Holiday preparations …

Nana December 1, 2018 0Comments

Dear Guillianna and Eli-

As the weekend gets going we are preparing for the holidays !    We are so excited for you and all the grandchildren since there is a special feeling around the holiday season.    Shopping and getting gifts for friends and family, putting up decorations, holiday music, baking treats, parties and special food we eat only this time of year.    The extra effort to spread kindness and gratitude is a great to experience and we can only imagine how exciting it is for your both.

For today- we wanted to say that we hope you will always remember how important it has been to Nana and Poppy to believe in this holiday spirit.    To spread good deeds, kindness and love.   The magic of Christmas is amazing it makes you feel love even when you may not be here with us – we hope you laugh and sing and dance to extravaganzaglorious  “metaphorically speaking “ all season long and beyond.     Traditionsay be changing for you as you begin to journey though new ones with mom and dad but the feeling in your heart will live if you try to remember, have dreams and hope, love and show love!   It is up to us as a family to try  and keep the memories warm for all the people we are with during the holiday season and everyday  !

Love you to the moon and back ….

FOREVER AND ALWAYS…

XOXOXOXOXOXO

❤️Nana and Poppy❤️?

Thursday… one more week coming to an end…

Nana November 29, 2018 0Comments

Dear Guillianna and Elijah,

Do you remember this chocolate smelling stuffy you got Poppy?    It still smells like chocolate!    He walks by it everyday at his desk and of course thinks it smells delicious but mostly thinks how much he wants to give you both hugs and talk to you for hours just to catch up on all that has been happening in your lives     Playing baseball ⚾️, running, video games,  new interests, school   There are so many possible things to hear about !

Hard to believe Thanksgiving was a week ago isn’t it?   This means you are almost done with another week of school and so much closer to Guillianna’s special day.

Today’s photos are like all the rest we have , super adorable, and super special to us.   Hope you will enjoy them.   I wonder what Guillianna’s birthday party plans are, and what special things you will do this weekend with your friends, and family.    Never forget that photos of birthday number ten will surely get taken and one day even if it is not soon – but one day –  we will see how happy the days events have made you.   As I think of celebrating- I  wonder if I could get a video of your friends here in the Mitten  singing the traditional NDPMA Polish version for you.  Wouldn’t that be fun!   Pretty sure I cannot get that on this short notice, but to be honest I do have a video of it from prior years, and I will definitely work on how I can get your face on the video pixellated so I can post it publicly, or I will certainly enclose it on the private pages for future viewing.

Poppy is doing well, he has a busy morning tomorrow, but then is off for the weekend.   We will take Great Grandma shopping and maybe to a special Christmas event.   I will take some photos for you what ever we do so you can catch up on things in the Mitten.

When the day comes and you’re able to read all of the love letters,  see yourselves in the photos and remember these past days it is hopeful that you will be happy.   You will have grown up with mom and dad loving you more than words could say.   Have a million memories both from the Mitten and all the other places you may or will go as you continue to grow and enjoy life .     People never really leave if you can hold them in your heart.    There will always be question in life, things we can’t easily explain or that are so difficult to understand, but LOVE ❤️ is something you’re both lucky ? to have known your whole lives.     Love from everyone you have ever been near, and has had the wonderful opportunity to know you!  So many people , who love your smiles your laughter and the time spent with you !    The love letters written years ago had so many people in our family  who loved watching you grow and who were dedicated to making sure you felt all the love that these  people in the Mitten had to offer .   They all miss you and are wishing you happiness beyond measure.

The way things are in these recent months is very non traditional and completely unexpected. That is why this is so difficult  for everyone to understand.   It’s certainly not the expected outcome after years of love and every day life as it was to be certain  – and is unimaginable that no one  sees or speaks to either of you.    It is definitely sad that you’ve not been able to be back for a visit yet , and it seems the Army and circumstances  keep families so busy and unable to attach,  and maybe  the “Army life”  makes leaving and not talking  simpler for some, I suppose,  if there were less Mitten connections ?   Yet love, support, familiarity, the role of cousins,  aunts, uncles,  school friends as pen pals even , great grandparents, or grand parents cannot be worthless in the life of a child  …. and THAT is why we write.   Writing now, does not  interfere with the journey you are both upon, but will provide you the knowledge of how important you truly are to us – to others – to friends and family in the Mitten !   These letters allow us to share with you  so much gratitude for our special years and hope you and your parents too will feel loved today and always !

