Friday Love Letter #71

This weeks Friday Love Letter to my Children was written by my MIL. Thank you so much for doing this Mom, I'm sure they will be as touched as I was.

A letter to five of my wonderful grandchildren

Dear Ashleigh, Ambir, Aric ,Auburn and Austin,

You all have a very special place in my heart. I am proud to be your Grandma. I pray for each of you often and ask the Lord to bless you and that each of you will make good choices as you journey through this life. I also pray each of you will put Jesus first in your life. I have lots of fond memories of each of you and I cherish the times you all came to stay with me.

Ashleigh, I remember the first time I saw you. You were so cute and had a beautiful smile and gorgeous blond hair. You grew up so fast and now you are a beautiful young lady. I remember teaching you how to make mashed potatoes and your family said you could make mashed potatoes as good as mine. Remember the Lord loves you and I will always love you. I miss seeing you and hearing from you.

Ambir, I remember when you were a little girl you came and spent a couple months with Pappy, Chris and me. It was so special to have a little girl in the house. I taught you how to make apple sauce and we did a lot of other things together. I miss seeing you but have enjoyed talking to you the last couple months. You are a sweet and beautiful young lady.

Aric , when you were a little boy you also came and spent some time with Pappy, Chris and me. I think it was when Auburn was born. You were not very old but you liked it at our house. Your parents still lived in Michigan and you were a long ways from home, but you did not get home sick. I will always cherish the winters you spent with me after Pappy passed away. You were a great blessing to me and an answer to my prayers. I remember you got tired of shoveling snow those winters. But I have lots of good memories of those winters together. You also learned to drive in and out the lane using my car with stick shift. You would drive out to get the mail. You are now a smart, young handsome man.

Auburn, when your family lived in New Market, you, Aric and Austin would often come and spend the weekends with Pappy, Chris and me. Auburn you are a very beautiful young lady with many talents and gifts. I will always remember the summer you spent at my house and got your first dog and all the tricks you taught him. You had lots of patience working with Ace and teaching him to be a good obedient dog. I remember teaching you how to make sausage gravy.

Austin, I remember your first cry because I was in the room when you were born. That was an awesome experience. You were a very cute baby boy. I will always remember all the long talks we have had together over the years and hope to have many more. I also remember the many times you came to spend time with me. I remember the times you spent with Pappy learning to drive and shoot a gun. Pappy enjoyed having you around to do things with him. You are like him collecting treasures and it didn’t matter what it was --it was a treasure to keep. It might come in handy someday. Austin you, are very special, young, handsome man.

I love each of you a whole big---------------------bunch.

Grandma Thelma S

Friday Love Letter #67

This is today's love letter.

A love letter to my children:

What is an example of nostalgia in your life?

I love playing some of the games with you that I played years ago when I was a child. It is so fascinating to me that they have stood the test of time as well as they have. I hope you will be able to play them with your children someday. It takes me back to a time in my life that where life was good and reminds that life is good still.

Other things are:

Root beer floats
S'mores
Bike riding
Classic rock
Skipping stones on the water
Jump ropes
Roller skating

Don't ever think you are too young or too old to be nostalgic. Nostalgia isn't where we should live, but it's a great place to visit. It helps us remember what blessings we've experienced in our lives and what hardships we've endured. It reminds us of our history both as individuals and corporately. And it makes us warm and fuzzy inside. And that's a great thing.

Friday Love Letter #64

Letter to my children

Question-Who was a teacher that changed your life?

One of my earliest and most loved teachers was my Aunt Maureen. She was vibrant, fun, interesting and dynamic. Most of all she had a heart for us "girls" (my sisters and I) and she spent time with us and treated us like people. She believed in us and she helped me to believe in me. You can do it seemed to be her life theme song and it inspired me. I started to imagine I could do anything, be anything, pursue anything, and conquer anything when I spent time with her as a young girl.

I hope she left a bit of her legacy with me/my life. I see her in how I interact with all of you. I hope a piece of that is left and seen in your lives. You would have loved her and she'd have loved you.

Friday Love Letters-What Makes an Artist

I've been doing these Friday love letters for some time now and had the bright idea today that I can blog my letters.

This Friday's question: What makes an artist?I think having children has greatly altered my view on this. Of course, having children has greatly altered my view on everything in my life. I think what makes an artist is being brave enough to act on the passions in your heart and sharing that with the world.

I also think that each of the members of our family are artists in their own ways. We have ways of sharing that through musical instruments, song, words, photography, drawing, crafts, travel and many other ways. Blended together, it makes for a very rich, full life.

I also think part of being an artist is learning to respect what makes you an artist and what makes others an artist.