Full, full, full!

/
Full, full, full!

Full, full, full!

I hope your Thanksgiving holiday was filled with family and abundant blessings.

At my place, we had a full house, full table, and full hearts.

Read More

Broncos babe!

/
Broncos babe!

Broncos babe!

Can you guess who’s already one month old?

And who’s already an unabashed Broncos fan?

Yes, that would be Benjamin! Or, as his dad likes to call him, BenJammin’.

Read More

Big bro bonding

/
Big bro bonding

Big bro bonding!

James has for 10 years lived in the “little brother” position, having two older half brothers who are eight and eleven years his senior. It’s taken him no time at all, though, to settle in as Benjamin’s big brother, tenderly balancing his adored baby bro on the Bobby like a pro.

Read More

Peak preggers pic

/
Peak preggers pic

Peak preggers pic!

James had his last regular season football game on Saturday and when Brianna came over before we all headed to the game—one determining whether James and his teammates make the league playoffs—I asked Brianna to pose for a final pre-baby pic.

With induction scheduled for Thursday, this is surely the peak of pregnancy for my girl, the final photo before baby arrives.

Read More

And we think kids grow fast!

/
And we think kids grow fast!

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.

Read More

Grandbaby ETA draws near

/
Grandbaby ETA draws near

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…

Read More

Letting go

/
Letting go

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…

Read More

Getting real

/
Getting real

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…

Read More

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

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

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…

Read More

Labor Day special: Skilled workers and GRAND Social No. 318 link party

/
Labor Day special: Skilled workers and GRAND Social No. 318 link party

Happy Labor Day, grandmothers and others!

Skilled workers

If only we all could be as deft as these workers with our daily drudgery!

Read More