We truly saw the effect childhood trauma,  issues of abandonment and loss have had in our own  lifetimes  and we have been counseled on how any steps we take to make certain you never could  believe we would leave your side as grandparents is  so important.    What is the fact is we are and always will be your grandparents!  All of the people in the Mitten love you with all their hearts and only want your happiness.  They want to share in your lives.    There are so many reasons to support these relationships and we hope  the  relationship between grandparent and grandchild is one that we all could feel grateful for, to value and to nurture.    Our  physical disappearance, for nearly 12 months now or for how ever long into the future this continues,  is going to be a huge issue to resolve in your own minds at some point-  after all, what possible reason has been given for why after so many years suddenly to not be calling or FaceTime us as you were promised you could, that we have not visited and you never came to visit here or get any of your things.     There is no truthful, rational  or legitimate explanation for withholding love and friendship from children with so many firm foundational roots interwoven through the past nine and six years. Because of that fact, because of the fear,  of “what” could have ever  possibly made anyone go from loving the way you both did-  your Nana and Poppy,  to what we are currently hearing ?   Oh my goodness- it is just so unimaginable,  It’s beyond anything  either of us, as grown adults,  can understand-  so we can only imagine what will happen to the development of your own youthful emotional lives.

The only offering we have today and until the day your old enough to understand the dedication in our hearts to you both …. is a promise.   NOTHING  will change our love for you.   Nothing.

LOVE YOU BOTH TO THE MOON AND BACK, forever thankful for you both, forever and for always❤️ ,

XOXOXOXOXOXO

❤️Nana and Poppy❤️?

Cousin Bash is shopping…

Nana November 28, 2018 0Comments

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Dear Guillianna and Elijah:

We figured you would really enjoy seeing your cousin getting ready for Christmas!  So cute, right?  Actually this photo was taken for Christmas by Carlos 2, and yes it is a real tree on top of the car!  He is getting so big isn’t he?   It’s so hard to believe time is going by so fast.

I know you must miss him so much.   The two of you truly are good cousins to he and all of your cousins !  We know you must think about them all.   Just like we think about you two.   There have been a lot of changes for the two of you, and good things are hopefully happening for both of you.

Things generally in the Mitten are pretty much the same, and it is our hope,  or our true Christmas wish that your family will get to come visit.    We say that as a dream or our hope, since in reality I am sure you all have plans already, and like with Thanksgiving you may be making all kinds of new happy memories.  It will surely be a very different Christmas this year for everyone.   What matters most is that you are all healthy, happy and that you know you are loved so much.   We hope you will have gingerbread houses to build, elves, visits with Santa,  cookies to bake , stockings to hang and packages under the tree Christmas morning.   But before all of that, it is a very big day on Tuesday.

