Wednesday, July 27, 2016

July 25, 26, & 27, 2016

Three Days With Seven
of Our Grandchildren
July 25, 26, & 27, 2016

Our 12 yr. old granddaughter fixing a take along
 lunch for her father.  I offered to do it, but she 
wanted to.  She fixed a sandwich, chips, and
 animal crackers along with a canned drink. 

Oh what fun!  Three days with the grandchildren when there were few things that HAD to be done.  Their mother had prepared meals or had frozen items so that mealtimes were easy.  I did make Rice Krispie Treats Monday night and Tuesday night.  Today I made peanut butter cookies.  They know that Grandma will take care of desserts.
The Sugar Kid
The children are all old enough to be out of diapers.  They talk clearly enough for me to usually understand.  They can do chores around the house like caring for the pets: 4 cats and 4 new baby kittens, 3 dogs, and 1 horse.  They practice piano without being asked even though they are not taking lessons this summer.  They help each other.  They play well together in assorted groupings and all but one play well alone.  They spent hours and hours with: toy cars (Hot Wheels) and a race track; decks of cards; drawing pictures; talking to each other; and on and on.  Mealtimes there would be 4 different conversations going on.  They like each other and are making friends in their new surroundings.  It has been just over a year since they moved to the house in McAllen.
The middle child working on a new song for piano
The house is sort of "out in the country" and if it had not been 100 degrees, they would have been playing outside.  They were out there some.  Due to a water leak from an upstairs bathroom, a major renovation was taking place in that bathroom.  Carpenters and a tile man were in and out during the three days.  The tile man asked me today if they were going to all be basketball players, so I think they must have been shooting baskets outside while he was around.  Five of the seven are taking basketball lessons - all but the oldest and the youngest.
The youngest arranging flowers.  
She did 4 arrangements.
One conversation at the table last night was between the 12 year old girl and her next youngest brother.  She was telling him the position his hand should be in to shoot baskets.  Another conversation I heard this morning was between that same girl and her 18 year old brother.  He was sitting on the side of her bed trying to convince her it was time to get up (it was only 11:30).  Another conversation was between the second oldest boy and the youngest boy who had just drawn an airplane.  His older brother was trying to help him come up with numbers for the plane (B-2016).  That second oldest brother asked if I had seen him racing.  No, I hadn't.  He said he raced the horse when he went to feed it.  As soon as the horse saw him, it came at as much full speed as a 20 year old horse has.  The horse won. They discuss history, animals, music, camp experiences, food, and many other subjects.  They just enjoy being together and talking.
Did I mention, their backyard is perfect for bird watching?
Great Kiskadee
I did not leave the house while I was there.  The oldest grandson had to pick up laundry for his dad today and I asked him to pick up some things to go with lunch.  Then just before I left this evening he loaded all the children in the van to head to the church for assorted Wednesday night activities.  The tile man was so impressed with the children.  This morning I had to wake the oldest grandson to answer a question for the man, and he was so kind to the man who kept apologizing for having been the cause of him getting up and that he should go back to bed.  Our grandson told him, no problem, and I think went to play the piano.
 Gold Finch
There were just not any problems except trying to keep the youngest grandson from living on sugary products.  (Nothing new)  His internal clock tells him he should have a snack OFTEN.  His grandma tries to strike a proper balance.  Last night I asked him at supper if he wanted apple juice or Kool-aid.  He asked which had the most sugar.  Thankfully, he is the most active of the bunch and burns it all off.  He is a busy youngster and goes full-speed at all times.
 Bath time

So many times while I was there, I thanked God for my Cochlear Implant.  The youngest girl was just an infant when I lost my hearing and one of the things that bothered me was that I might not ever hear her voice.  Oh, I am so glad I can hear it.  She has the cutest voice and inflection in her talking that I would hate to have missed.  She has a great sense of humor (as do the others).  One of the first things I did when I got there was let her make the flower arrangements from the flowers I had picked the night before I went up there.  She quickly learned how to separate the colors into groups: one of pinks, purples, and white, and another group of reds, yellows, and oranges.  She would pick up an orange one and comment, "this a very dark orange", or "Isn't this a beautiful pink?"  There is one zinnia plant that has red flowers, but it is a shade that goes well in the pinks and purples.  I asked her if she liked it with the pinks or if she wanted in the other vase.  She thought and said, "I think it looks good with the pinks."
Construction crew also had to repair the kitchen ceiling
By now, I guess you have figured out that I had a great time with them.  There were times that got really noisy with the grand baby piano being played, the tile man stomping around above the kitchen, as he worked in the bathroom that was being repaired, the youngest grandchild singing while she colored, the Hot Wheels crashing against the fireplace, one of the three dogs barking, (only one barks much), and laughter rolling through the house.

Our youngest son, who lives in Dallas, called one day while I was there, just to chat as he was returning from a day trip to see a friend who had just had a brain tumor removed and he asked what was going on where I was as I was working in the kitchen while the tile man worked above my head, and as I kept checking the timer often for supper in the oven, the children asking if supper was ready, and someone was playing the piano.  He decided he would try again later.  (Good idea)

So I am home.  Tired, sleepy, but enjoying the memories.  Ron was not able to go with me and he would have enjoyed the visit.

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