In Memory of Mammaw

A very special little lady died last week.  My Mammaw.  Growing up we didn't get to see my Mammaw and Pappaw very often.  Maybe once a year.  After becoming an adult and moving to Tennessee is when I began spending more time with them.  Mammaw was crippled from Rheumatoid arthritis my whole life.  I remember when she walked on her own and how she would wring out the dishcloth by pushing it on the side of the sink.  As a child I was fascinated by her crooked toes and fingers.  Since I've known her she's gotten progressively shorter and more crippled over the years.  As much as her crippled body held her back, she loved life and did as much as she could by herself.  When she could no longer cook by herself, she would let Pappaw know exactly what she wanted to eat.  And man was she a picky eater!  She had a dry wit that matched Pappaw's silly boisterous humor.  She always cried when we would leave after a visit.  Her prayers were quiet and fervent and usually tearful.  She would get on to Pappaw in her scratchy little voice for eating too much and for spending too much time on the computer.  But they loved each other and still slept in the same bed even after Pappaw gave her a black eye one night.  He is a loud and active dreamer.  Mammaw always said that's how she found out what Pappaw was thinking about.  She'd listen to him talk and preach and yell in his sleep.  She said that when he got too rowdy she'd just scootch to the edge of the bed to get away from him.  Some of my sweetest memories with Mammaw are from 2010 when I went to stay with them for about 3 weeks after she had a fall.  We talked a lot about her life and her memories.  I'm thankful for Mammaw's life.  I'm thankful for Pappaw and how he cared for her so many years.  I'm thankful for the friends that live near them that have cared for and loved them so well.  I'm going to miss my Mammaw.

Easter and Spring!

I really love this time of year!  We had a good weekend of celebrating Jesus.  We had a Seder dinner together with Aunt Alicia.  I tie-dyed eggs, which I highly recommend!  We went to our neighborhoods' Eggstravaganza.  We had our second annual neighbor Easter egg hunt.  It's much more fun than the Eggravaganza's hunt.  We actually hide the eggs.  We celebrated at church and then had dinner with family.  And we have chicks!  We bought some fertilized eggs from Craigslist and 4 out of 6 hatched.  Elise is at the perfect age for chicks.  Between her and our neighbor, Ruby, they are getting LOTS of love.  The garden in growing!  Sugar snap peas (or as Elise says - snugar snap peas), kale, spinach and lettuce.  All of it fills me with joy!

The tie-dyed eggs

After our backyard egg hunt

Justus and chicks

I just thought I'd include this sweet picture!

Happy Birthday Justus!

Today is the big day.  Actually in about 30 minutes is when he showed up one year ago.  We are having a party on Saturday to celebrate but Gran and Grandpa came over this evening for a special birthday visit.

Ice Day #2

hot chocolate!

Snow/Ice Day!

Justus

  

I can't believe this guy is almost a year old.  I have woefully under-documented his life compared to Elise.  He doesn't seem to mind!  He is still our sweet little Juster Buster, Jus Bus, Bus, Big Jus, etc.  Whenever Elise hears a newscaster mention justice on the radio she is always so happy that they are saying Justus's name.  I was  trying to explain the difference between Justus and the concept of justice to her the other day and ended by saying, "Justice is a good thing."  She smiled at Justus and said in her best googly baby voice, "Justus, are you a good thing?"  He is a good thing!

He loves his Mama and his very eager to be where I am, trying to crawl up my legs, wanting me to pick him up.  He loves his Daddy too.  Loves getting snuggles with Daddy, riding on Daddy's shoulders, getting any and all attention he can from Daddy, and he says his name all the time.  He and Elise get along great, most of the time.  We're working on the concept of sharing, now that Justus is being more assertive.  She's sometimes a little over the top rough with him but he'll let her know when that happens.  Overall he doesn't mind wresting with her.  I love it when they really get laughing at each other while they're playing.  It makes me laugh.  I think he said her name for the first time today.

Justus wakes up with a smile, ready to face the day, every morning.  He points at things and does an inquisitive, "uuh?" as he's trying to figure out the world.  He's walking around by holding on to things, but prefers to crawl.  He loves to be outside and makes a beeline for the door every time it's open.  Bath time is fun time for him.  He's learning to play on his own.  He sticks his tongue out when he's concentrating.  He waves.  He can find your nose and I think your mouth.  One of his hobbies is making loud noises by banging on things.  He enjoys looking at books.  He eats table food and is still nursing quite a bit.  Sometimes instead of using his hands to get food from the high chair tray, he just dives down, mouth open, and gets a bite.  I guess it's faster that way.  He's fascinated by animals.  When a dog starts coming toward him he closes his eyes and opens his mouth wide, anticipating some doggy kisses.  When he's excited he kicks his legs.  He loves to swing and to get tossed up in the air.  He can give kisses.  The open mouth slobbery kind.  Peekaboo makes him laugh.  He's ticklish.  He recognizes the names of people in our family.  He has a great fake laugh.  He has four teeth, with two more on the way.  Those are a few of the things that come to mind when we think of Justus.  

Elise is 3

Last week we celebrated Elise's 3rd birthday.  We had many of the special people in Elise's life over for a Pancake Birthday Party.  We always eat pancakes on Sunday nights at our house and it is Elise's favorite meal.  We have bunch of toppings to use and she always gets to pick her toppings.  Her favorite is honey and cinnamon.  So she heartily agreed to a Pancake Party.  No cake (lazy Mama), but we did have her favorite...chocolate ice cream for dessert.  Here are some photos of Elise from the past year.  They aren't in any particular order except that the first one is from her birthday party last year and the last one is the most recent picture that I've taken of her.

Elise is full of life!  She loves people.  She loves to make people laugh.  She has a good sense of humor.  She made up her first joke* the other day.  She likes talking in weird voices and accents.  she has her own sense of style...which is kind of crazy.  She loves to draw and play.  She loves to look beautiful.  She loves to dress up like a princess.  She loves playing outside.  She loves her little brother and is so sweet with him.  She loves to help in the kitchen.  She loves to taste test.  She loves to swim and be in the water.  She loves books and reading.  She has a huge imagination.  She has 3 notable imaginary friends, Sud, Mud, and Howan.  And so much more.  We love our little Elise!

*What did the baby wolf say when his Mommy was combing out his tangles?   Ow, Ow, OOOOOOOOWWW!