Happy Thanksgiving...

from our sweet little turkey!

May your day be filled with family, food and gratefulness for all He has blessed us with!

"O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever."

I Chronicles 16:34

Mamal

at our wedding ~ December 2011

Last Monday, I got a text message from my Mama letting me know that my Mamal (great grandmother) had fallen and was at the hospital.

With her age and recently failing health, my heart sank knowing a fall would certainly cause complications for her.

I waited for an update and prayed that she would be heading home after getting checked out, but as the day progressed and tests were run it was clear that she wouldn't be recovering from this.

She was bleeding internally, but was in so much pain that she requested that no more tests be run. Due to her heart failure and age, they wouldn't be able to do surgery anyway.

On Tuesday, the doctor cautioned us that she may not make it through the night so I made the decision to head to Maryland. I was going to drive myself down Wednesday morning, but my Daddy offered to drive up and pick LG and I up Tuesday night.

So I packed a bag and took a dress for the funeral just in case.

When I arrived at the hospital on Wednesday, Mamal was sleeping. She woke up to greet me with a smile on her face. I was so thankful that I made it in time.

She looked at LG and said, "Hi, Londyn Grace!" Later, while standing by her bed, she looked up at me and said, "I Love You!" That alone was worth the trip.

Wednesday afternoon she was transferred to my Mom Mom's (grandmother) house under hospice care.

We spent Wednesday through Friday there and though she slept most of the time, I was just so grateful to have those days with her.

I know I am incredibly blessed to have had 26 years with my great grandmother and to have lived twenty minutes from her for the first 24 years of my life! I count it a privilege to call her one of my greatest friends!

As we drove back to NJ Saturday evening, the tears started flowing as the reality of not having Mamal here much longer sunk in.

Our Tuesday night dinner dates that were the highlight of my week for the five years that I was teaching. I can see the smile on her face as I walked into the kitchen. Wiping her hands on her apron, she'd kiss me hello and ask how I was doing. The fridge stocked with Sprite and Zebra Cakes, I'd sometimes snack if dinner wasn't quite ready. She always cooked a three course meal just for the two of us! {And always cut the fat off of my pork chops because she knew I didn't like it even though I was 20 something and perfectly capable of doing it myself!} Sitting down at the table, she take my hand and ask me to say Grace. Then she listened as I talked about my students and always wanted me to take another helping. After we were finished, she would pack up the leftovers so I could take them for lunch the next day. 

In the last two years since I've been married and living four hours from her, we would talk on the phone weekly. She'd say, "Do you know what day it is?! It's our day, Tuesday, the day you'd come to eat with me. I miss that." 

I miss that, too, Mamal. Oh what I would give for just one more Tuesday night!

As of today, she is still hanging on. They haven't really given us a time frame yet as to how much longer they think she will last, but she is in a lot of pain.

I love this picture SO much!

As much as I want to keep her here, I know her heart and her body are aching for Heaven. This coming March marks her 94th birthday and from the look of things it will be the first spent with Jesus.

Loving the Leaves!

Londyn Grace, that is. Daddy, not so much, since he's responsible for the raking!

For the last few weeks, we've ("we" meaning Daniel while I'm occupied with picture taking ;) ) been attempting to rake and bag all of our leaves in the backyard and on the driveway and patio! Though our backyard is small compared to the backyard I grew up with living in the country, it is actually quite large considering how close we live to NYC. It is surrounded by tall trees that are just gorgeous during the Fall, but result in lots and lots of leaves to clean up!

Our township will pick them up and haul them away for free (well, not really for free since we pay taxes, but you get the idea!), but we are responsible for getting them to the curb!

All of the raking has resulted in lots of playtime and lots of pretty pictures of Goosey in the piles!

I hardly remember last Fall! It was such a blur of constant nursing and just trying to make sure the laundry was done so we've really made the most of it this year!

This little lady and her sweet smiles will never cease to cause my heart to skip a beat!

I love her SO! 

It seems each time Daniel works for a few hours raking and bagging, a million more fall resulting in another few hours of work!

So this past Monday, on his day off, he was at it again! 

Thus giving us another opportunity to play and photograph the fun!

She didn't mind sitting in the big pile, but wasn't too sure when Daddy started throwing them at her!

Fall has always been my favorite, but man this Fall has been extra special since LG is old enough to enjoy all of the wonder of it with us!

