Time Flies!

Time Flies!

Boy, how quickly time passes us by! Hard to believe this year is already three quarters completed, isn't it?

For me, it's been a challenging year though as well as exciting and very happy much of the time.

For openers, I have a new grandson - Kurtis Tyne Wagner - born on April 13th and he has become such a joy to have around. As happened when his sister, Maya, came into my life almost three years ago now, it does make one wonder what on earth we did before this new arrival came along and entered our lives.

Kurtis, I think, has to be the happiest little guy I have ever seen! His "fussy" spells are relatively rare and in the beginning, his crys for food or clean, dry clothes were more of a "moan, grumble and groan" type noise. Now, he is a little bit more vocal but still, rarely does the screaming pitching a fit type stuff Maya did at this age and still does every now and again too! You definitely know she's around by her voice!

Kurtis is one to lay in his bassinette and be content for long periods of time with a couple little stuffed toy type things which he jabbers at a good bit now. When he gets quiet does not always mean he is sleeping either as sometimes he will just lay there, looking all around and being very, very quiet. If you stop and look down at him, the immediate reaction is he flashes such a huge grin across that sweet little face and then, usually laughs out loud for you too and I've yet to see anyone who can resist not laughing back at him too! Just so friendly a baby! How could we have ever been this lucky? God has truly blessed my daughter and son-in-law and ME most of all I think with the beautiful grandchildren I am fortunate to say belong to my family line!

Alex, my nine-year-old grandson, can't be forgotten in this picture either as he is quite a wonder too! He's a sweet, very well-behaved little fellow too - not just saying that as a biased old grandma either! He's a good student in school - has even won awards each year for his class leadership abilities, which is quite a swtich from the "awards" his mother and aunt and uncle brought home from school when they were his age! And now, he has begun a new adventure in his life too - taking trumpet lessons! The other nite, Carrie phoned here and put him on the phone and had him try to play the trumpet for us to hear his talent. Ok, you can imagine how "not so great" the sounds were - so much so that Uncle Bill (Mandy's husband) commented it sounded very much like someone torturing a bull elephant. Don't know how Bill knows what that might sound like but I have to agree with him. But, that was after having had only one lesson too so it stands to reason he is going to be bad, very, very bad for probably quite a while here. But, he's learning a new skill, using a hidden talent he might have in his little body and it's all good!

I'm learning a few things myself lately too. I found a forum online and through it, got some help to learn how to put links into my blog so guess that makes a lie then of the old adage that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, doesn't it? Well, I think so!

Yesterday morning, as Mandy, Clate and I were enjoying a nice wake-up cup of coffee, we heard a loud noise on the road here and realized the sounds was that of a fire truck zipping past our house. Within the next 3-4 minutes, three more fire trucks when whizzing by and continuted on past where the pavement ends on the dirt road that leads to the ghost town about a mile or so from the house.

We didn't learn till last evening what was going on down in Peale (the ghost town) but when we did, the news was sad, very unsettling. Seems the last house down there, which has been used as a camp for a family from the Philly area for many years now, was discovered to be smoldering around 8 a.m. and a garage type building across the street from the house had also been burned during the night.

Now, considering there is no one who lives down there, there were no storms Wednesday night into Thursday morning - nothing going on at all that could have started a fire, it is more than obvious this had to be a case of arson.

However, I do wonder how many people, when they learn of this act, will realize what a loss it is to the area to have this last house now destroyed by such a thoughtless action too! Such a shame when people act like that and destroy something that is a last vestige of history from this little ghost town. Just makes me wonder what on earth goes through the mind of whoever set this blaze and caused this destruction. I can't imagine getting a thrill out of seeing a piece of history go up in flames and smoke.

Certainly, if the owners wish, they can build a replacement on the property but considering the house had to have been well over a hundred years old, can that ever really then be "replaced?" I think not. Just such a waste, such a waste.

It's been a bit of a sad week here too from news items in the local paper. Monday's headline was about a terrible accident in the neighboring county in which a young Amish couple and their baby, a year old boy, were riding in a buggy and hit by someone driving an SUV. The couple were both seriously injured and the baby - thrown from the buggy and killed. Enter in one tragedy for the week.

Then, on the obituary page of that paper, there were two obituaries listed for two women from a town about 20 miles from here - a mother (age 56) and daughter (age 28) who were victims of a pedestrian-vehicle accident down in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina where the family was vacationing. As was reported in the paper the next day, the mother and daughter had been walking along the highway with other family members and in attempting to cross the highway, they both stepped out in front of the SUV and killed instantly. The daughter leaves behind a young husband and three-year-old daughter which makes this event even more tragic.

I don't know any of these families but it is something that truly makes my heart ache for those they leave behind. And, makes me realize yet again, how fortunate I am that nothing like that has ever happened to me or any of my extended family as well.

And, it makes me hope and pray that as time flies, nothing like that ever does happen to me or my loved ones too!