “stay-at-home” wife and mother so she was taken to $0 income with the last breath my Father breathed.  We were very fortunate that she had seven brothers that jumped in to help her.  After her fifth daughter was born Mom decided she needed to take every penny she had to go to school to get a degree.  Mom had a blood disease and had been taken out of school two weeks into the 10^th grade and put in a hospital.  She wasn’t expected to live.  She spent a year and a half in the hospital and learned to walk again prior to her discharge.  She had to be taken, during the depression, back and forth across Michigan once a month for treatment at the hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  There were no highways at the time.  When she decided to go to school she needed to first take a GED to be able to attend.  She passed and for the next two years she was a college student and a single Mom who hadn’t planned for life to go this way.  Mom graduated at age 47 with a Junior Accounting Degree and went to work to better support her family.

The story of my mother is very important because as I listened to the talking heads last weekend I was amazed that it felt like they were saying women have extra children to stay on welfare rolls and avoid work.  Mom got social security for four children but there is a maximum benefit for children who are survivors of a deceased parent and this amount is still the same today.  The fund still equals what would be for two children.  http://www.ssa.gov/survivorplan/onyourown4.htm   It doesn’t matter how many children you have, the amount of your benefit is the same amount no matter if you have 2 children or 5 children.  It is a maximum benefit and they expect you to divide it by 4 if you have 4 children or 2 if you have 2 children.  When I turned 18 I could have taken my quarter of her check, until I was 22, and headed off to college but I chose to go to work and to support myself because Mom needed the money for my sisters. Perhaps this limit should be used with those receiving benefits just for having more children.  Why can’t there be limits on the amount of support that is given to women who just keep having babies to get more money?  I was told that each child a Mom produces equals more than $900 each month in welfare for housing, the WIC program, food stamps, and Medicaid, not to mention their Obama-phone.  Even if the amount were half of this amount, it is a lot to a household each month.  Do the math yourself and you’ll see how much this is per year yet a husband who breathes their last breath leaves only enough for two children, even if you have four or five.   Why should a parent who has their loving spouse (and father to their children) who was taken through death have a limit on their children’s support but not someone who wants to sit at home having more and more babies so they can get more and more money?  My husband taught in a state prison for many years.  He taught the 13-22 year old convicted felons who were tried as adults by the justice system for the crimes they committed.  Would you be surprised to learn that many young men had several children by several women all before they became an inmate?  One 19 year old had fathered 5 children. These are not fathers to their children, yet they thought that having children made them a man.  They sat in prison unable to have any input into their children’s lives; unable to give them any monetary support at all and yet proud they had “spread their seed”.   They depend on the “Village” that the talking heads said is so important.  It doesn’t take a village to raise a child, it takes a parent who loves their child, who has a child that they wanted, not for monetary gain but because they have a desire to nurture and love the child.  When my Mom became a single Mother,  it was not by choice.  It wasn’t to increase the money brought in to the home.  She had a heart for her girls.  She went to college to provide for her children.  Oh yes, one more thing.  When Mom retired she went back to school to get the one thing she hadn’t received in her younger years, a high school diploma.  She obtained that at age 67 by going to night school.

The talking heads spoke about incentives for single parents.  My mom’s example as a parent was the incentive I needed to live the life I have lived and to have my children with their wonderful father.  I am now in my 60s and can say that even though we had very little money while I was growing up, we always knew we had the best family ever and a mom who loved us more than life itself.  Mom lived to be 91 years old and died in 2008.  What will the children being raised by moms who have no incentives to work give to their children?  Will they be a great example for anything more than breeding more children who think having children is the way to get out of working for the rest of their lives?

I realize others will have their own opinion, and this is America so you are able to express them.  I can only tell you what my Mother’s example has meant to me.  She was amazing!

