Laughter through the tears

My heart is so full tonight, in thanks for the blessing of having my daughter and her family back in Northern Ky after more than 10 years. After all this time, as of tonight, she lives just 8 miles from me -- 8 short miles!!! So why is my heart breaking when she walked out the door ealier this evening with that sweet little toddler of hers to spend their first night in their new home? Because for the past 4 months she and her husband and sweet Sylvia have lived with me and Jay, and I have loved every minute of it. What I thought was going to be something we'd "tolerate" turned out to be a joy. Waking up every morning to those little footsteps running down the hall calling "Me-me" (Grammy), and coming to my room to put on necklaces and blush on her cheeks was such a gift. A gift I would not have gotten if their house had sold sooner, or they found a new home sooner. These hassles for them turned out to be a true blessing; 4 months of day-to-day life with my sweet Sylvia. And "paw-paw" was just as smitten with her as I was.

So, while we are happy Rachael, Sylvain and Sylvia are sleeping in their own home tonight, and after 4 months are settling back into a normal life as a family 3 (and one on the way), I can't help but miss them already. I'm incredibly happy and sad at the same time, and I thank God for having this family that brings me so much joy, and laughter through the tears!

Here's my baby on our last day together sharing a home; while we baked cookies, her mom and dad and many family and friends moved everything to their new home. I'll miss her so much, but I'm so very thrilled to have her so close by.

Later in the day, Good Time Charlie came over. Sylvia ADORES her cousin Charlie, and he is so, so good with her. They sqealed and played and didn't even fight over Woody. I'm so glad he's spending the night with us tonight, so it won't seem so quiet here in the morning with the Fasciottos gone. Here's a picture of our cutie pies.

And while we're at it, I'm posting a family picture. Now, I have no idea how other families get those great shots, with kids and babies and everything. Poor little Claire can't even be seen! This is the best we could do with our motley crew at Thanksgiving -- God bless us everyone!