Elfey is a Seahawks fan!

Nothing should surprise me anymore right?  

Teensy tiny notes with itty bitty footprints, I was okay with that.

A letter direct from Santa Claus to Kaitlyn before Thanksgiving? That did happen.

Mysterious gifts being found on my daughter's bed, I guess that's normal too.

Today, I find out that Santa is a Seahawks fan.  I guess I always figured there was a North Pole football league or something.  Then, if he had to pick a sports team, Santa picks the Seahawks?  I guess that's just how it is though.

 

When I woke up this morning there was paper all over the couch.  Turns out, Elfey is not so great with, "Cutting, scissors, or tape." I mean the scissors are bigger than Elfey, I can see why that would be a problem.

To get to the point... we have a Seahawks shrine now... that's all I can think to call it.  Elfey is wearing a game day jersey, and has posted all sorts of pictures of Seahawks up there.  She's got her pennants, her 12th Man posters, flags, you name it.  

Elfey also left a note asking Kaitlyn to please make sure to turn on the football game at 5:40pm tonight, since Elfey can't move when we are around. 

Well, now we have it, straight from the Elf's note -"The Seahawks are Santa's favorite team in the NFL."

Special Delivery!

We still haven't figured out where all this stuff is coming from.  We know that some of it is from Santa himself.  The letter from him had his address and was on official Santa Letterhead.  Everyone knows that you can't just pretend to be Santa, or impersonate him, that would put you so far on the bad list that you would never get another present from Santa.

We were out in the living room, minding our own business.  Kaitlyn had conked out in the chair (stealing my spot I might add).  I went to move her covers for her and there is a delivery on her bed.  Not just a note, but STUFF!

There was an Elf Code note.  Very cute.  A shopping list with crazy things on it.  The first few items on the grocery list were, "Candy Canes, Candy Corn, Marshmallows, Giant Marshmallows, Syrup, Peppermint Patties..." and the tooth rot just went on and on.  There was a pair of super warm Christmas socks with a tag that said, "Wish you warm and cozy toes this winter.", A Christmas tree frosted cake, and a pair of candy canes shaped like a heart. 

It's all very suspicious if you ask me.

A Letter from the North Pole!

Today was the most surprising of all. 

I had run to the store, and Kelley and Kaitlyn had been home for a bit.  Kaitlyn was sent to her room to get her jammies so we can put them on.  She's in her room a few seconds and we here, "Mom, Dad, guys I think I found something."  We hear, "It happened again!". 

Having no clue what she was talking about we go to see.  There was a letter on her bed.  It was addressed to, "Kaitlyn Elizabeth, Pink Bedroom, Doern House". So, whoever it is has been stalking us, they know where she sleeps.

We go to look at the letter, and it's from Santa Claus himself! 

Inside was a letter, just for Kaitlyn!

"

Dearest Kaitlyn,

Have you been naughty or have you been nice?

I’m making my list, and I’m checking it twice.

Are you picking up your toys?

Do you make your bed each day?

If I asked your Mom & Dad, “Good or Bad?”

What would they say?

Do you mind your manners?

Say, “Thank You” and remember, “Please”?

How often do you say, “Bless You”

When someone happens to sneeze?

Are you throwing tantrums,

Yelling and throwing things?

Are you going in your pull-ups and panties?

Are you being mean?

Remember to keep your behavior good!

Be your very special best!

I may even send a friend,

To make sure you pass the “Nice List” test.

"
We have no idea how the letter got here, but at least now we know who it's from.  At the same time, this one referred to a special friend, and the other one said it would be HER special friend. 

Things are just getting more and more crazy.

Another tiny note.

Well, Kaitlyn did REALLY well today.  I was very impressed with how much better behaved she was.

We went into her bedroom to get her PJ's.  I asked Kaitlyn if she had been coloring on her bed.  Again she said no.  We walked over to her bed to find yet another miniscule note.  This one said, "Kaitlyn, It's very busy this time of year.  I won't be able to sneak a visit again, Keep up the good work, keep being good, and he'll let me be your very own special friend." There were tiny glittery holly leaves on it also.

Now, on top of the crazy note this note came with a delivery owl.  An adorable white snow owl.

Who does this type of thing?

We thought maybe it was the owl but owls don't wear shoes, and their feet are totally the wrong shape.  I told her maybe it was Tinkerbell, but then we figured Tinkerbell wouldn't be walking, she'd fly.

Curiouser and curiouser. 

Sneaky visitor

Today has been a very interesting day. 

Kaitlyn has been a terror.  Just not wanting to cooperate with anything.  She'd say she wanted milk, I pour her some milk.  She wanted her milk in a sippy cup.  I pour her milk in a sippy cup and she wanted chocolate milk.  So, chocolate milk in a sippy cup, then comes the epic, "But I wanted to stir it!".  That was just the first argument of the night.

We are getting ready to bed.  I walked into Squishes room to get her jammies.  I look over and swear that she had wrote on her window sill.  I call Kaitlyn in, ask her what she drew on her windowsill.  Kaitlyn says she didn't do anything, so we investigate.

