Goodbye January.......the longest month of the year!

On this last day of January, some good news, some not so fun stuff too. I'll start with the GOOD!! My aunt Tami went into surgery this morning at 11 am and was out by 6 pm! She did awesome and the cancer was only in one breast with no spreading to ANYTHING or ANYWHERE! She got to have visitors around 7 pm. My mom called to tell me the great news and then I got to read it for myself on her "Care page"!! I have been thinking about her constantly today!

Not so fun stuff: The girls = sick. Ryleigh, low grade temps, "tummy ache" and sore throat. Landree, stomach flu. Not so fun. Jason and I split the day so I could save sick time for maternity leave, but looks like we're staying home again tomorrow. You know Ryleigh isn't feeling good when she asks me to call her teacher and tell her she won't be at preschool today. Missing school is not cool in our house! Unfortunately, again, for the thousandth time this winter....it snowed and snowed and snowed some more today, so school got cancelled anyways! Landree was so cute before she started throwing up, "mommy, tummy, ouie". Of course, she did good until I put a piece of toast in front of her and that was when it started. Poor little thing!

Some other good news: Landree is full time potty training. I wasn't going to start until she started showing signs or while I was on maternity leave, but she started showing us signs that she was ready....so here we go! For the last two weeks, in the evenings after work, she is in nothing but underwear. The weekends have been nothing but underwear as well. If I had a week straight with this kid to myself, she'd be done already, but, well, I work. There are a set of twins at daycare who are a little older than her, but she sees them going and I think that is what started it. Last weekend she only had two accidents on Saturday and one on Sunday. She hasn't had any accidents in the evenings for a week and even this morning through all of her throwing up, she still had no accidents. I did put her in pull ups though just in case! She is so proud of herself and I think she's finally got the sensation of having to pee down. For months she's told us when she's had to poopy and we've been able to catch that, but I think she's finally catching on with peeing!! Yay! We did go to Nebraska for the weekend, so I didn't push it there, but a few times she did tell us that she had to go and when we got home from Nebraska, she went up to her room and grabbed her underwear and brought them to me. AWESOME! I was so hoping to not have two kids in diapers, I think I might get my wish! She's talking up a storm too, so that's been fun. Ryleigh has taught her to count. Of course, everything is "un, two, un, two, un two"!!! Ryleigh is also teaching her new words. And she loves to read.

Ryleigh is doing great too (besides feeling a little under the weather). She is learning so much in preschool. Last Friday they got to play in the snow and the teachers made it different colors for them. Then she was invited to her first birthday party without mom/dad present. It was kind of scary, but she did good. I think I was more scared because I barely knew the parents, but Jason met the mom, hung out for awhile and then was on his way. She knows her address by heart, is working on her phone numbers. Has become really good at some simple math concepts (while using her fingers or flashcards to do the addition or subtraction), with very small numbers! Is recognizing small words. And has a voice on her like you wouldn't believe. Of course, she's become quite stubborn as well, but that's not always a bad thing! Today she wanted to change her earrings herself and put them in (she told me it was time for her to learn and that I needed to teach her). So, she did it, with some guidance! She's been a pill at bedtime for the past few months, so we've started this chart with her and good behavior (she seems to respond so much better with positive reinforcement rather than time outs, etc.) It's working. We are going on 3 weeks and she's had only one bedtime that she didn't get a sticker on her chart. And, boy does that empty "box" continue to be a thorn in her side. But, it's reminded her about going to bed like a big girl. She asked if we could go to a huge pool with slides if she can get the whole chart filled up. Well, I counted the other day and there are a total of 8 weeks on there. And guess what, that is how many weeks we have until baby #3 arrives. So, we will see what unfolds. :) And, yes, she does get something a little special at the end of her week. The first week got extended due to her one bad evening, but she did get some "kitty jammies", last week she did good so she gets to pick out some fingernail polish and this week she wants to pick out some new earrings. And, well, it's been worth it. I have been getting some stuff done in the evenings!! Yay Ryleigh!!

That's about it for updates on the girls. I am sure there is something I forgot, but since it's turning into a book, that's probably a good thing!

Hope everyone has a great week. I am ready for February!!

