Grandparents are Amazing!!

An interesting conversation has been brewing within our house, with my brothers, and some co-workers. The topic was Grandparents and what makes "good" grandparents. At school, we have plenty of students that are being raised by their grandparents (God bless them for doing an amazing job) Anyway, getting back to my story. Growing up, I had two sets of grandparents that were unique in their own way. Gma and Gpa Beuschel had a huge apple orchard located in Sparta, Michigan. I can still see the huge blue sink , hear my gpa yelling at the tv, and boy so I remember the smell their house. Having thirty cousins on that side of the family kept things wild, so get togethers were CRAZY! Some of my favorite memories include:
1) Hanging out in the barn
2) Swinging on the wooden swings that were part of the apple trees
3) Camping with my grandparents and cousins Kelly and Kurt (still think of you...God took you way to early)
4) Playing the animal peanut game
Gma and Gpa Thayer lived on Happy End Trail in a small trailer park. They had one of the radio/tv combinations (it took up an entire wall!) On top of the television was one of the oil lamp of a naked lady...now that I am older, you have to ask why??? Outside, there was a river that my brothers and I would always hang out at. They also had a round stool that we would roll on which would always end up in a fight and my grandma would have to put in the backroom. One of the greatest memories was camping at Chicago Lake, which was in the middle of nowhere in the Upper Penisula of Michigan. We would play cards, build campfires, and take the canoe out to catch fish. Once, we headed to the general store where I made one of my first purchases...the gent told me it would be $3.75 plus tax. I kept repeating but I don't want to buy tax. My gpa had to leave the store as he was laughing so hard!! My grandma was one crafty woman (wish I would have inherited that). She used to make us the coolest Easter baskets. We used to make these mesh Easter balls to put on our front tree...looking back, my parents must have died looking at that tree but for the love of their daughter they kept allowing me to decorate it year after year. Boy, I sure wish I had a picture!!

Rob always has to say that Eli is his mother's revenage on him. Rob was quite the little boy growing up. Man, I would have loved to hear stories of him when he was little. Eli would have loved the heck out of Rob's mom!!!

Oh my, the list could go on and on! When I was growing up, I never knew how poor my grandparents were. They loved us for who we were. I couldn't tell you ten things that they bought me (likewise for my brothers) but boy can I remember the times they spent with us! Eli and Jace are very lucky to have amazing grandparents. When I asked Eli what is his favorite thing to do with Nana and Papa he always mentions getting roasty-toasty (they have an electric blanket) and having little snacks from papa! He loves when Nana and Papa do crazy things like make the big red car from chairs, pretend to drive their car (which always involves a little honking) and just plain being silly. We had the honor of having our grandson live by us for three short months until he moved to Michigan. He probabaly won't know us as the grandparents we could have been, but in words from my hubby, It is what it is!

Keeping It Real

January was one long month...and February started out chaotic as well. This post will probably be just as long as the past month! A few weeks ago, one of the blogger mommies that I follow posted a blog about how some mom's only post the cutsie stuff their kids do...well, I thought I would dedicated this entry to keeping it real. As I said, a lot of things happened this past month.


Of coarse, many good things happened this month; but one of the stories I will share with you didn't start out so dandy. When I turned 40, I was petrified to get the good ole' mammogram done...actually, I but it off for 6 months! Then, when I lost a great friend to breast cancer in October, the fearful event went a little higher on my to-do list. Not being able to get into the radiologist until January didn't bother me that much as I really wasn't excited about getting my boob smashed! So the day came, I was mildly FREAKED out but composed myself to get the procedure done. Panic started in once I got a LETTER...not a PHONE CALL saying that I needed to come in for additional testing. That may have been the longest week of my life. Rocking my little guy to sleep was very difficult as the thought in the back of my head was not a positive one (yeah, I was pretty much scared to death). Reading bedtime stories and playing Ironman with Eli brought tears to my eyes, but I knew I had to be strong. One of the hardest things to do was to tell Rob (his mom had passed away from cancer before I met him). Tears, tears, and more tears....then came the additional images at the Radiology place. Within five minutes, they came back to say that wanted to do an ultrasound on a specific area...I was behind nervous. So, as I lay on the bed, with the ultrasound person doing their thing, I prayed and prayed to God and to my amazing friend Amy Fisher as I knew she was watching over me. Another nerve-racking four days went by before I found out the most GLORIOUS news. The ultrasound didn't show anything, but I do need to get rechecked in six months. Going to church that following Sunday was tough! God is an amazing man and I thank the lucky stars that he blessed me with a clean bill of health.

Having a son with ADHD can be very challenging at times! He needs a lot of reassurance that he is making the right choices. Along with asking/rephrasing hundreds of questions on a daily basis, he is constantly on the move. He has taught himself how to do cartwheels, somersaults, and a handstand (close enough to call it one!) On night, the boys were playing Madagascar. Eli was hiding in a box (aka the laundry basket); Jace was heading towards him...then met in the middle. Jace starts screaming, so I take one look at his face only to notice that the basket caught his eye. He now has a nice raspberry...I tell you, this kiddo has the worst luck with injuries! Eli felt very bad that Jace got hurt but honestly, it was an accident.

Happy Six Months Home Little Man Jace!!!

So hard to believe
that this little man
has been in our life for
six months. So many changes
have happened in such a short
amount of time. He and Eli have
developed the bond of brothers;
they laugh together, fix food together,
and can just be silly together. It
wasn't always this way...the first couple
months were very trying on both of them.

Jace gives the biggest hugs and can now
give a kiss with the smacking noise!
This from the little boy that wouldn't
let his mom pick him up from his crib in China.
He smiles and giggles all day long!

Daycare used to be a place he could have lived without
now he hangs up his own coat, gives hugs and kisses
and is off to play his day away.

He survived three surgeries.
His speech is improving each day
(he can almost say daddy...its taken a lot of practice)


The list of accomplishments goes on and on,
but most of all...the love and joy is brings us is amazing!
We are very blessed to have an amazing little boy that made up a family of four.