Sunday smiles revisited

Dear Blog friends,

Today I am going to share some new smiles

and several older

Sunday smiles.

I didn't get them posted earlier but they still bring smiles to my heart.

And...

...as they say...

better late than never.
#1. The rain and Austin made me smile

We have had quite a bit of rain in the past few months.

Last December we got the first rain that we have had to speak off in over 2 years.
Austin, who was 4 at the time was so excited.

He ran outside amazed that water was coming down from the sky.

He never remembered seeing it rain before.

He just couldn't believe that everything was getting wet

without the sprinklers being turned on.

He asked Grampy where the water was coming from.
Grampy told him it came from the clouds.
Austin asked in amazement "You mean the clouds are going potty???"
He was happy to learn it was just water.
He spent much of the rest of the day outside under an umbrella.
What a joy it is to see the world through the fresh eyes of a child.

# 2 Little league and E.J. make me smile
E.J. is the last boy in this picture.
(I couldn't get him to look at me as he marched in.)
He is on the Angels team this year.
Two weeks ago he got to pitch the game.
When I was bragging on him getting to pitch his only reply was "I sucked!"
Actually he did as well as the other pitchers and I am sure he will
get better with practice.
Last week he hit a home run and we are all excited about that.

#3 Claire's singing makes me smile

Our 8 year old Claire was asked to sing the National Anthem at the
Opening ceremonies of Little League this year.

She did an amazing job.
Without accompaniment , out on the field, in front of 100s of people
she sang her little heart out.
She brought the house down.
No one could believe that such a little girl has such a powerful, beautiful voice.
How I wish that you could hear her sing.
I've tried to post 2 different videos I've made of her singing but I can't get them
to post on my blog.
A singing judge at a competition she went to last week said
he thinks she has the best voice for a child her age that he has ever heard.
Of course I agree with him whole-heartedly!!! LOL

#4 Our orchard makes me smile
It is full of beautiful blossoms and blooms.
They look so pretty and smell even better.

We have an abundance of every kind of citrus fruit imaginable.
What a joy to have fresh fruit and juice every day.
There is plenty for us, our kids, our neighbors and friends.
We are thankful for this bounteous harvest.

#5 Having the kids over makes me smile.

We have had beautiful weather in the 70s and 80s lately.
Mindy's children love to come over and play in the back of our acre.
Claire enjoys swinging on the poles.
E.J. loves shooting his paint ball gun.

Austin goes on all the trails through the orchard, picks fruit and finds treasures.

I keep asking John to clean up and fix up the back lot....
With the front yard, the side yards, the back yard and patios and the orchard to take care of

the "back back" as we call it gets neglected...

...but you know what...
the kids just love playing out there in the wilderness
where they don't have to worry about stepping on my flowers or making a mess.
If you asked them or John they will tell you that the back lot is just fine the way it is.

...

#6 Going on 1 more ship inspection makes me smile

As I have mentioned before, one of the requirements for renewing our travel agent CLIA cards, is that John and I have to go on 5 ship inspections .
This is not easy to do.
We only have a few ships that make southern CA their home base.

These ships are only in port a few hours each week.
There are hundreds of travel agents that are requesting to visit the ships.
This can only be done after the old passengers disembark in the morning

and the new passengers embark in the afternoon.
...
Yesterday, John and I visited the NCL Star

It is a beautiful ship.
I will show you a little of it.
This is the dinning room where we had lunch.

This is the theater where they have their nightly shows.

This is part of the atrium.
Does John look impressed?... He was and so was I.

...

Now I am going to show you something that

few of you will ever see in real life.

This is one of the garden villas

If you book this villa you get your own private upper and lower decks

with a spa and patio tables.

It has spacious bathrooms...

...a nice living room and bar..

a dinning room and a baby grand piano...

...and 3 or 4 bedrooms depending on the number in your party.

Of course this villa comes with your own butler and waiters.
You also get private seating for all the shows.
A lemo will pick you up at the airport and take you back after the cruise.
You get all of this for only $20,000 a week for the 1st two passengers

and the regular 3rd and 4th passenger rates for addition guests.
All of you that want to book this villa you need to let me know right away
because it is filled nine months to a year in advance. LOL
...
And John and I think we are in luxury if we have a window

or a balcony on our cruises.

Oh well... I think we are lucky to cruise at all.... even if we are in the bottom basement of the ship. We have a great time at our bargain prices.

However, if we ever get rich I want to take all our kids on a garden villa cruise.

...but kids.... don't hold your breath!!

...

Marie, I will be thinking of you this week.
Good luck to you and Todd as you move.
...
Jan, I was so glad you were well enough to be able to come to

church today and I could give you one more hug.
...
I hope that all of you have a great week ahead that is full of smiles.

Hugs, Lura

Sunday Smiles in spite of concerns

I enjoy every holiday.
They give me good excuses to decorate my holiday tree.
Some people think that having a Christmas tree once a year is enough...
but not me...
...no...no...no
I decorate this little tree for every holiday and season...
... and that makes me smile.

Holidays also give me excuses to set pretty tables with a theme.
I just love setting pretty tables.

It is such fun for me to make each place setting special.
My mom made very little money when I was growing up,
but she always tried to set a nice table with what she had.
She said even hot dogs taste great when served at a pretty table.
I feel thankful that I have been able to collect quite a variety
of pretty dishes and linens.
My mom could not afford fine china or
crystal except for pieces she found at garage sales.
Each time I set a pretty table I think of her and smile.
I think that she looks down and smiles with me too.
I even smile more when I can have friends and family join me for meals.
Mindy and family will be joining me later today for our St. Patrick's
traditional corned beef dinner.
We could not get together on the 17th but today will do.
However, I did have a lovely St. Patrick's theme luncheon with my dear friends
Kris and Jan.
I made Irish stew which I served in homemade bread bowls.
...
(Actually it was just regular stew but I called it Irish in honor of the holiday.)
I wanted to dye the orange freezes green with food coloring but I controlled myself.

