Living Life and Saying Goodbye

Amarillo was kind of a whirlwind, with all the moving and unpacking going on!  One day I took Luke to Barnes and Noble while Emery was at school and Ada was napping so Bonnie could get a few things done at the house. We had fun playing with trains, looking at books and all kinds of toys, and choosing a book for each of the kids before getting a drink and sharing a big cookie.  :) He's such a sweet boy and we had a good time off by ourselves.

Another day I picked Emery up from school and asked her if she wanted to go get a snack somewhere. She chose Target, which kinda cracked me up. She likes their slushies, I found out.  On the way in, I told her we could also look for a toy for her and for her siblings.  She said, "Oh, the toys are right here!" as she looked at the dollar bargain bins at the front of the store.  I thought, "Sweet! Gigi comes out way ahead on this one!"  She picked out 2 one dollar items for herself and 2 for Luke and was perfectly happy.  We then had a slushie and a pretzel.  It's the little things, isn't it?!

My girls always go to their dad's in Abilene for Labor Day weekend when he has a family reunion of sorts. David had to photograph a wedding so Bonnie had told me in advance "What would really help me is if you would drive to Abilene and back with me and help with the kids."  So we packed up the car and headed for Abilene on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. I'd made arrangements to stay at my friend Karen's house even though she was going to be out of town! And her daughter Kaci nicely left me her car so I wouldn't be stranded; thanks, Kaci! We had a pretty good drive to Abilene and Bonnie dropped me off before heading out to the lake to meet the rest of the family.  I didn't take any photos for some reason but had a full weekend meeting various friends for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and doing some shopping and errand-running while I was there.  Bonnie and the kids picked me up on Monday morning and we began the drive back to Amarillo, which was a little less fun this time with different kids fussing at different times along the way.  :)  We stopped to get gas and there were two guys from the Bandidos motorcycle gang at the pump in front of us.  I told Bonnie, "Bandidos! Be careful!" and she thought that was the funniest thing she'd ever heard.  One guy had a "probationary" patch on his jacket so I was teasing her that he might need to do "something" to earn his full status.  Anyway, we had a good laugh over that. I'm sure they were perfectly nice guys, right??!  We finally made it home and Bonnie claims she will not be taking any road trips with all the kids by herself to come to Dallas and see us.

 My last day there. We took a few photos before Emery went to school.

 And a few more  before we went to the airport

 Sweet kids

 Ada and I were pretty good friends by the time I left

 She's walking and very proud of herself!

My flight was supposed to be at 9:40 and Sarah was going to pick me up in Dallas, then we were going to our friend Kirk's funeral.  It was super foggy in Amarillo and when I got to the airport, they said the flight was delayed due to fog there and storms in Dallas. We waited and waited and were finally told the flight would not take off till 1 PM. The funeral was at 2, so this meant I would not make it.  I texted Sarah and Bonnie and was considering just going back to Bonnie's for another night and trying again the next day when suddenly Southwest changed the departure time to 11:50.  This put me in Dallas in time, if a little rushed.  Upon landing in Dallas, we sat on the runway for another ten minutes before getting off and then it took 20 minutes to get my luggage.  By the time I got in Sarah's car for a 30 minute drive to the funeral, we were already going to be late.  I had worn jeans thinking early that morning that I would have time at Sarah's to change clothes and fix myself up a bit.  That was all out the window so I managed to change into a dress in a moving car in Dallas traffic while Sarah sped along to try to get us there at a reasonable time.  A brush through the hair and a little bit of mascara and I was going to have to be ready.

We made it just a couple of minutes late and found our friend Karen at the back, as well as a few other old friends and former coworkers.  We were told there were over 500 people there, such a testament to Kirk.  He was only 39 but had affected many people in his life, through his job as a social worker and a supervisor at several health care organizations, through his church, and of course as a family man, neighbor, and friend.  We worked together at West Texas Rehab and had so many fun and funny times together as colleagues and friends.  It was so sad to say goodbye to him but his celebration of life was also full of laughter, great stories, and lots of love from many people.  His wife Dana stood at the front of the church as every single person filed past and gave each of us a hug.  I don't know if I could have done that. She was the picture of graciousness and strength--I admire her so much. I know it will be a long road for her and her three young children but I have no doubt she will handle it all with as much grace as she did his illness and his death.  But I have to say that I am really angry still that such a kindhearted guy was taken so young.  Life sure is not fair.  Don't be stingy with your love, folks--life is not only unfair but awfully short.  Goodbye, Kirk.  You were a good one.

"Meet the Teacher" with Luke, Lunch with Emery, and Luke Starts Pre-K

Luke will be attending Preschool two days a week this year. We went to meet his teachers and see his classroom one morning.  He was a little reluctant to go in at first, but after seeing all the fun stuff, he then did not want to leave!

 With his teachers, Ms. Jennifer and Ms. Sheila

 We met Emery for lunch and her comment was, "Aren't you so happy you get to come see my cafeteria?!"

 Daddy was able to get away from his own teaching duties to join us.

 A strangle-hug

 Luke started Preschool and had a great day!

Bonnie had to decorate a little person to look like Luke to bring with him the first day.  He loves Spiderman right now so they went with that theme.  Pretty impressive, huh?!

 Cute boy  is growing up on us!

At the park

On to Amarillo

I drove back to Dallas and spent one night, then took a flight to Amarillo to visit Bonnie, David and kids.  But while I was in Dallas, Sarah and I went to look at some apartments since we will have renters in our house till June.  Let the planning begin!

