Three Little Princesses

Our beautiful little granddaughters each had pictures taken for this holiday season. TJei is three and a half years old, Baylee is now four months old and Mia is two months old. We are so blessed to have these special little girls in our lives.


TJei is adorable with her new haircut; she just loves dressing up and being a pretty little girl. I am amazed at how well Baylee holds herself up and is so steady in that upright position at her young age; her smile is contagious and constant! She is such a happy little girl. Little Mia wasn't about to smile or crack any semblance of a grin while that camera was aimed her direction. She had plenty of smiles afterward, just not during the photo session.

The Gift

A couple weeks ago Jacob had given hints about the gift he had gotten for Mike and I. I'd venture a guess that he could have given me an additional half dozen clues and I still wouldn't have correctly guessed what the gift was. He was right though, Mike will love it ... and I'll be glad that he does.

Jacob and Maria gave us a TomTom GPS navigational device. Mike loves to tinker with such tools and he loves to turn off on unknown roads and head into unfamiliar turf. I am sure he'll have a great time figuring out this device and putting it to use. That pleases me, sort of. I am such a worrier. I know I am. Now when Mike heads off I'll be worrying and wondering what off-road path he is venturing onto. And he will venture, always has. It's good he'll now have a GPS device when making those turns into the unknown.

Saying Goodbye

In looking through my pictures, this image seems to capture a special moment as Diane and Billie reach out to gather a flower for that one last remembrance of their grandfather. Angie stayed close to her mom and offered support and Aunt Ruth lovingly caressed the casket of her last brother as she said farewell.

Christmas Morning

Jodie and TJei both seem thrilled that TJei received her own little skateboard from Uncle Quentin.
TJei helps open baby sister Mia's Christmas gifts. This one is a "CD" player from Grandma & Grandpa.
Sweet little Mia. :-)

TJei had a *wonderful* time playing with her karaoke machine and watching/hearing herself on their little TV.
TJei is all dressed up for going to breakfast. Yes, we're deadbeats ... we went out to eat on Christmas Day. The brunch for lunch was tasty though!
And, of course, I was *thrilled* to have *my* baby home for the holidays, too. This is Quentin's first Christmas home from his mission. I love him bunches - red hair and all.

Gift Exchange & Dinner

On Sunday, December 23rd all of us who were in town got together at Jacob & Maria's condo and enjoyed an evening of food, fun and gifts. Jacob and Maria have a delightfully tall and skinny artificial tree that tucks away nicely into any corner of their condo living room.

Maria had prepared a meal of spiraled glazed ham, mashed potatoes, salad, sauteed winter squash, rolls, and a cranberry ginger-ale drink. They had a pecan pie and pumpkin pie for dessert. It was quite a feast ... we all enjoyed the meal and the company.

Pictures: Top left is Jacob holding Nacho, his Jack Terrier youngster. That little guy is a bundle of energy and he did his part to tire out TJei in the grassy area outside the condo. Center is Jodie holding little Mia. Right is TJei with her tiny little ironing board and iron.




Left is Mike and Quentin. Center is Quentin, sniffing the gift? Right is Mike when he was working on unpackaging and assembling TJei's little ironing board.


Quentin and Maria, she is looking over a book on Boyle Ancestors we gave each of the kids for Christmas.

Rodney (left) and Rob are quite anxious to try out their new urinal ... maybe a bit over anxious, in fact.

My Amazing Family

Over recent days I have been so terribly proud of my kids and their ability to pull together during difficult times. They have been tremendous strength for their dad as we've gone about the difficult tasks of a funeral and burial. John stayed close to his dad to provide assistance in whatever way was needed. He looked both solemn and dashing in the new suit he wore for the funeral. Other than his wedding tux, I believe this may be the first time I've seen John in a suit since his return from his mission.

Although a very emotional occasion, the boys did a wonderful job of helping throughout the funeral and greeting and visiting with family and friends of their grandfather. Jacob spoke during the funeral on the Plan of Salvation. Quentin offered the closing prayer for the gathering and John drew upon his priesthood authority to dedicate the final resting place for his grandfather.

Jodie, Maria, and Kelly joined with other granddaughters Diane, Billie and Jessye to sing "Families Can Be Together Forever" during the funeral service. Little 8 year old Jessye started off good, for the first word or two. She then sobbed her way through the song and everyone seeing her struggle to be strong were touched by the Spirit in such a special way. I'm not sure if Jessye understood why she was so sad, she just knew she was.

The boys stayed, along with the other two young grandsons, to witness closing of the grave at the cemetary while the rest of the family gathered at Carol's place for a luncheon and visiting in the backyard.

I know their grandfather was pleased ... Scotty always enjoyed a big family get-together.

Sleep Through Anything

When Mike got up and moving about this morning he started trying to call his dad. After a couple hours and no answer, he tried contacting other people in the area so he could make contact with his dad. There had been winter storms in the area of Cottonwood recently and we knew from experience that the phone lines were a problem in blowing wind or snow storms. The phone goes out and Scotty doesn't necessarily notice until he tries to make an outgoing call.

We hadn't been able to reach Scotty's good friend, Mel Huber, and we later learned Mel had been in Utah visiting family. Mike called his brother Gail and asked whether he'd be able to go by the house and check on their dad. Gail has been working in Bullhead City, Arizona and was in the Ash Fork area on his way home to Camp Verde for the weekend. He told Mike he'd be able to stop if Mike hadn't reached Scotty by the time Gail would need to turn off to Cottonwood. Mike continued trying to reach his dad.

Gail called again to check whether we'd been able to reach Scotty and he decided to turn off for Cottonwood instead of going into Camp Verde right away. Mike had already left for work when Gail called with the news, their dad was gone. Scotty had passed away. When he called me, Mike was making arrangements to take time off from work and he'd be returning back home to get things squared away so we could head to Cottonwood.

By all indications, Scotty may have passed into the next life during the evening of Wednesday, December 12th. His official death date will be the date he was pronounced, December 14th. He was in his recliner and the television was on. Scotty watched TV in the evenings but not during the day. There were two newspapers in the front yard, Thursday and Friday's papers. Scotty was an avid reader of the newspaper and would read it page for page. Once he was done reading the paper, he'd fold it back up and deliver it up the road to his neighbor Larry. We arrived Saturday and Mike spent the afternoon with his siblings. We stayed at Scotty's house that night. When Mike started to make a pot of coffee on Sunday morning, he realized his dad had cleaned the pot and set it up to start coffee the next morning (Thursday). There was fresh grounds and half a tank of water in the maker.

There was no indication Scotty had been in pain of any kind. He was just relaxed in his chair, his arms weren't pulled up like chest pain or anything. In fact, he looked so content and rested that law enforcement officers who had arrived on the scene when Gail contacted them to report the death didn't seem to be terribly surprised by the note left by the housekeeper who visits on Thursdays:

"Mr. Boyle, if you can sleep through me cleaning, you can sleep through anything!"

Woohoo Q!

Welcome to the blog world!

Yum!

This is an occassion when it was a good thing my curiosity gets the best of me. Spencer Wilhelm brought a gift to our family from his family this afternoon. Yes, he maneuvered the stairs with his leg brace on! Brave young man.

These treats would never have lasted until Christmas. It's a good thing we I opened the package early ... Mike was glad, too. He had a couple donuts before heading to work this evening.

Holiday Neighbors

I went next door this evening and took holiday pictures of Randy & Sonja Lee. Don't they look cute in that dashing red holiday attire?

Terribly Funny

Mike and I were walking toward his little truck in a large parking lot. Yes, we had been shopping at Wal-mart :( but I digress. As we approached the truck, we watch as three teen girls begin climbing out of a small car which had pulled in next to our truck on the driver side. The first girl out stands at the open door and pulls the seat forward for a young lady to climb out from the backseat.

