Guten Morgen, Montag!

​I have looked at so many records written in German, Latin and Polish that I feel like my eyes are crossed. I have new information and a few stories to tell but I have to get all the facts straight in my head in order to relay the information. I was able to go back another generation on the Wisloski line and the information is fascinating—well at least to me. After all these years I have gotten pretty good at reading German and Latin documents. I still have some words interpreted for me but all in all I am good at reading. Just do not ask me to speak it!

Things have been busy around here with Aubree back in school. Early mornings, school drop offs, pickups, homework on top of weekend riding keeps everyone in this house moving. We also have a yard project going on so contractors have been here for a week and we expect to have them working for the next couple of weeks. Concrete foundation, pavers, fencing, retaining wall along with cameras with video surveillance installed. 

My grandson Nikolas has been working on the wrought iron fence on the front porch. He is stripping and repainting it. Since he does wrought iron and welding for a living, I hired him instead of hiring someone else. Because the masonry contractors started the backyard and we needed the porch to store a few things, the porch project is in a holding pattern. 

I have to say I really have some wonderful grandsons. They have grown up into amazing men and I am so proud of them. I love spending time with them. They can make me laugh. Just thinking about it brings a smile to my face. 

Grandsons at the Shore Summer 2026

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Celebrating Lukas.

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​Happy 3rd birthday to our sweet grandson, Lukas. We love you💙

No Secrets. No Lies. Just Love.

 Grief does not work like a ledger where one joy cancels out a specific pain. It is completely normal to feel two conflicting emotions at the exact same time: deep love and joy for your younger granddaughter, Aubree, alongside a heavy, aching sorrow for Ava.

Each grandchild holds a distinct, irreplaceable space in a grandparent's heart. My grief for Ava is a reflection of the close, beautiful bond we actually shared before she was taken from my life. The mind and heart remember that connection, and a new granddaughter - while wonderful—does not fill the specific void left by a child you already knew, loved, and watched grow for a  time. 

I know feeling this lingering sadness does not mean I love my younger granddaughter any less; it simply means my love for Ava is still alive, and the wound from how she was removed remains deep.

For my older two grandsons, Shaun and Nikolas, Ava was a cherished part of a childhood that was abruptly cut short. I used to call them “my three musketeers” because they were always together.

I do talk to Aubree about her older cousin and show her pictures of a cousin she never met. I hope by talking to Aubree about Ava, it ensures Ava’s place in the family is preserved. I want to ensure Ava isn’t treated like a secret or an erased piece of our family’s history. She is a piece of my heart.

For my younger granddaughter, hearing about Ava does something very important:

• It lets Aubree know she has an older cousin, creating a sense of a larger family identity, even if they haven't met yet.
• It shows her that family members are cherished and remembered, no matter how far away they might be or how long the road has been.

Keeping Ava’s memory alive in the light—rather than leaving it in the dark corners of the family history—is important to me. It honors the bond I had with her and keeps a door open in my heart, and in the family's narrative, for whatever the future may bring. I hope to keep her memory alive and move forward with grace. My only regret is that both my parents died without reconnecting with a great- granddaughter they loved and cherished but knowing they were connected with their grown great-grandsons and their younger great-granddaughter.