A new thing....

Mahoney's Auntie Moneica, sent me this pic on Wednesday.

There is a blog I read a lot, called Beekman 1802.  Each week they have a "5 Most Beautiful Things This Week"....so I thought I would give it a try.  These are the 5 most beautiful things...to me...this week.

1.  MAHONEY...duh?!!

2. Celebrex, a wonderful drug that has made my shoulder feel so much better.  More on the shoulder drama next week.

3.  The rain....oh how I missed it!!  

4.  Lee's eyes....for 23 years these baby blues still are the prettiest eyes I have ever seen.

5.  Memories....while going through some plastic totes this week, I found old letters from my grandma...and plunked down and read every single one.  It was nice, even though I cried a little.  I am so happy I saved them all this time.

The hardest part....

Mason and Mahoney, last Friday night.

There is a hard part to being a grandparent....and it totally explains why my mom spoiled my boys rotten.  The hard part is that feeling like you are missing all the good things...Arrielle posted on facebook that she could see where MJ was getting her tooth buds in...instead of being happy..I cried for a moment.  Seeing pictures of Mahoney being held by her "other" grandparents, and aunties is so bittersweet.  I love that Mahoney is so loved, by so many.  She is amazing...she has a bond with these people, and I am so jealous that my skin should glow green.  It took forever to get enough money to see her after she was born, and we are still paying on it.  Because of the move next year, I don't think we will get to go home until we are actually moving there, or at least closer to there.  

I wonder how Mahoney will act if we don't see her until she is over a year old...will she cry when she is put in our arms??  My heart drops at the thought.  I totally get why my mom spoiled the boys completely rotten...she sent her love in the form of great gifts when she could not be there.  The boys knew it too...all they had to do was mention that they wanted something...and it showed up in the mail.  My boys were lucky though...and they always saw my mom and dad a couple times a year, even when we moved to Texas.  My boys always knew my parents adored them...I have a funny memory of my dad teaching Mason to make a balloon make that awful screeching noise after you blow it up and then pull on the part that you blew into, there is a picture of them giggling and smiling.  My dad, when he knew grandkids would be there for a couple weeks in the summer, would delay his garden..so the grandkids could drag all the Tonka toys in to the freshly tilled dirt....oh my God they loved it, they would come in the house filthy and no one cared.  They loved making cookies with my mom, all five grandkids shared that special moment with her.  

I sooo want these type of unforgettable memories with Mahoney and future granbabies.  I don't know how my mom did this...at least there are now cell phones that send pictures and facebook with videos, because I feel like I am missing all the good stuff.  I admit I am feeling a little like a sad sack, and I do truly love all the pictures, videos and calls when she is "talking"...but, I just want to hold her, smell her and whisper in her ear how much I adore her.

Pumpkins And A Purple Coat.....

We....Lee, Me and Elliott (who 2 years ago promised he would always go with me to find pumpkins) loaded into the truck and headed a little north to Arcata...to go pumpkin hunting!!  I love "pick your own" patches.  There must not have been as much sun in the Arcata Bottoms (fancy word for the area where all the farms and dairies are) this summer, because lots of the pumpkins had mushy spots and mold.  I set out on a mission, a couple white pumpkins, one of those squatted ones, a green variegated one and a couple traditional ones too....mission successful, and you will seem them closer to halloween.

When we got out of the car I noticed these piggies!!!  Their curly tails were too cute, and they were all grunting, trying to ease each other out of the feed bucket.  At this pumpkin patch, you grab a wagon and stroll through the fields to find your pumpkins...Elliott pulled the wagon and Lee was taking pictures for my blog....but I accidentally deleted everything off his work phone...and all of his great pictures are gone.  Whoopsie!  After your pumpkins are chosen, they get weighed...and I get nervous, because I only brought a certain amount of cash.  Sixty three pounds of pumpkins, oh no....but woo hoo, all for about $20.  In the barn where you par, they have a huge selection of gourds, just picked potatoes, dried beans of all kinds.  I got a little Martha Stewart like in there, and bought some gourds to display, and some potatoes to use with a roast I have on the menu this week. 

