Coming your way

Dear Emma,

Here's some more decorations on our Christmas tree. How do you like my fat country angels? They are made of tin. I have 12 of them. There are four different kinds. I think I love them because they are fat and cute like your Diva and I love country things.


We also have a golden nest on our tree. Our news letters are called "News from the Nest". We gave each of our supporters a Nest ornament so they will think about us and continue to pray for us. We have 6 of them on our tree. I love our birds and bird feeders in the yard. The nest is a place of refuge so it has a special meaning for me. Our little home is cozy like a nest.


I also sent you your Advent Ribbon along with your Mom''s and Dad's. You"ll be able to tell which one is yours because of the ornament on it. It's a little girl with toque, scarf, and blond pig tails just like you." I think you will like the surprises hidden in the little boxes. I'm hoping that customs didn't open them this year like they have in the past. Poppa and I miss you very much and wish we could be with you and your family this Christmas. There are 12 of packages (like the 12 days of Christmas). Do you remember helping your Momma make a Ribbon for Diva and Poppa last year? Diva has never had anyone to make an Advent ribbon for me. I was really honored and so pleased that you made it for me. I hope you like yours.


We love getting your drawings and pictures. Diva and Poppa decided to do some art work for your refrigerator. Poppa thinks it's fun that you raise worms so he thought we should draw a worm for you. Do you like his baseball hat? I think he is cute. We hope to see your worms sometime. Do you name them? I know you take them to your garden in the summer.

Diva and Poppa just sent your Christmas box out Thursday so you should have it soon. Diva has been one busy Santa's helper so I'm really tired . I am so glad to be able to sit down and enjoy the decorations and our tree.


We miss you and love you.

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas,

Diva and Poppa

Our Moravian Star

Dear Emma,

This is the star that is on our porch during Christmas. It is called a Moravian Star. Poppa and I got it in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania . I have a small one on our Christmas tree.

Poppa still has "your princess lights" on the porch to. Your Diva really likes lights. It makes me feel happy inside.

We love you, miss you and hope you are enjoying the Christmas lights in your home.

Ho, Ho, Ho,

Diva and Poppa

Christmas Decorations at the Nest

Dear Emma, This is the Christmas wreath on the front door of our little Nest. It has buttons, yarn, bright bits of material and small snowmen, and gingerbread men on it with a big raffia ribbon on it. It looks very welcoming to our little country home.

 Do you know who made it for me? It was your very crafty mom. She made it for Diva one Christmas and now I put it on our door every Christmas. I love it because I know how much time it takes to make a gift. It is one of my special Christmas decorations. This is my Emma Angel. I bought this ornament last year because it reminds me of you. I love her yellow braids and her winter coat and hat. I know it is very cold in Canada so it makes me think of you bundled up in your toque and coat in the snow. I love her smile and I love your smiles too. I hope you are enjoying the lights, the trees, and the fun of Christmas time. We miss you very much and pray for you every day, Poppa and Diva

Look who's on Diva's Christmas Tree

Dearest Emma, Poppa and I put up our Christmas tree this year and guess who is on our tree? Maybe this picture will help. Yes my darling Emma Bug, it's baby Emma. This was taken your very first Christmas. You were so little. Our very own angel. You make Christmas so much fun for us. You make Christmas fun for your Mommy and Daddy too. Here you are in 2008 (your second Christmas). We love looking at your smiling face and remembering back to the lively toddler you were. You loved having books read to you and sitting on your Poppa's lap. You liked trying to pat JJ and Lucy but they would run away (silly kitties!) Here's your 3rd Christmas picture. I love the candy cane-colored scarf. I love your pig tails and the big smile on your face. You changed every year and we love seeing your picture and remembering the wonderful time we always have with you and your family. This is your picture from last year. I love the happy look of surprise on your face and I love your pretty dress. Diva found that dress for you and what a sweet surprise to see you dressed in it for your Christmas picture. You just started going to school and we enjoyed hearing all about your new friends and about your wonderful teachers Miss Chris and Miss Mona. Thank you for sharing these wonderful pictures with us. We look forward to seeing your new picture this year. We love you very much. Your Poppa and Diva

Poppa's New resized ring

Dearest Emma,

 Poppa and Diva have been married for 38 years. When we got married we exchanged rings. I gave Poppa his ring and engraved inside of it it says JKW to CTB 7-14-73 . 

 Those were my initials and Poppa's initials and the date we got married. I never take off my rings. The only time I didn't wear them was when I was pregnant with your momma and my fingers were too swollen to fit.

 I took my rings off while I could still get them off. Poppa however has had to have his ring cut off, two times now. The first time he was in Haiti and his finger got a cut and began to swell because of infection. He cut it off so he would still have circulation in his finger.

 Last week Poppa cut off his ring again. This time because his knuckles have swollen from arthritis and started cutting off his circulation again. Poppa had the jeweler enlarge his ring two sizes to a size thirteen. 

 The engraving is gone from inside his ring now and I can wear his ring on my thumb (but it keeps sliding off). Poppa has big hands. My hands are very small compared to Poppa's. Poppa always has nice warm hands especially when I'm cold. I like to hold Poppa's hand. I always feel safe holding Poppa's big hand. 

