Our Love Story

Love. Loverly love. Lover love love. Yes, this blog post will be ALL about ooey-gooey (well maybe not all) romantic, girly stuff. If you get sick at your stomach with such things....stop reading now!

I had never met anyone like Jason Hardage. Ever. The first time I remember hearing his name was in the cafeteria at William Carey University. I had recently interviewed to spend the summer of my freshmen year serving *somewhere* in the US on mission. I passed by Jason and Pamela Coker's (then Leonard) table and Jason stopped me and said, "I know where you are going (he was in charge of the interview process and had a heads up) and who is on your team and you are gonna like it." The BSU summer missions program allowed you to select 3 preferences of service. I picked Boston, MA first, Washington, DC second; and The Pacific Northwest third. In all honesty, I didn't really want the northwest team...I only picked up b/c my friend Andy Winn went on and on about his earlier adventures there and how it made sense, b/c that team always needed a pianist. But secretly....I really really wanted the Boston slot. Kind of ironic I would later spend 8 years of my life in the Northeast, don't you think?

Back to the cafeteria...I distinctly remember Jason saying, "mel, you are not going to believe your team leader's testimony. It is AWESOME. And he is a BIIIIIGGGG guy!" Ha! I was definitely intrigued. My curiosity was sparked and I waited a few days until I was officially told that yes, I would be serving as the pianist for the northwest youth revival team, summer of 1997.

Then I got a letter in the mail. The return address was "Yellow Dog Road, Senatobia, MS." Who in the world was this??? This is what I read:

Dear Melanie

My name is Jason Hardage, and I'm one of your partners for summer missions 97. I am writing because I thought it would be a good idea to start some correspondence with the other team members in order to make known some prayer requests and also to get to know one another some before the summer starts. I want to let you know that I have begun praying daily for our team members individually and also for the people of the states in which we will be ministering. It is my prayer that God will do a mighty work through us this summer.

In Christ,
Jason Hardage

P.S. see Ephesians 3:14-21



Who is the world was this serious guy? I was impressed....and excited about serving with him. When I finally met Jason in person, he had his nose in the Bible and rarely looked up for anything else! He was serious! (those of you that know Jason know that he is really the most playful guy....but he really was super serious about our mission that summer).

We set off for WA and OR and spent a glorious, life changing summer serving churches and people of the region. Jason preached his first sermons on this trip and I lead in worship for the first time in my life. Truly, this trip was the great foundation for our lives together in ministry. Only we didn't have a clue at the time!

Summer Missions 1997: Our team

As I said in the beginning of this post...I had NEVER met anyone like Jason Hardage. I grew up "in the church" and had a very legalistic understanding of the Gospel..of grace...of our life in Christ. Jason shot all my legalistic ideas to pieces. I would counter, he would quote scripture. I would argue, he would ask me where in the Bible I came up with this or that idea. It didn't take too many weeks into the summer for me to stop arguing and begin to trust in his wisdom. He was a newer Christian, too, and I was embarrassed that I had been a believer in Christ for many years, and yet he knew the Word so thoroughly.

He loved those people, those young people we ministered to..he shared truth and the Word with them and I watched in awe thinking...man I wish I could be like that!

Near the end of the summer, I took a face first fall right onto a giant rock and knocked myself out. Jason scooped me up and carried me to rescue. I ended up breaking my nose and busting my face up pretty nasty and had to fly home early to have surgery. I truly loved these 3 guys that I had spent that summer with and just knew that we would remain close. I recall over a campfire in Castle Rock, WA...saying to all 3 of them, "I want you guys to be in my wedding." Who knew I would marry one of them?!?!

It would be almost a full year later that I would run into Jason Hardage again. And although we kept in touch a few times through email, we were really not a part of each other's lives. But at a Baptist college conference on the coast of MS, we met up once again. At the time, I wasn't really where I should have been in my walk with God. I was rebelling in some areas and actually almost didn't come to the conference....mainly because I knew I would be convicted in those areas of my life.

