THANKSGIVING - RANDOM THOUGHTS (1 of 2)...TACK ON CHRISTMAS THANKS TOO OK?

There's an old saying that "people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be" and based on the good, bad and ugly I've gone through lately, I do believe it true. ..but, when I open up my picture gallery...all the awesome thoughts and memories of the last year (not to mention the many before that) come flooding back...and even old Scrooge himself would have to have some thanks and appreciation for all the blessings that have come my way, by the grace of God.

Now, some folks might think that dancing in front of a restaurant with the Grandkids (Sierra and Tom), might be a little outlandish for a Grannie, but not this one. Fiftys and sixtys music is piped to the outside of this "Flashbacks) Diner...and since that was my 'Era' of youth...I just gotta be a teen ager again. HAVIN SOME FUN, and thankful for my dancing grandkids!

2006 was a milestone since my firstborn turned 41 in August. OH MY! How can that happen?

I don't think a Mama in the world thinks, "Hmmm, wonder what this beautiful baby boy will look like when he is 41?" I didn't, but here we are already.

Since we are only 19 years apart, will I still be thinking of him as my oldest 'kid' when I am 89 (should I still be cognizent at that age???) and he is turning a mere 70 years old? I know that my kids don't understand it, but they will in time...that your 'kids' are always your 'kids', and you never stop feeling or thinking like a "Mom" even if you want to. You still worry about them, fret and pray...that everything they want to come true, will come true...because they are 'your kids'...and sometimes you say, or bark "Mama" things you shouldn't, perhaps.

I am very thankful for my son, David, and for the beautiful grand daughter he gave me...Sierra....and this is a good time to just say it, I think. David is an amazing Dad.

Lindsay and I are the picture takers in the family...so to even find a picture (much less a good one) ...is a pretty tall order. Anyway, at just 26... heading toward 27 in March 2007, she is (along with hubby Jim) managing a family with two very young adult step-children, two babies only 18 months apart and the oldest (Ean) will be 3 in March of 2007, their rental properties, our Mortgage Company, the Real Estate Company her husband, Jim runs, she originates and process Loans for the Mortgage Company, manages a big home they bought last year, and contributes a lot to Rainbow and the California Association of Mortgage Brokers where she is in Leadership positions....and they buy, fix up and sell real estate as well...are you tired yet? I am. Anyway, I am thankful that she has grown ten invisible arms and extra eyes in the back of her head and has developed the guts of atilla the hun at such a tender age...because I would hate to think of the dogfood I might have been eating this past year if not for Lindsay and Jim's efforts in our behalf.

I like this picture because she looks pretty relaxed here...and about 15...which I think is pretty cute. She will too when she is forty. lol I appreciate Lindsay and Jim more than I can adequately express...and perhaps should let them know a little more often next year.

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to jump tall buildings in a single bound, and not allergic to krytonite...HERE'S SIERRA! It's awesome to get reports that Sierra's teacher's say about her...what a delight she is to have in class...how smart and sweet she is at the same time...things like that. It is even better when we can hang out a spell and I can watch the progress she makes as she grows from a baby to a little girl and now into a 9 year old!

We'll blink, and she'll be grown, but I am thankful for the delight she has given us along the way. She is most competitive (of course, her parents aren't slouches on that score either), and wins the book readers awards and stays growing in her gymnastics. Her room? Well, let's just say she is reaching teen land a little before her time...but hey, if ya gotta be a slouch in some way...that sounds like the best one to me. I am Blessed to have this grand daughter...and I love her dearly even if we are miles and miles apart. She is also a beautiful person...inside and out...so she got the right genes too on that score. Aim HIGH Sierra...

