Well the day I've been dreading is finally here. My Canadians head home this afternoon and so begins a long dry spell of being empty- nesters again. Our little nest has been bursting at the seams for the last month and we will miss the baby chatter, laughter and most of all the open mouth kisses from one little girl and the heart melting smiles as she runs to your arms.

Labels: Becky, Emma, Jerry

Rag dolls have had an big role in the lives of our girls. Baby Becky's first birthday cake was in the shape of Raggedy Ann. Several Christmas' later I made both girls a set of Raggedy Anns and Andy's (which they still have!)

The first time Baby Becky had the flu she was just as limp as a rag doll. She would lay on the couch so I could watch her and help her when she started to vomit. We really had a hard time getting any fluids down her and would literally give her fluids with a teaspoon as that was the only way she could keep any down.

The doctor told us not to feed her since she wasn't able to keep anything down. As parents we felt really bad watching our baby that was normally so lively and energetic just lying on the sofa like a little rag doll.


I had fixed dinner for Mr. Wonderful and myself. After we finished eating, before I could clear the plates off the table I saw Becky licking our empty plates because she was so hungry. It broke my heart.

Now our sweet Emma is having similar symptoms and it is even harder being this far away . Poor Beck is experiencing the same things all mothers go through watching their babies when they are sick. It never gets any easier does it?

Labels: Becky, Emma, Rag dolls

Happy 30th Birthday to my "Brown-Eyed Girl!"

It hardly seems possible that you have grown from precocious child to a mother of a precocious child. I love this picture of you as it reminds me of Miss Emma.

You were the first...the experimental child. You took two very green inexperienced people and shaped us into a family. You were very demanding and insistent on our complete obedience to your every need. Yet you were also very quick to reward our feeble attempts to please you.


We treated you as the "center of the universe" because indeed, you were the center of our universe. We were enthralled by each new skill you learned and by every syllable you uttered.


You turned your sweet kindhearted, Daddy into "Rambo" at the thought of anyone hurting you. Even now after all these years he will still think of you as the "little girl who slept under his handkerchief" and gets misty at the thought.

You were always inventive.....creating wonderful stories to entertain your brother and sister, or coming up with games that you always won because you made up the rules as you went along. You were the instigator, the promoter, the all wise Oz . You might have tormented your siblings, but you would not tolerate anyone else picking on them.

Life was not always easy or kind for you but you overcame each problem with determination, skill and just plain stubbornness . You would not let anyone undermine or devalue you . You have always been able to stand up for yourself and for the rights of others.

You are our adventurer. The one to challenge all the rules. The first to leave the nest, the first to break your mother's heart and the first to understand what agony mother's go through watching their babies grow and become more and more independent.

My prayer for you is that you will always be a role model for your daughter and that you will allow her the opportunity to smooth out the rough edges of your personality just as you did for your mother.

I miss you so much! I pray for you daily, live to hear your voice and laugh with delight at new pictures of our baby. Happy Birthday Beeks....I love you!

Labels: Becky, Happy Birthday

My darling daughter Becky is back to work after a year's maternity leave. Her transition back to work and Emma to day care has gone quite smoothly but it did bring back memories of having to go to work while my children were still small.

Six weeks after boy wonder was born I started a new job at the area hospital. Because I was a new employee, I had to work full time for the first six weeks on the day shift. Finding day care for a newborn, 2 year old and 4 year old was quite a challenge as we only had one car at that time. We finally found a sweet young girl who agreed to care for the children in her home for the six weeks orientation.

I had to be at the hospital at 6:45 so it meant getting up at 5 am to shower, dress and gather up the clothing, shoes, diaper bag, cereal and lunches for the children. We would put the sleeping children in the car and take off to the babysitter. Then there was the transfer of children followed by Mr. Wonderful dropping me off for the day shift. He would go on to work and take a late lunch to go pick me up from work.

