Sunday, September 30, 2007

Chelsea, Don't.............

Some battles are just not worth the effort so I chose to grab my camera and capture the moment instead. My children would probably not totally understand this concept as I was too busy being a mother, which is a lot different than being a Grandma I have found. I am sure that I would of insisted that my kids get down off the railing immediately before they got hurt.
Notice, she is posing for me, this doesn't happen often. I can't just turn down an opportunity like that, now can I? I will add that no one was injured in any way in the posing of these pictures. I was able to save the plant that was sitting on the rail post and the pictures on the piano remained upright. What more could I ask for?





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He's My Best Friend


I will never forget the first time Chelsea wrapped her arms around my neck and said, "Grandma, you are my best friend." My heart melted. I don't know where she learned that line, but I think it will get her pretty much anything she wants.

The other day Buddy came over with Melisa for a visit. As you can see she is once again dressed in her princess tutu, I must make a note to buy her some more of these for Christmas.
On this day I guess it was Buddy's turn. She wrapped her arms around Buddy and told him he was her best friend. She found some books in my scrapbook room and sat on the stairs and read to Buddy. She had to lay the book down sometimes so Buddy could see all the pictures. He was a pretty good sport about it for the most part. When Buddy lost interest she just sat and read by herself. I hope she never loses her interest in reading her books. Have I mentioned before how much I love her?

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Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Never Forgotten

It is hard to know where to start with this post as my heart is heavy and my eyes are filled with tears. This picture was taken at Jonathan and Adrian's graduation from Basic Training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina in the summer of 2001, right before they started their senior year.

Jonathan and Adrian have been friends for as long as I can remember. They went to the same schools together, were in scouts together, played sports together and shared the same obsessions with anything that involved the Great Outdoors.

One thing was for sure, if the two of them were together, there was sure to be laughter involved. Man they loved to laugh and make others laugh with and at them.

Adrian joined the National Guard and it wasn't long before Jonathan was signing up too. What a day it was when they left together for basic training. One of many emotional yet proud moments our families shared together.

In January of 2005 their unit was deployed to Afghanistan. Adrian was still in flight school but was able to catch up with them shortly after they arrived over there. I remember Adrian coming to the house to tell us goodbye right before he left and how excited he was to go. It was hard to not get caught up in his enthusiasm as he was so EXCITED to be heading over there and to get the chance to fly, you see, he was living his dream. If only I had known that would be the last hug I would ever get to give him. The boys were stationed in different places over there and didn't get to see each other too often, but they chatted often and when they were on base together they sure made up for lost time. Jonathan would call home and just laugh and the stunts they would pull together. They were so excited that they were going to get to come home together for Christmas for their leave..........................that would never happen.

September 25th, 2005. The phones began ringing early that day that a Chinook had gone down. All day we waited, making several calls to the Stumps and no one had heard anything. When we finally did get a call all they could tell us was that Jonathan was okay, and they couldn't tell us anything about anyone else. When we finally did get a call telling us that Adrian had been killed on the Chinook I remember getting mad at the person who called and telling them it was a lie. When she told me she heard it from his grandma I remember falling into Mark's arms and weeping uncontrollably....why? This wasn't suppose to happen, No! Not Adrian! And then the pain we felt for his family, and the pain we felt for our son, who we were not able to get in contact with for several days. So much of that time is a blur for us, yet the pain is so real, even today.

So today, on the second anniversary, we remember you Adrian. You will always be in our hearts and we will never forget you. It is still hard to find comfort and answers, but if there is one thing I know it is that Adrian was living his dream. I don't know how many of us can really say that.

I look at my own life and think about my own passions and dreams and if I am pursuing them in the same way. What am I waiting for? Maybe now is a good time to do some soul searching, to really reflect on who I am and what it is I want to be, what I want to accomplish, set goals and work towards them. Not just let life pass me by. And most importantly, neve wait until tomorrow to tell someone you love them. We never know how many tomorrows we really do have.

Monday, September 3, 2007

Singin' in the Rain...


This was our first day of rain all summer. With temperatures reaching 100 for most of the summer it was quite a welcoming rain. There is nothing like the smells of a summer rain. Chelsea was here and decided she wanted to go outside and play. I told her no because it was raining. Her Papa looked at me and said, "Why not? Take her outside." (Notice he didn't volunteer for the duty but thought it would be a great idea for me.) As I pondered his wonderful idea I thought, Why Not! So we took our socks and shoes off, I grabbed the camera and away we went. Chelsea was in heaven running back and forth through the puddles. Neither one of us melted away from the rain, and we didn't catch a cold....

What we did create is another memory. She may be too little to remember this moment but I will always have it to hold on to. I don't remember if I ever let my kids go play in the rain like this, but I hope when Chelsea sees these pictures, and as my children look at them, they will remember to keep that childlike spirit within them and to take the time to dance in the rain. I love it when my own children tell me to "grow up", because that usually means that I have dared to be a child again.

So, to each of you I ask, "How can you dare to be a child again today?" Will you dance in the rain? Will you jump rope with your children? Jump in the pool with them? Slide down the slide with them?....why not? I think I will even eat dessert first and hide my peas in my napkin.
Here's to being a kid again.........................
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Memories of the First Day of School

As we look toward another school year I can't help but think about all those "first days of school" with my own children. All the excitement of buying school supplies and new clothes. Believe it or not I still remember how I felt getting ready for school (now that is one heck of a memory). I could barely sleep the night before and it was probably the one day of the year that I didn't have to be drug out of bed in the morning.

I don't remember if my mom took pictures of us on our first day of school but I sure remember lining my own kids up on the front porch and taking several of them. Yes, I even followed them to school and took pictures in the classrooms, until they got to an age when that wasn't so cool anymore. At that point I was banned to the front porch and just had to wave to them as they headed off to school without me.

I miss those days with my children. For some reason they felt they needed to grow up and spread their own wings. The house seems to quiet without them yet the walls seem to echo their laughter. I love it when they all come home together. They fall right back into their same "pecking order". I enjoy just sitting back and listening to them.

So, as school begins again, I think of each of them. Gone are all their first days of school, only to be replaced by many other firsts, and many photo opportunities with memories to cherish.
To Sarah, Christen, Jonathan and David....I love you. Thank you for all the cherished memories that a mom holds so dear in her heart.