Love you, Papa Welch

"I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this.
Come further up, come further in!"

          - C.S Lewis, The Last Battle

Harold Ralph Welch

February 21, 1919 - March 6, 2013

We love you forever!

Cousins

Oh what fun to have Lucy and Henry come for the weekend while Simon and Erin were away.

Never. a. dull. moment.

Seattle 2013

Ron was up in the Northwest on a work trip and the girls and I snuck away for the weekend to join him. We love this grey city. It was a very quick trip, but just the break that we have been craving. 

Ralphy goes to Mimi and Papa's

We try to foster a spirit of generosity in the Eckert house. We don't always succeed and we each have our stingy moments, but we give it our best effort. Last week, after a visit from Papa and Mimi, Rosie thought it would be a good idea to send them with some parting gifts. She chose a version of Peter Pan from her shelf that she thought Mimi might like to read before going to bed each night. 

For Papa, Rosie gave Ally, a favorite stuffed bunny. 

I have to mention that it's technically Sadie's bunny.... does giving away your sister's toys make the spirit of generosity a moot idea?

Anyway, the bunny has been nothing but trouble. First off, she he declared that her his name was not Ally, but Ralphy. Imagine being misunderstood for so long!

Mimi and Papa have documented the behavior and have been consulting Rosie daily on a plan of action. 

 Hi Rosie,  We are still having quite a problem with Ralphie. (She still doesn't want to be called Aly.) Sure wish you were here! Maybe she would listen to you!   Love! Papa

Hi Rosie, We caught Ralphie getting into Mimi's Valentines candy this morning. We have him in a little time out now. Taking your idea of tough love. We may need your help with him soon. Love! Mimi and Papa

Dear Rosie, We came home from sailing and look where we found Ralphy. We are not sure what to do. Any ideas Rosie?   -Papa

Dear Rosie,

Look what Papa and I found this morning!  That Ralphie is a rascal.  What do you do with a naughty bunny?

- Mimi

Hello, Big Girl Bed.... Adios, Green Binkie!

We have been talking for a while about moving the girls in to the same room. We decided that this would be a good time for Sadie to say goodbye to the beloved green binkie. We planned to take her to Build A Bear and have her exchange her bink for a new friend to sleep with at night. She was totally game. At Thanksgiving, Dave and Gayle graciously gave us the adorable twin beds that Sierra and Caleb had growing up. Rosie picked out sheets for Sadie and her.

We had all of the supplies.

Now, just to execute the plan.

We dragged our feet a bit as life was much easier for all with the green binkie :)

The first night was rough. Sadie mourned bink and it made us sad. 

We are a week in and she's doing well. They girls take a bit longer to settle down at night.... and the dark is filled with lots of giggling... indeed, the greatest sound.

Kisses for the inside of the new friends.

Washed and ready

 Sadie pays the bill with the green bink.

"Oh, man. What did I just do?"

Keep calm and carry on :)

Lights out!

Christmas and Beyond

Here we are, already a week into January. Rosie and I go back to school tomorrow and I'm totally blue. We had an amazing Christmas season with a variety of emotions. There was certainly lots of joy and even some tears.  It was fun to be home together, enjoying the adventures that each day brought. We  found ourselves humbled, blessed and full of gratefulness for love, family, health and the gift of presence and togetherness. We were able to witness the energy and joy of the girls and their cousins and at the same time feel the sadness of aging as we spent time with Great Papa Welch. We felt especially in tuned to the pain of the world during this season and yet felt overjoyed at the birth of Jesus and what that means for us. 

Christmas Eve brought lots of excitement and anticipation for the days ahead. We had dinner with friends at our Pastor's house after the Christmas Eve service. Rosie and Sadie heard Santa's reindeer clip-clopping around on the roof after supper. They were both excited and a little scared- but they took the task of getting right to bed seriously so that Santa could visit our house.  

The girls couldn't cross "the ribbon" until mom and dad were out in the living room.

Santa (and his eight hungry reindeer) indeed visited our home.

After Christmas morning festivities, a cozy fire, Ron's famous homemade bagels and a walk, we headed out to help with a program at our church that provides meals for those in need.

Oh, Lord, why are we given so much when others have so little? 

 30 bag lunches ready to go.

 Next, we were off to Papa and Mimi's to have Christmas dinner and celebrate with the Hunts.

 Papa and Mims made the girls doll beds and quilts to match their big girl beds (stay tuned...coming soon)

They certainly have slowed down in their retirement :)

  On the 27th we headed to Medford, Oregon to see Great Papa Welch. In the past month he has had a series of falls and has been moved from independent living into a dependent living health center. It was incredibly hard to see him age so rapidly. Although he didn't know exactly who were were, he was aware of family and the love that surrounds him. He's still himself- kind, loving and grateful. We love him so much.  Watching people that you love age is an amazing lesson in perspective and priorities. I am experiencing the urgency to slow down, let go of my tight grip and be present. It all goes by too quickly. 

 

In between Papa visits we had fun being together- enjoying the cold weather, celebrating Ron's birthday, ringing in the new year and even taking part in the Hunt family Christmas pud tradition.