Paint Time!

Ahhh. The choices are varied and many. How to choose, how to choose? It was funny (and a little scary) to watch the choice process. I took the four 8-10 year old girls to As You Wish to pick something to paint for their birthdays this year. The girls went in groups of two so I could keep up with them as they painted.

Megan and Rylee chose to paint another plate. They both chose the monkey plate on display, with a few changes of their own. It was really fun to sort of teach them about keeping it simple, etc. and watch them have fun with their imaginations. It took a good 2 hours + to get the plates ready to put on the shelves for firing. It's always an education to see the finished colors after the firing process. It all looks so pale before that.





Faith and Madison each chose something different. Faith wanted to paint a pencil holder Electric Guitar piece, and Madison picked what she termed as a really cute baby vampire. I explained it was not really a vampire, but a little baby bat. She was still okay with that, so off they went to choose colors. They learned some interesting things about the colors and making polka dots with pencil erasers, the ends of brushes and even the tips of their fingers. We managed to get their projects ready to place on the ready to fire shelves in about 2 1/2 hours.





Of course we can never do anything without involving food somehow. Megan and Rylee ended up at Taco Bell on the way home at lunchtime. Madison and Faith went to Cold Stone for a little treat in the afternoon.



All four girls did a great job on their projects. I love the pics of the process and watching their faces as they paint. I always learn a lot about these kids when we go paint. The finished pieces are really nice and I hope they enjoy them for years to come.






I will especially enjoy the good memories made, and the little insights that help me know them a little better. I will have to get the little boys that turned 5 this year to go and do their first plate. I might take the respective Mom's with me for that experience.

Elk Fever

Summer sent this pic from her phone on her trip to Jamie's Dad's place in Flagstaff. Grumpy is salivating at these beautiful creatures. Images of hunting in November are dancing in his head. I can only imagine. November is coming dear. The elk will still be there, only hiding I'm sure.

The Pioneer Dress

It all started with an offer to Megan that if she wanted a dress for the Pioneer Day Parade in Safford, I would make her one. After some thought, she did want one. I had also suggested that maybe the 8-10 year old girls would like to go back to As You Wish to paint something this summer. I had planned to take them two at a time and made a tentative plan for a Tuesday or Thursday one week for Megan and Rylee. Thursday was better, but alas something came up and we couldn't go. I had Rylee with me, so we went and picked up Megan anyway and went to lunch.



The girls are big fans of Panda Express. After lunch we dropped Rylee off at her dance class and Megan and I were off to JoAnn's Fabric's to pick out fabric for her pioneer day dress. I learned a lot about her likes and not-so-much likes that day. My efforts to explain the kinds of fabrics that would be more authentic were met with a sort of “Oh, Okay.” Pretty lackluster. I finally decided if the pioneers were here with all these choices they would probably pick different fabrics too, so we compromised on a turquoise ensemble. Not exactly the vintage pieces that would be appropriate, but the choices brought a smile to her face, so that's what we did.



I of course procrastinated to the very last minute, but she did have her dress in time to go to Safford with her family to celebrate Pioneer Day. I hope they all have a good time.





Of course the wagon in this picture is not a real pioneer wagon. It looks like the “sheep camp” that my brother Kevin has for his hunting trips. I'm sure from reading that most of the wagons were a bit larger, and I know there were many handcarts used too. I am really grateful for the towns that still recognize and celebrate our founding fathers. Those forebears went through so much not only to realize their dream of a place of peace for themselves but they colonized the west for America. So many of the towns and cities here in Arizona began with a wagon train of determined people to make something for themselves. Hat's off to those cities and towns who have not forgotten and are not “too big” to celebrate our beginnings. I am reminded of an ancestor's comment upon coming into the Gila Valley long ago and far away…“We have been sent to Hell.” You have to remember it was the summertime, and it is hotter than hell here in the summertime. They perserveered (?) and I know I am amazed by their spirit and tenacity. And they had to wear all those clothes! We are indeed fortunate to be unencumbered by petticoats, bloomers, long dresses, boots, and such. Whew!

