Drawing

I've been doing pretty well with drawing my grandchildren. I've done four of the eight children and I'm pretty happy with them. (I am dissatisfied with the paleness of the pencil drawings but I'm not sure how to get the subtle shading with something darker like ink or charcoal. Something to experiment with, I guess.)
I have recently started a drawing of my parents-in-law. That's tricky. I've been working on it for a week. I may have to put it away for a while and work on something else.
I am so glad that Russ gave me the instruction book about drawing (The Complete Idiot's Guide to Drawing). I enjoy it so much and am still amazed when I draw a picture of someone and it looks like them. I haven't been doing much other than portraits. I think I may be stuck so I will need to be pushing myself to work on other things but first I am anxious to finish all eight of the children so I can put their pictures on the wall in their room.
I spent a few days with Dawn and the kids last week which was a great treat. We don't get to spend much time together normally. Jamie and I got to spend a good bit of time together before she went to work (of course we can still have lunch) and Heather comes to see me for lunch pretty frequently (or did until she started doing the work of 3-4 people) so it was good to have the time with Dawn.
It's easy to see the decline in my health as a terrible thing but I am so grateful for the increased time I can spend with my family. Also, if this hadn't happened, I don't know if I'd have ever discovered drawing. Honestly, my blessings still far outweigh my troubles. Thanks God.