I drove down on the second day of the conference and as soon as I walked up, all my Carey friends were telling me that some big, huge, blonde-haired guy was looking for me. Hmmm. Seriously, probably 5 or more different sets of friends gave me this message that Jason Hardage was looking for me.

We finally saw each other and Jason ran over and gave me a HUGE full-on hug. Now, this is important to note because the *entire* time we were serving on summer missions together...Jason never touched me more than maybe a sideways hug every once in a while. Even more curious, while we were embracing, he spun me around. Whoa. I do remember thinking something was weird about Jason doing that, but I put it aside. We spent the next 24 hours sitting on rocking chairs and benches talking about everything under the sun. I didn't tell him I was seeing someone. I didn't really go into my personal struggles, but we had a great time and I was reminded of the things of God and how I loved ministry and it was just good.

The next day after the conference was over, I received this email:

Mel-dawg,
I can't tell you how good it was to see you over LTC. I wonder if you will ever read this email...anyway...well....I don't know what this means, well, I guess I do know what it means....I hope you don't run off and marry that law student...because...well, because I'd really like to get to know you better. Not the whole romantic thing. At least not yet. I'm sure I've said a mouthful...I wonder if you're shocked...I wonder if you'll even get to read this email.

Mark 10:45
love in Jesus
Jason

I sat in the Carey library reading the email over and over and over again. Tears started to stream down my face because I knew that God was using Jason to draw me back to him. I printed it. I ran to my dorm room to show my best friend Emily and try to figure out what in the world I would say in response. To say I was shocked was such an understatement! In my mind, Jason Hardage was a serious Bible scholar....he was a preacher for crying out loud! He was Godly, I was not. He walked with God and I struggled along. Yes, I was in shock. And I had to end the other relationship before I could even respond. And get right with God. It was overwhelming.

No lie, this was my exact response 2 days later:

Jason-

ok.

Love,
Mel-dog

Poor guy. I was so cruel! :D LOL And this was his reply:

sweet and simple....
or you were really busy.....
I prefer sweet and simple....
Lord Jehova reigns in majesty !!!!!
I think I'm gonna go read my Bible, thinking about you has that affect on me...that's a very good thing.

know that I am before the Father on your behalf
Jason


Whew. What a start to this "relationship!" We continued emailing back and forth...Jason pretty much practicing his sermons on me, lol, and me going over each email with a fine tooth comb looking for anything romantic or lovey dovey. And to be honest, during the beginning....there wasn't much! But we so enjoyed talking on the phone and emailing and encouraging each other. This lasted about 9 months. Long time for a girl to wait, y'all. Hello, can I get a witness??! I was careful not to gush to him or reveal my romantic feelings for him...I kept them mostly to myself or talked to Emily about it. I started to write them all down on little slips of paper, too, and collected them. Later, when we were engaged, I gave them all to Jason in a special wooden box that he had given me from his mission trip to Moldova, so he could read what I had been thinking and praying all those months.

He held his romantic intentions close to his chest. I waited. I admit fully that I was impatient, but finally the waiting paid off. Just when I was ready to tell him I was ready for him to make a decision about our "relationship" and what in the world was going to happen with us (remember, no kisses, no dates, no I love you, no fluffy, "you are so pretty/special/whatever" etc. It was rough!) I received a handwritten letter in the mail at my Carey mailbox dated November 8, 1998--almost 9 months since the initial email from him. I know I it is sort of whack to put this out for the world to see, but I really don't care. Here it is:

My dearest Melanie--
My first snail mail letter to you, and thus, it should be an important one--it is. Despite the importance from whence this letter will reveal my heart, I must let you know where I am as I pen these words---in the bath tub! I hope you are blushed, or laughing, or both!

There is so much I need to say from the depths of joy and from the blackness of fear and doubt. I write these words prayerfully.

