Remembering our little angel

One year ago today our precious grandson, Natnael passed away unexpectedly in Ethiopia just four days after meeting his mama Courtney and his papa Paul.

We never got to meet him this side of heaven, but we look forward to seeing this smiling face as we enter heaven.

We may have never met him, but we were waiting for him to join our family.

We had bought fire truck for him, we had bought him his first Packer jersey and Packer cap, we had bought him books that a little boy would enjoy.

We were excited to have a little boy in our family for the first time.

We were shocked and oh, so sad when we got the sad, sad news about his death.

It was so hard to grasp, how could this happen?

But we held tight to one another and to our faith.  We knew God doesn't give us more than we can handle and we know His plan is the best, so we put it all in his hands.

Now, a year later, we have renewed joy in sweet Soliana , who would not have been a part of our family if Natnael had not died.

Not that it makes it any easier, but I can see God's plan unfolding in a wonderful way for Courtney's little family and for all of us.

Natnael touched our lives in a very special way and I am so thankful for  the fact that I have that smiling picture of my grandson to look at and remember a little boy who was loved by so many.

So Natnael, we will never forget you and we will see you again.

One Year Ago Tomorrow

One year ago tomorrow, Jan. 11, 2012

we were at the Milwaukee Airport waiting for Courtney and Paul to return from Ethiopia where they had met their son, Natnael for the first time.

As a side note, little did we know that would be the last time they ever saw him.

We had just spent ten wonderful days with Tizita and it was time to hand her back off to her parents.

Boy, were we ever going to miss her. 

 She was so excited to see her mama and papa and apparently they were pretty happy to see her, too.

She had made each of them some pictures and I am guessing she made that lei for her mama, too.

As I was reading through the blog from that time last year, I was filled with bittersweet memories.

We has so much fun with Tizita and we were so happy that we could function in our working worlds with a five year old in tow.

Of course, all these happy times were cut short with the news of Natnael's unexpected passing just a few short days later, but that deserves its own post in a few days.

Recap of a near perfect weekend

 This past weekend, John and I took the girls to the Appleton Children's Museum.

It was Soli's first trip to this magical place.

I remember the first time that John and I took Tizita when she was just over two years old.

We started our adventure with lunch at Burger King which appears to have been enjoyed by all.

 Soli was so happy the entire day.  We saw this smile all the time.

 We started in the kwik trip at the museum.

Tiz immediately found a friend who helped her run the pizza area of the store.

It seemed that no matter which area we went to, Tiz managed to find a friend to hang out with.

 Here is Tiz flying the plane.

She and her co pilot, a friend she had just made, said we were going to South Korea and Antarctica.

 The art studio is also a popular spot.

Both Tiz and Soli enjoyed painting at the easel.

 Soli is a double fisted painter.

 Being creative at another painting table.

 Soli really liked the water area.

Tizita has never been a fan of the water, but she played in here for a little bit to show Tiz a few of the ropes.

 Firefighter Soli racing to the fire.

 Just before we left the museum after a very fun day.

The Packers played and won their first play off game on Sat night.

Tizita sat with grandpa and watched the game.

Good thing the Packers did so well so there wasn't much frustration on grandpa's part or I am not sure Tiz would have sat there on his lap the whole game.

 After church on Sunday, we took the girls out to enjoy the near perfect winter day.

Both John and I got quite a workout as we pulled them through deep snow.

 We made our way to the sledding hill.  

Both girls went down together a few times although Soli was not a fan.

 Tiz and I made a few runs down the hill.

 We took a few minutes to do some swinging at the park before heading home.

It was a great weekend full of happy times and lots of laughs.

I can't wait until our next adventure will be a road trip to Bloomington in two weeks.

Happy Birthday to my Baby

Thirty three years ago on January 7 at 6:50 AM I had my second and last baby,

Alissa Marie Damman

made her entry into our very snowy, cold world.

She was three weeks late and then when she finally decided to make her entry, she couldn't even wait for a doctor to deliver her.

She was delivered by a nurse

She weighed in at just over 8 lbs and had a full head of hair.

This was Alissa on her baptism day.

And here she is on her first birthday.

