This is Jenny at her Cinqo de Mayo program at pre-school. Actually, it was on the 8th of May. I called it Cinqo de Ocho, but her mom thought that Ocho de Mayo made more sense. I think she was right. Jenny is doing the chicken dance in this picture. That girl loves the Chicken Dance. So much so, that MP and Josh had it at their wedding just for Jenny. She kept asking Mr. Kenny, a.k.a. Mr. Lincoln, when the band was going to play it. It was the most participated in dance of the evening.
Here we have Jenny at "our cabin," This is the first time we went there together. It is Dunham's Cabin at Belle Meade Plantation. She thought the chamber pots were very funny. She threw leaves in the air and hung upside down on a hitching post. We threw rocks in Richland Creek. We talked a little about 18th and 19th century life. We tried to identify the plants in the kitchen garden. We had a VERY expensive snack at the restaurant there. I never drive by Belle Meade without thinking of "our cabin."
I drove Jenny to school as many mornings as possible after her sister was born. It started out as a gesture to help her mom because the baby did not sleep well. It became the highlight of my day. I would often call Mr. Lincoln to share a "Jenny story" after I dropped her off. It was about a 25 minute drive, so we had wonderful times together, singing and discussing the thorny matters of a pre-schooler's life. In October, her school had Friends and Family Day. I was invited. Jenny has the most wonderful sense of the absurd, and I am always wondering if she just does things like wear these glasses for the adults around her. Whatever the reason, she is a totally delightful goof.
This past November, I had back surgery in Minnesota. Jenny's dad was my surgeon. I stayed at their house the first few days after leaving the hospital. Even though I did not feel my best, to say the least, I will always remember it as a sweet time. The warmth and love of the family and their home will be a memory I hold close. It was really cold!! Here, Jenny is headed out to catch the bus for school. She loves school. She is a brilliant student. At almost age 7, she has been reading chapter books for over a year. She has a Kindle, and one of her favorite things to do is go up to her room and read. She has an incredible vocabulary, although she told me not long ago that she did not know all the words there are, but she figured I would probably know all the words in the book that she was reading at the moment. She loves Judy Moody. I love her.
The last time I saw Jenny was in June. I cannot believe it has been that long. MP and I spent a really fun week with the Davis girls. We went to the zoo and the mall and Jenny's soccer game and just hung out and ate and laughed and played. I just soaked up the joy of being with them. Jenny and I took a pretty long walk ~ about 3 miles one day. We talked about all sorts of things. I was grateful to have time with her by myself. She is bouncy and happy and observant and inquisitive. I have left out memories of Dragon Park, Cheekwood, ArtQuest, strolls through Radnor, meals at Cracker Barrel, birthday celebrations ~ both hers and mine ~ sleepovers, craft days, shopping expeditions, and countless other times spent together. I praise God for the day that MP answered the "nanny needed" ad in OC classifieds. Little did we know how enriched our lives would be by such a little bit and her precious family. I look forward to making many more memories in the future.
Plus 3
Julie, Jenny's sister turned three in August. I was not blogging then, or at least did not think of blogging about her at that time. So, I add three memories of Baby JuJu.
My introduction to Baby JuJu was when she was a few days old. I was in Florida when she was born. As soon as it was convenient for the family, I went over to meet her. She liked to cry. She did not sleep. Sometimes she still has a problem with that. When we were there in November, she would cry out "night night Mama" 20 or 30 times before she went to sleep. Everytime her mom would in a sweet and patient tone respond with, "night night, Julie." If there was a silver lining to her poor sleep patterns, it was granting me the privilege of driving Jenny to school. Thank you, Julie.
Julie at Jenny's Ocho de Mayo program. It was hard to decide who to watch. So, I watched Jenny when she was on stage, and Julie when other children were performing. She looks like a little pudge here, but she is just a tiny, little mite compared to other children her age....a perfect, tiny, little mite. I thought that there was no way I could love Jenny's new sister like I loved Jenny, but, alas, our love does not divide, it multiplies. I love this little girl to pieces.
In June, Julie and I took a walk ourselves. She chattered and ran and skipped and held my hand and refused to hold my hand and stopped to study flowers on the side of the path and pitched a tiny little fit when I said it was time to turn around. I did not want her going more than half the distance she could make since we had to turn around. She loves to go in the car. She loves to eat. She loves sweets. She will climb on the counter to get to her mom's Diet Coke. As can be seen in the picture, she has her own unique fashion sense, and is given the freedom to express it. She runs and runs until she just drops where she is. One of my sweetest memories is her taking about a 2 hour nap on my chest. There is nothing more precious or peaceful.
So...memories. Memories that few of you reading this care about. Memories that I hold close until I get the chance to make more. If I have learned anything, I have learned that the stuff of our lives is nothing, and the people are everything.
So for today I wish you sweet memories of blessed time with those you love, the time for more memory-making, and
blessings
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