We all know it's true that big things come in small packages, and little Nancy Kryscynski is the epitome of this rule.
For though she has
a small body (smallest in her class, on her team, in her ward, in her family)
small eyes (squinty just like her mom's when she smiles)
a small voice (gentle and kind no matter what she's saying)
small legs (one of my strides is 12 of hers)
a small mouth (a lollipop is just barely too big)
small years (she is only 4)
small arms (she may be raising her hand, but you might miss it!)
small clothes (so, so cute, but small nonetheless)
a small growth on her ear (which I can't identify but for some reason endears her to me)
and a small wave (just barely peeking over the sacrament pew as she looks back at me)
she also has
a HUGE smile that lights up a room and your heart
HUGE amounts of love to anyone who says hi to her
HUGE running skills since she could outrun and run longer than most of the kids on her cross country team
HUGE abs, allowing her to also out-superman everyone, including her mom
a HUGE brain, memorizes primary songs and Articles of Faith better than the 12 year olds
HUGE faith in the Savior and
HUGE ability to be like Him
HUGE hugs that somehow wrap you up even though she's only the size of your thigh
HUGE singing skills that never fail the whole primary
HUGE love for her family that is evident in the way she plays
HUGE friendship to another dear girl named Annie Dennis who is her age but taller
HUGE likeness to her mom, who is one of my heroes
HUGE little-finger-wrapping skills
HUGE maturity for someone so young
HUGE childlike-ness that will probably never leave
HUGE humility to an older sister that likes to be in charge
HUGE love
HUGE love
HUGE love
She is one of the most single lovable, kind, tender, cute, and small-HUGE girls I have ever known!
Monday, November 24, 2014
Monday, November 17, 2014
Jolly Holly
When I think of Holly Anderson, I think of
clean hair huge smile sparkling eyes adorable outfits definitely smitten with her husband always considerate of others willingly serving and loving it where others usually wouldn't inviting us over for dinner always endearing giggle making awesome cookies and awesome muffins and randomly bringing them by inviting us to a big party that we unfortunately couldn't go to but they came all the way to our house with said muffins to personally invite us up for a personal conversation anytime an awesome sister of many sisters plaid pleated skirts nursery kids love her campus operator uh hello that's like my dream job did i mention the happiest smile in the world younger sister submissive but still bold and individual purest testimony of the gospel comforting kind thoughtful remembering selfless tender softspoken complimentary forgiving loves sisters supportive of husband not afraid of trials awesome conversationalist rosy round cheeks unassuming will drop anything to help happy about everything sad about the right things smart smart smart patient with the impatient issues of this world
and also
one time holly's sister was on a triple date with two girls very dear to my heart who possess so many of the same qualities that holly does and there was an avalanche where they were snowshoeing and the next day holly was so so scared and worried about her sister but so so grateful that her sister was ok and the heartbreaking part of this story is that because of holly's testimony i looked up the story and discovered that one of the girls so dear to my heart died in the avalanche which was so so sad and i lost it at church and even though my friend died and her sister lived holly had only tender hand pats and very sincere words and real covenant-keeping tears to shed with me while i mourned that dear friend
and that's a personal and devestating story once removed from me but my closest personal story
the one about my baby dying is one i sometimes feel like i am living alone and forgotten but when the anniversary of zoey's birth came around who was at our door with a bouquet of flowers that she obviously didn't buy that day when she remembered cus billy told her at church or something cus it was the sabbath and a plate of cookies that were obviously made beforehand but holly anderson and her selfless husband and they were there prepared to comfort us because they remembered and they are tender even though i'm pretty sure they had just barely met us when zoey died and that is why
i love holly anderson.
