gammie annie

....today our little fox turns 8 months old! i called to sing happy birthday to him. a first for that. he was in the tub monkey-shinin' for his mom and dad. nic said he got excited when he heard me singing & talking to him on the speaker phone. then he sneezed & continued on with his shenanigans with his mom and dad :)

how do i describe what it feels like to be a grandma? i absolutely LOVED being a mom. i ate it up like ice cream. i would have kept on having babies if chuck would have been agreeable to it. i have made it my business to cement myself into the lives of nieces and nephews from the time they were born. i lived and breathed children's ministry for years at my church with every age child. my very favorite time was when i taught the 3-4 year olds. they were such a trip. i actually wrote my own children's curriculum for them.....& held them in rapt attention as i related stories of abraham, issac, jacob, david, Jesus & more with great zeal and zest. i was the attention-grabber and holder....and their very best friend. i am the singer of silly songs & lullabyes, the animated maker of silly faces, the (former....yet still in my heart) wearer of glittery sequined baseball hats :) the jumping grandma. the one who lays down on the floor with my head in their lap so that they can stick their chubby little fingers up my nose and in my mouth.

ahhh.....and now i have one of my own flesh & blood......! i feel like it is my due to be able to smell & kiss that head & cheeks and face and lips and toes and whatever other part of his tiny little body (like stomach !) i fancy. he is a part of me, possesses my dna. i've heard lots of stories from grandparents my age. they say how much fun it is to interact with the grandkids and then the bigger bonus of being able to "send them home" after the fun is done. they say it's like eating dessert first. but i have to say....i like the whole meal experience. i have not had the pleasure of having my first grandbabyboy all to myself for any great length of time, but i am looking forward to that. to just hanging out with him and doing more of the chores that come with caring for a child & finding all of the special activities that will build our relationship.

i love bathing our fox, and am so appreciative of my son and his wife for seeing this as a bonding opportunity for him and i. from the time he was born they have made sure that i have had many opportunities to give him his bath. of course i revel in it and we have developed our own little bathtime songs & games.

i love taking him out on the front porch & letting him reach up to jangle the windchime. it fills my heart with joy to see that little cherubic face filled with delight as he reaches up for it and pulls hard to make the cowbells jangle. the image of that is burned into my memory forever.

i love sitting with him on freshly mown grass....he will just sit there, grabbing at it with his hands, feeling the texture. i love seeing the most commonplace things through the new eyes of one who is just discovering the wide wide world that his Daddy created just for him.

we have also discovered that we like swinging together on the side porch swing. he has learned to relax & lean back in my arms. he will sit there for quite awhile. we listen to the birds. we sing "wheeeee" on the downswing. i sing silly songs to him and i can see him grinning as i look down on his face from above and behind. when i let him get a word in edgewise, he babbles a bit....looking forward to the increase of that!

these are only the beginnings of the moments that will be woven into the beautiful tapestry that will fashion my relationship with this little one. and i look forward to the ones who will follow him. each child will be beautiful and special, each relationship unique. This is God's heart for me...for i am His heritage, and it is the manifestation of His heart within me for these who come after me, for they are my heritage. I am His and He is mine. they are mine and i am theirs. and so the story continues.