Your grandma’s birthday is this Saturday.  Only you don’t call her grandma. You call her JoJo, which is totally adorable, especially when Neala says it because it sounds more like “Jo-zho”.

If I had time I would make her red velvet cupcakes.  I would put cream cheese icing in a bag and swirl it on top of the cupcakes in a Pinterest kind of way. Only I don’t have time because there are two extremely needy children living in my house. I won’t mention any names, but their initials are Neala and Lincoln. 

One of the great things about our family is we stick together.  Which means if we’re going through a rough time, we don’t have to suffer alone. Someone in the family will be there to listen, pray for us, or tell us we’re crazy.  More often than not, that person is JoJo.

Here are a few other things you should know about JoJo.
(You know I love making lists)

1. She was an incredibly strict mother.  You think I’m tough? Pfft…I look like a slacker compared to her.  I didn’t always enjoy the tight reigns growing up, but it worked out pretty well.  All three girls turned out to be normal, responsible people.

2. She is NOT a strict grandmother. If she takes you shopping, you are going to leave the store with something. If you don’t go shopping with her, don’t worry. You are still getting something. 

If you disobey, she will try to speak in a stern voice.  But it’s not very stern and she might laugh as she tells you not to do it again. She will let you eat ice cream every day whether you ask for it or not. She will also flood you with hugs and kiss your face off every day.

3. JoJo prays.  A lot.  She and Jesus are besties for sure.
If she prays for something, it usually happens.
Your daddy and I were not really planning on having kids you know.  We had already started the adoption process. But JoJo put a little bug in the Lord’s ear and sure enough, I got pregnant.  Not once, but twice in 2 years.  (By the way, I told JoJo to stop asking Jesus for more grand babies because I am OVER being pregnant.)

4. She is very generous.  She loves giving to others.  Most people don’t know this because she doesn’t walk around telling folks.  Which makes the giving even sweeter.

5. She loves popcorn and ice cream.  Growing up we ate popcorn at least once a week.  And it wasn’t the cheap, super buttery microwave popcorn.  I’m talkin real kernels she cooked on the stove.  The experience of watching her shake the pot over the burner was just as enjoyable as eating it.

6. Everyone always said dad was the funny one.  But JoJo has a silly side as well. When she comes over she chases you around the house & tells you she’s going to “suck your eyeballs”.  

She once chased me around the kitchen with a raw chicken leg. Looking back, I’m not sure if that was funny or creepy. 

When your Aunt Lisa stabbed me with a fork at the dinner table, JoJo didn’t even blink. She laughed as she told me I deserved it, then continued eating. (In case you’re wondering, it was a small wound. Though forks still make me nervous.)

Sometimes her humor is not exactly intended.  Here’s one story I remember from growing up that continues to make us laugh…
We were watching T.V. one night.  Mom was pretty sleepy and had dozed off on the couch. (Now that I’m a mom, I TOTALLY understand why she was so tired)
A commercial came on with a girl saying, “Mom, we’re out of milk.”  Mom’s head popped up off the couch and said, “No, I just bought some.”
Laughter.  Lots and lots of laughter.
If you’re not laughing at this story, I guess you had to be there.

7. She let us have sleepovers all the time.  We were practically famous for our sleepovers.  Partly because she let us stay up all night playing games and putting on makeup.  But mainly because every girl from church was invited.  We weren’t allowed to spend the night at anyone’s house for a long time, so they all came to ours. (I told you she was strict.)

8. She loves playing Rummikub. It’s way too complicated to explain, so I won’t even try. When you are older she will teach you how to play. Then she will bribe you to play with her because no one in the family right now likes to play. When we stayed with her this past summer she forced me to play. It literally hurt my brain. 

If I asked our family and friends, I’m certain they could come up with 128 more interesting or funny things to add to my list. For brevity’s sake, I’ll stop at eight. 

Up to this point, many of my letters to you have been about your PawPaw.  I want you to know and love him through the stories I share. I want you to know him and appreciate the man he was.

But this weekend it’s not about PawPaw.  It’s about a sensitive, generous woman. I want you to know and appreciate the woman she is. 
You call her JoJo, but I call her mom. 