THE END OF AN ERA

Laurence Hanks was founder of Hanks Excavating

A few days ago I received a very sad call that went from bad to worse during the day and evening. First I learned one uncle had passed away and by the end of the day I learned two of my uncles, the last of my Mother’s beloved brothers, passed away just a short time from each other.  The one thing that provides tons of comfort is that my Mom was there to greet them both and love on them. 

Laurence passed away on July 4.  His daughter said this was the same day her sister, Flossie, named after my Grandmother, was hit by a car and died decades ago.  I hear Harold passed away in the Spring but we weren’t notified.  Both of my uncles had children that passed away before them, a very sad thing for each of them.  The last time I saw Uncle Harold  and Uncle Laurence was at our family reunion in Michigan.  Uncle Harold had lost his only son just days prior to the reunion. 

There are so many memories with each of them and the uncles that passed before them.  My Mom had seven brothers.  She used to hold her hands up and name them in order using her fingers.  I don’t know if I could do that anymore.  My Mom’s brothers became our Dads when my Father passed away.  As Jane reminded me this morning, Uncle Laurence and Uncle Milburn did all of the things that Dads do.  They took the littlest of us girls to all the Daughter/ Daddy dances and Uncle Milburn was the Dad who walked me down the aisle to marry my wonderful husband, Mike, just a short 42 years ago.  Uncle Milburn passed away in 2000.  My Mom was 2 months pregnant when my own Dad died and Uncle Harold took me to Pioneer Park with his children for the summer that year.  When Mom still hadn’t had the baby when we were scheduled to go home, he took us to his house and made us part of his family for more time.  I loved them all and could tell stories about each of my uncles.  My Mom was very close to her brother Laurence and spend a month at his home every summer for 20 or more years.  They were good company for each other.  Mom sat and watched baseball with him every night.

Now they are all gone and we are left with only memories.  The memories are so sweet and to relive them is wonderful.  Jane pointed out this morning that we both married men just like a combination of Laurence, Harold and Milburn.  All three were great husbands and fathers and we looked for men just like them.  I hope the heritage they gave us will continue for years to come.

Today I called Muskegon Florist with a strange request for the summer months.  I ordered a Christmas Cactus for the memorial service.  Why a Christmas Cactus in July?  I learned years ago that you stop watering a Christmas Cactus in October and don’t begin watering it again until mid November.  It pretty much dies then you begin to water it again and it blossoms with beautiful blooms in December.  Unless it dies it won’t put forth blooms.  I look back at the years and remember my Grandmother passing in 1974 then my Grandfather in 1977.  I remember the Christmas Day parties when almost all 52 first cousins would get together in Grandma and Grandpa’s house and party Christmas night.  Bob, Laurence, Harold, Ted, Bill (John), Buster (Earl), Milburn and my Mom gave 52 grandchildren to my grandparents and countless great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.  Just another piece of trivia as well – my Grandfather married Flossie Garvey and made her a Hanks – His sister, Margaret Hanks, married Earl Garvey, my Grandmother’s brother, and they made us a boatload of double cousins.  What a great family heritage to pass on to our children.  A Christmas Cactus is more and more fitting every minute I write this.  We are a blessed family.

Uncle Laurence, left, and Uncle Harold, right, at the 2011 reunion

I know all of the uncles will be missed at the family reunions which have occurred for several years at the church next to Uncle Laurence’s home.  They were held on the last Sunday of July every year.  I have included a picture of the first reunion held in 1928 in the blog article I wrote April 16, 2012.  I hope you will consider going back in the archives and reading all about our family reunions.  By the way, my baby sister, Mary Lisa, was born July 10, 1962 and went to her first family reunion when she was only a few days old.  Mom wouldn’t let a new baby keep her from one of her favorite days of the year.  I don’t know if we will continue to have a reunions but I sure hope so and I hope every grandchild, great grandchild and great-great grandchild that is living will be there along with all the double cousins.  Let’s party!!!

