Grilled Grandma: Carol

How many children do you have? My hubby and I have been blessed with three sons. Through them we have been blessed with two daughters and another one hopefully some day soon.

How many grandchildren? What are their ages? I have four grandchildren. My granddaughter Jessica is twenty three. Michael is seventeen. Thomas is sixteen. Our little Ryan is eight.

Any great grandchildren? Yes, we have two! Aayden is three and Aaron will be one in May.

What do your grandchildren call you? Well, Thomas called me Minga for years. I have no idea how he came up with that name, but of course, every time he said it my heart melted. Otherwise, I’ve always been know as grandma or grandma G to the rest of my grandchildren. Aayden will sometimes say “You know that grandma with the dog.” He has three grandmas so that’s how he sometimes identifies me.

How often do you see your grandchildren? I see them all on a regular basis. I have to admit it’s a little harder now that they are older because they like to be out with their friends, and Jessica, in addition to having two young children is in school.

What is the best thing about being a grandma? I love everything about being a grandmother. There is nothing that compares to it in this whole entire world except maybe being a mom. Just ask any other grandmother :>) I have to say with grandchildren it is much easier and more fun because I don’t have to worry about the every day things. Grandchildren keep you young. They keep you up to date with the world. I feel extremely blessed. Each and every one of them have been my inspiration, my delight, and my sun on cloudy days.

What is the most challenging part of being a grandmother? Well, even though being a grandmother is fun it also comes with a lot of responsibility. I try to guide my grandchildren in every way possible. God is the center of my life and hopefully I have communicated that to them. I have always been involved in any of their activities I have been invited to participate in. I hope I have taught them integrity. Being a grandmother sometimes isn’t easy because I am a grandmother first and a friend second.

Describe a recent time that one (or more) of your grandchildren made you laugh out loud. Our family was all over recently for a family gathering and I was telling Aayden that the Easter bunny would be coming over to our house soon. Aayden said he already knew. I said “Oh did mommy tell you?” He said “No I know him. I met him.” I said “You met the Easter bunny? You know him?” He said “Yep and he was crying.” Well from there he went on to tell me that the Easter bunny cried because Aayden didn’t want his picture taken with him. Then he went on to tell me this whole story about the Easter bunny in the way toddlers do. He was so comical. Apparently Jessica took him to see the Easter bunny last year and Aayden refused to sit on his lap to have his picture taken. He remembered all of that from the previous year. He’s just amazing and very smart!

What is your favorite thing to do with grandchildren who visit your house? Oh gee, so many things. I love having parties which are geared towards them. I like to involve them in all of the planning. Crafts have always been big. I have had Sunday afternoon movie days. I have also played Mario race way games and guitar hero. Sometimes we bake and make candy. I would say those things are my favorites.

What is your favorite thing to do when visiting grandchildren at their house? I love to see all of their school projects, graded papers, report cards, and hear about their interests and hobbies.

How do you maintain the bond between yourself and your grandchildren between visits? I send cards, e-mail, use face book, and text. Texting is big with all of the teens. Ryan has an e-mail address so I will send him games and things like that. I love Face book because I can send messages that don’t appear on the home or profile page. When you’re a teenager it isn’t very cool to have your grandmother telling you she loves you all the time on the same page that your friends are viewing :>) We are also in the process of setting up a web cam.

What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren? The most important thing I would like to pass along is that they are never alone as long as they always look towards the cross and make God the center of they’re life.

What is the one word you hope your grandchildren think of when they think of you? Love. I hope they always and forever will know how very much I loved each and everyone of them.

Head on over to Carol's blog, Charli and Me, where you'll find lovely crafts and more -- including awesome photos of Charli (her dog, remember) in her Easter outfit! Here are some of Carol's favorite crafts you'll see on her blog: