Tag: Aunt Becca

And We All Made It!

December 31, 2023

And We All Made It!

Butterflies swam in my heart, stomach, mind… anywhere… everywhere all at once.  

I’m sitting in one of the folding seats in the Ocean Center with a baby nursing… I’ve been here, done that before, but never have I been in this venue for the event that is unfolding before me.  

A cycle of pictures of young men and women in more childish images showed on the screen that usually displayed my gymnasts’ scores.  

My gymnasts are sitting in the row behind me because our group of twelve takes almost two whole rows.  They are not in warm-ups cheering teammates, but keeping siblings entertained as they all wait for Christina. 

Marching Music!  

There they come!  Hundreds of young people in black gowns and caps.  Christina has a decorated cap with a quote from The Hobbit.  Her cap is bright green – and that makes her easy to pick out of the sea of black gowns and caps.  

Christina is graduating with her 4-year-degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University!  Her graduation from high school with her AA degree from St Johns River State was the first college graduation ceremony I’d attended.  I look around me at six of my other seven children and my niece.  I smile; it definitely won’t be the last!

Everyone is waving and trying to get Christina to see them.  Christina’s fiancé was also watching along with some of his family a little higher up in the arena!  Kimberly is impressed with this use of the floor that she’s been competing on for three seasons and will be coming to again in 2024.  

The keynote speaker starts: Rebeccah’s plane hasn’t yet landed.  Louis is monitoring that.  The keynote speaker’s last encouragement?  “Adapt and overcome” – my Daddy said that all the time.  It almost made me feel like he was watching.  

A text.  Rebeccah’s plane landed.  She’s getting a taxi from the airport.  It’s a couple of miles.  She’d managed to get out of her college classes and work early so she could catch the earliest flight from Pensacola to Daytona.  I had prayed she would get to the venue to see Christina walk.  

I walked out to change Laud the same time as Louis said Rebeccah was here but not sure how to get in.  I walked to meet her; she is very enterprising and self-reliant so had discovered the entry herself.

We took our seats.  

Christina’s group of graduates stood.  My crew waved and Christina looked up to see Rebeccah here.  

We were all present.  

Louis, me, Rebeccah, Kimberly, Jaquline, Jillian, Lucas, Theadora, Laud.  Grandma Tina.  Aunt Becca and Anastasia.  Louis had his mom on video phone or something like that.  She said she was watching it live-streamed.  All of Louis’ and my little Tart clan was here to cheer on our Christina as she graduated.  

Our determined, ambitious, perfectionist whose smile lights up rooms.  October had been her 20th birthday.  My mind flew backward to that box of confetti in plane shapes.  She’d been accepted to the only university she wanted to attend: and Louis and I wondered how we would pay for it.  Scholarships, grants, loans, and flight training on a few credit cards – she’d worked as much as possible to make it happen.  We’d helped some.  Christina had made it happen.  

Christina walked up to get her diploma.  With honors.  (My perfectionist was bummed she didn’t make “with highest honors”) She did her little dance move she did at her “high school” graduation.  She looked up and beamed at us.  I am so proud of her!  (And Thea yells “you got this!” – even though it wasn’t a gymnastics meet)  

All of us were there.  Sure, our baby won’t remember it.  He actually slept through the keynote speaker and woke just before Christina walked.  Thea and Lucas will remember playing and being bored, respectively.  From Anastasia up to Rebeccah though; they know it’s a big deal.  They know, with varying degrees of understanding, how much work Christina put into getting to this goal.  They watched, with varying degrees of understanding, as she studied, worked, stressed, complained, forced herself to take fun breaks once in a blue moon, prayed, and pushed on.  

With Little Cousin
Mom, Graduate, Grandma
With Littlest Sister
Our Graduate!
Sister-Cousins

We all celebrated with Christina. 

I am so thankful for miraculous appearing of funding at needed times.  I am so thankful for my determined young woman who made her goal happen.  I will cherish this memory.  

