Project 365 - Week One

So, while I really did intend to blow the blogging world away by posting more than once this week, eh, at least I did my part and took my daily photos, and am posting them in a weekly fashion as promised. Go me!

January 2nd - we met with Andy's family from Indiana for another Christmas get together. In typical fashion, we had to stop at Giant Eagle on the way to get Christmas presents for Andy's little cousins. This is typical, we are the people who buy cards on our way to the party, presents for the wedding the night before. Someday maybe we will get organized! I wanted to include this one too, it is rare that I am actually IN the pictures, and I thought this was an adorable picture of me with my girl. Her mainly with the adorable. And look, aw, we match! January 3 - This year's Christmas tree. It was beautiful. It is coming down tomorrow, and it always makes me sad. I love the look of the house with the sparkly happy Christmas tree. We went this year to try to cut down our own but it was dark. We picked this one out on faith and the recommendation of the nice guy at the farm. Prettiest tree I've ever had.

January 4 - First day back to school, of course I accidentally woke up Maggie when I went in to say goodbye. I have to leave work by 7 every morning. Andy and the babies don't get up until around 8:30 or so. I usually pick them up, snuggle them and smell them on my way out the door. Sometimes I wake one of them up. It's usually not a big deal. This morning, Maggie was a happy little thing, smiling, kicking. Andy on the other hand was a little sleepy. They walked me out and I got to smooch on my little girl before what was a tough day back to school. Have I ever mentioned here how much I would rather be home with my babies?

January 5 - Coming home everyday used to mean two smiling happy babies. They are usually ridiculously happy to see me when I get home. At some point, it changed to Ben being happy and smiley, and Maggie crying and screaming until I pick her up. It's sweet really. January 6 - Nothing much to say here except boy do I love this boy, and boy do I love this hat! It's a toddler size, hopefully it will fit awhile. My boy has a big head. January 7 - Merry Chistmas again! My grandpa was Russian (or maybe Ukranian, but that is a different story all together. He is one of the greatest people I've ever known, and I am honored that he was my Grandpa. You see, I didn't know it until I was 10 or 11, but my Grandpa wasn't really my grandpa. Which brings me back to a story about one of the other greatest people in this world - my Grandma.

My Grandma K is now 90 years old, and a truly remarkable woman. She had been married to a man who joined the Naval airforce. She followed him around the country, driving, taking trains to where he was stationed. At some point during their travels, she got pregnant with my mother. And at some point while she was pregnant, his plane was shot down, and he was never found. My grandmother says that at that point, when she found out, she wanted to die, and she didn't want the baby. But in the way of strong women, she went on. She survived being raised by her grandparents because her parents were alcoholics, her brother was in a POW camp in Germany, and she lost her husband while pregnant with their first child. Her brother came home, my mother was born, and a couple of years later, she met my Grandpa.

My Grandpa called me Little Bit, and us his girls. He told stories, drank alot of coffee and was in the First Special Service Force in WWII. By all accounts, he should have died in the war too, but he was convinced, as am I, that God had meant for him to meet my Grandmother and her little girl so he could take care of them. My Grandmother says that the only reason he married her was because of my mother. He adopted her, had her take his name, and by all accounts couldn't have loved her more if she had been his own. They called him the Mad Russian on the Force. He might have been crazy, but everything he ever did was for his family. He was the one you could call to come over and fix anything in your house, and I think he kept my mother and my grandmother calm. He was their protector, and their champion, and became mine as well.

He died when I was 17, and I still think of him and miss him almost everyday. I have this theory on my own personal angels in Heaven, and he is the one who I talk to the most when I need them. It's silly, really, but I know he is still watching over us. I still credit him when I find lost stuff, and I can still hear his voice when I am sad. He watched over my grandmother too, and I have to tell this story now even though this entry is going to get long.

The spirit of my grandfather lived in a lightbulb at my grandmother's house. Now that sounds crazy right? Grandma has a lamp in her living room that she always used to leave on when they were out to have a little light when they came home. After my grandfather died, she left it on all the time so she wouldn't be in a dark house by herself. It stayed on for years. 11 years. I'm not kidding. For 11 years, the light in her living room stayed lit without having to replace the bulb. It went out twice. The first time was when my grandmother was on her first trip without him and having a hard time. The second time was when my college boyfriend (who I had dumped) kept me up one night with him because he told me he was going to kill himself. The light was out that night at my grandmothers, but went on again the next day. It finally gave out, a couple of years ago. We kept the lightbulb.

Anyway, back to January 7. My grandmother has a dinner every year where we celebrate "Russian Christmas" in honor of my Grandpa. None of the rest of us are remotely Russian, but we celebrate anyway. Here is Maggie with her Grandpa. I only hope she has the kinds of memories of him that I have of mine. Oh, and the photo? She fell asleep while eating. Yogurt. That has never happened before! And today? January 8. Snow Day! Thank the good Lord!

Really today, I would have loved to get a shot of our big news. . .Maggie has a tooth! But I'm not really sure how to get a picture of it. Maybe I'll try tomorrow.