Trip to Nebraska

We headed to Nebraska this past weekend for the "Dinslage Family Christmas". It was weird not having Grandma there or for us to go see her, she is definitely missed. We did have a good time, though, just how she would have wanted it. Lots of food (as always) and fun, no drama! I stayed up way to late with my cousins on Saturday night. We stay in a rectory (which is like a mini hotel, with just our family). We were in Iowa when I realized I forgot my camera. BUMMER. The girls had a BLAST. They got two more presents. Kiddos drawing and one each from Great Grandpa Ray. And the adults had our annual white elephant gift giving game, which is always so funny. It was a short but sweet trip. I was also the DD for my drunk cousins.....always nice to have a preggo in the group, when we snuck into the bar on our way to get pizza's for the kids!! :) HEHE! It was so much fun and good to see my Grandpa again. Mom drove back home with us to MN (which was nice for Jason and I because she sat in the back with the girls, entertaining). Dad stayed in NE to be with my aunt Tami and family during her surgery today.

Happy Birthday Grandma Terri!

Happy Birthday to Grandma Terri. I know this is a day late on here, but I am glad Ryleigh and I got to talk to you yesterday on your actual birthday. Hope your day was fabulous. Thanks so much for all you do for us.............see you soon?????

Happy Birthday Brittany!!!

Happy Birthday to my cuz....Brittany!! Hope you had a fabulous day!! I love you more than you know and am so glad you are my cousin!! I hope to see you very soon (found a dog sitter, now we just need good weather)!!! I stole this picture from facebook and I thought it was a really good one of you, plus I love your tank top. :)

Brrrrrr

We're almost through the coldest week of the year (I hope)! School was actually a late start due to the cold and windchill so Ryleigh didn't have preschool today, she said she was going to "Cindy school" instead!! :) Hopefully they have school on Monday because she gets to bring treats for her 1/2 birthday! Anyhow, on my way to work, the temperature registering on my mirror said (-19). Let's not forget how the wind is blowing either. (-40) with the windchill. Why do I live here? Oh yes, to be close to at least some family! Must be because they were born here, but the girls don't seem to mind the cold a bit. In fact, they've been outside with Jason a lot the past week while I stay inside my nice little heated house. They are crazy. And their cheeks get so red, but it is fun to snuggle with them under a blanket and drink some hot chocolate when they do finally come in. Landree loves it out there and screamed when we brought her in but her cheeks were so red, they were making me nervous. I heard today though that there are only 59 days to spring. Which makes sense since I think I have only about 64 days left in my pregnancy. I am sure there will be one last blizzard, most likely when I go into labor!! I got to hear the little buggers heartbeat today. I am 31 weeks...........yay--9 to go!! It was strong and was 140. And, it didn't like to be listened to. My stomach was jumping all over the place! Which is very good. Everything else was good too and I will have an ultrasound next Thursday morning!! This new women's center where I will be going doesn't do 3D, and I'm not about to spend the extra money that's not covered by insurance to get a 3D, so I will be sharing the regular 2D next week!! Stay tuned! The girls are growing like crazy. Landree is doing good on the (#2) part of potty training, but #1 is a bit more tricky for her. No matter if she is wearing a diaper or not she tells us if she has to go "poopy" but she seems to not know about the urine unless it's already happened or she's doing it at that second. I don't think we've changed a poopy diaper for a week. I tried video taping her this evening of all she is saying, but she got camera shy and was whispering everything. It was actually quite funny, maybe after she gets a good nights rest and wakes up full of energy. Ryleigh is going through some terrible "4's". The kid never gave us too much trouble with 2's and 3's but whoooo-eee is she spunky, smart and sassy. Yikes. She hasn't been getting to do much of her favorite things with her little attitude that she's suddenly developed. Currently I am trying to get all pictures organized and into online scrapbooks from the last 3 years of the girls and it's been lots of fun going through pictures. Along with that comes videos that I have long forgotten about. Ryleigh is having so much fun in the evening's watching "Ryleigh movies" with me. Landree actually enjoys them too and thinks the ones of Ryleigh from 2 years ago are her. She says, "me!" Hopefully, I can get these scrapbooks all caught up before baby #3 arrives. That is my goal anyways. I always say thank goodness I take about 500 pictures a month, but it's been kind of hard picking which ones I want to use. It is definitely a work in progress!! I promise I will get some more photos up on here soon, but for now, I am going to go work on those scrapbooks. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Almost forgot the good news. My aunt Tami has cancer in only the one breast and it hasn't spread anywhere or to any lymph nodes yet. She is scheduled for mastectomy on the 31st and then will know more about her treatments after that. Will keep you posted, keep praying for her!! Thanks ya'll!