Soar high Christina!  Remember what your determination and ambition made happen!  God opens doors but you have to choose to walk through them!  Your graduation didn’t happen “just because” – there were lots of late nights, missed sleep, forcing yourself to go to work when you wanted to sleep in, exams you stressed far too much over, budget cuts to pay for the next simulator, and other challenges you rose to and overcame.  

Keep on flying high – you are “forever an eagle” now!

Thank you for reading!

Type at you next time!

~Nancy Tart

February Birthdays!

April 2, 2020

February Birthdays

So for my entire life, until last year, I was the only February birthday in my family – by birth, then by marriage, and then including my children and the sister- and brother-cousins. I was the only February birthday! I had the whole month to myself (haha) but then our miracle baby was born three days before my birthday last year and I now share my birthday month with one nephew and my sixth daughter. Yes, same year, my eighth nephew decided to take February three days before Thea popped out.

This was the first birthday party I shared with Thea!

First off, on Thea’s real birthday I had to work at my office and then gym and Christina was at college. Grandma Joanne came over and Thea had her brithday cupcake, which she refused to get dirty with (little princess, as Becky calls her). Thea would dip her finger in the icing and eat it delicately.

Grandma brought Thea a helium balloon, her adorable birthday outfit, and cupcakes. Thea loved it! She was so exhausted after Grandma’s visit that she couldn’t come to gym in the afternoon, so she spent her birthday afternoon with Daddy and Lucas – giggling and goofing off.

Forward to Saturday and I’m off so we went to Aunt Becca’s for a planned get-together. I love doing anything with my family, so tried to get my sisters and mom to come. I had mentioned to Louis that all I wanted for my birthday was to hang out with my family (already planned) and maybe do a little birthday for Thea. So when the girls were hanging streamers in Aunt Becca’s house, I thought, “awesome, they are decorating for Thea!” and went to chat with Becca while she grilled. Then Mom came too!

Nope, turns out they decided to surprise me.

I love my family!

Sunday, we had even more cake and games with Grandma Tina!

I am so thankful for those I grew up with, married into, and am watching grow up. I love our closeness. I love that my children are growing up babysitting, playing with, and looking up to their sister-cousins and brother-cousins. I am so thankful that God provided my children with positive role models in their aunts and uncles (and now a future Aunt who my teens already consider an awesome friend).

Thank you, Jesus, for family!

Thank you for reading!

Write more later,

~Nancy Tart

My Little Learner

March 29, 2020

My Little Learner

Our gym has an after-school program where our comfy vans pick up from several area schools and bring little athletes back to gym. They do gymnastics, crafts, eat snacks, and do homework. Thea and her other gym baby friend sometimes hang out there. Thea loves it and thinks she’s a big kid! Just like at home, she tries to do school with them!

Especially when someone wants to play teacher! Ellie loves to play teacher and Thea loves to “learn” and she likes the chalkboard.

At home, Thea knows not to eat coloring tools like pencils, crayons, markers, and even paints! At Aunt Becca’s she got introduced to big sidewalk chalk and tasted it. Sister-cousin Anastasia laughed and said, “eww, gross Baby Thea, you color with it like me!”

Once Thea saw that, it was like “aha! this is an outside coloring tool!”

Sitting with Becky one day, she pulls up a pencil and paper and says “yeah!” and starts babbling in her own way, giving us serious glances as she explains what her work is. Jillian said, “Thea thinks she’s doing school!”

Thea and Becky are quite alike. Becky understood before her first year that coloring tools were not to be eaten too. Baby Becky never ate Legos (except for the black squishy tires, she called them gum and we had to remove them temporarily – I think she still secretly stashes them somewhere and chews them). Baby Becky was my earliest potty trainer (at 14 months telling us when she had to go & by 18 months in regular underwear – I have no clue how!) and Thea is already potty training herself. She got super excited when I bought a baby potty for her tiny self – and knows exactly what it’s for (showed us by pulling at her diaper so we took it off & she used the potty, I teased Becky that she may lose the designation of youngest potty trained).

