Family Visits

We didn’t get to spend a lot of time with Cyrus during his first 6 years due to his Mom Lisa and dad Kini living on the Island of Hawaii. We did our best to make the best out of every moment they came to the Mainland (Continental US) for family trips.

We know he enjoys minecraft, gaming and legos. Our hope is to get to know him and his dad Kini much better now that they are living in Las Vegas. We are praying strongly that Kini will find a job before the end of March so that they don’t need to go back to Hawaii as Kini has a job there working for the State of Hawaii, Department of Education.

Included in this post are some photos from some of those visits

My next opportunity to grow as a grandparent arrived with Maddison

My next opportunity to grow as a Grandparent arrived with the birth of Maddison. She is the only child of my adopted daughter Bethany.

Bethany and I met through my daughter Christina when she was attending Barstow College. Bethany and I both had very similar childhoods growing up and are both estranged from our biological mothers. Due to the estrangement from our own biological mothers, we bonded rather quickly.  There were definitely bumps as she was already an “adult” and I did what I could to help guide her in making better choices to have a productive and happy adult life, especially as those who should have been there for her, clearly were not.

When Bethany informed me that she was pregnant, at first I was not sure how to react. I was concerned, as any loving parent would be due to the circumstances in which she got pregnant. 

Bethany and Maddison came to live with us when Maddie was about 2 1/2 years old. While we had some "growing pains" in adjusting to having a toddler in the house again, Maddie also had some learning to do as well with rules and structure. She had been taught some very inappropriate things by others (not my daughter) who should have known better, especially the ones who were in charge of educating children in the area they moved from. 

The first time I had to put her in time out, it broke my heart. I waited until Grandpa took over and went in the room and cried.  I was afraid of being the type of "Grandparent" that my own biological mother had been; overbearing and not respecting of my daughter's authority in her own child's life.

Bethany got a job at the local hospital and we quickly got Maddie on a schedule. She started Pre-K and we all worked to keep a structure and schedule that was best for Maddison. We had tea parties and dress up and play dates at the park. It was one of the best times in my life. It brought about healing that I never fully realized I needed. 

I knew from that point forward that no matter what else happened in my life, I was blessed. I was blessed in having the opportunity to see my children have children and love my grandchildren with all my heart and soul.

The first step in becoming a Mammaw

My first opportunity to become a Grandparent arrived with the birth of Cyrus.

Due to the love and care I had for our oldest daughter Lisa, I had the “joy and delight” of experiencing sympathy symptoms and knew she was pregnant long before she called to tell us.

While Lisa was pregnant, I got busy knitting a blanket for Cycy with nothing but pure love for this sweet blessing that would arrive to light up my life in ways I never knew possible.

Lisa had gone into labor on the 4th and and we were hoping Cyrus would be born on her dad’s birthday which is June 5th, but God had other plans. Cyrus arrived via c-section on June 6, 2010.

Once Cyrus was born, my heart grew at least ten sizes. I had a level of love I never before knew was possible. Although he was in Hawaii and we were in California, I knew the moment I first laid eyes on him in person; he would have my heart forever.

The first visit with him was when he was approximately 9 months old.

I had been in a car accident in January of 2011 and then fell and broke my shoulder on Feb 28. Cyrus, his mom and dad came out to visit Las Vegas in March of that year.

Although I was in tons of pain from my injuries, nothing was going to stop me from my enjoying time with this sweet precious boy.

We went to the M & M factory, and explored many areas of Vegas. It was during this trip that I realized that my heart had grown yet again. My life would never again be the same as I was now a Grandparent.

Cyrus was the newest love of my life and having that blessing was something I would never forget.

Welcome

Welcome to my virtual home. Here I will share my journey of healing as I learned to go from severely alienated and hurting mom to doting Mammaw (Grandma) of 4 beautiful grandchildren.