October 08, 2018

And we think kids grow fast!

October 08, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

And we think kids grow fast!

My grandsons’ beloved Roxy past away a couple months ago. As home wasn’t the same without their best buddy, they soon adopted another golden girl and named her Emmy.

She’s adorable and Brayden, Camden, and Declan adore her—as Mommy and Daddy, too.

One thing about puppies is how well they put into perspective how quickly canine kids grow in comparison to how quickly our grandkiddos grow.

October 06, 2018

The Saturday post: Siblings singing sweetly

October 06, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

It’s high time I get back to sharing something or another on Saturdays, be it a movie review, inspirational—or informative or humorous or must-see—video, or merry music-making of some sort.

I’ve chosen to restart Saturday posts with the latter, a short spot of siblings sharing their souls through song. It’s sweet and simple and something all our souls…

October 03, 2018

Grandbaby ETA draws near

October 03, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

Brianna is officially at 37 weeks and two days today. Yesterday I had the privilege of attending one of her final ultrasound appointments—an exciting opportunity for me, considering my first three grandbabies were born 815 miles away, making this my first such experience.

I got to watch Brianna undergo a neonatal…

October 01, 2018

Letting go

October 01, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

Letting go

I saw this sentiment on Instagram Sunday and was immediately smitten. It’s bold and brief (my favorite sort of inspiration) and gorgeously displays the grandeur of fall (my favorite season).

It’s a lovely reminder of the need to let go. And I have a lot of letting go to do.

Much of what I need to let go is related to…

September 24, 2018

Getting real

September 24, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

Getting real

My mom is struggling to survive stage 3 lung cancer. My firstborn will soon deliver her firstborn any day now. Somewhere in between my utter despair regarding the one end of life’s spectrum and my sheer delight related to the other is the space where I, a writer and blogger, should be writing and blogging.

But I don’t feel like…

September 19, 2018

Now in the Recipe Box: Caramel Apple Cake

September 19, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

When it comes to birthdays, sometimes you just gotta go full boar. Or fully decadent, I should say. As in, Paula Deen-style decadence with not a whit of worry about calories, sugar, fat, and so forth. This Caramel Apple Cake I made for my eldest daughter’s birthday goes beyond simply being Paula Deen style; it’s an authentic Paula Deen creation—which she calls Caramel Apple Spice Cake—culled from a recent issue of Cooking With Paula Deen magazine and slightly altered by me. So delicious, so decadent… as birthday cakes should be.

September 17, 2018

Baby shower, with Pinterest upgrades! Plus, GRAND Social No. 320 link party for grandparents

September 17, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

Baby shower… with Pinterest upgrades!

In the preamble to last week’s GRAND Social link party, I noted that I’d had a busy day the day before. The reason for the busy-ness was Brianna’s baby shower! It turned out to be a lovely baby shower—thanks in large part to all the pinning Brianna (and I, admittedly) had done pre-party planning.

I hosted Megan’s baby shower more than 10 years ago—long before Pinterest appeared and upped the ante on entertaining. Megan’s shower was nice. But, gee whiz, thanks to Pinterest, the bar has been raised since those long-gone days of simply serving up punch, cake, shower decor, and a few silly shower games.

Here are a few of the Pinterest-inspired creations I (with help from Andrea and Megan, who flew in for the weekend) managed to pull off for Brianna’s fall-themed affair…

September 14, 2018

Flashback Friday: Bacon, eggs, and Bubby

September 14, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

Dear readers: This flashback feature originally appeared on Grandma's Briefs September 6, 2011—back when Brayden was called Bubby, Camden was but a babe, and Declan wouldn’t arrive for three more years. Thank you for reading my rerun.

When I visited Bubby and Camden last month, one of the things Bubby wanted us to do together was make cookies. Because it was so darn hot in the desert—even in the house—I convinced Bubby that it would be so much more fun to make and eat...well...bacon and eggs!

September 05, 2018

Too soon for snow?

September 05, 2018/ Lisa Carpenter

With Labor Day in the rearview mirror, who's ready for snow?

Too soon?

It's not too soon in the Pikes Peak Region!

On Sunday (which, admittedly, was before Labor Day, not after), Jim and I headed to the park bright and early for the annual Labor Day Lift Off hot-air balloon festival in Colorado Springs (which is where I captured these colorful shots in 2015). We set up our …