Saying Good bye

 

You and I will meet again

When we're least expecting it

One day in some far off place

I will recognize your face

I won't say goodbye my friend

For you and I will meet again

~Tom Petty

God took back one of his most precious angels Sunday, February 13, 2011. My aunt Nancy, 52 years young, was called home after a long battle with breast cancer. She was a shining star to many, bringing smiles, laughter and love to all who knew her. She was a miracle child that should never have lived but by the grace of God, the miracle of medical technology and parents that were not willing to give up on their baby girl, she blessed the Earth for many years past what any doctor had anticipated. I am blessed to have known her and though I might not have seen her in years, she was always in my heart and thoughts. 

Saying goodbye to a loved one is always hard but there is always a bright spot to be had if you can look beyond your grief long enough to see it. Though my father had to say goodbye to his baby sister, he was able to finally say hello to his grandson this past weekend. The kids, mom and I made the whirlwind journey to Missouri, starting out on a VERY foggy Wednesday morning and making it to Uncle Jim's (mom's brother) house early that evening without much event. Though the automated idiot (gps) routed us some crazy way through the middle of no where, with no cell phone signal, in the pitch dark, where opossums played in the middle of the road and creatures with wingspans as wide as my car flew out of ditches... Thursday we had a collapse day, and then Friday the kids and I made the winding journey from Dexter, MO to West Plains, MO. The drive brought back a lot of fond memories and it was nice to have a quiet backseat (kids sleeping) and time to just reflect on some of the great times I had with my own parents while making these trips back "home". West Plains is still the same sleepy "little" town that its always been, not much growth in the 12yrs since I've been back. I went by and saw the house that my great grandparents and aunt Nancy had lived in for  30+ years, it was up for sale. I called the realtor but was not able to see the house during the short visit I was there. The funeral was Friday afternoon, it was attended by at least 30 people, mostly distant relatives from the Cresup side of the family tree and a few close friends. Freyja even went up to the casket and said how beautiful she looked sleeping. The best we could explain was that she was tired and had gone to sleep, now she was going on a long trip to see her family again and that when they closed the casket she would leave and we would bury her treasure until she could come back for it. Freyja held tight to her Papa the entire time and tried her 3.5yr old best to comfort him. She met her two great uncles for the first time as well. Her and uncle David were like long lost friends finally reunited. Uncle Tommy...well, at least I can say she met him at some point in her life. We spent the evening and next morning with dad, Stella and uncle David there at our motel. Saturday we hesitantly parted ways and headed back to Dexter to pick up mom and head as far home as we could make it that night. We made it to Jackson, MS before we were DONE that night and then cruised on home Sunday, getting home around 4pm. I'm still groggy, mentally/emotionally exhausted...but I wouldn't have missed this trip for anything!

Like OMGosh!! I think we might be related!!

 So here's both my munch-kins at 6months old....same chin, same chubby cheeks, same eyes...dang their cute!

Not much is new since my blog earlier this month. The "noisy" baby toys have come out of storage again. Freyja helped me clean everything up, put in fresh batteries and then taught Jaxon how to play with everything. Jaxon had his 6month check up on the 15th, he's 27in tall and weighs 15.3lbs. Dr says he's tall and skinny! He has 5teeth so far and theres a 6th that just about to break through. He has the two middle ones on bottom, two middle ones on top, one eye tooth and the other one is about to break through. With help he can sit up and then stay there for long periods of time without falling over. He HATED being trapped in his carseat for the last 4days but he was an angel over all with all the traveling. Freyja did wonderfully travelling as usual. Like me, I think she was born to travel! She's learned how to use a DS (hand held Nintendo gaming system) so she stayed pretty well occupied with her games for the entire trip. 

