Thursday, September 10, 2009

she’s off!

Aunt Conny just called…i decided it was probably better for Gabby and myself, if i just let her go with Conny and the girls to be dropped off, instead of mommy trailing behind…and i think it was.  Conny said she did great…didn’t show any signs of anxiety and Aidyn and McKenna walked her to the playground and showed her where she lines up and said they would help her!  Gabby took the girls hands and off they walked.  Gabby and i had a nice morning of getting ready and talking.  I so hope she participates and enjoys her first day, instead of sitting on the sidelines like she does in most instances.  She does have one boy from her pre-school class that was there Tuesday…so at least she knows one kid.  I was hoping to come in with my tears and get a half an hour to myself, but as soon as i came in, Ty was yelling that he wanted to get up and had to potty, Lex was getting mad and screaming, cuz Ty was getting out of bed and he was bossing her, so she started crying, and that lovely crying woke up Mr.. Ethan…poor baby…he’ll get used to her eventually…thankfully he had a decent nap before she woke him up…

Giving Wings…

I never thought sending your first born to Kindergarten would be so emotional. i was on my way home from my class last night and heard the song "I loved her first"...cried the whole way home. But isn't this just the beginning of her long road of adding people that love her? We did (and do) love her first (well, second to God), but I'm so excited that she's going out to become who she is...can't wait to see her grow into who she’s meant to be…but wow, it’s scary.

Aunt Conny is picking Gabby up on Tues/Thurs to take the girls (her and Riley) to Kindergarten. So that’s awesome. She doesn’t have to be on the bus for 50 minutes in the am, and she get’s to go with her best friend. and she has McKenna and Aidyn to enter her school with her. But she’s riding the big yellow guy at the end of the day, and that makes me nervous. They get on one bus and then are transferred to the middle school where they get on their real bus…thankfully her teacher rides with them and makes sure that they get on the right bus…ah…more fear for mommy. Anyway – she’s got her first full day, her lunch is packed, her homework done, and I'm sending my first baby off to Kindergarten.

Giving wings…

I love you Gabby!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

To my Grandpa…

Robert I. Hopp

HOPP (Sparta) - Robert I. Hopp, age 77, formerly of Croton and Wyoming, passed away on Thursday, June 11, 2009 at his home. He loved walking in the woods with his dog and working in his yard. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Marian; children, Tom and Sue Hopp, Sue and Ken Crandle, Jan and Ron Cornelisse, Dave and Tammie Hopp, Rob and Barb Hopp; 14 grandchildren; 29 great grandchildren; several nieces and nephews. As Robert had wished cremation has taken place and a memorial service will be held on Tuesday, June 16, 11:00 a.m. at the Sparta United Methodist Church with Rev. Ray Townsend officiating. Friends may meet the family at the church one hour prior to the service. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial contributions to Gilda's Club or Faith Hospice. Hessel-Cheslek Funeral Home, Sparta

My dear grandpa passed away last week.  Around a month ago, he was diagnosed with Lung cancer, and then after some other tests, he was found to have some type of brain (i don’t know the ins and outs of it all) cancer that had spread throughout his body, but the majority of it was focused on the brain.  There weren’t many treatment options, but he chose to go without treatment, as the cancer that he had was one that moves and grows quickly…The doctors told him it would be a month or so.  so here we are…He’s gone.  My grandpa, my mom’s dad, my children’s great grandpa…he loved the outdoors, animals (hmmmm…no wonder my mom would take in any stray animal she found…), kiddos, music (another one…my grandpa was an amazing musician – if he heard it, he could duplicate it on his organ that he had many years ago).  He played saxophone in a big band – gotta love jazz!  He cared and loved his family deeply, and became the hero to us all, as the main care taker of his beautiful bride…my grandma was diagnosed with lymphoma many years ago…she’s been through chemo, radiation, strokes, heart attacks, and through it all, he was by her side, loving her and doing what it took to care for her the best he knew how. 

Many years ago at a celebration of life get together we had – celebrating the life that my grandma still had (thank you Lord!)  My mom and her 4 siblings (and all of us grandchildren too) presented Grandpa with a plaque with this writing on it, it’s a column by Erma Bombeck:

"Heroes make caring a full time job"
by Erma Bombeck

In a recent column I lamented the shortage of heroes. I was wrong. There  isn't a scarcity of heroes: I was just looking in the wrong places. I  thought they hung out in sports arenas, great halls, battlefields or  between the pages of adventure books.

I should have been looking for them in pharmacies where they are waiting  to have prescriptions filled, in hospital corridors keeping vigil, or collapsing in wheelchairs and storing them in trunks of cars.

They are called nurturers - the well one in the family who takes care of  the one with needs.

How many times have we passed by without seeing these nameless, faceless  people who roll out of bed each day to serve? Most of them live in the  shadows of those who are ill. They are not used to someone asking how they  feel. If it should miraculously happen, they would probably feel guilty  answering, "Fine".

Never underestimate what it takes to watch someone you love in pain. The  nurturer faces each day without benefit of numbing pain killers or  anesthetics.