I know I have been aloof and uncertain about my feelings for you, and I can't say that I've not struggled with the will of God--but Mel, I take full responsibility for our relationship and I believe that it's time to move on in our relationship....that is, into a deeper relationship. God has led me to this decision and I know it's not for heartache or for pain, but for His Glory and our success and future. I love you! You are such an encourager, beautiful flower, an expression of grace, a faithful friend, you make me love God more.

On Thursday, I asked you to go to China with me and you said, "let's go." That sealed my heart!--that you would follow....I pray God leads.

I know that we both have our faults, things that we both have not so much revealed as of yet. It's easy not to see those faults when we are so far away, but as God continues to redeem our character, we will overcome even these.
I must go!
I do love you!
Jason


It is so emotional to type that out. Tears are streaming down my face now just as they were then...to think of God's gracious hand in forming us, putting us together, and to think of where we are now on the other side of that letter having served in various places in NY and RI and now back in MS. I am filled with emotion and thanks to God.

A month later he finally kissed me. Sorry, I know that is TMI. Six months later we were engaged. And on November 6, 1999 we were married.



Maybe you are reading this thinking that I am bragging or thinking that we've had ideal situations or something like that.....let me tell you we have fought for our marriage tooth and nail. Tooth. And. Nail! We have faced trials, financial strain, uncertainty, crisis times between the two of us..losses, upheaval. We've looked at some of those faults square in the eye that Jason mentioned way back in 98. There have been babies. LOTS OF BABIES! LOL. And there has been pain, failures, doubts, etc. I certainly don't boast in ourselves...in our own ability to "make it work." No, I boast in Christ...in His everlasting grace and mercies that are new every morning. He alone has preserved this union and all glory goes to Him.

I wrestled with whether or not to post these very personal bits about our life so far together. If you are on Facebook, you have seen the endless amount of pictures I have posted from our 10 years together (and some from before!). My purpose in posting all of that was to 1. give Glory to God for our marriage and life together, and 2. publicly show my love and affection for Jason; and 3. hopefully encourage others.

The truth is, since I've posted the pictures on Facebook, I've receiving a bunch of private messages from folks who indeed, have been encouraged and reminded of their own love for their spouse...for the beauty of God's provision...for His faithfulness in their own lives. Praise God for this! My hope and prayer is that if you are reading this, you are also reminded of His lovingkindness in your life, and His goodness.

To close, I want to post the lyrics to a song I wrote several months ago in anticipation of our upcoming 10 year anniversary. I had been reading through the book of Ruth at the time and it sparked some musical/lyrical thoughts. Now that you have read that hand-written letter from Jason to me all those years ago, you will also see more of the background and foundation for the song.

"Follow"

You asked me once..
so long ago
If I could stay or
if I could go

I told you then
and meant it well
"I will follow you
and humbly dwell."

Riches of this world have never
made me wish for more
I am happy to be forever
under His grace....and to be yours

I will go where you go
I will live where you live
and we will dance into the moonlight praising God for all He did.

Tears come down
when I think about how
after all these years and
pain and tears
we'd be where we are now

And when we breathe
that final breath
we will know
we'll know
we've been beautifully blessed

Riches of this world have never
made me wish for more
I am happy to be forever
under His grace....and to be yours

I will go where you go
I will live where you live
and we will dance into the moonlight praising God for all He did.


I love God. I love Jason. I stand in awe of His mighty hand through the past 10 years and give all glory to Him.

Thanks for reading.

Cereal and Rain

This will be brief. Two things: Judson dumped out 5 full boxes of cheerios, corn flakes, bran flakes, and rice crispies all over the kitchen floor today. And it's raining.

Sigh. But I'm still smiling! :) I have fought a blah attitude allll day. I'm still fighting, too! I'm hopeful for this evening when we are all together as a family and can read and pray together. Tomorrow Jason is off. I'm so thankful since it has been several weeks in a row that he hasn't had a day off. I'm looking forward to a relaxing day.

Hope everyone is having a better attitude on this dreary day than me! Love you all!