Oh, and the song below is not about me having a girl. It probably is a girl, but Jason and I DO NOT know. I just thought it was a cool song about being pregnant (substitute name and gender for whatever you may be having and it still works)!!

Low Key, fun weekend!!

Ryleigh with her cookie. (yes, she was crying. She was in a time out and thought we ate her "gingerbread man")!
My two little monkey's in thier monkey jammies..............aren't they so yummy!

Fun weekend!

Did a lot, but didn't do much!

Very nice...very relaxing!

Friday--

Jason and I watched a movie after the girls went to bed. Pay it Forward. It was good and...I cried!

Saturday--

Jason let me sleep in, the girls let him sleep in a little.

Ran some errands.

Took the girls swimming for 2 hours.

Came home.

Had the Lorenz's over for pizza and an evening filled with much entertainment.

(Jason and I got the WII game, Just Dance 2 with a gift cert. from Xmas).

The Lorenz girls loved it.....oh, wait, so did Axel. And Osbourne.

We've had the game for a few weeks and Ryleigh loves it too!

Both girls in bed late, Jason and I in bed early.

Sunday--

Church. Ryleigh got an A+, Landree a D.

Yes, they get graded on many of our outings/adventures!!

To the store to pick up missing ingredients for cookies, since I have been promising Ryleigh a cookie making day.

Home, had lunch, baked cookies, Landree napped....oh wait, she didn't, but Daddy did.

To Best Buy to get Landree a gift with some birthday money....TOY STORY 3!

Now we have all 3 Toy Story movies!

Went to some furniture stores looking for bunk beds as the girls will be moving in with each other soon.

Drove around in car lots looking for a car. Jason's been doing research.

Wouldn't you know, we pay off our vehicle and then, it goes down the drain.

Just when I thought we'd have no more car payments.....NOW we have to buy a new car, compliments of our transmission going out.

Both girls fell asleep in the car while looking for cars.

Came home, the girls and Jason watched Toy Story 3 while I cooked supper.

Now it is time for bed. Daycare just called and everyone's puking, so Jason is going to stay home with the girls tomorrow as I am saving my sick time for maternity leave.

I should also mention that our basement bathroom shower is almost completely tiled!!

Our weekend in a nutshell!

Stuff

All kinds of stuff going on around here. I have been asked to join (I got voted in) to a book club. I am kind of excited. My friend Amy asked me to join. It sounds like these women have been going at this for a few years now. They have 12 members and one moved away or something and so they needed to have a new member. Even though I was just invited this evening and haven't read the book, I am going to go check it out tomorrow evening. They meet monthly for a few hours at one of their houses. There are 12 of them, like I said earlier, so you only have to host it at your house once a year. From what I have been told, the women are of different ages, backgrounds, working moms, stay at home moms, and so forth, so I think it will be a fun get-a-way! The great thing is, I will hardly miss any of the one evening a month with my girls as they meet at 7:30 and that is when Landree goes to bed and Ryleigh shortly thereafter!! YAY!! Last Saturday I hung out with a different crowd of women/friends and went to an Eclipse party. It was supposed to be last month, however it got cancelled due to a blizzard we were having. It was a good time and we talked more than we watched the movie, so I have the movie here now and need to watch it. But it was fun and we got together after all our kiddos were in bed.


Jason is doing archery league on Tuesday evenings during the rest of the winter. It goes until March, just in time as the baby is due around the end of March. He had his first evening of archery this past Tuesday evening. He has also been working very hard on the basement bathroom. I will have to get a picture posted of what it is looking like. It's funny how our basement is starting to be the more modern part of our house, but that's what happens when you move into a 19 year old house and finish the basement!!! There are things we'd like to update on the main level too, but then I see how things have gotten beaten up having small children, so waiting a few years on that stuff is okay with me. It's beautiful even though it's in it's 20's and never had a thing done to it!


