Aaron's braces....

Aaron had his braces put on today. He is learning to talk with his expander in. The orthodontist suggested reading out-loud to get some practice talking with it in.

Aaron before his braces

Aaron after his braces

Aaron learning to brush with braces

Aaron getting his braces

Family Memories....

Day 11

The first house my grandparents had that I remember was off of 84th and L, I think. I can't remember the name of the subdivision. Aunt Pattie or Billy would probably know. I loved this house and have very fond memories of Easter.

My grandparents back yard had levels. On each level strawberries grew. I loved eating these strawberries! I would pick and eat...who cared about washing them back then!  They were so good, so fresh! 

The Easter bunny used this space to hide our Easter eggs. It was so much fun hunting for eggs with my uncle "Billy".

Nanny would always get me a new pair of Easter shoes and she would make me a pretty Easter dress. This was my one church day too. My mom would let me fill a plastic Easter egg up with change and I got to put this egg in the giving basket at church when they passed it around. I loved doing this!

Mini me

Mini me

Mini me and Billy

Mini me

Family Memories....


Day 10

I used to spend the night at my grandparents quite a bit when I was younger. I loved doing this! My grandma always made a really nice dinner. She had to be the best cook and baker I have ever known. I miss her food, I miss her.

She made the best fried chicken! Oh, how I wish I could make chicken like her. We would all sit together as a family and watch Lawrence Welk. I didn't like this show but I didn't care because I was at my grandparents! Now, that show brings back such fond memories.

After dinner, my grandma would do the dishes up and take a hot bath. She would put on her duster and come down to watch TV with us. While she taking her bath, my grandpa would get me and my uncle a big bowl of ice-cream to eat.

My grandma would lay down on the couch. She would lay down on her side with her knees bent, so there would be a little space...in the shape of a triangle. This was my spot! We called it my hole. Oh, how I loved this spot! It was so warm and I got to snuggle with my grandma. She always smelled so good. Like roses. I still love this smell today and get a wave of memories. These were special moments.

Nanny with her blue and her frying her yummy chicken!

This duster is in my memorial quilt.

Nanny frying chicken

Nanny and her blue

Memorial Quilt...

My high school science teacher and I have been in touch through facebook for awhile now. She is a very dear friend and has been there for me since both of my parents have passed away. She has really brought a Sparkle to each day. That is what I call her now...Sparkle.

We share a family memory each day with each other and this where I came up with the idea for my blog. It has been very therapeutic for me. I love hearing her stories too. It's amazing how much our families have in common. I hope everyone is as lucky as I am to have such kind, caring friend. I am blessed.

She offered to make me a memorial quilt out of my parents and grandparents clothing. I mailed her a big box and she started working away. She would message me everyday giving me quilt updates but not revealing any specifics because she wanted it to be a surprise when I received it.

It arrived today. It is beautiful and I love the fact that such a special person made such a special gift, out of such special fabric. I have so many fond memories of the clothing that is in the quilt and she even put a square in the quilt out of her fabric. I was in tears and smiling at the same time. 

She had a theme. My mom made the center piece, so Sparkle decided that she was going to go with a flower theme for each piece she cut. It is dimensional too. It's just lovely!

 

Family Memories....

Day 9

When I was growing up my mom and dad would only take me to church on Easter Sunday. This made me sad because I wanted to go to church every Sunday like my friends.

My dad was raised Catholic and attended Catholic Schools. My mom was raised as Methodist.

As young adults they didn't prioritize church, even though they both believed in God. This bothered me growing up because all my friends and their families went to church. I often times would tag along with my friends and their families, so I could go.

After moving to Texas both of my parents converted to Baptist. They both read the bible and attended church and their pastor was one of their best friends. 

I converted to Catholic when my oldest son was baptized. A decision my mom wasn't very happy about. My daddy didn't mind because he was raised Catholic. There is something about the Catholic religion that makes me feel at piece. I don't even agree with all the Catholic beliefs but when I enter a Catholic church I feel a special connection with God.

My husband was raised Catholic and also attended Catholic schools. When I was pregnant with my first daughter, Cassandra Sue, I found out she had hypo-plastic left heart syndrome and that she would die right after birth, unless we did a heart transplant. I did a lot of soul searching and I would go to St Margaret Mary's where John and I were married. I would sit in the church alone and pray. I prayed for the strength to get through the loss of losing my baby girl. We decided to let Cassie go to heaven rather than putting her through multiple surgeries and all the pain. We also knew the chances of getting a heart for a tiny baby were slim.