I would drive him back to work while he ate his lunch in the car and then go after the children. By the time I had transferred everyone back into the car seats and strapped everyone in, it would be time to go pick up Mr. Wonderful from work. It was hard on all of us but the only way we could juggle our commitments.

The children were grumpy when we transfered them from their nice warm bed into the cold car. One day I forgot to pack their shoes so the girls were very upset with me as they had to stay inside all day. Children adjust so quickly that I really thought they didn't mind all the shuffling around we were having to do. They liked the babysitter and although I felt stressed trying to nurse the baby, work, keep up with the home front I really thought that the girls handle the transition better than I did.

One morning as we began the "into the car shuffle" very sleepy Becky looked up at me in her pink footed pajamas and in the wisdom of a veteran 4 year old said, "Let's not go to work today, OK Mom?" That's when it dawned on me....they felt they were working too.

Those six weeks were some of the longest days of my life but it helped to know we were all working together.

Labels: Becky, Monday memories

Christmas is very quiet at our house now that the kids are grown and are on their own. I love Christmas and love to decorate but it hardly seems worth the effort with just Mr. Wonderful and myself here.

I got a scanner for my birthday and have had a great time looking at old pictures . This picture is baby Suzy's first Christmas. She was also baby Jesus that year in the nativity play as she was the only baby in our small church. Big Sister Becky (almost 2) was the littlest angel.


The following year the girls were more interested in decorating themselves than decorating the tree. This was the year that we started doing an Advent Calendar for them. They had no concept of time so on Thanksgiving afternoon we made a paper chain and made a link for each day till Christmas. The Christmas link was made from shiny paper and very distinct from the other links. They cut one link every day so they had an idea of "how long till Christmas". As they grew older we would write an activity on the link such as "Watch a Christmas movie", "make Christmas Cards", "sing jingle bells and go on a sled ride", "make Christmas cookies"....etc. I think I looked forward to the activity more than the girls did.

Did you have any family traditions that you did with your kids when they were growing up?

Labels: Becky, Christmas memories, Monday memories, Suzy

Here they are! All my babies home at one time except for SIL Jerry (husband and father to Emma still in Canada.)



Boy Wonder had not been home in three years so of course we had to kill the fatted pizza at his return. Suzy and Tim join us Tuesday afternoon after a brief visit with friends in Tennessee.



Tuesday night we ate at Cracker Barrel (family favorite and not available in New York or Canada). Oldest daughter and Emma love that you can eat breakfast at any time of the day there. It's also fun to look around while you wait for a table. No one went away hungry!

We were able to borrow a pop-up camper from a friend so it made for an extra bedroom in our drive-way. It worked pretty well till the temperatures dropped and the heaters tripped the breaker. I had some cold kids the next morning!

All of caught a "bug" of some kind, at various times, so some were well when other were feeling bad. Becky and Tim with the help of good ole Dad came through with the Thanksgiving Feast. Mr. Wonderful did the bird and Tim and Becky did all the side dishes. It was a wonderful feast made better by having every one home.

Auntie Suzy made Emma an Indian outfit to celebrate the day. She even made a head dress with feathers and braids.
Emma seemed to enjoy being the center of attention and also got two board books for Thanksgiving. One us called the Five Silly Turkeys and the other was about The first Thanksgiving.

Uncle Andy had to leave Friday afternoon so immediately after
our Thanksgiving feast the house was decorated for Christmas. The girls and Tim put up the tress and some decorations to make the house look very festive. Christmas came early at our house. It was nice to share the celebration with family and Emma doesn't know one day from another right now.



This is one of Boy Wonder's gifts....."A Man, A Can and Microwave!" He tends to eat out most meals so this is a cook
book for men.



More later....all the chicks have left the nest except for Becky and Emma and they leave really early tomorrow morning. This will be one sad daisy after everyone has left the patch.

