"Lacey"

I have been blessed with 5 grandchildren..3 grandsons, 2 granddaughters. This is my oldest granddaughter, Lacey. She recently turned 17 and I think she's beautiful. I haven't seen her in a long time and miss her a lot.

"Bubbles, Bubbles, everywhere..."

It's amazing what a small bottle of bubble soap and a beautiful afternoon can do for a "curious" little gal. Ziola just didn't know what to think.

"Hey...what's that?"


"Oh my, bubbles everywhere..."


"I think I can make one..."


"Come back...."

"Miss Z...Nana's Little Princess"

I love this little girl with all my heart....

"Miss Z"

Ziola is the love of my life... At 18 months, she has already developed a love for animals. Her PawPaw gave her a stuffed duck and she cradles that duck and feeds it crackers...She is such a gentle, sweet child and this picture reflects just that. Just had to share...

"Most Precious Little Girl....Sweet Pea"

How would you like to see THE most precious little girl? Well, here she is....



This is Ziola Pepper Rain Pennington...our 16 month old granddaughter.

She's growing so fast and getting cuter by the minute....

We are truly bless by this little angel.... Love you Sweet Pea!!!

"My Daddy's Love"

My beautiful daughter surprised me with the most wonderful "birthday weekend". Part of her flying in from Texas to surprise me was a surprise "tea party" that she had for me. At the end of the evening, she stood up and share one more gift... a beautiful wooden box. Inside was my Daddy's Bible that I thought I had lost a long time ago. My ex had it and gave it to my daughter last January. She kept it and gave it to me on my 60th birthday.... included was this poem....

Daddy, take my hand in yours,
and you will plainly see.
How very much I need you now
to love and care for me.
As my little hand grows,
I will need you even more.
Everything I do in life,
I have never done before.
Teach me to be kind, loving
sharing and forgiving,
Show me through your acts of
love the pure joy of living.
The years will pass by quickly
And one day I will be grown.
I will pass what you have taught me,
Onto children of my own.
Hold me always in your thoughts,
And remember when we are apart.
The special love between a child
and a daddy's heart...

Wow...where's the tissues?

"Meet Drake Jordan Pennington

Drake Jordan Pennington is the newest addtion to our family. He was born September 10, 2009 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His father, Tyler Jordan Pennington, is our oldest grandchild so this makes Drake our first Great-Grandchild. Carrying on a family tradition, Drake is the sixth generation to be named "Jordan" as a middle name. Everyone is doing fine... and we can't wait to see him.

"Ocean Thunder"

What a wonderful surprise. Ocean, my grandson from Oklahoma, has been on a month long Alaskan vacation with his mother. They were headed home and drove through where I live 'cause Ocean "wanted to see Nana". I certainly wanted to see him.We've always been close and in the short time he was here, we did the things he wanted to do... we stayed up late and ate chocolate ice cream, watched movies and ate pop corn...laughed, teased played jokes on Paw Paw... just generally had a lot of fun.
Ocean is "big brother" to Ziola. They don't live together and it had been a while since he had seen her. We went over and spent some time with Ziola. At first, she was a little leery but soon warmed up to him as the pictures show. Sadly, we won't see him again until December or January...it's hard but we'll get through. I was bummed when he left, but know he needs to get back into his routine since school will start soon for him.

One more thing. Ocean has a very unique name. His first and middle names are "Ocean Thunder". Ocean, because of his parents love of the ocean and Thunder because he was born in a bad thunderstorm. At first it was hard to get use to, but now, he wouldn't be himself if he had been named anything different.

"Time With Nana and Paw Paw"

This weekend, we had "Sweet Pea" for Sunday afternoon. Even though her birthday was a few weeks ago, we wanted to have her "official" picture made in a little purple dress that Paw Paw picked out especially for her. We quickly changed her into the dress and took her down for the pics to be made. Of course, we couldn't let that happen without taking a few here at the house first. Isn't she a "Sweet Pea"? After the picture taking session, we went to the opening of our new Target store in the neighborhood. "Z" enjoyed the ride but had to tell Paw Paw to "slow down" a few times. There was a few times that the road got a little bumpy and Sweet Pea had to really put on the brakes. She'd look over towards me as to be saying "what's happening?" All in all, we had a very fun day before we had to take her home. Can't wait to see the "real" pictures when they arrive.

MONDAY MORNING:
I got all excited when I went to the mailbox... I had another package from my Sugar Pie Secret Sista...I could hardly wait to get into the house to open it. And mercy... what a nice surprise. She sent me a daily devotional book titled "Simply Refreshing" by Ellen Banks Elwell. The neatest thing was that I had just finished reading another devotional book and had gone shopping for a new one this weekend. My store had gone out of business, so I decide to wait. There was a reason and it's because the Lord knew this was in the mail. Isn't it wonderful how the Lord works in mysterious ways? She included the sweetest personal note. I sure hope I get to meet her one day and that we remain friends beyond the blog we chat on. I have a picture of my new treasures....

Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday as I'm having...

Blessings,

Ziola Pepper Rain didn't even know that it wasn't really her birthday...which was July 7th. We celebrated yesterday, July 11th. The day was fit for a Queen, but she's Nana and Paw Paw's Princess. She has the crown to prove it. No party would be complete without balloons and Paw Paw and Sweet Pea made sure of that. And naturally there HAS to be a cake. Isn't it pretty? It's good too. Just look at that precious face.