Alissa has been a bright spot in our lives since the day she was born.
She has a great sense of humor, an overabundance of sarcasm, and just the right amount of an "I don't care" attitude.
She has been a great daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, wife, and aunt.
She has been a blessing to so many.
I wish she lived closer to us so I could spend more time with her, but I know she is very happy in Bloomington and we always enjoy a road trip to the south.
Today I wish Alissa a very happy day and a year full of dreams come true.

Happy Birthday John!

Happy Birthday to my husband and best friend, John.

Looks like the girls decorated this cake by themselves many years ago.

What doesn't kill us just makes us stronger, right?

Take a moment to reread my posts from January of last year.

I did that this morning and it was so bittersweet.

I loved having Tizita with us for 10 days, what a great way to start out our year.

She was here for John's birthday and then we took our road trip to visit Alissa and Nathan.

Then the sad news and life did not stop.

So, I guess whoever said, "what doesn't kills you only makes you stronger."

Natnael's death did not kill us, but I am not so sure it made us all that much stronger either.

I am thankful that I have a record of the events in this blog because I really don't want to forget any of the emotion connected to any of that sad time.

 

Now on to a different subject.

I wanted to document what we (the six adults) bought the person whose name we had for the gift exchange.

 

 John gave Alissa a beautiful handmade bracelet, two vintage beer glasses, and a pretty flower pin to wear in her hair or on her coat.

John is sporting his shirt from our "ugly" Christmas last year while Alissa is wearing her homemade headband from the same event.

 Paul had my name and gave me a beautiful scarf and a marguarita candle that smells heavenly.  I am wearing my homemade peter pan christmas collar under the scarf and Paul has on his Christmas jingle boxers, but you can't see them on this photo.

 Caped super hero Nathan gave Paul a cribbage board shaped like a guitar.

 I gave Nathan a heather gray polo that he wanted.

He said it was his best cape ever.

 Courtney got this cute skirt and a babysitter club game from her sister.

Courtney, wearing her Santa ear muffs from last year gave her father a vintage liquor case, an expensive cigar, and a homemade moustache mug and coozie.

It was another great fun gift exchange.

It is the third year that we have done this and we all agree it is a fun, meaningful way to do the gifting.

we all put lots of thought into the gift we buy for our recipient.

So, this is the last post about our Christmas.

 

Tomorrow I go back to school after two weeks off.

I miss my kids,

I am ready to go back.

And another year bites the dust

If you have been following my blog for awhile then you know my feelings on New Year's Eve.

If  you don't know how I feel, you might want to go back and read a few of the New Year's posts to find out.

At any rate, I don't care for all the hoopla that is New Year's Eve.

I prefer to roll into the new year as if it is just another day which in actuality it is.

Last night John and I went to see Parental Guidance, a movie which made us laugh and cry.  It was so good because it was about grandparents.  It was a good way to start our evening or end the year whichever way you prefer to look at it.

We came home and had one of Courtney's homemade pizzas left over from Christmas.

That was yummy, too.

We both did our computer thing and I was pleasantly surprised to see how many people chose to spend the last night of 2012 at home on their computers just as if it were a normal night.  Good call people.

We watched a free movie on demand and went to sleep shortly after midnight.

It was a fine night, but there are no resolutions or goals or big dreams or hopes just because it is 2013.

 

If I reflect on last year it had its share of ups and downs.

Courtney and Paul traveled to Ethiopia to meet their son, Natnael.

Tizita spent the first 11 days of 2012 with us.

Then four days upon their return, they receive word that Natnael died and along with his death, the death of our dreams of a son and grandson.

The biggest UP and DOWN that we could have ever experienced.

In Feb. there is a referral for a little girl named Soliana which means sunshine.

In March there is a memorial service for Natnael and an annoucement that Courtney and Paul will be traveling to Ethiopia to meet their daughter.

In April the Van Auken family travels to meet Soli,

On June 29 she comes home.

The biggest UP of the year!

Of course there were all the little ups and downs, too, but these are the big ones.

 

So, if I did the whole in with the new, out with the old, I guess I would be happy to see 2012 go.  I am sure 2013 will be full of blessings and we will again have our ups and downs.

 

We did go to my friend Joan's on saturday night.

Our good friends Doe and John were there, too and we had a great time as usual.

I will end this crazy post with a picture of what the new 60 looks like.

During this year, the three of us will all turn 60

Happy New Year Everyone!