Labels: Andy, Becky, Emma, Suzy, Thanksgiving 2007, Tim

Here's a rare photo of Dad and daughter. Becky is so busy being a wife and mother that it is hard to get these two together for a photo. Of course I insisted and we all know "when Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." So here they are together in a very serene setting. I love this picture.





We are having so much fun with our Canadians that it seems like we've never been apart. It has been fun being a part of their life and sneaking a peek of their world.







Look at my Big Girl sitting in the grocery cart! She loved being eye level with all the colorful groceries. Poppa had to learn to keep the cart in the middle of the aisle so Emma couldn't add to the cart. She loved







Early this morning we went to the Farmer's Market for fresh produce and baked goods. The flower arrangement was bought for Becky's landlord who has generously let us sleep in her basement. It is nice being right downstairs and still close enough to be with Emma and her parents.








Here's Emma and her Poppa! What a pair! It is so much fun to see a grown man so protective of his little grandchild. Becky teased him about being over protective.....he grumpily stated " Nothing is going to happen to her on my watch!"


More shopping later this afternoon!

Labels: Becky, Canada, Emma

Two of my three children have birthday's this week and I'm feeling very sentimental. The picture on the side occurred the summer Mr. Wonderful and I decided to let the kids plan our Summer Vacation.

I was homeschooling the children so we made it a class project. They decided they wanted to go to Atlanta and North Georgia so the first thing they did was put together a jigsaw puzzle of the city of Atlanta. The puzzle had icons where various sightseeing sites were located. After the puzzle was completed they looked up the sites that intrigued them to see how far they were, the cost and how much time they wanted to spend at that location.

Before we left our home in Savannah, each child was given a camera, film, and a notebook to record their trip. Their itinerary was well thought out and of course had many sites of interest.

Our first day was spent entirely at 6 Flags Over Georgia. They rode every ride and we left the park exhausted. The second day we went to the Atlanta Zoo, Cyclorama, and Stone Mountain.
We stayed to see the lazer show that evening and went to our motel exhausted. The next day we went to Sci- Tech (a kid friendly, hands on museum of science and technology) Underground Atlanta, the World of Coca Cola, and the museum located in Atlanta's City Hall and that night we went to a Braves Game (their first major league game.) Again we were exhausted by the time we reach our motel.

The following day we headed for the North Georgia mountains and to the city of Dahlonega. Dahlonega was the place of the first gold rush in the Nation so naturally the kids wanted to try their hand at gold mining. They soon found out it was hard work so we toured the gold mine museum and other nearby sites including Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia (home of the Cabbage Patch Dolls) and Amicalola Falls State Park where this picture was taken.

Mr. Wonderful and I had to agree that it was a great vacation the children had planned. I'm wondering if that how Suzy's interest in planning unusual itineraries started. She is really good at finding interesting places to visit where ever they travel.

Labels: Andy, Becky, Monday memories, Suzy

When my oldest daughter was about 3 years old we moved from Montana to South Dakota. She was somewhat traumatized seeing her toys and clothing packed in boxes and moved out of the house. The concept of moving wasn't one she could grasp yet. As we got in the car she looked longingly at everything she had ever known and said, "Bye-bye house, bye-bye toys, bye- bye clothes." Even though we assured her that there would be a new house when we got to South Dakota and that she would see all of her toys and belongings, she was not convinced.

We rode for quite a long time and Becky was playing quietly in the back seat keeping her sister entertained with books and toys. I turned around and told her how pleased I was of her for being so sweet to her sister, what a good helper she was, and how proud her Daddy and I were of her for keeping sister happy on our long trip.

Becky looked at me somewhat stunned for a moment or two and then very deliberately reached over and pinched Suzy on the arm as hard as she could right in front of me so I would be sure to see her do it. Suzy immediately let out a howl of pain followed by a hurt angry, mad cry that sky rocketed to ear splitting decibels.

I quickly popped Becky on the hand still shocked by her actions. Becky's eye's began to well up with tears that spilled down her cheeks.

