The kids and I spent Thursday and Friday in Richmond visiting my Gran. He absolutely adores children, especially babies, and was thrilled to have us with him for a couple of days.
As soon as we arrived, Finn went right over and let Gran put him in his lap. It was SUCH a blessing for all of us...especially since Finn doesn't go to many people so readily. He must sense how much Gran loves him! They snuggled for a good 15 minutes before Finn got down to explore the room.
Spreading out toys to play while my mom read us some cards from friends and family...including Vera of England.
The girls and Sam were SO excited to see each other!
Dinner at Chick-fil-a...a special treat!
Gran was amazed at how much Finn ate! :)
That evening, Finn and Gran played ball for a looooong time. Gran played football, basketball and baseball in school, but he said he favorite was baseball.
Catch, Gran!!!
Meanwhile the girls played a Disney Princess game...what could be better???
Snuggling with Mema
Before our trip we talked a lot about how excited Great Gran was to see them and how much he loved them. I told them that even though they may not know him very well, they should be as kind and loving as they could be. From the start Cassidy tried her best, although initially she was still shy. After dinner Thursday evening, when I was alone in the car with the kids I reminded them that it would REALLY bless Great Gran and Mommy if they could try to talk to Great Gran. I made a couple of suggestions for conversation topics...school, swimming at the pool, the beach. Cassidy, my sensitive soul, took it all to heart and in the midst of playing that evening came and sat next to Gran. "Great Gran, did you know I can jump half way across the pool?" From there started a conversation about swimming and the beach. I know it blessed Gran and it was all I could do to contain the tears of joy, love and appreciation for my tenderhearted girl!
Turns out Gran's father, my Great Gran, was a baseball player. He was invited to join the major leagues, but his family didn't feel that was an acceptable profession, so he stayed home and farmed because that was the family business. Mom commented that it was sad that he wasn't able to do what he loved and use his talents. That's true, but if he had none of us would be here, so I am very thankful. :)
"Night, Night Gran." Melt my heart!
After breakfast the next morning we played in the Book Nook, a playroom at the Masonic Home for visiting children. The girls...with some help from Ashley...put on a puppet show. :)
Finn exploring all the toys.
Mom and Ashley chatting in the rockers
Gran with 4 of his 8 great-granchildren
(Lily, Samantha, Gran, Finn, and Cassidy)
The girls getting artsy
I tried to capture some of our special moments on video. I can't tell you what a special time this was for me...watching my kids play with my Gran, seeing the joy in his face, the comfort of being together, the bittersweet feeling of walking into their room that still smells like Mema, the wonderful memories that the furniture and decorations in the room bring back. The past two days were priceless for me and I pray I will get to share many more like them with my Gran.
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, despite the fact that the air conditioning in the guest rooms was broken. The wonderful nurses let us take over a model efficiency room for the night and we slept comfortably in the cool accomodations. Cassidy promised Gran to return soon and we are looking forward when we can all be together again...perhaps in October for Family Day. We love you, Gran!!!
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