Sad news

Sad news

I have written about my mother-in-law many times since starting Grandma's Briefs in 2009, posts such as this one, this one, and this one.

My mother-in-law, whom I usually call Granny as that was the name my daughters — and oodles of other grands and unrelated children — best knew her by, was a shining light in my life, pretty much the best example to me of loving unconditionally, finding joy in joyless situations, and loving Jesus with all one's heart and soul.

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Grandma's love is SO big!

From the time my first baby girl was born, I had a penchant for grabbing the arms of beloved little ones — especially teensy tiny ones — holding them above the babe's head and professing the sing-song sentiment of how big she or he is.

Brianna Lee is SO big! I'd trill.

Then, Megan Rae is SO big!

Andrea Lynn is SO big!

Followed by Bubby, then Mac, then Jak being oh SO big, too, as each tiny one grew into being not so tiny at all.

I haven't sing-songed the SO Big song in quite some time. Yet, when I saw on Facebook the photo Megan posted last week of Bubby and Mac's first day of school — Bubby entering third grade, Mac full-week morning prekindergarten* — my first thought was, "Bubby and Mac are SO big!"

brothers back to school 

Oh, how I would have loved to...

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Jak jumps in!

toddler swimming

Megan and Preston bought a new home in July and immediately initiated the installation of a backyard pool, a requisite feature of desert homes.

The process took much longer than expected, and Bubby, Mac, and Jak grew quite tired of being banned from their backyard...

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Love, Grandma: 6 tips on writing memorable messages for grandchildren

Putting words on paper—or pixel, as the case may be in high-tech communications—can be difficult at times. Especially at the times that matter most, those milestone moments we want our sentiments to perfectly convey what's in our hearts and be cherished forever by loved ones.

what to write to grandchild

I often get email requests from grandparents to help them write the right words in greeting cards, letters, baby books and...

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A seventh birthday and the ages he's been

"The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been."   ~Madeleine L'Engle

June is a busy birthday month for my family.  June 1 was Mac's birthday. Yesterday was Jak's birthday. Tomorrow is Bubby's. PawDad and I had the pleasure of celebrating all three birthdays with the boys when we visited them in May.

In recognition of his for-real special day, happy seventh birthday to dear Bubby, my grandson No. 1!

seventh birthday 

I'm so blessed to have seen all Bubby's...

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