Bonding over bears!

The whole point to my extended stay in St. George this winter was to help care for my exceptionally capable mom. Really, I just wanted to spend some extra time soaking up the sun and spending time with my mother before heading back to the Northwest. Anna doesn't get a lot of time with my mom either, so I wanted Anna a good amount of time to fall in love with my mother (who doesn't?). Well, Rome wasn't built in a day, and Anna doesn't give her love to just anyone. Luckily, my mom has a talent for making bears, and my daughter has a talent for loving bears! The two were a match made in heaven.

Anna would climb up on the recovery bed (my mom's knee is in a contraption that moves it constantly), and she and my mom would play with the bears. Many of the bears had names sewn on to the back, according to the bear's original recipient, and Anna knew each bear by heart. She would have them exchange vests, too (the pink striped bear was mine-- if you look closely, you can see "Rachael" sewn to the back).

The bear my mom is holding belonged to her mother, my grandmother Marie. My mom simply sewed "mother" onto the back. Apparently, I am a lot like my grandmother. We both love to read cookbooks like they are the latest bestseller novel.

These bear moments were the first time that Anna and my mom really got to bond. They made a true connection, and my daughter loved every moment of those bear get togethers with her grandmother.

Anna loves to be doing stuff all the time, and unfortunately, it was my mom's full time job to recover from surgery, and that required a lot of laying down. Its hard to be a grandma and be so restricted in movement when what you really want to do is get on the floor and put together puzzles or go play in the backyard.

But don't worry, we will be back! and I am sure the bears will be waiting for us!