As we were leaving the parking lot...or should I say field...I spotted these peacocks crossing the road...I had to take a picture to send to Mason and Arrielle.  Have I ever blogged the funny peacock story???  If not, that is for another day!  

Ok....since we moved here, I have spotted the "lady in the purple coat" all over town.  We used to see her all the time, all over town...really, she will be walking on one side of town and then later that day she will be spotted walking on the other side..  She can usually be spotted at Starbuck's on Myrtle.  Other people see her, the boy next door and I always report our sightings to each other.  I have never been able to get a picture of her, because I am usually driving...I got this pic, even though you can hardly see her while in a parking lot.  This lady has long grey hair...always has the purple coat on, a very tanned face and her mouth is always open (and talks to herself a lot).  Lee has a theory that she is a very rich day trader, that is on sabbatical and doing a socioeconomic experiment, and when it seems she is talking to herself she is really talking into her blue tooth device, making deals.  She interests me so much, that when I don't see her, I worry about her.  I always keep watch for her after a storm, seeing her walking lets me know she is ok.  I don't know why I do it...but she is someones relative, somewhere out there in the world...I am just keeping an eye out for her.

Beauty....

I try to see the beauty in every thing...even the "big mouse...and its friend" that frequent the seeds that have fallen from the bird feeder.  I see beauty in a rain storm, in a fallen tree that still provides life in a forest, and I see beauty in love.  

Yesterday, just after I finished my blog entry, I clicked over to facebook for a moment.  It was there, that I saw beauty that made me cry.  I cried tears of happiness, not of sorrow.  I cannot adequately described what it feels like to be Mahoney's grandma....it was love at the first words of "we are pregnant"...and only grown since then.  This little baby grounds me, she is my solace in a storm and I feel blessed to be her grandma.

Without further ado, here is Mahoney Jane...in pictures that were taken Sunday (10-6-12).  

All a parent wants is their child's happiness....this photo shows the exact happiness you want them to have.

Four Generations.....

I have been looking for these pictures for almost three months!  I had forgotten to put a memory card into the camera, so these were saved on the cameras memory...and then the camera went missing shortly after we got home from Washington.  I finally found the camera while looking for something else...go figure!  

There are 4 generations in these pics!!  Mason, Mahoney (at just a week old!), Me and my Dad.  I have a four generation of Mason, myself, my dad and my grandma...so I really wanted these pictures!  Mahoney looks so tiny in these pics!  

Nothing new and exciting here really, the fall weather is taking its time getting here....I am so ready for a little rain and wind!  I love a rainy night, cuddled on the couch watching a movie with a bowl of soup in my hands.  Of course, I am usually cuddled up to the cats or Key.  Lee tends to his class work in the evenings...he just started another federal contracts class yesterday.  He also has a course he is taking while he is at work (it has to be done on his work computer).  Elliott is knee deep into his classes as well.  I am so proud of my guys...Lee and Elliott with their classes and Mason starting  his new job next month!!

Speaking of fall and soup....I am making soup for dinner tonight.  Thankfully, I married a man that loves a good homemade soup!  I am making an Italian version of chicken tortellini soup...I add tomatoes, chopped spinach and Italian seasoning to my regular soup!  So good, it is a stick to your ribs kind of soup.  

I have hopes to get started on Mahoney's scrapbook this week.  I used all my coupons for free prints and got a ton of pictures printed, now I just have to organize the papers, embellishments and lettering.  Most of all I need to gather my thoughts of what I would like to journal on each page.  Mason and Arrielle are used to me scrapbooking their events, that they will provide me with goodies to add...like one of MJ's hospital bracelets and other goodies that add to a memory.  I have a nice stash of supplies, and my Aunt Myrna gave us the scrapbook for Mahoney....but scrapbooking in pink..that is kinda different!  I am used to boys! 

Gotta go...laundry calls!

Three Months Already......

This is Mason and MJ, when she was just a week old!

This is Mason and MJ three months later!!!  Arrielle just texted me this picture!  How cute are they!!  She is growing like a weed and really could not be any cuter!