“You’ll LOVE Lucy! She’s an artist!”😱

Poor Lily! At least the marker was washable. We explained to Lu that it hurt Lily being colored and made her sad that she was orange. Lucy looked very concerned for her. Hopefully this will be the last time she does this. 

Ever want to punch something? Hit something? Scream or yell at something? Run away? Hide? Yeah, all those emotions run crazy when you lose someone you love. Tonight, I lost a huge part of me. My Dad! Wow. It’s even hard to write, but I know it will help to just get my emotions out. It is such a surreal feeling to have that part of me gone. Our relationship has been so distant for quite a while, but it doesn’t mean that I ever loved him any less. I love him so incredibly much, I hope now he can see that and believe it. Very few days ever go by without missing him. What a whirlwind of events for the evening. I knew I didn’t know anyone in GA, other than Zoe, but so many solicitors call my phone lately, I didn’t think much of it. Until the voicemail was her voice. She never calls me. I knew something was wrong. What was supposed to be a small procedure on my dad’s ear, ended with a heart attack he could not recover from. I know anesthesia has never been good for him. I cannot believe this is the way things ended for him. It is all so strange. I was just texting with him this morning about all the rain they have had. And that was all. Now nothing. Just an empty hole. I wish my kids could have known him better. I wish he would have come to visit us. We would have loved that. I wish he could have gone to the incredible places we went when I was younger with my family now. My kids would have really enjoyed all he knew. My dad was a super smart man. He was always teaching lessons on things in everyday life. Even though I didn’t live with him for very long growing up, I learned so much in that time. My dad could make ANYTHING taste fabulous, and could grow absolutely everything! (Two traits I obviously did NOT inherit from him! 😂) I hope he knows how grateful I am for him. I hope he is happy for us to be his family. I hope he sees how much we love him, and even though he is gone now, he will always be in our hearts. He is gone for now, but I know we will be together again. And when we are, what a wonderful reunion that will be! I love you Dad, forever and always. You will always have a special place in my heart.

With Lucy learning how to jump off both feet last Tuesday, this past week she has been practicing her new skill. Tonight, she was quite proud of herself. I have to admit, she has come a long way in a week! 😊❤️ Along with jumping, she can forward roll, log roll, and hang from the bar for 5+ seconds all on her own. She also is very close to backward rolling by herself too. I see another Natalie in our midst. 

This morning, I was in a hurry to get ready for Church, so I asked William and Alex to help play with Lu for a few minutes. When I came back down stairs, the boys were telling me to hurry because they had something that they wanted to show me. As I came around the corner of the office, I saw this:

They were so proud of themselves! They told me that she was holding the flower in her mouth, but that she didn’t want to do it anymore by the time I got there. They also informed of how well they had made her look like she was from the ’90s. 🤣 It was pretty great. These boys are SO GREAT with Lucy! (Now to just straighten out their time eras! 😉)

Today was Alex’s first soccer game. What a beautiful day for it too! He really tried super hard. You forget when you see your kids play a sport that they have to learn EVERYTHING! They don’t come into it just knowing how to play it. I can’t wait to see his progression as the season goes along and he understands the game better. 😊

Lu was playing with her markers at the table today. I just casually walked up to her and told her what a beautiful job she was doing. I then asked her if she could write her name. Completely unexpected, she started singing her “L-U-C-Y Lucy” song as she wrote her name on her paper. Her letters are not right next to each other, but she wrote them in the correct order on her paper. 😮 She amazes me everyday! I rushed her paper to the laminator to save it for as long as possible!😊

Lucy sure can say some pretty funny things for a one year old! Today, this won it. “Look at this mess! Who made this entire mess?!”Gee! I wonder who it was?! 🤣