You are now entering heaven… no walkers needed!

Ever since Grandan’s death prompted our discussion of heaven, the Goose has on several very random occasions returned to the topic. Here’s this week’s latest revelation about our heavenly home…

While playing at Granny’s house the goose made a new discovery in the guest room… Grandan’s walker. Now mind you, she has been in the guest room multiple times a week, as this is where the toys are kept, for the last 4 months, but somehow she has never noticed the walker or wheelchair located directly beside her toy basket! Until Thursday…

“Mommy, why did Grandan leave his walker in the guest room.”

“Because he doesn’t need it in heaven.”

(At this point, I simply want to avoid the tears, so am trying desperately to keep the theological discussion to a minimum.)
“He didn’t take it with him?”
“No dear, he doesn’t need a walker in heaven because now he can walk just fine without one… I bet he can even run!”
“But why?”
“Remember how we said Grandan went to heaven because he was old and sick and his body was just too tired to work anymore? Well in heaven God makes us all new again, so Grandan’s not tired or old or sick anymore… and that means he can walk without a walker! And he can probably even run now too!”
The Goose, smiling (praise God!)… “And you don’t need a walker when you run!”

That’s right! No walkers needed in heaven… Praise God for that! AND for a toddler heaven discussion with no crying!

Where have all the parents gone???

Why do they write children’s books where there are kids living alone? Seriously. Doesn’t someone recognize the potential fear this might cause in children that they too might someday be left to live alone? Evidently not.

Tonight, while reading a new book to the goose, which is supposed to be a simple counting story, we encountered this very problem, for Johnny lived alone… and though the story clearly states that Johnny liked living alone, the goose was quite troubled by this fact.

Goose… “Where are his mommy and daddy?”
Me…“He must be all grown-up so he doesn’t live with his mommy and daddy anymore.”
oh no… here come the tears…
Me…“what’s wrong?”
Goose…“I want to live with you and daddy.”
Me… “You will, until you’re a grown-up, which is a very long time from now.”
uh oh… more tears… that didn’t help…
Me again… “I lived with Gamma & Beba until I was WAY grown-up and married Daddy, then Daddy and I got our own house.”
Goose… “But I want to stay with you.”
Me… “You don’t have to go anywhere, I promise. You can live with Mommy and Daddy as long as you want, even when you’re a grown-up.”
(Note… this is NOT a lie, for I feel it is safe to say that she will NOT want to live with us when she’s 30)
Oh but Daddy, he had to chime in…
Wes… “You might have to start paying rent, though”
“Can you do that?” I asked the Goose.
Goose… (shaking her head no) “I don’t know anything about that kind of stuff”

And the moral of the story… ALWAYS include the whereabouts of the parents in children’s books (and movies)… always!

Seriously Funny...

While you anxiously await the monthly review (coming soon to a blog near you!) Here are a few funny quotes from the goose to tide you over....

"When the baby is born and you still have to write a paper, I will take care of her."
(can you tell what I do too much of lately???)


After crying, stomping, and throwing herself on the floor for no apparent reason...
Me: “what was that outburst about?”
Goose: (with most serious and sad look ever) “sin.”
Me: “well, I can’t argue with that.”


Goose to Wes…
“Daddy, get your bike out so we both can ride.”
Wes… “Well, I can’t right now…”
Goose… “Yeah, you don’t have your bike riding clothes on… Go put on your tennis shoes, socks, leggings and dress… THEN we can BOTH ride bikes!”
(I would like to see that!)


Clearly, there are some words I say too much, for instance… clearly. Actually ranks right up there with clearly, as does seriously. (Can you clearly tell that I seriously like adverbs a bit too much?) ANYWAY, evidently I need to add "rather," "quite," and "attractive" to the list. As usual, the goose provides me with such a funny mirror… here’s the conversation over the playdoh table…
Goose: “This is rather quite purple. Actually, it is quite a tractor.”
Me (looking up to see if she had miraculously created a purple tractor): “What’s that?”
Goose: “This purple is quite a tractor!”
translation… “the purple playdoh is quite attractive”… Guess I need to work on annunciating… at least she is increasing her vocabulary!

A baby…

Sister! … Just what the goose wanted! I guess she got her way, again… but we don’t mind at all. I asked Wes if he had a preference, and he promised that he didn’t… he returned the same question, to which I replied, “Two legs, two arms, 4-chambered-heart, 2 sides-of-brain…” and he chimed in, “that’s what we’re looking for!” … we got all we were hoping for and more. Baby Sister measures exactly how she should, already likes doing yoga (just like the goose), and appears to look just like her big sister (at least as much as one can tell from an ultrasound profile).

As promised, our first stop after “getting the baby’s picture taken” was none other than Target, where the goose picked out the first gift for her baby sister… pink pajamas-with-the-feet-in-them, tiny pink baby shoes, and (of course) a pink baby toy. Clearly, we are all set for baby’s arrival… Now the waiting begins.

...waiting... waiting... waiting...

To top off our nearly perfect morning, we headed to Starbucks for a morning treat… and when we pulled up to the window, the car in front of us had already paid for our beverages… the drive-thru-difference certainly added an extra-bright spot to our already fantastic day… best iced caramel macchiato ever!