Day in the life: October 16--19th

Yes, I know that the title says "Day in the life" and I have listed several dates to cover. It's just that so many awesome things happened in the past couple of days I have to share multiple "days" but "Days in the life" sounded weird. Onward.

Friday, October 16

A much anticipated day. Words cannot possibly express how much so. They really cannot. But I will try. You see I have not had a haircut since September of 2008. September of Two Thousand Eight. Are you grasping this? I am not the type of woman who gets her hair done (or hair did as they say around here in MS) every other week or anything, but folks....that is more than a year! I think I have set my own personal record. I mean, I have definitely gone a looong stretch between haircuts, but never a year! Never more than a year! I'm not sure what that says about me really. Perhaps it says that my last hair cut was SO good, that it simply lasted that long. Nah. It more likely says that I procrastinated and that the kind or haircut I prefer cost $$. So.....I waited for Friday, October 16th with great anticipation. My friend Ann recommended her stylist and salon and "Rachel" so graciously got me in quickly. I showed her a picture of some famous person that looked like the hair I wanted to try to achieve.

To sum up: Rachel was awesome! My hair is red now and very different from what it was and I just love it! So fun! My children were grinning ear to ear when they saw me and Dori hugged me really hard and long and said she LOVED it. She is a girl after my own heart. :) James asked if he could change his hair to blue. Sigh. I told him maybe. For Halloween. Or something. This is a recent photo of my new hair do:





After my wonderful and lengthy hair appointment, I went to Longview for "Secret Church" with our youth. This was something new that Jason and David (Jr high pastor) cooked up as an intense time of worship, discipleship, and preaching....but also with some fun thrown in too! It started at 6:30 and ended at midnight, but I left with James and Judson around 10:30. Secret Church was a great success....I was so encouraged to hang out with our youth and to get to know them a little better. We had my friend Stephen's band "Philadelphia" come in and lead in worship, and Jason, David, and intern Vlad all preached/taught for roughly one hour each. As I said, "secret church" was not just a run of the mill lock in! Around 9pm, I helped lead the students in a debate. Our topic was "God cannot exist when evil exists in the world." I was very impressed with our young thinkers and even Dori participated. It was great fun!

I was pretty tired when we got home, but it was worth it to keep the kids out late and just really invest in these students God has placed in our lives. I'm very grateful for the experience and hope we do something like it again soon.

Saturday, October 17

Woke up with my new 'do....still amazed at how different I looked! I got ready for something very exciting and also slightly crazy: a photo shoot. Yes, you read that correctly. Craziness I know! Here the deal....as you know I am ssssllllllllooooooowwwwwlllllyyyyy working on recording an album of my original music. Yes, it is taking forever and won't speed up anytime soon as these things just take time. Especially when time is short and money is shorter! LOL But, one of my "far off" thoughts had been to get my friend Katie Dunlap to take some photos for the cover of the hypothetical album. I saw that Katie's photography business had really taken off (we are old friends from 10 years ago when her husband Brad and Jason were in seminary together) and absolutely loved her work and her style. Here is her website so you can see some of her work: http://www.capturebykatie.com/

A few months ago, basically right when I started the recording process, I sent Katie a message inquiring about the possibility of her ever coming to Memphis to do work here. Honestly, I didn't really think it would be possible, but she wrote me back that "yes, actually, she knew of several who wanted sessions and would probably be here in the fall." Well....long story short....we had a photo shoot Saturday morning, and despite feeling a tiny bit silly for doing something like that before I even have an album with which to put a cover photo on....it was a lovely and wonderful experience. Katie and her fun assistant Alissa (not sure if I'm spelling that right, but I know she will forgive me!) met me at Rhodes College at 10am. I had never been to Rhodes and let me tell you it is gorgeous! Think old, gray stony buildings with curved, cut out architecture. Simply fabulous! It was a bit blustery, but not too bad and all three of us had a totally fantastic time. It was fun to do something like that...no children, no obligations....I had my rockin new hair, lol, it was just a wonderful time. Katie was a great encouragement to me, regarding my music and my pursuits...reminding me that God has gifted each of us in special ways and it is ok to celebrate that...share that....embrace that. I struggle at times thinking that I am ridiculous for writing music or for trying to record it. It is hard to explain this. I fully embrace my role as wife and mother and cherish it. And I would never do anything to jeapordize it. However, Melanie is also a person who lives and breathes music. I love to write and share what I've written! It was such a blessing to me to hear from Katie and to share with her those things. I look forward to seeing those photos and also to watching Katie's business flourish as I'm sure it will! We are blessed women to have husbands so supportive and encouraging of our endeavors.

