Rocco at 6 weeks!

Craig and Jesse just sent us some new pics of Rocco! We haven't him since he was 2 weeks old! My! What a cutie he is! Enjoy!

Near and Dear .....

I can honestly say there has only been one man who has ever been near and dear to my heart!

Oops! No .... I guess there have been three!

Um .... no ... uh .... four! No ..... five!

Ahhhhhhh ...... no seven!!

Whew!

Yup! I can honestly say ....there have only been seven men who have ever been near and dear to my heart .... !

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Steve

Brian and Craig

Dad and Jeff

Ty and Rocco!!


Tee hee!! :)

Grammiehood!

You know ...... I have always considered myself to be a youthful soul .... a little bit adventurous .... and a little bit rebellious. :) But there were times in my life when the role I had to play did not fit comfortably with my soul.

The stay at home farm wife early in our marriage was disastrous for my emotional state. We had no money, so I could not go anywhere. And cooking and cleaning all day were not compatible with my adventurous spirit.

Then the babies started coming ... and I started to feel a little bit more comfortable in my role. I could play with them ....take them for walks along the creek ... be involved in their school activities.

Then the empty nest stage occurred. And even though I love my boys dearly, I loved having an empty nest as well! Now I had time to take off and explore the things I had been missing out on in life. And I was working, so I had a little bit of extra income to be able to afford some nice vacations! And I had the enjoyment of seeing our sons become the men I always hoped they would be.

But .... you know .... as good as that stage was ...... I think this stage of Grammiehood is the best of all!!

I get to love my babies .... and not be tied down by them! I get to play with them ... and be adventurous with them! And I get to see the amazing parents our sons and daughter-in-laws have become! And that is the best part of all!

Yup ....... life is good. I finally fit my soul. Even though on the outside I am a plump, gray haired, matronly, middle aged woman. On the inside, my soul is still a kid!

And that is good!

Another grandson!! Yeah!!

We have another grandson!!

Craig and Jesse became the proud parents of Rocco Aaron Florschuetz on 3/2/10. He weighed in at 7 lbs 10 oz, and was 20" long! We are going to VA to see them in a couple of weeks! Can't wait to get my arms around all three of them!

Fun in the sun .... porch!

I stayed home from work today to take care of Ty. Brian and Kelly's babysitter's little guy has the flu, so we are taking turns staying home with Ty this week.

Today he got to inaugurate our new high chair! I tried using a booster chair with him last week, but that didn't work out too well. So viola! We have a new Winnie the Pooh highchair! He is now eating the second step of baby food ..... the wonderful blends. Kelly said he did NOT like the chicken and noodles one .... but he did well with his fruit and rice for breakfast.... the peas and something or other for lunch ..... and the mixed veggies for supper. He is still getting 3-4 bottles of formula a day, and usually has two naps at Grammies ...... tho I understand he doesn't sleep that much at the sitter's. But ....... she probably doesn't play soft baby music and have the curtains drawn and the lights down low for him. We Grammies know how to encourage a nap! :)

In between mealtime and naptime .... we soaked up the sun on the sunporch. I even moved Kasey's daybed out there so he could soak it up with us! It has been such a gloomy and rainy Fall that it felt soooooooo good to sit in the sun. And I am hoping the extra Vitamin D we absorbed will help Ty ward off the flu bug.

Finally .... here is a video clip of him playing in the bouncie turnie thingie. As usual, he was laughing and grinning at me ..... before I got the camera! He has such a quick sly smile that it is hard to catch on film. Oh well, as long as I get them in person .... that is all that matters to me!

Mothering .....

Ya know ..... now that my chicks have flown the coop ..... I have more time for self-reflection. And I have come to a realization that has been very self affirming.

I am maternal ...... but not domestic!

So, what the heck does that mean??

Well ....... I love to mother, and nurture, and encourage, and teach, and provide all of those little experiences that help ones to spread their wings and discover who they are.

But ... I HATE to cook and clean!

Hmmmmmmmm, maybe that came from marrying a man who, for the first several years of our marriage, only wanted boiled potatoes and hamburgers without a bun for lunch. :)

Or, from raising a darling little boy who wanted the same meal every day for 2 weeks and then when you started to serve it the 3rd week said "Why did you fix that? You know I hate it!!" :)

Or from raising another precious little pumpkin for whom I literally had to hide 3 peas in a huge mound of mashed potatoes in order to get him to eat them. :)

You young moms have sooooooooo much to look forward to! :)

But through it all, I have learned a lot of important things ..... gold carpet does not show straw ..... bugs ..... fawn boxer hair ..... or a myriad of other assorted things that get drug into a farmhouse from the outside. Keeping the curtains closed and the lights low does wonders for hiding dirty windows and dust. And burning candles before company comes is a miracle worker for stale doggy smells!

So, when you start to get down on yourselves cause you don't think you are filling all of the shoes in your closets (or filling all the roles you feel expected to play) ..... just remember ..... you can be maternal but not domestic. Or, domestic but not maternal. Whatever combination you happen to be. God made you with the skills you have for His purpose. So use those skills to the best of your ability and wade your way through the other stuff. My boys are strong, intelligent, hardworking ....... and slender! :) So I guess I didn't do too bad after all!

It's a ..........

Craig just called to let us know ... they are having a little boy!
Well ... at least that is what it looks like for now ..... :)
The due date is still 2/28/10. Course, he's hoping it'll pop out a day early!
I told him I was gonna call it Henry until I get told otherwise!