Remembering a Friend

Today marks the anniversary of the passing of our dear friend Charlie Graham.

He was pretty much always "larger than life," so sometimes it seems like he will just walk in the door and sit down in the back of the chapel.

But of course he doesn't. So we remember him fondly - and keep the memory alive.

A sneak preview -

Whether you are interested or not, I plan to post several of the photos I took on our recent trip to Virginia and DC to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Selanders and the Hamills. So here's a few to whet your appetite!!

We will have fire in the oven stories to tell too.

And s'mores fests - or should I say feasts??

The latest craft efforts from our in-house Craft Maven,

and we can also tell you where to find the best breakfast in DC - other than the Hamill's house that is,

and I can in truth tell you that I love spending time with grandkids - and these two are among the grandest!!

Happy First Birthday to Our Lovely Miss Isla!!

Guess who is ONE today??

Can't believe it's been a whole year - we were in Virginia last year when the lovely Miss Isla made her precipitous debut - and what a lovely year it has been with her!!

Happy Day to you!!

Birthday Greetings to "Baby" Harry!!

One of the things I was going to do was post ahead on Harry's and Isla's birthdays - but I didn't get that item checked off. So I will post when I return - since my photos are not on this computer!

Happy Birthday today to our own "Baby" Harry - who at 4 is not much of a baby anymore!! In fact, he's quite a big boy - and we do love him!!

Harry, Dawn and kids were living with us when Harry was born - so his infancy was part of the fabric of our lives - and there are lots of good memories - but for now, let me say,

"Have a happy day Harry William!!"

P.S. Remember the white board and coming up with a name for him??

Some thoughts on gratitude -

We are here in Virginia, enjoying our time with the Hamills and the Selanders - and it is a very enjoyable time.

I was thinking that it's been a very long time since we've had Thanksgiving at our house. And before that, it often was not much of a "big deal" holiday. For one thing, Dad liked to work during the day on Thanksgiving - because no one would interrupt him and he could get lots done. For another thing, it was a prime time to get projects done around our house - for the same reason! When we did have it, we often had roast chickens - usually two - since no one was really crazy about turkey - they were mostly crazy about the mashed potatoes and gravy - and the pies I guess.

There were several Thanksgiving years when I was YW President and we had pumpkin pie sales to raise money for Girls' Camp. These sales were a huge success - because all the pies and crusts were homemade. I had initially planned to buy them in bulk somewhere and mark them up. Connie Watson said, "Oh no, we can make them." When I said I didn't know how to make pie crust, she said, "Well, I will teach you."

And teach us she did - and I daresay most of the Young Women in our ward from that era are pretty good pie makers. There were some sad customers when the practice was discontinued after I was released!! (Hannah is especially proficient at making crusts that not only taste good, but look good too!)

As the years moved on, and family members moved hither and yon, we took up taking trips to visit them at Thanksgiving. For a couple of years we did dinner at Bonny and Bruce's. Then a few years saw us in Concord, Davis, and Portland. Now the tradition revolves around the DC area. Who knows where it will lead us!?

Even though the location may change however, there is one thing that never changes - and that is the profound gratitude I feel for the wonderful family of which I am a part. My own parents and siblings, their spouses and children, my wonderful husband, our children, their spouses, and our sweetl grandchildren, Harry's parents and siblings and their spouses and children - all these great people are always a part of my life - and thankfully - and hopefully - always will be!

I have countless other blessings, too numerous to start enumerating. I am aware each day of how blessed my life is. Even with trials and heartache that often weigh me down, I feel buoyed up and supported. Thinking about all that I have and enjoy seems like a good way to start the season that culminates with the celebration of the Savior's birth.

Happy Birthday Donna!

Just one year ago, we were celebrating the BIG BIRTHDAY for our own Donna Jean.

So this year we will look back - and I don't even know what year this is!!

Donna is the favorite aunt in our family. She is always up for dinner or a movie or a conversation or a trip!

And she's a wonderful sister too!!

Happy Day to you and all the best for a wonderful year ahead!!

Happy Birthday Matt!!

There are not a whole lot of photos of just Matt!! I probably used this one last year too- but it's a great shot - worth repeating!!

And in a thumbnail, I couldn't tell that Theo was upset. But Matt is a great dad - and I have always been impressed with his calm manner in dealing with unhappy children. And dealing with happy children too!! He really seems to enjoy and understand his kids.

Matt fits right in - it's like he's always been here. He seems to love everyone we love - and shows it.

A gentleman and a scholar!!


If we'd been doing the choosing, we could never have chosen as well as Eliza did!!

We love you Matt!! Have a great day - and a wonderful year ahead.

New car and other news!

We finally got a car - it's a 2008 Volvo - got a good deal too, so we are happy.

It's element project time in 8th grade science - my collaborative class.

So that means my classroom turns into a little construction zone.

And I have a wonderful student teacher working with me - so my room looks a bit more spiffy - more creative than I usually am!

