A Blending of Bits and Blogs - 2010

 August 18, 2000

Butterfly Hand photo and poem

Captivated by this face. Then, now, always.

Don't know 

Enjoying the entire process of growth

Finding joy in old journals led me to this post from March 2010

Gentle with the wings...

Hands

"In that moment, we both knew we would always be together. And for those first years, we were incredibly, terrifyingly, happy." ~  The Last Station  

Judge nothing, you will be happy. Forgive everything, you will be happier. Love everything, you will be happiest. ~ Law of Attraction

"Keep walking, though there's no place to get to. Don't try to see through the distance. That's not for human beings." ~ Rumi

"Like a wild flower; she spent her days, allowing herself to grow, not many knew of her struggle, but eventually all; knew of her light." ~ Nikki Rowe

Making memories: "You are not just my heart but it's beating"  ~ Shadow of Night

November 2010 

"Our passion for life is quietly sustained from somewhere in us that is wedded to the energy and excitement of life." ~ John O'Donohue

Poetry and pictures

"...Quiet light that shines in every heart. It draws no attention to itself though it is always secretly there. It is what illuminates our minds to see beauty, our desire to seek possibility and our hearts to love life. Without this subtle quickening our days would be empty and wearisome, and no horizon would ever awaken our longing." ~  John O'Donohue

"...Shy inner light is what enables us to recognize and receive our very presence here as blessing. We enter the world as strangers who all at once become heirs to a harvest of memory, spirit, and dream that has long preceded us and will now enfold, nourish, and Sustain us." ~ John O'Donohue

Thank you for sharing your youth and your desire for happiness with me... so young and pure...

Upside-down self portrait June 5, 2010

Venerable: calling forth respect through age, character, and attainments; conveying an impression of aged goodness and benevolence

Words have tremendous power. for example:

eXcavating: always makes me think of Michael Morrone

"You have to connect your own dots..."

Zest-filled Summer vision/memory board

Flat Stanley, A First Grader's Love for Grandpa

Grandpa's grin says it all. You helped him have fun, feel useful, accepted and loved with this "simple" request: Will you please take Flat Stanley with you, and then send him back to me? My Dad had convinced himself, and nearly everyone around him, that he could neither read nor write. There were times in my life when he was so much fun to be around, yet his spirit had begun to fade... until his grandchildren began to arrive.

On January 10, 1977, John B. Law Jr became a Grandpa. He was 43 years old when he fell in love with his first grandchild, Kristen Marie. He had his struggles and frustrations with the noise level and commotion of parties and visits as the years went by and our family kept on growing. He was just shy of 63 when I gave birth to his 13th grandchild, and two months later, your cousin Amanda Kathryn Law was born. On his 64th birthday, he shared his birthday with his 15th grandchild, Matthew John Mitchell and then in Sept 2000, Nicholas Law became the 16th Law grandchild. Ten years later, we began welcoming the "greats" : Ava, Madeline, Ashlyn, and two days after his 83th birthday, Violet Mae. He adored each and every one, but I felt and witnessed his love for you, and I have no doubt that his abiding love continues to envelop us all.

This amazing 70 year old, your Grandpa, was thrilled that you asked him to participate in your class project. We lived more than 500 miles away, and during your school years, trips to Connecticut were fewer. Perhaps it was because he had worked so hard for so much of his life at a job he no longer loved, and now had one he enjoyed, felt useful and had friends. (Flat Stanley visited the Stonington Police Department, and came back to us with a patch to prove it!). It think it was simply because you asked. In doing so, you let him know you believed he could, which lifted his fears, and his heart, knowing you believed in him. You erased his disbelief in himself by believing. Thank you for being YOU! I adore and admire you, more than words can say, and am grateful for new eyes with which to view our lives from a new perspective. xoxo Love, Mom

2016 oh what a year it was

August seems a place to begin this post of transition: Grandpa made his transition Aug 10, 2016 ( I do have one photo of you and Andie from Aug 2016, but you probably don't want it "published."

Butterfly Hand is a poem written in August 2000, but I am including it here because I finally put the poem with the picture and LOVE it! and this human being so much!

Connecticut for Christmas with cousin Joey

December 2016

Enjoyed the overwhelmingly positive reception we received from Everyone without Exception!