I love watching my little love get more independent. Each one of them unique and special. Each has different strengths and weaknesses. Each helps the other in various tasks to make us a cohesive team – we build on each others’ strengths.

This is how we all should be. Learning, assisting, encouraging; each doing what we do best and helping when and where we can. It isn’t just for siblings or families. This understanding of the learning and growing and maturing process is an important life skill.

And Thea is playing in the grass without eating it – amazing! She is totally a little Becky… until Uncle Buddy came along and taught 2-year-old Becky she could eat dollar weed (and then she wouldn’t quit eating them!).

Thank you for Reading!

Type at you later,

~Nancy Tart

Sister-Cousin Outing

December 22, 2019

Sister-Cousin Outing

You often read that cousins are usually your first friends.  They know all about you, love you regardless of your differences, and enjoy life with you from start to finish…

Gaylord Pearson Family (My parents & siblings) – 2002

I always dreamed of how close my siblings and I would be as adults and prayed our children would grow up together, loving each other as true friends.  Just like sisters and brothers.  My sister, Katy, even started the kids calling each other sister-cousins and brother-cousins – they act like siblings when they are together.  They are tight as buddies and fight like enemies – yet love each other through all celebrations and disagreements. 

So this day, Jaquline, Jillian, and Anastasia had a sister outing!  Becca (my sister, Anastasia’s mom) took all three of them to go see Frozen 2 in a real theater – oh see those smiles? 

Sister-Cousin Outing @ Frozen 2! L-to-R: Jillian, Anastasia, Jaquline

I didn’t hear much about the movie except, “it was good,” but heard all about the jokes, fun ride, giggles, and enjoyment of their time together. 

I try to teach my littles to focus on relationships – invest rather than spend time.  I also want them to have competent adult mentors to look up to.  I pray they never feel they can’t talk to me, but I hope that if they feel they can’t, they know they have dozens of family members and close trusted friends they can go to.  Aunt Becca is such a strong, wise aunt (and super fun), my older girls have already gleaned life wisdom from her and ask advice sometimes.  (And since Mom is as much a student of makeup as they are… they honestly are waaaaay better at it… they usually ask Aunt Becca for beauty advice!)

I so admire how my very busy sister takes time to invest in my youngsters!  They LOVE all Aunt Becca outings!

I try to invest time myself – especially in those little humans I’ve been blessed to raise.  I sometimes feel time slips away.  (You know, when I realize that was the last Thursday morning I’ll be required to drive Christina to college as she gets her license the day before her next semester starts in January.)

I choose to enjoy each moment

Type at you next time,

~Nancy Tart

Fireworks and Family

July 6, 2019

Fireworks and Family

We have only missed one “Fireworks Over the Matanzas” in all of Christina’s 15 years.  We were at Wild Adventures park in Valdosta and Christina wasn’t even one year old.

Every year we go downtown.

Louis monitors the weather so we’ve avoided being soaked like we ended up a few of the earlier years.  Those were so fun though, cool, wet rain on the hot July day.  Children never mind the rain – normally they dance in it with newly made friends.

Today was no different; my little gymnasts put on a show in the grass and met a few new friends.  It sprinkled a little but that didn’t stop them!

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They played various games like “Duck Duck Goose” and “Red Light Green Light” – timeless favorites.

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Christina and Becky held down the spots on the edge of the wall – giggling about the turtles and fish passing below their feet.

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Grandma, Aunt Becca, and Anastasia showed up.  Anastasia has been with us to almost every Fireworks show since she was born.  Becca has come almost every time too.  This was my mom’s first.  Daddy didn’t like fireworks (lots of veterans don’t) so they never even stayed for the Disney Fireworks shows the few times we went when I was really little.

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Grandma joined the teenagers at the edge of the water.

