Today we received a visit from some much missed family. Aunt Sandy (Todd's moms sister) and Mamoose & Papaw (Todd's maternal grandparents, Stella and Jonah's great grandparents) came over to visit. They hadn't seen the kids since Christmas and were surprised to see how big Jonah had grown.
Jonah was a well behaved little boy and greeted them with big smiles. Aunt Sandy held Jonah and they played Patty Cake and he loved it! Aunt Sandy said that she keeps track of Jonah and all of his doings and milestones on facebook and that his pictures are all so cute that she sometimes just wants to kiss them. Luckily she didn't need to kiss his picture today and was able to get some real time Jonah time and kiss on him in person.
Aunt Sandy brought Mamoose and Papaw along to visit too. Papaw had a great time playing with Jonah and Jonah loved playing with him too. They exchanged smiles and grins and was quite possibly the cutest exchange of the visit.
Finally it was Mamoose's turn to get her Jonah fix in. She couldn't believe how big he had grown since she last saw him at Christmas. She enjoyed holding him and got a kick out of how much he was smiling and how well behaved he was. She truly enjoyed him and couldn't believe how much of a "wiggle worm" he was.
I absolutely loved their visit today! It made me realize how lucky and blessed Todd is that until recently he had all of his grandparents still living and that they all played an active and influential role in his life. I've always been jealous that Todd was so blessed to have grown up surrounded by his extended family and grandparents. Unfortunately, my sister and I didn't get to experience growing up close to our grandparents and some of our extended family like aunts and uncles because they lived in Egypt and we only saw them the few times they visited from Egypt or the few times we made the trek to Egypt. In fact, by the time I was 15 (that means my sister was only 5 years old) all of our grandparents had passed away. However, I'm lucky to have some of the fondest memories of my Teta Stella (maternal grandmother), whom my daughter Stella is named after, because she lived with us for several years during my childhood before she passed away. Teta Stella's memories have left such an imprint on my life. It was because of her that I learned to speak Arabic and I know for a fact that had she not lived with us that I wouldn't understand Arabic and speak it as well as I do. Sometimes the smallest things remind me of her. I remember her cute little laugh, her adorable smile, how much she loved to drink warm milk before bed and how sometimes she would eat a banana without putting her dentures in. These cherished memories will be ones that I keep forever and share with the kids.
Unlike my sister and I, Stella and Jonah are so lucky to have all of their grandparents and most of their great grandparents still alive and that they all live fairly close by. They will be able to experience things that my sister and I never did but that Todd and his siblings did like them attending important events in their life (i.e. school activities, sporting events, graduations and weddings). Although Stella and Jonah are still very young, I hope that one day they will appreciate and realize how lucky they are that their grandparents, great grandparents and extended family were an influential part of their lives.
Even now, I can see some of the imprints and influence that people like their Teta and Gido have begun to leave on them. Stella already loves Egyptian food and understand some Arabic. Teta and Gido speak to them in Arabic and they know Arabic hymns they hear and sing in church. I always encourage my parents to speak to them in Arabic as that's how I learned it when my Teta lived with us when I was so young. I can only hope that they will appreciate it when they grow older and realize how lucky they are and will pass down the same to their children and grandchildren.
So on a day like today when we get to visit with loved ones, I am reminded how important family is and how blessed we are!
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