After having our stew we went into the dinning room for
our dessert and herbal tea party.

Kris and Jan are the queens of tea parties...
...as you know if you have looked at my past blogs.

After all the hospitality that they have shown me,

I was happy that I could take a turn.

Being together as friends and having a tea party made us all smile.
...
However, today we were not smiling as much.

It was a bit scary for us.

Jan passed out several times during church this morning.

She did not want to go to the hospital.
With all of her health problems she was afraid they would keep her there if she went.

However, the paramedics convinced her that she should go be checked out.

In spite of it all Jan had a smile for her blog friends.

I stayed with Jan and Kris a few hours until Kris's husband,Craig, arrived.
They would only allow 2 people in with Jan so I came home.
(Jan will tell you more about it on her blog when she is up to it.)

...
Kris just called to tell me that Jan is back home now.

She passed all of the hospital tests.

They wanted to keep her overnight but she wanted to go back to Kris's.

She will be well cared for there.

Seeing the love, concern and care Kris and Craig

give Jan makes me smile.

(Read Jan's last post and you will see what I mean.)

Jan feeling better also makes me smile.
...
My sweet friend, Marie, has had such a hard week.

In the midst of losing her job and her home and packing up
to leave Oak Cottage, her beloved dog Jess died.
However, in spite of the tears and worry, Marie

found reasons to smile.

She is an inspiration and example for me.
(Read her post and you will understand why I say that.)

Having Marie for a friend makes me smile.

...
Claire and E.J. also made me smile this week.

I will tell you about that next time.

Until then, I hope that you have a good week....

...full of hope.... and love.... and smiles.

Hugs, Lura

More Sunday Smiles with Austin

Last Sunday we had a birthday dinner and family party for Austin.
I told you about that in last week's post.
However the celebrating was not over.
No...No...No...
We ended up celebrating Austin's 5th birthday for 3 days.
That brought many smiles to my face and heart.
I want to share them with you.
...
Sunday night when I tucked Austin into bed we talked about his little birthday party.
I made a comment about what a big boy he is now that he is 5.
He corrected me.
"Grammy, actually I am still 4. My teacher said that my real birthday is number 9...
...and today is not number 9."
No Austin but it was still a nice party.
Monday the two of us spent the day at one of Austin's favorite places...

Knott's Berry Farm.

(Isn't that just the sweetest face ever!!! ... uhh... his....not mine.)

He loves riding the trains...

...the race cars...

.... and the trucks.
A couple of times I told people we were celebrating his 5th birthday.
He quietly whispered to me....
" Grammy I am really 4"

After Knott's we stopped to get
a kid's meal of chicken nuggets and fries.
Not very healthy but his favorite cuisine.
(...but notice I got him milk to drink and not a soda...)
...
My "almost" 5 year old was exhausted after our busy day.

After driving home I gave him a bubble bath and tucked him into bed early.
I thought he would fall right to sleep after such a long day of walking....
...but I was wrong.
7:30 turned into 8:00 and then into 9:00 p.m.
This sweet little boy was so excited that he would
"actually be 5" the next day, he could not sleep.

He kept saying...
"Tuesday is number 9.
I just can't believe that I will actually be 5"
His excited anticipation of being 5 years old was absolutely delightful.
I lay there beside him until he fell asleep that night
and thanked my Heavenly Father that I could be a part of this special time with this little grandson.

The next morning he came running into our bedroom and
excitedly announced to Grampy and me..
"I am 5 years old today!!!"
"I can't believe it!!!"
...
Of course we had to have a Birthday Breakfast.

He blew out his 5 candles....

...and ate 2 sausages, 2 eggs and chocolate chip pancakes.
(Is this boy 5 or 15?)

After our birthday breakfast, Austin and I packed up and headed to preschool.

I got to spend the day there with him which was special for both of us.

He got to be the line leader all day.
His little buddies were excited for him too.
Here Austin and his friend shows us that he is 5 while another buddy gives him a hug.

In class his teacher gave him a birthday crown ..
...and ...

(This picture cracks me up...notice the boy who is heels over head with excitement.)

...everyone sang Happy Birthday to him.
Austin is shy and does not like being the center of attention.
I was not sure about how he would handle this...
...but he loved it.

We then passed out the cupcakes, that Austin had helped me make, to everyone.
It was a fun day at preschool for both of us.
...
After preschool Austin could hardly wait to go home and see his family.
He was anxious for his family to see him now that he was 5.
Claire and E.J. were waiting in the yard to greet him when we drove up.

They were as delighted that he was "actually 5" as he was.
...
I get to talk to, skype and see pictures of my out of state grandchildren

on their special days.

That makes me smile.

I am glad that I can do that.

However, I am especially thankful that I could spend these 3 birthday days

with little Austin this past week.

These memories will stay with me and warm my heart forever.

I know that he will probably not remember this as the years pass...

...but maybe...

someday he will find this blog and

it will kindle a little spark of loving warmth for him too.
At least I hope so.
...
I had other nice things that made me smile last week but this blog is too long to post them.
I will save them to share with you next time.
Have a great week.
Let me know about your smiles.
Hugs, Grammy Lura