Memories from Michigan

Tuesday I arrived in Chicago and mom picked me up at the airport; Grammy and Aunt Sue continued on to Connecticut.  Mom made her scrumptious Taco Tuesday meal which is a favorite amongst us Lehmans and we enjoyed an early dinner before Dad, Mom, Edie and I saddled up for a ride.

Wednesday morning I basically transferred some clothes from my Cali suitcase to a Michigan suitcase and hit the road to visit my nephew!  And Jim and Maria.  Really, it was great to see them too!

Calvin was everything the pictures have shown and more.  It was amazing how much he changed since I saw him last, which was when he was brand new.  Yes, I've seen pictures and face timed, but it's just not the same.  He is such a snuggler and loves to be held so we spent hours and hours cuddling together.  The moments were priceless.  Ugh.  It's hard to write this now that we're so may miles apart.

Yay!  In my arms at last!

Thursday morning I was holding him and taking pictures when all of the sudden he got this huge smile on his face.  A little bit later a funny sound came from his diaper.  Does he know how silly he is?

The plan had originally been that I would watch him on Thursday while Jim had class or work and Maria had clinical but Jim's thing got cancelled so Mia ended up switching her clinical to a different day and Thursday we went to Art Prize in Grand Rapids.  I had heard alot about Art Prize but never seen it before so although I didn't get Calvin completely to myself, it was still fun to walk around Grand Rapids and see sculptures, paintings, murals, and anything artistic that have been brought from all around the world.  Calvin was such a bud and slept in the carrier almost the whole time.  I had to share him with Jim because he needs time with his son, too, but I made sure I got to hold him part of the time :)

Thursday morning cuddles before we left.

Mia and her baby.  I love them both so much!

One of the more traditional art displays.

A more random piece of art.

Calvin still hanging in there like a champ!

What a great day :)  I think it wore Calvin out although he slept most of the time. He's got the sleepy eye roll going on.

But then he woke up and made biiiiiiiig eyes.  Back seat entertainment :D

Friday Jim went to work while Mia and I enjoyed time with Calvin.  He didn't seem too happy to be in a wet towel after his bath.

'Aunt Jo!!! Can't you see I'm cold?'  Poor guy.

Thatta boy.  Everything will be okay.

 After Calvin's bath we made these pumpkin melt-in-your mouth cookies my cousin had pinned on Pinterest.  They literally melt in your mouth.  But before we could frost them, Jim came home and was anxious to get to the park like we'd planned the day before so we found a stopping point and went to the park.  It was so gorgeous.  It was a fall outing like I'd been dreaming of having while in the Midwest.  Except better.  We walked down by a lake and took a little path to a bridge over the Flat River.  The trees reflecting in the water, Calvin snuggled up to me, being with my sister and her husband, going barefoot on soft grass and damp dirt and leaves, enjoying the crisp fall air--it was such a wonderful time together in nature.

Calvin all comfy in his carrier!

Photo stop!

Once we got back from the park it was time to frost the cookies.  If you like pumpkin and are not trying to diet, you need these cookies in your life.  With or without frosting they are the taste of fall and the only bad thing about them is that you can eat two or three before you realize it!  Here's the link to the website: pumpkin cookies.

I just couldn't get enough pictures!  His belly made me laugh it as it is so big but the rest of him is just wrinkly skin and bone.

The smoulder.

My departure time on Saturday came far too soon.  Leaving this little guy and knowing that I won't see him and hold him until Christmas was not easy.  I'm thankful that we have pictures and face time to help the distance not feel quite so great.  I'm thankful for the hours I got to spend cuddling him and making great memories with Jim and Maria.

Everlasting Love

I read this last night.  It filled me with so much joy that I can't keep it to myself!  The entire chapter of Jeremiah 31 is so full of hope and promise that I'd encourage you to read the whole thing.

"The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying,

         Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love:

Therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."

Jeremiah 31:3

 

 

 

Wow.

We.  Are.  Blessed.

Daily Life

In the last post I mentioned a part of my daily life, morning walks, but some of you are probably wondering what else I do in California.

