thankful for grandparents

november is the perfect time to give thanks for all of the blessings we are so privileged to receive. i am particularly thankful today for grandparents and great-grandparents. brad's gma made this amazing sweater for beans. you might remember last year when she knitted this sweater for sweet pea. so much love and time go into these beautiful handmade gifts. thank you so much again gma hardy for taking the time to put this sweater together for beans.

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we are lucky to have so many grandparents in our lives. this year, in particular, i am very aware of the value of grandparents. it seems like so many of our friends have lost special grandparents (and parents) this year. i am particularly reminded of their importance not only as "glue" in our families, but also their role as family historians. i have so many questions left unanswered. i have become a sponge soaking up all the family stories i can. we've been digging through the keepsakes at my grandparent's house (more recently my dad's house) and have found such wonderful treasures from the past. my grandpa's old bowling shirt, newspaper clippings from man landing on the moon, old rodeo programs, playbills from my grandmother in high school, and on and on...

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all that digging conjures up my own stories...although we lost my grandpa chester when i was young, i can still remember how he would take me to mcdonalds for some fries and then to the park for playtime. when i would spend the night at his house he would prop me up on my little suitcase so i could see out of the window of his pick-up (old school booster seat). he would drive me by the post office so everyone could get a look at me and all the kids from town would run over from the bus stop and we would make our plans for playtime. grandma chester would spend so much time having tea parties with me and playing dress up. she always had time to make fun little clothes for my dollies. across the street from grandma and grandpa chester's lived grandpa ed and grandma dard. they were the rule breakers. grandma would let me get up at night for a "midnight snack" and made her own rules to games - especially "trouble." grandpa ed would take me out back and show me the stars. he always said, "i love you honey. more than you'll ever know." (even when i was in college).

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parents, great and grand alike, thank you so much for giving our family the foundation on which it stands. thank you for giving us wonderful experiences and stories to treasure. thank you for caring for us as children and watching our children grow.