Phoebe and Porter and October 11th!!

October 11th is doubly special in the Terrill family because it's Phoebe's and Porter's birthdays. They are great little "Birthday Buddies" and we're happy to be celebrating their respective naisances today!!

We love you Phoebe - and can't wait for your upcoming visit!!

I'm sure I post this every year - it's a fave photo of mine - and always makes me think of birthdays and good times!!

Another fave photo - who can identify the dude with his back to us?? Extra credit if you can name all four little girls with Phoebe!

Always a fashion queen - from the get go!!

One time they actually celebrated together - a few years ago by the looks of things!

Porter is indeed growing up - he's doing well in school - got the honor pin, just like his dad!!

Happy Day to Phoebe and Porter - and all our best for a wonderful year ahead!!

Mr. No-Name Sports a Faux Hawk!

I guess if you don't have a name, you need some other distinguishing characteristic - like a sporty faux hawk!!

This little guy is a sweetheart.

And a snoozer.

And Mama is recuperating slowly but surely.

He's all the news here in the 'hood.

Stay tuned for updates!!

(and think positive thoughts about Agnes not waking up at 2 a.m. asking (ahem) for her dad!!)

"What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours . . ."

Because I'm not sure how to shuffle pics around on Phoebe's computer, I will just tell you what each one is! (I'm so used to a Mac, I can't remember things about a PC - chalk the memory deficit up to my advanced years!!)

Here is Baby Boy Fillmore, aka Yoda according to some, making his debut on the blog!

And here are Calvin and Henry enjoying their daily ration of Wii!

Granny Babs meeting the newest Terrill grandchild.

The happy family!

Phoebe felt that she'd done better after this birth than she had after the others - but she was still a bit drowsy. David is taking good care of her though.

We tried, but couldn't get Brother Fillmore to open his eyes!! He's still a bit drowsy too. C-section babies sometimes take longer to "wake up" it seems.

Big Bro meets Little Bro - or should I say, Littlest Bro??

The Big Sis - who managed to get over her disappointment at not getting a girl. On the way to the hospital she said, "I'm glad we had a boy. And now my mommy's tummy is empty."

He looks like a cross between Calvin and Henry, but his head is smaller and he has much more hair. Reminds me of Clayton/Terrill hair - although it's David's hairline - and when he makes a little face, he looks just like his dad!

Henry and Calvin are at Vacation Bible School this week - with all their little LDS friends!!

What a difference a day makes - here's Phoebe with Agnes as she left the house this morning!!

We are looking forward to visiting again tomorrow. And we do appreciate all the good wishes. I will take David's laptop to him tomorrow - but in the meantime, I am sharing all the messages with Phoebe, who does appreciate them.

Phoebe's content with another boy - she says, "Agnes is enough girl for any family!"

And finally, once again I will quote the ever-accurate Melanie Wilkes, who declared that "the best days are the ones when babies are born!"

Visiting Oregon

We enjoyed celebrating spring break in LO with Phoebe, David and family. I can't believe how few pictures I took - I think I was too busy enjoying being there!!

Phoebe had just finished the Auction and Dinner fundraiser for the co-op nursery school where she is president - I think she was happy to have it over with. They had done these framed photos of the children and sold them - a big hit!! (The event was quite successful btw!!)

After wrapping up a bid and doing our taxes, Dad went to work on getting some overhead lights in the children's bedrooms.

A very sober Miss Agnes - who usually was in a smiley mood. I think she didn't want to leave when we went to pick up Calvin.

We had lunch at Andina with the Burkes - what a fun afternoon - and what good food too!

We went swimming one night at the newly opened rec center - lots of fun in a very large pool with a wave current and big slide - and spa pool too!

Then we had some good times afterwards in the game room.

Some fiercesome fusbol and some ping pong and even a pool game filled the bill nicely.

I can't believe I took so few pics of Phoebe and David - they were there and we spent a lot of time together - you will just have to take my word for it I guess!!

Henry is still the diligent piano student!! He was off at school all day and then to baseball practice and Cub Scouts - so I think we saw less of him than anyone!! But we did love it when he was there - and we even got in a game of "Golf!!"

