Sparkle My [Grand]Daughter

What do I wish for my [grand]daughters?

My wish for you is ...

... A lifetime of true love. May you love wholeheartedly, unabashedly and with no regrets

... May you marry the one you cannot live without and may passion be yours

... May you love passionately and fight passionately for what you believe in

... May you have wisdom to draw boundaries for those who do not respect your boundaries

... May you learn to forgive, not for another's sake, but for your own soul and healing, let it go

... Courage and bravery knowing you are fearfully and wonderfully made

... Faith in God that is steadfast and unshakable

... Peace always in your soul

... Laughter that brings joy to your heart

... Good heath and a strong body for a lifetime of adventures

... Blessings that always continue to fall on you like a soft rain

... That you find the good in all situations

... Confidence to follow your heart and your dreams

... Friendships to bless your life and for you to know they are a gift from God

... To know your worth. You are far more precious than rubies

... To be strong and independent, self-sufficient, yet wise enough to know ...

 "Femininity is strength wrapped in a velvet glove. 

It doesn't insist on its own way, but most of the time gets it." 

- Michelle McKinney Hammond

... To be anything you want in life and to be genuinely happy with whatever you choose 

... Curious to always want to learn and grow

... To always know you are loved and loved deeply 

... That you know that you have a [grand]momma who covers you in prayer

... That wisdom and discernment in life's decisions is your guide

... That the power of prayer is your weapon of choice in all things 

... Angels surround you to protect you and keep you safe 

... That the Holy Spirit is your guide 

... Kindness flows from your lips and heart and fearlessness is yours when you need it 

... To seek and find your purpose in life and use your gifts lavishly 

... To have gratitude through the eyes of your soul and see goodness in everything 

... May you have faith, hope and love and leave a little sparkle wherever you go. 

*The first outfit I bought for Sofia when she was a newborn in the hospital and I knew she was a girl. 

I Can't Even Stand It!

I can't even stand it! My Sofia is the sweetest and most beautiful little bundle of cuteness overload!

She makes the funniest expressions and I love it when she closes her one eye like a pirate. When she is sleeping she opens her left eye slightly to take a peak and see who's there.

Sofia did wonderful when I watched her for the 1st time. It started off as 1 to 1-1/2 hours watching her and rolled into 3-1/2 hours of snuggling cuddles. She didn't cry once and kudos to her momma who was comfortable, checked in 2x and enjoyed her evening with Jeremy.

Momma kisses ...

Grandmomma kisses ...

There are always, always, always lots of kisses!

My favorite caption, "cAll mY gRanDma! wHaT iS iN mY dIaPeR?

When I don't see her, I miss her like crazy. 

I love you, Sofia! <3

Can I Babysit?

"There is a wedding in October, do you think you can babysit?"

    "We are thinking about ___________ in September, do you think you could babysit?"

         "Jaret's going away party to the Army is this Saturday, do you think you could babysit? If you're busy, it's okay, or if you have plans let us know."

Oh, yea, gosh ... let me check my calendar. I'm pretty busy ... hmmmmm.  YES!!

Today I get to babysit my grand daughter for the 1st time.

I love more than words my time with her and actually I get to spend a lot of time with her. I average around 6 hours every Wednesday with her which allows Mariah time to shower, nap, help her straighten things up, bath Sofia, hold her, kiss her, dance with her, sing to her, and read books with her and get to see her on the weekends.

I cannot help but capture sweet photos of her.

The sweetest, softest chin covered in a magical baby scent just begs to be kissed!

A chubby little arm that needs soft kisses, too.

Sofia, Grandmomma is ready for us to spend our first of countless lifetime hours together! 

In love!

Newborn Photo Shoot

The same photographer who did Mariah's maternity photo shoot came to their home and did Sofia's newborn photo shoot.

Here are my favorite photos ...

Oh Sofia, you are one loved little girl!

1st Day Senior Year!

First day of her Senior year is off to a most excellent start! Who knew Brooke took all of her toughest classes the first three years and now she has easy classes, a great schedule and will end in a breeze! 

