Summer is here and so are the grandkids. I share that special joy with all the grandmothers of the world. It’s really a mixed bag of feelings. I love spending time with my kids and seeing where they are in life. For a brief window of time, I get to live vicariously through the eyes and voice of young people. Learning about the new "in things" can be hazardous to your health and peace of mind. You learn more than you want to learn sometimes. Things have changed drastically for this younger generation.

Take eating for instance. When we were growing up, whatever was on your plate you ate. You could ask for a smaller portion, but you ate what Mom cooked and didn’t complain. Not so for our modern young ones.

We picked, peeled and pared peaches for four hours Saturday. How’s that for a little alliteration! We ignored the peach trees because we thought the frost had cleared the trees. By the time we realized we were wrong there were hundreds of little peaches growing their little fuzzy heads off. Since it was our first good peach crop from these trees, we were very excited. They are delicious; just a little bit too small! I have vacuumed and frozen at least 25 packages of peaches and given away quite a few to Al and Billie. They have their sister Vonnie, niece Mary and great niece Trinity here in town. Everyone had some of our yummy tasting Richland Springs peaches. The three of them will head back to Minnesota via Plano early next week. May God protect them on their journey home.

The Stars and Stripes is still looking for volunteers to work the celebration. If you are interested in being a part of the working group for this celebration, the meetings are every Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in the fire station. We have the grandest fireworks display anywhere, so I hope you can make it on the 3rd.

The First Baptist Church is planning on working a unique VBS this year. Instead of four days of hectic activity, they plan on taking four Sundays in July and having an upbeat event at 9:00 a.m. They will be putting out more information on this also, so keep your eyes and ears open for what looks and sounds to be a whole bunch of fun!

The girls and I went to Colorado Bend State Park on Thursday. I love that place, it is breathtaking. Gorman Falls adds to the wonder of this secluded park. We walked way back up the stream, laughing and splashing our way over the rocks.

Russ will be "batching it" this week. I’m headed for San Angelo and workshops for three days. It’s a reading workshop and I’m looking forward to learning a few new things that will help me reach some of our lower readers. That is the cry of educators across the country.

We were glad to hear that Cubby and Shawn are doing well after their respective operations. Gladys Powell is still mending well, and Alan Supak is home feeling a little weak, but doing better. Floyd tells me his Mom is also recovering from her stroke. We still have a long prayer list that needs lots of prayers. Nelson tells me his mom Naomi is also doing a little better. Living as a widow takes many adjustments, especially over the first year. Please cover our community, our leaders, our President and our precious troops with a special prayer as we approach our 4th of July celebrations. They put themselves in danger to keep our freedom alive. Have a blessed week everyone.