# 525 - Celebration in the Country! Nana for a Year!

On this week, a year ago, I became a Nana.



Heather & Henry watching their baby girl dive into her first-birthday cake,
face first. Such a wonderful moment!

Actually, on Labor Day, September 1st, my first daughter, Heather, gave birth to our first grand-child, Coraline.

This past week, we traveled to the Fort Worth/Dallas area to celebrate Coraline's first birthday. We had a glorious time with her.

Even better, we had made reservations at a nice local hotel, but our daughter's in-laws insisted we stay in their guest house, so we decided to stay with them. Since we are all truly one big family, it was better to be at a family member's house than at a commercialized location.

My son-in-law's parents' home - their "pool house." It is very comfortable.

I love my daughter's mother-in-law...we call her "Blondie" and she is a beautiful woman. I feel as if my daughter gained a great mother and father-in-law in her marriage, and I gained a new friend who I feel as if I have known a lifetime. Henry's father, Herman, is a great guy as well. He put up with us two women going for a night-time swim, then staying up past midnight on the back patio chatting it up and laughing as if we have been friends forever.

Sgt. Dave was thrilled to stay with the "in-laws" because he has back problems and had just had his back injections and nerve cauterization done on the day we left for our out of town visit, and their guest bed was super comfortable for his sore back, and their pool was refreshing.

In spite of all the physical work Sgt. Dave handled for the birthday party, he was able to handle it better because of the great accommodations.

As for Heather, she experienced mixed emotions over her first baby turning a year old. She has thoroughly enjoyed having her first baby and has been a wonderful mother in her first year of motherhood, but the sadness at the first year being "over" struck her rather hard.

But, I reminded her that each year will be so exciting and she might feel as I did, "Oh, THIS year is my favorite, really, this one!" And each approaching year will hopefully be the BEST year and BEST phase ever with her children.

I loved every year. It's hard to believe that each year surpassed the last, but it did, and it still does.

However, we do love our babies. It can be difficult to see the "baby" in your baby fading away because those days are full of sweetness, innocence and dependence, but all of that is counter-balanced with a lot of work needed during that first year, which makes it a tad easier to welcome the more independent days that are to come.

God is mighty wise in His creations!

Coraline's first bite of s'mores as
Nana holds her at the lake on her
REAL birthday! She is giving her
daddy those twinkling eyes of
delight. More s'mores please!

I do love being a Nana. It is probably the most joyous position I have held in life. Being a parent was the best, but being a Nana brings such happiness, especially since I am not having to change diapers at 2am on a regular basis.

I have now been a Nana for a year, well, for just barely over a year, and that baby gal has brought me a level of joy that only a baby can bring, minus the diapers, and that's a fantastic kind of happiness!