TWO YEARS OF PURE JOY!

August 18, 2010 12:51 AM 8
“Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged.”
Proverbs 17:6


I started this blog two years ago last month during a time in my life I call the “waiting room” a definite season in my life.  I desperately needed an outlet to share the pure JOY of becoming a first-time grandmother.  Now I am a grandmother three times over!  My sweet friend, Deborah  was so patient and helpful to me in my early blogging days.

Today is the birthday of my first born’s first-born…Ezekiel, my first grandchild we all call “Zeke.”  For one who never finds herself at a loss for words, I simply cannot describe to you the pure joy that springs from my heart because of Zeke’s life. This little boy LOVES life and LIVES with pure joy! 

Here he is trying to catch raindrops on his tongue when a nice summer shower passed through at his birthday pool party Friday night!

More evidence of his joy-filled personality:
Zeke, I love you with all my heart.  You are such a sweet boy, and Gran Jan is not the only one who sees the special way you touch lives.  You love animals, you love music (your favorite song is still “How Great is Our God” by Chris Tomlin), you love books, you love strawberries, you love tractors, and most of all, you love your baby sister Madie Ruth! 
You have touched my heart way down in the deepest parts, places I never knew existed.  I am so thankful for your life.  I can’t wait to teach you all that God is teaching me.
Happy Birthday to you Zeke!
I love you,
Gran Jan 
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August 18, 2010 12:51 AM 8

Summer County Living

July 18, 2010 11:10 PM 13

Good afternoon friends! This post is what bloggers sometimes refer to as “random.”  Random is really not me. I typically have a theme…or at least a point.  But today, I just wanted to share some summertime pictures on Gran Jan’s Joy. And since Gran Jan’s Joy is really a blog about the JOYS of my life, let me begin with my three grandblessings…

Here is my oldest grandchild, Zeke, who will be 2 next month. He is wearing a tee-shirt I gave him that says, “Got Biscuits?”  Couldn’t you just squeeze him? He has beautiful long eyelashes and has begun praying out loud for us at mealtimes. Melts my heart every time.
Next is his baby sister, Madie Ruth, who is almost 10 weeks old. She is absolutely precious, a very sweet and laid-back baby. She was ready for a pool outing in this picture. She is beautiful and sleeps like a dream…

Below is my youngest grandchild, Jackson, who will be 2 months old the end of this week and is the cousin to the above two grandbabies. He has so much hair, and nary a bit of it is coming out!  He is a beautiful baby and he and I were decked out in our red, white, and blue in this July 4th picture!
More random…One day last week my husband and I went to a Farmers Market about an hour “down the road.” It was a really fun day, and these are some pictures from going the back roads.
This is a huge truck/trailer load of watermelons fresh from the field.  They were coming in by the droves. The town is Cordele, Georgia, known as “The Watermelon Capitol of the World.”  Truly. I have never seen so many watermelons in my life, and we bought a HUGE seedless one for only $2.00! 
This is a huge fig bush/tree. Have you ever tasted old-fashioned fig preserves on a homemade buttered biscuit? My, my, my. Truly a Southern delicacy and so good!  This huge bush was behind Calhoun Produce, where we bought some butter beans and crowder peas to put in our freezer. Nothing like fresh vegetables in the middle of the winter.
This is my sweet husband coming out of Calhoun Produce with the goods. He will also be willing to enjoy them when I cook them this fall and winter! He helped me with putting them in the freezer too. We had a wonderful day together.  It is so nice when the agenda is light and easy. Good times for sure.
In case you’ve never seen a house with a silo in the front yard, here it is. Maybe this is an old family farm and they just couldn’t bear to take it down, I don’t know. But it was worthy of a picture.
Well, this is a good old Georgia red-clay dirt road.  I love a dirt road on a summer day, especially when it is DRY and has not been raining.  Georgia red clay is something that even extra-action Tide has a hard time getting out of your clothes. (Especially if you are a little boy that likes to slide into home on a field of same said Georgia red clay.  “Momma, don’t wash it out, it shows I was “in the game!'”)
I would have LOVED to go inside this beautiful old country home. Isn’t it amazing? It reminds me of that big old home in Little House on the Prairie. This one is a great example of Victorian (Queen Anne) architecture (1840-1890) and was in a little town called Unadilla. I even like the way that sounds…it is pronounced you-nah-dill-lah, emphasis on the third syllable. There you go! 
This cotton field is directly across the street from my home and is part of a huge farm.  I will take pictures and post them when the cotton blooms and is harvested. You will want to go watch “Gone With the Wind.”
This close-up of a cotton bloom shows how the bloom fades to this gorgeous rose color after it opens out so white. The field will be so beautiful when it is snowy white and full of cotton bolls as far as the eye can see.
This is a half-bushel box of the sweetest Georgia peaches from right down the road in Peach County, Georgia. (Isn’t that sweet, peaches from Peach County?) These came from Lane Packing.  It is a delightful place and if you are ever heading south on I-75 you should stop for lunch and a tour. I ended up with about 17 quart size bags in my freezer for peach cobbler. Click here for my peach cobbler recipe.

