Lost Ladybug

Last week on May 11, the world lost a lovely person.

 

Carla (Weffenstette) Demp died from complications related to her lifelong condition, cystic fibrosis (CF).

Carla was an intelligent, beautiful, vibrant, sparkly woman.

To my children, she was "Auntie Carla". To me, she was a dear friend, a sister, a part of my family, a part of my heart and soul.

Carla loved to quote songs to express her feelings. Here's a bit of how I feel about her using words from "A Case of You" by Joni Mitchell: 

Oh, you're in my blood like holy wine
You taste so bitter and so sweet
Oh, I could drink a case of you, darling

I remember that time you told me
You said, "Love is touching souls"
Surely you touched mine

I didn't have enough time with her. There weren't enough dances, enough trips to Hawai'i, enough smiles and laughter. I didn't give her enough paper flowers to get to "sixty-five roses". I didn't have enough time to talk to her, to learn more about her. I could drink a few more cases of you, darling.

I'm so thankful, though, for the time we had. My life is so much better because she was in it, and I think that's true for my family too. She brought with her other wonderful people as well: Her father, "Grandpa Bruce"; her brother Darin; her love George; and lots of friends we would have never met if not for her. We've been truly blessed she was our friend, Auntie, sister.

From a song named "Sparkle" from Your Lie In April:

All I wanted to see is your smile,
And have your beauty color my world in pastel once more
Recalling the memories that welled up inside me,
I let out my feelings, hoping they'll reach out to you far away

All I want to hear is your voice,
And have it resonate undulatingly throughout me once more
And the times we spent together,
Are all irreplaceable in my heart
I'll treasure these memories you gave me
Thank you

Monarch Morning

Saturday morning, Nana called me a little panicked. The hospice where she had been working as a gardener had instructed her to pull out all the milkweed in the gardens, as "it wasn't part of their gardening plan". (This, despite the fact that monarch butterfly habitats are already under siege on all sides) She was doing as instructed, when she found two plants, one with eggs and one with a live caterpillar on it. "I just couldn't throw him on the pile," she told me, "he deserves a chance to live." So she saved the plants, and at nine AM rushed over to my house to find a spot to plant them. The kids were elated that we were being given charge of new creatures, and I quickly googled "how to care for monarch caterpillars indoors". (Seriously, what did people do before the internet??) Mom arrived, and Luca carefully scoured the plant for any eggs, removing nasty aphids and spiders in the process. Sadly, the big caterpillar mom found that prompted all this had fallen off somewhere in transit. But we did find two new hatchlings (later named Lucky and Tiny), and we transferred to mom's mesh cat carrier. Then, as mom was literally walking over to pick up the plants for transplant, a monarch lands on the milkweed and starts laying eggs! Luca then once again went back to scour the plants for more eggs, and found at least two that the monarch had laid.

As a preschool teacher, I couldn't think of a better lesson illustrating how humans are screwing up, what we can do to fix it, and the general beauty of nature. What a magical monarch morning!

Luca and Astrid checking on Lucky and Tiny

Tiny (above), and Lucky (below)

Cat carrier/butterfly habitat!

Family Photos 2018

We have new family photos! Here are a few good ones.

















We didn't get family photos last year, so it's been a while!

Astrid at 3

Astrid had her 3rd birthday this year. It's amazing how she's grown!

For her birthday, we went to a farm to pet the animals and run about. Daphne and a few other friends attended. We started by visiting some goats.





Astrid saw some baby chickens and a pig.





After the farm, we went home for cake.





Great Grandpa attended, too. Jeremy is also in the pic.



Astrid is growing up so fast!

P.S. Yes, I know I'm super late posting this. It's been a busy year!

2017 in Review

2017 was a quiet year on our journal. We didn't publish a lot, for a few good reasons.

I mentioned the calculus course and what happened surrounding it in another post. The course took up quite a bit of my time and required Kyra to do a lot of extra work since I was busy. Once I finished the course, I got laid off from work, so looking for a new role took up quite a bit of the summer. I've been back at work for several months now, so things have gotten back to normal.

We had a lot happen in 2017! Here are a few highlights.

Luca and Astrid Cooking

Ghibli Spirit!

Yoga Pants 1

Yoga Pants 2

Touching Organs

Cooking as a Family

Visiting Cousins

Astrid's 2-Year Birthday

At a Dance

Fireworks at Great-Grandpa Ihm's

Swimming Lessons

Bathtub Play

Goon Face

A Day with Baba

Hanger Dance

Hugs with Grandma

On the Farm

Luca in a Plane

Cousin Pile

Visit to Great Wolf

Astrid's First Day Back at Daycare

Luca turned 9 this year, but I can't find any photos of the party! We went to a Lego store, built with Legos, and had pizza.

Halloween

Lego League

Great Grandpa Visits

Birthday Present

Holiday Preparation

I posted about Christmas in another post as well - here it is.

Now that I'm caught up with 2017, I need to catch up with 2018!

Christmas 2016 and 2017

I hadn't posted any Christmas pics from 2016, so I figured I'd post both and compare! First, Christmas 2016:

Here's the family in front of the tree.


And we met Santa for the first time... It didn't go too well.


Sledding out front!


Making some bread dish.


Here we get to Christmas Eve, and Astrid got many baby dolls.


Opening some more presents.


And hanging a new ornament.


Looking at presents with Megan and Jeremy (first photo of him on the journal, I think!).


On Christmas Day, I had to hold Luca back, since he was so excited.


He got a bike. Santa must have had a hard time wrapping that one!


We went to Auntie Megan's for brunch.


And read a new book after food.


We visited the family in the Twin Cities, too. What a bunch of goons: Liliana, Luca, and Dalila.


And we tried to get a shot with Nana, but the kids were just too excited to sit still for a good one. Here's the best one, at any rate.


Now, on to 2017!

Grandma and Auntie Megan made cookies with the kids.


On Christmas Eve, of course we had a goose again, and for some reason it was hard to cut this year. It took all our "man" power.


Jeremy and Megan with their gifts from us.


Astrid got a microwave, which of course got Luca's attention.


On Christmas Day, we went to Megan's again, and Great Grandpa was there too!


Everyone on the couch after eating.


We had a very short visit to MN again, but Astrid got a fever and we had to leave early. Here's one with all the kids on the couch with Auntie Sabrina.


It was a bit of a tumultuous holiday season and year, so I'm glad it is concluded. I feel like we're just getting back to normal now.

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas. Stay warm!