Yes, I'm shouting! Justine Helen turned 18 years old this morning at exactly 6:18 (she and Colt were both born at the same time). Can you believe it? She's an adult! Wow....time goes by so fast. It seems like yesterday when we first met. Bruce and I started dating when she was almost two and from the very beginning, I knew that she was a special little girl. I loved her (and Bruce, for that matter) from the start. We always had such a good time together (and still do). She's just a joy to be around. Always so positive and cheerful. We love our Juss so much! So I spent the last couple of days sorting through thousands of pictures (you think I'm kidding???), trying to find a few favorites that I could post of the fun times over the years. I just couldn't decide. How do you narrow it down? So I choose 130+ favorites.They're on the slide show at the bottom. I also wanted to share just a few of my favorite memories of Juss. Again, I have thousands, but rather than write an entire novel, here are my most cherished:
*When I was pregnant with Colter, Juss would go to my Dr's appointments with me. Naturally, she picked up on all of the procedures that went on during these times. Of course, she turned it into a game. A game that could only be played with me. We'd be anywhere, home, the store, driving down the road and Juss would shout out "Hey, Why are you coming to the Dr. today?". I'd have to come up with some "symptom", then we'd have to run down everything that you'd do at the Doctor. Taking blood pressure, looking in ears, throat, eyes, temp. Then she'd give me a "Diagnosis". Poor Bruce always wanted a turn, but only I could be the "patient". We'd even play over the phone! So for Christmas, I bought her the Fisher-Price Dr. kit. I swear we played that game for years:). No wonder she wants to be a nurse.....
*Here's Margaret.
Here she is in her Space Suit...
Margaret is one of my most cherished possessions. I could never replace her. I kept her in glass case in our old house with my most precious things. Now she sits on my desk where I can see her everyday. Here's her story. One day when Justine was small, we went to Dairy Queen. Margaret and her space suit were the "prize". That day we had a really great time. We went to the park, read books, played with the Fisher-Price little people, one of those awesome kid days. Juss had to go back to her Mom's that night and she said to me "Who are you going to play with while I'm gone?". I grabbed Margaret and told her " I guess I'll have to play with Margaret". From then on, that was our thing. Juss would always say "I know you'll miss me, but you'll have Margaret to keep you company". Isn't that cute? Margaret had cemented her place in my heart.
*The famous "Gingerbread Cookie Tattoo" incident of Christmas 2000. Santa filled Justine's stocking with many fun and exciting things this Christmas. The most exciting, however, was a sheet of Christmas themed temporary tattoos. Justine was so excited and filled her arms with Santa's, Candy Canes and Snowmen. I think she even put some on Colter. Well a few days after Christmas, Justine went into the bathroom for what seemed like an eternity. I finally walked up to find out what she was doing. I knocked on the door. "What's up, Juss?". "Are you sick". She was crying. "I need help". She whimpered. I unlocked the door, afraid I was going to find her sick on the floor. Instead, I see her in the bathtub, with no pants on, trying to rub something off her rear end. What in the world is she doing? Here is one of the tougher parts of parenting. Your child is obviously in distress. You walk over and see that your daughter has strategically placed a Gingerbread Cookie tattoo on her right check. You are trying not to laugh, so you're biting your tongue so hard it feels like it will bleed. YOU CANNOT LAUGH! You have to go to the medicine cabinet for the baby oil and some cotton balls. You pass your husband on the way. "What's wrong with Justine?". He asks. You cannot say because you said you wouldn't. Finally you get the offending tattoo off of her backside. You walk into your bedroom and shut the door. You tell your husband what has happened. You both laugh so hard that you're crying. You have to eat dinner, watch movies, play games and not laugh. Finally, a few years go by and your daughter lets you tell the tale of the Christmas Gingerbread Cookie tattoo and everyone can laugh, including Justine.
*In June of 2004, Justine got sick. She hadn't felt well all weekend, but on Sunday, just as soon as Bruce's plane took off, I really got concerned. I called my Mom to come and get the boys and I rushed her up to the clinic. They did a battery of tests, but couldn't really tell me anything. "She could just have a stomach virus, or she could have Appendicitis". "But if she does have Appendicitis, you better get her to the ER quick or she could be in trouble". They couldn't tell me if she did or didn't, but they gave her a shot of Phenergan and it hurt. I held her hand so tight I think it cut off the circulation. We left the clinic and sat in the car. Bruce was in the air. Should I go home and hope for the stomach flu? What if it is Appendicitis? How would I know? She didn't have any of the usual symptoms, still I felt something was wrong. Appendicitis. Funny about that. When Justine was little, she love the book "Madeline". We read it over and over. We watched the movie. We had the doll. She was fascinated with the Appendix "scar" on Madeline's stomach. So here we were. Luckily, Justine's awesome Grandma Myrth, who happens to be a nurse, lived close to the clinic. She was on a walk, but quickly met us at her house. We sat and watched Juss. Both worried. We called her mother who told us to keep her updated. Finally the decision was made. I took her to the ER. We were both scared, but I tried my best to not show it. Funny how being with my dying Dad a year earlier had made me strong. I never thought I could be strong in these situations, but I talked to the Doctors with a confidence in my voice. "Something is wrong with my daughter", I told them. "I just know it". They admitted us and gave us a little room in the ER. Bruce called me back. He was in Boston. He was upset (of course!) and wanted to catch a plane back. They had scheduled a CAT scan for the morning, so I told him to wait. If it was Appendicitis, by the time he could get home, it would be over. He stayed. Poor Juss. She was so sick. I just couldn't stand it. I tried to make her laugh, but she was just miserable. The nurse was great, she and I tended to Justine all night. And a long night it was. Finally, it was time to take her for the CAT scan. Myrth came right after and we got the results. It WAS her appendix and it needed to come out. Surgery was scheduled for later that morning, so I left her with Myrth and went home to take a shower. When I got home, everything hit me and I started to cry. I was trying so hard to be strong, but 2003 had been the worst year. I was just getting used to all of the changes, most of all, missing my Dad. Here it was, a year later, and poor Justine was sick. It had been a horrible year for her too. I won't ever post it, but it was awful. Suddenly I got a feeling that she was going to be fine (thanks Dad!!!). I got ready, went and bought her a pink poodle stuffed animal and headed for the hospital. The surgery went well and Juss's mother stayed with her the next night. The following afternoon she was able to come home. She wanted to come back to our house, so we spent the next week helping her get better. Friends and family visited (Vern and Joyce happened to be out of town when all of this happened) and she recovered nicely. The memory that sticks with me the most is sitting there with her in the ER. She was so sick, but told me that she was glad that I was there with her. I'll never forget that. So every year on June 14th we celebrate three things. Flag day, Darci's birthday and Justine's liberation from her Appendix!
There are so many great things about Justine. I couldn't possibly write them all here. I'll just say thanks Juss, for letting me be a part of your childhood. I will never forget all of the great things that we had done together (remember the pink train we used to race down Grandma Sue's driveway? or the time we rescued "Lucky" the Parakeet from our cat Groucho?") seriously I could go on all day. I love you Justine and I'm so proud to be your parent. Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!
*This picture is one of my all time favorites. It's the day we became a family.....
