Dear Gram

My dear sweet mother, Mable Laura Margaret Perkins Dyer, passed away on July 24, 2011 at the age of 88. How we all will miss this wonderful lady. She was such a great mom and grandmother. Each of my children have special memories of her. She was so excited for us to bring Sarah home, and Sarah immediately fell in love with her. From the very beginning she has always been "Gram" to Sarah. I am so very grateful that Sarah could have 2 years to get to spend time with my mom. I hope that as the years go by she won't forget the special gram that she had.

Mom struggled so much the last couple of months of her life, she was in a lot of pain and wasn't able to eat. It was so very hard to go each day and see her decline, right up to the end I watched this and wished somehow I could wave a magic wand to make everything ok. I thought about how a fountain of youth really sounded like a great idea. I have always wished that a person could just simply be twinkled and there would be no suffering or pain. Watching my mom die was so very hard for me. And then I got the call that she had passed, grateful she no longer was suffering but now my mom was gone, it is hard to lose your mom.

Her funeral was held on Saturday, July 30, 2011, it was a very nice service with her grandkids performing some musical numbers and my brother Ken and husband Todd speaking. I know she would have liked it.

I hope you are doing well on the other side now mom, I miss you so much! Sometimes my tears just flow. A friend of yours related a story about Mark Twain that went something like this: A reporter had informed Mark that a friend had passed away and Mark began to weep. The reporter was touched by this and asked Mark about it, Mark replied, "I do not weep for my friend but for myself, I have suffered the loss of a dear friend." Mom, you were indeed a dear friend to many people, and you will forever hold a special place in the hearts of your family and all who knew you. I hope you had a joyous reunion with family and friends who had gone before you, and know that we will see you again. We love you, thank you for all you did for me and for our family! Rest in Peace.

She Makes Me Smile

Everyday spent with Sarah is such a blessing. She has been home now for two years and I continue to marvel at this child. She says and does so many things that I just have to stop and ponder. Where does she get the insight from? So often over the past two years I have wished I could have seen what her life was like during those first eighteen months.
She makes me smile daily and is a great reminder to not take myself too seriously, she looks at me and says, "Mom are you mad? No I reply. Are you sad? Again no and then she says, show me a big smile" I have heard her go through this with each of us and of course always gets a big smile in return. She is so compassionate for others, she remembers if someone was hurt or sick and always asks how they are doing. My mom recently had to move to an assisted living center and Sarah is so cute, she says, Mom, Gram gets lonely, we need to go see her right now. She makes each of us line up to say goodbye to Gram with hugs and kisses and and she cuts in line in between each of us, making sure "Gram" gets many many hugs and kisses from her.
I love to hear her say her prayers, there isn't anything sweeter then to hear her voice giving thanks or asking for a blessing for someone. I am just so thankful for her and what she means to our family. I love how she teases and has a sparkle in her eyes, I love how she wants to be so helpful. She goes to the kitchen and opens the dishwasher and says mom are these clean or dirty and if I say clean she says don't worry I'll put them away and proceeds to unload the dishwasher and put away everything where she can reach. I ask myself what three year old does this? And I love the times when she simply says Mom I Love You! Just makes me melt.
It was my birthday a couple weeks ago ( and the two year date since we first met Sarah) and Sarah went and gathered three small bags of toys that she carefully picked out and wrapped so I couldn't see, she was so excited to give me these presents and for a week she had them set aside, waiting until it was my birthday. She told me she couldn't tell me what was inside, I had to wait until it was my birthday. This girl can keep a secret! Finally the day arrived and with so much excitement she carried them into the family room and I was allowed to open them. I carefully took out each toy and told her how much I loved it and how nice it was for her to share with me. She was delighted. She then helped me carry them all up to my room. They are still there. Several times I have asked her if she wanted them to play with and sometimes she plays with them but always puts them back in my room and says they are mine that she gave them to me. I even ask her if she would like to have them in her room and she said no that they were my birthday present and I should keep them. Really? So selfless and amazing. I love this little girl with all my heart and I will be eternally grateful for receiving such a gift!

Sarah's 3rd Birthday

August 15 was Sarah's 3rd birthday. We had a special "Fancy Nancy" birthday party for her, her first party. She was so excited to invite her friends, they all dressed up and we made a fancy cake, painted nails and put on makeup, made fancy picture frames, shopped at the Fancy Shop where each girl picked out jewlery, makeup and of course a boaa. So much fun!

Happy Birthday Sarah

Summer reunion

Our family had the opportunity to go to Hilton Head South Carolina for a reunion with a couple of the families that were on our adoption journey with us. It was so fun to see everyone again and for Sarah to reconnect with two of the other children who were adopted. How wonderful it was to see their sweet smiling faces and to hear the laughter as they played. You just can't keep from smiling when you hear the laughter of children. Our lives have been so enriched and I am so grateful we were able to bring Sarah home and for the opportunity we had to meet such wonderful people on our journey. It was so fun to spend a week together with the other families catching up on the past year. Hilton Head was beautiful and we enjoyed going to the beach, going on a dolphin cruise where we saw several dolphins, shopping, eating at fun places and making memories. We look forward to another reunion next year.