Charlie-Bean and Multi-Blogging

This is just to let you know that I have started a new blog. Because one blog wasn't enough of a distraction to keep me away from all of the other things I'm supposed to be doing. I needed more...

My new blog (which link should be available on my profile page) is entitled "Beansprout, and you can find it at http://charliesprout.blogspot.com. That is where I will be writing about my life and times with my new granddaughter, Charlotte...

Oh -- Haven't you heard?

Charlotte Rose Kopp made her debut this morning at 3:26. You can read all about it in my other blog! I'll still be writing here from time to time, of course...You know, all those posts where I whine and complain about stuff. But for photos and stories about Charlie, please check out my Beansprout!

Thanksgiving 2009: A Retrospective Blog

Meagan and Joe, Thanksgiving Day 2009 (My LRDC)

This past Thanksgiving, just like all of the other Thanksgivings before it, was filled with blessings for which I am thankful. But this one had something extra...

At the end of the day, after the feast had been consumed, the food put away, the dishes washed...after the table had been taken over by the "players" (those who chose to take part in games like Balderdash and Catch Phrase , My Dazzling -- and Expecting -- Daughter Meagan and I shared a special time on the living room sofa...

As the games commenced in the kitchen, the two of us put our feet up and pored over the journals I had kept for Meagan while I was looking forward to her imminent birth.

Although I had read through some of my entries when I pulled the notebooks out of storage a few days earlier, there was much that I had forgotten about those days of anxious anticipation, coupled with a desire to keep things status quo; I knew it would never again be so easy to provide my child with everything she needed!

It's hard for me to describe what it meant to me to sit there on the couch with my hand on the warm little mound that is "The Bean," listening to my daughter read out loud, sometimes exclaiming, sometimes laughing. It brought back memories of all those other Thanksgivings -- and all of the other just plain old days -- which I can clearly see have all been blessed beyond belief by the gift and the love of my family!

Baby Bean -- A Grandmother's Perspective

This is how our Meagan's little "Belly Bean" looked on September 1, 2009. Of course she's a month older now. A month bigger, a month smarter, prettier, more talented...whatever. A month closer to actually being here -- In fact, we're halfway there!

Yesterday, her other Grandma, Vickie, and I went with Meagan for her appointment with the midwife. There, with the help of Doppler, we were able to hear little Bean's heartbeat. And we were just as awestruck as I remember being when I heard my own two little belly beans' heartbeats, oh so long ago.

For now, only Meagan can feel her daughter's movements. But in another month or so, we'll all be able to share the excitement. (If Meagan is willing, of course.) Until then, the sound of that tiny little heart beating away -- and ultrasound photos like the one above -- assure us that, really and truly, there is a baby -- a baby girl -- growing and thriving inside there. And we love her already.

One More Thing I Have to Tell You...

"Baby Bean," June 2009 (not my LRDC). Debut scheduled for February, 2010.


I'm going to be a Grandma! Actually, I'm going to be Grammakate. Within minutes of letting us know that she and Joe were going to have a baby, My Dazzling Daughter Meagan told me to start thinking about what I'd like to be called. (You know -- with reference to being a grandmother.) She made it sound like it was my decision, but it turns out she has some very specific ideas about names that will not be acceptable. For instance, anything with "Granny" in it. Like Granny Square, or Granny Cake.

That's okay. Once the little Bean gets here, Meagan can name her whatever she wants. I know what I'll be calling her when her mama's not around. (That is my decision to make, right?)

Note: It'll be a few more weeks before we can find out if Bean is a boy bean or a girl bean. Until then, I simply cannot refer to her as "it." In my heart I feel likes she's a girl. I could be wrong, of course; if I am, it will be very easy for me to turn around and start referring to her as "him." But for now she's a girl bean.

Of course My Awesome Husband Greg and I are thrilled. So is Uncle Dominic. Whenever one of us starts to feel a little overburdened by the all of the troubles in the world today, all we have to do is say, "Meagan's going to have a baby." Faces soften, eyes glow and smiles form.

That's all for now. Have a wonderful day!

A Limerick Inspired by Nature (and My LRDC)

"Bean Sprout," June 22, 2009, Kate's LRDC

I spotted this cute little bean,
Its complexion a delicate green.
It clings to its stalk
Like a verdurous flock;
Such a lovely and promise-filled scene.