My precious granddaughter, Kayla and daughter, Jacqueline.

                                                      Granddaughter, Kayla

                          My precious grandson, Bryson

Wow, hard to believe that it has been 2 years since my last post. So long that I actually forgot my password and had to make a new one. Lots of changes since my last post. I now have a grandson, named Bryson, who will be 2 years old on May 5th. My baby brother passed away in a car accident 9 days after Bryson was born and my Mom was diagnosed with leukemia a short time later. My granddaughter, Kayla, started kindergarten back in August but I still babysit her when she is not in school and after school until 4:00 - 4:30 p.m. and Bryson every weekday. In addition I am also caring for my mother who is under the care of hospice. My days are very busy but I am so thankful for the time I get to spend with each of them. I have missed blogging but have continued to follow some of my blogging favorites occasionally. Most of all,  I have missed the inspiration and encouragement that I get from others who blog. Now it is time to close this post and get busy. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

                             Blessings,

                             Elizabeth

Pic of Kayla and I @ Lee and Angela's wedding rehearsal (June 2013)

   

Two years, I cannot believe that it has been over 2 years since my last post...So, where have I been all this time, right here, living in the moment, taking life in, and for the most part, loving every minute of it. However, I have missed my blogging friends and have occasionally stopped by to catch up on some of my favorites. There has been a lot to happen in the last 2 years with one of them being my daughter, Jacqueline, and her family moving next door to us... we have loved having them close by and being able to see little Kayla almost every day. However, my son, Lee, remarried and he and his wife, Angela, moved to Indianapolis...miss them terribly.  Lee was able to find a good job and Angela is doing her residency at a hospital there which is why they moved. They will hopefully be returning home soon... they have been there almost 2 years and still have 2 more to go. There have been many other things to happen but I will save some of them for future posts. One thing I would like to mention is that we will be getting a new addition to our family soon, Bryson Edward McKinney is due toward the end of April - first of May. Kayla is going to have a little brother and we are all excited and looking forward to finally meeting him...I will also be watching him while Jacqueline and Shawn work. It is hard to believe Kayla will be 4 in August, and I feel so blessed that I have been able to be a big part of her life and hope that I continue to stay healthy so I can be the same for Bryson. I am trying to take better care of myself but find it hard to do some times. It seems hard to find time for myself when I have so much to do sometimes but I'm working on improving that. Having said that, I'd better get off here and get ready for bed as it is almost midnight and Kayla will be here ready to play in the morning...love it.

Blessings,

Elizabeth

 

Back Again!!!

 One of Kayla's 1st Birthday Portraits

Wow, five months since my last post! I'm almost embarrassed to post again, but I miss blogging and really enjoy it. Over the last few months most of my free time has been spent on Facebook keeping up with friends and family there, and to be honest, I just got sidetracked away from blogging. But now I'm back and looking forward to visiting my favorite blogs and finding new ones. I am still watching Kayla (granddaughter) during the week while her mom and dad work and having so much fun with her. She will be 17 months old on the 31st of this month and she is so much like her mom...it's almost like having my daughter back as a child again. She is such a blessing to all of us and I thank God for sending her to us. I have so much to write about but I'll save some for my other posts.  I don't know if anyone still comes around but hopefully I can get some visitors back. Thanks for stopping by.

Hi...

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been away from blogging so long that it is hard to get back to it, despite me enjoying it as much as I do. The past few months have really been busy for me but I've had fun. Our little Kayla is about to turn 1 on August 31st and is such a joy to us all. She has been walking since she was 9 months old, and keeps me on the move chasing her. Having mastered walking, she is now running which has resulted in her receiving several bruises and it seems that she's alot tougher than we are when she gets hurt...we all go into panic mode and most of the time she doesn't even cry. Besides the blessed time that I spend with Kayla, I have managed to have a vegetable garden and I still have lots of flowers to tend to as well. The vegetable garden did not do well due to us not getting any rain for 8 weeks in May and June. I managed to water the flowers, tomatoes, peppers, squash, okra, and cucumbers, but my peas, lima beans, butterbeans, and greenbeans did not do well. Actully, I picked the peas one time and never picked any of the other beans...they dried up. My watermelons and cantaloupes also didn't do well, I think we picked 2 cantaloupes before those plants died. We are hoping to have a well dug before next year to save on the cost of watering everything...our water bill is HIGH. We also have the goldfish pond that we have to keep filled which also takes lots of water. The photos of Kayla that I have posted were made June 17th and the few of my flowers were made on June 18th. I wanted to post more pictures but I could not get them to upload....maybe next time. God willing, I'll be back soon.