One week away, the oldest grandchild of ours turns TEN years old! We wonder how it is leaving behind the single digits and approaching 10.  Wishing I could make another cake like this one for you.  Do you think that a ten-year old thinks different from when  they were 3, 6, or 8 years old?  We hope that as you grow older, you learn more and are able fully understand the love Poppy and I have for our entire family. As you grow, and change,  it’s our hope that some details about you, like your personalities , in particular, the kindness and compassion within you –  won’t change.   As both of you get bigger we know you will also grow emotionally and learn so many things, most importantly we always hope you stay happy, be as kind and thoughtful as you always have been.  That you stay respectful of parents, teachers and others  in your lives.   Helpful, and enjoying life as you always did when you were with us.   One day we hope you will be able to tell us all about it, or if you’re so much older that you can’t remember your tenth birthday  – we will hope you will have photos of it, just as we hope there are photos of Eli’s birthday from this past September.    The good thing about photos, is that no matter when it is that we are able to see you both again, the photos are an image that remains for the rest of  time,  to help us all remember our “history”…. and to see everything and cherish the times of your lives,  as we all grow older.   Photos capture moment and can bring us all closer.  So do not worry, no matter what, we can hope to one day catch up on all of these things in this part of your life journey.   We will always keep on loving you, wishing you happiness always and we will be patient until that day comes.  Yes, we are always going to be your Grandparents, and we will always love you.   We don’t have all the answers about when  or if we will get to hug you again, or make you feel the joy you’ve always known around us,  or talk to you again, but we certainly can promise you that our love is true.  It is honest and  it is unchanging!  Our love, all of the fun and wonderful memories, will live inside you for your entire lives.  The pages of this site, will forever live and hold part of your history. They tell your story and there are pages that will tell the story of our lives, how it all began so long ago.  The story of a true love, and dedication, and how important it is for you to always look for truth.   Our wish, will always be,  that you have peace and happiness when you think of the Mitten, that any somehow, any potential issues, from the drastic, dramatic and sudden loss you’ve experienced will be softened with the warm memories and smiling faces that adorn these love letters.  The dream is that we can see you , and the hope is  we can see you soon.   Of course, we are always hopeful that we can be invited to your birthdays, to your school events, your sporting events,  or to weekend brunch, and a million other things.

I know that images keep popping up on our phones, from great memories and is these images that inspires the love letters we write today.  We have sent the special boxes for your special day, celebrating your birth, the day we became NANA AND POPPY and want very much for you to enjoy them.

Birthday gifts for Guillianna and a “little brother” gift for Elijah went out UPS so that in time for the big day, just like when we sent Elijah’s birthday gifts in September, and a “big sister” gift for Guillianna, you will smile again.

We hope you have had a great Wednesday, that you enjoyed seeing the Christmas tree shopping photo, and a few of the other old memories with us in the Mitten.

Love you both to the moon and back, forever and for always,

XOXOXOXOXOXO

❤️Nana and Poppy❤️?

Singing Christmas Carols…

Nana November 27, 2018 0Comments

Dear Guillianna and Elijah:

Today on my phone came up the photos of this time a year ago, and this time two years ago, and it goes on for so many years.   The first photo needs no explanation – and is a memory from last year.   Hope all has improved and know we hope you are both healthy and happy.   So many memories and they are so special to us.    The time we shared is so wonderful and such a big part of who you both are and who we are!    Always use these memories to feel brave, strong and happy as you grow bigger and find your way through all the things you face in life.    Love is the focal point of all things good, and love is the two of you, your family, our entire family.    No matter how confusing it all seems-  LOVE IS AND ALWAYS will win, it WAS our BEGINNING AND WILL STAY INSIDE OUR HEARTS FOREVER, no matter what decisions are made by any of our children, or our grandchildren,  our love for all of them,  is at it’s  beginning .  We hope that by choosing kindness and love, memories of laughter and the real joy that was always present,  in your lives in the Mitten, and hoping that if anyone should ever feel sad when they aren’t able to see us, or when we are sad we haven’t seen you,  that we find a way to focus on the good.   We can always hope life will be happy and exciting for you both everyday.    There are videos and photos of you both singing Christmas carols for all of Great Grandma Sally’s friends.  Christmas concerts and so much more!

Ms. Hall would have been so proud,  I know it was absolutely beautiful to watch you two, together singing and showing kindness to the people who smiled and enjoyed it beyond words.  Again , for now I don’t want to upload the videos on the public site and I am having some slight  technical difficulty with a pixellated version  of the videos.  So I will ensure they are uploaded to the private site for you.  Good news, Aunt KiKi is going to visit us and she will deliver the special birthday packages so that we dont have to worry they will get lost or be left on a doorstep.  So nice of her.

We want you to know that every day you enjoy yourselves, and smile,  makes our heart happy.  Every day you give your best effort at school, we are so happy.   We feel so grateful for the days weeks months years we spent and look forward to a day where we can hear all about the amazing journey you have been having.

Love you to the moon and back,

forever and for always,

XOXOXOXOXOXO

❤️Nana and Poppy❤️?