Of course the week I decide to give you our general weekly schedule it's been altered a bit :)  Oh well, I'll try to make things as clear as possible.  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Grammy goes to the YMCA in La Canada for water exercises.  I take a book along and either sit outside in the shade of an umbrella or when the weather is like it's been this past week I sit in the main entrance and relax in the air conditioning.  For those of you who know me well and know that reading has never been a favored past time I have shocking news for you.  I like to read.  And if I have Pride and Prejudice in my hands I love to read.  I enjoy that book so much that I'm actually reading it for the second time right now and listening to the sound track as a write.  I'm trying to discipline myself to save it only for times when I don't have anything better to do and so this time around I'm not as completely absorbed by it as I was last week.

Back to the schedule...Wednesday evenings we do dinner with Tom and Jody and beginning this Wednesday evening Bible study is starting up after a little summer break.  With how far some people live from church and having families with young kids it was decided to have regional Bible study groups for Wednesday evening instead of Wednesday night church.  We have a decent sized group here in the Altadena area and meet at Jonathan and Kali's.

Thursday evenings is Family Dinner at Tom and Heidi's.  It's such a relaxing or fun evening, relaxing when the kids don't come, fun when they do.  Either way, it's a very enjoyable time.  Delicious food, soap box--or in this case pool-towel box--performances, kids in pirate outfits and princess gowns, sometimes a swim before supper, Scrabble, family, and memories, make Family Dinner something to look forward to.

Sunday is church and then Joe and Sue usually come to Grammy's and we go out for dinner somewhere delicious.  Like I said, this week has held lots of exceptions.  Sunday during lunch Sue asked me, "Would you like to go to the beach today after church?"  I gladly accepted the invitation so we spent the afternoon at Hermosa and finished with dinner at Scotty's.

As far as daily activities goes, we go to the Y on MWF.  Spare time is used painting Mom's Christmas gift which she's already seen a picture of.  No surprises there.  I also enjoy pounding out rags, thanks to Grammy's patience, or trilling out Sonatinas on the upright in the living room.  Recently I've started watching horse safety videos from a website that does certifications and taking notes to use for the future.  If I can't ride em I can still learn about em right?  ;)  Grammy and I have played a few games of Scrabble and along with reading, going here and there, and keeping in touch with people at home, you have a pretty good glimpse into my days these past few weeks.

So now that you know our 'normal' schedule I'll fill you in on a few extra things that took place this past week.  Monday evening Aunt Jody joined us for dinner since Uncle Tom was gone.  Tuesday there was a birthday party for a 97-year-old woman at the Y!  We went at regular time and I read like normal while Grammy did exercises.  Then after the class we went to the room where one of the fellow exercisers had set up a full-blown party for Frances.  From the Y we went to Dave and Janelle's for the afternoon and evening. This morning when I got up it was too late to start my morning walk.  I'll now confess that I haven't walked to the canyon for three days now.  Yikes!  It's been so incredibly hot here.  Today it's down to the 90s but it's been well over 100 these past few days.  Almost suffocating-ly hot.  The car thermometer read 113 on the way home from church Sunday, most likely cause it was sitting in the sun with no air flow.  But still.  That's hot.  With the help of the beach, ice cream, and air conditioning we're surviving :)

Today we didn't go to exercises since we went yesterday so I went to get a few treats to take home to my family.  Tomorrow I'm planning on starting a small sewing project that I can easily finish before our trip Tuesday.  Grammy goes to Rockville for two weeks so I'm going home to visit Calvin and everybody else ;) I'm looking forward to cuddling my nephew, attending the Central Illinois Singing, baking fallish treats, hanging out with my siblings, riding horses, going to the Feast of the Hunter's Moon, and spending some time with the Sauders.

Hopefully this gives those of you who were wondering a better idea of what I'm up to.  Hope all of you are doing well!

California, Canyon, Calvin, and My 12 Year Old Brother!!!!

Hello, readers.  Hope all of you are enjoying the more regular routine fall brings after the hectic (but oh so wonderful) summer season.  Here in California fall isn't as a big of a deal as it is in the Midwest, but some leaves change colors and a few seconds ago one flitted down from a tree.  So I guess it's technically 'fall' here too. 