Calvin is enjoying soccer - and David is the coach.

We were in JoAnn's when Calvin found a "magazine" with a pattern for a small dog - which he dearly wanted - so I did get it made - now I need to make Agnes' pink elephant!

Friday p.m. we headed for the coast to see Nebekers and Heders for a reunion of the Hole Gang!! (For the uninitiated - when Dad and and Ry and Jim Heder lived together in Provo, they called their place "The Hole." Ry had a welcome sign out for us!)

A grand reunion of the "old boys!" I garnered some heretofore unknown to me anyway info just listening to them carry on about their adventures!! It's good to relive the past now and again - helps you appreciate the present for one thing!

We took a trip out to Ry's studio - a lot the worse for wear after weathering a fierce storm a couple of years ago.

Ry is determined to rebuild - but I wasn't up for climbing onto the exposed top!!

We spent Saturday avoiding the rain - it was Oregon after all - and had a great dinner at the Bistro at Edgewater. Sarah does know all the best eateries on the coast I think.

More pool in Nebeker's basement!! Dad is not Minnesota Fats, but he's pretty good!

This is where we stayed in Gearhart - a very charming little place. And of course Sunday dawned bright and clear!! We went to church with Nebekers and then enjoyed a delicious Sunday dinner. Sarah not only knows the good eateries, she's a great chef herself!!

Monday a.m. - Patriot's Day, Eliza's birthday, and the running of the Boston Marathon. This was Dad's level of participation this year!! He registered too late and they were full - that has not happened before - and Dad vows it won't happen again!

Monday morning found us packing up to go home - always a bittersweet time - it's good to get home, but I miss the sharing of the "day to day" with Phoebe and her family. I didn't do much sewing, because the machine went on the fritz - at least I got Henry's Cub Scout patches sewn on before the machine bit the dust! But I did teach Phoebe how to edge a flannel baby blanket with crochet. And we had a lunch at Burgerville, and we explored a few great little fabric stores.

Ah, the palm trees - swaying in the breeze.

And Dawn coming to get us. Soon it seems like you have never even been gone. We came home to a very clean house though - it's good when your cleaning lady comes the day you arrive home!! And Noah had thoughtfully bought milk and put it in the fridge for us.

I'm already looking forward to summer and all the visiting we have in store!!

The Many Faces of Phoebe

Phoebe means "light" - and Elizabeth - her middle name - means "gift of God." A fitting name for the bright light that came into our lives on October 11, 1977. As a family, we had fasted and prayed for another child in our home - and Phoebe was the answer to that prayer.

Here's Phoebe on her 5th birthday.

Phoebe started out in the family as child #3 - but she will tell you that she's a true middle child - and she loved her years as a quasi only-child!!

Eliza's arrival made her a big sister.

And she's a great big sister!

And Bonny would agree that she's a wonderful little sister too.

She's a wonderful friend (and has some wonderful friends too!) Wherever she goes, Phoebe manages to connect with someone Harry and I know. And whenever we go to visit, everyone tells us how much they love Phoebe!

Phoebe is a wonderful granddaughter - and enjoys a good relationship with both of her grandmothers. And she had a pretty special relationship with her Great Grandma Connie and her Great Uncle Paul.

I think most would agree that Phoebe's a great cousin. (I mostly wanted an excuse to post this shot - love that late 80's look!)

Phoebe's a favorite aunt - and loves all the grandkids on both sides of their family.

Phoebe is compassionate - and reaches out to others wherever she goes. When we visit, she always knows her neighbors. After the '87 earthquake, her first concern was for old Mr. Sands across the street!

Phoebe's a fan of FHE!!

Phoebe's a wonderful wife - and we are so happy she found David - and that they are such a great pair!


Phoebe is a great MOM!! (All caps too!)

And she and David have a wonderful family.

Dad and I both agree that Phoebe is a wonderful daughter - truly a light in our lives.

To wrap up this birthday homage to our own #2 daughter, Phoebe is always the one with the best tan!