Olivia and the Apple tree............

Olivia is 3.................Olivia is my very lovely granddaughter who can charm anyone. Olivia is a little girl who can snatch a chocolate chip from my drawer in less than a second or snuggle in your arms and giggle about a story you just read to her. She is our free entertainment.Today she was here on the farm. She gave me one of those moments that I would have liked to capture with photos for you to see.....  but it was a moment   for me, that will stay imprinted  forever.
     Olivia was playing in the sandbox while I was mowing nearby. I keep  one eye on Olivia at all times..........if you have met her , you  know why .  I had showed her the 4 apples growing on our very young apple tree a few weeks ago. I knew that she really wanted one but  I had told her we should wait until they were red to eat them. I thought  she had forgotten about the apples but later I saw her move from the sandbox to under the tree..........I saw her looking up in the apple tree at the 4 apples that hung high in the tree. She smiled at me and waved..... She jumped as high as a 3 year old can jump, but only reached the green leaves. She headed back to the sandbox but I knew she hadn't really given up on getting an apple.
    I turned the corner to see her dragging her little chair under the tree.....just below the apple. She smiled at me and waved and climbed up on the chair ... she reached as high as she could ...almost tipped , but she couldn't reach the apple. Then she found a stick...climbed back on the chair and started to swing at the lovely apple hanging just out of the reach of the stick....that was being held by her skinny little arm.....  She was standing on her tiptoes ..on the chair. I saw determination on her face but she got down and walked back to the sandbox. This time when I turned the corner, Olivia was dragging an even bigger chair........she smile and waved......she pulled and tugged until she had the chair just where she wanted it...climbed up....climbed down...got her stick...climbed up and began to swing it at the apple hanging in the tree...just out of her reach. I wanted to run and get the camera but didn't want to miss the moment. She gave a big sigh.......gave me her silly little grin and proceded to get just a little bit higher. I was then thinking I should  put a stop to her little apple picking party when she climbed on the arm of the chair she had dragged under the apple tree.............she balanced herself with  the stick in her right hand and reached up with her left handto find that she could reach it !! She looked at me one last time and plucked the apple from the branch....I heard her little voice "I got it Grandma" as the chair tipped and Olivia....the chair.... and the precious apple tumbled over. Olivia rolled in the grass........popped right up and proudly displayed her apple to me........"I picked  a red apple for you Grandma..... aren't you proud of me?" it was one of those moments where your heart just kind of grabs you from the inside. "I am so proud of you Olivia" , I replied, "You are very smart".
    We sat down in the grass under the apple tree........we took turns taking bites out of the apple....we talked about everything we could make with apples........we talked about how a tree grows from the tiny little seeds inside.....we talked about God and all the cool things He made....it was one of those moments I think I missed with my own kids because I would have wanted the lawn mowed first.....that is what is so great about being a Grandma...........I just finished mowing later.

Courage...........The Heart of a Soldier

August 5, 2010...........My only grandson turns 5 today. I will always remember this day. As parents and grandparents we begin to pray for our children at a very young age. Today I asked God to make my very special grandson a  man of courage.......why  would I say courage ? Today I got to be part of the send off of my nephew to Afghanistan as part of the Iowa National Guard........active duty. The North High School Gym filled with family and friends, it was a humid 90 degrees inside. On our drive there we encountered people standing along the roads waving flags and holding up signs of love and support for our troops......I wasn't ready for the grip of patriotism that grabbed at my heart...........  I wasn't ready for the gym filled with families,............the moms standing alone with small children .............the families that stood as the soldiers marched in to the gym erupting into applause and cheers...... Our family all strained to catch a glimpse of the the boy we loved so much.....my thoughts raced back to the days when a pacifier was attached to his little face .......... the days he sat in his highchair with nothing but a diaper eating ice cream with chocolate........the days his skinny little legs could run and run without growing tired...........I could hear him sing the words of the "Alligator" song, "can't catch me... can't catch me"..................I could see him run across the yard with his BB gun begging his brother to wait for him.......I could see him and his brother standing in the door of the farrowing barn discussing who dared to go in first..............I could see him falling asleep anywhere, sometimes with his dirty boots still on. And then I saw him enter the gym in full uniform, my heart caught in  my chest and took my breath away..............my eyes followed only him, as he, along with over 100 soldiers marched in............I thought maybe I would see doubt or fear, but there was none............what I did see was that my nephew wasn't that little boy anymore. He was a man, a man that has had tough things in his life but he pressed on. A man that now was ready and willing to fight for the freedom of this country. A man of integrity.... a man of heart and character.........a man of courage.
       We gave our last hugs, words of encouragement and prayers. Some of us joked while others held back ,our emotions to close to the surface  to contain.........Some of us cried as he held his nieces and nephew with such love and pride and as he hugged his family one last time. He stepped to the bus....turned with his famous smile and waved.  An overwhelming sense of pride almost swept me off my feet.......I wanted to salute  but I stood perfectly still. As he disappeared behind the tinted windows I began to look around. There was young girls clinging to a soldier just one last time. There were parents, grandparents, siblings and friends all watching the men they loved took the last step that would take them miles and miles away. I watched a little girl cling to her daddy's neck sobbing "no daddy no!"  The mom took her from her daddy's arms as he stepped on the bus and the door closed.
       The red flashing lights of the police cars led the way, followed by the Freedom Riders boasting a very large American flag followed by the 5 buses that carried the soldiers off to war. The streets were lined with women and children holding banners, balloons and words of love and prayers. We  passed a big boom truck raised high in the sky waving an American flag............My heart overflowed and somehow I found my voice.......... And I’m proud to be and American,

                    where at least I know I’m free.
                   And I wont forget the men who died,
                   who gave that right to me.
                  And I gladly stand up,
                  next to you and defend her still today.
               ‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
                 God bless the USA.
Take time today to pray for our young men and women who are serving in the armed forces. Pray for their families, encourage them, love them and thank them for their service to our country.
To my dear nephew Derek, I am so proud of you, Our prayers are with you. Continue to be a man of integrity and courage.
To my dear grandson Christian, Happy birthday ,Grandma prays for you everyday. May you grow up to be a man of courage and integrity.