The Power of Love

Bradley’s Secret Power

by
Grandma Baadsgaard
Happy 11^th birthday Bradley.
I love you with all my heart.

        “Grandma, did your teacher ever punish the whole class for something just a few kids did?” Bradley asked.

“Yes,” Grandma answered. “I guess some things never change. I used to hate that more than anything because no matter how hard I tried to be good, I’d still get in trouble. Now that I’m older I realize teachers do that because they’re scared. When people are scared they don’t make wise choices.”

“Scared?” Bradley asked.

“Yes. They’re scared that the rest of their students are going to start misbehaving too. They’re scared of losing control. Some people don’t know that the only real lasting power comes from love.”

Bradley smiled. As he and his grandmother sat next to each other on the front steps of her home, the marigolds, zinnias and petunias filled the air with the scent of a lazy autumn day.

“I like that,” Bradley said.  

            “Did you know that I have secret power?” Grandma asked.

            Bradley turned and looked at his grandma with a curious stare.

            “You?” Bradley asked.

            “I might look old on the outside, but inside I’m young and beautiful because I know where to find love that lasts forever,” Grandma said.

            “Where?” Bradley asked.

            “When I was your age I believed everything other people told me.”

            “What is wrong with that?” Bradley asked again.

            “Sometimes when we’re young, you don’t know that what other people are telling us is a lie. If someone said I was stupid, I believed them. If someone said they hated me, I thought I was not good enough. If a friend told me I was ugly, I thought they were right. If someone was mean to me, I thought something was wrong with me.”

“Sometimes I do that too,” Bradley said.

“Then one day I went to a quiet place in my yard and said a prayer,” Grandma continued.

            “Is that how you found your secret powers Grandma?”

“It was a summer day much like today. I still remember the smell of the flowers and the soft breeze on my face.”

Bradley looked around him at the trees and felt the wind on his face.

“I asked God if He loved me,” Grandma said. “That’s when I felt liquid sunshine flow all through my body. I’d never felt so warm and peaceful before. That’s when I knew I was good enough and that I was beautiful. God loved me just because I was me. God loves you just because you are you Bradley.”

“I want to feel that,” Bradley said.

“When you’re filled up with God’s love,” Grandma said, “nothing that anyone says or does can take away that peaceful feeling inside you. Then you don’t have to feel scared all the time. You relax and trust that God will love you forever.”

“I like that,” Bradley answered.

“When I was your age, I was scared that I’d never be good enough and that something bad was going to happen,” Grandma said. “But after that prayer I knew God was always with me and that everything would work out. Now every time I feel scared again, I pray.”

“I want to feel like that,” Bradley said.

“No one can take the love of God away from us Bradley.  Now, that is power – real power.

“I never thought about love as power,” Bradley said. “I love you Grandma. That makes us both super heroes to each other. ”

“You are my super hero, that is for sure,” Grandma said. I love you Bradley. I’ll love you forever.”

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Daniel is born!

My newest grandson Daniel Baadsgaard was born this week.
He weighed in at 7 pounds and 2 ounces and was 19 inches long.
I feel so much respect for the strong women who choose to bring children into the world.
Thank you Joseph and Martha for allowing me to witness this miracle.

Holding a newborn baby is about as close to heaven as we get.

The mysteries and miracles of nature at our cabin

When you get to be my age, acquiring things for yourself isn't important any more. You want the things you buy to bless the lives of your posterity. That is why we bought our cabin.

A few years ago, a long held dream came true for us. My husband and I found a cabin in the mountains surrounded by trees, lots of trees and all the mysteries and miracles that you can only find in the mountains.

Most of our dates before we married were in the woods. Being in nature speaks to us and nourishes our souls. We wanted to pass this legacy on to our children. We wanted all our posterity to have a place to go . . . a place where the wind in the pines would speak to them . . . a place where the warm sunlight on their shoulders would warm them  . . . a place where they could be still and know that God loves them; their private sacred grove.

The other day I was up at the cabin changing the sheets and towels. After I took a walk up to the pond I saw my daughter Arianne walking out of the woods with her five young children around her. The baby was strapped to her body and two preschoolers were each holding one of her hands. The older brother and sister were skipping around her. They had bags full of mushrooms, bark, leaves and bugs to study  . . . and big smiles on their faces.

And in my heart I thanked God for this place, for His love, for my children and grandchildren and the elegant gift of life. 

Griffin is Born Today

Griffin, my newest grandson, was born today. He weighed in at 9 pounds 10 ounces and is 21 inches long. He is healthy and well. When my daughter called me with the news in the middle of the night I could hear Griffin's newborn baby sounds all the way from Pennsylvania. I felt so deeply grateful that he had arrived safely and all was well with his mother. I couldn't go back to sleep because I kept thinking about the miracle of him.

Today I also went to the viewing of a beautiful little girl who died just days before she would have been born. Seeing the grieving mother, father, brothers and sister deepened my profound awe at this fragile gift of life.

Our lives, no matter how brief, have great meaning. Part of that meaning is great joy at birth and profound grief at death. We can't have one without the other. So today we celebrate the value of each soul and the quiet dignity of all life. Only through pain do our hearts open to the wondrous gift of life.