Ryleigh has asked to do gymnastics or dance again the rest of the winter, so maybe another night of ours will fill up here soon. They're not even in school full time and it's starting already!! Ryleigh is doing great by the way. Turning into such a big girl and helper. She's told me she will be an even bigger helper when the baby comes. Each week at school when they "check in" they have to find their name (first or last) or their initials or something. This week it was their address. We knew it was coming so we hung up a sign with our address on the fridge last week. She now knows her address by heart and found it at school today at "check in". Yay! Lately she has been wanting to wear a skirt or dress with tights all the time. Her favorite song is "what's my name" by Rihanna, but really loves any music that is being played that has a good beat that she can shake "it" to. She is so darned cute but can be so darned ornery too. After having her earrings for almost 2 years now, she finally let me remove them and put new ones in. She thought it was going to hurt, but after I finally convinced her and showed her that it doesn't hurt, she let me do it. Now, for the past two weeks, I have been changing her earrings on a daily basis. There were all sorts of things I was going to post about her, but this mommy brain is really taking it's toll on me! I will have to start writing down things again.


Landree is talking more than ever and we can actually understand her now. This morning she said, "daddy, funny" when he made a face at her. That's the first time she's said funny. She repeats everything we ask her to and has pretty good conversations back and forth with us. No matter how many other words she can say that start with "b", we cannot get her to say "baby". She can say boo, boo boo, booby, anything else you ask her but when you ask her to say baby, she says, "MAMU". We went to Target the other day, she saw a baby and shouted, "mama, mamu"!! She also will not say milk. She says water, but for milk it's, "mmmm, mmmm" and the way she says it, it sounds like when someone says, "yum, yum" when something is good. I should get it on video. She is VERY interested in the "potty" and after coming home from daycare, wants to wear her underwear. I think it's because there is a set of twins at daycare that are a few months older than her that are being potty trained. Last evening she wore underwear from when we got home until her bath and didn't have an accident. Maybe one of these weekends (when I have some energy), we will totally focus on potty training. She doesn't like to sit on the toilet for very long, but I have been able to bribe her with certain candies!! hey, whatever works for her, she is one of the most stubborn little people I know. She even rolled her eyes at Jason this morning. And, now that Ryleigh is letting me change her earrings, Landree keeps wanting me to put "pretties" in her ears too. Well, maybe when she turns 3, like Ryleigh was!!!


Well, that's all I have on my brain for right now. So have a wonderful week and goodnight. We have SO much snow here as well. It's nice out when it's snowing, otherwise it has been so cold. We are supposed to get another 7 inches this weekend I hear. We hit a record for December here in MN and from Nov 15th to the end of December we have gotten over 40 inches of snow total. Here are some pictures of our Winter Wonderland:


Can you believe I got these shots from inside my car going 70 mph!!! Awesome.

29 weeks and counting.......

So, last Friday I hit the 29 week mark of my pregnancy!! Almost done, only 11 weeks to go (in my case, probably 12)!! I like to take pictures every 4 weeks to see how I am growing and to have some shots for the baby book, but I missed week 28 due to being ill....actually I did take them, but look like crap, so I retook them this past weekend. Not that I look any better but at least I have some color in my face!! Jason and I have finally started a list of names we like. For the both of us, nothing is quite jumping out like it did the first two times. Maybe we should just bring our list to the hospital and see what it looks like when it comes out?? The baby is moving like crazy, only now I am feeling little things sticking out of my belly, like fists, knees and feet. It still amazes me every time I feel it. This kid has taken my breath away a few times and DOES NOT like it when I push on it or push back against it. And, a friend had a point, would you like someone pushing you?? No, I'd probably push back, too!! I can't wait to meet this new little person. I will have one more ultrasound probably the first or second week of February, so that will be exciting. And, no, we will not find out what it is, you'll just have to wait. Hehe! Sorry, but we like surprises. My growing bump gets kisses every day from the girls and Ryleigh keeps asking when the baby will get here. I still think Landree is clueless, but lately she's been surprising me on how well she knows what I am talking about. Soon, I will post an entry on how the girls are doing but for now, I will post this picture and go to bed. Night ya'll!!

