That is how I feel my summer has been.  Heck, that's how the past few years seem to have been.
Maybe it's because of my slowing down as I get older ...... that time seems to have sped up... Who knows??  Here is a picture of the grandsons.  They sure are growing and learning.  It is amazing and such a joy  to watch them learn new words and things to do.
                         

Calvin & Braedy

Braedy & Calvin

Today.... July 30, 2014 .... marks 31 years that Ritzy and I have been married.  It has been a time of delight, sorrow, amazement, wonder, but mostly a time of loving God and  each other and being there for each other.
I cannot believe how  time seems to fly/drag by at different stages in life.  When Ritzy was still in the national guard and deployed in the homeland twice and overseas once....the time seemed to drag on and other times the time just flew.  Oh you don't necessarily notice it daily, but when you take a moment and think in terms of months or years...where did it go??
31 years ago Ritzy and I held our ceremony on  my Aunt & Uncle's covered patio.  I wanted a simple outdoor ceremony. They also lived next door which made it very convenient.. I had played the piano in several fancy church weddings and I was ready for something different.  My mom sang and I even played the piano for my own wedding.  I had "taped"  all the music on cassette (I am telling my age), and the ceremony was perfect.  I have seen where hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars are spent on the dress alone.  We spent about $200 total on this wedding.  My dress was one I found in the Sears catalog with a cost of $25.00.  It was perfect for me.  It did and does not matter how much or little you spend,, what matters is your level of commitment to God and each other!!!  You have made a choice..now stick with it....and, I might add.....if your relationship with God is where it is supposed to be, then your relationship with your spouse will be where it needs to be!!!!
 It had been a hot July and this day was no different but about 2-3 hours before the ceremony a cold front came thru with a little bit of rain which cooled the temps down to where they were in the 70's.  God is so good!!!
 The blessings that have followed are:   a son, a daughter, a son-in-law and two precious grandsons!!!
                                                         

Braedy & Calvin

Here is where the time is flying....these little boys are almost 2 1/2 years old.  They look so grown up.  I love spending time with them.  They love "Ni-maw's/Ritzywife's" house.  They always say---go to ni-maw's house????  and if I am over at their house....they, especially Braedy comes to me and says with such a serious look ---ni-maw no go home.  Melts my heart!!  But......as much as they love me, when Ritzy or "P-pa" is around, it's like Ritzywife is yesterday's news.  They do love Ritzy and love being around him.  He is always letting them just follow him around  and also taking them next door to the bait/convenience store to get ice cream.  The owner, who is a good friend of ours, told Ritzy when they were only a few months old to bring them over for ice cream anytime. They love it!!
Ritzy and I may not have much else to invest ......but we certainly have the time and love to invest in our kids and grandkids....... and  I believe those two things are the most important investments a person can make.    We all, especially children, have a desire to know that someone loves them and wants to spend time with them.
Ritzy........I love you and look forward to our future!!!!
Ritzywife out............................................................

Well the daughter finally did it.  She took Braedy & Calvin to get their first haircut.  They were 2 years old in February.  I must admit it did change their looks.  They now look like little boys instead of  babies/toddlers.  But...they are soooooo handsome!!!!!  Ni-maw thinks so anyway...
Here's a look:

                                                      Braedy & Calvin
They are growing up so fast.  It amazes me how much they pick up on and how much they know at only 2 years of age.  Their little minds are constantly going....that is until they crawl up into Ni-maw's lap and go to sleep.  And on that note.....as long as they still thinks it's "cool" to crawl up into this Ni-maw's lap... she is gonna let them ;-)
Today - June 6, 2014 -  is my Mom & Dad's 56th Anniversary.  I am so blessed to have them as parents and to have them here so long.  As a child and young adult I always prayed for them - that they would be able to live long enough to enjoy their retirement years.  They both worked hard to provide for us and raise us in a loving home, although we didn't really have any idea what that entailed until we got families of our own.   I'm not saying we didn't have differences sometimes but we always knew the love & support was there.  I believe that love and stability in a home is the most important thing a person can give their kids and grandkids.    To always know there is a safe place to be or go  is a both blessing and a need that we all have.
My fishing this year is not at all what I had hoped.  It was terrible.  I don't know if it was because the weather was not quite right or if the water level in the lake was lower than normal, but the crappie did not come up into the creek to spawn.  They are doing it in deeper water which means a boat is necessary to get to them.
I did catch a few (very few), most were given to me.  Just enough to have a couple of "messes" to fry up and eat.  They sure were delicious!!  Oh well, there's always next year.........But I have a brother that I can bum some off of.....maybe.... if I can get him to feel sorry for me,  (his oldest sister), haha!!
Well I guess that's about it for now... Ritzywife out.....................................