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Happy Birthday Daniel!

WHEN DANIEL TURNED ONE
by
Grandma Baadsgaard
Happy Birthday Daniel.
I love your big blue eyes and chubby cheeks.
I couldn't help putting a little Halloween into your first birthday poem.

 When Daniel turned one
He kibbled off his thumb
Because he thought it was a piece of cheese

“Dear Daniel,” said his mom
With a bit of alarm

“Now I’ll have to sew it back on.”

So she got out her thread
While he jumped on the bed
But all she could find was bright purple
But Daniel wasn’t glum
Cause now his thumb tasted like plum
When she finally sewed it back on.

But soon off it popped
Though a bit of a shock,
But Daniel didn’t mind you see.
He fancied a new flavor to please

“Dear Daniel,” said his dad
Though he wasn’t mad
“Now I’ll have to nail it back on.”
So he got out his hammer
and started to stammer,
“Son, I think you’ll like this new cure.
I’ll make sure that thumb is secure.”

But before he knew it, Daniel blew it
Right onto the birthday cake.
“Oh for goodness sake,”
Said his sisters Emily, Libby and Sandy
Now isn’t this just a dandy.
Cake with thumb frosting, oh please.
We'll just add our fingers and sneeze.

Then Andrew added his pinkie
And said, "This is stinky.
Fingers and thumbs aren't for eating you goofs
It's time to stop this spoof
 
So he pulled out the fingers and thumb
And said, “Now I’m not so dumb
But don’t you think super glue would do
So we can stop this silly rue?”
 

 So they glued on fingers and Daniel's thumb

 

Then ate a mighty birthday cake sum

Of one-year-old birthday wishes and dreams

Where nothing is quite what it seems.

Happy 3rd Birthday Rylan!

                                      

                                                             Rylan the Pirate

by

Grandma Baadsgaard

Happy 3^rd  Birthday Rylan. I love you so very, very much.

 

There’s a red brick house in a Pennsylvania town

Where Rylan the three-year-old pirate runs around.

He might be sailing on the kitchen chair ship

Or growling and snarling his big scary lips.

 

But if he can manage it, he’ll head to the shore

Cause that is where there is treasure galore

He takes out his shovel and digs down deep

To find lost jewels and gold coins to keep.

 

 Then into a ship with a scary pirate flag

For sailing and parlaying with rich old bags.

For finding lots of loot is always a snap

If you happen to find an old treasure map.

 But first you need a patch over your right eye

Then you heave a sigh and wave good-bye.

For a pirate’s life is a heave-ho-and-groan

And you spend a great deal of time alone.

 

Then night comes and it grows dark outside

So you find your mommy, your blanket and hide.

For when you get lonely you just must confess

Having a snug place is great more or less

 

But in the morning with the new sunlight

You find you’re brave and feel just right.

For when you’re a pirate, you travel far and wide

But you always come back when it’s dark outside.

 

For treasure by any measure is love you see

And there’s no amount of gold that could ever be

Better than a home where there’s lots of love

And a mom and dad with lots of bear hugs.

 

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Fall Break 2013

Fall Break this year included rock hounding at Topaz Mountain,
4-wheeler rides to pole heaven
and nature hikes at the cabin.
I hope heaven smells like autumn in the Rocky Mountains. 

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Sunday at Grandma's House

I love Sunday evenings at my house.
When I was younger, I used to take my children to Grandma's house after church.
Now both grandmas are gone and I'm the one living at Grandma's house.
My children gather in the living room and talk to each other
while my grandchildren explore in the backyard
or play games in the playroom
or read behind the couch
or look up at the sky.
I'm the one snuggling on the couch with newborn baby in my arms.


Sunday evening is sacred family time.
A warm way to end a blessed day.

  

Daddy/Daughter Date 2013

First you get your Dad ready for the game by putting a shaving cream cap on his head.
Then you throw cheese balls at him. (So do all the other girls.)
Then you count the cheese balls on his head to see who wins the game.

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The Power of Extended Family

My beautiful daughters:

Arianne Cope

 

 

April Moody

Click on this link below to read two touching essays
written by my daughters Arianne Cope and April Moody
about the power of extended family.
http://chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-power-of-extended-families-by-apil.html#.UkReU4akoQO

Our Extended Family 2013

I SURE LOVE MY FAMILY!Pin It

Poem For A Three-Year-Old

Liam Is Three You See

      By Grandma Baadsgaard       

Happy 3^rd Birthday Liam. I love you very much.

 

 Sometimes when you’re two

You can’t always find your shoe

And if your find your shoe

Then your socks have lost their glue

 

Sometimes when you’re two

A stick will catch a fish

Sparklers make you rich

Dandelions grant your wish

 

Then suddenly you’re three

With all the world to see

You look up to the sky

Let go of Mom’s hand . . . and sigh

 

 For when you’re turning three

You must jump into the sea

Or dive under a blanket and be

The king of magic who is free

 

For soon you will be four

So now’s the time to roar

Your brave has room for more

 

Leap, spread your wings and soar

 

For when you’re three you fly

When Dad throws you up high

Then laughs and holds your hand

When you come down again.

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