They live in a world where personal feelings and duty clash. Those who  have assumed the mantle of responsibility for another human being hate the  word "hero". They are doing what they want to do, must do and wouldn't  want anyone else to do.

I have observed women who pay the bills, have the oil changed in the car,  change furnace filters, negotiate for a new roof, turn over CD's and go  crazy trying to keep pace with Medicare and Medicaid forms when their  husbands are unable to do so.

I have seen men who bake pies, do the marketing, address Christmas cards,  keep track of birthdays, water plants, scrub floors and go crazy trying to  keep pace with Medicare and Medicaid forms when their wives are unable to  do so.

And daily I watch grown children who run errands, make a million phone  calls, take parents to appointments, drop off food, make sure their  license plates are current, their lawns cut and their walks cleared of  snow and go crazy trying to keep pace with Medicare and Medicaid forms.

Today would be a good time to think about them. And when you see a  nurturer, ask, "How you doin'?"

He was, and will remain the hero in our family…

Thank you grandpa for loving us all, and for being my hero.  I won’t forget you.  Out on the frozen creek sledding or ice skating in Newaygo, pictures (you’re favorite – ha!) on the picture spot in your old back yard, you “letting” us draw pictures on your back just so you could get your back scratched, getting on the floor and playing with us when we were little – and getting on the floor with my little ones to play!  I’ll never forget the way you hugged, how you grunted “love you too”…your forever strong hands, and your skills/knowledge/desire to do/make/fix anything you wanted.  I only pray that i can pass all of those great things on to my family.

  You’re Scan_3amazing, I love you…

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Hopp Family Get together…to celebrate the lives of Grandma and Grandpa Hopp

Some may know, some may not.  My grandfather was diagnosed with Lung Cancer and after much testing, and other stuff i don’t really know about – they found cancer in multiple places and multiple organs, but the majority and worst of the bunch, was a fast spreading brain cancer.  I know that God can move mountains, God is a healer, He is the Almighty physician…and i trust that if it is God’s will, He will heal Grandpa of the cancer, but I also know that God might be ready to call to His servant to come home to Him.  In amongst all the findings, there were plans to have a family get together to cover the spring time and the Christmas get together that the family never had last year.  thankfully, we did get to enjoy my grandparents for Christmas and our Children enjoyed the time as well!  But, my family decided to keep our spring get together on the calendar, and this was it.  Quite a few family that we haven’t seen in a while were there, and even a niece of my Grandpa’s was there, that I've never even met!  My grandma swore that i reminded her of Julie (my grandpa’s niece)…and i finally met her…It was a very nice get together, and it was nice to spend some more time with the family.  Oh how i will continue to pray for more days with Grandma and Grandpa.  Each day is a blessing.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Mother’s day 05/10/2009

DSCF0967

A special Mother’s day for me…not because of anything in particular, except for those that i was able to spend it with.  We started out with Daddy getting the kids fed and even preparing a plate for me of waffles (if you all know Jeremy, he doesn’t cook…but it was such a welcome thing that he prepared the plate, food and drink for me and had me sit with them to eat.  We finished getting ready and headed to Church…wonderful service.  And we were even blessed with the 3 & 4 year olds singing in big church (gabby’s still in the 4 year old class because of where her birthday falls.) so how awesome to have both of our older kiddos on stage.  they were even by each other at first, and then Gabby disappeared behind Tyler, not to be seen again until they went off of the stage back to their classrooms!  Neither one sang…go figure (they knew the songs very well, and loved to sing them…but they don’t do well on stage with the lights, people, etc…they both froze.)  But, I'm a mom, and I'm proud of all efforts, even if the only effort at this age was walking on the stage…Then we headed off to Grandma’s house to deliver a flower hand picked by Gabs and Ty (lex doesn’t care yet).  Tracked down Grandma and took some pics and talked for a bit.  I then went to track down my mom, and she was on her way up to Saenz greenhouse and then to Grandma and Grandpa Hopp’s house.  So, i got to see both my mom and my grandma (and some other family as well!)  We had planned on stopping by my Grandparents briefly, but it was a little more extended than we planned…but it was a blessing to all involved.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Gabby’s friend party for Mother’s Day

May 9, 2009…We got our first invitation to a friends party for Miss Gabriella.  Her friends Sydney and Mackenzie were hostessing a mother’s day party at their home.  Who could pass that up.  (we’ve been to birthday parties before, but this was a school friend invite…not just us mom’s inviting our own friends over for our kids to play).  Erica (the girls’ mom) had lunch that her girls helped her with and little gift baggies and each of our girls made us mother’s day bracelets with all the fixings provided by erica…it was very cool and gabby and i had fun.  Too bad that while we were there we realized through conversations that none of the friends gabby had made at preschool (at least the ones i know the most about) will be attending the same school as gabby.  Bummer!  Gabby is not the socialite of the family either…while the girls were all playing, she mainly kept to herself, i think so that she could play with all of the princess toys that syd and kenzie had…i so wish she would play WITH her friends!