She got a lot of gifts and her favorite was a puppy that sang and spoke and barked. She quickly fell in love with it as the picture reveals.
All in all it was a wonderful FIRST Birthday party. What you can't see is that she's taken two steps on her own...has two teeth...and her hair is turning blond. Here's a few more pictures to end the day.
We had a wonderful day... Can't wait until next year's celebration...Love you "SWEET PEA"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY "SWEET PEA"

Today is our little "sweet pea" 1st Birthday. She came into this world smiling and hasn't quit. We don't see her as often as we'd like but she's still a cutie. Nana and Paw Paw love you bunches...

For me, the 4th of July has another meaning. It's the day my Daddy went home to be with the Lord. It's been 30 years and there's not a day I don't think of him. It hurt so much to lose him when I did. Now,I only think of it as the day he truly gained his "Independence". Every daughter should be as lucky as I was to have the kind of father he was. He put everyone else first and never complained about anything....was the perfect example of how a parent should raise a child. I never heard any inappropriate language come from his mouth, he never talked about anyone else and dearly loved not only my brother and I, but cherished our Mother. Here's a cute analogy of our Fathers...the author is anonymous

4 years: My Daddy can do anything!
7 years: My Dad knows a lot…a whole lot.
8 years: My father does not know quite everything.
12 years: Oh well, naturally Father does not know that either.
14 years: Oh, Father? He is hopelessly old-fashioned.
21 years: Oh, that man-he is out of date!
25 years: He knows a little bit about it, but not much.
30 years: I must find out what Dad thinks about it.
35 years: Before we decide, we will get Dad's idea first.
50 years: What would Dad have thought about that?
60 years: My Dad knew literally everything!
65 years: I wish I could talk it over with Dad once more.

I don't worry about him only mourn my loss...He's walking with The Master...how could anyone complain about that.... Love you Daddy, always will.

* Thank you Ellynanne from Apron Memories for finding this keeper.

Our Precious "Sweet Pea"

Isn't this the most precious face.... this is our "Sweet Pea".... Ziola, 8 months old

Happy Anniversary Wayne

Today is my wedding anniversary. Nine years ago, I married the love of my life. It wasn't my first marriage, but it was. I had been a single parent of three for nineteen years. All of my friends would tell you that I always said "I would never, ever marry again". But the Lord works in mysterious ways. Through modern technology, I met my husband on the internet. It wasn't through one of those "chat rooms" but through a mutual friend. We sent messages for 4 months before I allowed him to call me on the phone. After 3 more months, we began a year long relationship of flying back and forth between Las Vegas and Oklahoma City.

On June 19, 1999, at Noon, in the mountains of Mt. Charleston, among the beautiful Aspen trees, we were united in marriage, with my children, our families and friends all present. It was beautiful. It seems like yesterday.

Wayne is my best friend, my soulmate, the love of my life. The Lord brought us together and we've had THE most fantastic life together. I can only wish that others could be as happy as us.

Happy Anniversay ...my knight in shining armour ~ ~ ~ ***

*Picture taken at the site where we took our vows

Blessings,

Honoring My Father

Today is Father's Day...and I write this to Honor My Father. He has been gone for almost 30 years, but there's not a day goes by that I don't think of him. He was a man of quiet demeanor, soft spoken all the time, loved to share stories, make things from wood, and fish. He never raised his voice, yet you knew he meant business. He spoiled me rotten and taught me a lot. His work ethics were impecable, passing the trait of hard work leads to good things on to my brother and myself. I wish he were here...I miss him so much. Yet, I know, one day we will meet again. Happy Father's Day Daddy... I love you.

Time has escaped me...

It's hard to believe that it has been two months since I last posted. There has been a lot going on in my life and I just didn't have it in me to stop and post. After having the "wind knocked out of my sails"... I am now ready to pursue this "blogging" more aggressively.

I had a total knee replacement April 14th. The surgery went without a hitch but it was my reaction to the antibiotic that made me very ill and put me back in the hospital for three days, that slowed me down. While there, my doctor found some other items of concern and sent me to a specialist. He ordered an EGD (throat scope) and it found nothing. I've been wanting to lose some weight but this certainly wasn't what I had in mind. I am 18 pounds lighter...yahoo. All of this set me back with my physical therapy but I'm catching up slowly but surely. The knee pain that I did have had altered my life style greatly...no walking, hiking, camping, shopping..everything. I now have no pain at all, just a little stiff legged. I know all of that will take time to get the muscles and everything else back to normal... I also know that my trust and faith in the Lord will see me through. He is taking care of everything. So... onward and forward, no looking back

Blessings,

It Doesn't Seem Possible

It was a year ago that we helped Jan, my daughter, move to Irving, Texas. She had lived in Vegas for a few years and wanted to venture out on her own. She and her significant other drove her loaded down car. We pulled a U-Haul behind our truck. Since we were on a pretty close time frame, we had to move quickly. We painted and pasted and lifted and moved and then came time for us to leave. Her place is in a safe part of town and she seemed to have planned everything out before hand. All we had to do is say our "goodbyes" and pull away.

There comes a time in every parent's life where they hear that little "whisper" telling them to let go... and this was the whisper for Jan. I didn't want to leave her behind... had a lot of concerns and worries but knew that it's all a part of that "letting go" process. All I could do at this point was to place her in the arms of God and let Him take care of her for me. He's never failed me before and I had no reason to believe He would now.







As we headed west, we passed by the Fort Worth Stockyards. We had to stop. It was like stepping back in time during the old cattle rustling days. Wayne especially liked it because his grandfather worked at a feed lot. For him it stirred memories. I've included a few pictures. Hope you enjoy.


We stopped at this campsite near Tucson, Arizona

Beautiful Ocotillo and Saguaro

Days end...


Blessings,