Granny is Moving On!

This Granny is moving on. Monday, August 31, 2009 is my last working day at Whitworth University. I have worked there for over 12 years. Now God has new things for me. My first new adventure will be to travel to Israel to work at the House of Hope for two weeks. The House of Hope is a place that takes in blind and disabled children discarded by their culture. It is in Bethlehem where Jesus was born. I will also have opportunities to travel in the area and see some of the biblical sites and antiquities. There will be many stories to tell my grandchildren when I return and pictures to show them. But the good news is that before I leave I get to take care of cute little Jackson who is 5.5 months old. I get to snuggle him for two weeks and then I'm off. God is so good.

Family is Precious

We had such a wonderful summer at our cabin on Sacheen Lake. Posted here is a picture taken of all of our kids and their kids the last night we were all together. We had a wonderful birthday party for Sarah Burns our daughter-in-law and served an ice cream cake on the party barge as we made our way around the lake. We sang. We laughed and we all enjoyed each other so very much. This was the last time all the cousins were together along with their parents. To quote Hope who is 8, "I love the lake. I have the happiest childhood in American, Grandma." So many memories are made. We don't take the gift of our family for granted. We feel extremely blessed to have had our daughter and her family with us for seven weeks this summer. Yesterday we went to the cabin...the clean but very empty cabin. We couldn't stay. It was just too lonely. It will take us awhile to not have a lump in our throats, missing our California kids and grandkids so much. But we are enjoying Elijah today as I write. He has a new fat bat and new wiffle balls and he took a very big nap so he is happy. I will take care of little Jackson half-days in September when my rhythm changes from being a Vice President to just being Grandma which is the best job on earth.

The Fourth of July at Granny's Cabin

The Fourth of July at the cabin is like Christmas in July! This year we decorated the cabin with red, white and blue lights and the "party barge" with all things red, white and blue. The little kids love the parade on the lake in the decorated barge. We sing songs at the top of our lungs that celebrate our wonderful country. We are indeed, "proud to be an American." There is a sense of excitement from families all over the lake. This last weekend, my daughter said, "Just think, Mom all around the lake, families just like us are making memories. Isn't that funny that they will have memories about OUR lake?" Memories is what life at the lake and at Granny's Cabin is all about. When I prayed for such a place 8 years ago, my prayer was that God would provide a place for my family where my grandchildren could always feel loved and secure and where they could find God in nature. There are so many opportunities to talk about what God has done for us through his creation while enjoying the beauty of the lake. For instance, Elijah and I recently had a conversation about blue dragonflies. I don't see them anywhere else other than at our lake. They are beautiful. We also have zebra dragonflies (which is not their official name). Every year we happily announce that they are back and flying all around. Last night there was a long and detailed discussion about bats. Granny doesn't like bats and the grandchildren love to scare her. Every night at dusk the bats come out and sweep down on the lake eating a plethera of bugs. Bats are our friends, I tell my grandchildren....but I don't really believe it. And, we have turtles. Several days ago, Malia and Reese and I went on a two mile walk stopping to freeze in our tracks and quietly observe the big turtles that sun themselves on a log in the same spot in the lake. I find them fascinating and beautiful and simple. There are days I wish my life was more like the life of a turtle and less like the life of a hare! Grandmas need to be fit and able to run up and down stairs; prepare meals in the midst of chaos and stay sweet and calm when smudges appear on freshly painted walls and dents rise from the dining room table. I recently told my sister-in-law who just completed a wonderful visit at the lake, "One needs to hold all things loosely at the lake." Granny needs to heed her own advice.

Loving Taylor

Taylor will be 11 years old next week. I will be in New York City and miss the big day, but I know I will celebrate with him at some time. Taylor is a loving and sensitive kid. He likes quiet and simple things like riding his bike in the neighborhood or playing video games. He struggles with school and his Mom and Dad are getting a divorce. Taylor is our bonus grandson! Our son, Mark married his Mom, Connie when Taylor was just 6, but Mark has loved Taylor like a son from the time he was just 2 and Mark started dating, Connie. Taylor has never known his biological father. Today, Taylor is sad and confused over the break-up of Mark and Connie's marriage. Today, he blames Mark and is very protective of his Mom. Right now he is having trouble trusting that if he comes to visit his Dad that Mark won't take him back to Connie. There are many reasons for his doubt, but not one of them is about the true character of his Dad, Mark. So we pray. We pray that Taylor will figure out the truth. We pray that God will breathe truth into Taylor's life, and that Taylor will not be neglected by Connie. God is a very big God and He knows, far better than we know, what is best for Taylor. So we keep praying.

