Whew! It's over, the weekend that is. It was a great weekend but a very busy one. My Grandparents came into town on Wednesday and so from Thursday thru to Saturday most of my time was spent with them. It's always exciting when Grandpa and Grandma come for a visit, even at the age of 27. One of my favorite things to do with them is to sit and listen to their many stories. Stories of growing up, stories of past jobs they have had, stories of family, funny stories that make you laugh so hard you can hardly catch your breath and stories of heart break that nearly bring you to tears. Many of the stories I have heard before but every now and then a new tidbit of information is added to the collection. I take great delight in learning something new about my Grandparents, they have loved unconditionally, achieved much, overcome many hardships and endured great loss.

I have many memories of going to Grandpa and Grandma's' house. My siblings, cousins and I would spend hours in the play room entertaining ourselves. Usually we played "house" or "school" but every now and then we would get creative. My cousin and I became entrepreneurs at the age of 11 as we opened "Cousin to Cousin Employment Agency". We had a very large and elite clientele which included Mariah Carey, Deborah Gibson, Paula Abdul, and of course our husbands, Donnie Walhberg and Jordan Knight as well as the rest of the members of New Kids on the Block. We always took a lunch break at noon, at which time we were served a delicious meal of cheese toast and dill pickles followed by a cookie from Grandma's cookie jar. It is still one of my favorites and every time I am back in Saskatoon I put in my request for cheese toast. No one can make it like Grandma can and it just tastes better on one of Grandma's dishes, served alongside a beverage in a blue, yellow or green kids tupperware cup. How great it is to have such a wonderful memory that can be relived every time I savour a bite of cheese toast!

My Grandmother is a wonderful lady; she is warm, caring, generous, loves to laugh, dependable, everything a grandmother should be. She bakes, she sews, she knits and crochets, she gardens, she has a little lap dog that has become her baby. She is a nurturer. I have always known this about my Grandma and have always felt close to her.

My Grandfather is a great man but I never really felt as though I connected with him. I was always proud of him and loved him deeply but, I must admit that I was always a bit timid around him. My Grandpa is not one to express his emotions, he's not the type to say I love you or envelop a child in a big warm hug and I think I interpreted all of this as him not being interested. This weekend I witnessed something different. It was so heartwarming to watch Grandpa interact with my kids. He lights up when he sees them and takes great delight in the cute, and at times ridiculous, little things that come out of Tayah's mouth. The greatest moment I had this weekend was when my Grandpa came over to Jamison when he started fuss. He took him out of my arms and went over to the window where the two of them sat for quite awhile, taking in all that was going on outside. I could hear my Grandpa talking to him, I'm sure pointing out different things, and every now and then I would see Jamison look up at his Papa and their eyes would meet, it was a beautiful sight. But it was when my Grandpa started to sing to Jamison that I began to see him in a different light. I recognized the songs as songs he used to sing to me when I was younger and it was then that I realized my Grandpa felt, and still feels, the same way about me and all his grandkids as he does Jamison. I always knew he loved us but this weekend I saw it expressed and it is picture that I will never forget.