Garden of the Gods ~ 2013

We were having a lazy day 3 of vacation. 

Spent some time at Rock Ledge Ranch with cousins. 

Then they needed to head home.

Daddy-O and I decided to take the kids to Garden of the Gods. 

Wow!  You would have thought we were going to torture the kids or something.

The thought they were going to miss some time with cousins

quickly turned us into vacation ruining parents!

 

Below: Kissing Camels

 

 

We bribed them with time in the gift shop!

And found photo opportunities on the balcony.



 

We made it through the gift shop, with minimal tears.

Mostly cause Daddy O threw some money out and let the kids buy a couple of things.
Plus, there was the purchase of fudge!

Then the promise, we would only drive through the Garden of the Gods, to make the torture go faster.

 

It didn't take long for them to begin to appreciate the beauty of the park.

 

By the time we arrived at Balance Rock, they were ready to get out and explore. 

 

Just the perfect amount of rock scrambling.

I think they quickly came to believe their parents weren't the wet blankets of vacation history.

Mueller State Park 2013

Day 2 of our vacation. 

We joined my sister and her daughters and grand-daughter and loaded up for Mueller State Park.

We didn't expect the elevation to have the effect it did on me. 

I ended up with a horrible "concussion" headaches. 

That is what I call them. 
Never have I had headaches like these till the accident.  They bring me to tears.

We stopped at a grocery store, bought some Ziploc baggies, so I could make ice packs.

I stayed with my grand-niece and her momma.

We had a great visit just the 3 of us, I settled in and relaxed. 

I listened to the trees and the wind.

I may even have dozed off a bit.

When we came home, Fun Girl had captured the best pictures and she shared them with me.

Makes my heart soar to see these cousins bond and enjoy their time together like they do.

 

Counting...The Mom list continued (to 1060)

1043. Capturing grandchildren in film as they are
1044.  Holding Hockey Player in the NICU before anyone else
1045.  Worrying HOckey Player would receive enough touch and love while in the NICU
1046.  Praise music in the morning as she would get ready for work
1047.  Calling Little Princess her "China Doll"
1048.  Taking Fun Girl hiking and teaching her to think it through and come up with a way...to get on the otherside of a fallen tree.
1049.  Planning adventures with grandchildren
1050.  Acorn People
1051.  Pipe cleaner critters
1052.  Faces in the tree trunks
1053.  Talking tooth brush holders
1054.  Swim suit shopping for Hawaii
1055.  Demonstrating that learning never stops you can do it at any age
1056.  Life was never easy, but there was always good in it
1057.  Grandma and Papa stories on tapes
1058.  Not letting me mope and feel sorry for myself. 
1059.  Never too old to learn or try new things.
1060.  Life is an adventure...jump in with both feet and don't take yourself to serious.

Meeting JoyNess

So my doctors didn't tell me not to go to Colorado.  They did tell me, however, to not fly.  Two nights before we left town, I receive texts and calls...my niece was heading to the hospital to be induced.  I slept through the chirping from the middle of the night/early in the morning text.  My Grand-niece, nicknamed by her Nana on her blog, JoyNess, was born after 7 hours of labor.  It is mind blowing to think of my sister as Nana. We are entering new seasons of life and yet I so clearly remember the baby days of my niece who is now a momma herself.  A lot of change is blowing into my life these days and some of it is hard to process.  Hard because the years are flying by and I feel like I just blinked and I have missed so much as a result.  JoyNess is just that Joy in the midst of all this change.  She was roughly 36 hours old when I met her and my heart was so full. 

Her she is meeting her Great Grandmama and Great Papa. 

Sure made the long drive so much easier knowing she would be at the end of the road to meet. 

 

And here she is with Nana!

I am so grateful for her early arrival.  She is one strong and healthy little girl.  Her arrival wasn't without some bumps along the way, but she emerged strong and healthy and a perfect snuggler.  While she won't remember these days, God was using her in a mighty way, much like He used her Momma when she was a wee baby herself.  In all the trials of my teen years, my neice was my sunshine.  No matter what happened in a day, her smile could wash it all away.  Her hugs meant everything to me.  There is nothing like the seeing the world through the eyes of a child.  The purpose of this trip, I wish I could say was entirely to rejoice in JoyNess's arrival, but there bigger and harder things to accomplish on this trip.  But in the midst of it all there was JoyNess.  a peace and joy that came with just holding her, snuggling her, whispering prayers in her ear and telling her how much Jesus loved her.  For moments or two, all the other disappeared and there was this beautiful miracle to gaze upon and reflect on the beauty of God's creation.