My Grandpa

My Grandpa passed away last night.  He will be missed.  He is missed.

He was…

*  Always in my life.  My Grandparents  lived just a few blocks away from my childhood home.  They were always a constant presence in my life.  It was rare for a week to go by without hearing from them or seeing them.

*  A carpenter.  He was amazing with wood.  He could build intricate toys, games and furniture pieces, clocks, etc.  He custom built a desk for me when I was young that fit perfectly in a little cubby hole in my bedroom.  He built countless items for me and for family members and friends through the years.  The last piece that he built for me was a custom size sofa table that sits in our living room.  I love it.  Whenever we were working on a home project, he would always offer to come over to help or we would just see his Buick pull up in front of the house and he often offered to help to pay for materials.

*  A generous Grandpa.  He never spoiled me or his other Grandchildren but he was very willing to give his time and finances to help us when we were in need.  When I was in my 20s, my little car had nearly rusted out.  Grandpa helped to buy me a reliable set of wheels.  There were countless times that I would leave his house after a visit and find money in my purse on the way home…sneaky, sneaky…hee hee…it was so appreciated and never taken for granted.  When we adopted Emma, Grandpa generously helped us here and there whenever he could…it was so sweet and I will never forget it. 

*  Attentive and fun.  He helped my sister and I to learn to fish with a cane pole.  He played countless board games with us, shared his chocolate stash and we had many lunches at Bridgemans and Happy Chef.  He always genuinely wanted to spend time with us.  If he didn’t hear from us for a week or so, he always made sure to call.

*  Always thinking.  Most of the time, this was a good thing and sometimes, it could get him into a bit of trouble…hee hee.  : )  If he found out that you were having a challenge, he would spend a good part of the day mulling it over and over and then you could almost count on the fact that he would call you sometime that evening to offer up solutions…hee hee hee…that was Grandpa!  ; )

*  Someone you could never forget!

I love you, Grandpa.  Thank you so much for loving me, for loving us. 

We will miss you at Emma’s birthday party.  She has been asking if you will be there.  She loves you and she will miss you and Grandma very much.  Thank you for loving her and for welcoming her with open arms into your heart.

It is a very a strange and sad feeling to know that my Grandma and my Grandpa  are no longer here.  Their constant presence in my life will be missed in countless ways.

God bless,

Tera

Our Christmas Card and a Sweet Revelation

Our 2008 Christmas card...  Are you surprised?  ; D  The graphics are by Shabby Miss Jenn Designs.  The card was designed by me.  ; )

A sweet revelation... 

This week, I was strolling through Target with Emma in the cart.  She is my little chatterbox...always chit chatting or singing.  : )  That day at Target, out of the blue, she looked up at me and said, "Mama...I HAVE A MOM AN' DAD!!"  I was a bit surprised at what she had said...I wasn't surprised that she was able to say the words "Mom and Dad"...she has been able to say things like that for more than a year...I was just sweetly surprised with the meaning behind the words!  At first, I wasn't sure if she really understood the meaning behind what she was saying...but in the past couple of days, she keeps saying it here and there and exactly in context!  It blesses my soul to no end to know that my precious little girl KNOWS that she has a true family..."A MOM 'AN DAD"...who love her to the moon and back!

God bless,

Tera

A Few Highs and the Lowest of Lows

Thank you very much for the kind comments, the emails, the ecards, etc.  Thank you for your prayers.  Our family is facing a very great loss.  At my grandmother's funeral on Tuesday, our family members wore ladybug pins...pins from my grandmother's own collection...to honor her and to celebrate her life.  It was very special.  Emma wore a beautiful dress covered in lady bugs that was one of my grandmother's very own special creations. 

This has been quite a week...a week with "highs" and a week with the lowest of lows...  A few pics from this week...

I love this tubby picture.  : )  I am so glad that my grandmother was able to know, even for a short time, this sweet baby girl.

We celebrated my niece's 8th birthday.  : )

I made my niece a tutu for her birthday!  I just LOVE how it turned out!

I LOVE TUTUS...fluffy, girly goodness.  : )

We spent a lot of time this week at my parents house.  Emma thoroughly enjoyed herself.

