Why Grandpa and Grandma of course…who else? I’m telling you our kids…all of them…have it bad! And…it doesn’t matter which Grandpa or Grandma…any of them will do! The “If mom says no go ask Grandma/Grandpa” saying…yeah…no lie! I must say however that the feeling is 110% mutual though. I’ve never seen our parents happier, more patient, more “oh, that’s okay, sweetie…would you like a cookie?” than when our kids are around…crumbs, smudges, giggles with glee coming from both sides. Nathan and I just shake our heads and smile when we drop them off and they say as they run (or crawl) away into the house…”Bye, Mom…Bye, Dad….” and we don’t see them again until tomorrow and invariably when we show up to pick get them…”Ooohhhh! I don’t want to go home!”
This phenomenon began when Emalynn was just an infant…the first grandchild on both sides the title princess pales in comparison to her standing in both families. We would round the corner and pull into either of our parents’ driveways and she would just squeal with delight. She would start to wiggle and we couldn’t get her out of her car seat fast enough. Grandma came out “Ma-Da” at first and Grandpa Paul was “Papa” and Grandpa Ferd was “Bumpa”. So stinkin’ cute. When Max was born Emalynn would say at the ripe age of 2 in perfect manipulation…”Grandma…let Mama hold Max!” every time either Grandma got a hold of the boy!
When Maxwell came along he latched right on to both Grandpas right from the start. He’s a man’s man. He loves to be in either one of his Grandpas’ barns and working on whatever he can with whatever tool is within his reach wearing a huge pair of work “glubs” (aka gloves). He is currently the shot-gun king of tractor rides but this summer he just might get bumped to the trailer when Jackson is big enough to ride…not sure how that one is going to go over. But Jackson is just as passionate about his Grandpas as his older brother!
The other night Ferd stopped by to help Nate hang a door downstairs and Jackson was in his high chair. He instantly went from happy to insanely furious that his brother and sister were running to Grandpa and he was stuck that he started screaming at the top of his lungs. Grandpa saved him though. The same happened with my dad this week when he took Emalynn and Max out back to get wood and Jackson stayed inside. He could see out the back slider who was doing what and certainly had something to say about it.
Last night my parents kept our kiddos overnight and had a “camp out” with them downstairs (to which we took full advantage of and had a fabulous evening alone). They get their sleeping bags out and roast marshmallows in the fireplace and just have a ball. I can honestly say we NEVER did anything fun like that as kids! But…we did lots of fun stuff like that at our Grandparents houses. That is what having Grandparents is all about…orange juice, chocolate milk, ice cream, camp outs, donuts (ALL in the same day!)…fun stuff you don’t get to do at home! I distinctly remember ice cream for breakfast once at my Grandma’s house! What a blessing our parents are to us and to our children…I mean 4 godly grandparents to grow up with!? Incredible! We are so thankful they not only spend time with our kids, but have heartfelt, meaningful relationships with them…what joy it bring to our hearts. They ALWAYS have fun and we NEVER worry…so…we don’t mind a bit being trumped!
Wonders of HIS Love 