Our daughter Amy and her husband Erik are going to Spain to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary. I am so happy for them. Amy has never been to Europe. I don't think Erik has either. They arrive in less than 24 hours with their four children. Hope is 10 and has been coming to our lake cabin since she was not quite 2 years old. Malia is 7 and she has spent every one of her summers at the lake. Reese is 5 and he can't wait to go fishing. Johanna is 14 months and she has NEVER been away from her Mommy and Daddy and she is spending 10 days with us. I love babies....and babies love me. But of all of our grandchildren...we have been with Johanna the least. She is very attached to her Mommy. She is a preacher's daughter and hates the nursery. So I'm pretty sure we will all have some adjusting to do. Grandpa had tee-shirts printed for all the grandchildren that say "Grandpa's Summer Camp" on them. He will indeed be running summer camp. He promised to give the Hanson kids swimming lessons (he is a certified swimming instructor). Today he cleaned the entire beach for the kids..and the weather is finally nice. My instructions from Amy are to keep my eye on Johanna every minute. She is quick and she is naughty according to her mother. Will Johanna conquer Grandma or will Grandma conquer, Johanna. She is so cute and adorable don't you think? Her Mommy says, "She is my strongest willed child." Pray for me!

Fishing with Jackson

Jackson, my son Steve and his wife Sarah's little boy, is two years old now. He is very verbal for a boy his age. This spring he fished for the first time. He loved being out in the boat with Grandpa and his Daddy. He wasn't as much into the fish or even catching fish as he was just excited about the experience. Yesterday he was at our house and we went for a long walk in the woods. We have a tee-pee in our woods, constructed by the Campfire Campers below our property. Jackson liked the tee-pee, but he was more interested in finding rocks he liked and putting them in his pockets. It reminded me of all the days my kids spent at their Grandparents' picking up rocks and putting them in their pockets. When you are a busy Mom you really don't spend much time thinking about rocks in pockets. They are really more of a laundry hazard than anything else. But somehow when you are a Grandma, you take the time to examine the rocks with your grandson. You talk about how deep his pockets are and you spend a little more time encouraging your grandson's creativity with the rocks. When your grandson talks to you about all he sees during your walk in the woods, it has a different kind of charm than the words that came from the mouths of your own children. Maybe it is because my children taught me how to love so deeply that now when I walk in the woods with Jackson and share moments and rocks, I appreciate the love of a child and for a child in even deeper ways.