I cannot believe how fast time seems to fly by.  I notice it's been a while since my last post.  Since then Ritzy and I have been busy in the garden, yard and spending time with grandsons.  I have been doing a little fishing.  This year has turned into a big disappointment as far as fishing goes.  The weather was slow to warm up and the lake has been lower than previous years so the fish just aren't coming in to the fishing hole.  I have only caught a half-dozen or so fish and that's sad.  Although one evening I was down there and I had not caught a single fish but came home with 22 nice crappie.  Some friends and family gave me 3-4 fish at a time and by the time 5 or 6 people gave me the fish they did not want to clean, I ended up with a nice "mess" of fish, take a look.............

 These two are growing up so fast.  They were holding hands and walking the other night.  At first one was not wanting to hold hands but he changed his mind and held "bubba's" hand. 









 Ritzy is watching Braedy & Calvin mow the grass.  They love pushing these little bubble mowers around.  Do not get in their way--they are on a mission while mowing Ni-maw's yard....









This is my favorite outside place to be.  In my swing watching and listening to the activity around me.  Time well spent  for "thinking" and just being "thankful".....






And with that being said........Ritzywife is out!!!!

54 it's been nice knowin ya.......
March 31, 1959 -- 55 years ago I was born.  Celebrated my birthday yesterday with family.  My sister-in-law took me out to eat at a mexican restaurant in claremore.  (did you know that mexican was probably my favorite food of all).  While dining the daughter texted me and told me they were coming out to fish.  i thought that was a good idea cause i would get to see the grandsons.  well later in the afternoon she texted me and told me they would be bringing out pizza.  Cool - Ritzywife doesn't have to cook on her birthday ;-)
Well they arrive and no pizza, she tells me the son is bringing it so i thought - OK......well when they arrived they let the two kids loose and here they came running as fast as those little short legs would carry them to ni-maw.  I loved it.  We stayed outside and enjoyed the warm evening watching the boys run all over the yard, play with their toys and get in the sandbox.  Also watched Ritzy grill our supper...He did an excellent job.  We had  steaks, veggies, salad, and cookies, cookie cake and Klondike bars.  YUMMY!!!!  Those steaks were heavenly.  We all ate till we were very satisfied.  Those two little ones have expensive taste.  They love steak!!!!
We all enjoyed the warm evening, shooting each other with nerf guns and dodging the boys shots.  It was one of the best birthdays Ritzywife has ever had.  We gave the boys their bath and before we knew it it was time for them to go home.  We said our goodbyes and came inside.  A wonderful end to a wonderful day!
Ritzy is taking me out to eat this friday afternoon.  Ritzywife is one blessed woman!!!
I have just finished reading "ONE THOUSAND GIFTS" by Ann Voskamp.  It shows me there is always something good to look for in our lives and circumstances.  A life changing book if we will let it be.  I am trying it anyways.  Writing down anything and everything I am thankful for or see as a "gift" from God.  It doesn't necessarily have to appear good to the "eye" to be considered "good" .  Truths I have heard all my life, but until I see it in action - it means nothing. 
Well, I want it to mean something in Ritzywife's life.  I want people to look at my life and wonder "what's up with her &  why is she so happy".......
With that Ritzywife is out........................................................

