Saying Good-Bye to Grandma

This may prove to be a long post...I'm doing some catching up here! Mason is at such a fun age! He is really starting to try to repeat/say words! He definitely understands what we are saying to him and responds accordingly. There are so many little things he does/says, and I've been trying to catch them on video, but when the camera comes out he doesn't do what we ask...funny how that works!

Mason not doing what we ask...

Another thing Mason loves is soft, cuddly things, like blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals. Lately he has thought that it is fun to get all of those things that he can find, put them in a pile (or in your lap), and sit on them. This picture is of a night when he put all of those things in Matt's lap, and then all 3 boys sat in the chair together!

In this picture, Zane is "cutting" Matt's hair. It was so cute...Zane had a little notebook and that was his "appointment book." He was checking it to see when Matt's appointment was. Then he put the blanket on him as his "cape" and is using a tootbrush as the scissors. He trimmed around his ears, everything!

Mason has also been wanting to do whatever Zane does! Anytime he gets his hands on a steering wheel, toy truck, or toy car, he makes a "vroom vroom" noise. It makes his daddy proud! Here are the boys one morning playing wii. Actually Zane is playing and Mason is pretending to play!

Another fun thing at our house right now is that the racecar is in our garage! That is definitely a favorite for both boys! They both want to get in it and "drive." Mason gets in and makes "motor" sounds! They have been banging on, working on, and climbing all over it!

Future Sprint Cup Winner?

"Fixing" the car!

Getting the dents out...

The boys in the car...

Just recently Zane told us he wants to play baseball. So...we signed him up for t-ball, which starts in May. We are hoping he takes to baseball a little better than soccer, but we shall see. It's always tough at this age, they want to play in the dirt or just mess around, not follow rules! Matt and Zane have been practicing baseball when the weather is nice...we're getting him ready!

SWING!

The boys continue to have fun at Jo's house...she is so good to them! I'm starting to get sad about the end of this year...Zane has been at Jo's since he was 10 weeks old, and this is his last year there! We have decided to send him to another year of preschool. He will go full-time and will be in a Pre-Kindergarten classroom. But that also means no more Jo's house! She has graciously agreed to take him on the days when I have to work and school is closed, so he will still get to go there a few times next year! Here are some photos from her house:

Zane always loves this puppy costume...it's getting a little small!

Zane and Sam

Mason's favorite toy at Jo's

The three amigos...Sam, Zane, Ryan

Peek-a-boo!

Mason and Erika

Two Saturdays ago, we were helping Sammy celebrate his 4th birthday at a place called "Monkey Bizness." It was a place that had a room full of inflatables and things to play/climb on. It was so much fun! I even went down the big slide with Zane a few times! Zane had a lot of fun, and was TIRED at the end! He wasn't too happy that he couldn't help Sammy open presents, he wanted everything Sammy got, etc, etc. Here are a few photos of the party:

This was a favorite!

Air hockey

The weather has been pretty nice a couple of days lately...we even had a day of 70 degrees and sunshine! One day Jo took the kids outside...they were chomping at the bit to get out there! I can tell ya...the minute Mason is outside, whatever fit he was thinking of throwing is GONE! He will be even happier than he already is as soon as we can be outside more!

Zane & Ryan ready to race!

How do I make this go?

This past week was spent trying to get things in order and in line for Grandma's funeral. I really wanted to do a photo/music video as a tribute to her. Of course all of my photos are not digital as I didn't have a digital camera until Zane was born, so I spent about an hour and a half scanning and saving photos one night. I was going to make a dvd from those, but Jo's husband, Dale, graciously offered to make it for me. He tells me it's no trouble and not a big deal...but it's a HUGE deal to me! It saved me a lot of time and headache as I'm sure I would have run into issues trying to get it ready to go! Matt worked late a couple of nights so that I would be able to leave early to head up to Des. Moines and help Mom and Aunt Jan get things situated and errands finished. Tuesday night, Zane and I were hanging out before his bedtime and he was messing with the empty laundry hamper. He got it up on the bed and was crawling in and out of it. Pretty soon he had the pillow in there and was laying down. Next thing I knew, he was asleep. I thought it was cute!

Wednesday afternoon I headed to Iowa. Mom, Jan, and I were all there so that we could do some things Thursday. We ran a lot of errands Thursday and got plans finalized for Friday's visitation and funeral. Friday the sun came out and it was a fairly nice day. The service was great, my grandpa was so pleased at how everything went, which was comforting to all of us! My cousin Lisa read the poem I posted on here last week and my cousin Jess gave an amazing talk about Grandma. She had us all laughing and crying within the same speech! What an amazing woman that will be sorely missed forever! She leaves us all striving to be even half of the person that she was...I hope I can make her proud! Thank you to all of you for your kindness, friendship, prayers, and love during this very difficult time. I am so thankful for the gift of having her as a grandma!

Zane-isms

• The other day I got something for Zane (I can't even remember what it was) and he said, "Mom, did you get that for me?" "Yes." "Oh, thank you Mom, that is so sweet!"
• Friday we were getting ready for the funeral and we went downstairs (we were staying at Marcy's house). Zane was sitting at the table and looked at Matt (dressed in his shirt and tie). He said, "Oh Dad, you look beautiful!"
• Lately, anytime I say the words "stupid, dumb, or hate," Zane will tell me, "Mom, we don't say stupid!" (I never say it about a person, just a situation, etc...but glad he knows we don't say them)!

