Grandma Cris

Hi.

Before jumping into the crux of my letter, a few things:

First, I had the wonderful opportunity to babysit my precious niece last week, guys.  I don't know about her, but I had a blast.  Although watching her play in her Jenny Jump Up and making her laugh was fun, the best part was snuggling as I rocked her to sleep.  So sweet.

Then, thanks to hunting season, Jered and I were able to spend a three day weekend at my parents'.  It's amazing the difference one extra day can make- I felt better rested, and we were able to do so much more.

Anyway, I mentioned last time that I was going to try to do a mini series of letters similar to the ones I wrote about Mom and Dad.  I would have liked to have finished this by the time November is over, but now that that's only a week away, it's seeming a bit unattainable.  So, hopefully by Christmas, you will be able to read a letter about each of my grandparents.

I'm thinking the format won't necessarily be the same each time.  My goal is just to tell you a little about some of the people who have greatly shaped my life.

I sometimes forget how blessed I've been to have six grandparents that I'm close to.  I think Jered only knew two of his grandparents, and he's never really been that close to them.  I know other people who never really knew any of their grandparents.  I'm so thankful that this is a foreign concept to me.

So, to get to the point, I've already told you about my wonderful Grandpa Bill, and now, in no particular order, I am going to tell you about my five other grandparents.

Today, let me tell you about Grandma Cris.

In case you don't know, Grandma Cris is my dad's mom.  She's a Watson, which means she's got an ornery side to her.

Some of my earliest memories with Grandma Cris include eating mint chocolate chip ice cream in their Ohio apartment, watching figure skating there, wearing matching Christmas outfits with all of my cousins that she sewed, learning that butter is the best frosting for homemade spice breads, watching and smelling her make her fake nails, learning to ski on the bunny slope, not being allowed to touch windows, and doing chores.

Doing chores?  Yes, when we spent the night at The Farm (Grandma and Grandpa's house) we would receive a list of chores that we had to finish before we could play for the day.  They were always simple, but they helped teach us that work will be expected from us in order to do what we want.  We also weren't allowed to come downstairs from our rooms before we were dressed, brushed our teeth, and made our beds to Grandma's high standards.  (No wrinkles on that bottom sheet!)

One of the highlights of spending the nights at The Farm: Grandma's waffles and bacon.  And probably grapefruit since it's Grandma that I remember teaching me how to eat it.

Grandma has that wonderful hoarse laugh that my dad has.  I can't help laughing when she starts laughing so hard that no sound comes out.  She tries to talk, but can't get anything out.  Watching her laugh that hard is one of the happiest things in the world.

She loves games.  I remember playing board games on New Year's Eve one year when all of us grandkids spent the night at The Farm.  And when it snowed?  And we went outside to play Fox and Goose? (A form of tag, in case you haven't been blessed to play it yet)  Grandma was right out there playing with us, even though it resulted in a broken toe.

She is also a ruthless, blood thirsty card player.  This is most enjoyable if she's on your team (as she was last night).  Then you get to enjoy when she sarcastically says, "Oh, that's too bad!" to whomever doesn't have a card good enough to beat her.

Grandma is stylish.  Every week at church, Grandma had on crazy high heels with the pointed toes- I never understood how she walked in them.  She also has a variety of gorgeous fur coats and bling.  She rocks the casual look too.  This weekend, I saw one of her flannel shirts hanging up, and thought, "That is an awesome flannel."

When I think about gifts from Grandma, my mind immediately jumps to blankets.  I still have my baby blanket that she made me.  It goes on every major trip with me, and it is still located right next to my bed in case I need to snuggle with it again.  It has been washed so many times that the fabrics used to make it (from some of Mom's maternity dresses) are faded, and some of the embroidered animals are hard to see now.  But it is soft and cool, and one of my greatest treasures.  I also have a large flannel blanket and a beautiful, heavy, soft, loopy afghan that I adore.

One of my favorite things that Grandma gave me is a book.  It's a book specifically for granddaughters from grandmothers, and it's sort of a journal.  It has writing prompts about what life was like when your grandma was growing up and that kind of thing.  I read it all the way to Florida once.  Learning about my grandma's life when she was my age and younger helps me appreciate all that she is even more.

I also like that she gave me ridiculously long toes and fingers. And a love for soaking up the sun.

Grandma Cris has always been good at challenging me to be better.  I think she must have given my dad that trait.  They've always taught me to work as hard as I can, to be the best I can be.  To utilize a talent if I've been given it.

