Harry and Dawn's Latest Addition!

Baby Boy Terrill finally made his appearance tonight a little after 6 p.m. He's a cute little guy who is already adored by his big sister Eve.

We'll post more details later, but the immediate stats are 8 lbs. 9 oz., 20 1/2 inches.

And he's evening out the odds in the grandchildren ranks - now it's 5 girls and 4 boys.

And you can look for his hospital pix at www.methodisthospital.org - under Baby Boy Terrill. As soon as he has a name, we'll let you know. Eve is calling him "Fella." (As in "Hey you cute little Fella!")

Just a heads up

I heard on Morning Becomes Eclectic this A.M. that the Decemberists will be on Letterman tonight.

Thought that might interest a few of you out there.

Over the river and through the woods,

More Family Gathering
Originally uploaded by grannybabs.

to grandmother's house we go!

We just got back from Portland - or more precisely - Lake Oswego - after spending the Thanksgiving holiday with Phoebe, David, Henry and Calvin.

We had a fine time - and I will post more pix later, but I at least wanted to get the ball rolling.

(Dawn is off to the hospital tomorrow a.m. to have the baby, so there might not be much time tomorrow to post - and of course, that will be a whole post in itself!)

This shot is Friday night at Jinny's - we joined Dave, Becky and kids for a great dinner and a night of videos and conversation.

More to come!!

Remember Noodletti?

(I do)

(PS That's not real noodletti, it's just a poor relation I found on the Internet)

S

The Golden S which Phoebe (or Phoebe and Bonny) bestowed upon us a few Christmases ago, for our wedding actually, has a hallowed spot in our dining room. Its very own wall, in fact.



We quite enjoy it! (despite what the look on my face might otherwise tell you)

0 to 60 in 1000 Words

Betsy did a post about her past - 25 years ago, 20 years ago, 15 years ago, etc. to te present. Then Jacob commented "Wow, 0 to 30 in 500 words." Hence my title.

I'm wondering if I can remember enough to do the same - only I have to go waaay back to start!!

50 years ago - I'm 11 and in 6th grade. My best friend is Marguerite Hardin and my favorite book - which she had just given me to read was Mrs. Mike. Still love the book every time I re-read it.

40 years ago - I'm 21 - in fact I turned 21 in Grenoble,France on a BYU Study Abroad Program. A very great, fun, memorable experience in my life. 21 years ago today I was at BYU and Alice and I were probably at Lyn and Roseann's for Thanksgiving.

30 years ago - I'm 31 and living in Centerville, Utah. We just have Bonny and Harry. We usually spent Thanksgiving alone or got invited somewhere because we didn't have much family close by. One Thanksgiving - but more like 1974 - Mom and Dad came up with everyone and we ate at Alice and Dale's in Riverton. That was the year I made everyone's Christmas present and sent them home with Mom.

20 years ago - I'm 41 and have 5 kids now - and one of them is just a one year old!! We are in the Primrose house in Monrovia - and if it was Thanksgiving, Dad was working on the "little" bedroom in the back. We didn't usually go anywhere so Dad could spend the time working on the house. We didn't do turkey either - we did roasted chickens.

10 years ago - I'm 51 and we have 6 kids and finally have a grandchild on the way. We spent Thanksgiving helping Bonny and Bruce move in and ate at Frances and Dee's - Harry had Brooke with him and I creamed him in Scrabble and he's never been able to get over it!!

Today I am 61 and we are in Lake Oswego with Phoebe and family. I am very grateful for the many blessings I enjoy - among them a fantastic husband, 6 great kids, 4 super in laws, 8 going on 10 grandkids, a wonderful extended family and a bright hope for the future.

Yes, Happy Birthday to Donna

We celebrated with Donna when she came over Friday to watch the kids.

We had a llittle candle with our brownies - it was quite the festivus.

Happy Birthday Donna!

PS - can you tell Esme' was under the weather? Look at that face!

Happy Birthday to Donna Jean

November 22nd is Donna's b-day. And if I don't hustle, this will get published on her actual b-day and not the day before!!

Family legend has it that I chose her name. I do have a distinct memory of Dad coming home from the hospital and saying, "Well, what shall we name the new baby?" And my best friend Marguerite had a sister named Donna Jean, who I thought was the ultimate in coolness and sophistication, so I said, "Donna Jean." Dad said, "Well, that's a pretty good name. I'll ask your mother." (Although he probably said "I'll ask Mumma" because he always said that.)

I remember lots of things about Donna's birth. The washer and dryer weren't working, and Joan and I made regular trips to the laundromat. It was winter time - of course, it's November. But it was cold November, not one of these warm Novembers.