I left Rhodes on a big high...definitely. But wait, the day was not over and there were more awesome things to come! David and Claudia Windham (again, David the jr. high pastor at Longview) were given Memphis Grizzlies tickets for Saturday night but they decided to give them to us and TO KEEP ALL FOUR CHILDREN so we could enjoy a night out together. Whoa! What a blessing. God is so good and gracious to us and I am so thankful. I have so enjoyed getting to know David and Claudia. They are such a sweet couple....about to have their first baby in December! James has taken to "Mr. David Windham" as he calls him. He runs up and hugs him every time he sees him and even told me the other day that he is "James Windham." Hahahaha. Dori is very fond of Claudia as they sharing a love of knitting and art. Claudia can knit faster than you could buy something at a store..and it's much cuter! I couldn't say enough about this special couple. They came over, fed our children, played with them, watched a movie with them, and got them to bed! Any mom knows how much of a blessing it is to retreat with your hubby knowing your children are being loved and cared for by capable hands.

We had a blast at the Grizzlies game. It was at the FedEx Forum, which I had never been to, and the Grizzlies won! We had *great* seats....and as a bonus, got to sit with another family from church, the Wilson's.

Sunday, October 18th

I always look forward to Sundays. This one was no different. My 10th grade girls Sunday School class did not disappoint and my friend Kristin, who co teaches with me, did a great job teaching a much needed lesson on totally relying on God and not thinking too much of yourself. After that was a great worship time and preaching. After a relaxing afternoon, we came back for J's Spiritual Disciplines class. Every week I see how UNdisciplined I am, but I left encouraged and hopeful for the future and my own struggles regarding being disciplined.

It has been unusually cold here in north MS. Seriously! We had our first wood stove fire on Saturday and believe me...we needed it! We haven't yet filled up our propane take for the heat in the back portion of the house, so Sunday night we decided to sleep as a family in the den and keep the wood stove going all night. This was both extremely wonderful and fun....and a bit of a nightmare!

I made up the sleeper sofa for me and J and pulled Micah's full size mattress on the floor by the stove....turned it sideways so the kids could all sleep on it. THis was a good plan in theory. More on that later.

The kids were so sweet and so thrilled we were ALL sleeping in the den. Such fun for them. Micah said, "mom, I feel so happy in my heart right now." Awww. He doesn't say sentimental things like that often (very much like his daddy!) but I thought it was so sweet for him to say that and I'm so glad we did it, despite problems. LOL.

So J cranked up the fire. Really cranked it up. REALLY. :P And for about an hour we were sweating! And each and every child were wiggling like they had ants in their pants. And fussing. And crying. And Judson kept climbing out of the playpen I had set up for him. And James kept getting up. And Micah kept wiggling. Are you getting the picture? :D Never fear, though....we got smart and opened up some doors to cool things down a bit and finally, mercifully, everyone got to sleep. We slept surprisingly well, too! I wonder if we will do this again tonight......!

Monday, October 19th

We woke up with the sun, which is just glorious. Especially since these parts haven't seen much sun lately. The older children completed home schooling duties and I was able to squeeze in some practice time at the piano for some music me and aforementioned Stephen are playing for a fundraiser soon for the Hope House of Memphis. This organization helps children and families who have AIDS. This is the event:

I met with Stephen at Longview to rehearse for about 2 hours. I'm really excited about this opportunity to play and sing. The songs we've selected are just....really good. We are both going to do some original stuff too, which is always fun. As everything that happens in my life....I'm not really sure just how it happened that we are doing this, but again, God is good! It is a joy to follow where He leads. I'm glad to participate in such a noble cause.