Bonnie and David were also moving, though just from one house to another in Amarillo.  They were supposed to be in their new house when I got there but I would help with unpacking and keeping the kids amused.  Due to delays with the carpenter and the painters, they were still not moved in when I arrived. We spent one night with David's parents and the next day Bonnie and I tackled a lot of unpacking in the bedrooms and kitchen so we could move in. Whew!  Moving is not that much fun!

 Luke checking out his bed in his new room

Cutie pie Ada just turned one year old.  She does not like too many people besides her parents but I was determined we would be best friends by the time I left!  She would let me hold her if Bonnie wasn't in plain sight or if I took her outside to look at the leaves on the trees and to listen to the neighborhood dogs barking. 

Riding in the stroller as we walked to school to pick Emery up.  Their new home is close to lots of their friends and just around the corner from Emery's elementary school.

 Emery loves Kindergarten and her teacher, Ms. S.  Emery told me, "She's a good one!"  She also asked me another day, "Do you know Ms. S's real name?"  I said I did not. She said, "It's Windy! She's named after the weather!"  I asked, "Windy or Wendy?"  "Windy!"  I told Emery "That's a pretty name."  She replied, "It's not a pretty name, Gigi, it's a cool name. It's kinda like a rock star name.  If I was a rock star, I would be called Stormy and I would wear all black!"  I told Bonnie and David this story and we were all shaking our heads wondering where she comes up with this stuff.  :)  Another time, I went to get Emery by myself and Ms. S and I were chatting so I told her the "Windy" story.  She said yes, she and her sisters were named after the weather.  Her sisters are Stormy and Misty.  :) 

 See, I did win her over!  Precious baby!

Winding down in Amarillo

Snuggling with my newest girl

 Luke

 Playing in the yard

 Emery is going to be a hurdler like her Mama!

 Bonnie and Ada

 Emery and Ada

 Riding bikes in the driveway

 Silly boy

Bonnie and I decided to take all three kids to the park for a picnic on Labor Day.  It was a little more hectic than we anticipated!  We were so busy that this is the only picture I got--feeding the ducks once more.

The day I left was the first day of preschool for the kids.  We were up much earlier than usual and it was a race to get there on time!

 Luke did not want to pose for us

Emery was pretty excited to go back to school, especially because her BFF Madeline was going to be in her class this year.

 On the way to school

Emery's a big girl in the "WAY BACK" all by herself now.

Although I was in Amarillo for a full month, it seemed to fly by!  It was wonderful to have this time with the kids and grandkids.  After Rich left, I slept in Emery's room with her. I told her we were "roommates" so we called each other "roommate" quite often.  She is a very funny girl and comes up with some hilarious stuff. I wish I could remember everything she told me. She was very concerned about my age and told me several times that I was "old."  I realized that this was partly because I wear glasses.  She asked me if I could see without my glasses and I told her yes. So she walked to various parts of the room, farther and farther away, and asked if I could still see her.  :)  One day she was eating carrots and I mentioned that old adage about them being good for her eyes.  She told me "Gigi, you need to eat more carrots so you can see better."  She told me my neck looked old and that my hair looked old (greys!) I couldn't help but laugh because none of it was malicious at all, just observational from her standpoint.

She also told me that Grandpa is very talented because he can juggle and she can't.  She told me when I called him to say goodnight, I needed to ask him if he could juggle with his eyes closed OR NOT.  Then she said, "Well, you should ask him before you say goodnight because if you say goodnight first, he might hang up and you won't get to ask him."

She doesn't like having her hair brushed. Sarah brushed her hair when she was there and Emery didn't complain. She told Elle, "Your mom is a good brusher.  My mom and Gigi are hurters."  LOL  Another day I brushed her hair and she told me I did a good job and was not a hurter any more.

One night she told me she needed me to come in bed and snuggle with her. I told her I needed to use the bathroom first and she scooted over and said "I made room for you."  So sweet.  Then she was telling me that a boy named Ethan "fell in love" with Madeline and that she also "fell in love" with Madeline and they were fighting over her. I asked, "who is winning the fight?"  She said, "Well, Ethan is a boy and he is stronger so he is winning."  She then told me a boy at church had "fallen in love" with her (Emery) but she didn't remember his name. She said he was cute and had spiky hair. And they sure had fun together playing pirates.

Luke didn't really want me to do anything for him when I first got there, especially if Mom and Dad were around. But after awhile he warmed up to me and didn't mind if I got him up in the morning or after his nap, changed his diaper when getting him up (though not at any other time during the day!) and played with him at various times. Toward the end, he even said he wanted to stay home with me instead of going with his mom to pick up Emery so I count that as a victory!  He has such a cute smile and a lively little personality.  It will be fun to see him grow and change as his sister has.

Bonnie and I joked that Ada was "the easy one."  She was nursing well, napping through the day and  not keeping Bonnie up TOO many hours most nights. We could put her in her swing and she would be fine while we took care of other things. I got to hold her and rock her most evenings while Bonnie and David got the other kids to bed and she would fall asleep on my chest or in my arms. She had a few bouts of fussiness but was pretty easily soothed, especially if we swaddled her in a blanket. She really liked that tight swaddle!  I'm sure she will change a lot by the time I see her again!

While the kids were in school, Bonnie took me to the airport for my flight to Dallas.  It was sad to say goodbye, as always.