Blessed, Honored, Pioneer.

Jade the Blade

I don't know why we call her that sometimes. Probably something Grumpy made up that stuck. We were living on the island of Okinawa, Japan while Grumpy was serving in the Air Force. He was an intelligence officer for SAC unit based at Kadena. During the first part of our tour there, I went AWOL to have R.B. in the states and get over whatever ailed me. After having R.B. at home in the states, I went back to Grumpy and Okinawa for the remainder of our tour of duty. Things were much better in many ways. We were in a different house; one that was a tiny bit more like home. We had a breeze most of time in this location which helped with the dense humidity. I wasn't pregnant, the hormones settled down, but mostly I think it helped that I knew ahead of time what to expect. The picture below is one I got off the internet and shows what the Okinawan island looks like. There are some really beautiful beaches too.



I became involved with our church service branch there, and you couldn't find better people anywhere. The sisters there had already helped me start breast feeding R.B. when he was about 2 months old. It turned out he was allergic to all the formulas, so I had to re-lactate in order to feed him. I learned a lot during that little trial. The ladies in the branch were so supportive. We settled into our lives and things were pretty normal. The Officer's Wives Club was a great organization for the newbee wives like me and they had a nice little gift shop on base. I got to know the places to shop off base and of course there was always the Commissary and the Base Exchange. I sewed for myself and my girls, and was busy as Relief Society something or other. After a while the church leaders made a change in meeting places and we didn't have to drive clear up to Camp Hansen Marine Base for Church anymore. We shared a building with an Okinawan branch that was a huge improvement for travel time. There was no block plan in place then and driving to the other tip of the island twice a day with little kids was not my favorite thing to do. We were on a waiting list for a house on base and anxiously awaiting the time we would be on either Kadena AFB or Camp Kuwae Naval Base. There was a big hospital at Camp Kuwae.

I eventually planned a trip to the Phillipines  with several of the ladies in our branch. We had saved some money and I was on a furniture buying mission to get some nice rattan pieces for our home. Meanwhile, we got a call from the base housing office that we could move into a house on Camp Kuwae. Of course our move-in dates were the same as my trip Phillipines. My sweet husband told me to just go and he would take care of the move by himself. I was only too happy to comply. So I went ahead with my plans. I made arrangements for a lady in our branch to nurse R.B. while I was gone as I had nursed her baby while she had a minor surgery a few weeks earlier. Grumpy took some leave time to stay with the kids, and was getting ready to move all our stuff into the new place while I was gone. That is definitely a whole other story. I was excited that I would be coming back to a new (to me) house on base. Our little group put our names on the space available list and waited for a flight out to Clark AFB in the Phillipines. All the other ladies got out on a flight except me. Bummer. I waited for another flight and went alone. It hadn't sounded like such a bad idea at Kadena, but now I was by myself and couldn't get on base to stay. I was concerned. A lone American woman, not bilingual, and I  had to find a hotel off base. I was pretty scared. I managed to find a hotel, and I went to sleep with one eye open. I lived through the night and immediately went to Clark AFB in the morning to see if I could find my travel companions. (This was all before cell phones.) When we got back together and ventured out to shop I bought two sofas, two princess chairs, a 60" round table with six chairs, and a boat load of baskets in all shapes and sizes. The grand total was about $750.00 and the furniture would be ready in a few weeks. Some of the pilots Grumpy briefed everyday would put it all on one of the cargo planes on a return trip to Kadena for us. Life was good. 

I really liked living on the Naval Base. Looking out from my front door I could see the highway that ran pretty much the length of the island. I could also see the ocean. We only had 1 car, so eventually Grumpy bought a moped to commute to Kadena on. (Tracy later nicknamed him Sparky when he would ride the little moped here.) He has always been good to give up his own creature comforts for the good of his family. I love that about him. We got acquainted with several of the young men in our branch who were there without their wives. They opted for the shorter tour of duty, but that meant their families didn't get to come with them. They were in the barracks on base, and some were in the officer's BOQ's, but needless to say they were lonely. The activities (beer busts and loud parties) on the weekends were not easy for them, so we would find our living room couch and floor occupied on the weekends more often than not. They missed their families so much. We would sometimes catch a movie on base and one or more would stay with our kids. It was nice and we were glad they could spend time with us. 