After we practiced, I retrieved the children from Ma Jane's and we came home and had a BIG snack. I have this tray that I pull out from time to time and put all sorts of snacky foods on that the kids can grab when they want. You know...things that don't spoil, things that are healthy and things that aren't very messy. I made some peanut butter sandwiches and decided to put to use these super cute fall cookie cutters. It is amazing how excited children get with just the smallest of pleasures! They were thrilled that I made leaf, pumpkin, and turkey cut-out sandwiches for the tray! I have to admit, they were pretty cute. :P

We haven't finished this day, of course, but if the past several days are any indicator, this evening will also be great. I am so thankful to God for His blessings and gifts in my life. Whew. What a weekend! I hope all of you are enjoying fall this year as much as I am.

Things I love about FALL:

Pumpkins and Gourds.
Aldi's has the cheapest pumpkin price I've seen: $2.50 for very large pumpkins. We have already picked up a few at the children's request.

Pumpkin Spice coffee creamer. YUM. Aldi's also has this on special and their brand is quite good and cheap. :)

Fall decorating.
We have something similar to the above photo...it's a felt leaf garland I got on sale at World Market last year after Thanksgiving. We hung it over the kid's play area.


I do miss the changing of the seasons like we experienced while living in NY. Here are some reminders of that beautiful time. I love these photos and my dear friend Elaine who took them:

What a sweet time this was....Dori, Micah, and baby James.

These shots were taken at Washington Park in Albany, NY. We lived a few blocks over from this gorgeous city park. I love these photos and the way Elaine perfectly captured our family.

James

It is fitting that the day after I post about my sweet little James, he would pull some of his antics this morning. This brings to mind several James episodes that I will share.

*This morning James took the scissors and cut a huge portion of his hair to the root. He said he needed a mohawk.

*Last night I caught him with a marker....all over his bedroom walls, arms, legs, and face.

*Yesterday afternoon when I finally emerged from the bedroom (I've been sick) I found an empty sugar bag on the counter. Next to it was a jar candle filled to the brim with sugar. Across from that was a bowl overflowed with sugar and finally...in the sink was a layer of sugar.

All this occurred in just 2 days, people! Take it in!

This is the child who greets me every morning with a warm hug and sweet kisses. He regularly climbs in my lap, wraps his soft arms around my neck and whispers in my ear, "I wuv you, Mommy."

He is so very loving and yet his antics show over and over that you don't have to teach a child to do wrong...that ole sin nature is evident!

I love James. He reminds me of how I often "do naughty things" and make a mess of stuff. I don't mark on the walls, but I do often mark all over the figurative walls of my life because I'm not obedient to my Heavenly Father and my sin nature/flesh wins out over the Spirit.

I'm so thankful for these lessons God shows me through observing my four year old's life. Now to schedule a visit to the barber shop.......

James' 4th Birthday!

The Castle cake I spent two days making! The "rocks" are hazelnut candies. James sneaked into the "rocks" as you will see later.

Judson enjoying the birthday balloon..."banoon" as he says it.

Micah and James discussing the presents. :D

Happy Birthday, My sweet love James! Aunt Amanda got him the shield, helmet, and sword set. Notice the missing rocks. :P

Sir James!

Very happy about his new cars from Mama Linda and Pappaw!

Micah, James, and Mason. Emmy's arm.

Micah, James, and Mason. Emmy's feet.

more shots of the castle cake:

The little orange thing is a fishy. He got eaten along with the rocks.

My little James is four now. It is so hard to believe. God gave him to me at just the right time and I am so very thankful for this precious child. He loves big and hard and marches to his own beat. He had a wonderful day and I love him so.

