Hand Me Downs

Our nanny has been helping me go through the boys closets. She did Thomas' entire room by herself and now I have a couple of boxes of Thomas' clothes for James.



So now James has this bathing suit and this t-shirt to wear.



And for some reason...that makes me cry:)

Push and Pull

Push and Pull

Ying and Yang



Hot and Cold

Black and White

Twins that are so connected that they can not be apart.

They whine...I separate them and they inch their way back to each other. She's bothering me. He's is too close to me. They play/bug each other all day long. And now, as I write this, I look over at the two of them on the couch. They sit side by side watching iCarly. Their heads tilt the exact same way and I am sure they are breathing in sync.

This twin relationship is going to be interesting to watch over the years!

For Audrey

Audrey Schroeder married Thomas Haggerty in 1947 and they had two beautiful daughters. From them, there are four grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Many of us in this room can trace our roots back to Grandma Audrey.

My guess is, it was a tremendous shock when her husband died in 1976. This was such a difficult time for her and yet she moved to Florida, obtained a new job and began another chapter of her life.

It was during this new chapter that she met Bela Toth. She spent many fun years with Bela. They swam, walked, biked, danced and flew together. Gram's social calendar often put mine to shame. She suffered another great loss with the death of Bela in 2004. She once again had to rely on faith, family and herself.

In the last years of her life, my Grandma often said, "Don't ever get old". I thought about this for quite some time watching her struggle with some impairments from which she would never fully recover.

I have decided that this was one piece of advice that I was going to try to ignore.

You see...

If she hadn't gotten old, I would not have seen such a great example of finding new interests and developing new skills.

If she hadn't gotten old, I probably would not have realized the power of prayer or the way that God can intervene in your life and change your outlook, the way He so obviously did for her.

If she hadn't gotten old, she would not have been around to talk to us and encourage our families.

I think all of these qualities were present in Gram for years, but if she hadn't gotten old, I would not have had time to mature enough to see them for what they really were.

And so, I chose to disobey my Gram...just this once.

I would like to share a poem that was read at the Queen Mother's funeral at her request:

You can shed tears that she is gone or you can smile because she has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that she’ll come back or you can open your
eyes and see all she’s left.
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see
her or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on
tomorrow and live yesterday or you can be happy for tomorrow because of
yesterday.
You can remember her and only that she’s gone or you can cherish
her memory and let it live on. You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn
your back or you can do what she’d want:

smile,

open your eyes,

love

and go on.

So today as we remember my grandmother, Audrey Haggerty, we can focus on love, faith and family. Gram would be so happy to have us all together in one room.

We are her legacy.

God Bless!

You Will Be Missed

Gram Audrey with Stella Audrey


Gram showing off her prized Christmas ornament...anything to show off her great grandchildren:)


Gram with the three Barrett kiddos


Gram Audrey with all of her great grandchildren except the newest batch (James, Kohl, Khloe and Kacee). From left to right, Thomas, Stella holding Kai, Gram holding Will, and Nikolas.

And that is the question...

I really could not have said any better than she does. My paperwork is caught up but my floors are not mopped. Laundry is folded and put away but emails sit unanswered.

My questions is, does it ever end?

Do the emails ever get caught up and your floors remain clean?

Caught!

How Twins Are Made...

Hehe...my mom shared this with me and I thought it was too cute and wanted to pass it on:)

Sniff, Sniff

There was singing and certificates and pizza and cake!

And then it was over. Kindergarten is over....how in the world did it ever go so fast??

Sweet and Sour

My little bunny is graduating kindergarten tomorrow along with her twin brother. She is such a wild strong little girl. So smart, so creative, so funny, so witty....so exhausting:)

There is a big difference in parenting my boys and my girl. My girl can drain me. She can also fill me up in such a different way too.

Last night, after a long day, I went up to bed. One of my favorite things to do is check on the kiddos when they are asleep. I pull up the sheets and fix the covers and give each one a little kiss.

I see my little bunny. Usually one leg in bed and one leg out. As if she drops over in the midst of playing. (Some things never change!) She usually is surrounded by Barbie's, stuffed animals and books. I notice the linen closet is open and empty (??) and then I see this:



All of her stuffed animals have washcloths and face towels over them. They are tucked in...the same way I am tucking my sweet girl in.

So sweet:)

It is a moment like this that gives me perspective on how small my little bunny still is. She is still a little girl. Yes, she will be a 1st grader but she still tucks in her animals. She is so innocent and so loving. I hope her heart is always built like this!

What is the next stage after walking??

....Oh yes...CLIMBING!