What I thought was coloring on her windowsill turned out to be teensy tiny footprints.  I can't imagine what would leave footprints that small.  We followed the trail of footprints and they end at a itty bitty scroll.  (Seriously?  Who uses scrolls now days?)  We open up the scroll and there is a miniscule message inside.  "Kaitlyn, Please be good or I won't be allowed to come meet you."

Very curious indeed. 

We have no idea at all where this could have come from. 

We thought maybe one of her stuffed toys had done it.  Kaitlyn very forcefully reminded me that her stuffed Kitty "Sparkles" does NOT wear shoes.  My next guess was a horse, they wear shoes.  "Mommy, horses are tooooo big these are tiny foot prints."  We also discussed our cat Tazz, he's a trouble maker, but she's right he does not wear shoes.  We discussed maybe her little people toys, but again, no shoes. 

I have decided that if I ever get to have a conversation with the note leaver I am going to specify nothing exciting that close to bedtime.  After we got her calmed down she informed us that she was going to lay really still, keep her eyes closed and when she felt her visitor visiting she was going to catch him and bring him to me.

Any idea's who would leave tiny cryptic messages on a child's bed?  Not to mention we were in the house the whole time, the footprints led from the windowsill and the window was locked.  They must have magic or something to go through a locked window.

Where was God?

It doesn't happen very often, the entire country of America coming together and agreeing.  So often we look into what divides us, what holds us separate from each other, and THAT is what defines us.  We cheer for one particular baseball team, we live in one particular city.  We are Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, Amish, Atheist, wiccan, or believe something that has no name.  We are democrat or republican, independent or unsure.  We are blue collar, white collar, redneck or city slickers.  On Friday, each and every one of us was family.  We mourned as a family for each life that was taken, we gave thanks for each heart that was allowed to keep beating, and we were appalled and angered that anyone could do such a thing.  All of this, we did together, as human beings.

As the news slowly emerged, and the true horror of all that had happened, and facts were stated saying, "twenty children, ages 4 to 7, and 6 adult lives were taken by a single person at Sandy Hook Elementary school.  The killer then turned a gun on himself and took his own life."  Do not forget that he also claimed his own mother's life before any of the further carnage took place.  The total?  Twenty-eight lives, taken by one single, disturbed, life. 

The one thing that caught my attention first, was the first thing you see, on social media sites like Facebook, is the request from people to people, for prayer.  They ask us to pray for the lost, pray for the living, pray for the grieving, pray for strength for those who need it.  The one prayer I failed to see asked for was the one I think most important.  We need to pray for a world in which this type of shooting can happen.  We need to pray for a world in which this type of crime is becoming common place.  We need to pray a world in which more people will be able to tell you the name of the killer, than any single of a life that was taken.

There are a few other, rather common comments that are going around right now, that bother me.  People are asking a question: Where was God, when all these lives were taken?

There are also images on Facebook going around that say: "Dear God, Why do you allow such violence in our schools? -signed a concerned student  Dear Student, I am not allowed in schools. - God"  Do I understand what people are saying with this simple image? YES! The very people that have gone out of their way to have every single image, thought, or Word of God taken from our schools, our governments, our country are the people who first ask that question.  They want to know where "our God" was when these type of things take place.  People WANT to make the impression that we have kicked God out of lives, so how can we ask Him to intervene?

I can tell you where God was. 

God was with every single person in Newton, CT that morning.  He was with them as they got their children ready for school.  He was there as children said goodbye to their parents, as kisses and hugs, some of them the last, were given.  He was there, preparing these people for what they were about to go through, whether they believed in Him or not, God believed in them.

God was there as the killer made his way to Sandy Hill Elementary school.  God was there when the first shots went out, He was there as those first lives were escorted to the gates of Heaven.  God was there with the student that barely made it to his classroom before the horror started, a moment before and that child's life too would have been gone. 

God was with the principal, Dawn Lafferty.  God gave her the courage to face the shooter, and try to stop the shooter.  It's been said that Lafferty taking on the gunman's first initial moments of fury gave teachers and staff  precious moments to lock doors, hide children, and do all they could to protect lives.

God was with the person who thought to turn the Sandy Hill School loudspeaker system on.  The number of lives that this simple act probably saved is countless. 

"A custodian ran around, warning people there was a gunman, it was said. "He said, 'Guys! Get down! Hide!'" He survived."  God was with that man.

God was with Victoria Soto, and her students.  He was there as she was trying to get her students into a closet, to protect them from harm.  Victoria Soto died as she shielded her students from the gunman, God held her hand and finished what she was trying to do, He protected her students.

God was with the little girl, the lone survivor of one of the two classrooms, as she "played dead" and survived. God was holding her hand, keeping her still, and calm, amid the chaos around her, and He will be with her as she faces all that she will face as she grows up after living through such a thing.

