Day 12

Next, I am thankful for my Grandma, Lucille Elizabeth Vogel.  At 92 years young she accomplishes more than most people do in a day.  I can only hope I can be ask active as she is.  She goes to water aerobics and chair aerobics daily.  She was in the classroom for many years.  She didn't quit volunteering until my mom retired.  She was a role model to me as a teacher.  She tells stories about walking to the country school she taught at in the snow on cold cold snowy days to make a fire in the stove to heat the school up.  How thankful I am that I don't have to do that!  After retirement she still stayed involved in school.  She tutored kids, did homeschool testing, and volunteered in the classrooms.  We are so glad she decided to move to Grand Island where we get to see her so much more often.

 Here she is holding the twins.

With Laney after Dance recital.  Having her close she is here to see so many of the great grandchildren's activities.

Holding baby Claire.  Originally when we thought we were having 2 girls one was going to have the middle name Este after her grandma Esthers.  The other girl was going to have the middle name Elizabeth after this grandma.  Then when we ended up with only 1 girl we could only use one name.  Since my niece Abbey is Abigail Elizabeth after this grandma we went with Este.

Grandma's retirement home has a trick or treating each year.  Grandma even dresses up!

The Vogel family at Connor and Claire' baptism.  

This is at Grandma's 90th birthday party in Auburn.  A few months later she moved to Grand Island.  

At Connor's 1st birthday (and Claire's 1st, Laney's 4th)

This picture is hilarious.  It was after Easter brunch meal and my kids had enough.  They were all 3 screaming.  Everyone else was laughing so hard we were crying!

So, the next week at Alex's First Communion we tried again.  Everyone did much better!

Grandma and Alex

Alex got an old rosary that belonged to my Grandpa Vogel for his First Communion.  Grandma has also saved a rosary of Grandpa's for Connor to have on his First Communion.  What a special piece to have.  It brought my sister and I to tears.

So, yep, I am pretty lucky to have this lady in my life.  She is such a great role model.  Did I mention she still works at editing articles for a farm magazine, reads daily on her kindle and makes sure to do the sodoku puzzle to keep her brain active everyday?  

Day 11

It is Veteran's Day so today I will thankful for my favorite Veteran, my Grandpa.

First, I don't have many digital pictures on my computer of my Grandpa.  He passed away in 1997.  He was quite a tough, stubborn one but we all thought the world of him.  I used to love going to visit the farm and see him and my Grandma.  It has been a crazy week but I will try to get some pictures on here of him later.

My Grandpa was a tough guy.  He built railroad track in the army through WWII.  In high school was so interested in learning about what he did when we were learning about World War II.  He went up through Africa, France, Italy and ended in Germany building track for the supplies to be shipped into the lines.  I have 2 favorite stories that are told about his time in the war.  First, he was able to take time off to go to mass at the vatican and be blessed by the Pope.  This Catholic thinks that is pretty cool.  Second story is he was in Ludswinkle, Germany.  The home of many of the Vogel relatives.  He stopped and asked someone in a yard if they knew a relative of his.  This was not allowed and  he would have been in a lot of trouble for meeting up with Germans.  They told him to come back in a little while so they drove around.  He was stopped once and when they asked what he was doing he said hunting and got by.  My Grandpa was one to do what he wanted not what he was suppose to.  (Hmmm..that's where I get that from!!)  He came back to the house he'd ask about his family in and the yard was filled with relatives.

My grandpa came back home to the farm in Iowa after WWII and always loved getting together with his army buddies to tell stories.  Many of those conversations my Grandma recorded.  My Grandpa was a heck of a guy.  He scared me a bit because he was pretty strict and I was scared of getting in trouble.   A few years back my Grandma gave us the best present for Christmas.  She split all the letters Grandpa had written home during WWII between the 5 of us (my 3 uncles and my sister and I).  It is amazing to read those letters and relive those times.  So, today I'm thankful for my favorite veteran, Henry Louis Vogel!

I'll come back and edit this with some pictures when I can.

Day 10 Thankful

Today is nothing fancy.  I am thankful for food and other people cooking it.  Our house is a mess today preparing for new flooring.  I am so thankful that I live in a town big enough to grab something to eat out when I need to.  I'm thankful for not having to grow my own food and that time has evolved and I don't have to live like pioneers.  Ugh I can't imagine baking each meal from scratch and having the time to do that.  So, it's a simple thing but I'm thankful for food!

