Look Who's Keeping Me Warm!

Okay, this is what's outside!



















This is who's inside!



"Getting to know you, getting to know all about you...."
















"Splish, Splash, I was taking a bath...>"








Yes, I would do it again! Leaving sunny Florida for this charmer is a no brainer. I know Grandpa Tom wouldn't like this weather but he is missing the Apple of his eye. Funny how love has a way of inching into our hearts and just growing. Again I marvel at the tenderness, love and joy I feel with this perfect little girl. She is such a reminder of how perfectly we come into this world. It's only the way people write all over us that changes that. So far I see no signs of that here.

Evelyn is blessed with two of the most loving, tender, positive influencing partents. This house resonates peace. She is joyful, tender, inquisitive and so content. She hasn't cried since I arrived which is a week now. She coos and babbles and patiently waits for an adoring someone to lift her from her crib. She is very bright and loves to entertain anyone who is interested in watching.

She is also very lucky to have a Grandma and Grandpa nearby who watch her every day when her Mommy and Daddy go to work. She is learning so much at their knee. She can play peek-a-boo and loves singing and music. She knows she is loved.

Well, Grandma P's visit is drawing to an end. Today is the last day. I am relishing every moment I have. I have done enough photos to last a few months. Brian is kindly making me a copy of their videos. This should be my fix until the next visit, maybe in April at our house.

Oh, I also recorded the Zoo song on Brian's I Pod. It now has five verses and Evelyn lights up and gets excited when she hears it.

Until the next time....always, Kathleen

Morning Walks in Florida

These are a few of the views I see in the morning when I walk in Florida. There is a great park just a little way from the condo, called Sugden Park. It has a lake, a sandy beach and a great walking path that goes for 1.5 miles. The mornings have been beautiful. I try and walk before 8am to avoid getting to warm.
A family of ducks taking a swim.


A man made beach which seems to be underused!


















An evening view at the Lake








Florida is where I was meant to be this winter. I have met some nice people. I have begun to master the art of doing nothing. I have found(or been given) books to read that reinforce the things I hold deeply within myself but often forget. I am healing from the inside out from sad things that have touched my life in the past couple of years. I am learning to let go of outcomes I have no control over. I am beginning to get comfortable and to recognize the feeling of PEACE!

Until next time....always, Kathleen

A Visit to Gwinn

THE STAR OF THE SHOW!















A PENSIVE MOMENT












HOW DO I LOOK?

ANN, EVELYN AND GRANDPA CLIFTON(AL)

12/26/08 AT THE GRAND RAPIDS VA NURSING HOME









Here I am in Gwinn. This is the first time I have seen Evelyn in over 3 months.
She has grown and changed so much! Se is playing with toys, sitting up, eating baby cereal, laughing, smiling, screeching, sometimes as loud as she can. She delights in all of life and to everyone who enters her world.

I have been taking pictures but have not downloaded any on to Lara's computer so I have borrowed from her files. Lara and Brian are wonderful parents and naturals at every task. As I laid in bed last night I could hear them still up, doing the tasks that so many working parents do to ready for the next day. I quickly flew back in my memories....I remember being so tired and wanting to go to bed but knew I had three others depending on me to steer them through their days. It only got busier as they got older with car pools, sports, outings, having friends over. I am tired thinking about it. I relish those memories and I am so glad to have them to recall. Would I do any of it differently? You bet! There would be more hugging, kissing, telling them how good they are. I would worry less about the house and dirt. Why don't we realize more about life at the time we are living a phase? Maybe it has something to do with not living in the present moment. That is something I have heard for a lifetime but am only now starting to practice and even now I don't always manage it.

I am enjoying every moment here. I can sit with Evelyn and simply be. Her expressions are wonderful and her joy contagious.
I am singing The Zoo Song (the song I wrote for her) several times a day. She looks at me intently and sometimes laughs, especially if I add some stuffed animals and body moves. Hopefully she will hear it enough this trip and Lara and Brian will play the recording enough that she will know it's Grandma "P"'s and Evelyn's song.

Until the next time....always, Kathleen