This is a picture of some squash pickles I made.  They are sweet like old-fashioned bread and butter pickles.  They turned out really well and look so colorful.

Well, that is about all the random I have for now.  Hope you’ve enjoyed this “summer country living” post on Gran Jan’s Joy.  The simple things in life are the most special to my heart.  My family, the smiles of my grandblessings, the joy of God’s creation and the bounty of summer gardens. As my work week closes in and the pace quickens too much for my soul, I may just have to come back and enjoy these photos again. I hope you will too…
Abiding in Him,
 
John 15:5
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July 18, 2010 11:10 PM 13

1977: A Bit of Heaven ~ 2010: We’re Still IN!

June 12, 2010 1:14 AM 23
Thirty-three years ago today
I took your hand in mine,
and promised before God and friends
to love you for all time…
About to depart and begin a new life
happily married…now husband and wife.
A baby-blue Pinto whisked us away
so happy and blessed on our June wedding day.
The years have been full of God’s blessings and love
serving our Lord with a call from above.
Two sons now grown who are the joy of our lives,
each of them blessed with a beautiful wife.
Three grandblessings whose lives have only begun…
sweet Zeke, Miss Madie Ruth and little Jackson.
Now older and wiser, and sprinkled with gray…
Still counting our blessings each and every day.
I love you so much, you sweet man of mine.

Thirty-three more will suit me just fine!

Happy Anniversary
All my love always,
Your bride, Jan
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June 12, 2010 1:14 AM 23

Meet Our Grandson, Jackson Evan Morton

May 28, 2010 12:42 AM 17
May 2010 has certainly been an amazing month of double blessings for our family! We celebrate and rejoice in the birth of little Jackson Morton just this past Monday on May 24th. He weighed 8 lbs. 10 ozs., and was 20.5 inches long – a beautiful big baby boy! His mommy, my daughter-in-law had a wonderful delivery – short and sweet, thank You Jesus. 
This is Jackson just a few hours after he was born…
What a beautiful family…the brunettes 🙂
Hmmmmmmm…Gran Jan is also a brunette.
Perhaps Jackson got that dark hair from her too?
This is “Pop,” my sweet husband with Jackson:
These are Jackson’s maternal grandparents,
my son’s wonderful in-laws.
 Jackson is their first grandchild
and they are so very excited!
My baby boy watching his baby boy in the nursery…
This is a blanket I made for Jackson that my
daughter-in-law brought to the hospital with her.
She also wore a necklace while she was in labor
that I had just given to her for Mother’s Day.
It was the very same necklace that my husband
had given to me when our son was born.
When I saw her wearing it, I was so very touched…
When we first learned about the double grandblessings back in September and that we would have back-to-back grandbabies in May 2010, I really had no idea how it would be – I was just so thankful and VERY excited. The boys and their wives were even so thoughtful that they paid to have early sonograms so they could announce the genders to us on Christmas Eve. They gave us these stockings wrapped up as gifts and surprised us…this kind of thoughtfulness blesses us every day with these four wonderful children.  
The long-awaited month of May is almost over.  The double portion blessings are HERE and the joy begins.  I want to testify that I am committed to being the best Gran Jan ever. I will love and pray for my grands and I will be there for them – in every way possible. As long as the good Lord gives me breath, I will be there for my family.
Counting my blessings, naming them one by one…Zeke, Madie Ruth, Jackson…
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May 28, 2010 12:42 AM 17

Chocolate No-Bake Cookies

May 22, 2010 9:33 PM 10
These wonderful easy-to-make cookies bring back memories of being a little girl and my own mother making these for me and my sisters.  I love making them and I hope you will too! I can’t wait to make them for Zeke, Madie Ruth, and Jackson!
INGREDIENTS:
1  1/2 cups of sugar
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of milk
1/4 cup of unsweetened Cocoa powder
1 tsp. of vanilla
1/2 cup of peanut butter
3 cups of raw oatmeal

* Mix sugar, butter, milk and cocoa in a saucepan on top of the stove and bring to a boil for about 30-40 seconds, stirring the whole time.