Getting to know Max

Ho Ho, Max and Holden 
 

We just had the best 5 weeks with our Grandchildren.  Okay, the first two weeks one of us was sick all of the time but once that was over, we had a great time.  In the past I have written about my first job, which was at 14.  The job was to be the Easter Bunny in a local department store, Hardy Herpolsheimers in Muskegon, Michigan.   My husband and our two daughters were also born in Muskegon.  In fact we were all born in the same hospital (on different days and years, of course J)  Jump forward and I hope you remember my post on being married to Santa.  This year I got to tie it all together.



Can you see the family resemblance?

Our 4 year old grandson, Max, has called Mike “Ho Ho” since he learned to talk.  The Christmas before he turned two years old he would run his fingers through Mike’s beard and say “Ho, Ho, Ho”  We believe that is the reason he calls him “Ho Ho”  He is so proud that  his Grandfather is Santa.  He tells people about it every chance he gets.  He now has his own Santa suit and is planning to take over the family business.  Why do I say that?  Because he is always practicing.  During his visit, even though it was Easter, he was all about Santa.   Okay, Santa and pirates and Wreck it Ralph.  When he wore overalls he had to have one of the side shoulder straps left open - the left side just like Wreck it Ralph.  We had a little birthday party for his 4^th birthday and he wanted a Pirate “poonyada”.  His Aunt Holly searched and found the “poonyada” and filled it with candy.  But Santa, Santa is his favorite because Santa is his grandpa. 

Max will stand and put one hand on his hip and tap his toe if he thinks he can get his way by giving you “the stare”  One day Aunt Holly asked him why he was always tapping his toe at her.  His reply was “because I’m Ho Ho and YOU are on the naughty list.”  Honest!  He said just those words.  Are you rolling in the isle yet?



Easter 1964

On Easter we were getting ready for the day ahead.  His Mom had wonderful baskets made for all three of the kids.    They were having a nice time checking out the items in the basket when I got an idea.  I got out the old picture of me as the Easter Bunny.   I called Max over and showed him the picture of my sisters and I.  I showed him his Mom’s Aunt Ranae who was 12 at the time.  Also in the picture were his Mom’s Aunt Jane who was 4 and Aunt Lisa who was 2 years old.  Then I asked him where I was.  He looked at the picture and looked at it again.  I asked “Who do you see?”  He went through all of the aunts names and then ended with the Easter Bunny.  I told him that was me (and it truly is me in the costume).  But then I told him my favorite thing – I told him that I used to be the Easter Bunny but when I married Santa I had to give it up and be Mrs. Santa.  I just can’t dress up like Santa because I had been the Easter Bunny.  There was a huge WOW and then you could see his mind working and wondering who in our family will turn out to be the Tooth Fairy.  Could it be his Mom or his Aunt Holly? 

One other special item about Max that doesn’t have anything to do with Santa or the Easter Bunny .  We have a frame we filled for my Mom when she was still living with us to help her remember times gone by. Max always wants to hear about who is in each of the pictures.  There are about 30 pictures in the frame.  One picture has become very special.  It is the picture of my Dad, who’s name was Max, and I.  Holly had told me to ask him who was in the picture.  When I asked he kept saying “Grandpa Me”  I wasn’t getting it at first and then he said “Grandpa’s name was Max, just like me.  He is Grandpa Me”  How sweet is that?

That conversation made my whole month.  I hope you enjoyed hearing about it too.

How much does your vote mean to you?

How badly do you want to vote?  How much do you think the country IS or IS NOT going in the right direction?  Are you willing to sacrifice to make your voice heard? Waiting in line can be a sacrifice.