My Grandma Cris has most importantly been a great spiritual influence in my life.  My entire life she has been teaching me about God in some way.  And I don't think there has been a single event or decision that I've had to make that she hasn't prayed over fervently.  

As always, I could go on.  I could list a million little quirks that you should know about my grandma, but I think you get the idea.  I love my Grandma Cris so very much for the impact she's had on my life.  I imagine without it, I would be a very different person.

I love you, Grandma.

Aimee Lou

Reunion

Hey there.

First of all, I have enjoyed writing my last two letters so much that I'm planning a mini series of sorts for the rest of the month.  (If all goes as planned anyway.)  

Now, I told you that I would fill you in on my last minute road trip, so that's just what I plan on doing today.

My mom had told me that my cousins were planning on visiting over Veteran's Day weekend.  However, I didn't think I would be able to make it because with hunting seasons and Thanksgiving, I already had three planned weekends to Canton.  

But then, at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, Mom sent me a text, saying that the visit had turned into a full blown family reunion and that she would help me with gas if I could make it.  I started doing the math in my sleep-filled head and figured out that I could make it to our house in time for lunch if I got up and ready right then.

And so, I got my rear in gear and packed the lightest overnight bag ever, managed to pull together some dirty laundry to do at home (because I'm never too busy to grab some of that), filled the car up with gas and took off.

Mom didn't tell anyone I was coming, so I was blessed with wonderful, surprised greetings when I walked in.  I felt like I couldn't get the hugs in fast enough.  I just wanted to see everyone at once.  It's been way, way, way too long since I've seen some of my cousins.  Big changes have happened since then.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to get my camera out til halfway through the day, so I didn't get pictures of everyone.

Ethan and Alicia have welcomed a precious baby girl, named Carmen to their family since I last saw them.  She is so itty-bitty, and I especially loved watching E kissing his baby girl. 

Here are Tristan and Khloe testing out the piano.

Kaylee now has a little man that I got to meet for the first time, named Corbin, who is already squirming around and locating his feet.  He has lots of spiky hair and is quiet, but smiley.

I haven't seen Jessica since our wedding.  Since then, she has gotten married and has a little one on the way.  Her kiddos are remarkably older than I thought they would be.  I think I forget that time passes while we're away or something.  Here's Andrew playing some tunes.

 

And Jennifer's kids, well, I thought, aged way too much, until we realized that it's been three and a half years since we've seen each other!  I guess the two feet that Logan grew make more sense now.

The house was crazy.  We counted 36 people there at one point.  It was kind of hectic and hard to fit in lots of catching up, but the time we did have was wonderful.  I did not realize how much I missed everyone.  I enjoyed every moment of laughing over stories of our younger selves, oo-ing and awe-ing over the babies, telling the older kids they shouldn't be as old as they are, and just enjoying spending time with family.

Not too mention the good food.

And then, because all good things must come to an end, goodbyes filled the room and everyone returned to their homes until the next big get together.

However, I did get to spend the rest of the weekend with my family.

Well, dear family, all of you, I love you.

Aim

Mamma Mia

Hi.

I had a surprise road trip this weekend.  I will tell you all about it after I upload my pictures of the weekend.

Well, last week, I told you all about my dad, and some of the things I love about him.  Today, it's Mom's turn:

*She makes delicious, homemade hot chocolate on the stove and tasty spice tea.

*She can be feisty.

*She is probably the reason I love reading so much.

*My mom's greatest hope and dream (on this Earth) is to be a grandma.  It has always been what she looked forward to most.

*When we were little, she turned book shelves and blocks into Barbie houses and furniture.

*She took ten years off from teaching, her calling, so that she would be home with Katie and me and be an involved classroom mom for field trips and parties and such.

*She is a hard worker.  She rides to work with Dad in the morning, and stays at work until he picks her up, putting in at least three extra hours in her classroom everyday.

*No matter how stressed out she gets because of school, she refuses to become a teacher that doesn't care anymore, even though it would be much easier for her.

*Every single year, she reads Where the Red Fern Grows to her students.  And every year, she has to give the book to one of her students at a certain point because she starts to cry and can't read anymore.

*When we were younger and went shopping with Mom, we would dread hearing "Just humor me," as she handed us something to try on.  In hindsight, it was pretty endearing.

*She made visiting the library a habit when we were little.  I remember bringing bags of books home at a time during the summer.

*When I was in high school, Mom started helping with youth group.  She stayed involved in our lives.