This is what our life was like when we found out we were expecting baby number 5. 

I made my first appointment with the base OBGYN who was really by training NOT an OBGYN. He had all the charisma of an insect and I was not too sure about his medical acumen. I was not looking forward to having him deliver my baby. There was a couple of other Dr's that were easier to deal with. The other thing that made me really mad was at this stage of pregnancy the policy in the military at that time was to let you know you have “choices” about having a baby. I told them I had made my choice just fine when I chose to have a family so not to bother me with their lame policies any more. Things went okay and I learned that during typhoon season anyone within 6 weeks of delivery had to go to the hospital during a typhoon. Something about when the barometric pressure dropped during a typhoon, sometimes labor would start. You can't really be out driving around during a typhoon, so it was just easier to have all the ladies come to the hospital when the typhoon warning came out. I made two or three trips to the hospital in those weeks. Once during my last trimester a sweet lady in our branch told me she wanted to give me a day to pamper myself. She planned to come to our house and take care of all our kids and I was to go to her house and sleep, read, or do whatever I wanted. She even made lunch for me and put it in the fridge. I have often thought of her and so wish I could remember her name. What a sweet thing to do.

I was taking a silk flower making class, and when I was leaving the instructor's house one night I stumbled and fell. Straight down forward onto my very pregnant belly. I was so worried that I had done some damage to my baby, I went home and Grumpy took me to the emergency room. I was having some contractions and so they monitored me (and the baby) for several hours and finally told me they couldn't detect any damage. Baby's heart beat and movements were normal and I shouldn't worry. Of course I did worry. 

Finally, a few weeks later the real contractions started and I went to Camp Kuwae to deliver. Naturally, the charming Dr. Insect was on duty. He was as wonderful as ever, and I was about to refuse to allow him to deliver my baby when his shift was up and he left. Whew! The Dr. coming on duty was so much better, and I felt he was infinitely more qualified. It went well, but Grumpy still didn't get to be in the room with me as that was against policy. Up to now he had effectively missed the delivery of all our babies. I felt so bad for him and even worse for me. I would have loved to have him there for all of it. Jade was born and was so very sweet. She was 7lbs. 5 1/2 ozs. I loved to just sit and hold her. She was very mellow and didn't cry much. I was starting out nursing her and felt I had learned much through the trial of R.B.'s baby diet trauma. All was going well until just a few hours after her birth when the after-pains started. I couldn't believe how hard they were hitting. This was seriously wrong. I still had an I.V. in and asked of the nurses why. I was informed that hospital “policy” (there's that stupid policy thing again) was that all new mothers were to be given 8 hours of Pitocin (which is a drug to induce labor) following child birth. Yes, even the mothers that were nursing. Nursing a baby triggers your body to “cramp” so your uterus contracts and you will not bleed to death. So with the drug I was getting some majorly painful contractions. It was like having labor again. So wrong. At the 8 hour mark I marched myself to the nurses station and told them to take out the I.V. NOW, or I was going to do it myself. As a side note here I have to mention my dilemma with the nurses. After delivery somewhere in the haze of all the pain from the Pitocin a kid that looked all of 18 comes in and says he is going to “check” me for bleeding, stitches etc. I look at this very young man and I say, no, you are not. You go find me a female that is out of her teens. It was probably not very nice of me, but there was NO WAY that boy was coming anywhere near my stitches or anything else. I had the nicest Okinawan lady nurses tend to me. They couldn't speak much English, but I was much more comfortable with them. Once the I.V. was gone and I could relax a little, the kids and Grumpy could come and meet their little sister. R.B. didn't get to come because he had a bad ear infection and his ear-drum had just burst. He never even ran a fever with it. Chuck Andrews and his wife Suzy were taking care of him. I can't remember who had the twins and Summer.  The girls were properly impressed with Jade and I was really looking forward to going home. Grumpy had received his “get back to the states” orders and we starting the process of really going HOME. We wanted to get home in time to get the twins into Kindergarten (yay), so I was going stateside before Grumpy. He had to wait until October before he could report to his next assignment. I was planning to go as soon as I could get clearance. More policy. I had to wait until Jade was 6 weeks old before I could make the 18-20 hour flight home. That policy made pretty good sense. Meanwhile we decided what to keep and what to sell or give away and scheduled the movers to come pack us up. 