A *sigh of relief* and a thank you, Jesus!

Now, for some sweetness overload! My Sofia ...

Birth Day, Birthday, Birthday!

August 10th

Sofia's birth

August 18th

Jeremy's 35th birthday

August 20th

Mariah's 22nd birthday

There has been much to celebrate this month! Did I mention Brooke's begins her Senior year tomorrow?! 

The birthday bunch came over yesterday for a double happy birthday. I had a fun surprise for them, something I was super excited about. In February, Jeremy & Mariah highly recommended we try Coastal Crab Company during a vacation in Florida, that they food was incredible. 

It was. Absolutely, fresh off the ocean, delicious, and I follow them on Facebook. 

Imagine my thrill when I by chance run across a recipe for the same dish cross my path! They could smell the scents from the kitchen, but they were not allowed to see what was being served until they came to the table ...

Keeping my mind on how Coastal Crab did it, I double and tripled certain ingredients and NAILED IT! It was incredibly full of garlic buttery flavor, cooked to perfection and I couldn't have been happier seeing their faces of surprise when they saw their birthday dinner!

The best was when Jeremy said, "This is the best birthday dinner I have ever had!" 

Hallelujah!

The salad was cauliflower stalk, red cabbage, savoy cabbage, kale, carrots, sunflower seeds, currants, dried corn, fried-onions, bacon flavored bean flakes, and cheddar cheese topped with an avocado ranch dressing. So delicious!

I love my time with them and celebrating their life. Sofia had her photo shoot in the morning and I am anxiously waiting those photos. Dinner was a full of flavor success, coffee & cake so delicious and presents I believe they were happy with. 

Happy birthday, my Mariah & Jeremy! 

Sofia's 1st Bath

I couldn't have been more excited to give Sofia her 1st bath! Teaching Mariah tips to make bath time easy as possible, Mariah watched and Jeremy captured photos and video.

Fresh out of her baby tub into a snuggly towel ...

She was happy and relaxed getting her hair washed wrapped warm like a little burrito. LOOK AT SIZE OF THOSE CHEEKS!

Fresh and clean with fluffy hair, I showed Mariah and Jeremy some of the cute things they can do with her hair, like a tidal wave. Jeremy said she looks like a little duckling with her hair fluffy! ha ha

Her tidal wave may be slipping without a bit of lotion to hold it in place, but again, those cheeks! I can't stand it and can't stop kissing them. <3 <3

My favorite place ... 

The sweetest baby in the world ... 

... my Sofia.

Six Months

Thank you, God, it is raining!

I am exhausted and my whole body hurts, I just need an evening where I am forced to slow down, park it on the couch, catch up on favorite DVR'd shows and rest. This is the point of summer where I squeeze in the last of all I want to do now through October and look forward to hibernating for winter.

And, thank you, Jesus, I am home alone! Brooke and Alex are heading to see Mariah, Jeremy and Sofia this evening.

Brooke begins her Senior year this Monday and she is so excited. Me, I was excited when my last ever back-to-school shopping trip was accomplished. I felt as if I had crossed the finish line for sending two daughters off to school well prepared for over two decades.

School supply lists, specific school supplies. Store to store, crowds of moms checking off their lists dragging their kids through aisles, and the expen$e of it all!

I'm done. Thank you, God!

So many unexpected life changes. I feel as if I was in a tornado and the winds have finally calmed and my life is so different.

Nothing was untouched. It's been six months.

My granddaughter's life puts so much into perspective. What is important and love.

There is so much noise in life, so many distractions that turn our heads, which turn our paths and sometimes we find ourselves far away from what we want. From where we want to be. Satan has to laugh at noise and busyness, watching people run in a million directions, unable to hear their own thoughts or heart.

My Sofia is one of the greatest gifts in my life. She is everything that is good and perfect and pure wrapped in a velvety soft snuggle with a sweet baby scent. And those cheeks! The whole world can slip away and disappear when I am with her.

