yep. Lots of help. Or “Ope”, as Kajsa seems to call it. She loves to “ope”. only when it comes to packing, it’s not really that “opeful”. helpful in terms of keeping her busy for awhile, at least.
She decided the other day to help out by packing her toys. So she started to pack individual pieces of her Marble Works toy, in individual sheets of newspring/advertisements. At least it kept her busy, and away from taking stuff out of the boxes I was packing!
Check out my other recently-uploaded photos (uploaded today), for a preview of what we’ve been doing over the past few days. Mostly. I have yet to upload photos of today–the Lucia celebration at church, and the farewell piece of that celebration. And the surprise I had when Deb L. (Aunt Deb) dressed Kajsa up to be in the Lucia party. I was in tears, when I saw Kajsa in the outfit. Adorable.
And I’ve been on the verge of tears the rest of today. I’m so excited to be in Harleysville, and I’m having such a hard time saying goodbye to many people here. Whew. It’s gonna be rough. As one lady in Harleysville said, when she wished us blessings on saying goodbye out here, “Just remember that there’s a congregation out here that is very excited to welcome you.” Good to remember, as we transition.
Meanwhile, the packing continues. The Open House happens again tomorrow. Hopefully another Lucia party tomorrow, if we’re still awake by 6 p.m.
Unfortunately the first park we visited I cannot post photos of, thanks to my big mistake: deleting the photos shortly after taking them! Ugh. Horrible. Oh well. But the next park, Mears Park, in St. Paul, was great.. a creek running down the middle.. a band shell… flowers galore… people on lunch break, eating outside.
later, and not go so far. Icy roads seemed to be the theme for Chicago and Indiana. So, we did leave Madison eventually, after trying to figure out what to bring with us for a trip to Vermont, which has been quite cold, but is also turning quite warm this weekend. And with a toddler. Who likes shoes but has no snow boots.. and walks better barefoot.. but who can’t walk barefoot outdoors. And who needs plenty of distractions in the long car ride. Needless to say, the satelite XM radio in the rental car we have doesn’t amuse her quite as much as it amuses Jim and me. I love it. Fortunately for all four of us in the car (Jim, Kajsa, Abby and me), I overpack, and have lots of little distractions for Kajsa. But her favorite is Jen’s bag. 