When I was old enough for my first opportunity to vote – which was 21 back in the day I had my first opportunity to vote – my Mom talked to me about the responsibility of voting.  I shared the same information with my girls when they were given their first chance to vote at age 18.  Mom said you research the candidates – all of the ones in races where you are planning to vote.  You carefully make your choice.  If your person wins and they don’t turn out to be the person you thought they were, you stay quiet until election time and then you become vocal so they are, hopefully, not chosen again.  She also said that if you carefully examine the people running for an office and you don’t like either of them - - don’t vote for either one of them!  It is okay to pass that part of the ballet by and not vote for either person.   I have passed by parts of the ballot nearly every time I have gone to vote.  There are actually elections on the ballots at the state level that I will probably NEVER vote on because I wonder why they aren’t just hired by the state instead of them being an elected official because there is no way for me to know anything about how worthy they are of my trust.  A hired person can be fired; an elected official sometimes keeps their job just because people recognize their name, not because they are trustworthy. Sometimes I look at how long someone has been in office and check to see if their voting record and take into account how many times they didn’t vote at all.  I have voted for Republican and Democrat candidates because my Mom said to do my own research and not to rely on what someone else tells me.  I rarely have the opportunity to hear Glenn Beck but recently heard him while I was driving back to work from a doctor’s appointment.  Glenn Beck told his listeners to NEVER forget to do their own research.  He said not to rely on him to be anything more than a instrument in each person’s quest to vote.

I met an adorable young lady who is from Venezuela and is a student at the University of South Florida.  When I first met her I was amazed to hear how far she had come to attend college.  Even more surprising was when she travelled home to vote.  I couldn’t believe that her country doesn’t have mail in voting. She told me she was registered at the embassy in Miami and was to travel there to cast her vote.  The day AFTER the registrations were closed and she was committed to that embassy, the embassy was closed which left her no place to vote without flying back to Venezuela.  So she flew back to Venezuela.  She left Saturday morning, flew from Tampa to Miami and then to Venezuela.  She was due back in class on Monday and had made plane reservations carefully so she would be back in time for class. Unfortunately her plane home was delayed and she didn’t make it back to class until Tuesday.  Her vote was so important to her that she not only flew home, she waited hours in line to cast her vote, only to come home on a 9 hour delayed flight and return to class with little rest.  She was so proud of what she had done.  Can you imagine how much that one vote cost in dollars, not just lack of sleep?

How long are you willing to wait in line?  Are you willing to take someone else to the poll?  How much does your vote mean to you?  Did you do your own research or did you rely on your Facebook or your neighbor to tell you who will do the best for you?  Is your union telling you who to vote for?  You pay them but I dare say you aren’t expecting them to make up your mind for you.  You are 24 hours away from the end of this cycle and the next cycle will begin almost immediately.  Don’t grow weary, make a choice and cast your vote.

WE WELCOME MAIZIE MAE HUGHES

Maizie Mae 7 weeks old

We have had a new grandbaby on July 19, 2012.  This time our baby, Melissa Sunshine, had a baby girl, Maizie Mae.  That gives us two boys – Holden, age 14, and Max, age 3 plus a baby girl.  Holden has always been the studious one.  Holden is fun but quite quiet. Holden comes and stays with us every summer.  Holden turned 15 on Tuesday and now we wonder how many more summers he will want to come stay with us. Max is just the opposite from Holden.  When Maizie was born, Mike was already at Missy’s visiting and I joined Mike a week later.  It was a long week having to wait to see Maizie for the first time.  We were both so very excited to come to be wih our new granddaughter but the entertainment of our three year old is amazing.  I use the word amazing because I said “Maizie is amazing” and for about 2 hours every sentence spoken by Max had the word amazing in it. One night the two boys rough housed on the living room floor.  You have to understand Holden.  He does not like anything dirty including his brothers feet. If the feet have touched the floor since his last “tub” they must be dirty.  Max and Holden were on the floor and Max kept coming up to Holden and put his foot up on Holden’s shoulder.  He wanted to put his foot in Holden’s hair.  This is a great way to make his big brother just a little crazy.  They rolled around and laughed and giggled.  It was so great because having had only girls myself, I always thought only girls giggle.  Apparently not.

