Gratituesday-The Munchkins

These three little people were my very favorite little people ever, until my own son came along. Now they are 3 of my 4 favorite little people ever! They are (l-r) Lucie, Emma and Oscar and are my sister's kiddos.

My sister had Oscar almost 6 1/2 years ago. He made my parents grandparents and changed their lives. He and Sarah lived with them during part of her pregnancy the first few weeks of his life because my brother-in-law serves in the Air Force and was gone for training. His arrival was an amazingly exciting time for all of us and he moved me to tears the first time I met him. He is a fun little boy and I've called him (and later his sisters) munchkin since he was tiny. He loves planes, trains, cars, his accordion, and his baby cousin. He fell in love with Mike as soon as he met him and even has a little accordion just like his uncle. He even played on stage when they were visiting with Mike twice. He almost backed out the first time, but after he knew he could have his own microphone he was all for it. Then the second time he worked his mic talking to the crowd and thanking people when they clapped. Turns out he can be a real ham! I've so loved watching him with our little one. He has talked to him on the phone (actually more than he talks to me now) and just loves on him when we get to see them. He is eager to hold him and is so gentle and loving towards him. I've always loved this little guy and it makes my heart swell when he loves my favorite two men too!

The twins came along just 15 months later. Twins do not run in our family and it was a real blessing when we found out they were coming! There is a story behind it, but that is for another day...

Lucie is the older of the twins. She is not just the 2 minutes older that it shows on her birth certificate. She was actually concieved about a week earlier if I remember correctly. An unusual, but wonderful thing. She was born with black hair, but now is the blonder of the two. At times she is so much like me that Mike asks if I gave birth to her. She is talkative, bubbly, has a great sense of humor, is a natural motherer, can be bossy, is starting to act like a mini-teenager, can throw a temper tantrum that would blow your mind and is still so sweet that she can make my teeth hurt! When she was a baby my sister would call so I could listen to her belly laugh. When we visited them last Christmas she was always patting my 7 week pregnant belly and talking to the baby. She crawled in bed with us Christmas morning and said "Merry Christmas, Baby!" to my tummy. Talk about melting my hormonal heart! That trip she was so anxious to see me that when we would call to check in (they live about 13 hours away from us) she would sadly say, "My Heather is on the road." It never seemed like we would get to them! That night when we pulled up she was to the door so fast that my sister didn't even know we were there. She was jumping up and down yelling, "My Heather, My Heather!" She is My Lucie, My Lucie.

Emma is the youngest of the crew, but not by much :) She has always been a blond little beauty. She is getting so tall and has become quite a little model when given the chance to pose for a camera. Emma is a special little soul. She has been diagnosed on the spectrum of autism, but most would never guess it. She is so loving! A funny story about Emma happened as we prepared for our wedding. The girls were to be our flower girls. We knew Lucie would love the dresses, but Emma was hating anything that was dress like. My sister thought we might be able to get her in it if we put pants underneath, but when we saw them a few months before the wedding she wouldn't try it on at all. There were tears and it was not a battle worth fighting. We figured that we would find her another outfit if she wouldn't wear the dress at the wedding. About 2 weeks before the wedding the kids all watched the movie Cinderella. From that moment on (to this point) she has been a princess whenever possible! She couldn't wait to get in her princess dress, she wears dresses as much as possible and the bigger, puffier the dress, the better. The only hard part was getting her to not wear the dress the three days before the wedding! She loves her little cousin like mad as well. When we sent his birth announcement she carried it around for days. No one else could touch it because she wanted him all to herself.

I am lucky enough to be Godmother to Emma and Lucie and am so grateful to have that role. These three munchkins are such a blessing to me and to our entire family. I wish we lived close enough to see each other more, but am just thankful to have them in my life. I couldn't have picked better cousins for my little guy if I tried. A big thank you to my sister and brother-in-law for having such great kids!

For more things everyone is grateful for head over to Heavenly Homemakers. It is Gratituesday!

Heather