A NINE DAY ADVENTURE...Part Five: four awesome days with two awesome grandkids!

Continuing my musings about our trip to SC in early September, I'm feeling a little emotional as I remember our sweet but all too short time with two of our grands, Deacon, age 4 and Owen, age 2. While we do get to see them every couple of months, it's just not the same as if we lived nearby, and any grandparent in this situation knows exactly what I mean.

Andy and Ellie left late on Tuesday night to do their thing, and the boys were already in bed. Wednesday morning was the first day of Pre-School and so that was extra-exciting as we all got up, got dressed, got breakfast, and got them to the church. They were all smiles, and we told them we'd be back in three hours to pick them up.

I'm a firm believer that "routine" works best for children...and so we tried to have a rhythm to the four days so they would know what to expect. Deacon went to Pre-School Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings, and Owen just went on Wednesday and Friday. After we ate lunch each day, we had a rest time. The boys share a bedroom, and so each day we made it dark enough in there that we could play "I-Spy" with the flashlights I bought them. They had to stay in their beds while we played, and then after 20 minutes or so, they had to be quiet and I left the room. Each day Owen slept for about an hour or and hour and a half, and Deacon rested quietly.

Owen having a mid-afternoon snack...

Bathtime in the evening became a fun part of our routine too.

Not only did we find these cool "bathtub crayons" at the store, but also "bathtub paint" that turned the water colors.

At bedtime, we usually repeated the routine of playing "I-Spy" with the flashlights...and after the boys were asleep, we enjoyed our own quiet time, relaxing in Andy's and Ellie's beautiful family room, which they totally redid since we were here last.

On Thursday after nap-time, we ventured out to a local park, taking Calvin our grand-doggie with us...

After dinner on Thursday, we had craft time and made some great creations out of clay...

On Friday I decided we needed to do something with some of the apples we had picked earlier in the week, so we made pie...

Owen made an appearance every few minutes, but Deacon stayed right with the project and had a great time...

Finally, the pie was ready to go into the oven, and it baked while we ate supper...

it was SO GOOD!!

Next ~ a train ride to Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC for the grand finale!

(Note: Five Aspects of Woman Series in progress at my other blog, www.mistressofmydomain.blogspot.com Scroll back to Aug. 29 and read forward)

A nine day adventure...part one: The Love Shack

We'd been planning a trip to South Carolina to visit our kids and grandkids there...but we had no agenda other than being with them...and we knew we would be watching the two kids and the dog for four of those days as their parents went away to a church-related event. Our son, being a new but very personable pastor, has a lot of connections, and he asked a church member if we could use his little "love shack" in the mountains for the Labor Day weekend. Apparently he loans it out frequently and Andy and Ellie have used it before. Now what are the chances it would be available for the last summer holiday of the year? But it was, and the owner graciously loaned it to us!

The private property we would use is located on the grounds of a conference center that is owned by our son's denomination. It is called "Bonclarken," which, according to Andy, is a "made up" Latin compound word: Bon (good) clar (clear) ken (vision). It is located in Flat Rock, N.C. (Apparently there are two "Flat Rocks" in N.C. -- this one is up in the Blue Ridge Mountains and it took us 10 hours to drive there.) We depended on Dora, our faithful GPS, to get us there, and she did!

We turned onto the road and saw this inviting view...

And then we saw this beautiful sign:

It really was quite a "treasure hunt" as we were told the key to the house would be in an envelope with our name on it, tacked to a bulletin board in a hallway outside the offices of the conference center.

We found it with no problem, and to our surprise, tucked inside was a map of the grounds, and two tickets that our son had provided for us for Sunday morning breakfast at the conference center dining room. There were a couple of retreats going on, and and so there was a buffet available.

We had no idea what to expect, and we were on our own Saturday night as Andy and his family would meet up with us on Sunday afternoon. (It is a two hour drive from their home in Rock Hill, S.C.) We certainly didn't expect to open the door and see such a beautiful, immaculate place that was graciously loaned to us, strangers, for three nights!

I fell in love with this antique bed as soon as I saw it, so this was the bedroom we choose to use. There was also a loft with a queen bed, and a finished basement with bunk beds for the kids.

So after the long drive and getting our things into the house, we drove out to a fast food place to get some supper and got back before it was totally dark. It was all pretty surreal.

Next ~ Sunday morning breakfast & church, Andy's family arrives, and the Hendersonville Apple Festival!

(Note: Five Aspects of Woman Series in progress at my other blog, www.mistressofmydomain.blogspot.com. Scroll back to Aug. 29 and read forward)

Where the pansies never fade?

We made a quick trip to South Carolina over the Labor Day weekend. We've done this several times in the past couple of years. I think it could be my sub-conscious way of extending my summer. When I asked Ellie, my daughter-in-law, what the weather was like, she said there was a "hint of fall"... Well, you couldn't prove it by me; when we arrived at 6:26 pm on Saturday night the temperature was 92 degrees! ("but no humidity" they gleefully explained!) She was pulling out some of her dried up petunias from her flower boxes and replacing them with pansies. The word on the street is they will last at least through January.

Owen is now 20 months old! Just as cute and ornery as ever, as soon as he sees a camera his face automatically breaks into a huge smile!

Sadly, big brother Deacon, 3 1/2, wasn't himself, as he ran a fever for a couple of days while we were there, perking up just hours before we had to leave...

This is how Andy gets to work -- on his vintage 1979 Vespa scooter! The church where he has just finished his first year as Associate Pastor isn't too far away. You can click here to see more about their church and his bio is a good read too :) After you get to the site, click on "leadership", then "staff" then on Andy's picture.

www.firstarp.org

You can also read all about and see pictures of Ellie's bow tie business by clicking here: http://ellielaveer.wordpress.com/store/

We are very proud of this little family and all they have accomplished in the past few years. We hate that they had to move so far away, but it brings us comfort to see God's fingerprints all over every aspect of their lives.

One of the things that Ellie and I have in common is our love to play in the kitchen. I always come home from a visit with a new recipe. She had this waiting for us when we arrived, and it was sooooo good! It's from a Taste of Home magazine.

Italian Beef Sandwiches

1 boneless beef sirloin tip roast (2#) cut into 1/4 inch strips

2 jars (11 1/2 oz. ea) sliced pepperoncinis, undrained

1 small onion, sliced & separated into rings

3 teaspoons dried oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt

1 can (12 oz.) beer or non-alcoholic beer

Mayonnaise (optional)

8 hoagie buns, split

8 slices provolone cheese

In 5 qt. slow cooker, layer the beef, pepperoncinis and onion; sprinkle with oregano and garlic salt. Pour beer over the top. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or till meat is tender. Spread mayonnaise on cut sides of rolls if desired. Place cheese on bottoms. With slotted spoon, place beef mixture over cheese and fold sandwiches. Use the juice as a dip if desired.

I'm back...

We made a quick trip over the holiday weekend to see the SC kids. I'll post soon and share some pictures. Have a great day!

Our young southern gents

Here's a newer picture of our South Carolina grandsons...left is Deacon Andrew, 3 and right is Owen Anthony, 1.

Aren't they just adorable? They are all dressed up for church here. We haven't seen them since Mother's Day weekend, so grandma here is getting a little lonesome for them. But it's the other grandparents turn this time...so they will be heading to Arkansas pretty soon. We think Deacon looks exactly like our son (his daddy) especially at that age, and we see Ellie's dad all over Owen.