Storms

Sometimes the forces come together for quite a storm.

Yesterday was one of those days.

The wind blew, the rain fell.

The sky grew darker.

The wind blew harder. Rain turned to hail.

In an area where the weather is usually mellow, numerous tornadoes struck.

The funnels dipped and dropped all around.

Hit and miss. One house fine, one leveled.

Today is a day to stop and think of those we love and the blessings we share.

Today is Sunday, a day of rest, usually.

My son in law went to church this morning and was assigned to a work crew.

We have the grandchildren while their parents are helping neighbors.

Our family is fine, we go home and carry on while many around us have no home to go to.

The wind blew, the lightening flashed, the rain fell...

....and then the sun came out.

Crafting with the Girls

I am visiting my daughter this week.

Today we are working on a project for the young women at church.

Three generations sitting down with watered down paint and wooden blocks.

It brings back memories from when my grandmother visited about 10 years ago.

I had a pile of vintage silverware that needed to be polished.

My mother, grandmother and I spent many hours over the course of several days wiping, washing and shining.

My grandmother was elbow deep in blackness.

The end result was beautiful.

Our blocks will be beautiful when they are finished as well.

Three different generations in the same family.

The last time I was the grand daughter, this time the grandmother.

Passing down the desire to make our homes and lives lovely with the work of our own hands.

It has been a good visit

Outlook

My husband and I are facing life changing decisions.

The truth is that there are a number of children who call me grandma, and I love it.

With that title comes change. Slow at first, then all of a sudden it is like a steaming train quickly chugging down the track.

The calendar is counting down birthdays that have double digit numbers that add together near the number 100, sometimes more than 100, and 100 is the magic number that says you get to stay home and be a full time grandparent instead of going to work every day.

We are finding that going to work every day is getting in the way of our life.

We are finding that going to work every day to earn money to keep us going is not necessarily the only way to keep money coming into the household at this point.

For years we have tried to save for our old age, and as we look in the mirror we are starting to notice that our old age might be showing up.

So many questions--have we saved enough??

Will we have activities to fill our days??

Do we have the mental and physical capacity to keep going to work??

The thoughts are exciting and frightening at the same time.

So many changes on the horizon to become debt free and self sufficient.

We have been reminded that sometimes you have to take a giant leap of faith in reaching a goal, that two little jumps just will not take you across a large chasm.

On the other side of the chasm I see 16 little ones waiting with open arms to receive more of our time.

A giant leap of faith. Need to get all of my ducks and dollars all in a row.

Pancakes

And the winner is......

the young man who can consume 9+ thick and flaky pancakes in one meal

When baby Caroline was in the hospital Dallin was 3 and Ella not quite 2. It was a difficult time for the whole family. They moved just before Caroline was born, and it was a 10 hour drive. The children came to stay with us a few times and I made many trips to their home during that one memorable year.

We ate a lot of pancakes together, it was a meal they enjoyed that would fill their tummies up. In the 6 years since that time, whenever we are together, Dallin and Ella always ask for pancakes.

I don't think Dallin realizes why he likes pancakes so much. I don't think I realized why until I started really thinking about it during this visit. It is his form of comfort food for the soul. To comfort his soul I have made pancakes every morning since I got here.

On Thursday we were running late so I had him buy lunch at school. Little did I know that the menu for the day was breakfast for lunch--pancakes.

On Friday I decided to take the children out for dinner to one of Dallin's favorite places--Bob Evans. It is convenient--just down the street and reasonably priced. I was thankful to have a choice besides mac and cheese, we were all happy. The two boys looked over the picture menu and both ordered.....pancakes.

This morning I fired up the grill and started flipping the pancakes. Dallin downed 6 large and fluffy ones with home made syrup so fast I had to blink twice. Yesterday he downed the first four off the grill and the second 5-- for a total of 9. It would have been 10 but I got sloppy and accidentally dropped one.

If I can keep a young boy happy while his parents are away by flipping pancakes, I'll flip as many pancakes as it takes to fill him up, both body and soul.

Dallin has been so tired while I have been here, I think he might be growing--but then maybe it is just a carbohydrate overload.