Grandmothers

When my daughter, Melinda told me of her plan for this blog for the month of May back in January, I thought, “Oh how wonderful to make it a whole month of honoring moms!” Then, the other shoe dropped and she told me I was part of the plan! She wanted me to write a piece one week for this special month!

I must confess I then did some backpedaling on my enthusiasm because I have never felt “gifted” with words. When she reminded me about a month ago I went into kind of a panic – “Where do I even start?” and then “where do I go from there?”

After reading Melinda’s blog a couple of weeks ago I decided I wanted to start first with thanking the wonderful example I had in my life from the beginning – my own momma. My mom has always lived out her life in the example of what it looks like to live a life of service and compassion. What a blessing I have had to have been shown what it looks like to live out 1 Peter 3:4.

“but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”

Thanks mom!

Now that I’ve shared about the mom I was blessed with I want to share how amazing it has been to witness my daughters do the momma thing. I feel like they are both doing such a wonderful job of loving and raising their kids. Melinda had a bit of a rough situation when she had her oldest child but she rose above it and just gave him all her love. I was impressed with the way she taught him how to do things at a much younger age than I did my own kids. She gave him responsibility with such things as cooking, helping with dishes, laundry, etc. that I believe has helped him to be more self-confident and believe in himself and his abilities. I applaud her for that. I have not been able to be around her three youngest or her other two older children as much as I would like to but I know she is raising them to love God and love others. I see and hear that when we do FaceTime (thank heavens for technology in this long-distance world!) and on our visits.

Her sister, Desiree, has three kids that I do get to spend a lot of time with and watching them grow up and be guided by good Christian parents is such a blessing! I love to watch them interact with people of all ages at church and see them grow in their love for the Lord. I can see it in their actions and hear it in the way they pray.

When Melinda lived here in CO everyone always clamored for her rolls at potluck. She was (and still is) famous for her breads, cakes, and pastries here in Bayfield, CO. Desiree is known as one of the best cooks at our little church and everyone knows she will be one of the first to volunteer her service when needed. They both have the gift of being able to find a way to create/make whatever the kids might need and make their houses into homes for their families.

I also have to give a shout-out to my daughter-in-law, Mollie (oneblessedmomma blogger) as well – she does such an amazing job with her five kids. She is one very busy lady but makes time to have her kids memorize scripture–starting at a very young age and these kids know how to pray! To listen to them pray sounds more like adults praying, especially the oldest who is only 9!
My oldest son’s wife, Brooke, has proof that she has been a good momma – both of her children are now adults and they are good citizens and good Christians ready to jump in and help wherever and whenever they can.

I am so blessed that I have four Christian children that have good Christian partners to raise my grandchildren. As I look back on my years raising kids I’m afraid I see a lot of things I’d do differently if I got a “do-over” – you know that old saying “hindsight is 20/20”. But two things I believe I did right are:
1) I know my kids have always known their momma loves them with all her heart and
2) They have always known I love the Lord.

Now I am Grammy to 16 precious souls ranging from 20 down to almost 2! When my first grandson was born I was so amazed at the love that I could have for this baby – it’s so awesome to me the capacity for love our Father in Heaven has given us. It just keeps growing and expanding with each new grandbaby that comes along! It’s as it says in Psalm 127:3—

“Behold children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.”

They are each one so unique yet in some ways the same because they are in the same family.

My favorite times are when all of them are together and even though there is such an age difference they have so much fun! One of my favorite memories is one time when Melinda and her family were home for Thanksgiving. We had a grandkids sleepover at Grammy and Papa’s and had a floor full of kids and sleeping bags in the living room all watching a John Wayne movie. The next morning the kids wanted to go fishing in the pond in our backyard – it was so gratifying to look out there and see the older kids helping the younger cousins bait their hooks so they could fish and all were having so much fun – and as a bonus they even caught a few fish! I just love to sit back and watch my grandkids play together and see how much they enjoy being together.

