Grandpa Gib

classic Renee and Glbert

In January of this year I wrote about my  Grandma Renee passing away.  I told how her and my grandpa were known as "GibandRenee" (one word) and that these two had been married for 68 years.

Well, my Grandpa Gib died on Sunday afternoon.

He lived for 89 remarkable years and in the end only had a short separation from his sweetheart.

We love you Grandma and Grandpa!

leap year birthday

For those born on February 29 and have a leap year birthday they get to celebrate their actual birth-date only once every four years.  On this February 29th I'd like to say:

Happy Birthday Dad! 

We love you!!!

He was here on Monday and he had an early birthday dinner with 6 of his 12 grandkids.   

My sister, Heidi, called and said "Dad, every 16 year old boy dreams of having a Camaro, and since this is your16th official birthday we (she, her husband, and kids) rented one for you for a week."

Yes, he's been having a lot of fun driving it :-)

home made noodles

Jeff's grandma is all about love.  She says it with words, her hugs, and her laugh.  Even her food is made with love which must be the secret ingredient for why it tastes so darn good.

She recently came by for a visit and while here made a big batch of egg noodles for us.  That evening for dinner we had the world's best chicken noodle soup!  The girls had fun helping and Erik took the photos.

She uses maybe 4 ingredients, a bowl, a mixing spoon, rolling pin (and a few decades of experience)

Megan, Claire and Grandma

Erik got bored and decided to take pictures of his foot :-)

a 4 year old in the house

I have to say that 4 year olds make for endless stories.  Especially, a 4 year old like Megan. 

Megan is the youngest around and it is a good thing (I think) that she is feisty because she has had to learn to stick up for herself.  The other day when Erik was mad at her he told her she was a “BAD girl.”  That fired Megan up and she told Erik, “No!  YOU are a BAD girl.”  Erik got all defensive and said, “I’m not a girl I’m a BOY!”  It ended with Megan singing, “You are a bad girl.  You are a bad girl” and Erik shouting, “NOOOO!”

One problem (common to probably every 4 year old) is Megan has become a picky eater to the point where she will announce that she doesn’t like something before even seeing what it is. 

We maintain the rule that if you don’t eat dessert then you don’t get dinner.  Oh wait…REVERSE THAT… if you don’t eat dinner then you don’t get dessert.  It was much to Megan’s dismay when she didn’t qualify for the cookies n’ cream pie by ignoring dinner.  When everyone else finished dessert and was clearing the dishes I caught her licking the leftover chocolate pie crust crumbs off of the table.  But don’t go feeling sorry for her, this little chica gets plenty of sweets.

I really do like having a 4 year around.  They are quirky, curious, imagination galore, enthusiastic, silly and a whole lot of fun. 

To be honest I don’t think I was as patient with 4 year old Erik as I am with Megan.  He had (has?) the oldest child curse.  You know the one where the parent expects the child to behave older than he/she is.  I was probably more relaxed with Claire.  After having had a couple more children I think I have a better understanding what age typical behavior is.  I wrote him a note last month saying

“Over the years you have heard me say to you, “You should know better.”  I was thinking that I don’t like that phrase much.  There are more important things that you should know.  First, know that I love you!  I also want you to know some things I admire about you are: ”

(and I listed 10 things)

Now he is 9 and I try to let him be 9.

Erik working on his science fair project- he loves this stuff.

Claire

Megan

Grandma Renee

My Grandma passed away last week.  I was looking around this morning and her influence is everywhere.  Erik’s pillowcase on his bed was made by my Grandma along with the official baby blanket that each child still has in their room.  Then there are the embroidered table clothes, plus the dish towels, wall hangings and our wedding quilt.  I like having the reminders.

Multiple people have mentioned the loyalty and bond between my grandparents and how when you say their names together 'Gib and Renee' it isn't three words but one word.  GibandRenee.  They were married for 68 years.

My grandparents are in the background.

Home for the Holidays

Erik and I were talking the other day and he asked what he got for his first Christmas and I told him he got a trip to Mexico.  

Dec. 2002 - Erik (left) and his cousin Wakely

 That year we had driven to Mazatlan, camped with a big group of family/friends by the beach (in trailers, motorhomes, tents), and played.   Santa didn’t come looking for us there as the trip was the Christmas present.  We don’t go every year but Erik has now been 5 times and it is a memory packed tradition!

Dec. 2008 - again Erik (left) and Wakely (well, part of him)

This year we are home for the holidays.   It has been nice.   Drinking mugs of hot cocoa, baking candied pecans in the oven, playing games, going on drives to look at the lights and listening to Christmas music. 

But, yesterday Jeff checked the weather in Mazatlan (just because) and today I heard him whistling the song “Feliz Navidad.” 

Merry Christmas!

Here is one of my favorites from allrecipes.com:

Pecan Snack

By: Bea 

"These smell like a walk through a county fair, and they taste heavenly!"

Ingredients

·         1 egg white

·         1 tablespoon water

·         1 pound pecans

·         3/4 cup white sugar

·         1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).

2.     In a large bowl, beat egg white with water until frothy. Stir in pecans and mix to coat. Combine sugar, cinnamon and salt and stir into pecan mixture. Spread on a baking sheet.

3.     Bake in preheated oven 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container.

December happenings

Alright, I’ve been thinking about the bit in the last post:
“And then I can move on, because let’s be honest, constantly thinking about your problems can be all consuming and gets tiresome.”

Once again I have stumbled across an “easier said than done.”

Way to go Janae! (high-five)

I’ll be honest, I’ve been thinking a lot about my voice. Twice last week I was at gatherings where there were quite a few people and it was noisy. I could not project my voice, had an extra difficult time enunciating words, and knew it was hard for others to understand everything being said. I finally gave up and sat back to just watch and listen. I enjoyed being in the company of wonderful people and eating tasty food but afterwards I felt like crying.

What are my options? Becoming a recluse isn’t an option. Or at least it is not my first choice. At clinic we have briefly discussed various programs and devices to aid communication. It is amazing what is out there. But I can feel my irritation growing...let's move on!

So, then on Friday I headed back out. This time with Jeff to his work party then on Sunday we went to the L. family Christmas party (51 people!) and chatted and had a good time at both. I’d really like my voice normal but apparently need to adjust expectations for myself…this is going to be hard.

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I can hardly believe we are 12 days away from Christmas!

My Christmas hope is that everyone can feel the love of God in their life. My dose today came via a kiss goodbye from Jeff, a hug from Claire and Megan, and when Erik forgave me after a less-than-stellar-mom-moment. A kiss, a hug, and forgiveness make good gifts.

My bambinos in December 2007