I don't do goodbyes well.

Den and I have this routine when our kids get ready to drive all the way back to their home state. 

I go to bed early because I'm exhausted, but can't sleep, because the bandaid is about to be ripped off (sorry for the drama, but it's hard saying good bye to my loves).

So after lying there an hour or 2 or 3, I get up and read. 
I finally go to sleep about 2:30.

Den, on the other hand sets his alarm for the time our kids say they are getting up (this time 4am), and sure enough his alarm rings at 4am. He is up and ready to help Karen and Tyler pack their car and, however else he is needed. 

He sees them off while I'm sleeping. 



NOT just because I'm finally asleep, but goodbyes are so hard for me, and my kids say they understand. I hope they do. 


I say my goodbyes the night before. 

Richie blowing me kisses.


Leo told me that last night, 
"I don't want you crying when we leave tomorrow." 
He knows we love them.




Juliet was excited to get back to "my new house in Idaho." 


She's 3. She lives for the moment. 


I got to hold Daisy while she slept, and Karen packed. 
(Not a good angle for taking pictures.)



The next morning the house is SO quiet.

I go outside and see many of the little notes they wrote 
the day they played mailman. 

I see bits of them everywhere. 


I think I will leave it like this for awhile.


Such special times we had!


Bye Bye Baby Daisy!
She's an amazingly good baby!
(far easier than her Dad, or her 3 uncles)

Next up, I will show you what we ate, 
and some of the things we did....

I just thought I'd get the goodbyes out of the way first. 

They're Back!


Our guest rooms last Friday night waiting for our 4
Idaho grands, plus their parents of course, to arrive. 


Life is such a miracle the way they can leave us last August,
and then return in March with another family member! 



Daisy is 3 months now. 
And it's another miracle of life how once you have a new baby join the family, it's like they've always been there with us. 

It makes me realize there are no new family members.
Just ones who've perhaps not arrived yet.

Juliet's bed is a futon I borrowed from my sister Peggy. "Just unfold the futon and put a sheet over it," Peggy said. 



The first night, Juliet tried to put her head on the very top of it. 
She looked SO uncomfortable 
trying to get her head to form to that ledge!

So trying to think quickly, 
I told her that top part was a shelf in case she had anything she wanted to put up there. 
She did! Her waffle iron! 




If I'd thought of this towel idea sooner, we could have had it earlier this month when the McKs were all here. 

Those labels peel off easily so I can switch the names 
when other grands arrive. 
(But don't tell Rich, Leo, Juliet, and Daisy this.)

And yes, I did put up a special hooded baby towel for baby Daisy, after I took this picture. 


Amazing how I can write an entire post about my grandchildren, yet never show them!

Well those pictures were all pretend. 
You know, before life actually happened....

The real ones will come soon... 


Grant, our adventurous grandson

No one I know has less fear than our grandson, Grant.
He takes on life boldly


And goes where he wants to go.

We never know what he will think of next.




Sometimes it's taking on the books in the house....


He loves architectural design. 
When he arranges things, he makes hallways and rooms.

This fascinates me. 
At home, his parents tell me he will take little doll furniture from his sisters and put it in the little rooms he makes. 


Sometimes his sisters will apparently help with his plans.
(or was Annnie trying to intercept?)

And sometimes, his best plans don't last long. 



He likes to help his Mom with the cooking.
McKenna says he often does this at home, too.


His sisters love him and bring him little treats even at bedtime. 



One day while they were here, Scarlett fell down and she cried. 
I watched Grant come over and wrap his arms around her. 
Wish I had a picture of that!







He's not afraid at all of little frogs 
he finds out on his walks with his Dad. 


He has incredibly patient parents.


I am so proud of them all!



And just like that, we bring them to the airport and they fly away. 
This long distant grand parenting is hard.
We miss them!!!


We love you beautiful boy.

