Two Great Men--Two Angels

I don't even know where to begin 

Or what to write.

Two great men left earth:

Brendon's dad passed away unexpectedly

followed by his grandpa six days later.

***************

Russell Fairbanks Holmes

Quiet, thoughtful, sincere, helper, lover of the outdoors.

I knew him for seven short years

but his legacy of love, faith, and devotion to family continues in Brendon.

Love.

Russell adored his wife--truly adored her--in his words and actions.

He always greeted her with a hug and kiss,

helped her prepare dinner,

and was kind and respectful in the way he spoke to and about her.

In doing so, he showed Brendon how to do the same.

I will be forever grateful for Russell's tender relationship with his beautiful wife.

For his perfect pattern of being fully devoted and loyal to his wife.

Faith.

Russell was, as Sheryl describes, a man of God.

He was dedicated to serving God and man.

He was making efforts to improve himself up until his last days.

His testimony was strong.
His willingness to serve embedded in his children.

His love for God apparent.

Devotion to family.

Russell came from a big family and was the father of a big family.

When he was home he was helpful.

He was patient with his grandchildren--11 in total--

and accepting of those of us who married into the family.

Words seem so inadequate, especially those coming from me.

***************

Warren Clayton Pitt

Genuine, happy, loving.

We haven't ever lived near Brendon's family,

so my time with Grandpa Pitt was short.

But I always loved saying hi to him and being embraced and seeing his infectious smile.

I enjoyed sitting down and talking with him on a few occasions

and listening to him tell stories of life in the past.

He loved to sing.

And singing brought the family together.

The Pitt family sings around bonfires, when camping, and they even go caroling together at Christmastime. 

I am especially grateful for Grandpa's love of the Lord 

and testimony of the gospel.

He raised my mother-in-law, who is strong and faithful.

Grandpa's righteous living passed onto his children who passed it on to their children.

A priceless gift.

***************

I have thought a lot about angels over the past several years of my life.

I know we have family members who have passed on who watch over us.

They help protect us from evil and harm.

They help comfort us.

I am grateful for the unseen influences of angels, who I believe are most often family members.

It is difficult to live without our loved ones while we are on earth.

The sting of death is real.

But someday we will have a joyous reunion.

That knowledge helps us continue on.

I am so grateful for my knowledge of God's plan for His children.

I am grateful for the positive role models of two great men.

I am grateful for two angels watching over me and my family.

Creating Joy

Not long ago I posted about finding joy
and how I often have a difficult time finding joy in being a mother.
A dear friend commented and used the words "creating joy."

This was a weekend of creating joy.

After a week of being inside,

I took the kids to Krispy Kreme (aka "the donut store").

Need I say more about creating joy?

It was so refreshing to get out of the house and do something fun with the kids.

Then we went to Sprouts.

Oh, I've missed you.

I let both Henry and Maggie push their own kiddie carts.

I don't think I'll do that again.
But they loved it.

We came home and laid Maggie down for a nap, which she never took.
Henry and I played with his dinosaurs in the basement.
Then a friend came over for a visit.
We ate pizza for dinner which made for a peaceful meal.
(No arguing about taking one bite.)

On Saturday we went to the park with Dad.

The kids had so much fun running, playing, swinging, sliding, and being with Mom and Dad.

That night we had a family movie night.

"The Croods" and popcorn.

Doesn't get much better than that.
Especially in the eyes of a three-year-old.

It was a fun, happy weekend.
One where I felt the joy associated with children and family.
I think there is something to be said about creating joy.
Finding/recognizing joyful moments is good, but we often have to create joy.
This weekend we succeeded at doing just that.

Merry Christmas 2013

The December month was a fun one between preparing for Christmas, Brendon's week off of work, and my parents coming for a visit. Our first Christmas outing included a family pizza night at Costco (thanks to the free pizza coupon I had) and spending the night at our church's nativity exhibit, where we dressed up for a fun manger photo.

