The Future is Ours to See

 

Time moves along so quickly, unless of course you are sitting in an uncomfortable situation such as a doctor's office, waiting on news about your health or the never ending sound of some lecture or something you are not interested in at all. Then it feels like time comes to a complete standstill.

But when it comes to good things in life, beautiful things that make life worthwhile, time rushes forward as if the mechanics in a clock have forgotten the pattern it once took. The hands thrust ahead without pausing for the good stuff. That's how I feel when looking at my children, grandchildren, and now my great grandchildren. They've all grown so quickly!

Today I saw my new great granddaughter. She is lovely. Her name is Novalee and she was born on July 7, 2024. The arrival of the baby we had grown impatient for had finally come. Jess and Brandon chose to settle in before announcing her arrival to anyone outside of the family and out of consideration, I did not post anything until that announcement came from the parents. 

She was born at 6:36 PM, after Jessee was induced earlier in the day. Novalee had not even turned downward to come head first. It was a long, tiring day for Jess, but in the end, a beautiful new life came to be. Jess was now a mother twice over. Brandon a father of two, and little Z a big sister. 

Our family gathered yesterday to see this beautiful, remarkable creation of life. Her cheeks were rosy and were those that make people want to snuggle against them and kiss them. Her lips are shaped like her big sister Zyrah's. Her eyes are alert. She is the perfect product of love and life. 

I love this little blessing already. 

With Spencer and Elena visiting too, it was nice to have all the great grandchildren together at once. Spencer was giving me the "dirty Keenan glance" again. As I moved closer, she actually cried. They live in Arizona and I never get to see them so this does not surprise me actually. Poor girl. So my third time of being around my great granddaughter came to a halt once again. I was scaring the poor child. Although she was very tired. She fell asleep shortly after. 

Marina picked up dresses for all four girls. They all had Hawaiian print summer dresses on and looked very cute and classy in them. We had to get some photos!

We had so much fun trying to get all four children to focus on us and smile at the same time. It was hilarious at some points of the photo shoot. I thought this one was the adorable one out of all I took. 

Of course we were waving our hands, calling their names, playing "get your belly" with Spencer, and always reminding them to smile. We even had tools, such as stuffed animals to tickle their faces and tummies with, but no luck of getting all four to look at one time. It was adorable. The natural ones came out the best anyway. We had one who would be looking away or looking at their feet or the grass. Another one would have their arms up, hiding the faces of the others. It was a crap shoot, but we did okay. Bless their hearts. They are very young and all of this strange commotion by adults was confusing and pretty boring. 

Elena is the oldest and is sitting on the far left in the photo. Elena is holding the new darling, Novalee. Novalee was still sleeping through all of it. Got to love that! Zyrah was sitting with Spencer on her lap. Zyrah is two years of age and Spencer is now eight months. Loved this moment in time. Sister pairs are Zyrah and Novalee, Jessee's two loves. Katie's babies are Elena and Spencer, and actually she is due to have another baby in November. Of course, we will have to take another photo or two when that happens. 

Eventually they all tired of this adult game. It was hot outside and they were over it. We took the babies inside the house. The older two put suntan lotion on and headed outdoors to play on the splash pad. This left some more time to get photos of the two babies. 

I got a couple of pictures of little Novalee with her eyes open. But they weren't open for long. She fell back asleep within moments. It was a lot of work traveling down that birth canal. It can exhaust a girl!

After my visit with the kids, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, I drove home thinking back on the moments we had just shared. I cannot believe how blessed I am with this family. 

Feeling the love of family inclusion, the joy of remarkable, beautiful new birth, and a fun day of love, laughter, and life, I drove home with a smile on my face. Terry was excited to hear about all of it and was so happy I was able to get to Eugene to spend time with everyone. The day made me realize, once again, just how very blessed I am. 

I am wishing these beautiful girls all the best for their future, hoping they have been brought into the most wonderful world possible. The world seems crazy now, but I am pushing good thoughts into the universe, hoping the good life and good times, love, and caring come to fruition for our planet in the near future. The girls deserve to grow up in the best environment possible, but what parent, grandparent, or great grandparent does not have that wish for their babies?

The perfectly wonderous miracle of life has expanded our family by one more. All of us couldn't be happier. Nothing is more miraculous or more perfect than life. 

I returned from my trip and went outside to walk little Jasper. The day's events really brought joy to my soul. Jasper did his thing outside and I brought him in, released him, and heard a noise that returned me to the laundry room. From there, there is a door that leads outside, which is where I brought Jasper through to the inside of the house. 

After listening for a second or two, I heard it again. It sounded like a kitten. I opened the door and to my surprise found a small black and gray striped kitty peering around the corner of the house at me. Once I stepped out completely, the cat made its way to me and began rubbing its cute face up against my legs, talking to me the entire time. 

The fur baby was so scrawny, with its belly sucked inward. I ran inside, grabbed a bowl of cat food, another of water and walked it out to the deck. Once I laid down the bowls, the cat attacked the meal immediately. A muffled meowing could be heard between bites. Gazing up at me between each morsel, you could tell he or she wanted to cuddle and wanted to eat at the same time. There was a look of worry as though I might leave. The cat was starving for food, water, and attention. 

The tabby was interested in loving on me at the same time it was eating. Yes, that is an extension cord for the weed eater. Not plugged in, but in use so I have not put it away. 

If anyone would like a little kitty, please let us know! We cannot take on another animal. That was our vow after our Bella passed away a few months ago. But this little girl, or what I believe is a girl after looking beyond her squirming, is so loving and so attention starved that she is a love to have around. I want her to have a permanent home, filled with lots of love. It makes me believe that she has been "owned" before, as she is far too loving to be a feral. 

Our weekend has not begun yet. This is just a special post, as I wanted to share our thoughts, memories, and pictures of beautiful Novalee. Katie, Elena, and baby Spencer all head out to their home today. The airport lies ahead for them and we won't be able to visit with them for a while now. Keenan is a lineman and works hard and the job does come with some long hours at times. They probably won't be visiting again for about another year. By then, the new baby will be here, Spencer will have changed and will be walking by then, and pretty Elena will have grown and will be looking more beautiful. A year changes a lot!

Friday, July 12, 2024

Today is another work day. Terry was working yesterday, due to his coworker being on vacation. I have begun delivering once more, through DoorDash. It's good to get out and get my foot working once again. 

We are planning to head to Florence, Oregon tomorrow. Togo and Mallory are both going with us. We can't wait! It is to be around 68 degrees there, being quite a change from here. Although we are not over 100 degrees for the past couple of days, we are still in the upper 90s. Hot enough, that's for sure. 

We will be posting tomorrow as usual, with photos and descriptions of our adventures. It should be fun! Hope to see you on here then!

Please take care of yourself! Thank you for reading the blog. We do appreciate your interest. Until the next post, hugs to you all! Count your blessings as they come. Take care!