A visit from the grandchildren...

My husband went to Indiana to see his mother at the end of May and on his way home he picked up four precious little ones (all but baby Macey) and brought them home to Grandma Tami (and Grandpa Gary) to enjoy for a few days. And enjoy them we did!

I had baked all day getting things ready for them. Everything was baked for grandkids and for Sunday except for the Marble Toll House Squares. These have to be baked by Audrey and her grandma. Audrey is three and when she was still a little thing she and I had our first baking time together.

This day was a precious memory for me. With Marble Toll House Squares you sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the cookies at the last and then swirl them--hence the word "marble" in their name! Well, I would hand Audrey a handful of chips to put on top of them and she would start to sprinkle them on and then decide to eat them instead. It took some convincing (and quite a few bites) to get the chips where they were intended. Since then Audrey uses the word "baking" to mean "make Marble Toll House Squares".
On her last visit I made the mistake of thinking we could bake something else and within 20 minutes of finishing regular chocolate chip cookies she was asking me when we were going to bake! I have learned that when Audrey asks to bake she is talking about Marble Toll House Squares. She asks me as we are baking them when we're going to get to the part where we sprinkle the chips on top. At the end of a busy Saturday the children were fed Pizzaburgers and fries and Audrey and I had a table full of goodies. Some to eat themselves, some to share in Sunday School and some for our wonderful Sunday dinner. We had Peanut Butter Bars, Hot Fudge Cake, Cinnamon Twist Pound Cake and Marble Toll House Squares. The children always play so well with our children and I enjoyed hearing giggles and talking. I enjoyed sitting on the carport and watching Isaiah learning to ride a little bicycle, (after several crashes!), watching the children play in water and watching them eat supper outside in the warm early summer sunshine. They even were thrilled and amazed when grandma joined them in a game of wiffle ball!

We ended the week by celebrating our Cierra's 13th birthday in the Smoky Mountains at Powell Farms. Jimmy (our son-in-law) was going to be preaching his niece's wedding there and Alicia had found out the farm was available. This place is a child's dream come true because of a private pool in the back yard! It is a perfect place for a family that swims in their culottes and slick pants :)
Thursday we were to head to Powell Farm with the kids and grandkids and the weather forecast said there was a 90% chance of thunderstorms all day with the high only at 77 degrees. Not good for children's morale when they've been sky high over swimming in a real pool!

Thursday morning I prayed and asked the Lord to let it rain all around us but to please keep the storms away from Powell Farms and let us have sunshine. I told the kids about it and they told me that their grandpa had prayed at breakfast that it wouldn't rain.

When we got there--guess what---sunshine! While we were getting them a hamburger at McDonald's one of them said, "Hey, grandma prayed that it wouldn't rain and the sun is shining!" Another one said, "And grandpa prayed at breakfast!"

I told Gary, "That is what I want to be remembered for by our grandchildren--that when grandpa and grandma pray the Lord answers!"

All day we watched storms around us. Grey clouds, thunder, but it didn't rain a drop on us till it was late in the evening and time to call it a day. The sun stayed on us most the day and we had the most wonderful time!

We enjoyed being with Jimmy and Alicia and their children, Gary's dad and AllaDean, his brother Jerry (who just got saved in May!) and our own sweet children that are at home. How thankful I am for this time with my grandchildren that the Lord gave me this summer! Thank You Lord!