I have found that they have a “special” food menu for Grammy’s house. They think they should get it every time they come to stay – “maci/cheese” and sloppy joes. It is special to them and so easy for me – because I always know what to fix—just keep that on hand and I’m good! If there are any new or to-be grandmas out there reading this I would suggest things like this are an important part of our relationship with our grandkids. To come up with special traditions that are unique to what they associate with being with you. Things—activities or foods, etc. – that they look forward to doing with you that will be special memories as they grow up.

I still look back on those early years as Grammy and wish for another “do-over”. As I get older I realize I could have put so much more emphasis on their spiritual lives. That is what I hope to do moving forward so I can wholeheartedly say “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children (grandchildren) are walking in the truth.” (3 John 4) I want my grandchildren to have the faith that is described in 2 Timothy 3:14-15 “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” I want to be one of the reasons that they know God’s word. So in the meantime I move forward with this goal in mind and pray for each one of them daily, the grandchildren and their parents, and enjoy every minute I get to spend with them.

Hello fellow blessed mommas and grandmommas! My name is Kathy Westbrook and I am Mollie’s momma! I usually call her MJ though.

I love being a Grandma. I love being a Mama. I love being a wife and love being a child of God. Our God is so good all the time!

I’ve been told, “If I’d known being a grandparent was so great I would’ve had my grandchildren first!” Well, I don’t agree. I love my grandkids and my kids. They’re all great!! The last 32 years have been full of joy, frustration, tears, lots of prayers, feelings of being inadequate, loads of love, satisfaction, tons of thankfulness, hugs, and did I mention thankfulness, love and hugs? It’s been wonderful!

Being a parent and/or grandparent is a blessing and a responsibility.

Another saying I’ve heard is “You can spoil your grandkids then send them home to Mom and Dad.” There is some truth in that. Parents learn and change as their kids grow. You realize that some things that seemed so important when you first became a parent, really aren’t that necessary and other things are. Spending time with your kids is so important. Having an immaculate house or car is not.

When grandkids come along, you may be able to spend more one on one time with them than you could with your kids. That’s a special gift from God. Use it wisely to teach and mold your grandkids into God loving servants. Teach them God’s word and will.

God tells us to that to love Him with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves are the two great commandments that everything else hangs on.

Now that we have been blessed with 7 grandkids here in this life so far and 1 waiting for us in heaven, there is a “Grandma Law” in our home. All grandkids have to give Grandma and Pop a hug. We tell the kids every time we see them that we love them. They ask why we tell them “I love you.” over and over and we say, “We just want you to know that we and God love you!”

One thing I especially love about being a grandma is the privilege of watching my grandkids and hearing their stories. When one of my granddaughters comes to visit, you never know who she is. Is she Rosie today, or Miss Kathryn Steph? Or Sean Harrison? Is her little sister her sister or her mom, or a turtle? The stories are original and oh, so cute!

I wanted to end by sharing a few thoughts I had to think about as I became a Grandma.

1. What will your grandkids call you?
2. What is your role in their lives?
3. What a blessing they are!!

Blessed to be Julia’s momma

 

I am Julia’s mother and I have had the wonderful blessing of watching her grow up and become a mommy and in turn that has brought me the blessing of being a grandmother.

When I’m with her girls Clara and Nora, it takes me back to when Julia was a little girl. I get to relive those precious moments all over again.

Every time I hear the girls say a sweet prayer to God and make a get well card for someone who is sick and talk about how God can make boo boos better, I know they are being taught how important God is in their lives.

I was able to go on a God journey with Julia when she delivered sweet Nora at 27 weeks and can look back and see so many faith-building moments. I watched her go back and forth from the NICU for 100 days and being there for her two-year-old Clara at the time and pumping her milk any spare moment she had and never knowing what each day would bring. Her faith never left and she gave God glory for each milestone. Julia is a great mommy to her girls and is an inspiration to me each and every day.

I’m reminded of the verse in Proverbs 17:6

“Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, Parents are the pride of their children.”

Our 7 grandchildren are such a wonderful blessing and this mother and grandmother is blessed by God abundantly and I pray I never take it for granted.