She is our family angel. She rests at Voss Mohr cemetery off of Harrison Street in Omaha, Nebraska. I send flowers multiple times a year and my sister-in-law places them for me. We decorate a mini Christmas tree each year and she places it with the grave blanket.  Cassandra would be 18 years old.

This is a poem my sister-in-laws husband wrote for me... a very nice man.

Cassie's Park

Today we go to Cassie’s Park we go to lay the wefted sheet; the Christmas love her parents give.

Today she runs amongst our minds and plays upon the hill the little girl in guarded hearts who lives amongst us still.

She never had her running start a wisp of here and gone. Denied her chance to make mistakes, a brief but shining light.

In Cassie’s Park, we stoop and brush the autumn leaves and twigs and shed a tear, we brush from cheeks all reddened from the cold.

In Cassie’s Park, in Cassie’s Park there’s a hundred years of love. Of folks who came and stayed a while and left us names in stone. The builders of our country, the merchants of our youth, the moms and dads and kith and kin; we let all our loved ones in.

But tiny tiny, amongst the trees is one be-jewelled corner where Cassie lays for all our days still loved and not forgotten.

So when your Christmas bird is cooked and laid upon your table, please raise a glass and toast the past that graces Cassie’s Park.

Johnathon, Thomas, Amanda, Aaron and me

Family Memories...

Day 8

Only a mothers love....


It was my mom's birthday and she loved chocolate pie and wacky cake. She never wanted anything purchased from the store. This particular year, she requested a chocolate pie, which I made a million times but I always use instant chocolate pudding. Mom always used the cook and serve, so I thought to myself it's her birthday, I will use the cook and serve and that I did.

Well, John put it in the refrigerator to cool it down before we added it to the pie crust and we left it in too long. It set up too much, so we couldn't pour into the pie crusts.

John and I decided we would beat it a little to fluff it up, so we could pour it into the pie crusts. It worked. We poured the pudding into the crusts and put the two pies back in the refrigerator and brought them out later for the party.

We sang Happy Birthday and opened the party gifts and it was time for the pie. We went to cut the pies and they were like soup! We couldn't cut the pie into pieces.

Only my mom would say "this great I get the entire pie for myself!" She sat and ate several bites of the pie...I am sure just to be polite.

She knew I tried.

Mommit and Johnathon

My mom

I love you, Mom!

Family Memories....

Day 7

At every birthday party or Christmas gathering, Buddy Boy would joke around and say that each box had slippers in it. We all do this today, maybe not with each box but someone always says I bet it's a pair of slippers. We also take what is know as Buddy Boy pictures. We will say buddy boy picture and everyone knows just how to pose. He never took natural pictures. Buddy boy wanted you to hold your gifts up, smile and look straight into the camera.

You can see why buddy always said it must be slippers. He would wear his slippers until they had holes in them. It didn't matter if he had two or three new ones, he wore the heck out of the old ones first! This is a buddy boy picture from J's party the other day. We always get a few of these at each gathering.

I think it says a lot about a persons life when you still talk about them years after they are gone. We talk about about my grandparents and parents on a daily bases. They were all good people. I miss them!

Buddy Boy with his slippers

Johnathon posing "buddy boy picture"

Family Memories....

Day 6

I think I will talk about my mom today. It's hard for me to talk about my mom, because the day I lost my mom, I lost my best friend too. My mom was an amazing woman.

The most important thing to my mom was her family. She would refer to me as "my Jodi." I am not sure if we were so close because I was an only child or if we would have been close anyway. My mom would do anything for me and there wasn't a day that went by she didn't say I love you to me.

She had a hard personality for some people to understand. She was very outspoken and pretty much called it as she saw it. She didn't care if you liked what she had to say or not. She told the truth, even if it meant hurting your feelings a little bit. She ruffled my feathers from time to time but I loved her dearly. She was a lot like my grandpa, a little misunderstood. She had a huge heart once you got to know her. Underneath her toughness, she was very sensitive and she cried very easily. I think she saved most of her tears for me and my dad. She had to keep her tough image for everyone else.

She didn't have a huge amount of friends but the friends she did have were like family to her. She had a way of making everyone feel as if they were her favorite. I really realized this right before she died because I heard a few people telling her I know I was your favorite and at this time she could no longer talk, so she would just smile. I think it's sweet that she loved people so strongly that she made them feel this way but I know she love loved me best.

She was our family peacemaker. If there was any tension within the family everyone would call mom to fix it because people knew she would be brutally honest and she didn't mind talking to people to fix things. She had a way about her and could smooth things over. This is something everyone said they are going to miss...she kept the family bonded together.

