Musings of a Palouse Mom: 7 Quick Takes

Linking up with Conversion Diary again for 7 Quick Takes.

In memory of Jessica - here are seven memories.

--- 1 ---

I was on a work trip to Madison, WI the day Jess was born. I got the news by phone and had to wait a week to meet my new niece!! She was worth the wait... such a sweet, little chunk.

--- 2 ---

I had just committed to attending a conference in Phoenix, Az for a youth group that I was helping lead and my sister called and asked me to be Jessica's Godmother. Her baptism was scheduled for the same weekend as my training conference in Phoenix. I missed my own God-daughter's baptism, but was there in prayer.

--- 3 ---

We were all visiting my folks the summer they moved into their new house. Jess was just over two years old. My two distinct memories from that trip:

We took one of those Popsicles that has two sticks and broke it in half. Michaela got one and Jess was supposed to get the other one. She spent the next half hour or more walking around crying "want mine own!! Want mine own!!" She didn't want anything to do with a Popsicle split in half... She wanted one with both sticks in it!!

Later that same day, my sisters and I were sitting outside in the 90+ heat watching the kids play in the water. Being the stinker I am, I doused both Jennifer and Suzie with water. That started a full on water fight between the three of us. A water fight that ended quickly when the sound of Jessica's wailing stopped us short. Her two year old self didn't understand why her Mom was running around the yard screaming!! Poor girl, we scared her with our sisterly exuberance. :)

--- 4 ---

When Carl and I were first dating, I was working during the week in Seattle, living in Boise and he was in Oakesdale. Most weekends we spent together in Spokane at Jen & Jeff's house. Carl would sleep on an air mattress in the basement. I don't know how many times he woke up to Jessica (and Michaela) launching themselves over the back of the downstairs couch onto his air mattress (and him!!). Jess wasn't a small 4 year old... So it was quite the wake-up call when she landed fully on top of him!

--- 5 ---

How beautifully sweet Michaela and Jess both looked in their flower girl dresses at my wedding.

--- 6 ---

All my many memories of Jessica "mothering" my girls. It was a standing joke that you could only get your time in with my kids when she wasn't around. She was the resident "baby-hog"... in a good way!

--- 7 ---

Megan's second birthday party. We celebrated it a day early at Jennifer & Jeff's house. Jessica offered to take pictures for us so we wouldn't have to worry about it. Every time I look at those pictures, it is with the knowledge that they were taken with her eye, by her hand, and through her love. She is only in one single picture from that night because Carl happened to have the thought cross his mind that since she had been taking the pictures, she wasn't in any yet. He grabbed the camera and snapped a single picture. It is the last one taken of her, just 36 hours before she collapsed.