The Mordorski Miracle: Saying Good-bye is Really Hard.

So this week is a difficult one – one that we knew was coming for months now, but is finally here. Friday we have to say good-bye to someone who has become a member of our family. People told us that finding a daycare would be one of the hardest parts of having a child. We didn’t fully understand that until we actually had to do it. We talked to and met with so many people, but none seemed worthy of helping us raise our son.

I remember talking to Ronda on the phone and I really liked her. We went to her house and I felt so comfortable with her. She interviewed us as much as we interviewed her and that told me that she was really looking for families that fit, not just for money in her pocket.

She has proven that over and over and over again during these last two years. She truly has taken our three families and turned us into one big family. These are people that I hope to be life-long friends with.

So many things stand out for me as to why she was so great. Some are little things that made a world of difference and other things were HUGE things that I can’t express enough gratitude for. First and foremost, she loved our boys and she kept them safe and happy. She spoiled them and hugged them, but was hard on them when they needed her to be. She always had fun activities planned like painting and making noodle necklaces for Mother’s Day or coloring on ties for the Daddy’s for Father’s Day. She braved taking 3 boys to the puppet wagon every Tuesday in the summer and had jammie day Fridays in the winter – she even wore fun jammies! She always has their favorite foods on-hand, but makes them branch out and try new things too. Who knew Owen would like deviled eggs, beets and black-eyed peas?

She came to watch the boys at swimming lessons on Saturdays, one of the few days of the week she had without 2 year olds! She had Halloween parties and invited us to go Trick-or-Treating together; she took our families to the pumpkin patch so she could buy the boys pumpkins and see them on their first hayride. She calls them when they are sick to check on them and she loves them each for their individual personalities. She always had great advice for us first-time parents, but never overstepped her boundaries. She thought nothing of opening her door early if we had to be to work early and it didn’t bother her a bit if the boys had to stay for supper.

She does all this because she truly loves our kids. I am so happy for her that she is getting to retire and enjoy time with Terry, her husband, who we’ve also come to love as one of the family. BUT, we are just going to miss her so incredibly much. She has said over and over again that she wants to be our backup provider on days that our new ones take off, so I know we will still see her, but it isn’t the same.

You just never realize how much you come to trust and love your daycare provider until you have to start with someone new!

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the last two years.

Ronda hosted a Halloween party for the families. Owen fell asleep just as the party began!

During the winter, she'd put down a tarp, then a blanket so they wouldn't slip, put them in swim diapers and fill a pool or water table and let them go to town!

Jammie Day Fridays

She had all kinds of fun jammies - even footed ones - that she would wear on Fridays.

The family she had before our boys had 3 little girls that come over to play once in awhile. Our boys LOVE "The Girls."

"Hi Sully, what'cha got?"

When Owen saw this picture, he said, "Baby Owen scared?"

Owen used to love watching Ronda's granddaughter, Aja, bounce on the ball, so Ronda got a smaller ball for the boys. Owen would belly laugh while bouncing.

Ronda has a white board on the wall and always posted the happenings of the day. This particular day, Owen climbed into the toybox!

Sully and Owen

Owen LOVED to tip this chair over. He'd sit and read books like this!

Owen pulled himself up on the ottoman

Matching jammies

This is one of my very favorite photos of the boys together. They all look so happy!

We signed the boys up for their very first swimming lessons together. They went on to take another session together too. Ronda and Terry came to watch them swim. :)

The girls, Rocko, Aja and the boys

"Hi Terry! What'cha doing?" Notice Liam in the toybox! They all went through a phase where they liked to climb into it.

And they're off! Sully and Owen crawling down the hallway.

Ronda and Terry took our families to the pumpkin patch last Halloween. We went on a hayride and Liam and Owen giggled and giggled while throwing hay at each other.

Ronda invited us to go to Kowalski's for the "Boo Bash" together. Liam was Darth Vader, Sully was a chef and Owen was a puppy. Here Owen was afraid of a guy giving out candy, but Ronda protected him!