laurieclaire@gmail.comIt is a bit of work to untie Teri's tennis shoe and take off the sock. Adam did great with Teri's shoe and even handed her back the sock- stinky as it was. That is real dedication. Actually, Adam is trained to help his owner get undressed but hasn't learned to fold the clothes. He's a trained Service dog, ready to go on to his new job but hasn't been placed yet. He's a Labradoodle. It was a lot of fun and just one of the exercises.
She has been my constant companion since May 10. Her visit is drawing to a close and I am beginning to miss her and she hasn't gone yet.
We went to the beach today and it was great. We took a break from the fun in the sun, and had lunch at Yaga's in Galveston. We went there as we were fleeing the rainstorm .the story goes, we just laid out all our stuff on the beach and within about 10 minutes it was only too apparent that the sudden storm was going to be a big one. We packed up and went to visit Tim and then enjoy a relaxing lunch at Yaga's. I love the architecture of the old homes there. It is odd to see Galveston after Ike raged through. There are so many fantastic old houses there but it seems like so many did survive. I love those houses.Tim lives in one and the ceilings are so delightfully high- like in Iquique, Chile. It makes the house so cool. I did notice that Moody mansion survived the great Galveston Hurricane in theearly 1900's that really wiped out the city and got them all busy making the Sea wall. If it hadn't of been there, maybe Ike would have been just as bad.
Anyway, there are so many really wonderful and amazing things about Kiona. She is an artist with talent, a singer, a great poodle groomer, She loves to cook for others. I don't think that I have ever seen an 11 year old that loved to make salads like she does. She also reads all the labels on stuff. She especially picks out anything with corn syrup in it and cleaned my cabinets of anything containing that offending substance.
She got a haircut while here and made a pineapple upside down cake for Lolli. She loves Pizza and Sprite. She respects her moms caution about soft drinks however.
She is helping to train the dogs and my two poodles seem to have formed an attachment to her so that they seem to think she's cool.
She likes videos and to her Grandpa's delight, one of her favorites is The Ultimate Gift. She also loves Story Keepers, The life of Paul and the Story of John. She can watch Veggie Tales all day. She was sick for a few days and they kept her quiet in bed! She does think deeply about spiritual principles and has good training from her mom in dad.
She loves to swim as enjoyed Peach Creek as much as the Goldens do..
I am just so thankful they will be moving closer to us. With the way my Grandkids grow, if the visits are too far apart, I run the risk of not recognizing them. They grow so fast.
Maya and Tim, thanks for letting us have her for such a long visit! It has been a blessing. I am so sorry that she will arrive home tired and off schedule. I let her stay up way too late and I am sure you will hear about all my other grandmotherly lenient ways. Oh well, how can I help myself. You know the saying about old gray mares.... Oh right, she does want me to get busy and dye my hair. How about a new saying about the artificially brown mares?
I am so excited that she will be coming home soon. I love her visits and of course she has such a wonderful husband, Alex.
Her life has always been one filled with such drama. Maybe it is because the circumstances surrounding her birth were a bit more exciting than everyone else's. Who knows? I was just so nervous when the political situation suddenly worsened there in Chile and upgraded to State of Siege. I was not so courageous as to have a home delivery and no one was allowed out at night. Thankfully the white flag worked on our way to the hospital and we didn't get thrown in the police wagon and hauled off to detention. I would have made their life miserable if they tried. As it was. the hospital was not prepared for any deliveries that night and it was totally crazy anyhow. Somehow they seemed to be in a vacation mode or maybe they had staff in police detention.
All is well that ends well. She has never ceased to keep me in prayer since! I should study up on Gemini but I am afraid to as I might discover she is a double or triple Gemini.. Nothing would suprise me.
Perla, if I could think of second profession for you, maybe it would be "talk show host". You could give Oprah and Howard Stern a run for their money and be a lot more interesting and truthful..Mark could be a co-host and you two would make history. I think of you as having such a fun, diverse and interesting life but needing a thousand plus years to do all you would like and dream of doing. I pray your birthday is special and when you get home, we will doing something fun and unusual. Think about it!
White water rafting, deep sea fishing, alligator hunting, looking for lost treasure in the Piney woods, visiting Dollywood, getting a dog team and doing the Itarod race, knitting, exploring the Rock City of Petra, getting lost in Vienna for a week with an endless budget, going around the cape of Magellan in a Mutiny on the Bounty replica, visiting the catacombs with a jar full of a thousand fireflies, taking a trip to walk in the footsteps of David Livingston across Africa, studying penguins and the migration of Terns in Antartica and riding on Icebreakers.....
Well. take your pick or come up with something new. Anyway, when you get home, lets celebrate!
Mom