In other news, Sunday was David's and my 5yr anniversary!! We have not had a chance to celebrate yet but as we both agree we have MANY more left together to make up for it!  We've had a roller coaster of a last 5yrs and look forward to seeing what the rest of life's ride has to offer. He LOVES his new job, I hope it stays good to him and that he can keep his love for it for a long time. I will be returning home to the kids as a full time mom again on March 3rd. I am sad to leave my job but my children are my first priority and life circumstances have proven that I should be home with them at this time instead of working. I am just thankful this job was here when we needed it most and that its been a wonderful experience while its lasted.

Thats it for now! Time to get productive!

Buggs will be Buggs

Apparently in the job description of a 3yr old there is something that says "All objects can be reappropriated as many different things and YOU as a 3yr old are responsible for finding a million and one ways of using everything you can put your hands on". And for the most part Freyja does an awesome job following these directions. As seen above...thats a back rest. Its been a snowboard, a windshield, a surfboard, a crib, a rocking device, a baby sling and several other things that I can't remember right now all since last Saturday when mom and Aunt Nita brought us two of them. What it has not been is back rest! Imagine that! OH! And apparently, since when she doesn't feel well I give her a bubble bath, bubble baths make everything feel better...which is why last night when I went to check on her before turning in for the night, I found her in the bathroom (instead of bed!) cleaning the toilet with the toilet brush and her bubble bath. I had told her earlier in the evening that she would make the toilet sick if she kept feeding it too much toilet paper when she goes potty, so she equated sick toilet with sick Freyja = bubble bath makes everything better... As of this morning EVERYTHING that could possibly become a weapon of mass destruction in the hands of a toddler has been removed from the hall bathroom! (Mind you that was only bubble bath, shampoo and a few diapers...now if only they made tp dispensers that gave 3sheets per "deposit")

FIVE teeth, learning to scoot, can balance when sat up (he weebles and he wobbles and he DOES fall down) and now plays with toys!! Jax turned 24wks this past Tuesday! He's a chunk of a boy...solid, sturdy and determined! In the past two weeks his front right tooth and the incisor next to it have broken through and just in the last couple of days the front left tooth has started to break ground. Of course all of this makes for a snotty, cranky 5 1/2month old that bites me everytime he nurses making me think I'm nursing a milk thirsty baby vampire! Oh if only I could yank those little gems until he's weened...Only 7more months to go! (NOT that I'm rushing my little man growing up!) I think he's getting close to his first one syllable word...he tries his hardest to talk to us and I think he's almost got "hi there" down, though it comes out more "hi-thffffff" with LOTS of spitting accompanying it. Ahhh...the joys of childhood :)

In other news, today is day 4 of David's new job. To say he loves it would be an understatement! I just hope the newness and excitement of it stays fresh for him and it doesn't become such a burden like the last job. We are still working on scheduling...so far, he gets the morning while I work, a sitter gets the "changing of the parent" shift and then I get my beauties for the rest of the day. So far so good and our sitter starts Monday. She is a dear family friend of mine from years past. I could not ask for anyone better to help us transition into being a working family. I won't be able to keep her as long as I would like but I at least have time now to find someone for a more permanent basis. I dread the search but my childrens safety and well being is a top priority and if I can't be with them myself, then I will find the perfect someone that can! In this instance I hope August hurries up and gets here so that Freyja can start VPK and Jax can come to work with me (hopefully).

My job couldn't be better! My boss let me back down to part time, which does not hinder my job performance at all. I get all of my work done by 11am usually anyway and just sit playing on the computer for the rest of the day waiting for work orders to come in. So now I just work part time then come home to the kids :) No new animals have visited lately. Wilson (office cat) got mad at me Wednesday for not being there Tuesday so he laid in the middle of my workorders, proceeded to eat them and swat at me everytime I tried to move them or him. Think Garfield and you will have this cat pegged! The world (University) revolves around him! Even the weekend police come by JUST to visit him or let him ride around in the squad cars!

Well, its been quiet far too long so I better go check on my MacGyver Bugg and find out what she's reappropriating now...heaven help us all!