We goofed off and chatted, playing, spending time together.  We made several bathroom runs – the last one just as the announcer said “20 minutes to go!”

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Thea sat in her stroller and enjoyed the view.  She fell asleep about 6:30 and woke up after the fireworks show finished so she could spend some time in Grandma Tina’s arms!

The Fireworks Over the Matanzas show gets better every year.  I love our little town.  I enjoy family time of just sitting around, playing goofy games, watching the children enjoy themselves, dancing to music, and finally watch their faces erupt with amazement and rapture at the brilliant fiery explosions in the sky.

The next morning, Lucas asked, “is fireworks like Family Fun Fest?  Only one in the whole year?” When I answered “yes,” he said, “I can’t wait for next fireworks!”

 

Type at you later,

~Nancy Tart

 

Fighting the “Silent Killer”

My little sister has a big fight ahead: Spreading her story is one way I can help.

May 6, 2019

Fighting “the Silent Killer”

For the past few months, we’ve been praying and hoping as Becca, my sister, went from doctor to doctor, clinic to clinic, and eventually the hospital over an unknown infection that was bothering her on her leg.  They said it was ringworm, an infection from “dirty water at work,” a spider bite, etc.  She heard everything but none of the treatments seemed to help; most only caused severe pain where there hadn’t been pain.  Her main complaints were a growing discoloration, open wound that wouldn’t heal, and itching.

Last week, on Friday, May 3, 2019, she finally had a serious answer.  A wound specialist here in Saint Augustine told her for sure (results of several tests) that what was causing her leg problems was a condition that usually affects those over 55 – burst varicose veins causing blood clots.  This is often called “the silent killer” because there aren’t any painful signs.  If left untreated, the blood clots begin to travel.  Once a blood clot reaches a vital organ, it causes death.

Doppler tests (like a sonogram) showed several blood clots.  Three are already traveling.  The specialist stressed immediacy.  Becca was glad to have an answer, but she had no clue how she could pay for the six (6!) surgeries needed as soon as possible.  Without counting medications, aftercare such as dressings, lack of income from missing work, and the looming bills from previous misdiagnoses, she will need $18,000.

Then a series of God-orchestrated tumblers began to fall; family volunteered to help, Becca found she could “cash in” her vacation time for an emergency, and her credit card limit increased – she was able to gather enough funds to start one of the six surgeries.  Her first one is scheduled for Wednesday, May 8, 2019.  We are praying and believing God will guide the surgeon’s hands, heal Becca, and cover medical costs for her.

Several of us suggested using “GoFundMe” as I always help when I see one local.  Becca didn’t want to ask; so we decided to do it for her.  We love our sister and although, yes, I’m sure over time she’d make it work – she needs this now.  Without having a big enough fund to grab into, we have each other.  Each of us, giving what we can, helping as she does for us, we can all pull together and help Becca.

The reason we like “GoFundMe” and local networks that ask for help is because it shows the power of each of us in our community.  One woman needs help moving – pretty much has the whole job packed and moved in a weekend.  My midwife is constantly letting us know about moms, babies, or families in need: I always try to give.  Becca always gives.  I find hope in seeing people help each other.  I enjoy helping at food pantries and raising money for charities.  I love these because everyone’s little bit helps to make big things work.

Becca started crying tears of gratefulness when she realized people donated shortly after we set it up.  Thank you for showing our community’s heart.  This is how we fight the silent killer.

Please pray for Becca now and if you can, please consider donating.

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

Easter Cuteness

April 30, 2019

Easter Cuteness

Easter Sunday was so much fun for us this year!

Not only did our little Thea officially turn two months old on Easter, but neither Louis nor I was working, neither of us was tired, and we had the whole weekend to ourselves!

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Baby Thea dressed up (minus her cute socks and shoes) in her Easter dress from Aunt Becca & sister-cousin Anastasia!

Louis and the girls dyed eggs – our brown and pink eggs made some unique color experiments and tasty “angel eggs.” (Grandma Joanne started that; she redeemed the deviled eggs so they are “angel eggs” now.)

