Sleep Tight, Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite.

Dear Grandma,
You have been and always will be SO loved by everyone who knew you. Saying goodbye to you is not an easy thing to do but imagining you in a peaceful place, playing cards with Grandpa, gossiping over coffee with Lilly Albers, and laughing your hearty laugh brings a smile to my face. You have lived an amazingly long and extraordinary life, Grandma.

I’m saying goodbye to you in a letter because I couldn't be there in person to give you a final hug and kiss, but I know you understand. You have always been supportive of those you love and never judgmental about anyone’s choices. Your hugs and smiles showed all of us how to love unconditionally. Your eight children, 32 grandchildren and who-knows-how-many great grandchildren have an incredible legacy leading the way through our lives.

Little Josie, appropriately named Josephine in your honor, will hear endless stories about her great-grandma! She is a cat lover like you, loves to laugh from her belly like you and already draws in friends with her jovial personality, just like you. When I think of your life on the farm and how hard you have always worked I am in awe of how you always had time for the little things that proved to be life lessons for me.

Grandpa didn’t like the sparrows living in his martin house so he would have a regular “nest cleaning” and tossed the baby sparrows to the side of the lane to die. Being young and naïve and not understanding how the sparrows could harm his crops, I gathered up the baby birds and brought them to you so you could save them. I can still smell the lard crinkling in the skillet as you tried to prepare dinner, see the dishes stacked by the sink waiting to be washed, and vegetables waiting to be cleaned for canning and yet you would stop everything to help me make a warm, homemade nest for the pesky baby sparrows and then you’d show me how to drop water in their mouths. All the while, you knew those sparrows would die and our efforts to save them would be wasted but you showed me that taking the time to heal my broken heart was more important than the chores you needed to finish. I hope that I remember those lessons all of Josie’s life and I hope I model that compassion for her daily.

Some of my favorite memories are the times when I got to spend vacations with you on the farm. You completely indulged your grandchildren by allowing us to sleep in late, run and play when there was plenty of work to do, feeding us our favorite cinnamon rolls, homemade French fries, Big Red floats, and the best apple or cherry pies in the world! Each night after we played hard and ate ourselves silly, you would help us get ready for bed and rub our backs and listen to us tell you about our adventures with the happiest grin on your face! We would then beg to play cards with you and Grandpa and you would play whatever kind of cards we were old enough to understand: Crazy Eights, Spoons, Kings in the Corner, Gin Rummy, Euchre, or maybe even Pinochle. As we got older we tried to slam our cards on the table as hard as Grandpa could just to see you smile. Whenever you thought Grandpa was being too competitive, you’d give him the old, “Awk, come on now, Daddy.” I’d give anything to sit at that table with you and Grandpa and play one more hand of cards.

These last few years of watching your mind and body slip away have been difficult for those who love you. Seeing you trapped in a body that wouldn’t let you laugh or hug us has been uncomfortable for us. We could see that glimmer of a smile and we have wondered if you knew we were with you. You still managed to giggle now and then and you would look into our eyes and give us some hope that you might understand what we wanted to share with you but we always left feeling sad that your mind and body weren’t free to communicate with us. Your words have sustained me for the last several years and will help me through this final goodbye on Earth.

Shortly before you had to go live in the nursing home to receive the care you needed, I was lucky enough to help you pick and pit cherries one last time. I called you from Columbus to tell you I was on my way and you sounded upbeat and happy that I was going to spend a few days with you. When I arrived, you were busy pitting cherries at the kitchen table and looked up at me as if you were confused about my being there. After saying hello and giving you a hug, I could tell that you still weren’t sure who I was. I sat with you and held your hands and said, “Grandma, I’m Lori. I called you this morning from Columbus to tell you I was on my way to help with cherries, remember?” You squeezed my hands and put your arms around me to give me a big hug but you had a sad look on your face. When you finished hugging me tight, you put your hands on my cheeks and looked right into my eyes and said, “Honey, I might not always know who you are, but I will always love you.” I hear your voice in my head and I know that you still love each one of us. You knew just what to say to help me get through those years of seeing you drift away from all of us.

I'd like to believe that your body is now free and your mind alert. I envision you as our guardian angel, looking out for each one of us. As Josie grows up and hears stories about her great-grandma, Josephine, I know she will feel proud to carry your name. She is a lucky little girl to have pieces of your personality growing inside of her!

