Say "Hello" to Gabriel!

This little guy is my oldest grandson. Gabriel Talon turned three in January. Gabriel belongs to my daughter AnnaMae and her husband Nathan. I had a special blessing when Gabriel was born, because I got to be there! He was so tiny (a little early) and so cute. He reminded me of both his mom and his dad. Gabriel has a very funny personality. He is very busy and does the cutest things. My favorite memory of him as a timy baby was the time he sat next to Pa Pa and watched a little cartoon on the computer and laughed his head off. He was not even able to sit up on his own yet, and there he was just sitting there cuddled up next to Jeff and belly laughing. We got it on video, if you ever want to watch it. He still laughs all the time. Gabriel loves to talk to me on the phone, which is very fun. Usually after a few little bits of conversation he says "Pa Pa?" I'm not sure why he does that, maybe it is because Pa Pa is his favorite person! Gabriel is also very curious and loves anything to do with being outside. Pa Pa likes to show him things from nature because he is so into it. We still have a flattened dried out frog that Gabriel found in the road on a walk. Jeff won't let me throw it away. "It's Gabriels" he says... When he was smaller he was a bit afraid of bugs. When he would scream and run we would say "It won't hurt you" to him. Now, every time he is nervous about something he tells us "It won't hurt you". So sweet! Grandma loves here babies, what can I say?

Avery Bay Lilley

My Favorite Little People

Well, to be honest I have been trying to figure out how to begin blogging on my favorite subject, my sweet, G-Babies! You see, I wasn't sure if I should introduce each family together or to introduce each baby alone. I have decided to introduce each little person one at a time and then after that, I will just randomly share what is going on in their lives. My next decision was who to begin with, so naturally I decided to go oldest to youngest.
My oldest grandchild is a beautiful little girl. Avery Bay turned 3 years in December. Now, one of the things I love most about Avery is her sweetness. She says and does the sweetest things. Of course, she can be a stinker with the best of them, but most of the time, she's just darling!
I love the way Avery talks. Very clear and very adult. Last week, she told her daddy that she wanted to grow up and get married. (see what I mean?)
I love that every time I see Avery she welcomes me with a hug and a kiss. She is so hospitable. She has actually welcomed me with "Grandma, come in and sit down, would you like a drink?" I think Nole and Heather are doing a wonderful job raising this precious little girl. She makes faces just like her mommy and many parts of her personality remind me of her daddy when he was little. I will never forget the first time I saw her. My first grandchild! She stole my heart in an instant and will have it, forever.

Last week Jeff and I went to Fresno to have a day alone together before he went away for the week for work. Now, we do go to town for dates whenever we get the chance, but this time we did something different. Usually, we like to go out to eat, hang out at Barnes and Noble or go to the movies. The weather was so lovely, we didn't really want to be inside, so we decided to take a drive. I had no idea that you could drive just a short way down the road from Edward's Theatre and end up in the beautiful foothills. We drove up and saw The Table Mountain Casino (really ugly!) and then traveled along the edge of Millerton lake and enjoyed looking at all the homes there. We stopped and looked at some beautiful horses, which were soon joined by a bunch of goats! It was so fun to watch the goats stand on their hind legs to eat the leaves off of the trees. It was so beautiful, all the wild flowers and sunshine. I especially loved just being alone with Jeff. I am so greatful that we love to be together and we love to share our thoughts. We ended our day by having a yummy dinner at The Outback and then babysat our sweet grandkids so Nole and Heather could go out for dessert. Life doesn't get any better than that!

A nice drive and wonderful conversation

Oh, Dear, I love Deer...

I really do love deer. I have an ever growing collection of vintage deer in my home. Maybe it is because my parents took me to the mountains often and my father, a hunter was always pointing out the deer that he would see. He would talk about their beauty, the size of their antlers etc... with such joy and respect. I guess I couldn't help but like them too. These two belonged to my sweet mama. She is no longer here with me on earth, but the memory of her is all around my house. I think of her often and am so thankful for all the awesome things she taught me. Just recently, one of my girls thanked me for passing on a bit of wisdom to them and I smiled inside, because I had gotten it from my mom. I praise God for both of my parents. I miss them both so much. Treasure the time you have with your parents, it is a gift.