*She's a mom to everyone.  A mom, and a friend.  At youth group she was Miss Kristie to everyone, but not in a "formal" way.

*She will go out of her comfort zone for her kids.  We went on a mission trip to West Virginia, and she went white water rafting and repelling right along with us.

*She taught me how to be a smart shopper.  I think one of her most exciting and amazing purchases was her dress for our wedding.

*Encouraging is second nature for her.  She always encourages me to pursue writing and art.

*She's a mama bear.  Big time.

*She adores my dad.  Absolutely adores him.

*She took care of Dad when he was sick, and she was brave for us.  She immediately found a Psalm for us to cling to as our prayer to help us get through it.

*She thinks that Katie and I combined are the funniest thing in the world.  When the three of us get together, I laugh the heartiest laughs ever.

*On cold, snowy days, she used to make us the most delicious cheesy, garlic potato soup.

*She was my friend when I felt like I didn't have any.

*When I felt like growing up was the worst thing in the world, and our childhood Christmas traditions changed, and I had trouble dealing, she understood and stayed with me til I calmed down, and told me we could design new traditions.

*She lets us tease her.  (Which is good because she says and does some really funny things.)

*She sent me a text at 6:30 in the morning to see if I could come home for a family reunion because she knew how much it would mean to me to see everyone.

*She has always had high standards for us and our behavior.

*She disciplined us well.

*Her love language, or one of her top love languages, is also touch.  I can't sit next to her without getting a little back rub, or light shoulder scratching.  I love it.  And I'm sure that's where I picked up the habit.

*She still wants me to snuggle on the couch with her.

*Mom calls me Wheeze.  Or Wheezie.  (From Louise, which my nickname, Lou, came from.)

*She used to bring Katie and me with her to her class.  We thought it was the coolest thing.

*When I was attending SRC, she asked me to come to her class to teach art lessons because they had gotten rid of art classes at the school.

*One year, I was too sick to go pick out a dress for a Valentine's dance, and she went out and bought me two awesome outfits so that I would have two to choose from for the dance, and then just an extra.

*When we were planning for the wedding, and I was basically useless, she brought all my ideas to fruition.  She was a complete lifesaver.

*She sewed the dresses for our flower girls.

*I think she prays one out of ten times without getting so emotional that she cries.

*She gets addicted to computer games or reading on her nook.

*She is a respectful wife.  She sees Dad as the leader of the family, and supports him.

*She does so without being a doormat.

*She is a major nurturer.

*When we were getting ready to move, and I had to spend two weeks by myself, she came to stay with me for a week to help me pack up everything.  We had some fun time in there too.

*She does cool things.

*She always used to amaze me with her strength because she would rearrange the furniture all by herself.  Or move all the couches to shampoo the carpet by herself.  (Some of our stuff is really heavy!)

*She's not afraid to be outdoorsy.  She used to camp alot when she was growing up.

*She's a goof.

*She also tries not to send me home without leftovers.

*She doesn't look at Dad's family as in-laws.  They're just more family.

*She's still flirty with my dad.

*She gives advice based on the Bible.

*She has good taste.

* She's the first one we've ever seen Dad give up his rocking chair for.

*She, like Dad, hates being the center of attention.  She can teach junior highers or kids in elementary school, but she gets really nervous speaking in front of adults.

*One time when Katie and I were little, we were playing with our dolls, Mom was taking a nap, and she answered one of our doll's questions in her sleep.

*I don't think she can even go to Walmart without brushing her teeth.

*When I was in college, she let me email her all of my short stories so that she could proofread them for me.

*When I first went away to college and was struggling with being away for the first time, she would talk to me on the phone, encouraging me and telling me that eventually I wouldn't need to call anymore- that soon, she would be the one having to call because I would eventually love it there.

*When we were little, Mom was a Mary Kay consultant.  She would have Mary Kay parties, and would let us play with the facial stuff afterwards and put on lipstick from her samples supply.

*She lets Katie and me do things like this:

*She has a servant's heart.  Sometimes too much- she has trouble saying no.

*She's one of the only people I can talk on the phone with for long periods of time.

*She doesn't laugh when I call with cooking questions.

*She makes sure we go on an annual shopping trip of some sort for my birthday.  This year it was for crafting supplies.

*She is the master secret keeper.  She's usually in on Dad's surprises, but she would never dream of spoiling them.  (This was at the Transiberian Orchestra concert.)