 I hope you will always feel safe holding on to Poppa's hand too. Love and Kisses XOXO

Diva's Best Birthday Gift

a Princess Picnic

Dear Emma,

Poppa grilled outside tonight and we ate on the porch. Poppa had the twinkle lights on the porch because he knew you would like them.

He calls them Princess Lights. You wore your princess dress and earlier you had on your cape and crown and stood on the sidewalk and waved at all the cars that went by. I had to laugh because most of the farmers just drove on by but all the ladies smiled and waved back.

You have that effect on everyone. You make them smile and forget about their busy day. What a sweet girl you are. We watched Beauty and the Beast again tonight.

We went to Gypsy Hill Park but didn't get to stay for very long. We will have to go back tomorrow.

We love you Princess Emmalee!

Strawberry picking

Dear Emma,

Can you guess what we did today? Finally, we got to go Strawberry picking in the fields near Diva's and Poppa's house. The fields were still pretty muddy. I know my shoe got sucked off my foot while walking out to pick. You were very good at picking the big red berries and very good at eating them too. It didn't take us very long to pick two big flats of juicy red berries. Can you imagine what good things your Momma will make with these berries? My mouth is already starting to water just thinking about it.

I love this picture of you enjoying the sweet red strawberry. I'm so glad we were able to go picking with you and your sweet Momma. We would have been very disappointed if we hadn't been able to pick berries.

Look what your Momma made for breakfast when we got back home.
Yep, strawberry pancakes with extra berries and whipped cream. Yum! What a special treat!

It took us quite a while to wash the berries and put them in the refrigerator. We will take some back to Auntie Suzy (she loves strawberries almost as much as you do!) Won't she be surprised!

Now to make some strawberry pie!

What fun to have you and your Momma here at the Nest.

Looking forward to spending the day with you.




We love you Berry much!

Diva and Poppa

New Bird Bath Bowl

Dear Emma,

 One of the things Diva likes to do is to sit at my desk and watch the birds at the birdbath and at the feeders.

 JJ and Lucy love to sit on my desk and watch the birds too. Poppa calls it Cat TV. I especially like the red birds (Cardinals) and the tiny little Finch. 

 Poppa and I got tickled at you whenever you see a Robin you always say, "Look Diva, there's an American Robin". Do you have Canadian Robins?

Today we went to the hardware store to replace Diva's birdbath. The water freezes in the winter and the bowl cracked in two. I was very happy to know the hardware store sells the bowl part of the birdbath. It is made out of concrete so was really heavy.

 Poppa got a cart to put it in to take out to the car and bought me a really pretty red geranium. I love this picture of you and Poppa.

 You are such a good helper. I call this "Princess Power". Thank you for helping me take care of our neighborhood birds. Looking forward to going berry picking tomorrow. Love and kisses, Diva and Poppa

Ice Cream at Willies

Dear Emma, What's more fun than eating soft ice cream with sprinkles? Eating soft ice cream with sprinkles with YOU of course.

 What's a trip to the Nest without ice cream from Willie's with my favorite girl in the whole wide world. Isn't it amazing that out of all the little girls in the whole wide world....we got the best one? 

 I got the rainbow sprinkles and you got the chocolate ones. You wore your princess cape and crown and we tried to eat the sprinkles off before the ice cream melted and slid off. We like Willies because you eat your ice cream outside and if you make a mess the birds love it.

 What a fun day! Your Poppa and Diva

Fun Friday

Dear Emma, Today is day 4 and is picture day. One thing that Diva really loves is to take a yearly picture with you and your momma and daddy.  You are growing up so quickly and changing so rapidly.

 Today we are going to see Miss Vanessa who takes amazing pictures at our local Walmart. Your Momma has you in a very pretty dress with a beautiful daisy headband. Poppa has on a bright red shirt to contrast with the pink blouse I'm wearing. Your beautiful Momma has on a white blouse, now all we need is your handsome Daddy to make the picture complete. 

 Thank you for the beautiful smile on your face and for cooperating so nicely to take the pictures. I know you got tired and I want you to know how much I love seeing these pictures when I can't be with you. Always know that Diva and Poppa love you dearly and pray blessings over you every day. You are an extraordinary young lady and constantly amaze us.

You bring us such joy. we love you so very much. Your Poppa and Diva 

Your personal cheerleaders!

Making Cookies for the firemen

Dearest Emma,

One reason I love you so much is that you are very generous and like to help other people. Diva and Poppa live close to the New Hope Fire Department and you decided that you and I needed to make the Firemen some chocolate chip cookies. I loved baking cookies with you and you were so excited about sharing them with our local firemen.

We went over to the firehouse and you gave the cookies to the firemen. They let you sit on their big red firetruck and blow the siren. We discovered that firemen like cookies. Thank you for sharing with them.

After we went to the firehouse we ate at Chick-fil-a in Harrisonburg. Mommy wanted to do some shopping so we went to the mall.