She was a cute young lady. Hair cut pixie style (don’t know if they use that term anymore) and was dyed dark with some sort of streaked color through it. She was apparently quite intrigued with herself and she stopped at the side of our truck, after exiting the vehicle but before stepping aside so the other girl could close the door and move on. She was primping like crazy, using her reflection in our truck window as a mirror. She was oblivious to anything around here.

Seriously, she had been standing there primping while Mike & I approached and had passed many cars walking that direction. The next thing I know, there is an alarm blast and for a moment I am surprised. It didn’t look like any of them had actually touched his new truck; surely the alarm wasn’t that sensitive. Then I looked Mike’s direction.

He had the biggest grin ever … and the remote panic button in his grasp! It was soooo funny!

Teasers

Jacob called last night. It was oh so obvious he was delighting in taunting me about the Christmas gift he and Maria had gotten for Mike & I. He was wrapping the gift as he talked! He'd call to Maria for help with this or that ... she had been the last to use scissors, he couldn't find the scissors. She was the last one to wrap a gift, he couldn't find the tape. "Maria, hold this" as the snip, snip, snip of cutting paper echos into the phone. He's commenting and muttering the entire while. "Maria and I decided..." and "not square" and "sharp edges" peppered throughout the conversation.

I'm not sure it really was a conversation, just a teaser.

Teasing was fun when they were little. That's when I could do the teasing. I'd play that little guessing game, encouraging the teasing maybe, pretending not to know what the little gift was they'd brought home from school. You know the kind, the little gifts that weren't really wrapped completely. The gifts that came home a week before Christmas and were handled and prodded on a regular basis by little hands playing that teasing game of Guess What I Got You Mommy.

Then the teasing was a game. Usually it was all too clear what the gift was. The game was to not let on I knew. This is a whole new world of teasing.

Mike & I have been content to not give much thought to Christmas gifts. We decided a while back what we were doing for our grown kids this year. We had made a list and have been picking up gifts for the past while and have them all fully sorted and identified for wrapping. We have planned but not really thought, or is that worried, about Christmas gifts.

Then along comes this late evening long distance teaser and it all changes. I am consumed with wonder and guessing. What could it be? Something Mike would probably use and I'd enjoy that he uses it. (Okay, it isn't Viagra, and yes, I asked although I do "not" know why. Oh, Jacob, you baited me into asking that question! You know you did.) Something packaged in plastic with sharp edges, it isn't square packaging. hmmm I really don't know much else about The Gift. I do know what Jacob & Maria (did she really have a hand in this?) are giving Rod, Rodney and Robert for Christmas - a urinal.

Yes, that's right. They are giving the guys a urinal and the porcelain prize now holds a place of prominence near their Christmas tree, adding to the festive ambiance* by serving as a plant stand for the mandatory seasonal Poinsettia.

Just knowing they're giving friends a urinal adds to the anxiety of guessing The Gift but alas a person does have to get a bit of sleep at times. I did eventually shake thoughts of The Gift and trying to recall each of the teasers he put out there for identifying The Gift and slept peacefully until receiving an early morning (6:30, thanks TJei ;-)) phone call. After the call I listened to a bit more of the news then meandered into my office and started downloading email without any real thought of last night's conversations.

There it was ... a picture of The Gift!

It's going to be a long wait for Christmas.

*that one's for you, Mike ;-)

Lack of Comments

Jacob is right! He has a tendency for doing that at times. Out of more than 20 (25?) posts there's not a single comment. Jacob noticed a similar phenomenon on his own blog ... lack of comments. He had a theory it was due to posts being made too quickly, before people saw the posts, but that would not ring true when considering at least one of his 0 comments posts had a 10 day lapse before the next post.

Maybe he's right ... people reading just don't care what he I have to say. At least not enough to comment. :(

Monitoring Floodwaters

Mike has been monitoring water levels along the Verde River and other waterays affecting the Verde Valley so he can provide updates for Scotty. Of course, Scotty can see actual changes in the Verde by stepping outdoors and taking a few steps around his yard. Mike monitors watershed into those waterways though, changes that may affect Scotty in the near hours or days.

