Clay's first visit to Nana and Pappy's house

This is what it looked like on our 9-month old grandson Clay’s first visit to Nana and Pappy’s house!  He came to help us celebrate a special Aunt C’s birthday. 

We won’t be forgetting this day for a long time, as our little guy was quickly surrounded by aunts, uncles, cousins and friends who have been rooting for him from the very beginning.

 What a sweet sight!   

These are the moments

Twenty years ago today I gave birth to the second of our sweet daughters.

In the first few hours of her life, Chelsea revealed to us several clues about her personality.  She was quiet, observant, even contemplative, as she absorbed the bright new world she'd been born into. 

She spent a good amount of her first hours looking her momma over good—like she couldn’t quite figure me out. 

She still does that sometimes. 

I couldn't imagine, back on the day when she was born, how close we'd be, what good friends we'd become. 

This birthday, the one that marks the end of her teenage years, has been a bit bittersweet for me.  It’s a joyous occasion, of course, because I’m so proud of the young woman Chelsea is.

On the other hand, I could just bawl because the past two decades have passed too swiftly.  Children ought not to grow up so fast.  Parents shouldn’t age so quickly.  Time could slow down just a little bit, couldn’t it? 

Despite my wishful thinking, I know it won’t.  That’s why these are the moments we treasure—and the ones I’m so very thankful for.

A sweet boy in his exer-saucer

One moment please, and I'll show you how it's done. 

Summer in a jar

I always think of homemade tomato juice as the essence of summer distilled in a jar: sweet, hot and thick as August humidity.  

This year though, my girls and I are preserving special memories while we can up our garden produce. 

Sweet memories of working and laughing together, doing something I’ve always loved, which they are now acquiring an appreciation for.

We note the good smell of tomato steam rising from the stove.  We comment on the beauty of bell peppers and ripe juicy tomatoes as we peel and dice.

We converse with the little guy watching us from the living room, where he lies in the floor on his “kick and play” mat. 

The fact that he’s in his parents’ living room instead of the NICU where he spent the first eight months of his life is sweet beyond words. 

He “talks” to us around his trach, delightful sounds that keep us smiling while we work.  We pause every few seconds to “talk” back, and make faces at him. 

One or the other of us is back and forth every few minutes to change a diaper, suction his trach or just play a while. 

It takes us all afternoon to fill a few jars, but I can’t think of a better way to spend my time.  

Found

Sometimes I come across birds' nests that have fallen to the ground after a storm. I always pick them up and stick them in a pot of flowers or, in this case, on a wreath.
During the course of the summer, I've found a feather from a blue jay, the shell of an egg that has hatched, and a shiny earring. I put them together for this little vignette.

Isn't it sweet? 

Sweet is...short summer showers

This month's Nablopomo's theme is "sweet," so I'm going to see how many ways I can define sweet... the moments, the sights and sounds, maybe even the tastes, but sweet is so much more than a flavor.

While I was brewing my coffee this morning, I noticed dark clouds gathering off to the west. Now where did those come from, I wondered.

I'm almost certain that when I checked the forecast last night there was a 0 percent chance of rain. But I soon heard thunder, then the gentle drum of raindrops on the roof.  For about 10 minutes, maybe less, we got the sweetest little summer shower.

I grabbed a cup of coffee and went out on the porch.  I breathed the sweet smells of damp earth and wet grass and watched narrow streams of water pour off the barn roof like streamers of tinsel.

I pray some of this on the drought-parched sections of the country.  Three weeks ago, we were arid as a desert too, but the weather pattern's changed and everything is lush and green as May again--and a sweet sight it is!

Things I love about steamy summer days...

 ...the candy apple green scent of damp grass just mown...

                      ...carrying a big bowl of assorted vegetable peelings to the compost pile while I'm cooking supper...

...the sound of God's tater wagon turning over in the heavens...

.                   ...homemade mint syrup in my tea...

...how the swimming pool feels like a hot tub after a rainshower cools the air...

                 ...watching my hubby's eyelids droop while he reads the latest...

 ...green--everything's so green again...

                     ...cotton candy skies just before dark...

...Queen Anne's Lace mixed with zinnias and black-eyed susans in a pitcher of water on the table...


Things I dislike about steamy summer days...

...snakes...

...and mosquito bites. 


                                            I think the pros outweigh the cons.