Molly, the princess...

Molly was finally convinced that it was okay to wear her princess dress-up outfit without any clothes on underneath. She loved it, and though very highly of herself. It was cute. She was dancing around and winging to herself!

Beware...

...I have not posted for a long time, so today I went a bit crazy. I hope you enjoy the ramblings, and of course, I will try and post more often instead of going crazy all in one day!

Jack, today...

Here is our precious boy as of today. Look at those rosy cheeks! Just thought I should give him some face time. I don't have a story or anything to write about, which doesn't mean anything except that I can't think. Enjoy the smile, and may it make you smile right back at him!

Besty is still around...

Baby Betsy is still here and going strong. I don't think that Molly has gone a day without playing with or including her in with the day's activities. It is interesting to think about how she got so attached to her the moment she opened the present Betsy was in two Christmases ago.

Well done, Grammy and Pops! You have gotten every bit of money that you spent on her.

The last month Molly has taken her play to a new level with her. Before Molly would just carry her around, but now Molly is her mommy. She talks to her. She feeds her. She rocks her. She bounces her when she is crying. She does all the typical "mommy" things that are done to a baby throughout the day. This play is interesting to me, because Molly is the youngest and therefore has not witnessed in our house. True, I do take care of my children. However, the whole mommy/baby relationship is something that she must have picked up from others or is innate in her. What do you think?

Remember popbeads...

Molly wanted to play with her popbeads the other day, so I said sure! They entertained both she and Jack for two days. Why make one necklace, ring, and braclet...when you can use the whole bucket to make as many as you can and wear them all at once. She looked great, and we had fun making them. It brought memories of mine when I was little, because I too had popbeads. My dog, Purdy, ate them...which is probably what I remember most about them. Ahh...memories! Purdy soon left our house because of such incidents.

A visit from Uncle Lawny...

Uncle Lawny came to visit us a couple of weeks ago. You would have thought the candy man came and said that Jack and Molly were going to get as much candy as they wanted for the rest of their life! They were so excited to see him and spend time with him. I think they were just as excited as Kyle was for the visit. It was wonderful to see them all playing together. It also is hard to see since we live so far away, and they do not get to play like that all the time. It is those times when I wish we lived closer to family! We were grateful for the time and energy he gave the kids. We are grateful for his family giving him up for a long weekend, and we hope that everyone will come this summer!

My Oma...

My Oma passed away this past Christmas Eve. I have been thinking of her often since she passed away, and have meant to blog about her several times. I have many entries in my head, but this is the first that has made it to the actual blog. You will have to bear with me, because I am sure that this will turn into a ramble!

One thing I have been thinking about is the memories that one has with a person - especially a grandparent. I have many wonderful memories of my Oma. My mom put together a book right before she passed away that had memories from family members with Oma being at the center. It was hard to narrow to just one memory. Now, those memories are that much sweeter because there will not be any new memories with her. It is such an interesting emotion that comes over you. Everytime I look at the sweater Molly still wears that Oma made, it makes me smile and remember my love for her. Before, it was just a great thing to have a sweater made by my grandmother. This is the first really close loss that I have experienced, so the feelings are all new to me. I am thankful for the memories that I have, and will cherish them always.

Another thing I have been thinking a lot about is how much I miss her voice. I, of course, miss her but we have lived apart for the last couple of years so not to see her often is nothing new. However, we did talk regularly. I miss her answering the phone with her own way of saying "hello" followed by a "hi, honey" that only she can say in her way. No one can replace that!

The picture above is the last picture I have with us together. It was the last visit I had with her. She had just been diagnosed with cancer while I was there. I will cherish this picture. (Besides, I think it is a pretty good one!)

I rest assured that she is up in heaven with Jesus loving being with her Savior. One day, I will get to see her again and hear those words..."hi, honey!"