Mike called to talk with Scotty about the water and learned that John and Kelly had driven up for a visit yesterday. Scotty was able to visit with his new great-granddaughter, Baylee. Great Grandpa says she is a real cutey!

We already knew that ... so glad Scotty was able to meet her and concur with prevailing opinion!

Breaking Hearts

My youngest sister, Kim, shown in this picture from eons ago when visiting Arizona with my mom, has always battled this internal struggle of self-worth and an overwhelming dependency on others. Kim's mother died when she was just a little girl. She is my dad's daughter. She is my sister. She was raised by my mother.

In recent months Kim has been in frequent contact with me. That has caused some conflicts for me - not because I didn't want to do anything in my power to help Kim remain strong as she tried to once again break from her demons and take care of herself. The conflicts are rooted in not being able to tell another sister - or anyone at all in our family - about these communications. Kim has burned so many bridges. She has hurt so many people, broken so many hearts. Especially the hearts of her two sweet little girls who are in the care and custody of our sister. She has broken their hearts so many times. I've not been able to tell anyone about these communications. That's made it hard because it has affected how often Zena and I talk - I don't like having kept this from her but she would have been quite upset to know that I was in daily, or even more frequent, contact with Kim.

Kim has become close friends with a young woman named Moe, Martha E. Jackson, a woman working hard to stay afloat with her own struggles, and I've gotten to know Moe and grown close to her through phone conversations. Kim and Moe worked waiting tables at the same restaurant in Dryden, Virginia. Moe has been a really good friend to Kim and she was the one to call me when Kim was hospitalized back on November 30th. Kim was terribly sick and couldn't keep anything down. Her abdomen was extremely sensitive. She was in a lot of pain. Moe fretted over her and worried about her. Moe called me often to keep me posted of Kim's condition. She worked double shifts with just short breaks between so Kim's hours would be covered at work. We were all pleased when Kim was released from the hospital on December 4th - undiagnosed :( - and was able to return to work the next day.

This is a new day. This morning Moe called me, she is heartbroken. Kim drove her to work this morning and apparently she returned home to pack up her things and leave out for Toledo ... returning to the man who has abused her in horrific ways, beaten her horribly, fed her drugs to keep her unstable and dependent. She left all she was building to return to him and that horrid life. Moe is devastated. My heart breaks for her and also for the day when her two little ones, who have known their mom was gone and making a new life to someday be reunited with them, learn she has returned to that life. I love you, Kim but I hate the pain you inflict on yourself and others. My heart breaks for the pain I know Kalee and Britenee will endure. I love you little ones .... know always you are not alone.

Got a Fire Going

Mike was heading off to Show Low this morning to take care of a couple errands. I flip-flopped all morning on whether I wanted to go and finally decided that I'd not go. Mike went down and started a fire in the wood stove to ward off a chill in the air. The weather has been wonderful all week but is expected to drop substantially over the weekend. The wind has picked up and it is chilly.

Mike came upstairs and began telling me that he had stoked the fire and closed down the air so it would likely burn down to a good bed of coals. I commented that it stinks and Mike quickly corrected me, "It doesn't stink. It smells like burning wood." He continued, "It smells like Christmas. The ambiance of Christmas."

Mike was walking away from me, into the living room as he talked. He had a huge smile when he turned my direction as I said, "Ambiance? I never thought the day would come when you'd talk of ambiance!"

I am so grateful to have Mike in my life. I hope he has a great - and safe - trip to Show Low this morning.

Calls Home

I know traffic in the valley is a total nightmare these days. I am so fortunate that Mike enjoys driving and typically we are together when in the valley so he does the driving. :-)

There is a hidden blessing in the long commutes some of our kids have down there though ... calls home to Mom. When John is making the long journey from Queen Creek to the West Valley for his job, he oftentimes calls and chats. When Jacob makes the journey out to Williams Gateway for classes, he oftentimes calls. I am really blessed to be able to talk to Jacob frequently - he calls during the day when traveling between school and work and home to work or school, even if the trek isn't so long.