Holden, Max and Maizie, Day 1
 

Now, I wouldn’t want anyone to think we aren’t paying attention to Maizie because we held her every minute we could.  But at that point, holding her and staring at Maizie was about all we could do.  That said, we were enjoying our entertainment from the boys.  A few weeks before Maizie was born we were video chatting with the kids and Max said “I am so embarrassed”.  We asked why and he answered “I am so embarrassed”.  Mike asked him what he was embarrassed about.  He answered again “I am so embarrassed”.  We then heard his mother in the background saying Max learned a new word but doesn’t know what it means.  That kind of follows his standard on our video chats.  All of a sudden Max will say “I have an idea – I’ll be right back”.  He takes off only to return to talk and then say the same thing - “I have an idea – I’ll be right back”.  It cracks us up because we never have been able to tell what his idea is.  He is a kid with big words and big ideas. 

Holden was amazing when Max was born and is no less amazing with Maizie.  Just like with Max, Holden will sit and hold Maizie, humming to her for hours so she will sleep.  He can quiet Maizie more quickly, sometimes, than Mommy.  Like I said, he did this with Max too. 

One afternoon we were getting ready to go out.  Max decided he wanted to choose what he wore.  The shorts were fine but the shirt was one he had worn to Stone Mountain when Bumpa took Max and Holden on an adventure to Atlanta earlier that week.  Mike calmly said they should look at the shirt.  There were 2 chocolate stains and one ketchup stain.  He relented and wore his Tampa Bay Rays shirt but not until he announced several times that “it’s just not a big deal.”  Missy said he has picked those words up from her.  She said she tries to pick her battles and says it when she needs to.

Maizie - 9 days old

We took the entire family to a Chattanooga Lookout baseball game.  Max LOVES baseball.  I am not a big baseball fan but having Max to watch at the game was worth twice the price of admission.  Max kept an eye on the mound and the player up to bat.  When it was the opposing team he shouted to the batter “You’re going down buddy” and pointed his thumb down.  He begged the players on the field to throw a ball to him.  Next time he goes he plans to take his new baseball glove with him.  Max is a social butterfly as well.  He also loves blondes.  There was a woman with her husband and two teenage son’s just two rows in front of us.  When the boys got up to go somewhere, Max went down and took the seat next to the blonde.  He told her his life history, and since he had only three years to cover, I think he went over it twice. He has done a lot over his three years and every day is something new.  He showed her his “war wound” from where he got a shot the day before.  When I arrived to meet Maizie for the first time, Melissa was just leaving to take Maizie to the doctor for another bilirubin test.  Max wanted to join us so I told him I would get him a shot.  I thought it would be a deterrent but he wanted a shot.  Who knew?  When the shot was over he got a great round spot Band-Aid.  That made a war wound to show the lady. He checked out her jewelry and kept her entertained until her sons returned.  The one who had occupied that seat let Max keep the seat and he sat a row behind Max.  The blonde said she really had fun with him.

One day Max wanted to have an empty spray bottle filled with water.  His Dad said that maybe later he would fill it.  Max took the bottle apart, looked through the clear bottle part like it was a spy glass then took the spray trigger part and tried to shoot the TV.  Then Max removed the straw from the trigger and used it for a musical instrument and marched around the room. Water?   Who needs water? Like I said, Max is pure entertainment.

Missy, Maizie and Max flew in for a visit a week ago followed by Phil and Holden who drove down the next day.  Funny, but they found out that their car did not fit 3 children,  especially when one is 6 foot tall.  No matter how many ways they tried to configure the two little ones’ seats, Holden has space for only one butt cheek on the seat.  Any way you look at it, riding 10 hours on one butt cheek would be horrible.  This meant when they were all in Tampa they went looking for a mini-van.  That meant Phil drove home and allowed our daughter and three children to stay with us.  We haven’t had a house full for a while and it is fantastic!  Imagine 24/7 entertainment.  All Max, all the time.  Maizie and Holden are great too, but once again, Max steals the show all the time.  He plays on Holly’s and Mike’s iPad and wants to have us play too.  If one of them isn’t available he hits up Holden for his iPad.