On Labor Day weekend, a group from church went to the beach for the afternoon.  A hurricane has effected the coast and brought in extremely large waves.  They were biggest the Wednesday before we went but Sunday we still got to enjoy some larger waves.  With the warm water this year I've been able to stay in longer than other years, when my phalanges go numb and my ears ache.  This time I only got out because other people were and I didn't want to become shark bait.

After a picnic on the sand, a group of us headed to Uncle Joe and Aunt Sue's for chocolate malts.  Mmmm, that put the cherry on the top!

In the mornings before the sun rises over the mountains, the cool air wakes my senses as I head to the canyon for my morning walk.  It's about a mile to the entrance I normally use, a mile back to the waterfall, a mile back to the entrance, and a mile home.  On weekends the canyon is a popular hike for college kids, families, you name it.  But during the week there are much fewer people, especially now that school has started.  In fact, two days this week I've had the waterfall to myself when I got back there!  One day I didn't see a single person on the trail.  It's been pretty great.  I have to confess that this morning I slept in instead of walking (naughty naughty!) and I miss it!  It's such a great start to the day.

Here are a few pics I've taken over the past week or so.
The canyon entrance:

 

Love the mornings these mountains are misty!

The trail begins under the white bridge.  From there, it's rocks, trees, dirt, mountain, and a little trickle of water here and there where it hasn't dried up.

And this is when Pocahontas starts singing "Just around the river bend...! Waiting just around the river bend...!"  Yah, that actually went through my head the other morning for too long.

Most of the trail isn't that rocky.  I took these pictures while walking through the creek bed the other morning.  I usually follow the dirt path but on occasion, the occasion usually being that I'm close behind somebody and don't want to be a stalker because it's happened before that I've followed somebody at an awkwardly close distance and decided that taking a different path was the way to go, I find it necessary to hop stones.  And it's a good break up from the norm.

This is the view I'm always so glad to see.

The sound, the scent, the peacefulness.

It's down to just a trickle, but I've decided that I don't mind since it means there's no gushing stream to be cautious of and you can pretty much get in the waterfall if you want to. *Cough, Leah*  (That kind of happened when Leah was visiting me in July).  Heh, anyway, there's a rock to the right of the waterfall that Leah and I named 'Selfie Rock' and when perched upon, it gives a great self protrait taken by oneself with the waterfall in the background. Appropriately named, huh?

What's really amazing about being back by the waterfall is that you're surrounded.  The other day a helicopter flew over so I looked up, and it was then that I realized the mountains made a circle above my head.  It was a neat feeling.  Surrounded by the mighty mountains.

Here's a pano from Selfie Rock.

Anyway, if you can't tell by this long description, the canyon means a lot to me and if you come visit me I'll take you on a hike :)

Switching topics slightly, this morning I got to face time with Calvin!!!! He is so precious.  He even had the hiccups, which he didn't seem to pleased about, but he made eye contact with me and everything.  It was so wonderful.  Maria or Jim sends us a picture of him every day and we all ooh and ahh over what he's wearing, how he puts his hands over his ears when she vacuums, his wrinkly skin, or how big he's getting.

This was about two weeks ago.  Hanging out with Hobbs.

And this is a screen shot I took during a video Mia sent recently.  It's my new lock screen picture on my phone.  It changes quite frequently with pictures of this little guy.

He's changing like crazy but I can console myself in the fact that in less than three weeks I get to see him again!  I even get to have him to myself while Jim and Mia are at work and school so this auntie's happy.

And the last thing I'll include in this post is my brother's birthday!!! He is 12 YEARS OLD!!  Where has time gone?  I can still remember the morning we woke up for school and Oma was downstairs.  We soon got a phone call saying that we had a baby brother!  And that was 12 years ago?  What?

Sounds like he's having a great day.  When I called him this morning he said he'd gone kayaking in the creek and was just getting ready to go fishing.  I'm bummed I can't be there and see his big smile.  I love his smile.  Happy Birthday, Dan Man!!!

Have a great weekend, everybody!