New Life Among Us

How fast life changes!  I was talking with mommy-to-be Lisa on Thursday last week and Saturday morning she is having my seventh grand child! The joy that a new life creates around all those involved is just wonderful!  All the grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins gather together to see what our new life looks like!  Little Miss Leah arrived early on Saturday, November 10, 2012, 2:13 a.m. I am told.  I guess I was sent a text message, really a text message, to let me know she had arrived!  Text message alerts on my phone do not wake me up out of a deep sleep!!  So you can imagine my excitement when at 9 a.m. I am seeing this text message, "Mom did you get my last text?" from my son aka new daddy!  Grandpa and I very quickly got dressed and made our way to visit our new baby girl!  What a great start to our weekend!

Sunday we bundled up ourselves and headed out to watch our 9 year old grand daughter, Haley run in the Girls on the Run 5K with her Daddy, Wes.

Grandma & Grandpa Kremer and Haley

Mom & Haley

Almost finished!

We did it! 5K in 40 minutes!

What a perfect weekend!

God is Good

So now we know!  Baby Albrecht is Leah Rose Albrecht!  We celebrated with family and friends last weekend by having a shower out at the Red Barn.  Yummy potato soup in individual bread bowls and delicious desserts!  

Lots of gifts, laughter and love.

My heart and soul are just overflowing with the excitement of a newborn baby!  It hits me this morning that I have become a grandma at a relatively young age!  December 2002 I remember I was patiently (??) waiting for the birth of Haley, I was only 45 years old and so excited to get to hold this newborn child!  Since then I have been so blessed with Lucy, Elly, Judah, Bella and Myranda!  

I'm in a mood today, well maybe not a mood more like a place.  I am reminiscing.  So much has happened in just a short ten years. 

Babies born, marriages, divorces, marriages, 

new jobs, new attitudes, heartaches, celebrations, 

reunited friendships,

life just keeps moving along! 

Where am I going with this writing today?  Well, here it is:

I have reflected on how very fast ten years have gone and what has been accomplished and I can truthfully say...

God is Good.

33, 29, 28 years ago almost

Oh, how I am enjoying being a grandma to six wonderful grand-babies!  Well, Lucy for one, would tell me she is 4 and not a baby, Elly would agree and tell me she is 3.  Haley and Myranda just know what I mean and Judah will give me an ornery look! Bella will smile her sweetest smile!  Soon I will have another to share all this grandma love with; one more month and baby Albrecht will arrive!

So today I'm feeling the blessings of God with the gifts of life he gave my children; the children he gifted me with starting back in 1980!  Then again in 1983 and 1984!  Three children under five at once!  A friend asked me today if I ever thought I would be sitting in my youngest son & wife's home babysitting their baby back when I was raising my brood of under five year olds.....uh no I replied, I didn't have time to sit and think of the future of my children that much!!  I prayed daily for them and still do; seems to work!

But today, sitting at little Miss Bella's home and while she was napping, I had the time to think about how my kids got to where they are today and imagined what journey's my grand children might travel.  I went way back into my memory banks and thought about the delivery of my first born, Nicole.  Trip to hospital was adventurous; snow packed streets and her daddy driving as fast as he could, delivery was an emergency C-section, and then there she was a beautiful baby girl!  She was a playful, happy, and an obedient child.  She has grown into a beautiful woman, her laughter and smile are contagious!  I enjoy spending time with her and her three under five; it makes me remember my own days of just plain chaos and craziness...and I made it through! 

I thought of my son, Wes, who was a quiet little guy but had a lot going on in his heart and head!  He is still a quiet young man but I've learned to ask questions to find out more of what is going on in his heart and head!  I love his humor, his strength and his commitment as a husband and daddy of two daughters and a baby on the way!  I remember he played with his GI Joe's in the backyard for hours and the only way to get him to eat lunch on some days was to just have a picnic in the back yard!  GI Joe stood watch as we ate!

My youngest, Bryan, brought the sensitive side out in all of us!  He shared his heart and flashed his smile and bright blue eyes; and he still has it today!  The playtime with two little boys was a little bit rougher than playing with their sister.  We "climbed mountains"; the back yard was hilly, we ran races; they were so competitive, and we crashed Hot Wheels into each other; each time would strike up some of the best laugh out loud noise you ever heard!

Now I realize why God gave me those three little gifts back then; He knew already which one would have their own daughters and sons and I would need the experience to be a good grandma to them!  Today I feel so blessed and know this is just the beginning of what God can do!  I cherish each one on my grand-babies and can't wait to walk with them through some of their journeys!

Life & All The Opportunities

My life seems to go in seasons, right now it is the beginning of Fall and my life is falling right into this season very well actually.

For awhile I have had the desire not to work since my position was stressing me out on a daily basis with a boss that loved to live in chaos...and I do not.  So one day it just came to a head, more like a volcano and I left my job.  Best decision of my life, when it comes to the job category.

I'd been asking God if He could just provide Cord with a great job, one he really enjoyed, and sure enough He did!  I asked if I could just be more available to him and to my kids and the grand kids, again, He heard my request and gave me peace about it!  It is the delight of my week every Monday morning when Bella Grace comes to our home while mommy is taking care of her own business!  My heart bursts with joy when I can answer, "sure bring them over" when my daughter calls and just needs me for a little bit while she runs some errands.  Just knowing I can attend the older grand kids school events now makes me smile.

For years I have been faithfully praying about the relationship with my own dad.  Finally in the Fall of my life, I felt the urge (love those urges from God, never really shoves me into actions but gently urges me!) to reach out to him and to the person he is in a relationship with.  Baby steps but still at least the steps are taking place.

Fall for some people brings on depression but for me it brings on the beautiful colors of God.  He paints the leaves so many different shades of orange, the sunsets of Kansas are gorgeous, and the Fall flowers are vibrant!  How would this be depressing?!  Faith in the One who created me makes my soul overjoyed with the many promises He gives.  Trusting in Him and asking for strength and courage to live each day to the fullest..for Him...this is my goal.  Each day is new but my faith is not new it is developing day by day, always learning to rely on Him... always!

I hope who ever reads this blog finds joy in what God is doing for you; God bless you today!