From Wyatt's bedtime prayers:

"...And bless us that we can go to Heaven someday and see Grandpa B."

How many are you, Grandpa?

August is a very celebratory month in our family. We've got Brett, Wyatt, Dixie, of course, but we also like to throw in a special birthday bash for Grandma and Grandpa Bauerle (you might call Grandpa's a bit of "Pre-BDay" fun).

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And how "many" might they be (as Wyatt asked Grandpa)? To answer your question, this year they are ONLY EIGHTY-SIX & NINETY-SIX YEARS YOUNG.

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Here are some pictures of the Bauerle clan--I really love this bunch. We don't get together often, but when we do we have a great time!

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"Blogs" have helped us stay in touch with Brett's Bauerle

cousins in a way that we hadn't before, and although it might sound weird, I really attribute blogger.com with making us closer to them and more aware of what's going on in their lives. We've always cared about them, naturally, but I'm ashamed to say we didn't make "staying in touch" a priority before, so for several years the only time we saw them was at the annual Christmas party, mission farewells/homecomings, and birthday parties like this. I don't know if other B. family members ever felt this way, but it's hard to feel overly "warm and fuzzy" with someone when you have the same conversation with them each time you see them because so much time goes by since the last time you talked ("So how's work? School? The kids?"). Now we can "blog-stalk" their families and feel as though we are part of their day-to-day, reading about their children's milestones, commenting on their new houses being built, or viewing photos from their latest vacation. Now we earnestly look forward to any opportunity we might have to visit in person--Brett has friendly, interesting, funny, loving, sweet, wonderful cousins, aunts, & uncles and I've seen the blogs to prove it!

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In this picture of Halle & Grandma B., you'll note the "lone hole" in the top of her grin. This is on display on purpose, as she'd just lost her tooth earlier that day! Halle has such a fondness for her Great-Grandmother. LaRee has a way of making you feel like you are the most important person in the room. She's so good to Halle. Halle loves to "converse". Gab. Vocalize. She can go on and on (and on and on and on) about this or that, usually talking so fast that it's a wonder Grandma can even keep up. Yet Grandma is patient (more patient than I usually am, unfortunately) and really listens to Halle. She makes Halle feel as though what she has to say just might be life-altering. I'm not saying my daughter isn't interesting, mind you, but let's be honest. A 7-Year old's stories can, after a while, sometimes be a bit...what's the word? Lengthy? Exaggerated? Tiresome? Yes, all three at times. But I think Halle knows that when she's around Grandma she's definitely got someone who wants to hear what she has to say.

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Speaking of gabbing, I LOVED seeing Halle and Kristen's daughter, Morgan, chat it up. They are only about 18 months apart, but when you are younger, 18 months can be quite a gap developmentally. This time they found they had very common interests (anything Miley or Hannah Montana...ROCK ON!). It was cute to observe them off in the corner, visiting happily and moving their hands around as they spoke with excitement.

Great food, Great stories, GREAT-Grandparents!

Last Thursday night we squeezed in a fun visit with Grandma and Grandpa Bauerle. We had planned to go out to dinner together, but Grandma wasn't feeling quite up to going out, so instead, we brought dinner to them. Grandma is a big fan of Wendy's hamburgers! It's fun to watch her eat them because she so thoroughly seems to enjoy them!

Being away from them while we lived in AZ made us truly appreciate what they bring into our lives. Since moving back we had a strong desire to visit them on a regular basis but of course weren't the best at prioritizing sometimes and didn't do it like we'd thought we would. Then in December Grandma had a nasty fall and ended up with a new hip and a broken arm. She spent a couple months in a rehabilitation center where she could receive 24-hour care as she healed. The Bauerle family organized an online calendar where the entire family worked together as a team, signing up for days to ensure that nearly every day Grandpa had a ride over to the rehab center and also so Grandma would have frequent visitors. It began to be a habit for us to plan our Thursday afternoons around these highly-anticipated visits. The kids even started understanding...Wednesday night typically found either Halle or Wyatt asking me, "Are we going to see Grandma B. tomorrow?" I realized how beneficial these regular visits were to everyone involved and I promised myself I would continue in our commitment in nurturing this important relationship between all of us, even after Grandma was able to move back home with Grandpa at Heritage Place. We don't make it every single week like we did before, but my goal is to go at least every other week, if not more, and so far I am happy to report that we've made it a priority and I've never regretted it. Not once! How could I?

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I love watching my kids interact with their Great-Grandparents. Sometimes children can feel shy around older adults, or even uninterested. The fact that Halle, Wyatt, and Carson adore (and I do mean ADORE) Hugo and LaRee so much is a testament, I think, to the kind of people Brett's grandparents are. My children genuinely look forward to spending time with them and I know they always walk away feeling as though they are truly loved and valued by their great-grandma and great-grandpa! It warms my heart with a bit of pride, I admit, also to see my kids express their love to them and see how it brightens their grandparents' faces.

Like many grandmothers, LaRee has a number of beautiful (but breakable) knick-knacks decorating her home. We've found it's in everyone's best interest to keep Carson strapped down in his stroller during our visits!