Illustrated spelling lists - and the kids are doing better with the words - fancy that!

Why didn't I do this years ago??

We are busy getting ready for our trip east - and it's been a busy week - teaching seminary two days, speaking at Duarte's R.S. Meeting, returning the rental car, getting the new car, insurance, registration, working at the temple, our week to clean the building, meeting with the missionaries, book group, baby showers - when will I pack?? And when will I do my visiting teaching?? Hmm - might be a mail contact this month!! (But I have seen 3 of them and talked to one of them on the phone - but it was not very in-depth, if you follow my drift!!)

The Weekend Ends!

Our fun time with the Little Women came to an end tonight. We have enjoyed our adventures together, and even though things are tidy and quiet around here now, there's definitely something missing!!

Everyone slept well Saturday night - and we had a nice day at church. It was the Primary program, and Eve, Porter, and Harry all performed well!

We had dinner at our house - and since we won't be here for Thanksgiving, we gave the table a Thanksgiving air with these cute little turkeys!! Mom made some with Jeanette while she was up there, and so I just copied the one Mom gave me!!

The girls helped me make 13 of them - enough for our crowd today. Here Annika is at her favorite spot - the white board!! I told Harry we should just paint the walls with whiteboard paint and the grandkids would probably stay engaged for very long periods of time!!

We had a fun little craft session making the turkeys - even if our meal was Beef Stroganof, we felt very festive!

We met up with Bonny and Bruce at the Worldwide Leadership Training Broadcast at our stake center. Their stake watched it Friday night, so they had missed it. This all worked out well for all of us. It was a great broadcast too - not a meeting - as Elder Bednar put it, "a revelatory experience!!"

They are probably home by now - and we are off to bed - a very busy week lies ahead - I will certainly appreciate my "vacation" in Virginia and D.C!!

Hangin' with the Little Women!!

Our holiday weekend is drawing to a close - and tomorrow will find everyone heading back home - but we've had a fine four days together with the little women!!

Several games of Golf!! And some amazing wins!

Soccer practice at sunset - the beach is a great place to hang out!!

Got in on Activity Days with Dawn and the girls of the Monrovia Ward - Annika and Esme are devotees of the journal now!

This is either "Spit" or "War" - but ask Porter about "Kaboom!!"

Dad and I did babysitting honors for Dawn on Thursday night - Noah joined us too.

Eve loves it when the cousins come!

So a Grandma's Sleepover was in order - this is what it looks like the next morning - I never seem to remember to take a photo when the three little girls are snuggling into our living room!

This is my latest Grandma find - and it is a BIG HIT!! It's a battery powered turtle with stars on his back - when the room is dark, he projects the constellations onto the ceiling - there is even a crescent moon!! After a set period of time, he goes dark once more, so you aren't wasting batteries.

Waffle Friday!!

Crafts in the family room. We had some fun shopping at Michael's!!

We came back to the beach Friday night - and Grandpa joined us.

The household had been without a computer - the new one isn't up yet - so all were interested in seeing what Grandpa's had to report!

Annika requested I take this shot!! She is quite the star, don't you think??

Ara is adding the bassoon to her repertoire!!

Saturday saw four girls with four games in pretty much four different places - at least Ella and Esme's games were both at the high school - just on different fields.

The view from Annika's game - like I said, this is a beautiful place to live!

Annika's team won - 5 to 0. She LOVED her trophy!!

I forgot to ask if Esme's team won - we were there briefly - to bring Ara to Grandpa - we had to head back to a birthday party Annika needed to attend.

But we were all together briefly. Dad did not take photos of Ella's or Ara's game. Ella's team lost, but they are still in first place. More games next week. Ara's team won - Dad said it was a great game.

We are back in Monrovia. We have enjoyed the photos Bonny has been sending to my email. Hopefully she will do a wonderful big post - it all looks and sounds like a great place to visit.

It's been a lot of back and forth, but it's not so bad with some great conversationalists riding along with you!! The girls have been great - we've done lots, talked lots, and I even got everyone in bed on time tonight - except yours truly!!

Dad and I especially enjoyed sleeping at Bonny's - the view of the night sky was wonderful - what a way to head off to dreamland!!

Tomorrow is the Primary program - should be great! If I get more good photos, I will post them - but I do have some catching up in other areas that is nagging at the back of my mind, so maybe I won't. Trust me when I say it's been a busy four days, but they are four days I wouldn't trade for anything!

I am so grateful for our wonderful grandkids - what a joy they are in our lives!

The Happy Campers!

Got some phone photos from the traveling duo - they are not letting the grass grow under their feet - that's for sure!!

We are having a fine time here too!!

Have a Good Time on your Chrip

This the note Annika left under my pillow last night. And then she came upstairs and asked me to find the note she left under my pillow.

She is a little worried about mom and dad going away. I think all the children are. And that's ok. I guess I would be worried if they didn't miss us. We will miss them.

Luckily we know they are in good hands, better than Allstate, the good hands people.

Have fun!