Just a photo I like of me and Sierra and Ean (thinking about how he can get to that throttle before I do...see him looking at it?) because it proves this is one granny that doesn't want to hit the old rocking chair any sooner than I have to. I think my Grandkids like that too. Being able to have fun with them and enjoy them the most is when they start talking and communicating and develop and communicate a sense of themselves in their own unique ways. When that happens, I get a 'natural high' just listening and/or watching how their 'thinking process' works...and am amazed by them all the time. These are the priceless treasures that could never be replaced by any humanly reward...so am I thankful for these riches...you bet! Theirs is a world we cannot enter, but if we hang around it some, we get renewed hope in the future...I do anyway.

The first 'batch' of children for me was David and Wendy, seen here goofing around with each other. It is amazing, but in many ways...they are very much alike, while being very different in other ways. Both are meticulous about their appearance, have great taste in clothes, furnishings and home design and are pretty indulgent parents...up to a point...(almost in the range of bratty...then the boom comes down). They are very protective of their little (and big) ones. They are both very charming, can fit in anywhere and with anyone, and know what is hip and in and what's not...and about everything else they seem to be the opposite.

They have great spiritual gifts, although Wendy is more visible with hers...so I guess you would say they are both pretty 'tender hearted'. Wendy will go buy warm blankets for the needy, and David would kick down a door so someone could get warm inside because of his sense of justice and fairness. David is a solid comedian who can make me laugh until there are no more tears, and Wendy is a performer that can make me cry because she can sing a sad or inspirational song soulfully. Both are 'artists' in different ways....and both of them are a little 'edgy'...like race horses getting ready for a race...maybe 'high strung' would be the right word.

Most important is that both of them try to do what is right all of the time. What is right for them, and for their families and children, and for others. Wendy is high energy all the time, while David reserves his energy for specific things. If anyone can claim this about their kids...they are Blessed beyond measure. David is the 'superhero' type...and Wendy is in there wrenching arms to get donations. They are both awesome in similar, but very different ways...and I adore them both as human beings and am very Thankful God gave them to me for a season...and even more Thankful for the wonderful grandchildren they have given me too.

Perhaps the 'family trait' I am thankful for most in our entire family is a "good sense of humor"...if you can look at life (even in misery) and find some laughs in it...I think you'll grow old a lot less ragged, beat up and bitter. Life is 'problems' and Easy Street only shows up when it's over I think, so if we can laugh at ourselves, and at the foilbles of life and take things in good humor, that is another 'gift' that sits on the top of the list of good Blessings. Sometimes things get so crazy in our family, we could all write a sit com about living our lives on 'life's' terms.


Now, here's a pair to draw to! The second set...Joey and Lindsay. Now this was taken at Joey's wedding last December 31st...so you know what the whole month of December was like for Joey and Nicole in the planning of every detail...stressfull...especially because Christmas was at our ranch in Toledo...and people were coming and going on different schedules...(including Joey) that there was only ONE DAY when ALL OF THEM WERE HERE AT THE SAME TIME...and Lindsay is carrying her three month old, Benjamin, and just traveled more than a 1,000 miles (and had a thousand more to go before home as well) with Jim and 21 month old Ean, Teenager Tom and Jim's Gramma Delores in a Motor home...and look at these two?

"Mugging" like they don't have a care in the world. That's Joey and Lindsay! Pretty laid back almost all of the time.

If David and Wendy are like race horses getting ready for a race...Joey and Lindsay are 'grazers' who rarely appear ruffled or hurried or stressed...and believe me...both of them have had some serious stress going on in their lives this past year...they rarely appear ruffled or rushed, or all out frenzied over anything...but things get done just the same. In most things in life, they are pretty 'live and let live' with others, not too judgemental either, but they both have pretty high expectations of themselves and do well in whatever they do....and oodles of integrity...just as the older ones have.

Joey is doing great and is truly happy teaching High School English in a Christian School, a guitar class and I think Basketball, and he has been accepted into the Masters Program which he will start in January to further his career options.