I know it's selfish ... I'm already dreading Winter Break from school, when he won't be commuting quite so often, and won't be calling so often either. :(

Political Piety

I was too young to glean anything from it personally at the time but I've grown up with the image and words of JFK's speech so many years ago. I think it's sad that anyone running for office would be pressured (I do think he was) to give a speech qualifying and defending his faith.

It's just sad.

It happened.

Mitt Romney has been pressured for a long, long time to make a speech "explaining Mormonism" for whatever that means.

Romney is a skillful orator and portrayed himself as a strong, confident presence during delivery of his well-composed message. "I believe in my Mormon faith and I endeavor to live by it. My faith is the faith of my fathers – I will be true to them and to my beliefs."

Although I do not have Mormon ancestors it was especially sincere to me that Romney would publicly declare his faith to be of greater worth to him personally than even the highest office in the nation. He stood valiantly for his faith, his ancestors, and the teachings that have been such an integral part of his life and family.

On this day, Mitt Romney is my hero.

It's a Special Day

Today is John's birthday. Oh the shock, the realization that he is already 31 years old! Where has the time gone??? John was a tiny little guy when he was born, a mere 5lb 14-1/2oz, but he didn't stay tiny long. John grew up strong and healthy although there were many emergency room visits and casts along the way. :-)

I've always been proud of John, of the good things he has accomplished. John and his lovely wife Kelly celebrated their second anniversary this year and just a few months ago they welcomed precious Baylee into their hearts and lives. It is so amazing to see him interacting with his little one and I'm completely overwhelmed with love for him when I hear him praising the latest accomplishment of Baylee ... her smile, her gaze, her baby chatter. It draws me nearer to my own Mom and the love she had for John. She wanted to hear everything - all his life stages. I know she would be terribly proud of him in this new role, as a Daddy.

Happy birthday, John. I love you bunches.

Left Out

Mike and I are seriously feeling left out on communications with Quentin these days. Mike found out at work from a coworker that Quentin had been in a car accident with a friend last Saturday. He'd called me from work and asked if I knew anything about it, I didn't.

When Quentin called during a break from class I asked him about it. He told me that he had in fact been in an accident. I told him I was really disappointed he hadn't let us know and that things of that nature he certainly should be talking to us. Later in the afternoon Quentin talked to his dad and told Mike he hadn't said anything because he didn't want me going all weird. What the?

I've no idea how things have gotten so bad in the communication arena that our son wouldn't mention being in a car accident ... just how weird did he expect me to get? Insist he get checked out at the hospital or something? I mean give me a break, he doesn't tell us because he doesn't want me to be concerned about him. Makes sense to me, I guess. :-(

Princess Wishes GDO

Mike and I were able to get five tickets to Disney on Ice, Princess Wishes for January 26th. We got five tickets thinking I could ask Glenda to go and take along her two little granddaughters and I could take TJei for a wonderful GDO (Girls Day Out) activity.

I talked with Glenda this morning and she said, YES ... she'd love to go and take the girls. She also said the 26th was Derek's birthday.

I am so grateful Heavenly Father provides the means and opportunity for me to be a better friend to someone I care so much about. I just know it will be a special outing.

Journey to Yuma?

Jacob called today and asked about the park in Yuma where the monument commemorating the Mormon Battalion has been added. His Grandpa contributed money toward that monument and an ancesteral grandfather had served in the battalion. Jacob and Maria have been talking it over and are considering a drive to Yuma to take pictures of the monument so they can frame one and give it to Grandpa for Christmas. I think that would be a wonderful - and much appreciated - gift. I hope they're able to do it.