Grandma, I can hear you laughing and I can feel the warmth of your hug and the gentle scratch of your fingers on my back. You have had a wonderful life and you have shown your family so much love and compassion that I hope will continue to grow and expand in each of our families. I am so lucky to call you my Grandma and to have so many memories of you stored in my mind.

Sleep Tight. Don’t let the bed-bugs bite.

Love You, Lori

Josephine: A Short Biograhpy

Josephine's First Communion at about 6 or 7 years old

My maternal grandmother, Josephine, was born on Christmas Day, 1908. She would have turned 100 years old this week and naturally, I can't celebrate Christmas without remembering my grandma.

We've all debated whether or not Christmas is truly the day Grandma was born or if the orphanage in NYC or Immigration Officials at Ellis Island simply assigned this date as her approximate birth. We do know that she was born on a ship that set sail from Italy and was born sometime during the journey to the U.S. After arriving in NYC, she was placed in an orphanage, and according to the stories told by my aunts & uncles, she lived there because her birth parents couldn't afford to care for her. My grandmother never talked with me about her early memories and I'm not sure if she simply didn't have memories of that time or if she chose to live in the present (which would have been typical of my grandmother).

When Josephine was about 3 years old, she was put on a train during the Orphan Train movement and headed toward the midwest farming communities. PBS has a short but informative piece about the Orphan Trains, which was designed to help provide homes & families for the numerous orphans in NYC, but also meant to help farming families with the great task/labor of running their small farms. The PBS program shares some of the positive and negative aspects of the Orphan Train program but I'd give anything to know what it was like from my grandmother's perspective.

Josephine shortly after her adoption, approximately 1911

Grandma rode the train all the way to Ohio, although I'm not sure which depot was her final destination. She was adopted by a German Catholic couple who were unable to have their own children and they took her back to their farm in Coldwater, Ohio. She lived in the same farm house the rest of her life, caring for the livestock, working in the fields, cooking for farm workers, raising her eight children (one set of twins), and creating a huge legacy alongside her husband, Raymond. Stories about my great-grandfather make him sound like a very controlling & abusive man so I can only imagine what it was like for my grandmother as she was growing up with such a mean-spirited father. I have to assume that someone showed her love and compassion because that is all she had to share with her children and grandchildren.

Josephine taken before she was married, in about 1930

I have a storehouse full of memories of my grandmother and grandfather and all of them make me smile & laugh. They are typical of the generation that lived through the Great Depression & World War II---saving every penny in a safe at home, living off their land, recycling & reusing everything. (When they moved out of their farmhouse into a nursing home facility, we all had a sentimental journey as we sorted through the saved plastic bread bags, twist ties, flattened-out-but-used tinfoil, and the jars & jars of homemade canned goods down in the cellar.) They certainly never had much in the way of monetary wealth or financial value but for me, they led the kind of life that I hold dear. I strive to be like them: loving one another through good/bad, sharing the little they did have with anyone in need, feeling a sense of pride about a good day's work, appreciating friends and family & always having time for a good game of cards.

Josephine & Ray's Wedding Photo, June 1933

My grandma came to this world with very little---abandoned at birth and raised as an only child. She never complained and always had hugs to share, led us in laughter, and made sure we knew that she loved each one of us. And she had a lot of us to love. When she died four years ago, about 3 weeks shy of her 96th birthday, she had 8 children, 32 grandchildren & 66 great-grandchildren. For a woman who came with nothing she certainly has impacted this world with the brood of family she's left behind. Her gifts of unconditional love and compassion are guiding forces for all of us.

It's with honor and respect that my daughter was named after my grandmother. My grandma met Josie twice before she died. My mom wasn't sure if Grandma understood that Josie was her namesake & great-grandchild but the love in her eyes has me convinced that she somehow understood. My grandmother 'left us' long before she died, due to the horrible progression of Alzheimer's. In some ways, I've felt that we all needed to let go of her slowly so maybe the disease helped us all grieve & accept that we couldn't keep her forever.

I was unable to attend my grandmother's funeral when she died in 2004 (something I'll always regret because I needed to have that closure) but I did write a letter to my grandma and emailed it to my brother so that he could include it in her casket as a way of saying goodbye. I intend to post it on my blog as a tribute to Grandma on what would have been her 100th birthday in just a few days. We were all so sure she'd live to be 100---her strength, quiet wisdom, and unending love were larger than life for all of us who knew her.