Fewer and fewer pictures of my kid are taken now, but I do so love this one

June 19, 2016

Grieving the passing of my Dad, I shared this one as one of my favs

 December, 2012

Hummingbird at Joyner, about a week after I returned to work

I have gained so much respect, empathy, and Insight this year

June? July? all a blur now, as they approach again...

Kendall and Misty on New Year's Day

Love, love love the human being God blesses

My life with every day

Now

On the train...

Planned this trip, Plus his own to Utah

Quiet, perhaps pensive, but still my favorite traveling companion

Relaxing is one of Logan's favorite things to do

September 27, 2016 

Train Trip adventure Time

Utah to visit a friend he met online

Visit went exceptional well, and in hindsight, perfectly times

Washington, DC was much better once we found the quiet place with the tea

eXcited to introduce my son to his family

Yes! It was a wonderful trip, and our family is very accepting, even if they don't always understand

Zzzz...rest in peace, Grandpa

2015 - Stronger now than we have ever been

April 4, 2015  An interesting reaction to Duck Donuts for Easter

Blue hair?? It's looks really cool, actually  January 8, 2015

Cousins  Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015

December 2015 and 1996

Enjoying bedroom more with the new bed and desk

February comfort zone...

Grammy and I both love this picture of your

Happy smile, January 3, 2015

I LOVE! this picture so much! It was the first one of this post that will somehow capture 2015. It was taken...

January 3, 2015

Kendall and Andie make you smileMarch 18th

Love! this picture of you and  

Misty in Joyner lounge Feb 26th after our very long walk from home to Meredith

Nineteen!! O is the shape of the cake :)

Purple is the color of the cake!!

Quite the new cut - May 29, 2015 - I love it!

 Really, Mom? Yes!

SNOW DAY "game face" 

Thank you for still letting me take your picture sometimes :)

Unwilling AND Unable to move the car,

Very motiVated by the fact that without power there is no internet..

We trudged our way to Meredith

eXtremely eXhausted from the hike, a break was needed, but we weren't there just

Yet. This photo was taken on the "back" side of campus near the tennis courts

Zen and the art of going strong, Mom style ;)

Our Original ABC book

 

and 

Carrots, Camera, Corn, Cookies, Cat in the Hat and Cousins!

Dragonfly, Dancing, Discover Dandelions, Dog, and Daisy 

Earth, Eggs, Egg noodles Ernie, elephants and especially... EYES

Fall Fun with Flowers, Fruits, Flashlight, Friends, Fairies, Fishing and Family

Grasshoppers, Grapefruit, Garden,

 and especially ...

Grandparents

Hat, Heart, Hugs,Home, Harrison, and Harmonica

Halloweenand Hammock! 

I is for "in" and imagination, ice pops ideas, and Ice Cream (a much more recent photo :) June 2016, of Mom and Gram)

Joy-full, Joyous, Juice, Jeff, Jess, and Josh, plus, a rather large Jellyfish

Lots, and Lots of "L"s Leaping into Leaves, Laughter, Lap, Love, Lobsters

Lightning, Lighthouse, Ladybugs, Lilacs

Moonlight, McDonald's, Mickey cup, Music lessons, Mixing, Mittens, Mom, Mangos, Mudpies, and More Music

Ocean

Pointing, Popcorn, PiggiesPicnic, Pizza and Playful moments

Play Partners with Grandpa

Rainbows, and Running, Rest and Relaxation, Rainy Day Activity, and Reading

Rafting on the River" was a favorite Little Bear episode, and what you called this entire day :)

Sunrise, Stars, Sewing, Swinging with Gram, School bus...      

SMiles, Slide, Sunset, and...

a Shadow

 T is for Tracy, Tunnel at Joey's, Tea, Tenderness, and Thistle

V is for Valentine, Vision, Vacation and Vacuum 

 U is also for Umbrella and Under

 W is for Wow, With, Whisper, Watermelon, Waterlily, Winnie the Pooh,Waving, Wind, and Wonder

Weather everything.

X is for eXtraordinary and eXuberantly

 

Y is for Yellow, "You go girl," Yucky Yogurt, and yourself!

Z is for Zzzipity Doo Dah, Zoo, and Z was a  Zebra