On the day were leaving Kadena AFB, the Officer in charge of boarding/passengers found out I was traveling alone with 5 children. He chose a young marine to be my helper and I thought maybe this trip wouldn't be horrendous. Our plane landed at another American base in Japan before actually starting the trip back stateside. When our wheels left the ground from that base a mighty cheer went up from all these young marines that knew they were going home. I started to cry as I realized how much America really does mean to me, and obviously to all these soldiers. We don't realize day to day how blessed we are. 

Now back to the helper Marine. I think he was an only child or had been raised by wolves. He had no idea how to help with children. I finally thanked him for his very genuine efforts and told him I thought we would be fine. He was no doubt relieved to be off the hook as I know he was completely out of his element. The kids were really pretty good for me. We landed in Alaska and then on to California. We made our flight there for Phoenix and came home to our family here. Nana had just had knee surgery and was still in a wheelchair. She and Papa had started building their new home that will always be as old as Jade. 

We chose Jade for your name because it is a beautiful stone that comes from the far east. Since you were born in the far east and were beautiful it seemed to make sense. We named you Vernae for your two great grandmothers Opal LaVerne and Verna Rhea. Opal also had a beautiful stone in her name. We love you so much and are proud of the woman you have become. We appreciate your talents and your willingness to share them and serve those around you so well. Your little family is blessed to have you as are we. Happy Birthday, you're only 29 once for real!

Taya and Jade's Adventures in Jam!

Apricots from Utah found their way into our kitchens this year. They were big, beautiful and oh so sweet. Taya and Jade were up for making some jam for their pantries, so despite the heat and “break dancing” in Richard and Stacie's front lawn, we made jam. A couple of days after picking up the fruit, Jade was going over to help Stacie with something and walked across the front lawn. She found a little pothole and down she went. A pretty painful experience. Fortunately she was teaching nails at school that night so she could prop her foot up and keep ice on it.



We did the jam in two sessions as we couldn't get our schedules to mesh, so I helped with the standing up part of the canning for Jade while she did what she could sitting down. Taya came over the next night and she pretty much did hers with just some coaching on my part. Each girl got 19 pints of delicious jam and Taya took home a few to eat. Not bad.

Our Summer Girl

Thirty-Three years ago it was something like this:
Grumpy was still attending B.Y.U. and we were both working. I was preparing to finish up my last few classes in the coming fall semester after taking incomplete's for the semester before due to having Tawna and Taya a bit early. We had moved from our first apartment in Provo to Armstrong Manor Apartments, in Orem, Utah. I had been to Arizona a couple of times with the twins to visit and we were having a good summer. I can't remember to save my life just how the next scenario developed, but somehow Papa and Nana knew a couple in Mesa that had a home in Orem that they were wanting to use as a rental. It had a full basement, but was not finished at all downstairs. Somehow it was decided that Grumpy and I would move into the upstairs and eventually manage the rental. In exchange for rent, Papa and Grumpy would do the framing, sheetrocking, etc. to finish the basement. When the basement was finished we would find renters for the rooms downstairs. This couple would meantime find a manager for the service station they owned and go back to their house in Arizona. Papa said he would fly up to help us frame and we were excited to do all this. What were we thinking?