Visit the US Army of the West site here >>>

Barbara & Family

Before her daughter and grandchildren left out to return to Montana, I met them and Barbara at the park to get pictures of the four of them together. It was great meeting Monica and her children. She looks so much like her mom, I do believe ... her daughter, too. All the gals have strong family traits.


Barbara's young grandson was just adorable. He wanted his picture taken in profile. It was apparent the three gals standing at the side were sharing a little secret and enjoying the moment. After taking the pictures, which did include one full profile they all chuckled a bit more and revealed the cause of their humor.



Seth was wearing new spurs he had gotten from his Grandma and wanted the spurs to show up in the picture!

You Are the New Day

Things Went So Wrong

It is such a sad and dark day. :(

Philip was sentenced to DOC today. The court and judicial system is so complicated, I'm not sure what the final outcome will be. As near we can tell, he was sentenced to 2.5 years for one offense and 1.5 years for another with 78 days credit for the time he's been confined. It was my understanding there was to be 3 different charges that he'd be sentenced on. I only heard two. I hope the third one doesn't come back to haunt at a later time.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. He was supposed to finish up high school and move on to start his life as a young adult ... with the world to explore. Bad choices have plagued him over recent years. Things have gone so wrong and now they're getting much more complicated. My heart breaks with the knowledge he'll soon be transferred to a prison facility - he'll be alone in a harsh, harsh world.

Remembering Anthony

Today is the anniversary of my youngest brother's death. Anthony turned 25 on November 1, 1988 and he died on November 26th. He lives on in my heart. I still miss him bunches.

Popcorn Popping

There are tell-tale signs of popcorn in the trash this morning. A phone call to Mike with the big question, "Did you pop and eat popcorn last night?" He confirmed, "Yes."

It's startling to realize I slept through the smells and sounds of popcorn popping.

Communications

John and Kelly returned from Florida late last night.

I had been talking on the phone with Kelly and she handed the phone to John so he could tell me about a parking ticket incident at the airport last night. When all was said and done, I'd mentioned to John that he was lucky and told him about a recent incident of a driver in Utah being tasered by an officer when he became argumentative over a minor infraction.

John said, "I should have known" and hung up the phone.

Out of the Blue

Jodie called a bit ago. She had called and talked with Grandpa, just out of the blue. She said she's going to try visiting him sometime over the next few weeks. She didn't know anything about my sentimental observation a few days ago. I haven't mentioned this blog to anyone.

Late Nights

Mike and I used to leave out from the valley very late at night and seemed to do quite well with the drive and being able to function the next day. Somewhere along the way things have changed. We left out from the valley just about dusk and arrived home dead tired at 10:00pm and we're still dragging today after a good night's rest. :-(

Visiting Grandpa

When they were little, the kids used to love visiting in Cottonwood and spending time with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma has been gone for a long time and Grandpa has been alone most of this time. The valley is so green and pretty most of the year. The house looks out over a gorgeous pasture where cows graze lazily on long summer days. Boarded horses stride through the pasture and small orchard at the side and back of the house. The tall cottonwood trees shelter a path to the river bordering along the edge of the property. It is a quiet place - until people visit, then it comes to life. Grandpa enjoys having visitors. He isn't feeling well enough to travel much these days. It's been so long since any of the kids have gone to visit. John and Kelly and Jacob and Maria were there to celebrate Grandpa's 80th birthday with other family members. That was more than a year ago, in August. I don't believe any of them have visited since then.

I don't think Quentin has gone up to Cottonwood since returning from his mission in February. It's been a long, long time since Jodie has visited. Jodie's little TJei has visited a couple times - we have taken her and Great-Grandpa has had wonderful visits with her. She especially likes riding Great-Grandpa's quad with her Grandpa. Great-Grandpa enjoys watching her play on the hammock suspended between the trees in his front yard. He says that hammock has been a pretty good investment. All the little kids have enjoyed playing on that thing. He's enjoyed her visits and has gotten a proud little twinkle in his eyes when she cries, "I want to stay with Great-Grandpa!" when it's time to leave.