Dad...does THIS entice you to move here?

A brief review:

Josie and I planted our Winter Garden seeds on September 1:




Tonight as I was preparing our dinner of grilled chicken, fresh cranberries & red skinned potatoes Josie informed me that she really wanted a salad with her dinner. We both love our greens so I normally keep a bag of lettuce on hand to easily prepare a quick salad. I grabbed the bag that I knew was in our crisper but could quickly see that it had been in our refrigerator a bit too long. I tossed it in the green bin and told Josie we'd have to do without a salad tonight. The disappointment on her face reminded me that our lettuce had been looking tasty in the garden so I ran outside in the rare Fresno hail storm and cut our first lettuce.


Luckily, our (store bought) cucumbers & tomatoes were still fresh and Josie was happy to help me wash the lettuce and tear it for our salad. (Next year I hope to grow some winter tomatoes & cucumbers, as I've heard it's possible in Fresno!)


Unfortunately, Josie's taste buds have grown accustomed to store bought lettuce so the flavors from our fresh, crunchy romaine & radicchio lettuces were a little much for her. She made a disgusting face and spit it into her napkin while declaring, "This lettuce is too spicy!"




Hopefully we'll be able to re-train her taste buds soon so that she can enjoy our winter garden as much as the rest of us!

Fresh lettuce from our backyard garden in December?! Sure beats the cold temps in the teens that you've been 'enjoying', don't you think, Dad?

Thanksgiving Traditions

I love Thanksgiving! It's always been my favorite holiday---filled with memories of large family gatherings at my grandparent's farm or an aunt or uncle's house. Coming from a large extended family where I'm one of 32 grandchildren on my mom's side and one of 19 grandchilden on my dad's side, there was always excitement surrounding the holidays or any family gathering, for that matter.

I looked forward to them as a child, took them for granted as an adolescent, and enjoyed the reconnecting as a 20-something. My friends always enjoyed hearing the stories and just couldn't imagine what those large gatherings entailed. Almost always, there were trips to the Emergency Room, teasing & taunting among the cousins, chasing cows down the lane to creek, tying someone to a tree/post/tractor, loud euchre card games between the aunts/uncles, pipe smoking by Grandpa, way too much food & bottled sodas, games of Kick the Can, hay forts, Ouji Board frights, fighting over who would get to sit on furniture and who would plop down on the laminate-tiled floor, living room tag in the snow/rain, and most certainly...laughter---and a lot of it!

As we got older, Thanksgiving rotated between aunts & uncles homes and that always meant sleepovers. Who doesn't love sleepovers with their cousins? Again...fighting over beds, best positioning of the sleeping bags, who would get a pillow and who would suffer without, laughing and giggling until the wee hours and knowing that no one cared because there were serious card games going on that no child could interrupt. I remember waking in the middle of the night to raid the olive jars (and later to steal the beer or sample Grandpa's homemade cherry wine) and then playing 'stupid' when an aunt would wonder why we had no olives (or beer or cherry wine)for dinner on Thanksgiving afternoon. Grandma's homemade cinnamon rolls or donuts for breakfast, jello salads, & staying in our pajamas until we were forced to 'go outside and get some fresh air'.I'll forever miss seeing the back sides of all of my aunts fighting for counter space as they cleaned up the dinner mess---little did they know that there were a couple of cousins hiding under the large kitchen table listening to the chatter & gossip.

I am so thankful for the large extended family that continues to sustain us and to remind me of the most important gifts: spending time with those we love. Those memories have helped me to create the loving & playful traditions that I share with Josie and our friends in Fresno.

Now that I'm living across the country from my large extended family, I still have that nostalgic feeling about Thanksgiving. I still love it and while I'll never re-create that crowd or be able to reproduce those menus, I watched as my daughter soaked up and savored every moment of our Thanksgiving today. I joyfully realized that she's making some of her own favorite memories. She, too, was looking forward to Thanksgiving and made a list of the people she knew would gather at our house. She knew there'd be that "old dead turkey" to eat, that Paige, Brian & Marsha would come with food, and she knew there'd be games to play and lots of giggling to do. She was thrilled to have both of her parents together for Thanksgiving this year and we all delighted in her energy and excitement.

