Camp Gammo

Hello, again!
For those of you who don't know, my grandma nickname is "Gammo". I chose this nickname before J was born, mostly because it was what I called my own Grandma Sellens, my maternal grandmother. She has been in Heaven for about 25 years now, and I still miss her every day. Especially now. Oh, how she would have loved my sweet baby J!! She absolutely delighted in my H as a wee one, and I can still hear her giggle as they played together.
My precious Mother lives only 17 miles from us, and she, too, is head over heels in love with J. HER nickname is "Grams". She comes over once a week to spend the day with us, and we ALL look forward to it every week. J and I refer to her visits as "Grams Day". Well, guess what today was? Yup! It was GRAMS DAY!!!!! And it was a great one!! J just adores her, and is SO excited to see her walk in. LET THE PARTY BEGIN!!!! lol They just had the best time, laughing and playing, and singing songs. The sight of my mother, at 80 yrs. old, sitting on the floor with him, just melts my heart and often brings tears to my eyes. And today, it struck me like a bolt of lightning: she sounds JUST like HER mother did while playing with H!!! It was music to my ears. I stood just around the corner of the room, listening to them, and thinking of my OWN "Gammo", and I swear, for a few fleeting moments, I could feel her arms around me once again, hugging me tight, letting me know once again that she is indeed still here with me, sharing in my joy at this new time in my life. Most people poo-poo the idea, but I often have these encounters with her. And I've come to realize that she always shows up during the most stressful AND the most joyous times of my life. So today, I "told" her that from now on, when it's "Grams" day, I will think of it as "Camp Gammo". These days are set aside for Grams to revel in her joy of being with J, just as my Gammo did with H. SO much love....... And I thank God for every sweet moment.

My Baby Is Back!!!!

Good Evening All,
Today was a fabulous day! My sweet baby, J, was (for the most part) back to his usual, happy self! We had some errands we had to run, but he was such a good little traveler, and charmed the socks off of everyone he met. It is such a joy to take him out somewhere, and watch him "work the room". LOL I wish i could post some pictures of him, but I am still having trouble with my computer, so the pics will have to wait........which is a shame, 'cause I'm tellin' ya, folks, this baby is so picture worthy!!! I am looking forward to tomorrow now, as we will get to stay home ALL day, and just play and cuddle. The weather is supposed to turn very cold, with howling north winds, so it will be perfect to stay home. I learned a special lesson in Sunday school several years ago, that for every "bad" stress, you need not look too far to find the "good" stress that God gives us to go with it. The "bad" stress is the nasty weather........the "good" stress is I get to stay home all day with my precious baby J!!! I've put that lesson to work so very much since learning it, and it is so true! Try it!! There is ALWAYS something to be thankful for, even in the darkest hours. Sometimes you just have to look for it, but I promise you it won't take long at all. Let me know how it works for you!
God Bless You!!

Feeling Helpless

There are times in a mothers life that leave her totally be-fuddled and feeling helpless. And I am learning that these feelings carry on into the wonderful, amazing world of Grandmotherhood. My beautiful daughter, H, blessed me on May 4, 2007, with the most adorable baby boy! He is absolutely the light of my life, and I am so lucky to be able to care for him while his Mommy and Daddy are at work. He has been the easiest baby to care for that I've ever seen. That is, until this weekend. Friday was H's birthday, and I know in my heart how much she was looking forward to coming home to her happy little guy, and getting to spend the weekend with him. WELL, for the first time since J's birth, I got a call for help from H on Friday night. I could tell just by the sound of her voice on the phone that she was so stressed, and tired, and feeling helpless. J was so fussy, and would not eat, would not take a bottle, would not go to sleep, and nothing could make him happy. I KNOW how she felt as a mother, but what surprised me was how I felt, wanting so badly to help both my daughter and my grandbaby at the same time. I only live 3 blocks from them, but getting there seemed to take forever!! Poor J was so tired, and it was so hard to see him unhappy. But after a few minutes, we finally got him to start eating, and he ate yogurt, and then some applesauce, and was still acting hungry, so H fixed him some cereal, and he ate all of that. But still wanted no part of a bottle. He would take a few sips from a cup, but no bottle. What could this be? There was no fever, no rash, could he have a sore throat? WHAT??? We finally got him to go to sleep around 10:30, and I kissed my own baby goodbye, and whispered "Happy Birthday, Honey". I went home praying that J would sleep through the night, and that H could get some rest.
On Sat. morning, H called, and we decided it would be best for me to keep J while she went to do her grocery shopping, since J was still fussy. Grandma and Grandpa both walked the floor for awhile, and Grandpa finally got him to go to sleep. And he slept, and he slept, and was just starting to wake up when H got back to get him. He was in the BEST mood!!! Which we were so very thankful for, but only added to the mystery. As H was changing his diaper, we noticed his top gum line.........white toothbuds all across the top of his little mouth. After playing for a bit, I coldn't stand it any longer and so while he was in my lap, I held his head still against my chest, and in I went to feel for myself. Imagine our surprise to find 4, count them, 4, that is FOUR teeth!!!! No wonder the little guy was fussy!! He already had his 2 front bottom teeth, and they came in fairly easy. But FOUR at a time? My poor, poor baby! I guess if you are going to be in pain, you might as well make it worth it!! Today has been much better, although drinking from a bottle is still a bit of a struggle. I'm so proud of you, H, for handeling it like a pro, I know how hard it is to see your own baby in pain.......I got to see it again Friday night, as I watched YOU watch YOUR baby in pain. It's a very hard thing to have to go through, and I'm sorry, honey, it will never end. You are a Mom now, and only now can you begin to understand what I've been telling you for 29 years........It hurts Mom as much as it hurts baby, just in a different place.......your heart. I love you, H. You make me more proud every day!

WHOODATHUNKIT!

Certainly not ME, that's for sure! I'm SO out of the loop on all this techno stuff, but i guess the best way to learn is to jump right in! My daughter and one of my best friends have been on me for some time now to start my own blog, but i must confess, the mere thought of it turns my knees to jelly! LOL I can't imagine anyone wanting to come here and be the least bit interested in my thoughts or ideas or what goes on in my daily life. I'm just another girl next door with no wonderous talents, just a big heart full of love for my family and friends. How interesting can THAT be? But I promised my daughter I'd try it out, so if that sounds interesting to you, then meet me here every once in a while, and I'll try to post something that's worthy of your time. God Bless You!