art – Grandma Bloggers

Many people ask me why we left Hawaii. Our main reason was to be closer to our grandchildren. Attending some of their activities and celebrations has brought so much joy to my life. I don’t know how much more time I have on earth, but I am thankful for the time I have had to spend with my grandchildren. Birthdays, sports activities, plays, musicals, performances, and so much more that my grandchildren have participated in stand out in my memory. Today I am grateful to be able to be with my grandchildren at many of their important milestones.

Recently, we had two graduations to be involved with- one from university and one from high school. Sweet 16 birthdays, first cars, and other firsts have kept me going. We also had a family reunion, albiet my son who is in the military was absent and we sure missed him, but all of my grandchildren were here. I was in heaven!!

*They adore me! Or at least are forced to act like it!!*

Each grandchild brings a new flavor to our family. Some are more serious, some hilarious, some studious, and some not so much. They have different challenges and make the most of them, but the best thing is that each one is cherished and they love to be with each other.

*Crazy grandchildren – love it! Missing in this picture are Ali’i and Robbie (where were they?)*

A challenge for me is trying to give the grandchildren plenty to do when they visit. I try to give them used clothes, but most of them are not into that. Some love board games, others card games, sports like basketball, volleyball or badminton, nerf guns, riding horses, acting, blowing bubbles, reading books, writing, making crafts, walks, road trips, swimming, shopping, and movies, etc. Most of them love to be on their phones or computers playing video games. Never a dull moment with these characters!

Now that all of my grandchildren are taller than me, I feel that I am amongst giants. One thing for sure, they all like eating! We must have plenty of good things for them to eat when they visit! Grandpa is very good at meeting that need!

When I think about my childhood, I was hardly able to be with my grandparents and don’t remember them coming to any of my activities. I want to be a bigger

*Lily loves crafts like painting and making things.*

part of my grandchildren’s lives. Their parents usually invite us to their various performances and we go if at all possible. Most of the grandkids play a musical instrument including the ukulele, guitar, cello, piano, and using their voices. We rarely get together without some type of music being shared.

Something that has been fun to see is that a few of my grandchildren have chosen to study art

which was my major in college. To me “Art is Life”! Others like writing which I have done as a job and still do.

I may be to blame for the reason several of my grandchildren love the computer so much. When they were very young, I would sit them on my lap and show them video games. Some of them are addicted to them. I spent some time reading to them, but probably not enough.

What a marvelous treasure grandchildren are. They were each sent to our family for us to learn from and hopefully they learn something from us. It is difficult always trying to be a good example and attempt to be the type of person they want to emulate. I would not want to lead them astray in any way. They were sent to us to help them along their journey of life.

I hope we never take for granted what precious gems our grandchildren are. I don’t know how much more time I will have to be with my grandchildren, but I just want them to know how much I love them and their parents who sacrifice much for them. Love, Grandma

May Day 2020! I didn’t know if I would still be here now. It seems like the last two months have aged me ten years! I am grateful that all of my family and I did not fall victim to COVID 19. It is still around, so we still need to be super careful.

Life has changed in many ways I never could have imagined. My grandchildren’s schools were closed. Our churches are closed. Many of my favorite stores are closed. I haven’t been able to hug my grandchildren since the lockdown. We visit each other by driving by in our car. We don’t visit with friends or relatives without being six feet apart. As if the lockdown was not enough of a trauma, we had several earthquakes, one of which woke me up and rolled beneath me. It seems I felt every aftershock. It is focused in Magna, Utah.

Corona virus is no respecter of persons. Some of the well-known people including Pink, Tom and Rita Hanks, Daniel Dae Kim, Prince Charles, Rand Paul, Prince Albert II, Ben McAdams, and several others contracted the virus and luckily survived. https://www.vulture.com/article/famous-people-celebrities-with-coronavirus.html

Others were not so lucky. Here is a list of some of the celebrities that were not so lucky and died from the virus.

https://www.thewrap.com/celebrities-deaths-coronavirus-star-hollywood-notable/

Thankfully, I do not personally know anyone that has been sick or died from Corona.

Being an introvert, staying at home did not affect me too much. Whenever I did go out I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone with everyone donning masks. You can not tell what they are thinking but most of them hurried about and only got what they needed. I missed sauntering up and down the aisles as a form of exercise.

Without other demands, I noticed many of us put more attention on comfort food. Here I am 5-10 pounds or more heavier. At least I can blame that on corona, right??

I had time to pursue my artistic endeavors. I enjoyed watercoloring, oil painting, alcohol ink painting, and acrylic pouring (porn). I used some apps to alter pictures. I continued my writing for smarterparenting.com as well as attempted to keep my Poshmark closet active.

https://poshmark.com/closet/elayne001

I am also an Avon Representative. Unfortunately, noone wears makeup during a pandemic on lockdown, so business is not booming.

https://www.youravon.com/rkongaika

Dr. Faucci seems to be the expert, but in my opinion, there are really no experts regarding the Corona virus. I have seen way to much of our president, gotten acquainted with Cuomo, and other world leaders.

No more nights out at the movies, dates at our favorite restaurants, or dinner with friends. Some days I cry when I hear the word “corona” which is often. Fortunately, I have still been able to read my scriptures every day which helped my focus on people who had it even worse than I did. Our prophet had prepared us for home isolation way before it was even though of. He spoke to us in Conference along with apostles and other church leaders. We have church every Sunday in our home. We still hold Family Home Evening with our family online.

As a way to cope with the pandemic, several creative people have made up memes, jokes, and art. Comedians broadcast their shows at homes including their kids, dogs, etc. I enjoyed that and saw several people in a new light.

One of my favorite new comedians is Leanne Morgan. https://www.facebook.com/leannemorgancomedy/

as well as Shelayne Shelton from Hawaii

https://www.facebook.com/jshelton19/

My husband has turned into Santa Claus since he cannot work at the temple and he got laid off from his job after he fell asleep driving. He has been putting together a book which includes stories from our missionaries. I edit out all of the wrong tenses, spelling errors, and punctuation blunders. It should be ready soon, but here is one in case you haven’t seen it yet. There are more stories to come before it is finalized.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J5aNe4FihPnNrnRNlX54koaaACFqSUG2OkqK9ebrULU/edit?usp=sharing

Until we meet again, I will pray for all of you that this virus will go away and that we will enjoy the rest of Spring and Summer. Should we die, all is well, all is well!

Tag: art

Joys of Grandparenting

Here We Are!