Lost and Found

So, remember the post about Hannah's loveys? There has never been a clear cut winner in the race and several other contenders join in from time to time. Contestant #4, Pretty Bear, remains a favorite and is the one most often accompanying us to pick Nathan up from school. She often rides in the stroller, another contender.

Yesterday was gorgeous and when the sun is shining in Belgium, it is very important to go out and and enjoy it. Sarah was still not feeling well and spent most of the morning in my arms dozing off and on. We decided a nice walk in the forest was just what we needed and after lunch we loaded up our double jogging stroller and drove to the forest. We walked for almost 1 1/2 hours watching the leaves falling to the ground and listening to the sounds of the birds. I didn't have my camera, but here is a picture of part of the forest here. It is beautiful with the leaves turning brilliant fall colors and with the sunlight filtering in through the trees. Hannah and I talked for a while about everything we saw along our walk. Sarah fell asleep immediately and Hannah slept for the last 1/2 hour. Pretty Bear went along for the ride and sat in Hannah's lap for most of the walk. I noticed at one point that Pretty Bear was about to fall out of her lap, but for whatever reason, didn't move her and as I did my best to avoid all kinds of "poo" and mud along the path while watching out for other walkers/joggers/bike riders, I forgot all about Pretty Bear. I carefully loaded the girls and all of our things back into the car and again did not think about Pretty Bear at all. We drove home to drop off the stroller, considered walking to school to pick up Nathan and decided against it after noting how miserable Sarah was looking. We then drove to school a little bit early and thought we would just sit and enjoy the sunshine while waiting. Hannah suddenly looked up and cocked her little head to the side, "Where Pretty Bear?" My heart sank. When was the last time I saw her? I looked in the front of the car where all of our other belongings were and she was not there. We had about 25 minutes before Nathan would be out of school so we put everyone back in the car and drove back to the forest--fortunately, we live very close to the school and the forest. Hannah remained calm. She just seemed so confident that Pretty Bear would be waiting for her. I was much less calm and picturing Pretty Bear in some pile of poo or mud puddle or worse, just gone. We drove up to where we had parked and she was not there so I headed back to the trail just to see if she had fallen out before I crossed the street. Some very kind person had carefully placed her on the railing that keeps motor vehicles off of the trail. Best of all, she was not the least bit dirty! Amazing, considering all of the mud and yucky stuff on the trails in the forest. I ran back and handed her to a very happy Hannah. I wish I had picture of her grinning as she hugged Pretty Bear close, all the way back to school. The best I can do is this picture of her putting Pretty Bear on her head this afternoon. We are so thankful that our wonderful walk in the woods wasn't ruined with the loss of such an important friend. She told me yesterday that her friends have "Teddy Bears", but she is the only one who has a Pretty Bear. Thank goodness for the "Good Samaritan" walking in the forest near Waterloo yesterday. Merci beaucoup, nous sommes très reconnaissants. Or if you happen to be Flemish, Dank u heel veel.

****Pretty Bear is having a rough week. Tonight she tried to go for a swim in a toilet. Lucky for her it was a clean toilet, but still... ******