Josie spent all day giggling and when I was cleaning up in the kitchen she hurried in quickly, grabbed my legs and said, "I have to tell you something, Mommy!" When I leaned down for the inevitable whisper, she pressed her nose to my nose, gave me a big hug and said, "I love Thanksgiving!" She ran out as quickly as a flash (I suppose to make sure she didn't miss out on any opportunities to laugh?) but it left me feeling so proud of the traditions we've created.

I wonder which memories Josie will share some day?

(Finger nail painting, Parcheesi, I Spy, gummy bear cake, Guessture tournaments, passing flatus, 'old dead turkeys', Tripoli, poker, being with people who love her?)

Cleaning Closets

Well...I did it.

I finished cleaning out my closets---a chore I've been dreading for some time. I do this a few times each year but yesterday I was in the mood to purge. I finally got rid of some things that I was hanging on to 'just in case'.

I've lived in Fresno for seven years---in many ways it's flown by and in some ways I feel like a newbie to the area and to this life. I guess I shouldn't be surprised since I spent most of my adult life in Columbus, surrounded by family, friends, places & memories that I created over a 25 year span. When I think of it that way, maybe I've done a pretty good job of settling in, as much as I have, to this life in Fresno. I still remember the first time I flew to Fresno after a visit in Ohio and actually felt like I was returning to 'my home'. This is Josie's home and therefore, it is my home.

So, yesterday I finally got rid of my winter coat, shoe & boot, and sweater collections. I almost took photos of the items before I put them into donation bags, knowing that most of my current colleagues would never believe me if I told them about my heels, sandals, pumps & various colors of each type of shoe. (In all, I tossed 32 shoe/boot boxes!!) I looked over each pair carefully and could think of stories & events that occured while wearing those shoes. I tried on a few and wondered how I had ever fit my foot in the shoe, much less wore them for a full day of teaching or a night out. The skirts/dresses are long gone so it was time to say good-bye to those shoes. Wish I could trade them in for a nice comfy pair of Born's, sneakers, Crocs, or Birks.

I had a coat fetish when I was single, working full time, and had a budget that included personal clothing items. I had all types of winter coats & jackets of various styles, colors & lengths. Let's face it...NOT necessary in Fresno. I figure there are Tent City people and other economically challenged thrift shoppers that'll benefit from my newly donated coat collection, not to mention the sweaters that I finally purged.

In the process of cleaning closets I also came upon some sentimental items that I spent time enjoying as I wiped tears of sadness & joy from my eyes. I saved those pieces, thinking that Josie will someday appreciate them and hoping that I can share stories with her about those special family members and friends---people who don't even know of her existence, and yet they have had a profound impact on our lives.

I'm not sure if the purging means I've made room for more memories & things, or if I'm still in a transition phase of becoming myself. I realized I'm not the same person I was 7 or 8 years ago when I lived in Ohio, in that other life that didn't include fog, part time work, being divorced or being a single 'Mom' to Josie. I left behind parts of myself to make room for new, and while I miss those 'purged parts', I'm beginning, once again, to make room for different/new experiences. I still have no idea what that means, exactly, but at least I'm making room.

Experts say that it takes a minimum of 3 years to truly grieve for things we've lost. I'm probably a little slow (or maybe I've had some distractions) but this month is an anniversary of sorts for me. Four years ago this month Ray moved out, my first rescued dog, Morgan, had to be put down due to cancer, my loving & generous grandmother (Josie's namesake) died at the young age of 95, and I was still recovering from my first round of radiation treatment for thyroid cancer & a miscarriage. Pretty big list of things to grieve but here I am four years later finding that "life is about change and change is good."

Cleaning closets is challenging work!

The famous Tooth Bag!

"The Tooth Fairy" By Josie

It's official...Josie lost that first wiggly tooth and I'm well aware that this is a yet another sign that I'm old.

We had to run across the street to show Ben, Abby, Michele & Bob immediately because she knew they would want to see her new smile.

"She's about this small," she says as she holds up her thumb and forefinger to about two inches tall. When Bob tried to translate that to "If she's only this big, how can she carry a quarter?" Josie quickly corrected him, "She's not 'this big', she's 'this small. Geez..."

