Dear God: Today I am grateful for...

...grandchildren in my house and daughters who are wonderful mothers.

Are they adorable or what?

Dalton the Birthday Boy

Dagan the Little Man

Lukas the Chick Magnet

Annie the Queen of Fashion

How lucky am I?

There's been so much going on the last three weeks that I'm not even going to attempt complete sentences in paragraphs. In chrono order:

• Colburn pinned by 400+ lb. motorcycle
• Right bicep tendon torn from lower arm
• Emergency trip to Abilene instead of trip to Elgin & San Marcos
  
• Next weekend at San Marcos River with kids/grandkids
• Cold, cold water
• Annie and Dalton calling me Grandma thus getting anything they want
• Lukas and Dagan laughing, cuddly and sweet smelling
• Maggie, Adam, Joanna and Danny are smart, fun and loving to their kids and me
• Back at the office - produced Trinity Habitat's first Annual Report in 8 years, only their 2nd in 19 years. Got lots of kudos for my work
• Took time off from work to care for post-op Colburn
• Lots of pain, his from the surgery, mine from watching him suffer. Fair amount of tears on my part. Lots of gratitude and affection on his part.
• He gets better every day. Thank God.
• Five days and five nights together = a real and rare blessing
• Sweet grandchildren, loving children, and a man who adores me and treats me that way.
  

How lucky am I?

From girlfriend to grandma in one afternoon

At 3:15 this afternoon, Colburn and I were loading his truck for his return home when Joanna and the boys zipped past en route to Mike & Susan's B&B. Joanna had decided to make a quick trip up to visit with her friend and bridesmaid Jessica. Yes, I knew they were coming and was surprised because I'm going down to spend next weekend at her house. Wow, a chance to see her, Dalton, and Dagan on two weekends in a row!

First of all, she looks FABULOUS. All that baby weight has disappeared as a result of a lot of hard work on her part. The boys are adorable, of course. Dalton has turned into a regular little boy having lost most of his baby fat. He was fearless playing outside with Mike and later, me. Dagan, however, is the roundest little kid I've ever seen. I don't have any pictures of the afternoon because I wanted to play with the little ones without hassling with a camera.

It's 9:47 now and I'm exhausted. It's been a busy day. First, Colburn and I went to a kayak demo in Pappy Elkins Park in Dalworthington Gardens this morning. It was great fun but I'm not used to that much sun. I haven't rowed since I went to camp when I was about 13 years old, but I did pretty well. The first kayak I went out in was a pedal one with a rudder. I felt like it turned me into a duck. I was paddling all over that little lake. Then we rode in a tandem kayak. It was more work but the people on shore said we did well.

I feel like I'm rambling here and not the least bit clever, so I'm going to sign off. The weekend was a real gift having spent time with Colburn, Joanna, Dalton, Dagan, Mike and Susan. It doesn't get much better than that.

Special message to Julie: I'm trying to stay in deep denial about your move but not succeeding.

My day in bullet points

• Took my car to Vandergriff Honda. Turns out my blown-out tire had a leaky valve stem AND a nail. That explains a lot.
• I also had my oil changed while I was there, and when I drove back to the office my "Check Engine" light came on.
  
• Took car back to Vandergriff after work, got rental. Now driving a Toyota 4Runner. Way too much car for me. The car saga continues...
• I talked to Dalton today. He actually said, "Hi, Grandma!" on the phone and then told me about his favorite TV show, "The Backyardigans", although he calls them the "mimis". Don't ask me why; it's a two-year-old thing. I love it when babies turn into people.
• Colburn still manages to take my breath away. It'll be four years next month. Time flies when you're ... well, you know.