Super Nats, The Colonel, & Dr. Tart: Jealous of Your Love

My Dad has a pretty good situation at work, since he works a lot of call he gets every fourth week off. That has enabled my Mom and Dad to travel a lot. They have taken full advantage of that and gone a lot of fun places lately, but it has also given them a lot of time to come and visit their grandkids. This is really important to them and since my sister moved here last year, it makes it so they can come to one place and see five of their grandkids at once. They told me they were thinking of going to Spain in January but decided to come visit here instead. Everytime I talk to my Mom she laments about how much she misses her grandkids and wished she could live close by. My Dad is every bit as much in heaven with these kids.

When my parents were here this week we were eating out and randomly ran into my very dear friend. As she was leaving she told my parents that she was jealous of their love. It is actually something I have been thinking of lately; I really have the best Mom and Dad and with how many people are divorced I feel so lucky that my parents love each other and all of us. Even as a kid I knew I had pretty amazing parents--I may not have told them often and may have not showed it during my teenage years, but I have always known it. Since becoming a parent, I appreciate it even more and it means the world to me that they are such a big part of my kids lives. I think back and they have always been there loving and supporting us, during good times and hard times they have been there. I will never forget how hard it was to call my Mom the night Natalie got diagnosed and have to tell her the news that Natalie did in fact have cancer. I later heard that my Dad ate two full size containers of ice cream that night. They are the best grandparents.

This picture is of my brother; he is my brother that is closest in age to me. He got married a few years ago and we have all been so proud of the man he is becoming. He and his wife were expecting their first baby together and found out that their son had a serious birth defect and would not live. They endured weeks more of pregnancy knowing this child would not live even though he was kicking and moving. He was born very early with a brain that was not developed and lived just under an hour. This happened just before Thanksgiving. My Mom was there the entire time, supporting them and getting them through it. It was a very special and emotional experience. My Mom is the kind of person who is loved by her daughter in law, I think that says a lot about what kind of person she is. She really is the best.

This experience reminded me of how giving and loving my Mom is; and not only to us kids but to her Mother and her siblings and to so many friends. She is always there when she is needed. She is a wonderful woman. This visit was the first time I have seen her since little Angel Stephen. She is wearing a tiny, precious ring on her neck to remind her of him. I have never seen her do something like that before. She told me she saw some pictures on her camera of the day he was born for the first time when she was getting ready for her trip here and it brought it all back. As much as she was there to support my brother and his wife, it was very hard on her. It is interesting being an adult and relating to my Mother in a different way. I see her love for her kids and her grandkids in a new light; in the light of being a Mother myself. She told me recently of her feelings about my brother who is autistic and will probably always live at home. I saw the depth of pain that she feels, something I know now being a Mother myself and I never realized she felt before. She is a strong woman who has remained ever constant and a bedrock my entire life. I have been thinking about how wonderful my parents are lately, and this comment by my friend about being jealous of their love, really struck me and reminded me how lucky I am to have such wonderful parents.

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My kids have been looking forward to Grandma & Grandpa's visit for weeks. I think it gave them something to be excited about after Christmas was over. I love this video of Natalie's welcome!

We had a fun week together. It was different in a lot of ways since Natalie was in school, but the kids still loved spending every minute they could with Grandma & Grandpa.

Going off the rails on a crazy train...

Is that some crazy hair or what?

It reminds me of the time we were in the mountains for the 4th of July when Nat was about 21 months old. We were standing on a rock and all of our hair started standing up just like this...we got out of there fast:)

Grandpa's hat was a big hit with the kids.

SO Natalie!!

Playing cards with Grandpa. Good thing we weren't playing poker, I don't think Nat would have a good poker face:)

I just love this. How do kids fall asleep in such weird positions? And what is the fascination with taking the cushions off the couch?

LOVE those little feet!!

When it was time to go I realized I hadn't taken hardly any pictures that week of the kids with Grandma & Grandpa. I grabbed the camera and made up for it a bit with these great ones. I love that I captured all the feeling of what was going on and the personality of everyone. I may have gone overboard in posting too many, but I know Grandma & Grandpa will LOVE them!!