A Noe sandwich? What a creative idea!

Do you know what one of the greatest gifts of being a grandmother is for me?  So often, I would tell my children than I loved them...more than they could possibly imagine.  I wished it were possible to transmit to them, somehow, the strength of my love, so they would know how immensely I cared for them.

When my first-born welcomed his first-born into the family, my wish came true.  He could now understand, first-hand, what it is to love a child unconditionally.  He could now understand what I felt for him and his sister.  Later, Debbie would also experience that love when she had her two girls.

We have five beautiful, precocious, very articulate grandchildren.  Noemí (Noe for short) (9), the oldest, is on the far left.  Micah (7) is the next oldest, and he's on the far right.  Eli, Dan and KC's youngest, (4) is in the middle, between us.  Debbie and Steve's girls are Miriam (almost 5), on my lap, and Liliana (6), on Germán's lap.

We don't live close enough to be able to take a very active part in these precious lives, but God has allowed us to see them all at least once a year, sometimes more often.  We have been able to get glimpses into their growth, watching (usually from a distance) as each one develops his/her own personality.  We have so many special memories tucked away...for example: the Noe sandwich.

When Noe was two years old, we were with our family in San Antonio, and some relatives made a visit to meet the newest arrival, Micah.  The relatives left...and when it sank in that they were gone, Noe started crying.  She was so upset, I couldn't follow what she was asking. Then I heard KC answer,  "Of course we can make a Noe sandwich!" 

I watched curiously as Dan and KC faced each other, put Noe up between them and gently pressed in on her, effectively turning her into the "filling" of the "sandwich"!  Then they began to tickle her and soon she was laughing and back to her normal vivacious self.  What a fun way to revive a little girl's spirits!

A couple of years later, Noe and Micah were eager to know if the new baby KC was carrying would be a boy or a girl.  Noe, of course, wanted a sister.  The day Dan and KC were to find out the sex of the baby, they told the little ones that they would get a cupcake...pink frosting if they were having a girl, and blue frosting if a boy.  When Noe and Micah uncovered the cupcakes and saw the blue frosting, Noe was quite upset.  "I am not at ALL happy about this!" she huffed, with a clipped, very adult-toned voice of disapproval.  I doubt she knew how amused we were to hear her 4-year-old opinion.

Our beloved Noe is now a beautiful 4th-grader, often fearless and up for anything, and very tall for her age.

In this picture she's playing tether ball with Aunt Debbie.  She's on the left.  One could believe that she's several years older!  But she's always been "older than her age" in other areas, so why not in this? 
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There's no way I could tell you everything about the grandkids,  but I'll share at least a few "bits and pieces" as I continue.  They are wonderful gifts from God and we love them with all our hearts.
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We treasured Isaiah 54:13 for our own children, and now we treasure it for our grandchildren.  "All your sons (and daughters) will be taught by the Lord, and great will be your children's peace."  Awesome!

If you're a grandparent, I'm sure you can relate.  If you're not yet, I hope you have something wonderful in store for you some day! God bless each one of you.  See you next week!