During Brendon's week off, we tried to do some fun things with the kids. We drove around the lake to see fancy lights, we built graham cracker houses (which the kids cared nothing about, aside from eating loads of candy), we had extra fun with Daddy at home, and we ate out at Chick-fil-A, probably the kids favorite activity. We got a lot of entertainment out of their play place and enjoyed our ice cream cones.

Christmas morning was a little lot disappointing for Henry, who decided a couple days before Christmas he wanted a blue eagle with a button (pretty sure he made the toy up from recent movies/cartoons). Santa fulfilled the earlier requested skateboard from the letter he received, but unfortunately left Henry unexcited Christmas morning. 

When I told Henry there were more presents I think I only got his hopes up. After unwrapping everything and still not seeing his blue eagle, he was a little sad. When I told him there was one more gift, Henry said, "I don't want another present." Brendon rolled in a bike and Henry said, "I don't want a big bike!! I want my little bike! I'm not a big boy!"

Fortunately, he loved Grandma and Grandpa Holmes' gift (an awesome dragon) and played with it all day. Henry and Maggie eventually went for a ride on the skateboard together and a few days after Christmas, Dad took Henry on his big bike. Henry quickly went back to his little bike once their ride was over and hasn't gone back to the big bike...yet. 

Maggie, on the other hand, was pleased with everything, especially the stocking filled with candy and the $3 jewelry set I bought her. She loved her dolls and thought Christmas morning was great.

My parents joined us the day after Christmas and spoiled us all. We went grocery shopping, to the toys store for the kids to pick out toys (twice, since Henry's first toy broke from 3-year-old abuse), out to eat and found some new favorites, to the mall, Target, Sam's Club, and on and on. 

I asked them to stay till the baby comes. I haven't done dishes, emptied the dishwasher, folded my own laundry, or woken up with the kids since they have been here. My dad also did several minor home repairs. It has been a good break from my regular responsibilities, especially with Brendon being busy. The kids have been played and cuddled with and loved to pieces. They have been very happy with "Pappa" and "Pappa Sue" (as Maggie calls them) visiting us. 

When it was time to drop them off at the airport, Henry said, "I don't want you to go home. I want you to stay at my house." Both kids snuggled and loved on their grandparents. It was a little sad. 

Thank goodness we have a baby coming in three months so they can come out to visit us again soon!

I just love these faces...all four of them!

Thanksgiving 2013

Like last year, we traveled to California for Thanksgiving. We had three full days to pack in as much family time as possible. I think it was a success. 

When we got into town (after a really long drive), Maggie was a little timid. Henry remembers everyone (and even if he didn't--he thinks everyone is his friend) and ran off to play with cousins. We love spending time with the Holmes family. There are lots of cousins (a total of eleven--ages six and under--six of which live in California), not to mention some pretty fun aunts and uncles. After Maggie warmed up, it was so fun watching Maggie with her cousins. She adored Hannah and followed her around and did everything she did. 

The first full day we had a family gathering for Maggie's birthday. She was spoiled with a lot of gifts, which provided good times for all the kids and grandma. 

Grandma Sheryl is a good sport and is so good about playing with her grandchildren.

They all adore her.

The next day was Thanksgiving with the Holmes clan, which totals 100 people as of this month. Grandpa & Grandma Holmes keep a thorough count of everyone in their family. They have a gigantic list of everyone in their family with dates listed of birthdays for their children and grandchildren and marriage dates for those of us who join their family with a marriage. There were about 50 people at dinner this year and a lot of new faces (i.e. cousins who got married). We had a great time eating and talking while the kids played and played and played. I must have played hard, too, because I went to bed with the kids at 8:30 PM (technically 10:30 PM Texas time).

Our last day with the family, we all went to see the movie Frozen and everyone loved it. Maggie actually watched half of the movie (and slept through the other half) on Grandma's lap. Henry sat on my lap throughout the movie. "What's happening????" he kept asking me. "Why?" was his response when I gave him an answer. After the movie, the cousins were playing together saying, "Your hair is turning white!"

