Sabbath

We walked up to the temple this afternoon. It is peaceful and calm there. I like looking out my window at night and seeing it’s heavenly glow.

Sweetest girl💕

Did I mention the haircut Han and I gave Ez? We need to take him somewhere tomorrow to fix it. 🤦🏽‍♀️

We made lasagna for dinner and invited Jenna and Brooks over. 
 

Tick tock

 Ethan and Cedric were good friends when they were little boys. The last night we lived in TX we spent at their house. It was actually Ethan’s birthday and Ruth made it special for him.  They loved to play together and we thought they looked a lot alike, which was fun. They haven't seen each other since they were 7, grew up, served Spanish-speaking missions, and bumped into each other at BYU.

Sweet sweet girl. She is just the most darling baby. Hannah and Sawyer have a cute apartment with the best view: the Rexburg Temple glows out their back window. 

Spending time with adult children is indescribable. It’s really just lovely. These two have been married 5 years, they have darling children and are making their way in life. It’s not easy, of course, but it’s sweet. Seeing them and the other kids who are now grown both makes me remember my younger days when I was the momma and feel so proud of the people that they are.

Prayers:

What do grandmothers pray for? 

This grandmother prays for her grandchildren by name: Tatum, Penny Marshall, Cora, Ruby, Ezra, and Lana. 

I pray for my children. 

Greg that he will be happy at work, and that his brother will get well, 

Dani, that she will be joyful and healthy and continue to be the kind of mother, wife, and friend, that makes the world better.

Chris that he will find a great job that he will love.

Sierra that she will continue to heal, and that they will be happy in all their life.

Clayton, that his career will fulfill him and that he wk keep doing great work in his family and callings.

Jenna that she will find joy in the journey. That she will be strong and healthy as she raises her daughters and inspires them to be the best they can be.

Sawyer that school will go well for him.

Hannah that she will recover from childbirth, that she’ll get the job she wants, and that all will be well.

Ethan that he will date…but not too much.

That he’ll enjoy his summer job and that he will find a wife, someday, to make him happy.

Grace that she’ll graduate, that she’ll do well at work and get ready for college. That her eye will be healthy and that she will make good choices.

Blake (not my kid) that he will stay strong. Serve a mission. And be happy. 

Rob that he will find fulfillment in his job, friends in our ward, and things to help him be happy.

Me that I will remember the things I am learning and be a good counselor. That I will find joy in this new stage of life and not look back at the parts I miss.

Mom and Dad that they will be well, be happy, be healthy.

The list is really endless and sometimes I go through it extensively:
Sam that her pregnancy will go well

Karen who said her parents were struggling

Brad whose wife is awesome and on hospice ~that he will know how to live without her and parent their two little boys.

Michael that he will get it together.

Elder Holland that he will get well.

Bishop that he will be comforted and buoyed up in his calling.

Kitty that she will find someone worthy of her.

Meredith that she will be strong and raise her family with Randy now, and without him when he passes.

and many more.....

and in gratitude:

that Lana is here and is sweet and peaceful.

That Ezra's therapies are helping him so much, and that he decided to be my buddy.

For temples that dot the earth.

For God's beautiful creations to enjoy and marvel at.

For a healthy body.

For a beautiful home and a loving husband to share it with.

For the chance to go to school and learn how to help people.

For the courageous examples of my sisters.

For the Book of Mormon whose truths are plain and precious and easy to understand.

That Jenna and Clayton get to go on a fun cruise soon.

That four of the kids live near each other and are close to one another and spend time together. That Dani and Jenna raise their families together.

That Grace will have Hannah and Sawyer nearby when she starts school.

For my cute new car. Can't wait to drive it home from the airport in a few days. 

For the internet that keeps family and friends connected, and puts information at our fingertips, that entertains and teaches, and gives us glimpses of other people living good lives.

For Jesus Christ who died for me. 

Especially for that one.

I ❤️ BearWorld

Cubpalozza! Opening weekends at Bear World are 1/2 price and luckily I am here for one!

It was really fun to take Ezra. He liked the bears and the Guinea hens and the ice cream. 

These 4 are the cutest little family💕

I turned the camera back and didn’t even see what I was taking a picture of. I was delighted by this cute face looking back at me!!

 Huckleberry ice cream cone #2 in two days!

Jackson Hole

Today we drove to Jackson Hole WY. It was a beautiful drive.

We walked around, looked at shops, ate lunch, walked through some galleries, and played at a cute playground.