Wow, I never thought I would be writing such a post.   I have learned one of the hardest parts of being a grandparent---saying NO and not feeling guilty about it.....
I guess it has been building for a while now and I just put it off.  Every Wednesday I would have to leave the house by 7:15 (which meant getting up at 6:15) and I would not return home til 4:30-5:00pm.  I then would have to be at church at 6:00 and not get home until 7:30 - 8:00pm.  Made for a L O N G day.  It got so I could not get to sleep on the night before because I was anticipating having to get up so early for such a long day.  I would get 4-5 hours of sleep and expect that to get me thru the next day.   This past wednesday I was exhausted.  Well I found out earlier in the week that the boy's other nana was going to be gone so I assumed I was going to have to take up the slack which meant more added stress.  Then the daughter calls wednesday nite to tell me that "nana" would not be able to watch the boys thursday and that did it for me.  I proceeded to tell her that if I had to watch them thursday then they would not be spending the night that night and everything got quiet.  We started talking and her hubby was afraid we were not going in a good direction but we kept our heads and ended the call on a good note.  Although that call was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.
 I want to be mom and ni-maw, for my kids and grandkids 24/7 but i realize that no one can live up to the expectations I put on myself.  I was getting stressed and worn out.  I told my daughter that I could not take up the slack any longer when nana had something else to do.  Told her that I had raised my kids and had no intention of raising my grandkids.  Told her that was her job and she only has a few short years with them until the school system takes over and they are grown.  I have spent the past two years babysitting and it was wearing me down.  I also proceeded to tell her that I was 55 not 26 like her.  I did not have the stamina i had at a younger age.  DO NOT GET ME WRONG HERE --no one could love those two little boys more than their "ni-maw", but I learned even i have my limits. 
Enter--GUILT.  I have been dealing with this all day, thoughts going around in my head thinking --well just suck it up and keep doing what you have been doing, or it's their responsibility now, not mine.  Please realize I love my family and would do anything for them, but i was no good to them if i was not feeling right.  I talked to her tonight and we are trying to decide the best thing.  I am being totally honest with myself and her.  They say "honesty is the best policy", but what they don't tell you is that it hurts like well............you know what :-/
I have prayed/cried/prayed/cried over this tonight because i don't want to leave them in a "pickle"...but on the other hand maybe they need to do something and i really wasn't helping by being so accommodating to their every call.
I told her that Ritzy and I would still love to have them spend the night every other friday or saturday but not on thursday.  Thursdays were just too hard since Ritzy and the son have to get up for work the next day.  The other two days/nights would be wonderful tho.  Did I mention that I love those two little boys and they bring so much joy to my heart but dang it I get tired a lot faster than i used to.
It's gonna take a while to work thru the guilt, I guess that's normal tho.  I only want what is best for my daughter and her family....
I also told her that I did not want to hear about every little argument that she and the hubby had.  i told her I was here to listen if she needed me but that they needed to talk and work out their problems and I needed to know that they could accomplish that.  I also told her that their children needed to see them work together to come to a solution to their differences.
Its time for me to back down a bit and let them figure things out and grow as a family.   One of the hardest things as a parent to me is to let your child make mistakes.  But on the other hand.......one of the greatest accomplishments as a parent is to see that your child can work thru difficulty without you.  You can be assured that you  have done your job right when this happens!!
With that, Ritzywife is out............................................

I have been so busy with those grandkids that I lose track of time, haha.....but that is a good thing to me.  Since my last post I decided to give up my sunday school class because it was not going to be the best thing for me to continue to teach in a class where the ones who voted against me won't even look or talk to me at church.  I am now going to the mixed adults class.  The funny/sad thing about this is one of the members who was in on that voting complained at last week's business meeting that the ladies' class had no teacher.  well...DUH!!!!!   But she won't do anything about it ...for sure.  The preacher said he was well aware of that.  I guess she didn't think he knew.....Oh, he and everyone that was present that night knew-- because I sent each one of them a letter explaining how much it hurt to have a  group of people want a secret ballot vote to take away my job and give it to one of their own.  I told them that because of the way it was handled I had no choice but to give up my class because it was going to be very awkward teaching people who did not want to be taught by me.  I also told them that even tho I had forgiven them - what they did changed our relationship and only time would heal that. I told them I loved them and i loved my church.    I told the nominating committee chairman and our pastor what i was doing and why i was doing it. 
I could go around feeling sorry for myself but I choose not to follow that path  I have decided that people are gonna do what people are gonna do, but I have the power to control what I do and how I act.  I choose to be happy and thankful for what I do have.  And the "stress factor" that came with that job, although I loved the job, is now GONE!!!!  I feel great!.  And.........you could not pay me enough to take it back now, haha!!!! Plus I have extra time for those grandsons and crappie fishing...WOO-HOO!!!   I am gonna just wait and see how God wants to use me for His service.  So, as of now my only position in our church is Pianist.
Ritzywife out.......................