Being Thankful - Day 9

I am thankful for grandparents! 

I only have one living grandparent, my Mamo.  Bonham has 3 living grandparents, his Grandma and Grandpa Wright (George and Shirley) and his Grandpa Calk (Preston).  Bonham's Grandma Calk, who we referred to as Mimi (Billie) passed away in May of 2011. 

Mamo is my paternal grandmother and was married to my Papo.  Papo passed away in October of 2000.  My maternal grandmother, my Granny, passed away in February of 1995.  I never knew my maternal grandfather. 

Some of my earliest memories involve my Mamo and Papo... I remember them taking me to Georgia to visit family.  I remember them taking my brother and I to their land out in Jack County where the guys would hunt dove and deer and Mamo and I would fish or find bugs.  It was a very rustic house and I loved that I felt like we were "camping", but we still slept inside.  There was no t.v., so I would put on concerts for everyone in the evenings.  I used the "Patsy Cline, Live at the Grand Ole Opry" tape, because it had an introduction and applause when I entered the room!  Then we would curl up in bed with Mamo and she would tell us stories.  I remember begging my parents to let me stay at Mamo's house and she never seemed to mind. 

Our children love their Mamo too!  When Jayna was little, she called her "Nemo" until she could say, "Mamo".  So cute... such sweet memories they will cherish forever.  We are very fortunate to have Mamo so close in distance.  We love you Mamo and are thankful for you!

Mamo and I at Jayna's kindergarten graduation

Mamo, Barrett, and Jayna at the pumpkin patch 2010

Jayna and Mamo - Oct 2011

Barrett and Mamo - Oct 2011

My Mamo - always smiling!

 

Mamo and Jayna at a 3D movie!

Mamo and Barrett at the park, sliding

Mamo and I went to Winstar one night... look out!

Mamo and the kids - Halloween 2013

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George and Shirley, Bonham's maternal grandparents don't live as close to us, unfortunately.  The good thing is that when we go visit them, we have a free room near some cool cities! 

We love to visit and we don't get down there often enough.  :(  When we visit, the kids like to swim in their pool, weathering permitting.  We like to play dominoes with George and Shirley in the evenings and Shirley keeps score.  Guess who normally wins?  :) 

 

I met George and Shirley at their 50th wedding anniversary in February 2004.  I was so nervous that they wouldn't like me... but I was standing around with Bonham's sisters and George (not my baby) and he asked them, "So, is she the one?"  Right in front of me!  And they looked at me and smiled and said, "Yeah, we think so!"  That made me feel special.  No pressure... right?

 

We are thankful to George and Shirley for being who they are, loving us, welcoming us into their home, and feeding us when we come to visit!  We love you both!

Jayna, Shirley, Barrett, George, and George (baby)



Great Grandma reading to the kids

 

Jayna and Barrett with Great Grandpa - Jan 2011

Bonham and his Grandpa - Oct 2009

Great Grandma and Jayna - Oct 2009

Great Grandpa and Jayna - Oct 2009

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Preston is Bonham's paternal grandfather, who Robert, Bonham, and Barrett get their first names from (they are all Roberts).  Preston lives in San Antonio and we don't see him as much as we would like.  The last time we planned to visit, we were in New Braunfels and there was a horrible rain storm that had roads closed and power outages, so we weren't able to make it over to his side of town and we were heading home the next morning.  Hopefully, we can make it down to visit him soon though.

 

I met Preston and Billie at the rehearsal dinner for our wedding.  I didn't get to spend much time with them that weekend.  I didn't really get to know them well until after Jayna was born.  I became very close to Billie over the years.  I didn't talk much about her death when it happened, because I was still so emotional about it and didn't know what to say... she was so special to me; she was my friend and I miss her dearly. 

I can't remember exactly when we started calling Billie, Mimi.  But I remember after Barrett was born, Jayna saw the picture of Barrett, Bonham, Robert, and Preston and she said, "There's Barrett, Daddy, Grandpa, and 'Nother Papa"  So from then on, we referred to Preston as 'Nother Papa.

Bonham and I joked that Mimi was able to mess up any one's diet - she would always want to cook us yummy treats for us and then when those were gone, she would cook up something else!  We couldn't be rude and not eat them.  While we were doing that, Preston would tell us stories about hunting, southern-engineering something around the house, and what's going on at the church. 

I love this picture of Mimi - we have it on our refrigerator

'Nother Papa with Jayna and Barrett - June 2012

Preston and Barrett - Oct 2009

 

 

'Nother Papa, Mimi, Jayna, Barrett, and Bonham - Jan 2011

 

 

 We love all of our grandparents.  Our children are very fortunate to have a relationship with so many Great Grandparents.  We look forward to more visits, more pictures, and lots of memories!