Happy Grandparent's Day

Today is Grandparent's Day. I have had wonderful grandparents and great grand parents that have loved me dearly. The funny, wonderful lady in the picture is my Nana. I love this picture. I think it shows so much of her personality. I hope I am like her in that way. She loves life!!! She is a riot and has always made my life fun! I feel blessed to have a Nana that loves me the way she does. She has always been present and active in my life. I remember when I was younger, my sister and I would spend the night with her often. My Nana always had satin sheets on her bed. We thought that was the best thing in the world. It was the 70s and that was the trend. Anyway...when we would spend the night with her, she always made sure we would get satin sheets on our bed. We loved that. I remember playing in her jewelry box - almost no limitations, and trying on her long dresses for impromptu Debbie Boone shows. How many times did I sing, 'You light up my life' while my sister pretended to play the piano. We also had a great rendition of 'Don't go breakin' my heart' by Elton John and KeKe. (was that the girl's name?) Anyway, my grandmother....my Nana is so special to me and I thank God for her and what she has been in my life. Soooooooo special and still is. She is in her 80s and battles Alzheimer's. I cannot tell you how hard that is. I don't see how my parents manage some days. Though she can't remember alot of what happens on a day to day basis....one thing she has never forgotten is me. Each time I see her, she can recall to me exactly the day I was born and what a special day that was for her. I made a mark on her heart....and in turn, she made one on mine by always letting me know how much I am loved.

My kids with Nana

Nick and Nana playing the piano...she will often chime in on something he plays!

I love what I have with my grandmother and I am thankful the boys have two sets of wonderful grandparents! Grandma and Grandpa Johnson love sharing time with the boys. They wish it could be more and so do we. Its a shame that we get so busy it is a challenge to drive 5 hours to see someone...but that is the way our life is right now. In the past, the boys have enjoyed weeks in the summer by themselves with Grandma and Grandpa Johnson. They have great memories from those trips. Visiting their home in North Georgia is always wonderful. Walking to the ABC store - where you can find anything is a highlight. Its like a town store - and Grandma and Grandpa Johnson always have a few dollars for them to spend. A highlight from their house was when the boys, mostly Nick, was given the OK to shoot the squirrels on the porch that were getting into Grandma's bird feeders. Ha! It was squirrel season. Anyway...enough of that story for now...but they had fun. The boys enjoy playing games and talking with them, catching them up on whatever is going on. I know that even though we may not see them as often and they see my parents, they never fail to remember to pray for my boys and we always look forward to our visits!!!

Grandma & Grandpa Johnson with their sons and families! (could my boys not keep on their suits...just ONE more minute? they are just not suit kids!...can you tell?)

Mema and Papa....aka my Mom & Dad

Its a Southern thing. As I named my grandmothers (because I'm the oldest grandchild...and the words just came out...) Nick named his. I think my mom wanted to be called Meme - but as the word Mema came out of Nick's mouth - my mom was in love. That became the name and she was more than fine with that. So, Mema and Papa it was. I am amazed at how my mom has adapted to her grandsons. She raised two girls...so the boy thing was amazingly new to her. She learned to fill her house with tinker toys and boy stuff! She now has a baby girl to love on too. Peighton was born this past May and is the only grand daughter. She will be spoiled for a while to come! She is precious. And though she loves that....she is also the grandparent that has been able to score two Joe Nammoth autographs for her grandson Scout - believe me, she gets the boy thing now!

My mom and the boys

Mom and Peighton

My dad is a great Papa. If you know my dad, you know he loves his whole family. I was recently at a local restaurant and was walking through - when I noticed this man staring at me. Kind of creepy I thought....but proceeded to walk through anyway. He reached out and touched my arm - and I thought...Oh great....what now? He then asked if I was Wayne Ratliff's daughter. When I said yes...He told me he was a good friend of my dads and that my family's picture was all over my dads desk. That fact is evident in the way my dad shows up to almost every football game the boys have had. I guess we are running on 5 years now. Seriously, my friends even notice how frequent he is. He has taken them aside to discuss girls, grades and obedience. He takes them fishing, for burgers.....and like yesterday...the driving range. Anything he thinks they'll be interested in, he'll try it. I think this is his way of getting 'boy time' since he raised two girls with my mom. He is making up for lost boy time!

Dad grilling at Nick's 16th Birthday party.

All of that to say that I am grateful for the grandparents in my life and my children's lives. They are a blessing and make our lives so sweet.

So, Grandma and Grandpa Johnson, Mema, Papa and Nana.....we love you! Thank you for making our lives special. I can't imagine life without you!