Remembering Maryland Grandpa

I wish I got to know Mike's dad better. I wish our kids got to spend more time with him. I wish he got to see Derek before he passed.

We sang his favorite hymns together. He is singing them continuously now. I'm so thankful for my father-in-law.

The G Word

Ever miss someone so much that you want to avoid seeing her so you don't have to say "Good-bye" to her again?

While my mom was here helping out my sister with Baby Matthew, I wasn't able to see her as much as I wanted because of Derek's Roseola.  I was going to sneak out the other night to spend time with my mom, but I decided not to.  Knowing I'd be crying the whole 45-minute drive up there, dreading the "Good-bye", only to see her for an hour or two with a heavy heart, and then to have to actually say it and then cry the whole drive home, was not appealing to me.  So instead of seeing her in person, I decided to just bid my farewell over the phone, which I cried through any way.  Go figure.

But today, a few hours before her flight, we had a FaceTime session and surprisingly, there were no tears involved.



Is it weird that sometimes I want to go back into her womb? When Marcus was born is when I became an adult. Before that, I feel like I was playing house. And now I see that the adult world is real, tough, dirty, and sometimes brutal. I'm thankful for my mom who tucked me in bed and made me feel like I was in a safe and warm place, even though she and dad were fighting to survive in their adult world.

And now I'm a mom and my own kids may one day miss the days we are experiencing right now. Note to self: hug them tight, make them laugh, show them how merciful and loving the Lord has been to us so that they know the One who will be with them when they enter the adult world of their own.

Love you, Mom! Miss you!

My New Favorite Theme Park

Reasons why I love Legoland:

Because my daughter and her Daddy could do this



And this



And while the rest of us wait for them, we could do this



And this



And this



Because the Legoland designers created this musical fountain knowing my son would one day visit it



Because the day we went, the weather was perfect, there were no crowds, and CA Grandma was delighted to spend the day out with her peeps, especially Lover Boy



Because slides were invented for my daughter and she rode this one 3 times in a row



And her father watched her in awe



Because Audrey and I got to spin around on one of those round and round rides



Which made her flash her crazy-teeth smile again



Because there was also an aquarium there and Marcus was enthralled





Because he was able to really explore the sea critters without being scared





Because Audrey was stoked to learn about seahorses



Because it gave us an excuse to fill up our kids on sugar



And because we plain ol' had a good time together



Love ya, Legoland! Hope to visit you again some day!

The First Thanksgiving In 9 Years

What made this Thanksgiving heart-exploding wonderful? Being able to celebrate it with my parents for the first time in 9 years. They took some time off from their ministry duties in Hawaii to fly out, hold their newborn grandson (my new adorable nephew), and try their best to share themselves amongst 5 grand-kids.





"I don't know who to look at," my dad would say, scanning the room full of kids. And for me and my sister, it was pure joy watching Mom and Dad enjoy each one of them in real life rather than admiring their pictures through a computer screen.

















The older cousins got in some good playtime with each other too.











With Grandpa's thanksgiving day prayer, yumalicious food, and Audrey asking everyone what they were thankful for, it was a day of gratefulness indeed.

Derek thought Thanksgiving would be an appropriate time to start taking first steps.

The night ended, we said good-bye, and I had to hide my red cheeks and wet eyes from my dad who had to leave the next day.  Saying "Bye for now," always stings, especially because sometimes I want so badly to be their little girl again and feel the warm safety of being under their care.  But now that I'm grown up, I love, respect, and thank them even more.  They've given me and my sister unconditional love, unceasing prayer, and a legacy of faith in our Savior Jesus Christ.  That's what I'm thankful for this year.

California Grandma

Our kids have given their grandparents geographic names.  So far, they have called them the Hawaii Grandparents and the Maryland Grandparents.  We are thankful to say that now we have California Grandma.





Over the past several months, she sold the house she lived in for 20+ years, left the community in Maryland she and Mike's dad built for 30 years, and moved across the country to build a new life close to her children and grandchildren.  It is bittersweet to see that now we get to see her as often as we like, yet understand that it came at a tremendous cost to her.  We continue to dearly miss Maryland Grandpa and pray that California Grandma will adjust quickly to her new life here.

I have a feeling the kids will help smooth the transition a bit.





And not only that, but she'll get to bond with her daughter (Mike's sister) while sharing an apartment together.



We're gonna enjoy the fact that Grandma will always be around for impromptu trips to get yogurt





And she'll be able to see for herself how the kids are growing.



Welcome home, California Grandma!