Have you raked your leaves, yet?

Thirteen Months...

Whew! What a busy two weeks we've had around here since I last posted. October has come and gone meaning our sweet girl is now thirteen months old. I figured I would stop the monthly updates after twelve months, but so much has happened that I want to keep track of!

Our biggest accomplishment by far happened Friday afternoon on the 25th when Goosey took her first three steps toward me! I was sitting in front of her up in her bedroom taking pictures of her crazy curly hair after bathtime when to my surprise she started toddling toward me! I'll never forget the look on her face as she hesitantly picked up her little feet for the first time! The picture below was just before she did it!

I jumped and cheered and jumped and cheered some more and she thought it was so funny! I got some really cute shots of her reaction to my craziness!

In addition to walking, she has blossomed so much in her understanding of things!! Though she still isn't saying many words, she has amazed us with all the new things she's learning!

I've been trying to keep a running list over the last week on the notepad in my phone since it seems like it really is something new every day!

Here's the list so far :
10/26 At church someone said, "Londyn Grace, you are getting so big!" And you opened your arms wide like you do when I say "How big is Londyn Grace?!" because you related the words "So big!" to that!

"How big is Londyn Grace?!"  "SO BIG!!"

10/28 You said "again" when you wanted Mimi to bounce the ball again!

10/28 Today I am certain you were listening and understood my conversation about biting while nursing because you were nursing like normal and then bit me as I was talking about it!

10/30 You walked more! You took about 8 steps in a row!

10/31 Cece (a little girl from church that I tutor) taught you "Ring Around the Rosey" and you laughed and laughed and kept wanting to do it again!

You took my finger and started moving it around wanting me to sing "This Little Light of Mine!"

11/1 You took my finger again and moved it in a circle, but this time you said, "This!" wanting me to sing "This Little Light of Mine!"

11/2 You went through tunnels at the playground for the first time.

11/3 You were really "singing" in church during the congregational songs! It was the sweetest thing!

After weeks of Mimi trying to get you to blow kisses, you blew Mamal (my almost 94 year old great grandmother) a kiss while doing FaceTime!!

11/4 You pointed to the drawer where we keep the graham crackers when I asked if you wanted one!

---------------------------------------- :)
She does a lot of pointing to indicate what she wants, and we are working on the word, "Please!" I still think that Dr. Schlachter is going to be right when he says that she may be a late talker, but I am encouraged by all she has accomplished in just the last few weeks!

She loves to point at the pictures on the walls and point out Dada and Mama. 
Her new favorite snacks are graham crackers and veggie sticks. She gets a "cookie" (graham cracker) to munch on while sitting in her high chair as I do dishes or make dinner. 

She's gotten pickier in her eating recently and will sometimes spit out what she doesn't like or not open her mouth when it's offered so we are working through that! 

She is still nursing well, and I am just in amazed that we've made it this far! God is so good! I say this every month, but after our beginning I never would have imagined we'd make it to this point!

Weighing in at nineteen and a half pounds and measuring 29 inches long, Dr. Schlachter was pleased with her growth at her well visit last week! She cut another tooth this month, bringing her total to five! One of her eye teeth is there, but hasn't cut yet. 

We have continued working on using sippy cup, but it's still mostly used for chewing!

As for toys, she is still loving her baby dolls, but prefers to play with my bowls of necklaces and bracelets while I'm getting ready for the day. It keeps her occupied for a few minutes at least!

She also loves her pink ride-on car she was gifted for her birthday. Another favorite is an elephant ball popper, we got her for her birthday. You put the ball into a tube, push a button to release it and then push another button to pop it into the air. She can do all three steps by herself!

She will start moving her arms and dancing around when she hears any kind of music. 

We are still pretty much the same in the sleep department. Starting in the crib, but not lasting long so spending the rest of the night in our bed. We wouldn't trade the extra sweet cuddles for anything, though!

Each morning when we wake, she seems to look a little bigger, a little less like a baby! 

This past month was so full between the birthday celebrations at the beginning, then the apple orchard, pumpkin patch, family portraits, and lots of church activities! I am sad to see October go, (It is definitely my favorite month!) but I'm looking forward to November and a month focused on thankfulness for all He has done! I am especially thankful for the precious privilege of being mama to my Lovey Lou!