Requesting Prayers

Requesting prayers from all my friends and family whom read the blog. My aunt Tami (my dad's baby sister) was just diagnosed the last week of December with breast cancer for the 2nd time. She is 39 years old and has two young daughters, Lauren and Allyson and a hubby, Darren. She was diagnosed 5 years ago the first time and fought it with Chemo. She found a lump the week of Christmas and had it checked out and biopsied the week after Christmas, only to find out that the cancer came back. She had a consult with a surgeon today and I haven't yet read how that went, but she needs lots of prayers, so if you pray a lot, keep her in them, if you pray a little, say one for her. She's a fighter!! Tami, I have been thinking about you daily since I received your email, I love you and pray for you daily!

PS....the little girl (baby Ryley) I requested prayers for about a year ago (Dec 2009) is doing well. She continues in Physical Therapy and will be 2 in July. She is just now taking her first steps and is doing good. One of these days she'll be walking with the best of 'em!!

See, so prayers really do help. Thanks all!

Christmas #3!!

Christmas #3 was with my mom and dad. It got postponed from Christmas Eve. Finally, we had oyster stew thanks to my mom making it and it was well worth the wait!!! Thanks mom!! Even the girls ate it for the most part, well the milky part, I don't think they are too fond of the oysters yet, but they'll learn to like it!! After all, it is a family tradition. Again, the girls got more gifts. They were and still are ecstatic about the new additions to their dollhouse!! They got more clothes and pj's, a game, huge puzzle, card table and chairs for kiddos (they ate every meal and snack on that table for a week)--we finally moved it out of the way and boy was that a big meltdown for them when we made them eat supper with us at the table again, where Landree can't get out of her chair and Ryleigh can't run wild during the middle of the meal. Since our car had been acting up and we were "rabbit sitting" for the neighbors all that weekend, my parents came to our house to be together. We had a good time, visited and reminisced! The girls just had to get into their pj's early, like around 4:30 pm as they were so excited about them. Until next year (where maybe we can get to see more family)...............here are the pictures for our 3rd and final Christmas celebration for 2010:

Christmas #2!

Christmas #2 took place on Christmas day when we traveled to Northfield to hang out with Jason's dad, Grandma Terri, Aunt Shea, Josh and Thatcher! We spent the morning playing with new toys from Christmas Eve and from Santa, then we all got ready for the day and headed to Northfield. We opened more gifts there, ate a wonderful meal with ham and cheesy potatoes, creamed corn, more food and desserts! It was so fun to see Thatcher again (twice in one week, since they moved to TX now). I have some good pictures of him here, but I want to play with them a bit with my new computer program and see what I can do!! Kind of excited. Of course, I wanted to play a lot with my new camera when he was in town, but I still had my Grandma on my mind and so although it was a fun Christmas, it was very bittersweet. So, hopefully I can do some cute things with what I got.....sorry Shea. For the life of me, I couldn't get a decent shot of the three kiddos together, so I am hoping whoever was behind me making them look above me had a camera and got a shot. No smiles on them at all. Here are some photos from Christmas #2:

Then we tried to get a family photo of the 4 of us.....that didn't go so well. It hasn't been going so well, trying to get a picture of the 4 of us. Ana, you still win the prize. Hopefully you can get a good one, if your willing, when the baby comes????!!!! :) See the FUN we had below:

Christmas #1

Christmas #1 happened on Christmas Eve. It was a nice quiet evening with just Jason, I and the girls. We went to the Children's Mass at church and it was beautiful. The church was pretty, it was in candlelight when we got there and was so calming. We broke a few traditions this year. We've been having oyster stew and chili on Christmas Eve however, I was not much in the mood for cooking anything on Christmas Eve. I even had plans to bake cookies and a gingerbread man, but when I got the news about my Grandma, well I felt like being lazy. Instead, Jason and I ran to the Crab Deck and got three different kinds of shrimp and scallops and had mashed potatoes with that. The girls opened gifts from us, Nana Peggy, Aunt Sarah and Jeremy, Cindy, & Ryan, Ana and girls! They made out good. Jason ended up getting me something.....a photoshop computer program to go with my new camera. And he got some good smelling cologne from me and a Nebraska banner to go in his bar in the basement form the girls! We were in bed at a decent time as we knew Santa was making his way to our house!! And he did come!! Ryleigh was up at 6:30 and was so excited when we went to see if he had made it. She was halfway down the stairs in the dark, saying, "Landree, Santa came, oh gosh, Santa came!" It was so cute and fun. Just Ryleigh getting excited this year had Landree so excited about everything. Here are some pictures from Christmas #1:

Congrats Jason!!