She is significant in my life. There is a connection between us and I am so grateful that Mariah & Jeremy openly share her life with me. An open door to have as much time as I want and I am drawn to her and the peace, happiness, life and hope that she is.

Once upon a time, I remember the moment I knew significance. It is like a still small voice that almost audibly and says, "This is it, this is significance ..." and everything changes. You suddenly know when you've never known it before.

While everything changed, the significance didn't. That's being honest after the hurt and the loss and unknowns I couldn't stand up against. My life completely changed, but significance still remains significant. There is just no explanation, but I'm glad because I knew it was real for me and real isn't supposed to fade. I wouldn't want it to.

Now, I keep my eyes on my granddaughter. She is everything good and perfect and she shushes the noise in my life and brings everything into perspective.

I no longer need the noise and the busyness to distract me just to get through another day. I had to then, I couldn't breathe.

Six months. It doesn't even seem possible, yet life made it entirely possible.

Life can be it's most harsh, than become breathtaking and beautifully perfect wrapped in the sweetest little bundle. There is a conflict of emotions of loss and pain in the same environment as moments of pure love and happiness. To be where you never wanted to be, then hold in my arms love beyond what I could never imagine.

Two extreme emotions coexisting together.

The Sweetest Double Chin

Have you ever seen a sweeter double chin?! 

Look at those cheeks! My Sofia is velvety softness with that baby scent that enraptures your senses and begs to be kissed.

She has a soft little cry when she is hungry. Like her momma, my Mariah, the moment she realizes she is hungry she everyone knows it and she will keep up the passion until she is fed. ha ha

Then, she nestles into you in snuggle buddy softness and I find she likes to nestle her little face into my neck where her little face fits in perfectly and I can feel her softness and smell her baby scent from her soft breaths.

Sofia + Grandmomma

My Sofia

I knew I would love my Sofia, but I had no idea how hopelessly in love with her I would be! 

A dark-haired, brown-eyed beauty, a Leo on Zodiak just like her momma and me, and today I find out she is O Positive just like us. It thrills me completely. 

Today I had hours of snuggle-time. Time to talk to her, sing to her, dance with her and read to her. Time to change her, burp her, and feel her nestled against me as she sleeps. 

There is something so perfect and peaceful holding her in my arms. I can kiss her all afternoon and wonder if it is enough, my cup is overflowing simply knowing she is in this world and she is mine.

My Granddaughter

She is a brown-haired beauty and her name is ...

Sofia Mae

... and she is perfect in every way. 

This Grandmomma is hopelessly in love with her.

"The phone call" came at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 10th. When I saw it was my Mariah, she said the magical words, "Mom, we are on our way to the hospital!" I asked if she was okay and she said she was hurting really bad. 

It's GO TIME!

She went into labor at midnight, labored for 23 hours, pushed for 1 hour, and our sweet baby arrived!

Her dreams come true, she handled laboring with strength and control. She never once groaned, yelled or made a noise. She was in her zone, focused, pushing with intensity and when she would take a breath she'd open her eyes and lock them with Jeremy's, close them again and PUSH. It was beautiful, clean and controlled. 

We fell in love when the baby's head crowned and we saw dark hair! The first baby in her husbands giant family clan of all blond-haired, blue eyes and pale skin, enters my beautiful granddaughter, the one who will stand out like a brown-haired beauty, my Sofia!

We all rejoiced as we waited with anxious hearts to see if it would be a girl or boy. Mariah had her head up looking as Sofia was raised and she shouted, "It's a GIRL!" before anyone else could see.

Praying continuously, I fell in love instantly thanking God. 

My beautiful daughter had a beautiful daughter that looks just like her and I couldn't want any more.

For me ... I see pure love and a life shared with her full of hopes, dreams, rich in experiences and I remember my own relationship that I had with my grandmothers and know my role in her life with be different than with her mommy & daddy, yet powerful in it's own beautiful way. 

Her sweet baby scent, her velvety soft skin, her little squeaks, sounds and expressions. She is perfect in every way. 

Welcome to the world, my beautiful Sofia. xo