*She's taught me to be appreciative, not expectant, for what I am given.

Well, again, I could keep going, but I think you get the idea.  

I love you, Mom!

Wheeze

Earthly Gift from my Heavenly Father

Hi.

I made it to our Des Moines church for the first time in far too long today.  It was nice to be back.  Although Jered couldn't go because he had a stupid twelve hour night shift followed by the afternoon shift today, I had a lovely time with Molly, Jake, Lily, and Nate, enjoyed a morning coffee and chili supper with them, and was happy to hear someone teach God's Word again.

Today was a great day to be there because they were just starting a new series, dissecting the Lord's Prayer.  Pastor Dave made an interesting point that we tend to go to extremes with the prayer.  We either decide we don't want to have a prayer that's been used so much that it's become routine and don't use it at all, or we do use it and forget what we're really praying.  However, Jesus gave it as an explanation of how to pray for a reason.

Anyway, as we were covering the first phrase of the prayer, the notion of God, our Father was discussed at great length.  The difference between our Earthly fathers and our Heavenly Father was stressed.  Although it wasn't the main point of the sermon, I was led to thinking about my dad, and how much my Heavenly Father has blessed me with him.

One of the blogs I follow is by a girl who also went to TIU.  She is a great writer.  She makes me tear up at times and laugh at others.  I would highly recommend reading Because You Asked Me To.

Recently, she celebrated her dad's birthday by making a list of reasons why and things she loved about her dad, and I thought- what a cool thought.  She listed 50 reasons for his 50th birthday.

It's not my dad's birthday.  But, I spent a great deal of my morning thinking about him, so today will do just fine for me.  I am going to copy Courtney's idea and give you a list of reasons why, and things I love about my dad.

*Some of my earliest memories are of Dad reading to us at bedtime and calling me "punkin."

*He is incredibly slow to anger.  Ridiculously so sometimes.

*He has this fantastic hoarse laugh, where when he really gets going, there's either no sound, or just a hoarse, wheezy sound that comes out.

*He loves games.  When we were little and stayed up with Mom and Dad on New Year's Eve, we would have a board game to play.  I remember playing Aggravation.  We never go on a vacation without a deck of cards.

 

*One year he got this intricate farm set for Christmas- tons of animals, detailed pieces, and different fences that went with different kinds of animals.  I remember "it's Dad's farm model."  But he always let us play with it, and I remember it being a ridiculous amount of fun.

*He never moves his feet when he dances.

*He brought us up watching the old Star Wars movies.  I used to get furious when he would want to watch the behind the scenes interviews with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

*Every year, on Christmas morning, he reads us the Christmas story from the Bible before we open gifts.

*He loves Christmastime.  He will save up extra vacation time to be able to take more time off around Christmas.

*He bakes cookies when he's home for Christmas vacation.

*He makes amazing egg sandwiches.

*Every year, he buys pumpkins for Katie and me.  (He wanted me to send him a picture when I finished this year's.  I never got around to carving it, but it made a lovely decoration for October, and now that Thanksgiving is right around the corner, it's been transformed a bit.)

 

*He loves puzzles.  Every single Christmas, the coffee table is dedicated to a Christmas puzzle. 

*He brought us up right- as Cardinals' fans, and one year took just Katie and me down for a game for "Dad, Kate, and Aimee's Day of Fun."

*When I was in the pageant and had to have a convertible to ride in for the parade, he secured an awesome one and drove me.

 

*He always made sure we had anything we needed, and tried to get us the things we wanted most.

*He taught me the importance of working hard for things I wanted.

*Sleeping in and skipping church wasn't an option.  Going to church was all we knew growing up.  It was a part of life.

*He taught us to be silly.

*He really gets into Guitar Hero.  Hilariously so.

 

*Every once in a while, usually in the winter, he grows out this really fantastic scruffy beard that Katie and I are in love with.

*He's made me love traditions.

*When we come home for a visit, he tries to stock up on foods or snacks that he knows we love.  Around Christmas he gets eggnog for Jered, even though no one else likes it.  He tries to keep ice cream on hand for milkshakes, and always asks what we want him to get at the store.

*He's a push over.  But not in a bad way.  In the "'Dad, we don't want to watch Fox News.. How about Home Alone?'...'Put it iiiin.'" kind of way.

*He made sure I had a clean car on our wedding day.

*He has a really hard time keeping his eyes open for outside pictures.

*He always stressed good grades and trying my best at school.