"Why would you pinch your sister?" I demanded. "That was so naughty of you!" "You know better than that!" I insisted.

No answer came, just big crocodile tears. Finally, in desperation, Mr. Wonderful pulled into a gas station so I could console Suzy while he dealt with the Little Miss Naughty .

While I took Suzy into the restroom Mr. Wonderful put Little Miss Naughty on his lap and asked her what was going on.

"Why would you hurt your sister right after Mom told you what a good girl you are?" he asked.

With pouty lips and quavering voice she answered, "Cause I was thinking mean thoughts about sister and mom made me feel bad by telling me how good I was."

Mr. Wonderful hugged her and told her that even grown-up have mean thoughts at time especially when they are tired and confused but it was never right to do wrong. He explained that "poor sister certainly didn't understand why she was pinched and that she must tell Suzy she was sorry and make her feel better."

What a tender conscience, to feel so bad about getting undeserved praise, that you feel that you need to be punished!

Did you ever have an experience like this? How did you handle it?

Labels: Becky, Monday memories

First of all let me publicly thank Cozy Reader for making the best banner photos. Since she has started writing Monday Memories I've stolen borrowed many of her fabulous headers. I am so blessed to only steal
borrow from the best!

Looking at pictures of my beloved Emma makes me remember her Momma as a baby. Becky was literally born between blizzards. We had a huge snow storm in Montana on my due date and I remember Mr. Wonderful coming to me and saying, "If you are planning on going into labor today could you give me a couple of hours notice so I can dig out the car?"

Such a practical man! (Not that we could have gone anywhere if he had dug the car out). Becky was an induced labor. I always say, "All my kids were in a nice warm comfortable place and refused to come on their own accord."

I was in labor for over 24 hours with her. It was a long sleepless night and when I complained to Mr. Wonderful that "I was going to be in labor forever"......his comforting words are forever ingrained in my memory. "I don't know why you are complaining?" he said. "You've got the bed!"

Becky was born around noon time. We were all tired and exhausted and my poor girl looked like a cone head. She had so much molding that we later teased her and told her "we could have played ring toss off her head". To us, she was and is totally gorgeous! What a rush to join with God in creating such a miracle!

Becky was born in Glendive, Montana. Mr. Wonderful always says, "It's not the end of the world but you can see it from there!" My doctor was a older gentleman who delivered half of the population of the city. He was a very kind "unruffled " man and allowed us to pay him a little at a time . We had our second baby paid off before we made the "final payments" on our first. I was always secretly afraid that "they would repossess her" before we could pay off the bill.

The following morning after Becky's birth Mr. Wonderful came running into my room saying, "Honey, don't panic but our baby is gone!" "What do you mean gone?" I said, very much alerted. "I mean she's gone, as in not in the nursery," her said again. Note to reader: At this time, I had the only baby in the nursery!

In a blind panic we sprinted to the nursery only to see our daughter sleeping peacefully in her bassinet. "She's right there!" I said relieved but irritated too. "That round headed kid?" he asked. "Yes, dear, that round headed kid is ours!" "Wow," he said, " Isn't she amazing!"


Her first few months of life were an adjustment to all of us but now blur in the memory of childhood, teen years and college days. Each stage had its new challenges and its many rewards but through it all you continued to amaze us.

As you grew, you also helped us grow. We found out that we had reserves that we never knew existed. Who knew that we could go for days without sleep? Who knew that we would cry more over your injuries than any of ours? Who knew we would fall so helplessly in love with a coned head cutie?

Labels: Becky, Monday memories

Since we have not been able to see our new grand baby yet we especially love seeing pictures of her. I print out new pictures every week and take them with me every where for fear of being ousted from the "Grandmother Club".

Emma's latest picture made me remember that her Mom had the same hairdo when she was this age. We called it the Monk Look. Hardly any hair on top and fringe on the sides (looks almost like a wreath around her head.)

None of our children had an over abundance of hair.....especially Becky.