Thankfully, Lindsay the left brained math wizard chose to partner in the family Loan and Real Estate Business...and has had a lot of success as well. Neither one of them (as DAvid and Wendy before them) gave us any real grief...and when they stepped off the straight and narrow now and again, they had the good sense to either not tell us about it at all...or told us long after the event happened. I am surely grateful that I had that 'empty nest syndrome' attack when I did...as these kids are a joy to me, and I truly do appreciate them. Especially Joey's comedic prowress and Lindsays school marmism...How could one not? (Look at those faces, again!)

I've already shared about David and Sierra, but these are some of my favorite pictures of them from the last year (both pretty photogenic too) so what the heck...here they are...again.

Both David and Sierra are very athletic, and David has already taken Sierra Scuba Diving...they go roller blading, swimming, bicycle riding, to the snow (not sure if she skis yet, but she would learn very quickly I know), and wherever else it seems she is old enough to do. That is totally cool...and he takes her to Disneyland and to the beach and on other adventures too...you can see the 'cop reserve' in Davids eyes...always a little guarded and careful, but look at Sierra...she is all out there and loving it. I hope she has this feeling and look for a long, long time as it is really something precious. David and her Mom, Genice, work hard to secure Sierra's self esteem and to encourage and support all her endeavors by being actively involved...and there...for her.

Big Blessing, I think.

Wendy and Will are always critical of their pictures, but as handsome and pretty as they are as a couple (some refer to them as Ken and Barbie) how could any photo be bad? Put this old mug on for a spell and then you'll see something scary in the mirror tomorrow morning. Anyway, I liked this picuture of them...and I am very thankful for Will in my life. He is really good hearted and always comes when we get into something we can't handle because the mind is willing but the bodies don't work as well....and he knows a lot...about a lot of things...we don't.

I've written a long blog about appreciating William before...he is strong, smart, talented and has a great sense of humor...is very athletic too and competitive...but hey, who wants to challenge a guy who can pick up a refrigerator with his two arms around it and take it out of the house and put it into a truck alone. Not me. Besides, I think he is the best cook in the family...and he is definitely a family man. I'm thankful my daughter brought me Will...they match like a pair of bookends...and will really realize that in the next ten years. Love you Will...thanks for all your help this year, I don't know what I would have done without you. Besides, they both gave me Emily...and that is the best!

Now you may not believe it, but Joey is a mini Allen in many ways. If you look at Allen's photos when he was young, he was a young strong thin man just like Joey. These two love music...and probably know more artists and labels than the rest of us combined...both are pretty close with a buck...and very generous in spirit. Yeah, it took Papa a little longer to start putting a positive spin on life, but lately...he is making me look like a piker...so now I gotta catch up. Joey, it's just always been his nature to be sweet...and a maddening 'tease' at the same time...so go figure.

I know I am hard on poor Allen sometimes, cause he is like his sign "Taurus the Bull"...and that is hard for a Aries like me...but he plods along and gets to the end of the race just the same...and the truth is, when he builds something...it will last a thousand years...while what I build will be ready for tear down after an event... and then I am on to 'next'.

We fit together like peas and carrots now, although how much peas and carrots can ya take in your diet and enjoy it every minute over eighteen years...but we give each other room to be who we are most of the time, and freedom, and trust...and friendship...and sometimes, even a little zippety dooo dah, but I am thankful for the guy...but don't tell him ok...cause he is still chasing me after all these pounds and years have piled on...and I like to keep it that way.

Across a crowded 'Book Store"...now how exciting does that sound? Somehow, excitement in the library is just tilted a little...but nevertheless, for Joey and Nicole, their eyes met and they have been inseperable ever since. These are kids that like to do things right...traditional...and to know what a Blessing Nicole is...I believe her encouragement and good example were very important in Joey's College Years...and I dont have to worry about him going off the deep edge either (as his parents are prone to do sometimes) because Nicole provides a straight and steady goal oriented life for him, and I can already tell...that Joey don't like "Mama" to be unhappy in his home any more than the next 'married' guy. It ain't fun...that is certain.

