A million plus germs!!!

My poor sweet ganddaughter! She has JUST finished three rounds of antibiotics to get rid of a LONG round of a snotty nose, drainage and the like. She's been back at school two days this week and already she's got a stuffed up nose, sneezing and I can tell she doesn't feel well just by looking at her little droopy eyes! I HATE it when she feels bad!!
I DID get in some "snuggle time" this afternoon! She is usually too busy to sit still for any length of time.
There are about twenty kids in her class at school, so multiply that by umpteen thousand germs and you've got a hotbed of activity that spells TROUBLE!

Bless her heart! She rarely complains. She just seems to take things in stride. She's not one to whine and moan.

Keep a watch on your little ones, as they can be fine one day and really sick the next.

2's & 3's What You See Is What You Get

Once a month my daughter and I are blessed to be able to watch the 2 and 3 year olds during morning worship hour.
Of course, there is NEVER a dull moment what with all the different personalities and noses to blow and bathroom needs!
But I love that hour spent with those children. Most of them call me Papa because they've heard my granddaughter call me by that name. I don't mind! I'd be proud to be "Papa" to any and all of them.
Today we had 8 in the class. We also had a couple of mom's to stay and help out!

In no particular order, there is Bella... a very petite little girl who is oh so cute! She was the FIRST today, to come and climb up in my lap. She just wanted to sit and watch the others play for a minute or two and then she was down and joining in the play. She came back a little later to be held again.
Wyatt is the only boy who didn't sit on my lap today. He is such a busy little guy and keeps himself entertained.
Then there was Halynn (not sure of the spelling). She is SO cute and just steals my heart! She sat on my lap for just a minute, but mostly wanted my daughter. In fact I heard her tell Christie, "I want you!"
Then there's Luke! I call him Mr. Luke and he just smiles. As soon as Bella climbed in my lap, he decided he wanted to be held too, so he came and held up his arms and I had two on my lap for a while! I don't mind! I'm in my element!I love kids!
Then there is Miss Maddie Moo! The minute she sees me come in she starts working her way around to me. She's not much of a one for being held, but she climbed up in my lap for just a bit. She loves for me to pick at her and she'll hide behind my chair until I ask, "Where's Maddie? I know she's here somewhere." She'll peek around the chair and not say a word. She's adorable!
Today was only the second or third time I have seen Shayla in the class and she surprised me by coming and holding up her arms wanting me to hold her. She has a head full of beautiful curls and beautiful eyes. What a darling!
Lelah Grace and her momma came in and Lelah stuck really close to mom! Lelah is another one that is just adorable.
Last, but not least was Landon! He also surprised ne by coming and climbing up in my lap. He wanted to inspect the ink pen in my pocket! Then he looked at his shirt and said, "No pockets!" We talked about the fact that he didn't have ANY pockets on his shirt or his pants. He'd ask, "You have pockets?" I'd say, "Yep, I've got pockets." He'd point to his shirt and say, "NO pockets!", and then he'd laugh as though that was just really funny! What a cute little guy!

What a privilege to share an hour with these little ones! Each with their own personality and character. Some are busy, some laid back and some very reserved, but they all are precious and special!

Checkin' the Deer Feeder

YEP! It's workin!

My 4 year old granddaughter came in from a birthday party for one of her little friends today, dressed as a butterfly, complete with wings and antenna. Totally CUTE! We talked about the party for a bit and she then decided she wanted Nana & Papa to go for a walk with her. We went outside and she decided we needed to go check the deer feeder to see if there were any deer at it! So, we walked out in the field and Nana showed her where the deer jump the fence to come to the feeder. She decided that Nana should "guard" one side of the trail and I should "guard" the other side of the trail while she, being the "deer hunter", went to check out the feeder! She was SO cute as she walked a little ways and stopped. She looked down and said, "Now that's what I call deer poop!"



She called for me to come to the feeder because she wanted to turn the crank that raises or lowers the feeder. So, I showed her how to do it and she started turning the crank and letting the feeder down. I didn't realize it was time for the feeder to cycle and so it caught us both by surprise when it started throwing out feed! She quickly let go of the crank to draw her arms against her chest and put her head down while the feeder showered us with corn! I grabbed the crank to keep from letting the feeder hit the ground. After it quit spitting out corn she looked up at me with a big grin and said, "WOW! Papa, that was COOL!"