Troubled Hailey

Hailey is fifteen years old and is a beautiful, smart teenager. Our son, Mark has been Hailey's father for the last nine years he . She even called him Dad. Mark and Connie had a child together, Elijah, Hailey's brother. Somewhere along the way, Hailey got angry. Who could blame her? Life has been hard for her. I love this girl. She is an artist and very talented. She is smart in math and science. My grandmother heart cries out to God reach Hailey so she can experience the love of Christ. Help her to see how much she needs God and please Lord, help her to be smart about the decisions she makes. My prayer is that we can have time with her this summer at the lake. That she can swim and see her cousins and know she is loved. My prayer is also that she can see the love that her Dad, Mark has for her and that she can turn her chaotic life around with the help of Jesus. Oh dear lord hear this Granny's prayer.

Reese the Glover

My grandson, Reese is three years old and adorably cute. He is tall for his age and loves sports. At a very early age he was throwing all sorts of balls. At just over two he could be found, shooting hoops.....not just for a short time but for as long as 20 minutes. His attention span for sports amazed even his highly trained, teacher mother, Amy. Reese not only loves all sports but he studies them. He pays attention to the differences in balls. He knows all the equipment needed in soccer (perhaps because his father, Erik has a soccer bias and has influenced him) and he loves to watch them. Recently he has been paying attention to baseball. He likes to swing the bat and throw the ball and especially he loves to catch the ball with his glove. After one session of throwing the ball back and forth with his Mom, he announced, "Mom, I am going to be a glover." Of course he meant a catcher but even when corrected he thinks glover is the way to describe the guy or gal who catches the ball. In our family, sports are big. My father (Reese's great grandfather, Duane Berentson), was a basketball player and basketball coach. Reese's Dad was a soccer player and a soccer coach. Reese's sister, Hope is a soccer player and just this last weekend served her team as keeper or goalie. Perhaps the love of sports is genetic or perhaps it is nurtured into young children and it is likely that both nature and nurture play similar roles...but Reese is a child that interprets life most easily with a ball in his hands. It is said that people learn much about life while participating in sports. Reese John Freeman Hanson, three years old and growing is already building those experiences and memories that will serve him well in the years to come.

Knitting with Hope

Hope is my oldest biological grandchild. Before our oldest son got married and we acquired two "bonus" grandchildren, Hope was the only one. I will never forget holding her in my arms for the first time. I bonded with her instantly. She was a premie and quite small. She was strong however and from the first few moments of life, she let the world know, "I'm here world. Watch out." She had difficulty sucking because her reflex wasn't fully developed. Grandma hated to see the neonatal ICU nurse put the tiny little tube down her nose to feed her. She didn't like it and let her anger be known. She knew her mind from the very beginning. She is a beautiful child inside and out. She cares deeply about God and people and she loves animals, especially our Black English Lab, Babs. But that relationship will need description in another blogging.

I am a knitter. Not a beautiful knitter, just a knitter. My daughter describes my flawed projects this way, "Well if it didn't have a special Grandma flaw in it, it wouldn't be so special." This in reference to the red ponchos I made Hope and her sister Malia a few years ago. When Hope was four she decided she wanted to learn to knit. Grandma agreed to teach her. We got some yarn and some mid-size needles and started by Hope sitting in Grandma's lap. We came up with a little rhymn that seemed to help her remember "needle to the back; wrap it around, push it through and lift it off." She sat on my lap and we repeated it over and over again. She would loose interest and we would put it away and then the next time I visited we would pull it out again and start over. Hope is a bit of a perfectionist, yet even as a four year-old she hung in there. Then this last summer she really got the hang of it. At the Granny's cabin, she knit for hours and made a dish cloth for her Mom's birthday. This week her Mom posted a picture of Hope smiling and knitting with her friend Emily. Grandma's heart was warmed to the core. Hope now knows how to knit with needles and is also a finger knitter. It may be years before she knits her first sweater but learning to knit on her Grandmother's lap will be a memory that stays with her all of her life. Perhaps one day, this Grandmother will hold Hope's daughter, my great-granddaughter on my lap and teach yet one more generation the joy of knitting, that is not held in the product produced as much in the fellowship associated with the art. Hope gives me hope for the unknown and joy in who she is becoming.

