PART TWO of...THANK HEAVEN FOR GRANDCHILDREN~

Truth be told....I now prefer the company of bright-eyed grandchildren to that of the exquisite grown-ups in my life. I thought I'd seen it all, but I hadn't...because until my grandchildren, I hadn't seen it through the eyes of a child.

The first sight of them in that little knit cap was the moment when my life changed...like water coming to the desert. The joy of watching them figure out something for the first time, the glee of watching them make monster imitations to scare me...it is all so thrilling and fun.

~Tracen Ray McCoy~
~Our first great grandchild~

I think I have been ready to be a grandmother since I knew what grandmothers were. These grandchildren cause happiness to leak out of me as I take the role of grandma into my heart.

A feeling of gratitude, awe, hope, protectiveness, and a dazzling awareness of continuity of the links in the chain of family.

I wanted to call the Associated Press after every one of their accomplishments...say, a good burp after nursing! I wanted to sit them in my lap and squeeze them and cover them with kisses, read picture books to them and take them outside and point to birds, making tweet-tweet sounds. I want to sing to them, put my hand over their little hearts and melt when they speak their little toddler words.

The love that grandparents share with their grandchildren is a love that binds the past and the future.

" One day I said to the Lord, can you make me immortal? Is there a way I can live forever? And the Lord gave me children and now grandchildren...now, I can live on through their eyes and smiles and hearts. "

What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly...cookies!

If I had my child to raise again, I'd build self-esteem first and the house later.
I'd finger-paint more, and point the finger less. I would do less correcting, and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.

I'd take more hikes and fly more kites. I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play. I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars. I'd do more hugging and less tugging.

(Diane Loomans)

Grandma's are a kind of first-aid station...they gather us into their laps, restoring us to health and confidence by their amazing faith in life and in our strength to meet it.

"Where there's a will, there's a way...and where there's a child there's a will."

" She belongs not just to me but to all the women who preceded her. Another daughter born into a chain of mothers. Sometimes I look into her upturned face, her smile so quick and so earnest, her eyes locked so intently on mine, and I think, Here is where it begins, One generation at a time." (Hope Edelman)

What do you do with mother love and wit when babies are grown up and gone away?

Why you turn to your grandbabies with all the love in your heart...they await all that you can give them, with giggles and coo's that heal and bless your heart, and theirs!

A family with an old person has a living treasure of gold...Our living treasure, Donna Harward,
she is 97 years old.

I will not play a tug o' war, I'd rather play a hug o' war, where everyone hugs instead of tugs, Where everyone giggles...

And rolls on the rug, Where everyone kisses, and everyone grins, and everyone cuddles, and everyone wins.

~A little girl with two big dimples in her cheeks brings sunshine into the lives of grandparents~

" Blessed be grandchildren, who bring down something of Heaven into the midst of our rough earthiness. "

" Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man. "

"Our grandchildren will not care what we know, until they know that we care."

" The greatest happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved, loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves. "

Family love...." Shared joy is double joy...and shared sorrow is half-sorrow."

Grown-up's never understand anything for themselves, and it is tire some for children to always and forever be explaining things to them...it's a good thing grandma understands!"
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To me, my grandma was the kindest person in the world. She loved all of God's creations, from the bird singing in the tree to the soft hug of a grandchild. She somehow always knew what to say or do in any situation. I loved it when I'd feel her soft hand slip into mine. That was the best feeling in the world. I loved her very, very much. Come rain or shine, I will always feel that soft hand in mine.

I remember sitting in church as a young child and looking at all the older women, some had such bony laps and arms or pointed noses and chins. Some were tall and had long hair. I couldn't help but make comparisons between these grandma;s and mine. I was convinced that my grandma came right out of the storybook encyclopedia that describes what the perfect grandma is like.
She is round and soft in places that grandmas should be. Her lap is comfortable to sit on; she has the perfect amount of wrinkles, gray hair. and glasses; and she is always smiling...even when she drifts asleep.

When I would sit on grandma's lap, I always felt like the blue-ribbon winner at the state fair. Grandma would examine my hands and fingers, telling me that they were the most beautiful hands she had ever seen. What she wouldn't give to have fingers like mine! My eyelashes were always long and beautiful, my feet were perfect for the sand and water of the beach, and even my multitude of freckles were a blessing. She would run her fingers through my hair, praising it's thickness and color. With each thing she would mention, I felt like I must have been the only one in the world to have dimples or strong legs or two of the best climbing arms or whatever it was that happened to be showcased at that moment.

What a blessing! What a special person I was! She would always say, "Best of all, you have a great personality." (taken from the book; " Glimpses"..the story of Marjorie Pay Hinckley)
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" No matter how old a mother is she watches her middle-aged children for signs of improvement...but the grandchildren......they are already perfect!"