Emma with a beautiful hollyhock flower in her hair.  My grandmother loved hollyhocks...she said that she used to make pretend crowns with them as a child and play "wedding" with her sisters.

Emma loves her cousin Isabel.

When in doubt...dump 'em all out!!  ; )

We went to the Minnesota State Fair this week as a family.  This is a photo of Emma with her Dora balloon.

A few of the new food items at the fair had BACON as a main ingredient.

Here is a photo of Jason with his "Chocolate Covered Pig Licker".  What is a Pig Licker?  It is a thick piece of cooked bacon, dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt.  Believe it or not, this was pretty tasty...now that I've said that, will you still visit my blog???  LOL.  : P

Emma went on her very first ride...the carousel!  She absolutely LOVED it!!  When she saw it, she said in a pleading voice:  "RIDE IT??  RIDE IT???  RIDE IT!!!!!!!"  LOL.  There were many animals to ride on the carousel...Jason asked her, "Would you like to ride a horse or a kitty or a..." and Emma said, "HORSE!"  She smiled almost the entire time that she was on the ride!

Remember this post?  This was the reason why I took that profile photo of Emma.  It has been a tradition in my family to have silhouettes cut of children.  I sent Emma's silhouette photo to Karl from "Cut Arts by Karl".  Karl is an extremely talented silhouette artist.  He did an absolutely beautiful job with Emma's silhouette...it looks just like her.  I spent a little more money and I ordered an 8x10 version instead of the more traditional 5x7 version and I love it!  I also ordered a smaller silhouette from an artist from Etsy and I really like that one too.  I have this silhouette hanging in our living room.  Our living room opens up to our dining room and my grandmother made me napkins and a beautiful table cloth out of the cabbage rose fabric that was used in a few of our living room throw pillows.  The floral background in the framed silhouette is one of those napkins.

Before I sign off for the night...  Emma's new skill...  She can count to ten in English and to six in Spanish!!  She really is learning new things everyday...I am so happy for her and I am so proud of her! 

God bless,

My Beloved Grandmother...

This evening, one of my beloved Grandmothers passed away.  I am just devastated.  :"(

There is no possible way, in one post, that I could even begin to explain my sadness, my grief and my sense of loss.  And there is no possible way, in one post, that I could even begin to share my deep appreciation for all that my grandma was to me.  She was truly very special. 

Grandma, I will never forget you.  I will never forget how much you loved me and the rest of your family....how deeply and genuinely you cared for me, how special you always made me feel.  I will never forget your encouragement, your support, your genuine interest in my life and your many, many talents.  I will never forget your sense of humor, your gentle spirit, your servants heart, your creativity, the love that you put into every stitch and the way that you made your house a home.

Thank you.  Thank you for everything.  And, thank you for loving my daughter and for welcoming her with open arms.

Grandma...  Oh, how I ache to say "love you" to you one more time, to receive one more note from you "just because"...  I ache to give you one last hug.  Oh how I ache. 

I cannot adequately put into words how much you will be missed by me and by the rest of your family.

I love you, Grandma.

(The photo is one of the last photos I have of my Grandma with Emma.  The lady bug is in honor of my grandmother who loved and collected lady bugs).

God bless,

A Gift for Caterina and a Sign of the Times

 

I love this photo...  Our sponsored student Caterina receiving a gift of food.  It is such a blessing to receive photos like this.  Please keep Caterina and her family in your prayers.

Before I sign off, a little Emma update.  : )

Emma's newest words/phrases:

*  guinea pig (I know...random...she learned this from a picture book)

*  thumb tack (also random)

*  I don't want that

*  I don't like that

*  I know (LOL)

*  Let's see...

*  I get it

*  I did it

She also goes around closing doors....she will then knock on a door and say "come iiiinnnnnnnnn...."   LOL.  I think she learned that from "Jack's Big Music Show".  She is so funny.

A sign of the times...  While Emma is watching TV, if there is a part that she likes and wants to see again, she will grab the remote control and frantically hand it to me as soon as the part that she is interested in is over.  Why???  Because SHE UNDERSTANDS what Tivo can do!  She understands that I can rewind her show with Tivo and allow her to watch her favorite parts over and over.  *sigh*  Yes, a sign of the times.  A child of the 21st century.

