Monday, July 16
Today Caitlin rode the 4-wheeler numerous times....with Lilo always riding it with her...she can drive it by herself; not alone, but manage the steering and acceleration...she also got to drive the tractor; did not like it as much because it was slower than the 4-wheeler...she saw a deer and a squirrel....picked tomatoes and peppers from the garden...helped rid the deer stand of wasp nests...this evening I picked beans and peas from the garden and was shelling them...she sat down beside me and asked if she could help and stayed with that little job until we had shelled all of them...she helped prepare her banana smoothie...asked for cookies and cream ice cream and got a cone of it after she took her shower...what a joy she is ...tomorrow we are planning a fishing trip, weather permitting...thank you so much for sharing her with us....
Wednesday, July 18
Caitlin has to eat something healthy before she gets an ice cream treat; but she thinks that it is so neat to get two ice cream cones per day!!!! she picked out two packages of strawberries at Walmart and told me that the darker strawberries were the sweeter ones...so she has snacked on them this afternoon...she told me that she is a picky eater; but she has done really well...
Thursday...Ronnie took Caitlin to see the herd of cows in the pasture next to ours, then to the chicken houses to see the chickens that were about to be hauled off to the Tyson plant...she and I spent an hour working on a craft (making headbands)...she really liked that...made one for herself, one for Alaina and one for Ally..around 6 Pm we went to the lake and fished for about 45 minutes...caught...
one right after the other...Caitlin caught several; and she was oh so brave...learned how to put her thumbs in the fish's mouth to hold it for her pictures...after fishing she and Ronnie swam while I watched...she had fun splashing us and jumping into the water...she helped make tacos for lunch and liked eating them as well...great day for all of us...
Friday...today was an inside day...over 100 degrees outside; so Caitlin and I played all day long...with her imagination we had quite a time...she built 3 "rooms" on her bed and we had 2 frog families with all kinds of adventures...she told me after we had been playing for 3 hours that she really enjoyed playing with me because I was good at making up stuff, just like her....I am tired; but it was worth the time invested because she will remember that I took time with her..tonight we baked choc. chip cookies...she ate broccoli, cauliflower and cheese with her chicken nuggets for lunch...loves her strawberries...ate 2 cups this afternoon...she did read aloud today and she reads so well...this is great...I cherish every minute....
I want you to know that having Caitlin has been a delight...she has been such a pleasure to be with...there has not been one word of contention, sass, or crankiness...she does not demand anything...if she wants something she asks very politely and always says thank you for any and everything...she always cleans up the table after each meal...we say our nighttime prayers each night...she has showered and washed her hair every day except for the day we returned from Nashville...right now she is back in her room playing with a sack full of little animals that I had used in a Noah's ark lesson...she is singing as she plays....she has a very keen imagination...and I think that is wonderful; it is sad to me when a child has no imagination and demands to have someone else with them at all times to entertain and amuse them...I have enjoyed every minute with her....the day that she got into the fire ants she immediately said, "I knew there would be consequences for not wearing my shoes like Grandpa Ronnie told me to"....I thought to myself, "she has been taught about consequences"...the other day she asked me if I had any fears and I said "yes, snakes" then she said, "have you conquered your fear?" I said, "no"...she said, "well, I used to be afraid of the dark, but I conquered it, daddy told me just to walk into it, and it worked." These are memories that I won't forget...thanks for being such a good mom to my granddaughters..both you and Rusty are great parents..my greatest desires when I was raising my children was to teach them the gospel and raise them to be respectable, good, honorable adults....and as I look at them now, I feel successful...none of them are perfect; but I am proud of them and what they have accomplished in their lives...Caitlin is precious to me, thanks for letting me share this time with her...Gloria
Saturday...we drove to Greenwood, La this morning and toured Gators and Friends park and petting zoo. Caitlin, being an outdoor girl, loved seeing the gators....even got to hold a baby one..and petting and feeding the many, many animals....all except the zebra...when she fed him, he also tried to "eat" her wrist...she was really brave about the whole ordeal; it did not break the skin; but left teeth marks...we took a break from the animals and the heat and had flavored shaved ice inside the snack bar...then we finished our trip to the various animals..Caitlin fed and petted every animal that would come to the fence to be fed. We had lunch at a nearby Burger King, then went to Sonya's (Ronnie's daughter) house to swim in her new in ground swimming pool..Caitlin thoroughly enjoyed cooling off in the pool, swimming, floating, diving, etc ..after swimming we enjoyed icecream cake and choc. chip cookies. We were back home by 5:30...had a light supper, rode the 4- wheeler, and played with the frog family and the horses until bed time...it was a fun day...
Sunday...today was filled with church activities...Caitlin got up at 6:30 AM...no complaints, good mood, etc...had her breakfast and dressed for church. We were at church from 8 til 1:30...she greeted everyone that came in, introducing herself, telling them where she was from and that she had just gotten baptised....Well everyone thought she was precious....she was reverent during Sac. Mtg. sang all the songs; attended Primary and did well...she told me that she corrected her teacher because she said something wrong...( I have not checked on that one yet)...we had to visit one of our members who is in the hospital after church and she asked if she could go in to see him...she marched right up to him and introduced herself and said that she had just been baptised.. this afternoon, she and I had pizza for our supper..then we resumed our on going frog story for a couple of hours....took a short 4 wheeler ride...saw a long, skinny green snake on a barbed wire fence in the back pasture; neither of us wanted to have anything to do with him...this evening we had peanut butter/jelly sandwiches and Caitlin topped off her night with a cookies and cream ice cream cone....Rusty called from Indiana and asked her if she was ready to come home...she said, "yes, I mean No", I mean that I miss you but I'm not ready to come home yet..I am so thankful that she has enjoyed being here...
