Meditations

Thinking today of the many blessings Riley and I have had over the years. The greatest is our relationship with our Lord. No words can truly express the love we have for our Saviour...he has died for us...and brought us into TRUE life. He has brought us through all the peaks and the valleys, through every storm...he is our peace, our joy, our all consuming love. Without him we were in darkness...with him we are in light. Praise the Lord for his loving kindness and his mercy and grace!!!!!

"he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. "~ Titus 3:5, NLT

Where have the years gone ???

So...it has been over 2 full years since I have last posted...and HUGE changes have occurred in this Nana's life!!! Lets see...oh the twins were born 11 weeks early, spent 7 weeks in the NICU, came home at 36 weeks ( 1 month early) and have been the delight of our lives. Eliana arrived first at 2 lbs 14 oz and Elijah second, at 3 lbs. 1 oz. They are now 2 and doing quite well!!

Amy also had a baby last year, and after a difficult pregnancy, delivered a healthy baby boy. Jonathan was 5 weeks early, but was able to come home with his mommy and daddy. He is a happy little 1 year old now.

Both Abram and Gabriel have had to get used to their new siblings, but they have adjusted well. So Riley and I now have 5 grandchildren...4 boys and a girl...blessings abundant.

Also, our youngest son, Eric married a darling young woman, Jessica and has just celebrated his first year anniversary this past April. They were able to plan an amazing trip to Italy and enjoyed themselves immensely. Eric and Jessica had a bit of a rough patch as Eric developed cancer 2 months after they were married. After surgery and radiation, Eric is now at a 95% survival rate...but with God he is at a 100% survival rate. Eric and Jessica handled this challenge quite well and are enjoying the many blessings God has given them.

So as you can see there have been quite a few changes...been a little busy...God has added to our family and we couldn't be more blessed! Hope I write before the next 2 years :)

Year in Review

What can I say...it has been over a year since I have posted. Actually we ended up not spending Thanksgiving 05' alone as all of our children's plans changed....so it was a very full and very fun house. There have been many changes to our family this past year.

Both Amy and Brian & Kyle and Carolyn bought new homes this year. Amy and Brian moved up into a larger home and are enjoying the space. Abram can now run around all over the place. Kyle and Carolyn were able to buy their very first condo this year and are thrilled to be decorating their own space. Gabriel has been busy discovering every square inch of their new home. Brian and Ashley have celebrated their 1st year of marriage and Ashley has been busy decorating the former "bachelor pad"...she is doing an awesome job. Eric decided to not live as a resident firefighter anymore, so he moved back home for a few months and was able to move on again into an apartment. All of this moving occured right around September so needless to say we were becoming expert at moving...not to mention tired.

But the biggest news in our family this year is that Carolyn is expecting a double blessing...TWINS....due on August 7th. We are all so surprised...especially Kyle and Carolyn. As for Riley and I, we were able to have an awesome vacation with Riley's family at Disneyworld. Riley was able to dive twice, once with the manatees and then again in a tank in Epcot. He so enjoyed himself!!! All in all our year was full of blessings...we can't wait to see what 2007 brings......

Big Changes!!!

It is hard to believe it is time yet again for another Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for this year. We have two new wonderful additions to our family, a grandson (Gabriel) and a daughter-in law (Ashley). Our family continues to grow and change.

Speaking of changes, this Thanksgiving, Riley and I will experience a huge change...for the first time in years we will not be having Thanksgiving with our children. They and their families will be going to other family gatherings....so we are back to how it was in the beginning before we had any children. It seems so odd...Definitely "empty nest". We do plan to hop over the mountains and see Riley's sisters and mom so some of the emptiness will be less.

So here is to change...may we gracefully move through each season in our lives.....

Catching Up....

Ok, so it has been quite a while since I have posted....so long in fact we have added not only a new grandson to our family, but also a new daughter-in-law. It has been a busy time in our family.

Gabriel Weldon Yerxa was born on June 12th and is the delight of not only his parent's Kyle and Carolyn, but of all of our family. He is now almost 5 months old...and is smiling and cooing constantly.

Brian has been blessed with the love of his life, Ashley, and they were engaged in June. They married October 8th in her hometown of Archbold, Ohio. It was a wonderful and special wedding. We all flew out to attend the wedding and were so delighted to meet Ashley's family. We also had a second reception for them at the end of October here in Auburn for those who could not attend the wedding in Ohio.



Abram is now 19 months old and is running, not walking everywhere. And of course speaking his own special baby dialect of which he expects us to completly understand.

So that is some of what has been going on in the Yerxa household these past 8 months since the last post. I will try to get more pictures up in future posts.

Another grandson on the way!!

Today we received the news that Kyle and Carolyn will be having a boy in June. We are so excited for them, and oh yeah...for us too!! What a blessing, another grandson, we couldn't be more thrilled. Now the next question is what will his name be???

Hello Everyone...

Hello everyone...thought this would be a fun way to share photos and thoughts about being a grandmother....

Thanks to my niece, Heather, for helping me set up this blog spot...I'm still getting used to this form of communication...so hopefully the posts will improve as time goes by..

Abram sooooo tired!!

Abram tuckered out shopping with Nana