So many of my most cherished childhood memories involve my grandmother. She was a woman who had her priorities straight. She loved the Lord first and foremost and then she loved her family more than anything else. Spending time with her family was something she loved. She was constantly coming up with fun adventures for me and my cousin. One that we did more than one summer was take our bikes to the beach. Grandma’s rocking chair was a favorite of mine. I don’t think she had too much of a chance to sit in it if I was over. I could rock in that chair for hours and it was just the right size for me. We were always on her mind, even when she was on vacation because each trip that her and Grandpa took they always came back with something that was lovingly picked out for each grandchild. Some of my favorite times with Grandma were when my parents went on vacation each year. I would either stay at Grandma’s for a week or two or she would come over to our house. I can remember on occasion sleeping with her in her water bed, which I thought was the coolest thing. Words that Grandma used seemed funny to me as a child and even as I type them today they make me smile. Words like: davenport, outdoors, toasted cheese, cap, and slacks. Some things that will never be forgotten are magic shell on vanilla ice cream, cracker jacks at the Saturday tulip time parade, lunches and breakfasts at
Coblestone restaurant, the smell of the snack cupboard, grabbing a handful of M&M’s each time I visited, sitting on Grandma’s lap with her hands around my waist, and most of all Grandma’s warm hugs and kisses. I loved the way Grandma loved my kids as well. Monk was never reluctant to give her a hug like he sometimes can with others. I think this shows something of her character as well. Grandma was a kind, generous person that was so inviting to everyone that she came in contact with and I am so grateful and blessed to have had a Grandmother that loved me like she did. My prayer is that all these memories of her remain vivid in my mind and that I constantly remind my children of the woman that she was. My Grandma was so much more than a Grandma to me. She was a friend, a care giver, fun, and generous. I am going to miss her wisdom and her kind heart. I am going to miss her love and her hugs. I love you Grandma always and forever.
We are SO overjoyed and excited over here at the Tripp tent. Let's take a closer look to find out why...
Monk is already a big brother, but let's see what is on Bebo's shirt...
The middle brother, WHAT?
That's right we will be adding a third child to our family in early January and we couldn't be more excited or feel more blessed. Getting pregnant with this baby has been our longest journey yet and involved a pregnancy loss and finding out that I had some problems so we are feeling even more blessed than ever that we were given another opportunity to have another biological child.
While we are praying for a healthy baby no matter what the sex is, Monk is praying for another baby brother because according to him, "brother's are the best!" Last week Wednesday we heard the babies heartbeat through the doppler and it was the MOST amazing sound that there ever was. 