Max is very concerned if Maizie cries and tries to sooth her by kissing on her cheek or her tummy.  Max is a ball of energy, though and full of questions.  How do I know he is full of questions?  Because he says “Mimi, I got a question” about 30 times a day.  You very sweetly say “what’s your question?” and his answer is followed with something like “ I watched the Wiggles today”.  Okay. (Sarcasm is not heard in writing but the word okay came with a lot)  He is so cute and adorable you just can’t help but laugh a little every time he says “I got a question.”  Holden said he had no idea where he got this question but it wasn’t long before we knew.  Holden says “I have a question” about 10 times a day.  We just hadn’t noticed it before.

On Saturday we left the house at 11:00 to go to Mazzaro’s Italian Market in St. Petersburg.  It was wonderful.  We had such a great time at the Market.  Shopping and lunch in the best place in the Tampa Bay area.  The amount of people that go through there on a Saturday is unbelievable.  You take a number for ordering meat, one for ordering bread, one for getting coffee, one for fresh made pasta and one for ordering lunch at the deli.  Sounds horrible but they are so well organized and so fantastic. Their Raisin Bread is worth standing in line several times over.  Toasted Raisin Bread from the Italian Market with two kinds of raisin’s is great with a little brown sugar or cinnamon and sugar or even just butter on it is so yummy.   Lunch was wonderful.  Holly and Holden had meatball sandwiches and the meatballs were each about 4 inches across.  Holden accepted the challenge and ate it regular style.  Holly used a knife and fork to eat the meatballs and bread.  Max ordered Pizza and ate two bites then became Mr. Cranky-Pants.  It didn’t matter what was said, he would not be consoled.  Next stop, Aunt Jane’s.  Of course Max fell asleep in the 4 miles it took to drive between Mazarro’s and Jane’s.  Holden stayed in the van with the sleeping Max and air conditioning.  What a difference a nap made in Max.  He was better but not but not good enough to go to the baseball game so the game was delayed until Sunday.  Isn’t it nice that there are baseball games several days in a row for a series?  The next day they went to see the Ray’s play.  This is Maizie’s second baseball game.  Holden went to his first baseball game when he was 6 months old, Max at about a year old when he was just starting to walk.  Maizie, at less that 6 weeks, had been to two baseball games. 

Just before Missy drove back with the kids they spent a weekend at Busch Gardens and Adventure Island.  I met them after their day at Adventure Island at Steak and Shake.  Max had been playing a game with Aunt Holly.  They were picking new names for themselves every day.  The day they went to Adventure Island Max was calling himself Carmen and Holly had picked Emma.  They never could get  Holden to participate.  He was almost 15, remember.  Picking a new name would be way beneath someone Holden’s age.  When Max would ask him what his name was, he said his name was Holden.  This went on for the entire day!  By the time I met them at Steak and Shake Holden was tired and frustrated.  I arrived just in time for Max’s second wind.  He decided to name Holden “Barbara”.  I think you will recognize the fun in the picture as Max kept saying Holden was now “Barbara” and Holden kept saying his name was and always will be Holden.  I know you will easily see his funny character in the photo.

The visit with Missy and the kids lasted for a month.  It was fantastic.  There are more stories I could easily tell but I plan on keeping them to myself so I can use them as leverage when they are older.  I love having the grandkids close.  It is hard having that part of our family 10 hours away but we have found that video chats keep us close.  We love talking with them as often as possible.  Every step in being a grandparent is just as new as every step as a parent.  Holden turned 15 last Tuesday.  He will finish high school soon and begin college within the next year.  Max will get older and we look forward to his achievements, just like we did Holden’s.  What I really look forward to, though, is going through the time when Maizie is 3 years old and everything is a wonder again.  Just thinking about how blessed we are makes me smile in anticipation.