Goodbye Maddy & Poppy

We were all so very sad to see Maddy & Poppy leave for Vermont today. Poppy was with us the first several days after Grace was born but had to return to Vermont due to work commitments. We were very happy to have Poppy back with us for Christmas. He was a tremendous help to us. Poppy and Grace have a special bond and the time they were able to spend together was priceless. One of the greatest joys of having children of my own is seeing them with my own parents. The grandparent/grandchild bond is truly amazing to watch develop and grow. Maddy has been with us the entire time since Jack has been born. There are not enough words to thank my beautiful Mom for all that she has done to help me and my family. I could not have gotten through the past two weeks without her love and support. While Bob, Jack, and I were at the hospital, Maddy was home taking the absolute best care of Grace. Maddy arrived with an activity bag full of fun projects for Grace to do each day that she had spent weeks preparing. While I was at the hospital I felt so at peace just knowing that Grace was happy, safe, and in the best hands. When I returned home from the hospital I came home to a perfectly clean house, with everything in its place. It was obvious that Maddy spent her evenings after Grace went to sleep making sure everything was ready for my arrival home ~ all this without any electricity! Maddy also did endless loads of laundry (far too many to count!), drove to the grocery store on snowy roads to get my medicine, woke up every morning to read to Grace so I could spend time with Jack, prepared all of Grace's meals, and best of all she showered Grace and Jack with lots of love, hugs, and kisses. Thank you, Mom, for everything. My wish is to be the type of mother to Grace and Jack as you have been and always will be to me. I love you and Dad so very much.