God was with the woman who hid under a desk.  As she trembled, did her best to remain quiet, and starred at the shoes of the killer, just feet away, God was holding onto her, He gave her strength, and she lived.

God was with Kaitlin Roig, a teacher, and her 15 students as she hid them in a bathroom and barricaded them in with a book shelf.  God had his hand on every one of those children as they did their best to remain silent.

God was with school clerk, Maryann Jacobhim, and the 18 fourth graders she had in the library. God was there as they all first went to a small room, finding the door didn't lock, and then as they crawled to a storage room, where they too barricaded the door, and found coloring supplies.

God was with the gym teacher, and the children in her care.  God was with them as they huddled in the corner, and held them close to Him as the teachers took the scared, crying children, to an office so they could cry without being heard.
God was with an eight year old little boy and the teacher that saved him. "I saw some of the bullets going past the hall that I was right next to, and then a teacher pulled me into her classroom," said the boy.
If you have read any of the stories out there, you can see God in every single one of them.  As I was reading, I ran across this, "was armed with a military-style rifle and two semi-automatic pistols. Investigators said he possessed "multiple high-capacity magazines" for all three weapons."  The shooter could have killed, wounded, scarred, many more than he did.
God had His hand on every single locked door in that school.  Do we think that He looked the other direction while all of this was going on?  Think of the hysteria that wasn't reported on the news.  The students being led from the school by their teachers and police.  Think of how much worse things could have, would have, been if these children and teachers had panicked?  If children had done what so many adults would do, go running from the building in fear.  God was there, and still is. 

Do you think that telling teachers, "you can't pray with your students" kept a single one of those from sending up a prayer?  Do you think the "separation of church and state" kept a single person in the country from praying?  How does a Christian believer believe that God would ever say, "I'm not allowed in school"?  Does anyone think that God looked at the building and said, "well, it's a school, I can't go in there?"  As the parent's were rejoined with their children, are there any, you think, that didn't think "Thank God!", because He wasn't welcome in school?
~Tammy Doern~
December 16, 2012

Happy Birthday Papa.

Happy Birthday, Papa.

I know that you aren't "here", but I had to put some of my thoughts down.

I miss you like crazy. When buying Valentines Day Cards I automatically went to the birthday card section - it's your birthday too. I always wanted to make sure that you got birthday cards, even though it was valentines day. Sort of like kids born on Christmas, I wanted to make sure you never got gipped.

I wish you had met your granddaughter. I wish I'd had more time with you. I know I got out there every time I could, but I always regret not being there more. I spent so little time with you as a child, I wanted to make up for it. I'm so glad I made you a priority in my adult life.

The "you" I remembered as a kid was a grouchy, grumpy old man. I remember you and Grandma kicking us out of the house, no matter how cold or hot it was. "Kids shouldn't be underfoot". I remember you smoking way too much, and drinking a lot. I remember trips in your car to a drive through liquor mart and getting a pretzel stick and loving it.

My first interaction with you as an adult, was begrudging. You were sick and Joy and Pam wanted to see you put in a nursing home, and you didn't want to go. So, I packed up my life and moved in with you. I hated the smoking and remember arguing with you over your smoking while we were eating dinner (which eventually I won.)

I remember realizing that you still were in love with Grandma then too. Every single thing I did, I did wrong, I had to do it like her. Whether it was ironing your clothes, washing windows, or cooking stew. It had to be done the way Grandma did it. At first it was irritating. I was not Grandma, but then I realized how awesome it was, now days people hardly stay married and in love for a week, you stayed married a lifetime, and loved her till the day you died. You, Papa, YOU showed me that love can last forever.

The more I got to know you, the more my images were shattered. You were a grumpy grouch, yes. At the same time you had a sense of humor I never would have guessed. You said hurtful things sometimes, and when I finally got up the courage to ask why, you said because people deserved to know the truth about things. You loved trying new things, which was neat in an old guy. I remember telling you I was having gastric bypass surgery and you absolutely not wanting me to do it, telling me you "forbid" me to have it, because you didn't want me to get hurt... I think that was the first time I realized how much you cared about me. I remember calling you to find out what the bird was in our yard that was pretending to be hurt to draw us away from it's nest, and you KNOWING what it was. You told me how to keep rabbits out of my garden, and about a Grandma I barely knew.

I'm glad I got to know you, I'm glad I loved you enough to miss you. As much as it hurts, I will never regret knowing you.

One of the things that broke my heart the most at your funeral wasn't your passing. It was the fact that there was a room full of people who were your family that had no idea who you were. They didn't know you'd quit smoking, or stopped drinking. I don't think they had any idea you could tell a joke. They had never sat on the floor in front of your spot on the couch while you told story after story about your old photo's. I cried for them, I remember Kelley comforting me as a I cried for them saying, "they don't even know what they lost", and knowing it was true.

Take care Papa, we miss you. I know you are up there with my baby boy, Christopher, and I know you are taking care of him. Do me a favor and hold his hand, make sure looks both ways as he crosses the streets of Heaven.