Happy May!

 We are already 5 days into May.  Here is a picture from May Day 2011.  Our granddaughters had put May baskets on my parent's door, rang the doorbell and ran away and went hiding.  I love that May Day tradition!  Do you do May baskets?

My parents are in heaven now.  Our grandchildren all live out of state so they aren't able to deliver those baskets to us.  

This May 1 we got to "baby"sit (or kidsit might be the better term) our friend's daughter, Kate.   We had a marvelous time playing games!

Kate's parents were with their son, Luke at a meeting at school for kids going into highschool.  How is it that he is already in highschool??  I still remember him like this!

I went to Wichita to visit my friend.  We had a good walk together at the Sedgwick County park.

Then we went to Aroma Coffee in west Wichita.  

I love the verse on the wall:  For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ.

Wednesday evening I had Awana Cubbies.  How I treasure these kids!

They have learned lots of Bible verses this year!  And also the 23rd Psalm.

We learned a game called "Mr. Fox".  "Mr. Fox, Mr. Fox, what time is it?"  If the "it" said "It is 6 o'clock", they would take 6 steps forward.  But if she said "It's dinner time!" she would turn around and chase them back to the start and tag whom she could.  Oh my, how they loved that!!

Mindy sent me some pictures of Tenley and Kaia.  Tenley is teaching Kaia "boom", a thing Papa taught her.  You put your fingers together and then go "boom!"  Al was testing her dexterity and now she just loves to do it.

Denver has warm days and then snows the next.

Kaia is learning to stand!

Today is Allen's mother's birthday.  If she were still living here on earth (she IS living, just not here) she would be 98!  She passed on at age 64.

I've been making greeting cards, using photos I have taken around our home.

In 2020, we were going to take a trip to Japan with these two granddaughters.  It didn't happen due to the pandemic.  Tickets had already been purchased too.  So sad.

We will soon be taking a trip with them, but not to Japan.  I'll post about it someday.

Continued...

When Mindy asked if I could come out to help her with the girls on this particular week, I knew I couldn't.  It was my very last Bible study with our young moms (and a few "not so young").   I could not miss that!  So I suggested she and the kiddos come to our home!  Which is what happened.  Jason just flew out of the Wichita airport instead of Denver.

On our last Bible study day, we were sadly missing some due to certain circumstances; Amanda, Katie, Steph, Kira and Jory.  We finished our study in 1st and 2nd Peter.  And we begin to think about what we should study next fall.  Any recommendations?

Some girls didn't get the "be silly" memo!

We had a little brunch.  All so good!  I really loved the lemon bars .  

When I got back home, Tenley was watching the birds outside my bedroom window.   See the red-bellied woodpecker at the feeder?

Mindy, the girls and I were going to the zoo!  But first, fixing Tenley's hair.  Tenley has quite the bedhead.  

Obligatory zoo picture

Here are from past years with our other grandchildren!

And this past year!  How they've grown!

Tenley loved the waterfall!  (Isn't her hair style just wonderful?)

Nana had to get a gift at the gift shop, of course.  Mr. Frog came home with us!

Before we went to the zoo, we had stopped at Target to purchase a swing!  Our old one fell apart.  The next youngest grandchild is almost 11 so it's been a long time since we've had kids swinging under our deck!

We enjoyed playing with the children while they were with us!  Many of my friends have grandchildren living in the same town, or nearby.  Ours are many hours away, but where the Lord has them now, and we know that.  So when they come, we make the most of it!

Jason flew in to Wichita on Friday.  The children were so happy to see him!

They left Saturday for Jason's grandmother's funeral in Lawrence at the Lied Center on the KU campus.

We went to the Fox Theatre in Hutch on Saturday night to watch "The Only Son."  This theatre was built in 1931 and is on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

We went to a farewell party for Kaho on Sunday.  

Kaho had lived with us for a year while she attended college. 

I meant to get a picture of us together.  

Good wishes and prayers for you, Kaho, as you serve Jesus in Japan!

Mindy and Jason came back Monday.  

We went to Brahms after dinner.  We needed eggs and milk - and when you go to Brahms, you HAVE to get ice-cream!

Tenley was very reluctant to share her shake with her daddy.  See her not so smiley face?  

Mindy sent us a picture yesterday.  "Jason learned the best way to have a vanilla shake with Tenley is to get her her own!"  Ha!

Bedtime stories with the girls.

Packed and ready to return to Colorado the next morning.

They have found a great park in Burlington, Colorado to stop with the girls.  Anyone know of any other great stopping points?  

It is a    L    O    N    G    trip home!

I pray for my grandchildren often.  They are in my mind so much!  I was thinking about this and thought, "surely my grandparents also prayed for us too."   Oh, I KNOW they prayed for us.  I just had never really thought about it before.  I would love to know what they prayed!!  Perhaps my following Jesus is an answer to their prayers!  One of my prayers for all of my grandchildren!