It Has Been A Busy Month!

It has been almost a month since I last blogged so to all the followers out there I apologize for the lack of updates. However, I have been very busy, even without working (going back to work tomorrow, blah, blah, blah)!

First and foremost, thank you to everyone for offering condolences and prayers to our family after the unexpected and sudden loss of my father just a couple days after Christmas. It was very much a surprise to us all. We were extremely grateful that he did not suffer and that we had a chance to enjoy the holidays together. He truly enjoyed traveling back and forth from New Jersey to Chicago to watch his grandchildren grow. We are grateful that he was with us during his final days and enjoyed his time during his visit. Bruce and I are both extremely saddened that Samantha and Jadyn will not have an opportunity to truly known what it is like to grow up with either set of their grandparents. It has been a tough couple years. Since Samantha was born, we have both lost all of our parents and our kids their grandparents. As difficult as it has been, we are comforted to know that we have angels watching over us. Here are a few pictures of “pop pop” with his grandkids to remember him by.

With the passing of my Dad, Glen, Matt and I headed back to New Jersey to have a memorial service, settle some of his affairs and clean out his apartment. My dad was born in Newark and lived in the city almost his whole life. A couple years ago, dad sold the house we grew up in and moved into an apartment just across the street. Here is a picture of the house that now stands at 68 Plymouth Street in Newark, NJ.

Although virtually identical, this is a different house than the house we grew up in. The original house was demolished and the new owners re-built an almost identical replica of the old house. The windows are the same and the only external difference was a stained glass window that was missing and the garage was not re-built. The tree I remember outside my bedroom window is still standing too. I remember the street light used to cast a shadow of the tree on my bedroom wall when I was a kid. I remember lying in bed, listening to my clock radio and looking at the shadow of the tree on the wall when I fell asleep at night.

Many of the neighbors still live on the block. They knew we coming into town so several neighbors came over to see us and offer condolences. Glen and Matt remember more neighbors than I did as they both spent more time in New Jersey visiting Dad and I was so young when we left. Being back in the neighborhood was interesting, weird and scary. It is exactly the same. The same old store fronts, just more run down and some with newer businesses. The park just down the block looks the same too, but it has a new playground, very new from what we could tell. It is a very urban area that has continued to deteriorate both physically and socially over the years. Glen, Matt and I reminisced at one point and wondered what would have become of us if our parents hadn’t separated. Regardless, we recognize that the time we spent in New Jersey was part of our foundation and that we were able to appreciate our backgrounds and our blessings because of it.

Here is a picture of the three of us with our Aunt Jacquie and Uncle Elliott. It was nice to see them, but need to have a better reason next time.

In other news, we did manage to have a Merry Christmas. Here are a few pictures to prove it.

Sam & I made cookies for Santa. Yes, I baked again and everyone loved the cookies, they were perfect! Those of you who started laughing can stop now!

Here she is pouring the milk for Santa, no spilling either!

She has really been enjoying her new tag book system (that is when we don’t take over possession of it for not listening)

Here is Jadyn and Auntie Amanda

Christmas was somewhat a bore for Jadyn

Devin enjoyed our stairs

They all enjoyed destroying Samantha’s room

It was just simply exhausting to Kyle

On New Year’s Eve, Samantha got a kick out of wearing the hood from her coat

Here is Michelle and McKenna at the New Years Celebration

And Kobe trying to fix Uncle Matt’s motorcycle

Jadyn is growing fast (check stats on the left). He smiling more and more and has more wake times during the day. Here he is on his activity mat. At first he just ignored it and acted bored...

After a few weeks of laying on the mat, Jadyn gave up and started to enjoy it!

I even managed to get a documented smile...after numerous attempts!

In closing, if you could help Jadyn out, his parents would be very appreciative!

“Handsome future doctor seeking attractive female with wealthy father. Must enjoy Peanut Butter, toy trucks and frogs” Thanks Liz!