We were living in a farming community at the time of her birth. Several farmers raised pigs and the baby piglets would be born in the winter months. The farmers would give the sows Iodine in their diet and the baby piglets would be born with red curly hair all over their body providing more warmth. I remember one church member and farmer looking at our precious baby girl and saying, "You should have had more iodine in your diet!" I knew immediately what he was he was talking about.

Because Becky had very little hair I tried dressing her in pink and very girly clothing. It didn't help. People would look at her and say, "What a good looking little boy!" Usually I would just ignore the comment since I didn't know the person and anyone I thought, could look at her darling face and know she was a girl.

Finally in desparation I would glue a bow on her head. I would put a little dab of Karo syrup on her head and glue the bow into it. The Karo syrup would wash right out with her bathwater, wouldn't pull out the little hair she had and that way I could honestly say, "She's a sweet little girl!"

Did your babies have very much hair when they were first born?

Labels: Becky, Monday memories

Thirteen Things about Becky that I hope her daughter inherits!



1.Today is our daughter Becky's birthday. This is her first birthday as a new mom. As a first time Diva and lover of Fairy Tales these are the gifts I hope your daughter inherits from you.


4. I pray that Emma will always feel loved, cherished and protected. I love this picture of you kissing your sweet Emma's head while she is sleeping peacefully. I pray that she will always feel safe and secure in your loving arms.

5. I pray that Emma inherits your sense of adventure. I never hear the Dixie Chicks song "Wide Open Spaces" that I don't think of you. I hope she is as
fearless as you my darling "Warrior Princess"

6. I hope she inherits your beautiful head of hair.....it took you a long time to grow hair and were pretty much a cue ball as a baby.. She already has a pretty good start in that department. (yes, that's you at 18 months!)

7. I hope she has your sense of humor (that you inherited from your dad). I hope she can look at a "Far Side" Cartoon and laugh hilariously.

8. I pray that she will react as strongly as you do at injustice, and cruelty and will be an agent for change in her generation.

9. I hope she has an active imagination and always has some creative outlet for it, whether it's making up stories, drawing, or building with Legos.

10. I pray that she will be a leader and an independent thinker just like you.

11. I pray that she will be physically active and enjoy participating in sports. Can you see Emma as a young soccer referee?

12. I pray that she will always keep the lines of communication open with you even if you don't agree with what she is doing. I always loved that you didn't shut us out of your life. I love this picture because I was on the other end of the phone and can hear her "little noises".

13. I pray that you can give her Wings and Roots. Happy Birthday Becky.




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Labels: Becky, Birthday, Thursday Thirteen

Just talked to brand new mommy who sounds incredibly tired and it brought back many memories I had as a first time momma far away from my family.

I love this picture as it looks like my daughter and her daughter are already sharing secrets!
I wonder if they are sharing a joke or two or perhaps Emma is already asking questions about world affairs and what the political situation is all about (my granddaughter is brilliant, we all know that!)

Whatever their conversation,they both looked really engaged in the discussion.

One thing that I remember as a new mommy is that I suddenly didn't exist any more. The world revolved around this new life and everyone was enchanted by our beautiful baby. Every conversation was about her, every one wanted to hold her, and I suddenly was an extension of her.

I remember running into friends at the grocery store a few weeks after her birth. The lady greeted me enthusiastically by saying, "How's Daisy this morning?" I was thrilled that someone had actually acknowledged me and was concerned about me! I responded , "I'm fine thank you and Becky is too."

"Oh, " she said, "I meant Becky not you".

Talk about having cold water thrown in your face! I missed being pampered and having someone to fetch and tote for me. I missed having someone tell me to sit down and put my feet up. I missed having someone fix the meals, wash the diapers and mostly I missed sleeping. I was so afraid that I wouldn't hear her cry even though she was in the bassinet next to our bed I barely closed my eyes.

Don't get me wrong, Mr. Wonderful did his best,but he w