The Best Deal Ever

 Anna and I went shopping for her baptism dress last week. Shopping with Anna is always an event. She was stressed out because we had a time limit as we went to the mall before her dance class. I knew that we had plenty of time. I finally set an alarm on my phone so that she could relax and not worry about being late. 

Anna picked out 4 dresses to try on and narrowed it down to two easily. Deciding between those two was very hard. She did and we took a picture of the other one for whatever next event she needed a new dress for. That being settled, we headed to the register to pay. The cashier scanned the price tag that was around $60 and said that will be two eleven. I had no clue where she got that. I was thinking $211??!! That couldn't be possible. She said, "No, honey, two dollars and eleven cents!" I was even more incredulous. 

That's what the computer said so that is what I paid...$2.11 including tax...for a Sunday dress. 

We were walking away and I said, "Would you like to have that other dress for Easter?" Anna practically ran back to the rack to grab that other dress. She knew it was the only one in her size. She didn't realize that we were pretty much the only ones in the store. That dress was half price. Anna was beyond thrilled and I walked away feeling that I had gotten a deal I will most likely never see again! 

Then, of course, Anna needed shoes. She found the perfect ones and thinks I may be the most no fun mom ever that I'm making her save them for baptism.

If you need a fun shopping partner that will always give you an honest, unfiltered opinion, Anna is your girl!

Isaiah's Plan

"Mom, I have an idea! Can you make cookies and we have cookies and hot chocolate and light the fire and put a candle on top of the fireplace?"  

And so I made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies on Saturday. 

 "Mom, I think we need some protein too. Hmmm. How about we cut up a cucumber for protein?" 

And so I cut up a cucumber--for protein. The rest of us had a good laugh. Cucumbers will always have protein in our house now. It was well worth it for Isaiah to eat something green! 

I made 6 mugs of hot chocolate and we lit the fireplace and ate cookies.  

"We need to read a book. I know what book!" Isaiah runs upstairs and brings down The Little Engine That Could. I knew it would be that one. It's his favorite bedtime story again.

And so I read a story.

 