Before going to bed I heard a much more detailed description:

"She's just beautiful, you know. She has the prettiest fairy clothes and she has peach skin and these teeny tiny slippers that have little bitty ribbons but not the bumpy kind, the shiny kind. She has long long hair but you can't see it all because she wears a pony tail so the hair doesn't blow in her face when she flies. She flies fast, you know. I have to be careful not to squish her when she gives me my quarter. She is really strong because she can carry quarters without dropping them. I think she's going to show my tooth to all of her fairy friends and it will live in the forest and they will climb on my tooth like it's a rock in Oh-semitee. They like to have lots of rocks to climb so they take everyone's tooths when they come out."

Ben told her it's pretty small so it's probably worth about twenty five cents and Josie agreed that sounds about right. She held onto it all night and carefully put it under her pillow. She wanted to skip dinner but I told her the Tooth Fairy might be scared away by her growling belly if she didn't eat. She quickly scarfed down her dinner and couldn't wait to get in bed tonight.

These simple milestones seem so incredible to me. I love the delight and wonder I see in her eyes as she uses her imagination to try to create an image of the Tooth Fairy. I want to hold on to these magical moments forever.

The Gardener

I've been informed (by The Gardener) that I didn't show enough pictures of my Gardener helping me with our treasure. And truly, she IS my favorite part of the entire process so she should be center stage!

This afternoon she told me that plants like to hear singing and watch some dancing so she provided the free therapy session:

Winter Garden Diary

1 September: Seeds Sown


5 September: Sprouts!


2 October: (most) Seeds Flourishing


19 October: Transplant Starter Plants to the Ground (Nail biting worry: will they make it?)


26 October: One Week's Progress in the Ground (so far, so good!)


1 November: Looking Healthy 61 Days Post Seed Sowing!




Clearly, Josie's seeing signs of Fall in Fresno:
"Look, Mom! Our oranges are orangin' up!"

Halloween: Pumpkin Patch & Trick or Treat

Josie's class went to the Cobb Pumpkin Patch for Halloween and her dad was able to go along. He was in charge of Josie & Grace and it seems the girls kept him on his toes.



Josie's class seemed to have a great time, even if it did turn chilly this week.


No more kitties, no more brides...we've moved on to cheerleader this year. Oh my.

"Ewwwwwww!"

Pumpkin Carving, Josie Style:

Josie thoroughly enjoyed drawing the face on the pumpkin, helping light the candle, and blow it out at the end of the evening. Here's the part she didn't like:

Fiftieth Day of School

Normally, I'm pretty excited to have the school year under way and routines established in my classroom. This year, things seem to be flying by at top speed and I'm stunned that we are already into the 2nd quarter of the school year. Conferences will exhaust everyone this week but it will also be nice to meet all of our parents for some 1:1 conversations to let them hear how their children are doing in school.

Still, in the back of my mind I know/hope that this will be my last year of job sharing and working part time---financially, it's time. I'm enjoying having the opportunity to help in Josie's classroom and to get to know her classmates and delight in her excitement. Next year I won't have those opportunities if I'm finally working full time and teaching my own class.

So, this week when Josie celebrated her Fiftieth Day of School followed by her first loose tooth, I started to feel sad that time is slipping by too quickly. Whatever next year brings, I hope that Josie will have as much fun as she's having this year and remains enchanted by her teacher, classmates, and school.

Here are some photos from Josie's Sock Hop this week:

First Wiggly Tooth

Josie's been very happy for the few friends who have had wiggly teeth recently. She's heard stories of putting teeth under your pillow at night to find "shiny huge quarters" in the morning. She's been imagining loose teeth in her mouth for weeks but for the first time, she finally has a LEGITIMATE loose tooth! She squealed with delight after brushing her teeth on Thursday when she discovered that she could wiggle that little tooth with her finger. She ran to tell Marilyn, who was staying with us, and then had to call her daddy on the phone to share the excitement with him, too.

Once again, my video skills are worse than poor, but this is still a keeper clip:



Shortly after making the video, Josie began to wonder what it might feel like if she lost a tooth. She burst into tears and was inconsolable at the thought of a tooth falling out of her mouth. She pretty much cried herself to sleep even with all of my reassurance that it really won't hurt and it probably won't even bleed.

Fortunately, when she woke up Friday morning, the excitement had returned and she quickly looked under her pillow to see if the Tooth Fairy had delivered any of those "shiny huge quarters". I explained that she'd actually have to lose the tooth before the Tooth Fairy would visit. Stay tuned...hoping to get some photos of a gap-toothed Josie grin in the next few weeks!