clean hair huge smile sparkling eyes adorable outfits definitely smitten with her husband always considerate of others willingly serving and loving it where others usually wouldn't inviting us over for dinner always endearing giggle making awesome cookies and awesome muffins and randomly bringing them by inviting us to a big party that we unfortunately couldn't go to but they came all the way to our house with said muffins to personally invite us up for a personal conversation anytime an awesome sister of many sisters plaid pleated skirts nursery kids love her campus operator uh hello that's like my dream job did i mention the happiest smile in the world younger sister submissive but still bold and individual purest testimony of the gospel comforting kind thoughtful remembering selfless tender softspoken complimentary forgiving loves sisters supportive of husband not afraid of trials awesome conversationalist rosy round cheeks unassuming will drop anything to help happy about everything sad about the right things smart smart smart patient with the impatient issues of this world
and also
one time holly's sister was on a triple date with two girls very dear to my heart who possess so many of the same qualities that holly does and there was an avalanche where they were snowshoeing and the next day holly was so so scared and worried about her sister but so so grateful that her sister was ok and the heartbreaking part of this story is that because of holly's testimony i looked up the story and discovered that one of the girls so dear to my heart died in the avalanche which was so so sad and i lost it at church and even though my friend died and her sister lived holly had only tender hand pats and very sincere words and real covenant-keeping tears to shed with me while i mourned that dear friend
and that's a personal and devestating story once removed from me but my closest personal story
the one about my baby dying is one i sometimes feel like i am living alone and forgotten but when the anniversary of zoey's birth came around who was at our door with a bouquet of flowers that she obviously didn't buy that day when she remembered cus billy told her at church or something cus it was the sabbath and a plate of cookies that were obviously made beforehand but holly anderson and her selfless husband and they were there prepared to comfort us because they remembered and they are tender even though i'm pretty sure they had just barely met us when zoey died and that is why
i love holly anderson.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Win-Win
A good neighbor is a win-win, and Billy grew up with one and I have since noticed what a gem still lives across the street, an Irwin-win.
Her name is Annie Irwin and I know her only through Billy and his mom; but a few interactions and observations are enough to tell that she is a good soul.
1. She has a ton of sons (and maybe 1 daughter at the tail end?) but I always see them and her husband out in their driveway coming home from bike rides or doing various boy things. It's a boy family! But inside her house is clean and neat, fashionably decorated and well-maintained. She wears her womanhood with pride.
2. But oh how she loves those boys! One of them came home from his mission recently, and we heard about her excitement from Billy's mom for a long time in advance and when we went to his open house welcome party, you could just see she was beaming with joy and love!
3. But of course, she has another son out right now. We also attended the opening of his mission call and there saw the same beaming joy of a proud mother. He is a good-natured, humble-hearted boy, as are his brothers. She raised her boys right.
4. Which I also know because even though I personally can't tell them apart or know which is which, we run into them frequently enough and they are always kind and polite, friendly and reminiscent with Billy. They were obviously good friends to him, a lesson probably taught to them by their friendly mother.
5. She is that friendly person for Billy's mom, who spends much of her time by herself, sad. But I've heard Cynthia praise Annie and have seen Annie in action; when Billy's mom broke her foot, who helped her get around and recover? Annie Irwin.
6. She is still beautiful and young, with good blonde hair, sparkling eyes and a mature smile.
Between raising a bunch of boys and serving the neighborhood, I can tell that Annie Irwin is one of the best of the best.
Her name is Annie Irwin and I know her only through Billy and his mom; but a few interactions and observations are enough to tell that she is a good soul.
1. She has a ton of sons (and maybe 1 daughter at the tail end?) but I always see them and her husband out in their driveway coming home from bike rides or doing various boy things. It's a boy family! But inside her house is clean and neat, fashionably decorated and well-maintained. She wears her womanhood with pride.
2. But oh how she loves those boys! One of them came home from his mission recently, and we heard about her excitement from Billy's mom for a long time in advance and when we went to his open house welcome party, you could just see she was beaming with joy and love!
3. But of course, she has another son out right now. We also attended the opening of his mission call and there saw the same beaming joy of a proud mother. He is a good-natured, humble-hearted boy, as are his brothers. She raised her boys right.
4. Which I also know because even though I personally can't tell them apart or know which is which, we run into them frequently enough and they are always kind and polite, friendly and reminiscent with Billy. They were obviously good friends to him, a lesson probably taught to them by their friendly mother.
5. She is that friendly person for Billy's mom, who spends much of her time by herself, sad. But I've heard Cynthia praise Annie and have seen Annie in action; when Billy's mom broke her foot, who helped her get around and recover? Annie Irwin.
6. She is still beautiful and young, with good blonde hair, sparkling eyes and a mature smile.
Between raising a bunch of boys and serving the neighborhood, I can tell that Annie Irwin is one of the best of the best.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Dr. Life-Saver-Tenderhearted Drewes
It was no more than a 20 minute span from the time I was rolled into the delivery room to the time Zoey came into the world. In that time I went from a normal person 23 weeks pregnant to a frantic mother with no idea in the world what just happened. In that time at least 8 nurses and one doctor came into the room, one doctor who is still mostly a stranger but will always be very close to my heart.