I don't remember what happened with Thanksgiving - Mom was probably still in the hospital. Women used to stay 14 days, but by the time Donna was born, it was more like a week. But the 22nd would have caused her stay to run into the holiday.

More than likely Dad cooked a great meal for us - he was a pretty good cook.

These photos are pretty random - Donna with Carmella, Donna in a swimsuit at Gavins' (and that's Alice with her), Donna celebrating a couple or three birthdays, Donna helping Harry celebrate his 8th, Donna in family shots.

Donna had the dubious distinction of sharing her day of naisance with the anniversary of Kennedy's assassination. Nowadays however, no one seems to remember the historical significance of November 22nd.

So this is my little retrospective on Aunt Donna - my kids favorite aunt. Donna has tended them, taken them to the movies, accompanied one of them to a Howard Jones Concert, and tended our grandkids on a pretty regular basis.

Donna is always up for an adventure. I was a teen when she was born, so I missed a lot of her growing up - but it's been great to get to know her as a sister over the years - especially after we moved back to California.

She's a great sister, a great daughter, a great aunt, a great student - she's the best - have a happy day Donna - we love you!!

Novemberish

Happy Birthday today
to a GREAT guy!



(Matt.)



Also, Harry and Dawn's baby is due today.

Mt. Vernon--One Perspective

On Friday we picked up Matt from work early, had lunch at a cafe' in old-town Alexandria--a very cute area, too bad we didn't take pictures, but it's pretty much like every other old-town neighborhood you've ever been in. Then we went to Mt. Vernon (GW's plantation on the Potomac) and explored--gorgeous day--then went to jazz night at a church in southwest DC, which was very fun, good music, a laid-back crowd, and hearty food. That would be the photo a few posts down featuring the ribs Hannah was salivating over.

A picture of the house.


A picture of Matt.


A picture of my feet, or where they used to be.


A picture of a picture.

This is a test, this is only a test!

Blogger is giving me fits again and not posting pictures. So if these don't show up, I guess it's still not working!!

These pix include Eliza in her office, Eliza in front of her new abode,the "rough draft" of her new living room, and her school where she works.

If we took pictures, I guess we were there!!

Life is almost totally back to the norm - too much to do and not enough time to do it!

So it's fun to stop at night and post a few more pix and relive the very pleasant weekend we spent in DC with Matt and Eliza.

Dad took these shots - we went in the wind and the rain and the cold on Sunday night to visit the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Wall. We also saw the Korean War memorial. We found Freddy Fortner's name on the wall - the wall itself is very moving - especially for us old timers who vividly remember the turmoil that was Vietnam.

There is something about seeing it all at night that is a plus - too bad we didn't have time to do it both ways. Mr. Lincoln is of course much larger than life - literally and figuratively. I found his monument to be a very fitting tribute.

Once again I must say that I felt something throughout the capital - a kind of ambiance in all the best sense of the word. I wonder if Frenchmen feel that way about Paris?

Speaking of Paris, I've included the shot of the grave of Pierre l'Enfant, the man who designed the city that we call the nation's capital. We saw that Saturday - as the storm was coming in, but before it boiled up and hit us.

More on the Weekend That Was

It's late again - where does the time go?

I want Harry to email the pictures he took - but that may take time. In the meantime, here's a shot of us on the metro, heading out to Arlington. We were there on the actual Veteran's Day, so it was pretty exciting. We saw the tombs of the unknown soldiers, the eternal flame at Pres. Kennedy's grave, RFK's grave, the Memorial to Women in Uniform, Robert E. Lee's mansion, and the Iwo Jima memorial - which was very impressive.

What impressed me the most though was how dignified and respectful everyone was. And there was no litter and it was quiet and peaceful. It has not been commercialized there - it's good to know that we still know how to honor those who have served.

And chivalry is not dead - the metro was crowded, but Eliza always got offered a seat. (and so did Dad and I - because we look elderly I guess!! Dad just smiled and took the offered seat!)

for those who were not in the know

I just found out that I was accepted at BYU's Museum of Art as an education intern for the winter semester!

Now there's a load off my mind.

:)

Around DC in 4 Days

Dad had been to DC before - but that was a really long time ago. And I'd never been, so it was a lot of fun and a great adventure to fly to DC and spend a long weekend with Matt and Eliza.

We went to lots of famous places. And the fact that it was Veterans' Day weekend only added to the specialness. And the fact that I'm reading "Flags of Our Fathers" made the visit to the Iwo Jima monument very real and pertinent.

And the fact that we could spend long stretches of uninterrupted time with a couple of favorite people of ours made for some good times and good memories.

I will post more later - or maybe I should say earlier, since it's late now and I have to go to work tomorrow. But I wanted everyone to know that we were back. And that we went. And that we will show more pictures later.

