Yummy toes and Christmas bows...

Christmas was delightful for our family this year. I mean what says Merry Christmas better than sucking on your own toes and sitting in a cooler with a bow on your head?!

Seriously... does it get any better than that?

Halloween treasures...

I just had to post some adorable Halloween pics.

I didn't give birth to all of these cute mimes, but I like to claim them all as my own just the same.

Heidi, Brian, Jenny, Preston, Gina & AJ

And what's Halloween without a little pumpkin??

I guess Halloween's not so exciting when you can't eat the candy.

But it sure looks good....

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Beautiful Blessings...

Sunday we attended the blessing of our little granddaughter. I just HAD to share the photos. Assuming there is anyone reading this that hasn't gotten totally sick of my grandma bragging posts!

Sorry, I just can't help myself... she's just so precious!

The circle of life...

I think we've just about traversed the entire circle in the past few months.
If I had ANY creative energy left I could probably compose this post in the format of the 12 Days of Christmas. Maybe someday I will but for now I just want to list the events of our lives from April 10th thru Sept. 16th...

1 death - a bittersweet loss of an ill, elderly parent
1 missionary homecoming - youngest son
2 college graduations - oldest son and a son-in-law
3 showers hosted -bridal and baby for both daughters
3 surgeries - all same day out patient, but still a pain, literally
(oh yeah, make that 4 surgeries if you count the dog!)
3 weddings - one daughter's, two cousins
1 reception
1 open house
1 birth of our perfect first grandchild :)
3 assists in moving 3 children into new apartments
1 week long vacation and four other shorter trips
and several major events with our church callings that we were responsible for

Somehow when I write it down it doesn't translate into the complete state of exhaustion that we're feeling. It does however demonstrate how blessed we've been and require many prayers of gratitude to our Heavenly Father.

So much happiness crammed into that short amount of time should be illegal!

Oh and just for good measure a couple of pictures....

Jenny & Preston - Sept. 4, 2009
(so happy and perfect for each other!)

Kellyn - 1 month old

(isn't she so cute???!!!)

Kellyn... is there anything else to post about???

Pure Joy...

I'm just certain she's a genius.

Her first outing today to the doctors office for a well baby check-up.

She's perfect... but of course WE already knew that.

The name is.....

Kellyn May

I'm REEEEALLY gonna LOVE this grandma thing!

She's FINALLY here!!!

Proudly introducing our first grandchild... A BEAUTIFUL baby girl 8lb 2 oz born about 1:20 am August 19th. Name to be announced in next post... waiting for a definite decision from her parents who are too exhausted to make such decisions right now.

37 1/2 hours of labor, a pitocin drip and NO pain meds!

I think she was worth it don't you?

Cups of cake...

I know we are encouraged to continue learning throughout our lives because we will take that knowledge with us. I'm working on my cupcake making skills...

Do you think they have cupcakes in heaven?

Yet more excitment...

Oh my... I don't know if I can handle much more excitement this year! I'm OLD you know! It's ok though I'm NOT complaining one little bit.

Since it's official now I am permitted to blab....

Jenny is engaged and will be getting married on Sept. 4th in Logan.
Holy cow!... Sept. 4th, that gives us about 10 weeks to get this whole thing figured out, planned and paid for! Whew! Oh yeah throw in the first grandchild making his/her debut right in the middle of that.

All of this joyfulness... I'm in mommy heaven!!

Can we just put the rest of my life on hold for a couple of months til I get through this? PLEASE??

(Is there any such thing as a sabbatical from church callings?) ;)

I feel the need for a good massage coming on.

Anal Anguish

In light of the number of people that have read this post and thought it was one of our HUMAN sons, I felt the need for a disclaimer. lol

I'm still laughing about it!

In the flurry of activity that defines our lives right now, one member of the family is suffering a fate very unbecoming to him. Yes, it's our young furry son. He has experienced an anal gland issue. Don't ask... you REALLY don't want to know but suffice it to say that the result was three days of having to wear the dreaded 'Elizabethan collar'.

Poor thing... with nearly every attempt to jump up on the couch, bed, or anything very high the collar would hit the edge slamming him back to the floor with a shocking thud. Against all odds, every door he tried to go through he would manage to just catch the edge of the door frame causing him to jerk into an unexpected detour.

Doing what doggies do best, sniffing the ground when he went outside, proved to be a rather breakneck experience for him as well. Lowering his head to sniff while walking would catch the edge of the collar in the grass and force his head further down than he anticipated then suddenly release it with his forward movement and his head would jerk upward. (Did you get that visual from my description?) Trust me, it wasn't pretty and the poor dog was developing a serious phobia of mobility.

He eventually would just sit down and look up at me with the pitiful face below waiting for me to carry him or lift him or help him find the perfect place to pee so he didn't have to walk the yard sniffing for it.

On the ride to the vet's office to check his progress in healing, he was a nervous wreck in the car. The whole 20 minute ride he was trying to climb over my shoulder or out through the closed windows.

Nothing good ever happens to him when we take him somewhere in the car. It means the groomer or the vet and he hates them both.