About the time all these decisions were being made, I felt a familiar little flutter one day and stopped dead in my tracks. I remember thinking, “No, it couldn't be that!” To say I was surprised to realize I had another baby coming would be an understatement. Tawna and Taya were only 7 months old and lo and behold, another baby was on the way. Well, I always said I wanted my kids close together so they would all grow up together. I got my wish with this one.

Well, we moved in. Me, Grumpy, Tawna, Taya and Tracy, who was staying with us while she attended BYU. We moved into just 2 of the bedrooms, because this couple hadn't moved out yet. We were assured they would be moving soon, right? Papa came up on some weekends and we got the basement framed and sheetrocked, ready for the tape, texture and finishing processes. Through the weeks that it took to do all this, the couple still had not moved out. To make matters worse, the phone was in our name and they would make long distance calls to their son in Mesa and not pay us for them. We paid the utilities, bought the food and Grumpy was still working another job. Me too. We sort of had a Master Schedule for taking care of the twins. Grumpy, me or Tracy was always with them. I don't know what we would have done without Tracy, she was a lifesaver, and very patient with them. The closer it got to getting the basement finished, the more we realized this couple had no intention moving out. This woman was really evil. I felt kind of sorry for her husband, but after all he did put up with her bad behavior. Papa and Grumpy were just the cheapest way they could get their basement finished and we could not live them them any longer. You live, you learn. (Sometimes we don't learn very fast, or remember it nearly long enough.) At any rate, we all determined this was a bad situation and we needed to get out of Dodge. Tracy found a place to stay with our cousin Cara and Grumpy found somewhere to stay to finish up the semester. Me, my big belly and the twins went home with Papa and Nana for the rest of the semester (about 2 months I think).

Grumpy came to Mesa for the summer break and found a job framing for Ross Farnsworth at Sunland Village. We moved into an apartment on Broadway in Mesa with a pool right outside our front door. That was a little scary with 2 toddlers. Grumpy got up well before dawn and went to work until about 3:30 or 4:00 in the afternoon. Needless to say, he got a great “farmer” tan as he was outside all day in the heat of the summer sun. I spent about $25.00 a week on food and hamburger helper was a big part of the grocery list. We ate at Nana and Papa's at least once a week and usually had Sunday dinner with them or Gramma & Papa H. (Interesting note here, years later Tawna and Nathan lived at this same apartment building as newlyweds.)

The fourth of July came and went. No baby. On the morning of the 19th I woke up not feeling very well. My water was trying to break, but was just sort of leaking, so I called Nana to tell her it was time. I called Papa H. to please go and find Grumpy at whatever job site he was at that day. No cell phones in those days. I don't remember who actually took me to the hospital, but I was there when Grumpy got there. I was given some demerol (which I learned later in life, really does take the edge off), and was waiting for the Dr. to come and give me my epidural. The contractions were getting pretty hard and still no Dr. The nurses would check me from time to time and I would ask if anyone had called the Dr. yet. One nurse said they would call him in plenty of time, so not to worry. O.K. Whatever. I tried to explain that the last time I had a baby(s) it went pretty darn fast, but of course I was ignored. I had just been checked and told I was just reaching 5 centimeters when the contractions really started hurting. I, of course had decided on an epidural and wasn't happy about all this pain. Some more time went by and I apparently complained enough that they came to check me again and that got everyone in a panic. Baby was on it's way out. NOW the nurse went to call the Dr.! They wheeled me into the delivery room and the next thing I heard was a call for any doctor in the house over the intercom. I don't remember the name of the Dr. who actually delivered me, but he was nice enough to let Grumpy into the room just barely AFTER the baby was born. There were lots of stitches with this one since no one was there for the proper incisions, etc. I'm glad I don't remember the nurse's name, I would have made a VooDoo doll for her. The Dr. was quite upset that he had not been called and I'm sure she was reprimanded. We had a beautiful little daughter who did not at all look like the “Natalie” name we had decided on. She was blond and very fair and just looked like “Summer” to me. So Summer she was. I was determined to try to breastfeed this baby, but was having problems with knowing how to be very successful with it. It's not as simple as it should be for some of us. Nana didn't have anything good to say about nursing and neither did Gramma H. After trying for a couple of weeks with many tears and a lot of pain, I gave up. I wish I had known then who to call for help. Summer did okay on formula so all was well. Now I had three little girls to keep me on my toes. Grumpy had one more semester at BYU and would be graduating in December. (He did and with honors). Tracy was engaged to Kevin and getting married in November, so was not returning to BYU. At the end of the summer I moved back in with Nana and Papa until Grumpy could graduate. Moving all of us to Utah, finding an apartment for just a semester and all the costs associated just didn't make any sense for 3 1/2 months. He went off to finish school, I went to work helping Nana with Tracy's wedding and I knew the time would go fast. Grumpy was in the R.O.T.C. program and we would be going who knew where in just a few short months. (We went to Denver, CO. for training in the intelligence niche of the Air Force, but that's another story.)