We were on the road shortly after with two very sleep-deprived children. Whenever we visit family and our children get to play with cousins, we remember how nice it would be if we could always have the cousins together all the time. So we cherish the time we do spend together and are grateful for our family ties. And my favorite thing about getting together with family is watching grandparents interact with my children. I'm pretty sure I say this all the time, but there is nothing quite like the bonds between grandparent and grandchild.

Preschool for Henry

Henry started preschool in September.

When I first told him he was going to preschool he said,

"Do I get a backpack?"

I assured him he did.

And he loves his dinosaur backpack.

He was so excited about school before it started.

I told him only big boys who poop on the toilet get to go to school.

It helped. For a little while.

Initially, school wasn't problem free for his teachers or me.

I questioned myself for a week when I dropped him off kicking and screaming.

But he always came home very happy.

Fast forward to half-way through the school year.
He loves school.
His teachers say they can tell his little mind is working.
And not only is he learning academics, but also social skills.
It warms my heart to hear about him befriending others.

Thanks to school teachers, Henry can write an "H,"
identify numbers, letters, and shapes,
and is picking up on some math.

During our Thanksgiving break (in Norco, CA) we went on a walk.
Henry saw two horses, then one.
He said, "Two horses and one horse. Three horses."

I love school.

I love the one-on-one time with Maggie.

She loves it when we get to pick up Henry.

And Henry tells me, "I like preschool."

Henry and Maggie

These two are little buddies.

Henry has even called Maggie his "best fwend" on occasion.

They play together.

They laugh together.

And it's my favorite thing to watch.

Maggie runs down the hall sometimes yelling, "Hen-ee! Hen-ee! Hen-ee! (Henry)"

She says, "Where Hen-ee?" at least five times a day when he's in preschool.

And as soon as we turn the corner to Henry's preschool, she excitedly says, "Hen-ee!"

She adores him.

She says everything he says.

And does everything he does.

                             {playing doggies together}                                 {dressing up like brother}

Henry will often say, "Maggie, let's go play."

They'll go into his room and jump on the bed.

Sometimes, when I peek in, they are both doing their own thing:

Maggie will be reading a book while Henry is pretending to be a lion.

But they are content being in the same room together.

When Henry was nine months old, I remember thinking, "He's ready for a sibling."

And it wasn't long after that that we found out we were pregnant with Maggie.

It's so fun to see their relationship grow.

Sure, there are fights. 

Many fights.

But they are learning so much together.

And they love each other so much.

My heart bursts every time I hear them laughing together.

Maggie Turns Two

Maggie is a sweet spirit.

Content, mild, and calm.
She knows how to have fun.
But saves her display of emotion for those closest to her.

She can be very shy.
And cuddly.
But don't let that fool you, she can get excited.
She even has a happy dance.

She loves when I sing, "Shake Your Booty"
and will sing the song on her own.
Her dance is pretty cute, too.

Singing songs is one of her favorite activities
along with reading books.
Watching movies is not what she enjoys.
However, she will sit to watch Elmo on the computer.

Maggie is (finally) starting to grow some hair,
wears 3T clothing (pants--not leggings--have to be sewn to stay on her waist),
eats very well,
and is hit-or-miss on her naps.

She loves swimming in the tub,
getting in the shower with Mom,
dumping water on her head,
playing in the toilets,
and washing her hands.
It's safe to say she loves water.

Maggie is very girly.
She loves jewelry and purses,
playing with babies,
pushing her new stroller,
talking,
and getting her fingernails painted.

Although sweet most of the time,
Maggie has shown signs of being two-years-old.
Her attitude comes out from time to time
and she is learning how to push Henry's buttons.

But all in all, she has a peaceful temperament
and is very obedient.

She loves her family.
It's hard to say who she loves most.
And we all love Maggie.