Joy Dare::December

7678. Aliza's love for youth group

7679. Hearing the best news

7680. The intricate designs of frost

7681. Anna comes home from dance so excited

7682. Christmas preparations

7683. Isaiah had the best time walking with me

7684. Puppy chow and pretzel treats

7685. This candle

7686. Tree decorated

7687. A very quiet Saturday morning

7688. Anna had the best idea to invite Grandma to join her for Christmas shopping

7689. Hot drink and doughnuts

7690. Sunday brunch

7691. Wrapping gifts

7692. Grandma Friendly's

7693. Snow flurries

7694. Children playing in the flurries

7695. 5 of 6 finished with school before lunch

7696. Poinsettia

7697. Laughter

7698. Anna making cookies

7699. Bedtime prayers

7700. Appraisal

7701. Both of my Moms

7702. Evening talk with Aliza

7703. Soccer and fort making

7704. Talking to long time friends

7705. Grocery pick up

7706. Sleeping in Saturday

7707. An evening out with Anna and friends

7708. Josiah so excited about learning to change oil

7709. Christmas shopping with Aliza

7710. Cookie making

7711. A good long phone conversation

7712. New faces in church

7713. Aliza laughing

7714. Survived leading Bible study on Zoom

7715. Thinking about Grandma

7716. Appraisal is what we needed

7717. Picking up coffee for a friend

7718. Aliza's friends

7719. Peppermint milkshakes

7720. A bed and pillow at the end of an eventful day

7721. First semester grades figured

7722. Christmas break!

7723. Christmas dance classes

7724. 6 year old honesty

7725. Shopping with Josiah

7726. Exchanging cookies

7727. Janell and I had lots to talk about

7728. The man who loaded our boxes

7729. All the tears and feelings

7730. Christmas Sunday

7731. Rest

7732. Holiday Baking Championship--TV day

7733. Talking to my cousin

7734. My Bible study women

7735. Blogging at 4:45am

7736. Spending the day with Mom

7737. Baking Grandma's cut out Christmas cookies

7738. Christmas "Adam" (If there is an Eve, there must be an Adam)

7739. Isaiah wears 2 masks for fun

7740. Eating beignets and silly games

7741. Children so excited to give gifts

7742 The perfect spot for the gift Aliza made me

7743. Dinner with Mom, Dad and Grandad

7744. Cleaning up one Christmas, preparing for the next one

7745. Content children

7746. Aliza smiling big

7747. Nerf gun wars

7748. Christmas teatime

7749. The first step of making a new friend

7750. Josiah, "I love you so much, I don't want you to leave."

7751. Car time with Jeremy

7752. Supper with some of my cousins

7753. Tears and memories

7754. Reconnecting with more cousins

7755. Children doing great with Grandma and Grandpa...and Joel

7756. One more breakfast before we leave

7757. Seeing all the variations of weather in one day

7758. Safely back to our children

7759. My mother in law doing so much for me

7760. There's no place like home.

7761. New Year's Eve family time

Saying Good Bye

 The timing worked out so that the children could stay with Grandma and Grandpa while Jeremy and I continued on from their house to Ohio for my Grandma's funeral.

My Mom was already there working with her sisters on cleaning out Grandma's apartment. Our first stop was there and it was hard to see all of Grandma's things in the garage for family to take home what they wanted. For me, it was the moment of true reality that Grandma is gone.

I had two new funeral experiences. First was watching the funeral director close the casket. I never want to watch that again! It was heart wrenching. Second was that I was pall bearer. My cousin, Bea, called me on Christmas Eve. She told me that she was calling on behalf of her mom and that she had a very strange question for me. She wondered if I would consider being a pallbearer with her along with 6 of the grandsons. My mom has 7 siblings and only two families would not have a grandson at the funeral. So they asked Bea and I, as the oldest granddaughters in those families, to represent our families as pallbearers. I said yes, not because I was jumping up and down to be a pallbearers, but, because how could I say no?! 

Almost right away, I sent one of my cousins a message. "I've been named a pallbearer. I'm counting on you to cover for me so I can just pretend I'm carrying something." He said "consider it done" and I felt much better. He and I continued talking about what Grandma would think about any of her granddaughters being pallbearers. I'm sure it would be something she could not even imagine. And then he said this and it has stuck with me, "I have no problem with ladies being pallbearers but it is sad that they have to live in a world that in trying to make them more special than they feel, that is exactly what is taken away." (And maybe I will have to come back to that quote in another post because I have whole line of thought on that!)

I told my brother that night at our Christmas gathering that if he decided to go to the funeral that I would be very happy to turn the pallbearer responsibility over to him. He had already agreed to look out for Grandad while our parents were in Ohio. I was being a bit dramatic in telling him how I would not want to take over something that he should be his and he said with a perfectly straight face, "It's ok. You go be a pallbearer while I stay here and be Grandad's nurse." That struck me as being the most hilarious thing Brian could have said. Brian and I both adhere to pretty traditional gender roles and thinking of us trading places was just too funny. It happened right when my Dad was ready to pray and I could not get myself together. I must have needed a good laugh right then.

First pallbearer duty was to carry the casket from the church foyer to the hearse. It was important that Bea and I be directly across from each other. I had to trade a place to make sure that happened. We probably should have been third but we were second. It was a little tricky getting through the church doors because we had to turn to fit through while also avoiding knocking down the Christmas wreaths on the door. 

At the graveside I was in the next to last car to arrive and had to walk the length of the cemetery. Everyone was waiting. 🙈 We managed to end up on the opposite side of the casket than we were in the church. It was a farther walk on grass and I was just watching the shoes in front of me hoping not to trip myself or the guy in front of me. That time my cousin was on his left side (he would have preferred the right) and he was feeling it. I assured him if he was sore the next day it was my fault. I'm sure he was carrying my weight! We all survived and there was no mishap.

I knew that Aliza and Anna wanted to watch the service. They did watch and my heart melted when Karen sent me the above picture. They were watching with their arms around each other. The service ended with a recording of my Grandpa singing The Lord's Prayer. Aliza said it was good she didn't know it was Grandpa Kenny singing or she would have cried. 

I came home utterly exhausted. I felt all the extremes of emotion. I was very sad to say good bye to Grandma. I was very sad for my Mom losing her Mom. It was so so good to spend time alone with Jeremy. I loved talking to aunts and cousins that I haven't seen in a long time. I cried hard and I laughed hard. It took a couple days of normal sleeping patterns to feel like myself again. 😀