Emma's Homecoming Anniversary: She Said

Woohoo...four posts in four days!!!!!  ; D  (You will miss a lot of Emma sweetness if you don't scroll down to check out my latest posts.)  ; D

Jason and I both decided to post today to celebrate Emma's homecoming anniversary (a he said/she said kind of a thing...we both want to share our thoughts about this special anniversary).  Hopefully he'll get around to posting tonight...if not, he'll post tomorrow.  I think that he has a marathon post planned.  : ) 

Here is my post...  : )

At this very moment in time last year, we were on our way home from Guatemala...the three of us...a forever family.  I can't believe that it has been a year.  The time has flown by waaaaaaay too fast.  My baby does not look very much like a baby any longer.  And, honestly, it brings tears to my eyes and it puts a lump in my throat.  Lately, this has been very hard on me and I have tried to make each day, each moment count.  It is exciting to see her grow and progress but it is so difficult to see the baby in her slip away.  If I could, I would freeze her in time...exactly as she is right now so that she could stay this small just a little while longer.  Every day with Emma is a GIFT and I deeply cherish each and every one.  *sniff* 

 

 

The photo on the left was taken one year ago today, right before our plane took off from the airport in Guatemala City.  We were so excited! 

And, the next morning, it was very surreal to wake up to "a baby in OUR HOUSE!!"

Thank you to everyone who stayed up LATE to meet us at the airport with signs.  : )

 

 

We had a WONDERFUL day today celebrating Emma's first homecoming anniversary!!  The "Homecoming Queen" was able to do all of her favorite things today...she had a long stroller ride right after breakfast, she followed Papa around while he mowed the lawn, she had LOTS of outside time and she enjoyed the slide and the swing.  She watched a few of her favorite shows, she colored and gathered crayons and for dinner, she had pizza and carrots and peaches and Popsicles for dessert!!  Pics from today...

 

 

 

Emma and mommy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emma LOVES this slide!!

It brings true joy to her heart!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Papa's lawn shoes!

 

 

 

 

Mmmmmmm..."optacles"

 

 

 

Doing what she does best in the backyard (besides sliding)...RUNNING, running, RUNNING and...

Acting SILLY (Can you say HIGH ENERGY???  Jet fuel, I tell ya...JET.FUEL.)

If you want a hug, you have to hug her "on the run"!

Emma likes LOVES to swing.  (Excuse the spotty shirt...she had just finished licking a Popsicle before this pic was taken)  : )

When we ask Emma to smile, this is the smile that we get.  : )

All in all, we had a wonderful, simple day with all of the things that Emma likes the best.  : ) 

It is AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL to have sweet Emma Grace in our lives and we thank God for her.

Before I sign off for the night, please visit my sweet friend Tricia's blog.  Please consider donating a few dollars so that a tiny orphanage in Guatemala will be able to have a Christmas party this year...  Please consider donating...  You could win a prize if you do...  Every dollar counts.  And, if you do donate, you will be able to bring smiles to the faces of many, many children.

God bless,

A Heartwarming Photo, Phone Troubles and Internet Troubles

Wow...three posts, complete with photos, in three days!  ; D  : )  : P  Way to go, Tera.  ; P

Jason and I purchased a Mother's Day basket through Mayan Families for the mother of Caterina...our sponsored student in Guatemala.  Over 270 baskets filled with food, along with a BBQ chicken, were purchased by sponsors for the mothers of their sponsored students.  The majority of the baskets were handed out right around Mother's Day but about 26 baskets (including Caterina's mother's basket) were handed out this past week.  While I was visiting the Mayan Families website today, I was so excited to find a photo of Caterina with her mother and her Mother's Day basket!  How wonderful!

I have a video of Emma to post but I am not able to upload it.  We had a storm in the past few days.  Lightening struck our telephone poll and it knocked out our phone service and our wireless internet service.  The connection that I am borrowing from someplace in our neighborhood is too weak for uploading videos.  : /  Our phone got fixed yesterday...hopefully our internet will also be fixed ASAP.

God bless,