Day 9

I am thankful for my sweet little Claire.  She gets the title of the youngest being 2 minutes younger than Connor.  She was welcomed into the world to a big sister who adored her from the start!  She needed a short stay in the NICU when she was born but showed them how tough she was within hours.  She has been our tough one since.  I'm so thankful for her sweetness.  I tried to pick some of my favorite pictures.

 

She was such a small and little thing.

This picture is when we were waiting to leave the hospital.  I did not lay them down like this.  Claire would always find Connor and snuggle up to him.

Such a pretty girl on her baptism day.

She had quite a personality from the beginning.  She is blowing bubbles in her thing 2 outfit!

I loved dressing Claire up in her cute little outfits.  Girls are so much fun to dress!

She never was a baby that liked to be held to sleep.  So, here where daddy is trying to get her to sleep and fell asleep.  

I just adore these two.  They picky sticky monthly pictures are so cute.  

Sometimes she is hard to photograph.  She gets shy and quiet when someone takes her pictures. Not here though!

I will miss those cute little headbands I used to put her in.

Two years old now!  She is so girly girl and loves babies.

Laney started training her young to dress up!

Don't ever doubt that this little thing can't do something....even if it is lift a pumpkin as big as she is!

Or Houdini it out of her shirt while buckled in a car seat!

Being silly in Colorado.

She was the cutest little monkey especially with her banana bag!

She may need some therapy for the trauma I caused by having her visit Santa!

Always taking care of her babies.  I adore watching her kiss them and put them to bed.  She loves all babies.

She was so sick in April when she had to stay in the hospital.  She proved how tough she was too!

Who couldn't be happy in the hospital getting all this individual attention and playing 2 ipads at a time!

Even princesses can be doctors!

 The friendship and love twins have is something I feel so blessed to experience.

Always my girly diva girl!

Feeding her baby at the American Girl Store

 She picked the carseat at the store and has probably played with it every single day since.

 So, today is Claire Este's day.  Her middle name is after both her Grandma's moms.  They are both named Esther and Este was my fun take on it.  She is a sweet, loving, firecracker that I am blessed to have call me mom.

Day 8

Today I am thankful for my little man, Connor.  My OB doctor thought we were having 2 girls.  The next week we went to the specialist and she told us we were having a boy and a girl.  Everyone seemed happy enough we were having 2 girls.  Then the next week.....geesh, everyone was crying and so happy to have a boy to pass on the name.  My sister told me on the phone that day that she was so happy I get to experience the love of a son because it is different than a daughters.  She was right.  He is such a little loving guy.  He has been a little difficult from in the womb, as an infant and is much more laid back as a toddler.  He came into the world hungry as you can see below.

I will always take his kisses!

He and Claire are always partners in crime.

His first football game.  Who knew he would love it so much?  Well, I kinda thought since his dad is such a sports nut but on most days he wants to play tackle football.  I love how anytime he sees football on TV he yells, "Tackle him, tackle him!"

He has loved sports from the first time he held a ball.

He adores his twin sister.  The bond these two have is so sweet.  

This kid likes to eat and make a mess!

He can be found climbing up to the counter and eating ALL the leftover doughnuts!

He started out as such a tiny little thing.  He had MSPI and had to drink special formula.  I remember when I took this picture I wanted to always remember how scrunched up and tiny he was.

I love this picture.  He loves to watch TV.

He loves to play with his cars and line them up.

Hmmm wonder what he ate?

He loves the water and I loved watching him explore the water this summer.

Not surprising.  All the cars are all lined up.

Playing in a park in downtown Chicago.

He is 7 months old here.  Such a cutie.

He loves his food, as I mentioned before.  He double fists it!

The only boys!  He loves his cousin, Alex.

I adore those long eye lashes just like his mama's.

This tractor (combine) ride was the highlight of the fair!

He loved being a pirate for Halloween.  He took on the part and shouted pirate commands.

This so clearly shows the difficulty he had as an infant.  His poor tummy.

Even though he is happy here he is stretched out stiff as a board!

These jumpy things were such a lifesaver.  He loved to bounce and I could fix supper.

My cute little scarecrow.

What a sweet sweet baby

I love the smiles on these two faces here.  Connor is adored by his Grandparents.

These two cousins are pretty thankful for him too.  He and Maddey and both the "middle" child but he and Alex are the only boys.

Little prince is one!

Gosh, how I loved those curly locks!

If it is round he can make it into a ball!

I am so thankful that I was able to carry this boy and survive that difficult pregnancy.  He might have been a difficult baby, especially until we figured out the MSPI stuff, but I feel so lucky to have been  blessed with this little boy.