Remembering Good Times with Sharon

We (Hunter and Krista) went to Asheville for the memorial... was lovely. (Charlie had to work.) The Celebration of Sharon's life was at the Crestwood Pavillion set in the Blue Ridge Mountains... it was so beautiful. Though a sad occasion b/c Sharon is (and will continue to be) sorely missed, it was wonderful to see all the extended family... all the Wagner cousins and Uncle Tim... Uncle John... Megan Specht...the Deeb Guys and their families... Such a great time together as one huge family. Some tears, but a lot of laughs. I like to think that though Sharon leaves a wonderful family here on Earth, she joins other loved ones like Papa Sr., Ma, Jimmy, and Jan elsewhere.

Here are some pictures from times I have enjoyed with Sharon. She was the "life of the party" at the BIG Family Reunion back in '99... and then she was a reader at Charlie and my wedding in '04... She even came into the bridal suite and pinned into my hair my grandfather's pin (Papa Sr.) -- it was my something old, blue, and borrowed all in ONE! There are MANY "old school" photos (from the 70's and 80's) of all of us looking oh-so-stylin' when Sharon and Tim and our Wagner cousins came to visit... but those are at my mother's house!

;-)

I will -- in a separate post -- attach pictures from her "Celebration of Life" memorial in Asheville, NC March 21st. But, I think my cousin, Kristina (Sharon's daughter) took a lot better pix w/ her big Bertha camera!

Enjoy.

With love,

Krista

Hunter is such a "BIG Boy" at 18 mo.

• Hunter can now say "Up please" after he's done eating.
  
• Hunter can blow kisses on command, ten times in a row too.


• When Mommy asks for kisses, Hunter will tilt his head back, purse his lips, and do the "mmmmmmuah!" sound.
  
• Hunter LOVES to play on the slide and swing at the playground... to ease his pain when it's time to leave the playground, he's taken to waving & saying, "BYE BYE" loud and clear... then a softer and a little sadder "bye bye"... until it's an almost inaudible whisper as we walk away... gosh, if he perfects that guilt trip thing, we may end up buying him a playground (or an amusement park) soon!
  
• Hunter loves to eat with his fork and spoon... and he's getting pretty good... bibs aren't quite as messy these days, yahoo. But the best food requires neither: PB&J sandwiches!!! (He is totally my son) AND, of course, GRAPES!!! (This he often sneaks from an open fridge when I am not looking!)
  
• Hunter loves to ride his "car", a.k.a. his BIKE... (but everything w/ wheels is a car these days AND of course he LOVES saying "car" over & over!) ... anyhow he's getting darn good at manuevering his little trike, though his little legs don't quite reach the pedals!


• Hunter is OBSESSSED with drawing/coloring/writing these days... he holds the marker, pen, crayon just like an adult would (i.e. the correct way) -- guess our boy is just a natural, hee hee. But, I will not lie; his zeal is a tad annoying. I have resorted to hiding pens etc outta sight b/c he will not eat dinner if he sees a stray pen and pad of paper! ;-)


• Hunter can idenitfy some of the letters of the alphabet (some are from his name, which he smiles at each time it's written for him). He LOVES the "ABC" song.... and he loves to play with the stick-on alphabet letters in the tub.


• Hunter LOVES to play with snow... as long as the wind isn't howling... once the snow melted a little and there were snow banks left, he liked watching Mommy throw snowballs at the ground -- Hunter's cackle was such an ego boost, I repeated the snowball flinging like 10 times. You'd have thought I invented snow! Anyhow, love those moments: Kids sure do know how to put the FUN in MUNDANE.
  
• Hunter can sit in Time Out when he needs it. Though he's pretty darn good most of the time... we're kinda thinking that maybe a 2nd child isn't a smart idea; we might be testing our luck and get the spawn of satan or something. Case in point, Hunter is so good, that even when he's bad he's actually kinda good: One day, he actually walked to time out (albeit sulkily) when I simply pointed to the spot & told him I was sending him there... what a sight!
  
• And Hunter loves to talk on his feaux Mickey Mouse cell phone -- he imitates adults well! He'll put the phone to his ear and say animatedly "HI!"... too bad he won't do that on command when grandma and grandpa OR Nana and Papa are on the phone!
  
• Hunter likes to give hugs... and they feel SO good.

Yes, indeed, being a parent is so joyful... makes you know deep in your heart that family and relationships are what matters. So, it's with a sad heart that I share the news that my Aunt Sharon lost her battle to pancreatic cancer this past Friday. Please keep her family (both immediate and extended) in your thoughts and prayers. She was a special lady and will be sorely missed. I will be going through my photo albums shortly and will try to post some pictures of fond times with the Wagners. :-)

With love,

Krista