The highlight of my day......talking about Anna!

I did go to work today, even with my very little voice.  I woke up with a scratchy throat and my head very heavy.  But I was determined to go to work.  My voice actually got a bit better as the day went on, but I was very, very tired by the end of the day.  During the kids "nap time" I was talking to a teacher that I don't work with very often.  She was asking about my grandchildren and I got to show off some pictures of my little sweeties.  And then she asked me about Anna's name.  So I told her a bit about the back story of all my grand children's names.   And I got to thinking, again, about Aunt Anna.  This evening I came across this picture that I got from one of my siblings.  It was not saved in the same file as most of my scanned pictures, and it is a great photo!  I wish I would have found this picture to go with a past blog post about my mom and her family. 

In this picture - left to right is my mom (Nona Johnson) my aunt Eunice, Aunt Anna Toensing, my grandfather (Henry Arnold Toensing), my aunt Phyllis, my aunt Beatrice.  My guess is that this picture is from the early 1950's.  What a treasure.  And I just love this picture.  The way that they are standing with their arms around each other.  I love the big smile on my mom's face.  And I can see the personality in each of my aunt's faces.  Yes, this picture is a keeper. 

 

Here is a picture of Anna from Monday.  She is making her "O" face!  She is such a sweet little girl.  She is calm and very laid back.  At a bit over 2 weeks old she is starting to have some more awake times and she doesn't get bothered by anything that her older sisters and brother do.  Even the loud noises don't seem to bother her!  I just can't wait to watch her grow!  I drove to Gwen's on Monday, even with the "Severe Winter Weather Warning" that had been issued for 8-10" of snow.  When I left my house very early in the morning, the sky was clear and there was not much traffic (It was President's day and the school's were closed).  I got to Gwen's in record time.  I got to help Gwen with Anna, play with the other kids.  Watch a couple of "shows"  (These are Lia and Ellie and Zeke productions, complete with music and dancing and costumes - quite fun!)  Gwen and I kept watching the weather radar, however it was very confusing since it would say it was snowing at her house and there was nothing falling from the sky.  Finally around noon time I decided that I needed to head home. It was snowing very steadily most of the way home.  We had about 5 inches at home when I got there.  And more fell over the afternoon.  But I am so thankful that I braved the weather to spend time with Gwen and Lia, Ellie, Zeke and Anna!

And talking about the history of the grand kids names, made me forget my lack of a voice for a few minutes!   I love that these opportunities come up to share a bit about my family, my faith and even my generations.  I know that these are Holy Spirit appointments that turn a somewhat crummy day into something quite different!

Jesus, thank you for reminding me of the amazing gift of my family.   Thank you for the time that I get to spend with Gwen and my grandchildren.   Holy Spirit, I love that you provide opportunities for me to share.   What a wonderful bright spot in a somewhat dark day.  Thank you for health and healing.   Amen