Becoming a Mama

Today is the date I became a mama 40 years ago.  It is the birthday of my firstborn...Betsy..

Such a milestone and the beginning of a wonderful decade in her life.  It is so much fun watching her blossom into the woman she has become.....just a few lot of pictures of our celebration for her.....

Happy Birthday Betsy!!!

I have seen her look like this a million times...it is her signature expression..tickled and laughing...

Thank you for sharing in this wonderful day....

Love,

Mona

Firstborn......

Betsy and her boys

Today is my firstborn's birthday......I do not feel old enough to have a daughter approaching a huge milestone birthday..but that is beside the point.....Today we celebrate Betsy.....she has been a joy to me all of her life.....

For some reason , this year the memories of her birth have flooded my mind.......

she was one big baby..9lbs 51/2 oz

I never thought much about it, but I was only in labor for 4 hours with her...now I realize just how quick that was..

I wish I had  a blog way back then and I had written her birth story when it was fresh on my mind.....

remembering so much about her birth this year is a gift in itself.....


I am so thankful for her  life....for our relationship...for her wanting us to be friends now that she is an adult.....and for the way she has become a wife...and a mama......she is indeed a woman that has God's hand on her life......

and for all of that, I am so grateful.....

Happy Birthday Betsy......

it just keeps getting better and better...and so do you.....

thank you for stopping by today.......

hope to see you again soon..

Mona

Athens INK

We had our own little tattoo parlor going on over here last week...well, if you can call a Mama with a baby wipe in the backseat of a Suburban along with two overly excited little boys that bought themselves some tattoos from the trinket machine as we left the Chinese buffet.....  yes, indeed THAT was a real run on sentence for any of you that are keeping score..  LOL

Here are the results of that fine tatooing job by none other than Mama Betsy...

They were so proud of their art work on their arms......
but, by the last picture Mac had had enough and he was gone....  on to the next thing....

Isn't childhood grand?  have you let your inner child out to play lately?  I hope so.......

go get yourself a little tattoo..they only cost 50 cants and you can get one in the front of the Chinese restaurant...

all it takes is a baby wipe and a good Mama.....

I hope you smiled...these boys are wonderful and full of surprises..

thank you for stopping by today.. I hope to see you again soon..

Mona

Life is like a jar of NUTELLA

the moment I saw this picture of my youngest grandson, Marshall...I KNEW!!!  this picture is priceless......

I couldn't wait to write a blog about it and to also get it on Pinterest....one of my friends suggested an advertisement for Nutella....all of the above are correct answers.....

But here is what I saw....

verses like------- child like faith.........out of the mouths of babes......a little child will lead them........so here goes,

This little child is most definitely showing us something about how to live life......stick that whole hand of yours right smack dab into the middle of that jar and OPEN WIDE!!!!!!  get that whole fist full of yummy chocolate goodness right into your mouth...and get some all over your face and hands and jar and table and anything else within a half mile of your life..

I think Marshall has the right idea...just DIG IN!!!!!!!

don't be timid and don't hold back.....GET YOU SOME!!!!!!!!  that is...LIFE!  live it to the fullest possible...

We only get to do this one time..it is not a dress rehearsal..it is the real thing..there is no saving up to use in the next life....we get a certain amount (as in this jar of Nutella)...and we need to use it ALL!!!  right down to the bottom of the jar....we don't need to get to the end of this life and have half a jar left because we were so scared to live that we saved half of it......it is ours to live..no one can do it for us......

this jar of Nutella was a Christmas gift to Marshall's parents from me....but as you can see, that did not deter him...He saw something good and went for it!!  the whole jar.....kinda like us and God..when we see something that is His, we can go for it....If we have trusted Him, then He is our Daddy...and no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly......

Well, Marshall shows us what that looks like......

So, take your hand.....open that jar of Nutella aka your life......and stick your entire hand in there and bring a fist full of yummy goodness to your mouth....and do NOT be careful about what it spills over onto....just be concerned with tasting and seeing that it is good....and letting others smile or laugh out loud because of the joy surrounding you....