Just Thinking About Grandma

Malia Jane Hanson is my five year-old granddaughter. She was born in Spokane while her parents and big sister were living at our house. So she came home to Grandma's house as a newborn. She was an easy baby. She didn't cry much and she was very content. For the first three months of her life, I held her, cuddled her and rocked her every day, sitting comfortably in my green Grandma Chair, as the kids call it. I talked to her, filled her memory banks (a term created by my mother, Joanne Berentson, and Malia's great-grandmother) and sang sweet little songs to her. Malia from a very early age, sucked her three middle fingers on her right hand. That, perhaps, made her an even more content baby and child. When she was distressed or over stimulated, she always had her fingers...and most of the time her "softy" a silky little small blanket that brings comfort. Every summer, my daughter, Amy and her family come to Washington state from their home in California to stay with us and spend time at Granny's Cabin on beautiful Sacheen Lake. During those times, Malia and Grandma have many times of cuddling and rocking and talking and singing. After one such period of time, summer, as it always does came to an end and the Hanson family had to return to California. When they got to their home in El Cerrito, CA they unpacked the car as families do, got things moved back into the house and settled and after awhile, no one could find Malia. Amy found Malia in her room, her fingers in her mouth and holding her "softy." Amy asked her, "Honey what are you doing in here?" Malia's reply was, "Oh Mom, I'm just sitting here thinking about Grandma." Oh how sweet to love a child so deeply and be loved by that child so deeply that when they are away from you, even though they are still so small, they long for that sweet time shared together. Grandmas can make a big difference in the lives of their grandchildren. God intended that!

Jackson's Double Chin

Jackson my newest grandson is 17 days old today. He is a peaceful, happy baby who is already much adored by his parents. Yesterday was his first day of church and he remained peaceful throughout the service. His Mommy, my beautiful daughter-in-law, Sarah Burns, is a very relaxed first time mother. She is calm with him and he already looks into her eyes with that look of knowing love that only a newborn can give his Mommy. He is getting a double chin. As adults we don't often celebrate double chins, but in sweet smelling babies, we love to see the folds of health emerge on the baby's body. He will be fair haired and it is too soon to tell what color is eyes will turn. As his grandmother, I know this to be true, he will always be treasured and adored by his family. He is one of God's greates miracles and while he may not serve as Gideon did in the Old Testament, he will know Jesus. That is my heart's desire and Jesus says, "Lest we come as little chilfren. We will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Napping with Elijah

Elijah is three and currently he spends most weekends at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Today he wanted to take his nap on Grandma's lap while Grandma tried to watch the last of the Elite Eight NCAA Men's Basketball tournament. While Elijah dozed, I couldn't help but offer up a little prayer for this precious little one. How will he grow, Lord? Will he seek you, Lord? His skin is so fair and so perfect. He is so full of life? Oh how I wish I could protect him from all that the world holds. He runs fast and he plays hard and perhaps even one day he will play basketball. My prayer for him today Lord is to breathe who you are into his life. I will come along side him and love him and tell how about you at every opportunity. Today we sang songs of praise to you. He loves to sing and he loves your music, Lord. Thank you for giving him, even at three, the gift of song and a soaring spirit.

This is the first day of my blog. As I learn more I will say more. God has blessed me with seven grandchildren. This blog will be a reflection of what it means to serve God as a grandmother with a heart for His precious children. This blog won't be profound. It will only be honest and inspired by scripture and the Holy Spirit. There will be times when life is not understood and cries to God for guidance. If you too love serving God as a grandmother you may want to come along in the journey. God teaches us many things and He speaks to us every day. Grandchildren teach us how to listen to the voice of God.