Grandpa Manuel

Its strange, I started thinking about writing this a few weeks before it happened, and now I'm not sure what to say. My grandpa Manuel, my mom's dad, passed away on February 10th. He had been sick, but there was no indication that he was going to die. Yet, I had been thinking about it anyway. About the deep loss I would feel when that day actually came.

I loved my grandpa very, very much. He was the only grandpa I knew, my dad's dad passed away when he was a kid. He was a gentle and wise man. I have wonderful memories of spending time with him. We often went camping as a family and he loved to take us fishing. He saved up aluminum cans and we got to take them to get crushed in a giant recycling machine. He had a secret hiding place for candy that only we kids knew about, at least that's what he told us anyway. He read us books and took us to the park. He grilled while we all played in the backyard.

He took care of his family. Not just his wife and kids, but grandchildren, in-laws, cousins, neighbors. He loaned money, cars, advice - whatever anyone needed. Family was one of his top priorities.

His top priority was Jesus. He loved the Lord with all his heart. That is what prompted all the love he passed to others. He served people with a heart that was serving God. He often brought kids that he mentored and people down on their luck to family functions. He taught us all the importance of helping people out.

My grandpa wasn't perfect, he was human and a sinner like us all. But in terms of people, he was one of the best. I will miss him greatly.

Families Intersect

I am a very sentimental person. I crave tradition. I come from a family that is connected closely at all times. We are "all up in everybody's business". My husband jokes that his family doesn't talk about anything, but my family talks about too much. I think what we have is pretty special. I have too many great memories to discuss now, but I'm sure they will be brought up in the future.

Tuesday, I had a special moment that brought sweet feelings to my soul. I was baking cookies with my girls, using my mom's favorite recipe, wearing my husband's mother's old shirt and cleaning up with Palmolive. I don't ever buy Palmolive, but it was on sale after Christmas. I didn't think about it, but as soon as I smelled it, I thought of my grandparents. They used Palmolive.

I actually don't like the smell that well, but I love my grandparents. So, I like it. My cookies didn't turn out like my mom's, but I can work on that. The shirt is a little thinner than it used to be, but still, I'd say Alabama made pretty sturdy shirts. The point is, I loved how so many important people in my life, generations apart, all came together in that one sweet moment. I love my family and the things that remind me of them.

Martha is the the pretty one in the gray and black shirt. And yeah, that's really Alabama.

This is a copied page from a very old Betty Crocker cook book. Those are cookie dough stains on the bottom.

Aprehensive Beginning

Well, I've done it. I've entered the world of blogging. I have wanted to do it for a while, but have hesitated for several reasons.

1. My life is not exciting. What if I'm too boring? I read blogs about pioneer women and crafters. You know the kind - the ones who grow their own food and create personalized masterpieces as gifts. I stay at home with two three year olds. I don't take extravagant vacations or make gourmet meals from scratch.

2. I don't take great pictures. Blogs are beautiful and filled with wonderful photos to accompany the stories. My pictures aren't awful - you can see the heads of all the people, most of the time, but they're not artistic and cool.

3. I don't have a common theme for a blog. I like to save money, but I'm not going to create a whole site about it. I don't know enough about any one topic to educate the masses on a website.

All of that said, I've decided to do it anyway. I don't know if anyone will read this, but I've decided to do it for me. This could be a great tool in capturing the lives of my loved ones. I have done a terrible job keeping up on baby books and I'm definitely NOT a scrapbooker. I'll give this new-fangled technology a try. My pictures aren't artistic, but they do the job. I'm not an expert on anything except myself, and I don't think I want my life to be any more exciting than it is at the moment.