I just thought this was sweet and wanted to share.

I am thankful for all the tasty lunches
I have shared with friends and family members and tea parties with my girls.

37 Years Ago Today

There are moments in a person's life that they just don't forget. One such moment in my life was seeing my first born for the first time. I had been taken to the recovery room after the delivery due to the medication I was given during the birth. The relatives had all watched my little Jason get cleaned up and had told me how cute he was and that he had a lot of hair. After they had all left the room, the nurse brought Jason in for me to see. I remember sunlight coming through the window. She stood there and assured me that he had all his fingers and toes and started unwrapping the blanket around him for me to witness for myself. I remember I had the biggest smile on my face and suddenly the tears started streaming down my face from joy. I was not use to such emotion. The nurse handed him to me and I was in awe. My 9 lb. 9 ounce baby boy was actually being held on my belly, not in it. I wasn't able to hold him for long before the nurse took him away. I was exhausted and needed rest. As I laid back down and closed my eyes, the image of my baby boy was clear in my head. I realized that my smile was still fixed firmly on my face and the tears were still flowing. That baby boy is now 37 years old and 6'6" tall with a wife and two children of his own.
Happy Birthday, Jason! Your mom is sitting here smiling with tears of emotion as she thinks of you and misses you being close by.

Cousin Dress-Up Fun

Kaitlyn loves her little cousin and was willing to give Mya some dress-up clothes that she has outgrown. At first Mya wouldn't have anything to do with the outfits and wouldn't let Andrea or I help her put them on. Kaitlyn put her princess dress on and then decided to try to help Mya with her outfit. Mya was very cooperative with her and enjoyed the attention she got as a 'fairy'.
I think she wanted to 'fly' because soon she was fixed on wanting to go up the stairs. Kaitlyn kept her grounded.

Mya loves to sit in our storage ottoman and get pushed up and down the hallway. Here she is waiting for the push......Hurry up, grandma! Wheeeee

She got to fly after all.

It's The Beginning of Birthday Season

Andrea and Kevin ....smile!

Okay, call it poor planning...we've hear it before. We had all 4 of our kids not only soon after Christmas, but they all have their birthdays within a little over a 3 week period. Yesterday was Andrea's birthday and today is Kevin's. It just so happened that today was one of my scheduled days to watch Mya so Kevin was here to drop her off this morning. Andrea decided to drop by so she could see her brother before he left for work. I was able to get a picture of the two of them together. ...Time sure does fly by.....now all my kids are in their 30's. WOW! Happy birthday kids! Mom loves you so very much!

Haiti's Impact

My heart is full for the people of Haiti today. As I view the pictures that are coming out of that area my eyes fill with tears and my heart swells with emotion as I try to imagine what the people there must be experiencing. The chaos, death and destruction is beyond anything I am able to comprehend. I count my blessing that I have not had to see such devastation and pray I never will.
My mind goes to the families and their losses...parents losing children, children losing their parents....many not knowing the where-about of their loved ones. Most of the people of that area live below the poverty level...their homes are gone. Clean water is hard to come by... food is hard to come by. Medical care is limited at best as all the hospitals have collapsed. The infra-structure is gone. Those who have survived are at risk for their lives due to lack of supplies and cleanliness.
My prayers are with these people. I am grateful that the church is always prepared to help through the donations of it's members and it's humanitarian efforts. It gives me a greater appreciation for the need to give generously and makes me feel good about the work the Relief Society does in collecting supplies for hygiene kits for people in need. The smallest of donations come together to make a big difference in other people's lives.
Note: I just checked the Church's website and was grateful to learn that all the missionaries serving in this country appear to be accounted for and are safe.

Jorge is married!

Back when our kids were in school we made the decision to bring an exchange student into our home. Jorge came to stay with us during his junior year in high school. His roots are from Taiwan but he was born and raised in Spain. He is a well traveled young man who has been many places in the world several times over. He is now living in Taiwan. He married on January 2nd. We certainly wish him the best in his new life. What a lovely bride he has!

Individual Time

Yesterday George and I had some individual time with each Kaitlyn and Ally.
After Kaitlyn was done with pre-school Andrea, Kaitlyn and I went to Costco for some shopping then, afterward Andrea left Kaitlyn here with us for a while. After Ally got out of school, she brought Ally over and picked up Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn started out playing Memory with Grandma, but soon her attention was diverted to a Disney movie that George popped in the DVD player. She was glued to it!

When Ally came over, she also wanted to play memory and started setting up the cards.

Silly Ally!

As I tried to get her picture she started up the stairs to hide, she continued to act silly as she came down and I managed to snap this one.