Something New

We've got some new and different things going on here in Cincinnati without Allison and Ryan.
Three new things, in fact. Let's see......... We'll do this as the :

TOP 3 THINGS GOING ON WHILE ALLISON & RYAN ARE IN AFRICA COUNTDOWN

#3

I have used coupons for the first time in my life. I bought all this stuff, $32.00 worth of groceries, for just $7.00....Thanks to the help of my daughter Andrea and one unnamed pastor's wife who ran to the back of the store for me because I had forgotten something.

#2

A new trick from Finn and new foot coverings for Ava.

And the #1 thing that's new around here is............

A new family member! Meet Abdalla. He is 8 years old. He lives in Kenya. He has been waiting for quite a while for a sponsor through COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL. Just thought you all would like to see the changes going on since Allison and Ryan have been gone.

Sunday Night Fever

Sunday night was a little sad without you guys (Allison and Ryan) here. I made a little Morrocan Chicken, which, as I'm sure you have guessed, was enjoyed by all. Sorry you missed it? Mouth watering? Well, here's a little somethin' somethin' to make your eyes water............

Message from the family.............................................................

Next Sunday we will all be together. Can't wait. We love you and we miss you soooooo much.

The Princess and The Pea

So maybe the first of 10 days with my 2 grandchidren in tow was easy squeezy. I was starting to think, "These kids are perfect angels." Well, I still sort of think that but my thinking may be a little skewed. You see, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. It is much like the Princess and the Pea. You know the story....where the queen tests the princess' princessness by placing a pea underneath her mattress(es)?


Guess what? I am the princess! I am accustomed to uninterrupted cozy sleep but last night the dang gone pea was keepin' me awake. Peanut, that is. Little peanut, Finley, was squirming all night long. It could be the Olivia Newton John Exercise for Babies that we insisted he do.

Or it could be his excitement from sitting in his "big boy" car seat for the first time.




He was really not all that bad. He was more than likely just a little jealous of the REAL princess in the house. Ava Beans. Who enjoyed breakfast in bed of scrambled eggs and pancakes on a snowman plate, of course. I am enjoying living in this fairy tale and am loving every second with my princess and the pea-nut.

Day One Done, And All Is Well

*This picture has nothing to do with this post* Ha!

As you may know, I have 2 of my grandchildren for 10 days while my eldest daughter, Allison, is in Africa. "Africa?" you say. Well yes. It is a bit of a mission trip. The mission? To educate people about the good things that Compassion International is doing and by informing the world through his blog my son in law, Ryan, will hopefully encourage his readers to sponsor a child or 2.

But what you may not know is that I am on a mission of my own. Sure, I'm not traveling to the other side of the world but I have a mission none the less. My mission......keep my lovely grandbabies alive while mom and dad are gone.

So, here I am Day 1 completed and both Ava, 3, and Finn, 7 months, are still breathing. One thing I did to insure that this would happen is taking all safety precautions while they slumbered.

That's Alice in Ava's bed (just in case you thought I shrunk my granddaughter.) These bed rails that you see kept Ava from going places in the middle of the night that she shouldn't be going and they made her feel safe. She was a good girl her first night away from mom and dad. She slept through the night with Alice snuggled up to her cheek. Little Finn slept all through the night. And grandma and grandpa even got plenty of sleep......no pictures of that because I can't take pictures of myself while I'm sleeping. I ain't that good!

Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good about our first day without mom and dad. I'm just wishing that I could be with them. You know to take care of them. I would put up bed rails to make sure that nothing happened to them. I would hold them in my arms when they were scared. I would sing songs to them to calm them at night. But since I can't do any of these things, I will pray. After all, they are much better in God's arms than in mine any old day.

CRAZY ME

Recently, I realized just what a creative and awesome person I am. A couple of days ago my son in law asked me a simple question, "Where'd you get that table." Now a simple uncreative non-awesome person would have just answered the question. But that's not who I am. I am different. I walk to the beat of a different drummer. I sing a tune unfamiliar to most. So I told him how Ava, my grand daughter, and I liked to play games on the table and how the table opened up to store special trinkets in and I even told him how I broke the top of the table. And.....he eventually walked away. My daughter, Allison, looked at me and said, "He just asked where you got the table."

I am certain that those people blessed by my unique inability to "just" answer a question can tell you what a pleasure it is to live with me. They can tell you rather than the information that they would like to have, they get Tracy's random thoughts of the moment.

So I just thought that you'd like to know that if you dare to ask me a question, it is quite possible that you will more than likely hear a story instead.