* Immediately remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla and the peanut butter.
 * Now pour in the 3 cups of Oatmeal, mixing well.
 
 
* Drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper and let cool and set up! Do not bake!
 
ENJOY this cookie – it has to be pretty good for you with the cocoa and raw oatmeal and peanut butter…just don’t eat too many (at one time)!
Love,
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May 22, 2010 9:33 PM 10

Meet My Granddaughter, Miss Madie Ruth Morton

May 12, 2010 1:50 AM 27

5-10-10…My son and his wife were on the way to the hospital, and I went to keep Zeke and took this picture right before they left.  Then on Monday afternoon around 1:45 my sweet daughter-in-law, gave birth to a girl.

I have a granddaughter!  Her name is Madie Ruth Morton

(Madie is pronounced may-dee.)  She weighed 8 pounds and 5 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long.  She is so beautiful. 

Gran Jan’s Joy is now PINK!
Her Grandaddy meets her for the first time below,
and I could hardly wait for this moment,
because we had BOYS!
I just know he is in for a wonderful JOY!
These are Madie’s maternal grandparents.
They did a wonderful job raising her mother, my daughter-in-law!
This is Madie’s big brother Zeke,
my inspiration to begin this blog,
Gran Jan’s Joy.
In less than two weeks my baby boy’s sweet wife will deliver grandbaby number 3, little Jackson Evan Morton.  Gran Jan’s Joy is receiving the double portion this month.  I honestly can’t wrap my heart and mind around everything I am feeling and praying and rejoicing over, but I’m doing the best I can to enjoy every minute and to be thankful.  
My family is growing and the heritage of faith they are going to receive is the most important gift my husband and I can give them…
Psalm 103:17
But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children-
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May 12, 2010 1:50 AM 27

Long-Awaited May

May 1, 2010 7:38 PM 8

Today marks the first day of a long awaited month – MAY, 2010!  May is one of my favorite months in the garden. This picture was taken just this morning in my garden and is my most favorite rose, “Mr. Lincoln.”  It smells so sweet and is big and red and like I said, it really is my favorite…

Long-awaited May is the month our family will add 2 new members…two grandchildren; a granddaughter, Madie Ruth Morton, and a grandson, Jackson Evan Morton.  (Madie is pronounced “May-Dee.”)

Both of their names have connections to family.  Madie Ruth’s middle name, Ruth, was my paternal grandmother’s middle name. Mary Ruth Thomas Maloy was born on May 16, 1896, and my Dad, was the 9th of her 11 children! Two of her children died within a few days of each other during the great flu epidemic of 1918.  She was a woman of great faith and loved the Lord with all her heart.  She was what some would call a “shouting Baptist.”  I was embarrassed as a little girl when attending church with her, but would sure love to attend church with her now…

Both of Jackson’s names have family history.  Jackson was my husband’s great-great grandfather’s name. He was born August 3, 1817. We actually have an old newspaper article from 1907 where he was being interviewed.  It says:

 “although nearly 92 years of age, Mr. Morton stands straight as an arrow.
His eyes are keen and he stands 6 feet, 2 inches. His speech is quick, with no waver in it.  He is a “hale and hearty” survivor of Georgia’s Indian Wars. 
He was cutting wood when interviewed, and from his looks and activity,
one would not take him for more than sixty years.”
Jackson’s middle name Evan, is a version of his maternal grandmother’s maiden name, Evans.  (I know that was a lot of information, but I like to document things such as this on my blog.)

The following three photos show the journey these two sweet girls have allowed me to capture on film as they have both grown “great with child.”
September 2009
February 2010
April 2010
Madie’s mommy is in green, Jackson’s mommy is in blue.
Gran Jan is most thankful for this long-awaited month of May, and I am counting my blessings.  I cannot wait to meet Madie Ruth and Jackson Evan, and I know that along with Ezekiel Timothy, we are in for some fun times ahead.
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May 1, 2010 7:38 PM 8
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