*He would always listen to me when I needed to vent about work or school or Chicago parking tickets.

*When we were little, the best nights were nights when Dad would wrestle with us.  He would pretend he was asleep until we crawled all over his back, and then attack us with tickles.

*He loves my mom.  He does things like shopping for groceries because she hates doing it.

*He really, really loves the Cardinals.  During games, he and Uncle Colby text each other back and forth through the whole thing- to the point where we ask him why they don't just watch it together.

*When we go out together somewhere, he always walks like he's on a mission.  He never saunters.

*He always wore big, white, Nike tennis shoes.  You know- like the 407s Ryan Gosling is offended by in Crazy, Stupid, Love.  But then, last Christmas we got him to step out of his comfort zone and got him some sleek, black and blue shoes.  

*During the colder months, he always tried to have a fire in the fire place whenever possible.

*He somehow, sneakily fills up my gas tank every time we visit home.

*He took us to hockey games a lot.

 

*He loves surprises.  Well, surprising other people.  A couple years ago, he surprised us kids by taking us to see Trans Siberian Orchestra for a Christmas concert.

*We've only been able to surprise him once.  It was Christmas, and we got him a hunting bow.

*He rides the rides with us at places like Silver Dollar City.  It's fantastic to listen to him laugh on the Big Barn Swing.

*He still holds Mom's hand.  Someone told me that after Katie and I were both out of the house, they were all cute and holding hands at church like newlyweds.

 

*He is a vacation fanatic.  Hardly a year goes by without one.  

 

*He has a goal to visit every state.  One time when we were on vacation on the east coast, we drove two states away for lunch, stopping to get out of the car to touch the ground in the state we drove through.

*He has been letting us alter his wardrobe little bits at a time to keep him looking stylish.

 

*He found a way to survive as the only man in a family of girls.

*He loves when Jered comes to visit because then he has someone to play Wii golf or fishing with him.

*He is ruthless when he plays games.  He didn't go easy on us because then we wouldn't improve.

*He's still a little kid at heart most of the time.

 

*He understands that it's essential that we have all of the Disney classics on DVD.

*He is sacrificial.  He will work loads of overtime so that we can go on vacation, or to give me the wedding of my dreams, or to help us pay for college.

*I take back my former statement- sometimes, he does move his feet when he dances- like when he jumps in for the line dances at weddings.

*When I get him to laugh at a joke, I feel like the funniest person in the world.

*He loves helping people, but he doesn't like for them to know about it.

*He hates being the center of attention.

*He cracks himself up sometimes.

*He's supportive.

*He wants the absolute best for us.

*He's worn contacts forever, but his glasses that he would change into at night were these enormous, incredibly thick lenses.  He still wore them after one of the temples fell off, and finally bought a newer, smaller pair a couple years ago.  It was a sad day at the Rude household, as the big ones were the only ones Katie and I had ever seen him wear.  She wouldn't let him get rid of them.

*He's rather dashing.  

 

*He has adorable mannerisms.  Sometimes Katie and I will watch him from a distance, and eventually one of us says, "Dad is so cute."

*He's a softie.  He never wanted us to get a dog, but he gave in twice.  And when he was sick, Ringo was his little buddy.  They were kind of joined at the hip.  Ringo would always be in his spot, curled up against Dad on the couch.

*He's really secretive at Christmas.  He still doesn't let us come downstairs until everything is ready.

*He's good about helping my mom with dishes.

*He always makes sure that Katie and I help Mom get things ready when she's stressed before people come over.

*He loves history.  Sometimes I think he should have been a history teacher.  We've gone on multiple vacations to the east coast to visit places like Williamsburg and the Statue of Liberty and Washington D.C. to do educational, touristy things.

*He loves us.  He loves us alot.  Of the few times I've seen him angry, the majority has been because he's felt we've been wronged somehow.

*He's never taken us on a trip without a bag of Twizzlers.

*He takes care of us in all kinds of ways- like making sure we had plenty of boxes for moving.

*When he gets annoyed, he is hilarious.  He heaves an exasperated sigh and rolls his eyes, but it only makes it more fun to bug him.

*He spoils Jered just like he's Katie or me.

*He found a way to spoil us without making us spoiled.

*He is a God-fearing man, who taught us to be the same way.

*He is good.

I could keep going guys, but this is probably already one of the longest posts I've done.  The point is, we've been blessed enough to have an amazing Earthly father, and I could not ask for more.

Love you, Dad!

Aimee Lou