Picture is worth a thousand words

I read somewhere that the definition of a grandma is a mother with a second chance. I'm sure enjoying having that second chance. Will post next week about a memorial service I went to for my mother at Mainstreet where she lived. Enjoy the picture of my GROWING granddaughter.

"Elie"

Busy April/May

Lots going on. The latest was a wedding that two of my adult children were in. Never made it to the wedding but decided to check out the reception since Michael and I were invited. The groom is Spanish with a large family so it was a little cramped but I was there only to see how nice my kids looked. Daniel was the best man and Karen was a bridesmaid.
I took Aiden overnight at the reception and we had the day together. Had lots of fun. I think the lobster tank at Jerry's Foods was a true hit for him. Enjoy the weather and take care everyone!

Daniel and Jesus (we had a laugh over the balloon in the background)

lovely bridesmaids (Karen is in front)



 

Fun with Aiden

Hannah has had a rough go of it with recovery from the surgery, the C-section and an "up at night" baby I called her and said since she also had Aiden for a couple days between time with his dad I would love to plan a play date for him. I picked him up today and we headed out.  We went to see some ducks along 86th and Penn but they weren't there so we headed over to Donaldson Park in Richfield and had fun flying a kite and playing with a giant Frisbee I got at Walgreens. I had given him his Easter basket before we left home and he had brought a Fruit Roll-up with him so we decided to sit on the bleachers and watch a few minutes of a high school baseball game between Northfield and Holy Angels while he ate that.  After rejoining the playground equipment we decided to make a run to MeDee's for a Happy Meal. Because of the chemo he is enduring he turned me down and only wanted to play on the indoor play area. I got one anyway and was able to convince him to eat the apple slices (talk about a cheap date). Our final run was to Edinborough Park which is an indoor chutes and ladders type of place.

He had a great time except when it was time to go he refused so I had to don my stocking feet and climb up through some of the equipment and talk him down (a little scary at my age, esp when you can't stand up in the thing ). After many tears we gathered our shoes, I carried him out and we headed home. He wanted to go to the library but we'll hit that one the next time. I forgot my camera until I realized my phone had a camera on it (I just bought a Sansung Galaxy IV) so I only got one picture but it was pretty good.

Eliana Jean Fiedler

So sorry to all my followers. I have been lax in my postings lately. A lot has been going on in my world. More clients to add to the ones I already have which cuts into my free time in the evening. The best time constraint has been the best, however. I am finally a grandmother to a baby girl born to Hannah and Daniel. Her first name is Hebrew and means "the Lord has responded" and her middle name is my mother's middle name; a nice tribute. Hannah was in labor on the 8th and even though they had to do a C-section the nurses stated that this day would have been her birthday regardless.

Aiden with his new sister

They also took out a melon sized benign tumor from one of her ovaries that was wrapped around one of her fallopian tubes. They were able to save the ovary so she will continue to get hormones and will be able to get pregnant again if they want to from the other side. That being said a picture is worth a thousand words so here you have it; or her in this case! Enjoy.

Grandma and Grandpa Fiedler

Crawfordsville kids

A few years back I was visiting with relatives in Indiana. It was a very hot day and they all decided to go to a park in town and play Frisbee Golf. I declined but grabbed my camera and went along for the ride (better than watching the Nascar races on TV). When I got there I noticed some kids coming out of a creek that ran along the middle of the park with the Frisbee Golf markers. They were covered in mud from head to toe. I guess that was their way of cooling off. Anyway when they saw me with my camera they asked if I would take their picture. I said sure so I had them sit on one of the benches. One of the younger ones kept asking me if I worked for the Crawfordsville Indiana paper. I said no but for some reason she didn't believe me. After we took the picture they wanted me to print it in the paper but again I told them I didn't work for the paper but would send them a copy of the picture. The oldest one declined to give me their address; understandably so since they didn't know me. A few weeks later when viewing the picture I really thought it was turned out well even though the subject matter was covered in mud! I went ahead and sent it to the paper in Indiana telling them they could do with it what they wanted. I never heard back but my in-laws told me they saw it. They failed to save a copy for me so I never saw it in the paper. I just hope the kids did!

Crawfordsville kids!

Vegas



Wisteria Tree (had tons of hummingbirds in it)

It wasn't the best time of the year to go since Vegas is in spring mode so everything flower and tree is just starting to bud.

pomegranate tree

Because of the snow and the extreme weather we have been having it was the best time for me and Michael to go. The experience of a premature enjoyment of 70 degree weather was worth the trip even though it was only 2 days worth of fun. We had gotten free tickets from NW Airlines back when Michael started working for them so we decided to leave the cold behind and head out. He had a retired long time friend from KMSP who had moved out there so they put us up. Him and his wife showed us a magnificent time with them.


me, Michael and Dick

They have a lovely home with a guest room and private bath for us. We spent the first evening just enjoying their backyard with flowers and a fire pit. No mosquitoes were found! Just humming birds in the flower garden that surrounded the backyard. Their house is enclosed as many were with very high brick walls. Ultimate quiet and privacy to enjoy conversation.



Having some fun at an outside museum (Dick's wife Bev)

We ate out for all the meals, enjoyed the "strip" with roving musicians and artists along with a light show (forgot my camera for that evening. ugh!). We even got some time to play cards, listen to our favorite hits from the 60s and talk about old TV shows that the guys have a propensity for and love to talk about. We topped everything off with a day at Hoover Dam.

 

            Who needs gambling when you have so many other things to do esp with great friends!  

Valentine Tea

Even though Valentines Day is past I wanted to post a note about a luncheon I attended. After viewing the pictures and hearing the visiting humorist talk that went with the lunch I decided that it was worth mention.

My friend Kathy invites me each year to a annual "tea" at her church. The speakers are wonderful and it makes for a nice early luncheon day with friends. It is held at her church and they serve beverages and a small lunch. These women go to a lot of trouble to put this together and they do a great job. Last year was a woman that did a quilt history of her mother who was on the Orphan Train. "The Orphan Train Movement was a supervised welfare program that transported orphaned and homeless children from crowded Eastern cities of the United States to foster homes located largely in rural areas of the Midwest. The orphan trains operated between 1853 and 1929, relocating about 250,000 orphaned, abandoned, or homeless children." (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
This year was a humorist that has written several volumes that enrich the Norwegian Lutheran heritage.  Special Speaker was  Janet Martin, co-author of the book that inspired Troupe America's five Church Basement Ladies Musical Comedies. She was wonderful!  After asking if there were any Catholics in the room I was the only one and she had some fun with me as well by sharing the cross differences of Catholics and Lutherans. I had a great time with great friends.

me, my friends Kathy and her sister Sharon