Mason's Marvels

• Some of Mason's favorite new words: "soos" (shoes), "poop," "bah" (ball), "up," "doh" (door)
• Mason thinks it's hilarious to kick his feet as we are trying to dress him. He just giggles and giggles. It's actually pretty cute, but frustrating at the same time!

Grandma Ruth, God's Newest Angel

This week has been a very long and trying one for our family. Last Saturday we received a call saying Grandma was not doing well. We decided to go to Iowa to see her. We feel so fortunate that we were there while she was awake and aware of what was going on around her. She knew all four of us, called us by name, and talked to us. I feel at peace because we were able to tell her we loved her, she told us the same, and we kissed her before leaving for the night.

On Sunday she needed more pain medicines and stayed asleep from Sunday on. We left Sunday evening just before Hospice came to get her. She stayed in Hospice all week. This morning, at 10:30, God called her to her newest job...head angel. She passed peacefully with Mom and Jan by her side as she took her final breath, and my Uncle Jim was at the Gates of Heaven to welcome her. I wonder how shiny her golden chair is? Pain-free, I am sure Grandma and Jim are having an amazing party!

Grandma and Zane

Grandma and Mason

Grandma was an amazing woman who taught me a lot about life. She is leaving us all big shoes to fill and will be sorely missed. I found this poem that seems pretty fitting.

My Grandma

Thank you for the gift of love

Now you're sharing it up above.

You always had many things to say,

All in a caring way.

You always saw good in everyone,

No matter what they had done

You were the one that we could lean on,

Even though it probably felt like a ton.

You were the strength of the family,

But now we must let you rest peacefully.

As we all try to say good-bye

The tears fall from our eyes.

Your place in Heaven has a good view,

As you tell God, "I need to keep an eye on a few."

You will always be in our hearts and minds

You are amazing and one of a kind!

Here is a link to a YouTube video/song that I've been listening to lately. It is perfect when thinking of those that have passed that we miss dearly. If you choose to listen to it, grab your tissues! (If you can't get it to work, go to http://www.youtube.com/ and search for Save a Place For Me by Matthew West). Services for Grandma will be held on Friday, March 26th at 10:00 a.m. It will be a celebration of the life of an amazing Grandmother, Mother, Wife, Sister, Friend, Neighbor, Woman, Human Being. Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and offers of help. We appreciate everything!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_WynYBz-Ao

We love you so much Grandma!

Stomach Flu, Go Away!

Apparently we've had a busy week...considering when I put my memory card in the computer to download pictures for this week...there were none! So this post will be a pretty boring one...I apologize!

This week we had the science fair at school. I signed up to help serve pizza, so I was there to put a couple of slices of pizza on everyone's plate! It's always fun to see the projects that the kids do for the fair. Yes, even some kindergarten kids do science fair projects! Last year Matt and the boys went with me, and Matt's comment was "I can't wait for Zane to do the science fair..."

While I was at the science fair, Mason threw up at home. Matt said he was eating a pretzel and coughed a couple of times, so he thought he just got choked and gagged. After I got home, we realized that wasn't the case, because an hour later he got sick again. It got worse...he was throwing up every 15 minutes for the next 3-4 hours and about 45 minutes after that. We lost count, but know he got sick around 20 times! Poor little fella. I was almost in tears having to watch him suffer like that. He finally went to bed around 4:45 and didn't get sick after that.

So Friday Matt stayed home with both boys (kept Zane home "just in case") in the morning and I came home from work in the afternoon. All was well...until at 4:00 Zane started telling me his tummy hurt. I just knew what was coming! At 5:00 he got sick...about 20 times also...and got sick until 4:00 Saturday morning. Again, miserable watching him suffer and being able to do nothing!

Today I had to get up early to go to a pancake breakfast my school had at Applebee's. Our school is turning 75 this year, so it was a fund-raiser for our birthday celebration. We pre-sold 275 tickets, and other people came to the door. It was VERY successful and I think we raised a good amount of money. I was a pancake server...so had to get people's drinks and take them their pancakes. The kids enjoyed seeing their teacher bringing them their food! And I must say that I have a new-found respect for servers...I would take on a school full of 5-year olds versus working in a restaurant any day!

The rest of today we have just hung around home. I stripped our bed and washed every sheet, blanket, comforter, and pillow. This evening Matt started getting stomach cramps and is currently laying in bed...and getting sick! I guess he has clean sheets to sleep in! Zane and I are camping out in the basement tonight, watching movies and sleeping on the couch. I've been washing my hands like crazy, trying to Lysol/Clorox everything, and hoping I can avoid the germs. I'm fearful I won't...so decided to post today "just in case."

STAY HEALTHY!!

Zane-isms

• The other night Matt, Zane, and I were sitting in the basement, I suggested that we go upstairs and watch t.v. in our bedroom before bedtime. Zane said, "I'm going to stay down here so I don't bother you." Lots of times if I'm working on school stuff upstairs, Matt and Zane will come downstairs for that reason...but it made me feel bad!
  
• Zane and I were playing and he wanted to teach me a "dance." So he would do something and then ask me to do the same. I started doing the "moves" and he said, "No Mom. You have to do the technique first." WHAT???

Mason's Marvels

• Some things Mason "says" these days: "nuh"=no (while he shakes his head); "bi bu"=big bird; "bubu"=bubbles; "ba"=bath. Looks like he enjoys the "b" sound!