I had a dream about Grant this week. 
He was standing by the front door and wanting to go out.
I saw him there, so I quickly bolted the high lock for his protection.
He started to cry and that broke my heart for him, so I cried, and he said to me so perfectly clear, "I love you Grandma." 

I know it was just a dream, but to me, it was much more than that. 


Scarlett's orange juice sadness

Just as Annie had a dilemma in my last post, 
this one's about Scarlett.

Scarlett had orange juice problems. She made some of her own by squeezing mandarins. 


That's a lot of work when you are only five 
and just use your little hands.

Scarlett worked on this for a long while.

Then little sister Annie found it, and drank it all!

Love the way her parents took Scarlett's feelings seriously. 

(I don't think they knew I was filming.) 
...You can hear Scarlett still has her Boston accent.

I'm relieved Annie finally knows the truth


Oh what our sweet little Annie went through the day of her Great Grandpa's funeral...


I'll explain. 

McKay and McKenna and their 3 kids all flew in from Montana to be at my Dad's funeral. 

So my Dad is McKay's Grandpa... 
and Grant, Scarlett, and Annie's Great Grandpa. 

You get that, and so do I.

But Annie is only three

So the day of the funeral we were all busy getting ready, and eating breakfast. The McKs and their 3 kids all left to the church before we did. The viewing was from 10-11am so I knew we had plenty of time. 

Den and I arrived about 10:30 and went right into the viewing room. I found out later, that before we arrived, while McKay was talking to someone, Annie came up to him and kept saying, "Daddy, there's a dead man over there!" 

I was told by my sisters later that she was very adamant and excited about it and kept repeating it. (I don't think McKay ever did hear her...so much chatting going on in that viewing room that day.)

I sat down in the back of the viewing room and Annie quickly found me and snuggled into my lap. Many of my Dad's grandchildren filled the room and I could hear much talk about "Grandpa dying." Den was on the other side of the room. I was not with him again until later on during the luncheon. 

When it was time to make the family procession into the chapel, I was towards the front of the line. I was speaking and wanted to be able to quickly sit up in front. Dennis was further back in the line and sat in the congregation with other family members.

After the service was over the family in the first several rows of the chapel stood up to follow the casket outside and watch it be put in the hearst. I was still up on the stand near the podium. As this was quietly and solemly done, I could hear Annie, who McKay was holding say very bold and clearly, and almost indignantly, "Where are they taking Grandpa?" 



I didn't think much about it at the time, just that this was all new to her and she wanted to know where they were taking her Great Grandpa's body. 

After the hearst left with my Dad's body, we all went into the cultural hall for the luncheon. Annie soon found me again and came to sit on my lap. My former neighbor Dee was sitting by me and Annie turned to her and said, "They put Grandpa in a box and my Daddy helped carry it out and put it in a white car." 

Shortly after this, with Annie still on my lap, Dennis came and stood by me for the first time since we had both arrived at the church. Annie looks at him with great surprise, and points to him, and says to me, "Who is that?" 

Why would she ask that? She very well knew who he was! So I said, "That's Grandpa." Then she said with big eyes something I couldn't quite make out but I heard the words: "He died" in her sentence. 

And then it registered with me! She thought Grandpa Dennis was the one who died! Like we all had breakfast together that morning and then we put Grandpa in a box at the church. 

Oh my. I had lots of explaining to do! 

When we got home I showed her pictures of Great Grandpa Rozier. And we talked about life and death, and how we would all see him again someday. 

Now if you ask her anything about that day she will say, "My Daddy's grandpa died." Glad we got that cleared up!

The day after the funeral it was nice to hear Annie had it figure out right this time. 

My Dad talking to me last November

So odd how my blog has not been working well since my Dad died....and especially since his funeral.

I'm looking into another blogging platform. 
Meanwhile, I want to post this video of my Dad I recorded last Nov. 6th...three months before he passed. 

Interesting what he does and doesn't remember. 


testing

testing to see if this works
I will be up with more posts as soon as I can get my blog to work again :)

Look what happened last night

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