Like this little child, I plan on making 2012 a year where I jump in there with both feet..no holding back....when I see something good in My Father's House, I plan to go for it!!!!!!!  do you want to join me?  what a wonderful world that would be if we all tried to spend our lives emptying our jars of Nutella.....

thank you to Betsy Sinclair for this awesome picture...and to Marshall for the freedom he lives in because his parents get it!!


thank you for stopping by today.....this year is gonna be a good one..I can just feel it....can you?

making the most of our time

We certainly have been cramming a very lot of living into the last few days..I realized if I don't get some of these pictures in my blog, they will be gone..season past and I will be on to the next season..so I am gathering up and editing (aren't you glad I left some of the pictures out?) and sharing a hodgepodge of the last few days....I started out last week in Atlanta with my daughter and her family..and the week just got busier..here are a few shots from my life...

Betsy couldn't wait to take me to this store..she thought I would love it and she was right....I only share a few of the pictures I took while inside..it was truly imaginative and creative..

look at that bed!!!!

everything is touchy, feely

this store was truly one of my favorites...such creativity.....

haha  this is what NORMAL is....

until you see this picture.....

and this one!!

my wonderful daughter and two of her boys....

We had such a good time at Lenox Square..it is a place where I shared Christmas with my own Mama and Grandmother many, many years ago..and now I am continuing the tradition.....

Atlanta at Christmas.....what a fun time...I love to visit the city....and then come home to the country....

I hope you are having a Merry Christmas season..thank you for stopping by this morning...see you soon...

Rich's Pink Pig tradition

 We rode the Pink Pig......this week....in Atlanta at Macy's...it will always be  Rich's Pink Pig to me, but now it is at Macy's...go figure...

If you've never heard of the pink pig, you are in for a treat...and if you have ridden it as a child...ENJOY!!

I rode it as a child, my children rode it as children, and now my grandchildren are riding it too.....these kinds of traditions are worth keeping..the good, clean, fun kind......Merry Christmas.....

so excited

the OLD pig

it is quite PINK!!

sorry about the turning in the video....I could blame it on having 3 little boys close by but that wouldn't be the truth..it had something to do with the photographer not knowing what she was doing..LOL

the tickets are a big deal

Marshall's first ride

the beloved stickers...

proof that we were here..

thank you for stopping by this morning...I hope you enjoyed our little adventure...the boys surely did..and so did we.....come again soon...

My cup runs over.....

Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged;

I am so thankful for the blessing of grandchildren...these little lives..this daughter and son in law that pour their lives into making these little boys into great men..

I am thankful that they have developed a love of learning already at their young age..and their love of books and reading make this grandmother happy......I stressed the importance of reading at a very young age with my own children and they are amazing readers....and lovers of learning.....now, it brings me great joy to see the next generation embracing this too..  we recently spent the morning at our local library where we have a really good children's librarian and a good story hour....I only got a few pictures but I think you can see how much they were enjoying it.  I am proud of Betsy for making the effort to get them reading and loving books at an early age.....it will help them go far in this life....

eating breakfast to start the day..Marshall

children's section at library

Mac got a book as soon as we got there

Mac and Marshall

Will..thoroughly entertained

intent...

listening

here is who had their attention

It was a fun morning and I am thankful that I get to share in some of the day to day things that my grandsons do.....after all, it's the little things that mean the most......Thank you Betsy for making the huge effort to come and spend the night with us...we love every minute of your visits...

thank you for stopping by this morning......come again soon....

Grandsons

What a joy are my 3 grandsons....they are so different but yet so much alike...They all came to spend the night this week and I was able to capture a little of their personalities with these pictures.....I hope you enjoy this picture....
they are such a delight......

Betsy does a wonderful job of helping them develop their individual temperaments.......truly raising them up in the way they should go....I am sure Mike has a lot to do with this too...they are good parents..these boys are amazing...watch out world!!!  they are going to CHANGE you!!!

thank you for sharing your time with us today.......

Happy FALL!!!!!   so glad to see you once again......I will really enjoy you this year.  I promise....