She was very strict when I was young and growing up. She was my mom and the enforcer of manners, respect and following the rules. It wasn't until I was older that she became my friend. Probably, high school. She loved most of my friends too and they loved her back.

I really miss all her daily compliments. She was very proud of me and my family and she let me know everyday. I miss this. I miss our daily talks and all her advice. I shared everything with her. We all miss her smile and words of encouragement. 

Me and my mom

Me and my mom

Me and my mom

Mommit and Ella

Mommit and Aaron

Mommit and Johnathon

Mommit and Amanda

My mom with John Micheal, Billy and Little Bill

Me with my mom and daddy

Me with my mom and daddy

My mom

My mom

My mom

Tooth Fairy....

Lainie lost her first tooth last night! She was really excited when she discovered it was loose. She said "mommy I want it to fall out now, so the tooth fairy will leave me a hundred dollars under my pillow." She seemed pretty happy with the five, one dollar bills the tooth fairy left. Poor girl...thought she was going to get rich loosing her teeth.

Lainie

Lainie

Family Memories.....

Day 5

Missing my daddy today. 

My dad would always call me at least 10 times a day. He never really have a lot to say and wouldn't stay on the phone long but he called a lot.

He would call and tell me about the grocery ads, about something new they were building in Frisco, ask about my day, see what the kids were doing, ask me what I was making for dinner or ask me about John's work schedule. What I wouldn't do today to have one of these calls.

My daddy was great. He was such a loving father. So proud of me and all my kids. He loved to tell people all about us. He did have an Italian temper but as he got older we saw a lot less of this. He was much more like a teddy-bear.

All my kiddos loved him to pieces. He had such a great sense of humor. He was always joking around and playing silly tricks on people. He was a lot like my mom when it came to family...it was the most important thing to him.

He loved handmade gifts or gifts that had a lot of thought in them. He loved it when I would pick out an art piece the kids had made and have it framed for him. He was so proud to display these pieces.

I miss my daddy so much and I miss the love he showered us in.

Me and my daddy

Me and my daddy

Papa, Amanda, Johnathon and Thomas

Mini me and my daddy

Papa

Papa and Lainie

 Family Memories....

Day 4


Today, I am going to tell you a little bit about my grandma.

When John and started having children my grandparents names changed to Nanny and Buddy Boy. They were awesome people. I always wanted to be just like my grandma. She was the most kind and loving person. She would help anyone if she could. 

She was amazing with my kids. I'm not sure how she ended up with such an amazing personality. Her mom died when she was a young child and she grew up in an orphanage. Her father was very abusive to her mother. Beat her very badly and the night before she died, she had a bad beating and she gave birth to a still born baby (Douglas) she hemorrhaged. Really, very sad. She sounds like she was a sweet women too. Anyway, CPS wouldn't let her dad have the kids. They were all separated. She married my grandpa at age 16 years old.

My Gram was one of the most kind, loving people I have ever known. She had such a big heart and I honestly don't think anyone ever met Nanny and didn't fall in love with her. She never had a cross word to say. She absolutely saw the best in everyone. She would give her last dollar to stranger if she thought it would help them. 

She was like a mom to me, since my uncle and I were only 11 months apart, I spent a great deal of time with my grandparents. I even went on vacations with them. I talked to nanny on the phone daily, even after we moved out of state.

She loved being a great-grandmother and was amazing with my kiddos. Going to my grandparents was so exciting for them. Her love was contagious. She would let the kids play and have fun. She didn't care about fingerprints or a mess. As a matter of fact, she would leave the finger prints for a few days because she said they would make her smile. She knew the kiddos had been there and had fun. How many people would do this? 

She would let the kids pick flowers, play I love you, I love you not, with them, let them dig in her garden, finger paint in her living room and most of the time was right there doing it with them. 

I remember just before she passed away I wanted to talk to her and let her know how much I loved her and let her know what an important part of my life she was. I remember her saying you were just like one of my own children and I love you. I treasure our last conversation. It is forever in my heart. She was a beautiful person inside and out! 

My greatest compliment is when people say "you are so much like nanny" I just beam!

Amanda

Me and Gram

Amanda

Nanny and Thomas

Amanda

Johnathon

Amanda

Me, Buddy Boy, Nanny, Thomas, Timothy, Johnathon and Amanda

Nanny and Amanda

Johnathon, Thomas and Amanda

Nanny and Amanda

Gram and me

Nanny and Buddy Boy

Nanny and Buddy Boy

Nanny

Nanny

Nanny