A Red Letter Day

Four years ago today was truly a Red-Letter-Day in my life. It was the day I became a grandma. I always knew I would love being a grandparent, I just didn't know how much!! Jaden is getting so big. It has been fun watching his excitement waiting for his 4th birthday. A few weeks ago he showed me the calendar, and he knew exactly which square was his special day.

Happy Birthday, Jaden. I love you....

How fast they grow....

On Monday, I helped Heather take Harlee and Jaycie to the doctor for checkups. Good thing I went because Harlee was in a funky mood and had to be wrestled and pinned down to the examing table. It reminded me of the old days of taking Melissa to the doctor when she had all those ear infections as a toddler. In fact, I remember that I ended up having to schedule her appointments when Greg was off so that he could help me hold her down..... Aah, the joys of parenting.

Good thing the blessings far outweigh the trials.

Little Jaycie is the best baby. Usually the only time I hear her cry is when she has her bath. You should see Beau give her a bath. It's like watching a ballet. He is such an involved, incredible dad.

Back to the doctor......

Jaycie is only two weeks old, but has gained one pound and grown 1/4 inch over her birth size. I think she changes every day. She sure is cute.

Speaking of cute.... Jade is a riot. He is such a happy little guy. It was fun having Jenn bring him over on Monday. We all just sat and visited for a while....what a treat!!

The only downside to the week has been Harlee. She's had a rotten cold and cough and just hasn't been herself. It sure helped that some special people (who will remain anonymous) bought her a beautiful new Disney jacket that has Cinderella on it. She wants to wear it all the time and carries it to bed with her. Yesterday afternoon we thought the world might end when her mom had to wash it.....

So my life revolves around the grandkids, kids, and taking photos of them right now. I know it won't last forever (Heather and Beau might have found a house to purchase...). So we are all trying to make the most of it. It's never ideal for married kids and their family to have to live with mom and dad, but I think we are all making it work the best we can. Harlee is confused and that makes me kind of sad. Hopefully as soon as she doesn't live with us anymore I can just be Grandma again and not that old lady who is trying to take me away from my mom.......

Recharging our batteries

I was so tired on Friday. I thought I was coming down with a cold, but maybe it was just tiredness instead. It seemed we had things going on every night of the week last week and it just wore me out. I had all sorts of housework, project type plans for Saturday. But, Friday night, Greg in his wisdom said, "You need to get outdoors to recharge your batteries." He helped me clean the house and run our errands on Saturday morning. Then later in the afternoon on Saturday, we went to the Cress Creek Nature Trail to watch the sunset. I don't know what it is about watching the sunset, but when you take time out of your life to just sit and do that, it is a most amazing experience. It's also amazing watching a sunrise.

Greg has to do a talk on Strengthing Marriage in our ward conference. I told him to add watching the sunset together to his list of things to say in the talk.

As you know, Greg is a most calm person. I'm so grateful I have him to help me put things in perspective. Every Type A personality person needs a calming influence in their life to tell them that the things they get all worked up and stressed out about really aren't that important. Our kitchen remodel can take a little longer.....watching sunsets is better.

Some Great Nephews!!

I have some amazing nieces and nephews. It's been so great to live close to them and watch them grow up.

We have two nephews who the family is so proud of right now. Each is a starter on his high school basketball team. The only bad thing is that they have to play each other once in a while. I wish I could have seen them play more this year. Life gets way too crazy and I know I have missed out on some very fun games this year.

I want the boys to know that we always watch the news, check the newspaper, and talk to family members to find out how they did. I know that both of them have been awesome players this year.

We were lucky enough to see them play against each other once.




Rob scored on this amazing shot under the basket.

Dylan scored on this amazing underhanded shot.

Ronda enjoying the game.

Heather and Beau escaped to the upper bleachers during half time, as Heather was in labor and they wanted to be able to make a quick get away, if needed. But, little Jaycie cooperated and they were able to wait until the game was over to go to the hospital.

Of course, we are cheering for both teams and just hope that both boys have a great time and play well. You are making everyone very proud to say we belong to your family.

Happy Valentine's Day

Our week has been filled to the brim with activities. What a joy it has been to have Heather and Beau and their beautiful family in our home. But today we decided that it was time to give them a little space and give ourselves a little rest. So, we drove to Driggs and ate lunch in a little Mexican restuarant that we like there. Then we drove to the Jedediah Wilderness area and took a 2 hour snowshoe hike. It is hard work walking in those snowshoes, so I was able to justify my lunch and all those yummy sugar cookes everyone has been giving us. (It's a good thing they are so hard to make, because they are my very favorite kind of cookie.)

Here are Greg and I on the hike and a few photos of the gorgeous scenery that we saw.

Happy Birthday, Harlee

We have had such a busy, fun, crazy time at our house. Yesterday I went to work, drove to Amber's to pick up Harlee after work, took Heather and her kids to the doctor for a baby weight check, cooked dinner, and went to Harlee's 2nd Birthday party. I'm sure glad I get the day off today. Heather and I are both hoping for a relatively quiet day.

Harlee is so adorable. I've had a blast helping out with her.

Here she is this morning playing in her new tent with some of her new toys

Jaycie Faith

Our family grew by one more person last night. I'll let Heather share the details with everyone but let me say that little Jaycie Faith is beautiful. Beau and Heather kept the baby's name a secret until birth. Jaycie is a very pretty first name, but when I heard her middle name it brought tears to my eyes. My children are incredible. Let me explain.

Beau and Heather went through a very frustrating time at the beginning of 2008. It was so hard for Beau to find an internship which was so surprising to all of us who knew Beau. I don't know of a more responsible, smart, hard working individual. (My other sons-in-law are his equal in this area.) We thought that everyone should have been fighting over him. Of course at the time, we didn't know that an economic crisis was developing. Anyway, in all of their praying and soul searching about what to do, they kept getting the impression that they should have another baby. They decided to have faith in what the Lord was telling them to do and soon became pregnant. Their story is a long one, but just let me say that many little miracles have happened along the way. Beau just started a great job this week. They were able to move back home and I will never look at little Jaycie Faith without being reminded of the faith of my wonderful daughter and her beautiful family.

She looks so much like Harlee did as a newborn that it's uncanny.....

Harlee

Jaycie

Family Home Evening

I have some thoughts on Family Home Evening. When my kids were little, we were not consistent with it. Yes, sometimes we did have a formal home evening, most weeks we just did something together. I feel bad about it now....like I missed a great opportunity. I think Melissa had the strongest testimony of it in our family. It's a good thing she gave us so many fantastic lessons.

But, my kids are great at it now. They picked up where I left off and are running forward full steam ahead. I think I can see a couple of reasons why we weren't that good at it from watching them. First, I made it too complicated. It seems that if you have a song and a prayer, the spirit is there. Just making the effort really pays off and the Lord blesses you. My kids don't do anything fancy and spend hours preparing. But once they gather, the sweetest feeling comes into the home.


Second, I let Greg's shift work be an excuse. We should have just had it with whoever was there.

I gave a lesson on the principle of sacrifice for Relief Society last Sunday. I was reminded how important it is that we give of ourselves for others. The principle of Sacrifice is so central to everything we do in our lives. Through it we show that we love God more than any other thing. Sacrificing a little of ourselves for our families on Monday night will bring huge blessings.

It was a huge joy watching Harlee and Beau sing together in Home Evening last night. All you have to do is look at her face and you know that having family night is accomplishing something vitally important to her future.