Monday...this was a "down day" for us....we just relaxed and did exactly what we wanted to today...Caitlin wanted to bake cinnamon rolls for breakfast; so we did...she wanted to watch the cartoon channel on tv so I let her do that for awhile...we made 9 pints of grape jelly and she was excited that she would get to take a jar home with her.She wanted to know if she could do some chores so that she could earn some money to order that "thing" that she saw advertised on tv...I told her that she could help me the rest of this week...so today she folded all the towels that I laundered..she took an hour nap from 5-6 PM and woke up full of energy, feeling good and ready to play...we are about to have family home evening and she is looking forward to that...oh how I love your little girl !!!
Tuesday...Most of today was filled with adventures involving Pinto horse and Lightning pony...I am just amazed at how creative she is. She loves for me just to go to her room and spend hours making up and acting out stories that she creates...she decorates, has scenery , special effects...anything that she can think of to enhance the story...her room is filled with all kinds of things that she has collected throughout the house that might be used in her productions...anyway I am hanging in there with her and she thinks that we make a great team....I hope that she will remember our times together...she also helped Ronnie outside with cleaning up the yard and riding the 4 wheeler...this evening we took her to see some Boer goats, several different kinds of chickens and she got to gather a basket of eggs..she especially liked the goats (mamas and babies) ...the owner of the animals asked me how many grandchildren I have and Caitlin said "7" and I'm her favorite. what special memories we will have of her time with us...
Wednesday....Caitlin and I went to Center this morning for a few hours of shopping...had lunch at Subway (as you know she loves Subway)..this afternoon she helped me with the laundry again....she folded all the wash cloths and all the kitchen towels.
Around 4 we drove to Red Hill Lake for the YM/YW swimming activity and birthday party for one of the YW..so Caitlin got to swim with the youth and Primary age children for 3 hours...we had homemade ice cream and birthday cake...one of the boys, an 8 year old, was really impressed with Caitlin because they liked the same things; horses, softball, etc. Of course everybody thought that she was so smart and so pretty...she is so outgoing and can talk to anyone about almost anything...tonight she and Ronnie watched funny cat videos on the computer; then she and I ended the night with a little dialog between Pinto horse and Lightning pony. Finally we had our nighttime prayer, hugs n kisses and she is all tucked in for the night...it was a good day!!!
We also bathed Lilo today...she had been wanting to do that...we took a ride on the 4-wheeler and Caitlin picked some muscadines while we were in the woods..She has eaten healthy foods while here...very little to no snack foods...her main indulgence has been her daily cookies n cream ice cream cone...Ronnie and I always kneel by her bed and we three take turns saying the prayer at night. I tucked her in the bed around 9 and in a few minutes I heard a noise...she came out of her room carrying a "crackly' ribbon on a stick..she said that she had heard a noise that scared her...it was her ceiling fan, blowing that ribbon and causing it to crackle....she actually said, "that scared the crap out of me"....Ronnie said , I wonder where she heard that..and then he got tickled at her...he said, sometimes talking to her is like talking to an adult...the other day she told him that something had mesmerized her and me....she is one unique little girl... Friday...we started the day out with Caitlin getting up first and you have to get up early to get up before we do...but she was excited...it was her last day here and she wanted to make it as long as possible...we cooked cinnamon rolls for breakfast and she gobbled them up...Ronnie and I shelled a 5 gallon bucket of butter beans and Caitlin, lilo and I watched March of the Penguins as we shelled the beans...She only wanted strawberries for lunch...said that her tummy was hurting...so we went to her room and played out the last episode of the "horse story"...she had it planned so that it would parallel her trip back home...when the story was complete we watched her favorite horse movie, "Spirit"....after it was over she said that she didn't feel well; I felt her head and it was quite warm so I took her temperature..100.2 degrees...so she took a baby aspirin and drank a glass of cold water and took a nap. When she awoke she was in a good mood , laughing and playing; packing, singing, etc...then around 9 when I was tucking her in bed she said that she did not feel good and asked if Grandpa Ronnie would give her a blessing, which he did...after that she was giggling and joking around; still in her bed...she and Lilo have stayed real close all evening...I think that Lilo sensed that Caitlin wasn't her usual self...she cuddled up beside her until it was time for each of them to go to bed....this has been an incredible 2 weeks...the time just flew by....every day was a joy...you can certainly be proud of your little girl...she knows how to behave, to be gracious and mannerly, helpful and compassionate...even when asked to do something different from what she would have preferred, she would agree without arguing or fussing...which was refreshing for one so young...yes, this has been a time for memories for the both of us...a time that I will treasure always....
Thank you Gloria and Ronnie for taking Caitlin on this adventure. She enjoyed every minute of it and will treasure the memories!!
No comments:
Post a Comment