Text to Gramma: Jak and the Lord

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I used to visit my three grandsons in the desert far more often than I have recently. Preston, the boys' dad, used to regularly attend work-related conferences, and Megan usually joined him. Which meant Gramma (that would be me) was flown to the desert to babysit the boys while Mom and Dad were away.

Add in a desert visit initiated by myself — sometimes with PawDad (that would be Jim) in tow — and the time between hugs and face-to-face fun were rather short. Which was fabulous for being aware and awed but not shocked by the growth of Bubby and Mac between visits.

That's not the case with Jak, who is now nearly 2 1/2 years old. Preston attends fewer conferences of late for various reasons; I haven't had the time or money to schedule many trips to see the boys myself. So I don't see Jak as often as I did his brothers during the toddler years.

Because of the limited in-person connecting with Jak, I'm regularly flabbergasted by how much he grows between Facetimes and photos and phone calls. He never fails to advance by leaps and bounds physically, socially, verbally, developmentally in myriad and magical ways.

A text from Megan on Monday demonstrated...

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Farewell from the ranch

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Jim's oldest sister lives on a ranch outside of Hot Springs, South Dakota. My sister-in-law's property has been the scene of many a family celebration over the past 20-plus years.

Last Saturday it was the spot as many extended family members as could make it gathered to celebrate the life of Granny, beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother to all who were there.

In between taking hundreds of photos of the family, I wandered here and there to shoot a few shots of the spot that holds so many cherished memories.

ranch life 

The expansive, history laden...

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Sad news

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Sad news

I have written about my mother-in-law many times since starting Grandma's Briefs in 2009, posts such as this one, this one, and this one.

My mother-in-law, whom I usually call Granny as that was the name my daughters — and oodles of other grands and unrelated children — best knew her by, was a shining light in my life, pretty much the best example to me of loving unconditionally, finding joy in joyless situations, and loving Jesus with all one's heart and soul.

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Grandma's love is SO big!

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From the time my first baby girl was born, I had a penchant for grabbing the arms of beloved little ones — especially teensy tiny ones — holding them above the babe's head and professing the sing-song sentiment of how big she or he is.

Brianna Lee is SO big! I'd trill.

Then, Megan Rae is SO big!

Andrea Lynn is SO big!

Followed by Bubby, then Mac, then Jak being oh SO big, too, as each tiny one grew into being not so tiny at all.

I haven't sing-songed the SO Big song in quite some time. Yet, when I saw on Facebook the photo Megan posted last week of Bubby and Mac's first day of school — Bubby entering third grade, Mac full-week morning prekindergarten* — my first thought was, "Bubby and Mac are SO big!"

brothers back to school 

Oh, how I would have loved to...

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Jak jumps in!

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toddler swimming

Megan and Preston bought a new home in July and immediately initiated the installation of a backyard pool, a requisite feature of desert homes.

The process took much longer than expected, and Bubby, Mac, and Jak grew quite tired of being banned from their backyard...

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Love, Grandma: 6 tips on writing memorable messages for grandchildren

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Putting words on paper—or pixel, as the case may be in high-tech communications—can be difficult at times. Especially at the times that matter most, those milestone moments we want our sentiments to perfectly convey what's in our hearts and be cherished forever by loved ones.

what to write to grandchild

I often get email requests from grandparents to help them write the right words in greeting cards, letters, baby books and...

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A seventh birthday and the ages he's been

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"The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been."   ~Madeleine L'Engle

June is a busy birthday month for my family.  June 1 was Mac's birthday. Yesterday was Jak's birthday. Tomorrow is Bubby's. PawDad and I had the pleasure of celebrating all three birthdays with the boys when we visited them in May.

In recognition of his for-real special day, happy seventh birthday to dear Bubby, my grandson No. 1!

seventh birthday 

I'm so blessed to have seen all Bubby's...

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A grand ONE! Plus GRAND Social No. 159 link party for grandparents

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A grand ONE!

Seems not that long ago that I announced my third grandson had arrived. Yet it was long ago—a full year tomorrow, to be exact.

Tomorrow, Baby Jak will be one year old! Not so much a baby anymore.

first birthday 

Happy first birthday to silly—and strong-headed—Jak! Gramma...

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