Just wanted to wish Jason a big congrats!! He took his PE (Professional Engineer) Exam on October 29th and FINALLY received the results in the mail.....9 weeks later! And...........HE PASSED!!! Let me tell you all the studying he put in while working full time and taking care of his family. He never once let his studying take away from the girls, so he started studying after they went to bed for a few hours every night all summer and fall. He had a week vacation from studying when we went to Colorado for a week this past summer, but that's it, maybe a few nights here and there. It took it's toll on him and myself a little but in the end.....he did it!!! He had to take his exam in Minneapolis and went up the night before to get a good nights rest and just relax. He had to be at the test center at 7 am and he finally called me at 6 pm saying they were finally done and on their way home (his friend Jerhod also took it that day and passed as well--Yay)!! It was a very long day with very few breaks. I looked at his stuff one night and it looked like Japanese to me, so I know it was hard, but here are the statistics: 60% pass the test the first time they take it, 40% the second time. If you have to retake it you have to wait 90 days to retake it. Not sure if there is a limit to how many times you can take it. VERY HARD!! I knew he could do it and it makes it so much better that he passed knowing how hard he studied. Forgot to mention also that in order to take your PE exam you have to work under a Professional Engineer for 4 years. Jason has worked under a Professional Engineer for 5 and a half years. And, I didn't tell a soul that he was taking it as I think he was worried he wasn't going to pass. BUT, now that he did, I get to blog about it!! He was so good to me before I took my nursing boards so I had to do the same, the girls and I got him a "good luck" balloon and chocolate (dark) the day before he left for his exam! And, tonight, the girls and I got him a PS3 game for his celebratory, good job gift!! I wanted to take him out to eat yesterday, but with only one vehicle and it only holding 3 of us, well, we didn't go, but he did go have a brewsky with the boys to celebrate!!

So, a great way to start out his new year!! CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN JASON, I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT............I AM SO PROUD OF YOU AND I LOVE YOU!

In Memory of my Grandma Leora!

Leora D. Dinslage

4/21/24-12/24/10

Leora Delores Dinslage, daughter of Frank and Catherine (Heithoff) Roth, was born on April 21st, 1924 on the family farm northeast of Elgin, NE. She was baptized and confirmed at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Elgin and attended St. Boniface Schools through the 8th grade.

She lived in Elgin and helped on the farm until moving to Chicago in 1943 to work at Western Electric. On July 30th, 1945, Leora was united in marriage with Raymond F. Dinslage at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Elgin, NE. They lived on a farm near Elgin where Leora was a homemaker, and then moved to town in 1966.

She was a member of St. Boniface Christian Mothers, St. Boniface Choir and served as an EMHC in the church. She enjoyed playing cards, baking pies, cooking, listening to music, dancing and spending time with friends. She especially cherished the time she spent with her family.

Leora is survived by her husband, Ray, of Elgin, NE; 5 children: Merle Dinslage and wife Mary of Papillion, NE; Bruce Dinslage and wife Mary Jo of Schuyler, NE; Carole Heitman and husband Lindsey of Omaha, NE; Pam Zabka and husband Kevin of St. James, MN; Lisa Schrage and husband Alan of Petersburg, NE; 14 grandchildren; 16 great grandchildren; one brother: Jerome Roth of Neligh, NE; one sister: Kathleen Ruther of Petersburg, NE.

She was preceded in death by her parents, four brothers: Roman, Albert, Arthur, and Orlandis Roth; two sisters: Sr. Gladys Roth and Juliann Roth.