Louis was waking me up almost every night in the week before Easter as he excitedly told me about the newest item he got for the girls’ baskets – crazy plastic grass, cool candy, a bag of change for the plastic eggs and such.

We love family time!  On Easter, we got up early, went to church, and talked all about the first Easter Sunday and Jaquline decided we had to watch a Jesus story movie – “The Greatest Story Ever Told” is the go-to for us.  About lunchtime, we snacked on angel eggs and fruit while Louis crafted an amazing ham – this would be early dinner.

And… Egg hunt.  The girls learned that Spring Egg Hunts were a result of people letting their hens and ducks out to range in the spring grass and then having to find their eggs for food – young children were tasked for this job and finding the eggs meant the end of winter harshness and the beginning of spring’s bounty.

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But for us, Easter Egg Hunt means “see who can hide it best” (for the hiders, adults and teens) and “see who can find the hardest eggs” (for the younger ones).  Kimberly decided she is still a youngling for Easter and joined the hunt as a hunter!

Becky took some pictures.

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Christina’s hardest eggs were teal, Becky’s were green, and I hid the hard-boiled ones.  Mine I wanted found quickly, so most were just rolled in the patches of clover so their stickers showed.

Down to four remaining eggs… One Teal, one Green, and two Boiled!  Mom ended up winning with the “hardest” egg being inches from the walkway in plain sight!

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Becky made up some adorable pictures with the baskets.  Check this link to see her Guinea Pigs in the Easter Basket pictures!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

Fireworks Over the Matanzas

July 8, 2018

Fireworks Over the Matanzas

Ask any of my kids what their favorite day is one answer will be… “Fourth of July!”

Why?

Because we always go downtown to watch the best fireworks show ever! (Okay, maybe I’m a little prejudiced because I live here, but I get a travel magazine and it listed our “Fireworks Over the Matanzas” as one of the top 5 annual fireworks shows!)

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We make is a production! (Yes, that was not this year, but our longest “train!” because it included me – taking picture – and the buggy!)

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(Jaquline at the Fireworks Over the Matanzas years ago – photo credit, my amazing friend, Stacy Moorehouse)

This was the first year we went without the baby buggy – took a foldable wagon instead. And yes, it doubled as Anastasia’s buggy from the van to downtown and Lucas’ back to the van.

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We bring snacks, water (hydration, as Christina calls it – thank you, Civil Air Patrol), juice (Becky wanted juice to refill the water bottles this year), and lots of energy! The girls always make new friends at the bayfront.

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This year a new friend family from Atlanta, Georgia shared their bag of glowsticks with the girls and Lucas! (This made them very excited! As you can see, Lucas made glasses to “see very far away.”) Even though Christina said she was “too big” for glowsticks, between Becky and Kimberly, they had her wearing one! (Kimberly has “a pirate earring” and Christina is covering her bracelet!)

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Finally, after enjoying awesome music (before the city music came through the speakers, we could hear Evan D’s music from Harry’s! He’s a local artist I like to hear.), playing and talking with new friends, snacking on lots of fruit and sweet potato chips from Currie’s and Aldi’s, and having Aunt Becca join us, we got to the main event

The best fireworks show on the bayfront! (I can’t record more than about 22 seconds at a time on my camera, so we only caught a few snippets of the show, but it was amazing!)

We trudged home, (Lucas slept in the wagon, in a picture back up there^ somewhere) laughing, singing, and enjoying our family time! Oh, and yes, Lucas fell asleep during the fireworks! 🙂 I was so excited and even mentioned “this is the first year everyone is awake to see the fireworks!” haha! Then he was out.

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Will we face huge crowds, packed potties, and no-see-ums again? Oh yes! And look forward to an amazing 6 hours or more next year at our special bayfront spot, making new friends and enjoying each others’ company!

We love the City of Saint Augustine’s Fireworks Over the Matanzas!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

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