Real Life Consequences

If you choose to send an email that bashes the presidential candidate that I admire without checking the facts, you will get a response from me.



If I sit at the computer typing my response and supporting it with examples and research, then Josie will have some free time on her hands.



If Josie gets 100's of Halloween stickers from her Grandma in the mail AND has free time on her hands while her mom is distracted at the computer, there will be stickers haphazardly placed.



If the large picture windows in the living room are available and already sporting Halloween decorations, they will acquire some haphazardly placed Halloween stickers.

If you're still paying off the large picture windows and don't want to view Halloween stickers for the next few decades, you will spend almost an hour picking stickers off the windows.

If you love your daughter and think she's pretty clever, you'll sweetly tell her that stickers should ONLY be placed on paper.

If you realize that there's humor in the morning's events, you'll take the time to capture it on film and write a blog about it.

Life does have Natural Consequences.

"Kinder" Wisdom

I'm realizing how quickly Josie is making connections to this new world of Kindergarten. She LOVES school and wishes she could erase Saturday & Sunday from the calendar so that she could spend all of her days with her beloved Mrs. Rodgers & friends. She is having the PERFECT first school experience, thanks to an amazing teacher. She's like a sponge soaking up all of the experiences and using the knowledge to help her world make sense.

Here are some samples of this week's Wisdom:

She woke up in the middle of the night Monday and told me that her throat had spider webs in it. When I offered a drink of water she quickly replied, "No, Mommy, it will just get stuck on those spider webs anyway. Maybe if I cough I can make them come out of my throat?"

On the way to school on Tuesday we were talking about eating healthy snacks and getting enough exercise to keep our bodies healthy. I told her I want to start walking more to help me lose weight and feel stronger. She offered this advice, "Yeah, I think if you would just eat some really teeny tiny food it would just make your stomach get smaller and smaller and it will shrink away." When I asked what kind of 'smaller food' she'd suggest she wrinkled her brow, pursed her lips, and looked out the window thoughtfully for a few minutes.

She finally answered, "Maybe you could eat a pea for dinner."

Josie obviously loves being a helper in the classroom. This week she has the stately job of
Chair Stacker. She gets to pick two helpers each day to assist with stacking the kindergarten chairs. Each morning on the way to school we've had to discuss WHO she will pick as her helpers for the day. This morning she realized that she will not be able to pick all of her classmates by the end of the week. This was pretty troubling for such a kind-hearted princess. Finally she said, "It will be okay. I like all of the kids in my class and they know it even if I can't let them all be my helpers."

We now have "jobs" at our house, too:

• Light Monitor~turns on/off the Halloween lights
• Mommy Helper~delivers important things to the mailbox or neighbors
• Weather Person~runs outside to see if we need jackets
• Dog Feeder~dumps dog food in bowls for Bentley & Casey
• Mommy Snuggler~cuddles her mom and helps her turn the pages of the bedtime books

I wonder how long before she realizes that these jobs won't be rotating?

Josie's Top Ten: Ways to Procrastinate Bed Time

10. "I forgot to say Goodnight to Bentley." (after ignoring him all evening)

9. "Look what I can do with my tongue." (stick it out?---Wow, that's talent.)

8. "I have to go to the bathroom one more time." (Please do.)

7. "I'm feeling lonely. I should call my daddy and tell him about my day."

6. "Let me tell you what I want to eat for my snack tomorrow."

5. "I picked a really long book. Let me find a shorter one with more pictures." (who cares if it takes 10 more minutes to find the perfect book)

4. "Did we feed the turtles today?" (right before you decided to say goodnight to Bentley)

3. "I have to go to the bathroom one more time." (yeah...right! How small is your bladder?)

2. "My eyelashes just don't want to close tonight." (good one!)

And the Number One Reason for Procrastinating Going to Bed:

1. "I need one more kiss & a snuggle and then I can fall asleep, Mommy."

For Maya & Sage From Josie

My dad bought me some new markers and the first picture I made is for Maya & Sage. That's the sun and the blue sky. And that's my mom, Gudrun, Maya, Sage, me, my dad & David. We are walking in the grass.

I tried to play Fairies with Bentley but he's not good at it.

My mom didn't do a good job with the lighting for this video but you can hear me sing my favorite, "Yellow Song."

I miss you, Maya & Sage!

See you in about 112 sleeps.

Love, Josie