Nicole is pretty quiet, but once you get to know her a little, she too has a great sense of humor and wit about her, and a wonderful artistic ability. She is the true artist of the family as that was her major at Biola University. One thing made me love Nicole right off the bat, and made me appreciate what a 'jewel' of a new daughter I was going to get.

She was at our home with Joe before going home to Idaho and her parents, for her summer break in her hometown of Caldwell. I asked her what she was going to do for work during the summer, and she responded that she would take any job that was available to her. When I asked her what she was going to do with the money she earned this summer, she said she was going to give it to her parents. "All of it?" I asked. She replied in the affirmative saying that she wanted to give her parents everything she made because they helped her out so much during her school year. It was such a youthful wisdom, and an "appreciation" backed by so much more than a mere verbal 'thank you'. I truly admired that in Nichole, and I knew she was not a spoiled young woman. She is probably more resourceful and frugal than Joey, and more practical as well...although she loves to have as much fun as the next young gal.

Here's Joey with his new bride and main squeeze...Nichole...almost ready to celebrate their first anniversary, sitting on my trike a few months ago when they stole a few days to come in and out like the tides (but at least we got to see them...) and what is even more special, is that Nichole knows I think of her as my daughter and that acknowledgement and understanding is wisdom. How much more Blessed can ya be that that? I know that Nichole will have a rich and fun life with Joey...but God knew what he was doing when he put this tall, lanky, beautiful woman in Joey's view that day several years ago...in a Book Store in Visalia. She is perfect for him!

Now I have a lot of photos of Jim, and I have a number of Lindsay too...but together? That is a little more dicey of a trick...and a good one of BOTH of them...with their 'gleemy' eyes...and big smiles...that I see and hear so often in person...in photos...as rare as hen's teeth! So I love this picture and it is not quite a year old...so it is in "Grammie's Favorite Pix" as are some of the other ones shown here too.

Anyway, I've already said how much I appreciate all the hard work Jim has done in the Real Estate to help keep the home fires burning for us up here in Oregon, but I think what I appreciate most about Jim is how much he makes me laugh. He's like a soulmate in a lot of ways, because in running the company, he knows the road in our business is like a roller coaster and feast and famine more than anyone else I know...and he 'tells on himself" when he gets into a dismal mood...so I can cheer him up some, or we can laugh at it...together...with the knowledge of what 'running a business' and providing for a family is really like. He is also one of the most 'charming' people I know, and the other one is my son in law Will.

Most of all, I love this guy for my Grandson's. Especially Tom (who is living with us while going to college and working...and who provides a lot of charm in his own right) and the little guys Ean and Ben. I appreciate that he agreed to Lindsay having children of her own "knowing' what a sacrifice it would be for him to do so, since he was near the end of child rearing when they married. Now, that is love for a woman like no other. Jim and Lindsay are partners, and married folks and are together about 24/7 which can get real old, real fast for many couples, and though this last year has had some real peaks and valleys...changes and challenges...ups and downs...

...I'm confident that these two will always work it out because that "L" word is in the middle of everything they do. Lindsay spoils him, and in many ways, he spoiles her too...and that is a good thing. Besides, Jim is the only one in the family who cries like I do at sad or moving movies...and though he can get in a 'mood' now and then...he generally lives on the "sunny side of life" and I just think that is an awesome thing. I love you buddy, and I am grateful that you are my buddy...and my son in law so there!

In a few days we'll be heading to California to spend a week with Jim and Lindsay and the Boys and with David and Sierra for Christmas. I'll think of Wendy and Will and the grandkids and Tom and of Joey and Nichole and wish them good Blessings as we join around the Christmas feast (maybe some good old fashioned stew..you never know when it's 'us' what we'll come up with) but I can't wait to see them again cause I have missed them a lot. Hopefully, next year we can all be at the ranch again with everyone able to come...cause that surely is the best of everything...but this year, we are so grateful and thankful to be going to spend some time with them.

(more continued)