Hattiesburg Trip

Well, we finally made a trip south to Hattiesburg for a few days. It was short, but sweet and so overdue! It seemed like every time we tried to head down, someone would get sick or something would come up, and it wouldn't work out. But last Thursday, we were able to pack up and go.

I woke up that morning to loud thunder and rain falling, but this did not deter me. I don't think anything could have stopped this trip!

The kids were so excited to see Grandma and Grandpa Moser and Uncle Jason and it was easy to wake them due to all the anticipation. :)

On the way down, we stopped in Madison to visit my best friend Emily, and her children: Anne-Elise, Ava, and new baby Jak. Let me stop right here and say that I am so thankful for my friendship with Emily. Through the years we've remained as close as we ever were, if not closer. When I walked in Em's door (which was decorated with a sweet drawing for us with my kids' names on it! how sweet!) the first thing I said was, "how come I haven't been here before now?!" In fact, I'm already planning and scheming for the next visit. :D

My kids *love* to play with Emily's kids, and between the two of us, we have a serious crew! It is such a joy to see our little ones play together. I just love it! Thankfully they all play great together (except for when one of my boys forgets the delicate sweetness of girls) and give me and Em time to talk about the 2,347,987,234 things we always seems to squish into a visit. I am so thankful for our friendship that has remained and strengthened through the years. It is refreshing to get together and share our lives with each other and pick up right where we left off from the time before. Of course, there is no shortage of serious belly laughs (which are so needed for the mamafolk). It is just........good. Visiting Em is like drinking a great cup of coffee: rich, strong, and satisfying. So thankful for this short, but fun visit!

Me and Emily

Ava. Gracious what an adorable child!!

Sad Ava.

Anne-Elise and Dori. They're buddies. They share love of art among other things.

Multiplication. And poor baby Jak isn't even in the shot. Somehow I missed him in all the festivities. He is so so cute, though.

After spending a few hours with the Kines family, we headed for Grandma's house. The kids love to visit Grandma and Grandpa for the same reasons I used to love to go over to their house. Grandma *always* has yummy cookies. The yard is huge and has flowers and a swing set in it. Grandpa has cartoons ready and waiting to be watched and enjoyed. Grandma has tiny little juice cups for breakfast time. It is fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house!

We also spent a good bit of time with Uncle Jason. I guess you could say that this visit James and Jason "bonded," lol. For some reason, at every meal, James sat next to Uncle Jason and would reach over and grab Jason's arm. Then grin at him with a loving smile. It was quite comical. Who knows what James was thinking, but thankfully, Jason went along and they are big buddies now.

This is Dori at Uncle Jason's house

Micah, Jason, Dori, and Judson at the back of Grandma's yard. Old, random boat in back ground.

Observing old, random boat.

Pears in the yard.

Dori, Jason, Micah, and James in front of Grandpa's shed.

Um..ok, so James wanted to take a picture. There were 5 other people that were supposed to be in this shot but James said, "I wanna take a picture of him." And then to our surprise he did! Hahaha.

Me and Jason. Rare moment. Everyone hold your breath!

I like this one....

Swingin' at Grandma's

Dori discovered this old book of Fairy Tales and told me that she decided she would read it through cover to cover without skipping over the fairy tales she already knew OR the ones that seemed boring in the beginning. Ok, then. Jason was worried he'd offended Dori because she came inside to read while all the boys were throwing the football. I assured him this is normal and in fact happens fairly regularly.

James in Uncle Jason's racecar.

James and Ginger. Judson running away from Ginger.

Before bed reading.

The boys are in desperate need of haircuts, which will be remedied this Friday. However, while at Grandma's, they were needing some hair help. Grandpa obliged.

"I can only do so much, Melanie...." :P

Here's Grandma! She was making a delicious ham dinner and stopped to smile and let me get a photo. Many, many, many memories of Grandma in this spot serving her family and feeding us well.

Judson wasn't feelin' this shot.

It was a great, albeit short, visit. I'm thankful we were able to go....for the weather not being too terrible, for safe travels, laughter, loving, sharing, good food, good times. Till the next time.......