Kayla Time

It's hard to believe that almost 4 months have gone by since my last post. However, they say time flies when you're having fun and I am certainly enjoying the time I spend with my granddaughter. I am still keeping Kayla, who is now 7 months old, during the day while both parents work.  She is growing so much and we are beginning to see some personality and attitude develop. She is the center of our lives and yes, our world revolves around her...and she knows it.  She is learning so much now and is a very busy little girl which keeps Gammy (me) busy as well. Gone are the nights when I had trouble falling to sleep, now or least most nights, it's a struggle for me to stay awake until 10:00 p.m. but I'm loving my time with Kayla.  My daughter, Jacqueline, and Shawn each drive over 50 miles a day so that I can keep her. Jacqueline drives from Madison (approx. 25 miles) each morning to bring Kayla and then drives back there to work. Then Shawn drives from Madison in the evening to pick her up and drives back there to go home...that's over 100 miles a day they drive between them so Kayla can stay with me...They hope to sell their home and move a few miles down the road from us within the next year. Needless to say, Kayla is such a happy little girl and such a blessing to all of us. Happy Easter everyone.

Our Christmas

 My daughter, Jacqueline, nephew Skylar, and my son, Lee

Roscoe 

My son's girlfriend, Angela, and my sweet granddaughter, Kayla

 Kayla and her older sister, Shaylin

 Skylar

Angela, my niece, Lauren, and Shawn

 My sister, Pam and her kids, Skylar and Lauren

 Skylar and my mom

My husband, Kenneth, and Shawn

 Mantel in livingroom that hubby built

Den

Mantel in den that hubby also built

 My Aunt Imogene

 My Uncle Ben

Hubby

Christmas is my favorite time of year and was especially wonderful this year because of Kayla, our little granddaughter. This Christmas we were able to spend time with hubby's family and most of mine so it made for almost the perfect holiday. However, after hosting 3 different gatherings, I must admit that I was exhausted by Christmas Day!  In fact, I still haven't recovered and this year for the first time in almost 34 years, I still have all my decorations up...I usually have them down the day after Christmas. However, I have a good excuse because I keep Kayla during the week and while I have her, she gets ALL of my attention. She will be 4 months old on the 31st and is such a joy to us...I love every second that I spend with her. She is growing and changing so much (has a chubby little face and 2 teeth) and I feel blessed that I am able to spend so much time with her. I have more to say but will post about it later. Thanks for stopping by and just in case I don't have time for another post before Sunday, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year.



"It's such a grand thing to be a mother of a mother"

"It's such a grand thing to be a mother of a mother - that's why the world calls her grandmother. " ~Author Unknown

It has been difficult for me to get back to blogging on a regular basis. Despite enjoying it, it's hard to find the time to post when I use my "computer time" to read other blogs instead of posting on my own...but I am trying to do better. I started babysitting Kayla, my little granddaughter, on Wednesday and I have enjoyed it so much. It has been wonderful to just sit and hold her close and talk to her and make her smile...and what a beautiful smile she has. Yes, I am very proud of her. It's hard to believe she is over 6 weeks old now, and I am so happy and thankful to have the opportunity to spend time with her and watch her grow. My daughter is a wonderful mother and I am so proud of her and I know it has been hard on her to return to work and leave Kayla during the day but I'm sure she knows that Kayla is being well cared for and getting lots of love and attention from her Gammy (me) and Papa, when he gets home from work. I cannot begin to express how much I enjoy being a grandparent and look forward to SLOWLY watching all the changes Kayla will be going through...That's it for now but I plan on posting again tomorrow. I actually have several posts almost done showing some of my fall decorating and remodeling from last winter. I need to add a few more pictures and I'll be ready to post. Take care everyone and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.