Mom likes to go shopping and you were a very good girl. After several hours of shopping we shared an Auntie Anne Pretzel with cheese sauce. Your momma used to work at an Auntie Anne's Pretzel store when she was in college. I bet if you ask her she will show you how to make one.




You also enjoyed riding on the merry go round only the ride was over much sooner than you wanted it to be. You picked the prettiest horse to ride and patted its head when the ride was over. You liked the mall, it was a fun place to run, dance, and wiggle.

When Poppa got home we all went to the Green Valley Book Fair. It has lots and lots of books. Last year for Christmas I sent you "Llama, Llama, mad at Mama" book which you like very much. Your own sweet mama found two more Llama books for you. "Llama, llama, red pajama" and " Llama, llama home with Mama ".

Your Poppa and I are very glad you like to read and love books. Both you mama and your daddy love to read too. Diva likes to tease Poppa and tell him he would read the toilet paper if there was anything written on it.

We had a very busy and fun day. The week is going much too fast. Hopefully, we will get to pick strawberries while you are here.

We love you, little girl,

Your Poppa and Diva

Fun Time at Divas

Dear Emma,

Today we went to the Fishersville Library. You put on a yellow hard hat and built the structure you are standing next to. I think you had just as much fun knocking it down afterward. We brought home a big snack of princess books to read and also brought home Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast. You brought along Tangled so we certainly had our share of princess movies.

I love that you can be a complete princess one minute and in the next you enjoy running, jumping, knocking down buildings, or working in the garden.



We ate lunch at Chick-fil-a. You like the fruit cup and the crinkle-cut fries. You especially enjoyed the kid's play area with slides and a pretend car. You made some friends with other little children and were sorry to have to go home.

We went to pick lettuce from our garden as well as a few tomatoes. It has been raining all week and you were disappointed that you couldn't go pick strawberries. The fields are too muddy. Maybe we will get to go later this week.

We bought groceries at Walmart and your momma was excited about buying some foods you don't get in Canada like Crackling Oat Bran. We bought some food to grill out when Poppa comes home tonight. We had California Turkey Soy burgers and lots of salad from our garden.

That evening I got to watch Beauty and Beast with you. It was the very first time you had ever seen it. It was so much fun watching you experience the same movie that I took your momma to so many years ago.

I thought you might get sacred when the Beast was on the screen. But not you, you squeezed my hand and said, "It's alright Diva, the beast is really nice." I love that you can see the good in people even when they are acting like beasts. You are quite an amazing young lady Emma.

Your Poppa and your diva love you very much.

Off to Diva's hours in the country

Dear Emma, Here we go....off to Diva's and Poppa's house. It is an 8 hour car ride but you handle it like a champ. You really enjoyed the portable DVD player so you could watch movies with your head set on.

We also stopped in Easton , Pennsylvania and went to the crayola factory. What fun it was for Poppa and I to watch you color, and make a hat and draw with chalk on a big side walk.

Poppa and I had been before but it wasn't nearly as fun as it was going with you and your momma. You really liked the giant crayons and your mom let you pick out all kinds of pretty color crayons to take home with you.


Poppa bought you a tied dyed shirt from the factory. On the way home you and I played crazy pretend animal games in the back seat while Poppa and your Momma talked. We both laughed and laughed and were so silly. I like being
silly with you. You always make me smile with silly faces or animal noises.

You were one tired little girl by the time we got to Diva's and Poppa's house. We are so glad that you are here with us for the whole week. We have so many things we want to do with you.

Tomorrow we are going to go to the library. We can check out 100 books at a time. Wow, we will certainly be reading lots of princess books. Maybe we can take out Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast.

So glad you are here with us at the nest,

Your Diva

Our first Diva Camp

Dearest Emma,

You probably don't know this but all my life I've wanted to be able to keep all my grandchildren for a week of "Diva Camp." This is our first Diva Camp with your cousin Oscar and Baby Charlie. You and your momma flew to New York from Canada in a big airplane. Your daddy had to work so he was at home missing you.

Your Auntie Suzy and your momma went out to lunch together. They rarely get any sister time so Poppa and I held our first Diva Camp. Oscar loves cars and trains and most anything with wheels.

You both played with cars on Auntie Suzy's dining table while baby Charlie watched and tried to chew on the toy cars. I was so proud of you as you shared toys and helped with Baby Charlie. You were very gentle with Charlie and made him laugh.


Poppa and I love that you are kind to smaller children. You make them feel loved and special. We are so proud of you . Thank you for helping make our very first Diva Camp a fun day for all of us.


Love and Kisses,

Your Diva

Happy Birthday Princess Emma

Dearest Darling Emma, Today you turned four years old. Where has the time gone? I remember holding you as a baby, singing to you, sharing secrets, and reading stories. 

 You look so beautiful in your princess dress and crown. You, momma, tells me that you love the story of Sleeping Beauty and like to watch the movie every day.

 Poppa and I love to hear you sing the songs from the movie. We wish we could be at your party with your friends.

 What fun to have Princess Aurora be the hostess at your party. I'm sure all your friends will enjoy dressing as their favorite princess. We want you to know that you are the queen of our heart and we love you dearly. Save a cupcake for me. xoxo Your Loving Diva