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My Grandma went to heaven on Christmas Eve, one of her favorite days of the year, surrounded by my Grandpa and her 5 children. I got the news on the 21st of December that she probably wouldn't make it to Christmas and that my mom and dad were heading back to Nebraska to be with her. I've been putting off this post as I was trying to put a slide show of pictures together in her memory. Of course, I have way too many, so I picked some of my favorites! There are not enough words to describe how wonderful and beautiful my Grandma was. She was the perfect Grandma that you wish for. I have so many memories of her growing up (I only lived 9 miles away from her for the first 13 years of my life). My brother and I spent countless days there, especially in the summer. Some things I can recall that I loved about being with her include her baking (bread, cookies and pies), she also had this thing for different flavored popcorn too that my brother and I loved. We were always excited about what flavor of popcorn would be next. Her bread was the absolute BEST, fresh out of the oven with nothing on it! Her and Grandpa LOVED to dance. She was a tap dancer and had a beautiful voice and would sing and yodel to us all the time. They also loved to play cards. I remember things being perfect when I was in my Grandma's arms, nothing could hurt me there. AND..........she had the best nails, she would scratch my back for hours and hours, never letting me know if I was driving her nuts. Even later when her dementia got bad and she became very restless, that is how I could get her to calm down, by having her scratch my back. And she loved babies!! I could seriously go on and on, but now that I am in tears remembering her, I should probably stop! :)

When I got the phone call from mom on Christmas Eve morning and mom told me how she was doing, I told Jason that it would not be long and that I expected a call from my mom within the hour. That was at 9:30 am, my mom called my back at 10:30 am and said she had just passed away. I cried when I got off the phone. Ryleigh knew that she was dying, so when I hung up with my mom, she came over and asked, "did your Grandma die, mama?" I told her yes she did. She gave me this huge hug, while patting my back and said, "it's okay, mama, she'll come back to life!" She was so sweet. And Landree, she just hates it when anyone sheds a tear, so there I was in Ryleigh's room with both girls hugging me. Jason was out snow blowing the driveway and was next on my hug list. My Ryleigh Grace was so full of questions at the wake. First she went up to see Grandma with Jason and I, then she wanted Jason to go up with her to see Grandma, then it was my turn. Jason said, "she wants to ask you a few questions." So, I went up with her and her first question: "Mama, where are her legs?" the second question: "I thought you said when we were at home, that she was an angel up in heaven now with Jesus, why is she still here and where is her halo?" Wow, some good questions! She asked about her dress and jewelry as well. But, then she wanted to go play with her cousin Payton, so I put her down and said to Jason, "phew, I was hoping that wasn't going to be too hard, I only got two questions." Then he proceeded to tell me, "that's because I got the other 150 questions!!" I had to giggle. My Grandpa had been in the hospital while this was going on. They released him for 30 mintues on Wednesday(12/22) to go to the nursing home to see her and then he was discharged on Thursday(12/23). Thank God, he got to be with her on Friday(12/24)!

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Another Poem that was at her funeral on a memorial:

My First Christmas in Heaven

I see countless Christmas trees around the world below

With tiny lights, like Heaven's stars, reflecting in the snow

The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away the tear

For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs that people hold so dear

But the sounds of music can't compare with the Christmas Choir up here.

I have no words to tell you, the joy their voices bring,

For it is beyond description, to hear the angels sing

I know how much you miss me, I see the pain inside your heart

But I am not so far away, We really aren't apart.

So be happy for me, dear ones, you know I hold you dear.

And be glad I'm spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

I sent you each a special gift, from my heavenly home above.

I sent you each a memory of my undying love.

After all, love is a gift more precious than pure gold.

It was always most important in the stories Jesus told.

Please love and keep each other, as my Father said to do.

For I can't count the blessing or love he has for each of you.

So have a Merry Christmas and wipe away that tear

Remember, I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.

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Below is a song I heard that reminded me of my Grandma and Grandpa. If you check it out on You Tube, it might make you cry (ok, well, I did anyways)!! It's called: He's Walking Her Home by Mark Schultz. Of course there are a few differences. The couple in the song was married 60 years, my grandparents were married for 65 and a half years....WOW!! Also, one that I couldn't find the full length on is by Patty Loveless: "How can I help you to say goodbye", it's one that I wanted to post as well.

Thank you all for your support and prayers. I miss my Grandma so much!