We finally got the ok to remove the torture device from around his neck.

Is it possible to see joy in the face of a dog?

The collar came off and he broke into a four legged happy dance, I swear! The entire way home he lay peacefully on a pillow in the passenger's seat relishing in his new found freedom once again.

I know I heard him let out a sigh of relief.

It sounded just like mine!

Missionary miles...

Missionaries... What valiant servants they are. They leave as 19 year old boys and return with two years worth of wisdom, experience and mileage.

Missionary #1

Before

After

The shoes he wore home...

Missionary #2

Before

After

The shirt he wore home...

It's the only one he returned with... and said it was the best one he had.

That's not all they returned with. They returned with honor, strong testimonies and a new appreciation for what is truly important in life. May they always remember these things and continue to bless the lives of their families and others. I love my missionaries. The ones who taught me, the one I married and the ones that have come into our family. Great men, one and all.

Thank you for your service and your examples.

Celebrations... (condensed version)

Sorry about the lack of detail but this is all I have time for right now...

April 30, 2009 10:00 p.m.

Here they come... returning Elders.

Our very own Elder Fish... home at last!

3 hours of sleep later...

Happy Graduation Andrew!

cum laude no less

(pardon the parental bragging)

Next weeks graduate enjoying the convocation.

Along with his wife... the mother of my grandchild to be!

(pardon the grandmotherly glee)

Young love in full bloom... so cute.

More blooming... Happy 34th Anniversary honey.

(pardon the personal note)

My sweet husband surprised me with this yesterday for our anniversary.

Yummy Dutch oven potatoes to round out the barbecue on Saturday.
Though pouring rain Saturday morning, the sun came out long enough for us to do the cooking and then the showers started again.
Prayers ARE answered, even weather prayers sometimes!


Coming up this week....
In addition to the regular housework etc, moving a daughter, a couple of service opportunities, a husband's hand surgery, another college graduation, a homecoming party, and an extended family dinner after the homecoming next Sunday which just happens to be Mother's Day!
Whew... I'm pooped already... but happy as can be!

More to come...

Week link... THE END! (really this time)

Going on 3 hours of sleep in the last 24... will post more later!

Just HAD to share our happy news.

Sound of Music anyone?

Sound of Music Train Station @ Yahoo! Video

Week link countdown... the end

ONE...

Yep... ONE WEEK left!

For those of you sick of seeing my week link

posts... it's over!

For those of you that have been counting down

with me... he's almost here!

I'm not sure how to put a happy dance in print,

but you get the idea.

Berry Good...

One more reason to LOVE spring!

I stumbled upon some beeeautiful strawberries at the store on Saturday

and shuffled my priorities around to make time for this....

and this...

which equals THIS...

I spent the day with my oldest daughter making Strawberry and Strawberry Banana Freezer jam. To the tune of 42 pints! I got a little carried away with the strawberry purchasing... oops! Who can have fresh jam without freshly baked bread to go with it... so we baked a few loaves to test our delicious concoctions.

One word...

YUMMY!

Week link countdown...

2... TWO!

Woohoo!!

In honor of a wonderful man...

We all lost someone dear to our hearts today. A husband, father, grandfather, father-in-law, brother, and friend. He was a hard working man who over the past few years had suffered ill health which did not suit him well. Being relegated to a chair, a bed or having to use a walker was not something he had a lot of patience for. But he did have a lot of patience with the grandchildren that he so loved. He will be missed by all but we feel blessed to have the knowledge that our separation is only temporary and we will one day be reunited with him. His suffering is over, and I'm sure he is enjoying the gathering of his family to honor him. He will most certainly vicariously enjoy the Olive Garden dinner he planned long ago for the family meal following the funeral. We will smile as we enjoy a bread stick for him.

We love you George.

Week link countdown...

Three weeks from today!

Can't wait, can't wait!!!

Week link countdown... and more!

Sorry for those of you that are not appreciating my paper chain photos. Take heart in the fact that it's almost over. That is unless I decide to make one for the grand-baby's arrival in August! If I just added one day to the chain I already have then we could be counting down to my oldest son's college graduation as well! Yep, the very next day we are attending his graduation ceremony at 8:00 am. So the missionary will arrive home at about 1:00 am and then we have to leave again by 6:15 am to get to the graduation. I don't think there is going to be ANY sleeping done that night, at least not by me! Anyone have connections to a good price on a case of energy drinks?

Oh yeah... if I only added one more weeks link to my chain, it would be my son-in-law's graduation. 2009 is pretty eventful at our house. I'm predicting further exciting news but I'm not at liberty to discuss it at this time. ;) (My children are cringing as they read this.) You'll just have to stay tuned for any updates despite my annoying paper chains.

Week link countdown...

You may remember that math is not a skill I have mastered.

Fingers are handy when calculators are not.

Spring has sprung...

It truly is my favorite time of the year... this year even more so with the impending return of our beloved missionary just around the corner.

Even with the occasional return to winter for a few days or hours at a time, my yard is screaming springtime!

Gotta love it!