I don't know what Dr. Peter Drewes likes to do in his spare time, I don't know what his favorite food is, how he came to be where he is today, or where he hopes to be someday. I don't really know anything about him other than the fact that he saved mine and my baby's life in a split second.
He's smart and he obviously studied very meticulously through his years of school. In a moment of crucial decision, he knew exactly how to make a 1 cm cut in my cervix, allowing just enough room for my baby's head, which came out last instead of first, to slip out. Not to mention that before that he knew exactly how to pull her out breach without any more serious damage than some bruises on her teeny legs.
He knew while wheeling me to the OR when I was shaking from cold and shock and who knows what else and sobbing to myself how foolish I had been to run that morning, that he needed to look me in my stranger eyes and tell me with all the firm compassion of a loving father that it wasn't my fault and I needed to stop saying that right now.
He knew what to tell me about the cut to my cervix, a cut he had never had to make in all his years as a delivery doctor and he also knew to tell me that he didn't have the answers, but he was going to help me. So tenderly, so straightforwardly so that even in my wretched and woeful state as my premature baby slept one floor above, I felt calm and trusting.
He of course didn't know what to say when Zoey died two days later. But he knew that he needed to visit me the next morning and hold my hand and tell me, tears in his eyes, how very sincerely sorry he was.
I wrote him a thank you note (how could I not? He saved me and my baby doing something he had only ever read about before) and when I went for my 6 week checkup, he answered all of our scared, worried and exhausted questions. He spoke to us like we were adults but comforted us like we were his own children. He mentioned the note as he was leaving and said, "You will be a great mom."
If I only he knew how much that comment meant to me then and now!
I may have been the first person Dr. Drewes had to make cervical cut for, but I was definitely not the first grieving mother he comforted; nonetheless, he made me and Billy feel like we were his most important priority and not just one on a list of mourning parents. I'm eternally grateful for his knowledge and quick thinking, but was even more impressed and thankful for his sincerity, realism and tenderness. Every doctor should try and be like Dr. Peter Drewes!
I don't know what Dr. Peter Drewes likes to do in his spare time, I don't know what his favorite food is, how he came to be where he is today, or where he hopes to be someday. I don't really know anything about him other than the fact that he saved mine and my baby's life in a split second.
He's smart and he obviously studied very meticulously through his years of school. In a moment of crucial decision, he knew exactly how to make a 1 cm cut in my cervix, allowing just enough room for my baby's head, which came out last instead of first, to slip out. Not to mention that before that he knew exactly how to pull her out breach without any more serious damage than some bruises on her teeny legs.
He knew while wheeling me to the OR when I was shaking from cold and shock and who knows what else and sobbing to myself how foolish I had been to run that morning, that he needed to look me in my stranger eyes and tell me with all the firm compassion of a loving father that it wasn't my fault and I needed to stop saying that right now.
He knew what to tell me about the cut to my cervix, a cut he had never had to make in all his years as a delivery doctor and he also knew to tell me that he didn't have the answers, but he was going to help me. So tenderly, so straightforwardly so that even in my wretched and woeful state as my premature baby slept one floor above, I felt calm and trusting.
He of course didn't know what to say when Zoey died two days later. But he knew that he needed to visit me the next morning and hold my hand and tell me, tears in his eyes, how very sincerely sorry he was.
I wrote him a thank you note (how could I not? He saved me and my baby doing something he had only ever read about before) and when I went for my 6 week checkup, he answered all of our scared, worried and exhausted questions. He spoke to us like we were adults but comforted us like we were his own children. He mentioned the note as he was leaving and said, "You will be a great mom."
If I only he knew how much that comment meant to me then and now!
I may have been the first person Dr. Drewes had to make cervical cut for, but I was definitely not the first grieving mother he comforted; nonetheless, he made me and Billy feel like we were his most important priority and not just one on a list of mourning parents. I'm eternally grateful for his knowledge and quick thinking, but was even more impressed and thankful for his sincerity, realism and tenderness. Every doctor should try and be like Dr. Peter Drewes!
So Many Souls
Time to spotlight some souls, since as of late I have been inadvertently reminded of this "secret" (mostly still secret except for a few blog-stalking people who have stumbled upon it through the forgotten years:) ) blog. I feel an urgency to spotlight so many souls, but am also overwhelmed since the number of spotlightable souls that have entered my life has increased exponentially a thousandfold since last I wrote. But, of course, enough about me. Onto the spotlights!
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