Lost in Translation

My dad told me years ago to write down the funny words Sassy said because I would forget. NAH! How could I ever forget?! Well, once again, Dad was right and a few years later, I have forgotten not only what she used to sound like, but also the "words" she used. It makes me sad, and then I realize that someday I'm going to forget what the girls are like right NOW. They keep growing up on me. :) So I decided to come up with some words they've used/are using. My apologies to Sassy--I can't remember as much for you! I guess it helps even out the playing field a bit--there are definite other perks to being the firstborn. :)

Sassy-isms:
Wipe-kin=Napkin
GG, JD, Piggy=the progressive names of Sassy's lovey, a John Deere pig
Rock Chalk=sidewalk chalk (my apologies to my Wildcat family, she seriously came up with this herself)
Farties=candy that the rest of us know as Smarties. (My sisters would make her say this and then just ROLL laughing.)
Legpits=the backside of her knees

Stinkus-isms:
Day-Day=Stinkus's lovey, a bear head attached to a blanket
Gug-gug=Drink (we think she was making the gulp sound. It has now become Gink.)
Hemi, hemi!=Hold me, hold me! (I'm going to miss this one a LOT someday. . . )
Sa, Sa-sa, Sassy=the progressive names of Big Sis
Pood, pinger, power, pone=Food, finger, flower, phone (Having some trouble with Fs)
Do Do=Dora
Pocus Pocus!=this is the answer she gives if you ask for the magic word. But to her credit, she uses Pwwwease a lot. :)
What is dat? Dat poop?=If there is a leaf on the ground, marker on her hands, a crayon on the floor, this is the standard response. You'd think the girl had some traumatic experience with poop.
Ginky and pi-whoa=Blankie and pillow. Gotta have both plus a dog named Bo-bo and the above mentioned Day-Day to sleep.

I know there are LOTS more that I've forgotten. But I wanted to get these down because on any given day, Stinkus could wake up and ask to watch "Dora" or say, "Hold me." Or worst--stop asking to be held. . . While I'm thrilled to say that Sassy still uses Piggy and "rock chalk," those days are numbered too. I have to remind myself not to wish for them to stop growing up. I would be devastated if something happened and they didn't get to. But it would be pretty great if I could wave my arms, say "Pocus, pocus" and make time slow down just a bit.

Dream House!

So we've FINALLY found our DREAM house!

three bedrooms/2 baths
2000 sq ft plus a full basement
2 fireplaces
remodeled kitchen
hardwood floors
two car garage
huge yard
lots of trees
dining room
2 living areas

It also has a blue toilet and carpet that needs to be stretched. Yep, folks, we're staying put. Things didn't work out to move. . . or did they? I'm a "sign" person--always looking for things that are meant to be. A few months ago, I just KNEW that we were "supposed" to move. (After all, nuns wanted to buy our house--I mean, if that's not a direct order from the Big Guy, I don't know what is!) Long story short--our buyers fell through and within 24 hours, we found out that the one house we had looked at had a contract. So if that's not a sign, I don't know what is. . . We've since had two other interested parties (and our house has NEVER been on the market!) but nothing has come of it. At first, I wasn't sure what to think. What was that all about? Maybe we were supposed to put our house on the market--this was just the little push we needed. Maybe we were supposed to look for houses in town. Or maybe, we need to appreciate what we already have.

It can be really easy to get caught up in what the Jones have. And I know that people think we're crazy for living where we do. Fifteen minutes from Walmart? GASP! But after looking at what's out there, I realized that we have it pretty good right here. Yes, our house is almost as old as we are but Epiphany #1: New houses become old, and eventually need work too. Epiphany #2: We have a lot of space here that I'm just not willing to give up. We can't afford the space we have in a newer home. Case in point--we found a house online with the exact same square footage on LESS acreage... for $200,000 MORE than we paid. Yes, that comma is in the right place. Granted, the basement is finished and it's newer BUT someday we hope to have a finished basement too--and for less that 200 Gs.

Lately, we've been putting in a lot of time around the firepit with friends and while there are definitely things I hate about living here (blue toilet, copperheads, blue toilet. . .) I can't give up the stars at night, the coyotes howling in the distance, the moon coming up through the trees. It's like God himself is saying, LOOK at what I've given you. So I'm grateful to the nuns. They helped me realize that as with many things in life, everything you want is often right in your backyard. Literally.

Seasons

Every year, I swear I'm going to catch it happening.

I'll see some red or yellow here or there and then seemingly overnight, the green is gone, the leaves have changed and fall is here. I miss it every year. I haven't decided if it's because it truly does happen overnight, or if it's so gradual that I don't notice the changes taking place right before my eyes.

Last weekend, I was with the girls at a local craft fair. A complete stranger stopped to comment on them (I guess they're cute?) and then went on to say what I've been hearing for five years now: "Oh enjoy them, they grow so fast. Mine used to be that little." For the last five years, I've been nodding politely when I hear this but not really believing it. To be perfectly honest, I don't even remember life before children. Five years has, at times, felt like an eternity. Like when someone is puking on me or shooting poop across the room during a diaper change. Or throwing crayons in church (which, by the way, is NOT the ideal time to realize your kid has a great arm.) Or when your newborn wakes up AGAIN--and you immediately start crying because you just don't think you can do it anymore. But you do. And somehow, it's five years later, and you realize those strangers might know what they're talking about after all. It DOES go fast. You can't see it happening, you can't see them changing and growing, but one day you turn around and your babies aren't babies anymore. The newborn phase, the puke, the poop--it all ends. (Notice I didn't say the crayon throwing. We still have a few Sundays where she breaks that out. Sigh.) But like everything else, this too shall pass. I know that too soon the day will come when I'm telling some frazzled, exhausted (and not convinced) mom that it goes fast. I need to remember to stop focusing so much on the trees' new colors, and enjoy the changes it took to get there. Even though I missed it again this fall, there's always next year. But my girls will never be as little as they are today. And those are changes worth noticing.

Heaven on Earth

I remember when I was pregnant with Sassy. We had the nursery painted, the diapers stacked, the little socks balled up in drawers next to onesies. Names were picked out, showers planned, equipment assembled. We were ready. People would tell me how much this little person was going to change our lives and I would nod, knowingly. I KNEW. Or so I thought.

Then she was born. And I realized that nothing could prepare me for what I felt. I know it sounds cliche, but I fell totally and completely in love with this perfect little person who--let's be honest here--may have better resembled a red, hairy monkey. But suddenly I realized what everyone had been saying. You can't possibly know the depth of that love until you're there, watching your life change in an instant. There are truly no words to describe it. And even after experiencing it, I couldn't fully recall the power of that moment until three years later when another hairy little monkey entered my world. It's the most amazing, overwhelming sense of love EVER. And then it dawned on me: what if. . . that's what heaven is like? We hear about how beautiful it is, how amazing it is, and we THINK we know. We imagine our loved ones there. And we take comfort in the fact that they're happy. We read about it, we pray about it, we listen to God's word, we strive to get there someday. But we can't possibly understand the depth of that love until we're there, watching our lives change in an instant.

My family has had to say goodbye to many loved ones--including four who ironically never had the chance to become parents. It's taken me a while to remember that while we selfishly want them here, if heaven is anything like the first few moments of parenthood, they're not missing anything. We just miss THEM. It doesn't make it easier that they're gone, but it does give me peace to believe that they constantly feel what I've known only twice in my life. And I know I'll see them again. Until then, I'll keep enjoying my own little heaven on earth. I've been blessed with two little monkeys and some special angels who look over all of us.