Monthly Archives: December 2013

Grandpa Diary #38

 

 

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Dear Kaylee,

Well, it is time for you to start eating some food. You have your first tooth!

I guess there isn’t much you are going to chew with that one tooth, but now your mom and dad are going to start giving you cereal. This is just one of those milestones that are so much fun. When I had the chance to feel your tooth in your mouth, it reminded me of going fishing.

Except this time I caught a Kaylee fish and I am not going to throw here back!

 

Love,

Grandpa

Grandpa Diary #37

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Dear Kaylee,

Grandpa is interested in brain research and he is reading a great book, Joy Starts Here. The brain research author, James Wilder, says God wires our brains for joy. The part of the book that I liked most was about how important it is to have a high-joy atmosphere connected to feeding in a babies’ life. Here is a quote.

“Infants respond with joy to being fed, held, and stroked. Pleasant smells, being kept at just the right temperature, smiles and warm voice tone bring joy. Babies respond with joy to being fed good things. This joy at being fed is designed to bond the baby and the feeder together.”

That’s you, Kaylee. You bring so much joy to everyone who sees you. And the best time is when you eat, isn’t it? Your mommy feeds you with her milk and hugs you close. Your daddy feeds you with a bottle with mommy’s milk and hugs you close. During the week, Nana and Grandpa get to feed you and hug you close. You are just one little bonding machine!

I love when you look up at me when I am feeding you. There is pure trust in your eyes. For all of us who feed you, God is creating an imprint that will last the rest of our lives.

Here’s Grandpa’s promise. I will always feed you and will always be filled with joy at my Kaylee. I know this not because of me, but because God is the one who gives me this kind of love, and with God, you never have to worry about being loved. He’s got that one figured out. And he’s so smart he connects joy from the very beginning with feeding. Something you have to do several times a day. How amazing is that?

Love,
Grandpa

Grandpa Diary #36

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Dear Kaylee,

Happy five months! You are sure getting to be a big girl. As we talked about earlier this week, it was your mommy and daddys’ wedding anniversary on Tuesday. The second anniversary is a “cotton” anniversary, so your mommy gave your daddy some clothes and your daddy cooked your mommy a wonderful dinner with dessert, all made from scratch, because your daddy is a great cook! He even studied at cooking school.

What about the cotton? Your daddy had cotton scented candles…

Kaylee, I’ll tell you a story about your mommy relating to your daddy. When they started going out, your mommy was pretty interested in your daddy. Then, later, I knew she was really interested because we had a daddy/ daughter talk.

We were in Maui in August, and we went for a walk along the beach at night. It was a beautiful night (always is in Maui as you will find out) and we sat on a rock wall next to the beach. Your mommy was telling me all about your daddy, and I knew, “O, O,” this could be the “one.”

Well, sure enough, your daddy was the “one.” Still is, except this time, now your mommy has the one, your daddy; your daddy has the one, your mommy; and together they have the one…

You, Kaylee

Love,
Grandpa

Grandpa Diary #35

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Dear Kaylee,

Well, today is a special day for your mommy and daddy. It is their second wedding anniversary! Only two short years ago today they were married at our church. It was a beautiful wedding filled with so much joy.

Kaylee, guess what? At your mommy and daddy’s wedding, Grandpa got to pretend he was like Superman…

Here is what happened.

As you know, Grandpa is a pastor, but at weddings it is the custom for the father of the bride to walk her down the aisle. So, what do I do?

Well, I walked your mommy down the aisle wearing my tuxedo, and then gave your mommy to your daddy as the sign of our blessing. Then, I quickly went behind the altar and took my coat off and put on my robe and came back to your mommy and daddy as the pastor, ready to continue the service.

Madonna? Beyonce? Gaga? They got nothing on Grandpa!

Kaylee, chances are, someday you are going to get married. You will meet a special man like your mommy did and then your daddy will walk you down the aisle. I pray to God that I will be there waiting as the pastor, and this time, I can just keep my robe on and not have to do a “costume change.”

Love,
Grandpa

Grandpa Diary #34

Great-Great Grandma Hanson

Great-Great Grandma Hanson

Dear Kaylee,

I told you I went back to visit my mommy two weeks ago. While I was there, I got the chance to look at old pictures that my mommy and daddy collected over the years and I saw a picture of my Grandma Hanson. She was such a wonderful part of my life. She loved me lots just like your grandmas. The most love she ever showed is that she really had an influence on my faith in Jesus. She would read to me from the Bible, tell me Bible stories, and she would pray with me, all from when I was just a little baby like you. Some of my earliest memories of my grandma I connect with Jesus.

Grandma Hanson was quiet and calm and she would never let anything get her upset. Here is one story about this.

You are going to discover that your Grandpa (me) will forget where I put stuff. Always have since I was a little boy. Well, one day, when I was probably about 14 years old or so, Grandma Hanson was nice enough to drive me to the golf course. I used the car keys to open up the trunk of her car, got my golf clubs out, but I had put the keys in the trunk and forgot to grab them when I shut the trunk. In those days there was no switch to open the trunk in the car. So, we were stuck.

At least your great-great grandma was stuck. She said I needed to get going and play golf and she would call my Grandpa Hanson and ask him to come out with spare keys to open the trunk. So that’s what I did. Well, my Grandpa wasn’t the calmest guy in the world, and as I am writing about this now, I realize he must have yelled at Grandma Hanson and probably wasn’t very nice about it.

“For crying out loud, Kap…!!” (Her nickname was, “Kap”)

All I know is that when I was done golfing, Grandma Hanson came back to pick me up and never said a word about the keys.

Kaylee, your mommy has a lot of patience, too. She has 12.5% of Grandma Hanson in her DNA, so that shouldn’t be a surprise. This means you get 6.25% of your great-great grandma, too. Boy, are you lucky! You would have loved your great-great Grandma Hanson. She would have kissed you, hugged you, made you cookies, and never once get angry with you.

I don’t know how she did it, but I think it might have something to do with how much she loved Jesus…

Love,
Grandpa