It was a nice day. The weather was perfect and the babies were so sweet.💕

This little one has to get nak*d every time it's time to eat. She is a sleepy girl.  So cute.

Hannah wanted to go to Miagza for lobster rolls.  We walked all the way across town to eat there only to learn that the lobster rolls are a summer menu item. We still ate there and it was very delicious.

Love my Hannah. She's a good mom and a fun daughter.

I have officially won Ezra over.  He kisses me good night, he lets me play with him, at the park he grabbed my hand and wanted me to go on the slide, he is so cute. He is also fearless. He does not allow women to read to him though, just his dad.

Ezra had crazy hair when I arrived. He doesn't love to have it cut or to have his nails trimmed. His OT is planning on working on it with him. Anyway, Hannah and I decided that we would cut it.  This was a very bad decision. There were a lot of tears, a lot of mess, and his hair turned out kind of janky. Still, I like boys' hair short.  I guess as the grandmother I don't have a choice but I am really glad that it's shorter. And I am glad that Marshall cut his hair. Those boys are very handsome. I am also happy when E cuts his.  Sometimes he lets it grow a little too long.

 

Some errands

Ezra had speech today. 

Then we went to once upon a child, a resale shop, and the mall.

Poppy girl is cute!

Ezra was a good boy. We had a fun outting.

He is so cute!
 

How does a day fly by so fast?

I have several goals for my trip here to Idaho. The first is to help Hannah while she is recovering from birth. The second is to have a fun visit with the whole family. The third is to win Ezra over. Fourth is to snuggle baby Lana. 

The hardest one is going to be winning Ezra over. He is not a fan of people who are not his mom and dad. Actually, he likes Nana and Pa but he lived with them for most of his life and they are awesome so what's not to like? I talk to him on Facetime most days but really he hardly pays attention.  The last time I saw him, at Marshall's baptism, he was not a fan. 

Well, quicker than I had dared to hope, I'm getting there. I think being in his home is helpful.  Also, there are no distractions here.  I've just been slowly offering to help him, trying to be fun, giving him space, and jumping at any chance to make an in.  I am happy to report that tonight he came to me and asked for a goodnight kiss. He calls me by name, Mimi, and this afternoon Hannah and Sawyer took Lana to the movies with them while I babysat Ezra and it went great.  He didn't cry once. He played with me and he watched Bolt happily while accepting my offerings of snacks!! Yay!

It's hard to be a long-distance grandma and I never want the kids to doubt my love for them. 

Anyway, it's been a good second day.  Poppy had her first bath.  Hannah and I took the kids to the library for storytime. We didn't actually go to story time but the library is super fun and has a great children's area. It was fun to go.

I make dinner, and snuggle baby, and do what I can to be helpful.  Sawyer is home for two weeks of paternity leave, although he has classes still. It's fun to watch him play with Ezra.  He is the only one allowed to read Ez stories and "Goodnight Moon" is apparently a favorite. I enjoyed listening to it each night and hearing Ezzie laugh at the mush part. He is speaking better since starting his therapies and has said a few things quite clearly.

Sawyer and I both have homework to do, which is fine. We are making time for chatting and Hannah and I have watched Indian Matchmaking each evening.

 Unexpected joys: seeing how well your kids are doing. H&S have a loving relationship and there is a lot of laughter and love and support in their home. Also Hannah gave me some profound insights today as we were talking about patriarchal blessings. I love when I learn from my kids, which is often!

Travel day

I woke up at 2:30. Left the house at 3.

Of course I didn’t go to bed early, I think 11:30 or so and of course Lincoln choose last night to eat and poison so that was a whole thing.

Drove two hours to the airport. Waited 2 hours for my flight. Flew 5 hours to SLC.

Changed terminals. Waited an hour then flew to Idaho Falls.

It was long but totally worth it to be here with this cute little family!

 Lana is beautiful and so sweet! Ezra is so cute and loves his mom & dad so much!

I’m a happy Mimi!

Sabbath

 

Hannah did a photo shoot with baby Lana today.  How sweet are these pictures! Two more days until I meet her and get to spend a week with Hannah and her darling family. 

Baby toes are so delicious!

Peaceful angel girl 💕

After dinner, Rob and I took a walk. We only got as far as the end of our street because we saw a splash in the pond that turned out to be two little beavers. We spent half an hour watching them! The bullfrogs were super loud but when there were gaps in the chorus we could hear the beaver's squeaks as the swam and played. They are our closest neighbors and I'm not mad about it.

This cat, he was saying "don't get up...it's comfy here."