Isn't life so good right now?

I'm just saying.

School Bells in the Fall

One of the perks (?) of middle school teaching is that you get free school photos! We are also featured in the yearbook. It always amuses me when a student asks me to sign their yearbook (no one says "annual" anymore - and you have to be part of my generation to call them that anyway) because I remember having teachers sign mine many years ago. And I still have all my yearbooks to prove it.

I remember spending many a rainy afternoon reading Mom and Dad's yearbooks. I found them fascinating. I don't know if my kids ever read through mine or not. They look less than fascinating to me now.

So here is this year's photo. Marcie H. thought we should all be in "costume" for the picture - or have clever props. She wore a straw hat and held up a copy of Huck Finn. Kyle Mc wore a skeleton draped around his neck. The book I held up said "Changing the World One Woman at a Time" but it got cut off. The studio staff was less than hip and with it as far as we were concerned.

If you're all lucky, I'll scan some pages from the upcoming yearbook for your viewing pleasure!!

It's the Hap-Happiest Season of All

Matt and I were unable to vote in the VA elections yesterday, seeing as we are not VA residents, seeing as we only moved to the state four days ago. But with all of the hullabaloo surrounding the Allen-Webb race (which probably isn't quite as much of a hullabaloo where you all are) I'm thinking we should have tried to plan ahead a little more.

I keep asking students, "Who's planning to vote?" or "Who voted?" and maybe it's sad how un-surprised I am that way less than half of the students in all the classes I've taught in the past week said that they actually voted or planned to vote. I guess they just don't know how exciting it is to live in a state where your own individual vote in an election just might actually make a big difference on the state and national level.

But apparently the polls were still packed, especially here in northern VA. Here everyone votes at schools, so all public-school students get a free holiday. I mentioned to some people at work that Mom and Dad's house used to be a polling place, and they were surprised and intrigued. It hadn't occurred to them that someone's house could be a polling place. I probably complained, but I always thought it was still a little bit fun to have various characters milling around into the night, the living room transformed into a magical sea of drab brown booths.


Plus, the occupied living room meant that I got to skip practicing the piano for the day, which is almost as good as getting out of school.

Dear Granny...

Dear Granny Babs,
I really love my silky. I love it so much that it is starting to wear out. Will you please come and visit so that you can patch it up for me?
Love,
Calvin

Anniversaries of Note!!

My dad used to say, each year on his birthday (November 7th), that he was born on the day that Woodrow Wilson was elected President. Harry F. used that line to start a president's report for Dagne one year.

So Happy Birthday Dad! And congrats to Woodrow - I wonder if that's what people called him or if he had a nickname??

The pictures are from a birthday celebration for Grandpa Clayton in 1997.

"Bowled Over"

Some things are constants in the Terrill household - whether in the Rock House, the Harris House, the House on Lime or the House on Primrose - and one of those constants is the wooden bowl on the floor that usually holds newspapers.

The bowl was a gift from Raymond Jonas. Actually I think he gave it to our BYU apartment and I ended up with it, because he made another one for us as a wedding gift.

And it's been around since time began it seems. And I was sure I had a picture of Bonny and Harry sitting in it - but I can't find it. Or one with Phoebe or Eliza or Noah in it. But I did find shots of Ara and Hannah enjoying the many delightful features - at least to small children - of Raymond's wooden bowl.

Every small child in our household - and every grandchild for that matter - ends up sitting in that bowl as if it was a boat or a bathtub.

We actually had an obnoxious cat once who thought of it as a litter box when we had newspapers in it. We had to take extreme measures to break him of the habit. His name was Baby Kitty and he gave cat ownership a bad name!!

The bowl still functions nicely in our living room - it's one of those vintage possessions that our kids will probably fight over when we are gone!

Personally I love it!

Allegory

of the hummingbird.


Today a hummingbird got stuck in our living room. (Our 20 foot ceilinged living room.) Poor guy. He kept flying around in circles, poking the ceiling, trying to get out.

He'd rest on one of the paper lanterns up there, and then fly around in more circles. He refused to look down and see our two huge, wide open doors waiting for him to escape.

Metaphor anyone?

Vital Records!!

I was looking for my BYU diploma - every year I say I'm going to frame it and hang it in my classroom - other teachers do it - apparently some teaching guru recommended it. But I keep not finding it. I'm sure my diploma from Patrick Henry Jr. High School would just not have the same cachet to it.

And I found this instead!! I may not have many baby pictures, or even a baby book - but I have a bona fide newspaper clipping heralding my birth!!

Halloweentown in Provo

I dressed up for Halloween too!

Check out the post here.