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We had a GRAND Time!

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The main reason Ken and I moved to Missouri three and a half years ago was to spend time with our grandkids here. We now have seven in Missouri and six in Texas (more on that at the end) and two of our Missouri boys are in high school now! So thankful we moved when we did because these two will be all grown up before we know it!

We spent a fun weekend in Memphis with our three oldest grandsons at a Memphis Grizzlies game! Here are just a few photos from our weekend:

It was full-on spring in Memphis, which was a special treat—even though it rained most of the time we were there.
The three-hour drive to Memphis and back, plus the time spent at the Airbnb were my favorite parts of the trip. These guys kept us laughing and made us so proud!
We were in the “nosebleed section” at the Fed-Ex Forum arena, but it was a great game and we had a blast seeing it through the boys’ eyes.
I can’t remember the last time Ken and I stayed up so late or ordered pizza at 10:30 p.m.! But Aldo’s Pizza Pie was worth it! (And we had leftovers to take home.)
We’d kind of forgotten what it’s like to feed three strapping teenage athletes! Bottomless pits! Hollow legs! But oh such fun! The Cupboard was near our Airbnb and a great breakfast place for three growing boys!

Ken ordered “Ben’s Breakfast” from the menu at The Cupboard, assuming Ben was the owner or maybe the chef. But when we asked our server about it, she told us that Ben was the owner’s black Labrador retriever who’d died about a year ago. Ben was a celebrity in the neighborhood and each day carried the restaurant’s bank bag six blocks to the bank and back. “Nobody ever messed with Ben,” our server assured us. We all loved that story! (AND our breakfast!)

Next week we’re headed to Texas to visit our sons’ families and our six grandkids there. We hope to make some great memories with them too.

If you’re a grandparent, what are some special memories you’ve made with your grandkids? Or with your own grandparents when you were a kid? I’d love to hear your stories!

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Deborah Raney

DEBORAH RANEY's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title and launched Deb’s writing career. Forty books later, she's still creating stories that touch hearts and lives. Her novels have won RWA's RITA Award, the ACFW Carol Award, the National Readers Choice Award, and the HOLT Medallion. She is also a three-time Christy Award finalist. Deb is on faculty for several national writers’ conferences and served on the executive board of the 2,500-member American Christian Fiction Writers organization for 18 years before retiring in 2022. She is a recent transplant to Missouri, having moved with her husband, Ken Raney, from their native Kansas to be closer to kids and grandkids. They love road trips, e-biking, Friday garage sale dates, and breakfast on the screened porch overlooking their wooded backyard.
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Comments

  1. Deb, I babysit our 3 y/o granddaughter two days a week. We dance, sing, read books, make-up stories. Messiness, tumbling on the couch, walks. Next year she will be in K3, so I run for the opportunities. Now.

  2. What a great trip, Deb! It looks like you had a fabulous time. I love the spring blossoms on the trees. Beautiful. And those handsome fellas you were hanging out with were nothing to shake a stick at, either. 🙂

    • Awww, thanks, Karen. They are handsome and adorable! And yes, it was WONDERFUL to experience a couple days of spring before we came home to 30 degrees in Missouri today! Brrrrrr!!!

  3. Wonderful pictures and wonderful memories! Your grandsons are so handsome. You are right that time passes so quickly. We have only two grandchildren: our granddaughter lives in Virginia Beach where we are, and our grandson lives in California.

    Our granddaughter is now 15 and in 10th grade. We have been fortunate to pick her up one day a week from the time she was six weeks old through first grade. I retired from teaching when she was in second grade, and we picked her up after school everyday thru 6th grade, so lots of memories. A special vacation with her was taking her to Disney World when she was 5 and doing the Princess special makeover as well as many other things. We have seen dance recitals, choral productions, and took her to California with us when she was 10.

    Our grandson is 13 and in 8th grade. We see him once a year when we travel to California and sometimes twice when they visit us. We always make the most of each visit – have been to Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, the Aquarium, several beaches, Catalina Island, San Francisco, Carmel, and all 21 missions. So we have been very fortunate.

    Looking forward to seeing pictures from your visit to Texas. Love catching up with your family.

    • Sounds like you’ve made some wonderful memories with your grandkids, Betty. And even when you live far away. I know that I felt every bit as close to my far-away grandparents as I did to my grandparents who lived just 14 miles from us. Wonderful memories!

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