We then went on to see if we could spot the deer who "live in Sherwood Forest"! That's the woods just beyond our property line.



We didn't see any deer, but we found some very interesting logs to balance on and duck underneath and some "tickle grass" which she just HAD to bring home. We looked at the creek which she wanted to wade across "like a deer does" and looked in the "springhouse" which she also thought was "cool".



She finally decided she was getting cold and thought it a good idea to come back to the house.



I cherish these times spent together! She is growing so fast and I know the day is coming when she'll have less time to spend with us, because she'll want to spend more time with her friends. I know that won't happen for a few more years, but .... wasn't it just yesterday that I saw and held her for the first time and she stole my heart away?

The Bully of the Bird World

We usually try to keep a little feed out for the birds during the winter months. It's fun to watch their interaction with one another. Of course, as in the world WE live in, there are those more dominate or should I say DOMINATING than others.

As a general rule, the birds feed and interact with one another without much bickering. The Northern Cardinals can be aggressive toward one another, but they generally leave the other birds alone.

We have one male Cardinal every year (I wonder if it's the SAME one) that is SO absolutely cocky that it's funny. He even tries to intimidate other species, and when they don't pay him any mind, he will hop up on the side of the feeder and raise his topknot as if to say.; "Hey, What's the deal? Don't you know who I am?" The other birds just go about their business of eating. He reminds me of some..... no...no, I'm not going there!

And then there is the most obnoxious, irritating, puffed up bully of all!! The Bluejays! When they fly to the tree adjacent to the feeder, ALL of the other birds vacate the premises! Then the bully sweeps in and begins to GORGE itself on the feed! It's feeding habits are disgusting, like a person who chews with their mouth open or smacks while eating!

I know they have to eat as well as the others, but their ATTITUDE just drives me nuts! I will sometimes wait until they land on the feeder and then JUST BEFORE they start gorging themselves, I'll throw a small pillow or something at the window and scare the daylights out of them! Hee-hee!!

I never have been able to tolerate a BULLY!!

Through a Child's Eyes

I love the innocence of children. It's such fun to listen as they express themselves. And it all depends on how they perceive things, how they hear things and how they relate those things to each event! Even before they are able to talk, they express themselves through expressions and actions. Some friends of ours at church have a little boy named Luke. He has the most expressive eyes I've ever seen in a child. His eyes are a beautiful blue, I call them ice blue, and even before he could talk he always appeared on the verge of just bustin' out talking. His eyes are SO alive! He is a handsome little guy.

Our granddaughter, Abbi, who is four years old, is always coming up with some of the cutest sayings, and it is a result of how she processes information and how she relates one thing to another.

One day when Abbi was three years old, as we were driving down the road, she and Nana were looking at a photo album of Abbi's baby pictures. Abbi looked at one photo and said, "When I was born, I was born in Texas." Nana said, "That's right. You were born in Texas." She turned a page in the book and it showed a photo of Abbi as she lay in the scales to be weighed right after birth. Abbi looked at the photo and said, "Right after I was born they put me in that SKILLET!" I suppose to her, the scales looked something like a skillet! At any rate it sure was cute!

Another time she said, "Nana, you can't touch my arm. Jesus made it, but if you touch it, it WILL break!"

She had finished her breakfast the other morning, but I was still eating. She brought a book and laid it on the table next to me and said; "Papa, you can't touch it!" I wasn't paying much attention to her, so she reaches up her little hand and turns my face to where she can look right in my eyes and with the most serious look on her face, says, "Papa, if you touch it, I'll have to take away your "Diggi" medal!" THAT got my attention, though I had no idea what a "Diggi" medal was. As soon as she turned away I reached out and touched the book. She instantly spun around and with her head down, and looking up at me very sternly, she said: "Papa, if you touch it again I'll have to take away BOTH of your "Diggi" medals!" Of course, to me it was just extremely cute! But to her, the possibility of having one's "Diggi" medals taken away was a sure fire way to make one obey!

I wish I could remember all the cute things she says and does in the course of a day, but there are just too many!

All too soon that childish innocence is lost in this world. I cherish every bit of life I get to glimpse through the eyes of a child, through the eyes of my beautiful granddaughter!