He hasn't met little Baylee born in August nor little Mia born just this past October. I'm sure he'd enjoy visits with them. It would sure be nice if the kids could go up and visit, spend some time with him. I know he would enjoy the visit and learning about the events of their lives these days.

Happy Anniversary

Today is Jacob and Maria's first anniversary. They are so sweet together and I am so very happy that Jacob and Maria found one another and are building a life together.

Jacob stopped by for a brief visit earlier ... I actually suspect he wanted to visit his Dad's new vehicle since he eagerly drove out to the plant to trade vehicles and bring the new one back into town. He and Maria will be celebrating their anniversary next week, after Thanksgiving, when they take a cruise from Los Angeles to Ensenada, Mexico.

Jacob and Maria are in town celebrating the marriage (reception) of their good friend, Carrie Bond who is also from SJ.

I am so grateful to have Maria in our family. She is a sweet, sweet young lady and she works hard to support Jacob in his educational pursuits. They are a great team! I love them both.

Odd Results

Mike had an MRI done recently to try and identify cause and source of problems he is having with his feet. The results indicate there is a disk with diffuse compression but it shouldn't be causing the pain and tingling he's experiencing. The MRI also revealed a real oddity ... one of his kidneys is fully non-existent, non-functional ... it is a mass of cysts. He didn't offer or provide an explanation for the condition. Just said Mike shouldn't ever consider donating a kidney, he doesn't have one to give.

Kelly's Birthday

Today is Kelly's birthday. I'm not sure if she has plans or anything for her special day. This isn't a very good picture of her ... I don't have many pictures though. She was trying to read things on the back of her new digital camera, I think. :-)

Happy birthday, Kelly! I am so glad you are part of our family. I love you bunches!

Blessing Baylee

Our darling little Baylee was blessed by her Daddy this morning during a service at their meeting house in Queen Creek. John and Kelly had many visitors helping to celebrate this special occasion. From our family Mike and I were there along with Jacob and Maria, Quentin, Jodie and her two little ones, TJei and new baby Mia. From Kelley's family, her parents Gary and Sue, her Grandmother Georgia, sister Julie and cousin Brittany and family, Brandon and daughters Hallie and Madison. One of Julie's longtime friends also stopped by the house with her husband and three little boys. TJei had a wonderful time playing with the other kids!

Big Little Mia

Jodie's little baby girl was born on Tuesday evening.

Jodie was in labor most of the day but it wasn't hard labor until just the last couple minutes. She was in *much* better state of mind from what she had been when TJei was born. She didn't chew me out or scowl at me even one time!

Mia was a whopping 10lbs 1.7oz (rounded to 2oz) and fit as a fiddle.

There had been just a bit of concern about her little hand and arm because it had been up alongside the side of her head during the delivery. All seemed to be well with the limb and her ability to move her little arm so it wasn't a concern for too long.

Welcome to our world little Mia.

Fairy Princess

Our sweet little TJei was a Fairy Princess for Halloween this year. She had such a wonderful time with her Tia Maria and Tio Jacob. Maria invited her to visit her work - all the cubicles and stations were decorated and employees brought their young families in to trick-or-treat in a fun, safe area. TJei had been practicing for days to say, "Trick or Treat" and was all ready for the church "Trunk or Treat" activity and visiting a few friends and neighbors with Grandpa. Our plans changed though when her Mommy went into labor to deliver her new baby sister, Mia. TJei is delighted to be a big sister --- and loves her little baby sister --- but she wanted to put all that "Trick or Treat" practice to good use!

Uncle Jacob met us at the office building - that's where we took this cute picture, then all of us (Grandma, Grandpa, Tio Jacob and TJei) went up to the office where Tia Maria was waiting to take her through the complex. She had so much fun!

Thank you Tio Jacob and Tia Maria for making this such a special Halloween!

Hand Washing

TJei has an obsession about washing her hands. She would wash them 50 times a day if possible. This morning she had climbed up on the sink, bare bottom and all, to wash her hands after going potty.