Grandma-ing With the Twins

It's been quite awhile since I've done an update on the littles. They will be two soon - can you believe it? They are very busy little people and, as I've probably said before, caring for them is somewhat like herding cats!

They're still little for their age, but are as healthy as can be. Their vocabulary is increasing daily - we can even understand some of it! They definitely have their own language with each other.

We're thinking it would be a good time to start potty training. I bought a potty chair the other day so that we'd have one at each house. I decided, watching them, that having fun with the equipment was a good start - hopefully we'll make some progress soon.








I love watching everything they do, everything they learn. I love how young kids catch on to the technology of our world with such ease. The girls love cell phones - real, toy, or even a calculator can suffice.








I love that they can make a toy out of anything that catches their fancy - even an empty plastic bottle from the bathtub.




They have fun with anything - I heard giggling and found them in my suitcase, which I had not finished emptying after the trips.




They love to "help" with the dishes - and the laundry, though I didn't get a picture of that.

They're trying to start learning to dress themselves --





Their latest passion is shoes - and their favorite word. I caught all of these in a couple of days at my house.

We love to go to the library. Miss Lolly has so many fun things to do every week.

Ball time --

Learning to pick up is an important part --

Putting Humpty on the wall every week --





A new game this week - something with rubber duckies, fishies, froggies --

Big fuzzy friends --




And, the finale - bubble time!

Coming up next - Grandma-ing with the Big Girls!

More Traveling and More MIRL - Part II

After Kev finished his choir practice, we got a tour of the house, meeting all of the guys and visiting with them for awhile. These are handsome, capable young men who have taken a turn in their lives that has affected them and everyone who loves them in very negative ways. They are all working on recovery and deliverance from drug addiction. They all have so much potential. I wish so much that I could have a chance to just sit and talk with all of them together - they have so much in common and it would be helpful to me to pick their brains.

But they all clean up very well! We met Kev at the beautiful old mansion where the banquet was held. It was a lovely evening in a beautiful setting.

The choir sang.

Several of the guys were asked to give their testimonies. Kev had told us that he would not be one of those guys. But he was surprised when he was called from the choir to share his story. I was pleased and touched to hear him speak. It was so dark that the picture is really poor, but I'm showing it anyway.




After the dinner we headed back to our hotel room. Kev was so excited to discover that the Denver Nuggets were playing that night - he got to watch the entire game, and they obliterated the Los Angeles Lakers, which apparently made it even better. Out there on the East Coast, everything starts two hours later than around here - so this game started at 10:30 - and he watched it until 1:00 a.m. - while Mom and Dad slept - sort of! But it was fun to see his enjoyment of such a simple pleasure.

Saturday morning we headed out for our tour of Maine from Augusta to Bar Harbor (Bah Hahbah, as the Mainers say), into Acadia National Park. It was a foggy day, so the views weren't as striking as they could have been in the sunshine, but we enjoyed every minute and every mile together.

I loved the view of these little "islands" as we flew into Maine on Thursday.

The fall foliage was gone - I kept imagining how gorgeous it must have been two weeks earlier. But it was still beautiful.

We stopped in Ellsworth and found these photogenic buildings.

On the side of this building, in a row, there were probably 8 of these little clusters of grapes - I would love to know what they signify.

I love the beautiful white frame churches with tall steeples.

Kevin was absolutely in awe of the power of the ocean here at Thunder Hole. This is the spot where several people were washed into the ocean during Hurricane Bill. Amazingly, most of them survived.

We hit an L.L. Bean outlet to help Kev get ready for a cold winter of fund raising in the outdoors. It's probably a good idea if he doesn't go into a bank!

One of his buddies told us to check out Cappy's Chowder House in Camden. We were disappointed that they didn't have whole lobsters at this time of year, but we had delicious mulled cider, outstanding clam chowder, the guys had lobster mac and cheese, and I had lobster roll. We had the best waitress ever.

Sunday morning we went to this little church in Augusta, and had a wonderful service. Kev was so happy to have a chance to sit and soak up some spiritual nourishment - most Sundays he and the choir are serving.

Kev had to return to Winthrop and his residence by 6:00 Sunday evening.

We had dinner with Groovy and her family, had another good night's sleep, and left early for breakfast with Midlife Mom and her very fun sister back in Augusta. We had a delicious breakfast and such a delightful time once again. Louise gave me a gift card for the Christian book store her family owns. When I get what I ordered, I'll show you a picture. I can hardly wait.







We had to say good-bye to Maine and all the wonderful people we'd met and head for home. It was a long day, but again uneventful, getting home around 7:30 - landing a half hour early, if you can believe it. What wonderful memories we created. Thank you to all who helped make that happen!