Instead of mourning what we have lost, we will celebrate what we have.
We have JoJo.

Neala and Lincoln,

Tomorrow is the first day of school.  And for the first time in many years, I’m not going. This makes me a little bit sad and a lot a bit glad.  (I know, “a lot a bit” is not proper grammar.)

In May I was offered a part-time teaching position at ECS, a private school.  At first your dad didn’t want me to accept.  We were trying to sell our house so we could have a lower mortgage.  Because a part-time position meant part-time pay, he said we had to sell our house before I could accept the job.

When the job was offered, I asked how much time I had to make a decision.  A week and a half, two would be stretching it.  Yikes!  Now the pressure was on.  We HAD to sell our house or I would be missing a wonderful opportunity.

I prayed that night and asked God to sell our house in one week.  It was Wednesday.  On Saturday a woman came to see our home and made a cash offer. Whaaat?!!

I was 38 weeks pregnant, but still managed to do the happy dance complete with running man and roger rabbit moves.  If you do not know what these dance moves are, please search for them on the internet and learn how to do them as soon as possible.  These are seriously cool dance moves.  Seriously.

Lincoln, the day after you were born our realtor came to the hospital so we could sign the purchase agreement.  Talk about a whirlwind.  (If you want to know how the rest of the summer went, read my previous letters.  It was good, it was bad, it was ugly. Then it was good again.)

Now it’s August and I’m feeling so weird.  This year I won’t go to work on the first day of school.  This year I won’t have a homeroom.  Instead of one group of kiddos to call my own, I’ll have multiple classes rotate through.  I think having my own class is what I will miss the most.

I’m at a new school, teaching different grades and subjects I’ve never taught before. Which in the teaching world, is like getting a whole new job. I’m also leaving teachers at my old school who I’ve grown extremely close to and will miss terribly.  Bittersweet is the best word to describe how I feel right now.  Sad to leave, but excited for a new adventure.  The change puts a fresh expectancy in my heart.  It also puts so many butterflies in my stomach I could throw up a butterfly farm.

Something which has been harder than anticipated is shopping for school supplies.  Or should I say, not shopping.  Towards the end of July I would usually head back into my classroom and start getting it ready.  I would buy new posters, notebooks and fun pencils.  But the thing I enjoyed the most was buying new Sharpies.  Fine point, retractable, and my personal favorite-chisel tip.

I may or may not have an obsession with Sharpies.  It’s possible we have 128 of them in our home at this current moment.  I also keep one in my bag and the car, just in case.
At my new school  I’ll spend most of my time teaching Technology in a computer lab. Pretty sure we won’t need neon permanent markers to use a computer.

My lack of new sharpies makes me a little sad.  But then I remind my heart- I am working part time now.  Totally worth the trade.
Now instead of working five days a week, I work three.  I’m trading my fine tip black Sharpie for more snuggles with the two of you.

I’m trading my favorite green chisel tip for stacking blocks, eating pretend food, and playing in the dirt.  Actually, Neala you are in the “eating dirt” stage right now which is funny and gross at the same time.

Perhaps you are wondering why I’m telling you all of this.  Mostly for two reasons:
1. I want you to know God answers prayer. It’s not always when or how you think he will, but he will.
Working part time was something I wanted when Neala was born.  It didn’t work out that year and I was very disappointed.  At the time, I felt God was not hearing me or answering my prayer.  Remember, God’s plans are always better than ours.

2. I also want you to know your dad and I made sacrifices to make this happen.  We will continue to make those sacrifices.  Our new home is not the biggest.  It is by no means my “dream home”.  But it’s a nice home. It meets our needs and allows me to work part time.  Being home with you is way more important to me than a humongous house.

When my maternity leave for Neala was over and I went back to school I cried a lot. Honestly, I was surprised at how hard it was to leave you and return to work.  Later this week I will have the first day at my new school.  My maternity leave for Lincoln is over and I will leave you with JoJo and Aunt Kimi. And I’m not crying.  I’m not even sad.

Well, this isn’t totally true.  I am a little sad thinking about a new pack of Sharpies…