Summer because she looked like the summer time to me. Joy for Gramma H. as it is her middle name. Summer you are a joy and we love you so very much. You have grown into quite a woman and a good mom too. Here you are with your Jamie right before you got married in November. We love you both.

A Pretty Busy Week so far…

This is what the kids looked like today at the movies. Faith's friend Krista was with us too, but declined to be in the picture. It's always nice to have her along - such a sweet girl. We had a good time watching today's “Tale of Despereaux”, but so far my all time favorite of the summer fun movies is “Kitt Kittredge” that we saw last week. It is really a very sweet story. Today's tale of little mouse Despereaux was good too and Jaxon's comment was “That was an awesome movie!” He has been trying to be very positive lately. It is Austin's birthday today, so we sang Happy Birthday to him in the theater before the movie started. As we were getting ready to take the picture, I had them all say Happy Birthday Austin instead of the traditional cheese! They are a cute bunch of yahoo's for sure. Jade brought chocolate to the movies and it went over well. M&M's are good anytime, all the time! Hats off to our mom's who battle the hordes of kids and crazy moms and dads that are all trying to herd their chicks to and from. Thanks to Jordyn and Jesse for watching Emersyn so Taya could go with Madison and Lauren. It is a fun time to spend together. Harry Potter's “The Half-Blood Prince” opened last night at midnight and the theater has the line barricades up outside for all the fans waiting to see it. There were so many people there today it was crazier than usual. I think some of the moms are going to a late show tonight to see if this latest Harry Potter is okay for the kids to see. The little ones anyway. I love to go enjoy the stories, the wonderful special effects and just sort of lose myself in the experience at the movies.

When I was dating Grumpy in high school his dad worked at the Bethany theater in Phoenix. We went to a lot of movies, and continue the tradition now. We love to go. He is not a big fan of Harry Potter, so will be secretly glad I went with the girls. It's all good.



Here is Grumpy at the lake on Monday when we took the Jarvis' minus Jade to the lake. He loves being on the water and in the water. The Jarvis boys had lots of fun jumping off the front and the back of the boat, chasing the ducks, climbing in the tube, swimming in circles and even eating sandwiches and grapes on the boat.





There were some tired boys in the car on the way home, and hungry again to boot. Jeff included. He had had a long day by the time we got home, Grumpy too. We got a late start to allow for that pesky “work” that people have to do (LOL), so ended up at Saguaro for this little trip. Next time I will plan better and we will have even more fun.

Our Baby

All families have a baby. The last child born. Our's is Robert. In keeping with trying to get a little history down, here is what was going on in our lives when Robert came to us.

We were moving into our very first home. The first one with a mortgage of our own on it anyway. We moved in during September/October and were so thrilled to be in our own place at last. Jade was three, R.B. was starting first grade that year, Summer was getting baptized in the coming July, and Tawna and Taya were turning 10. I was getting close to having all the kids in school and that seemed like a dream to me. I got us somewhat moved in and immediately started sewing for the many crafts I was making for the seasonal boutique we had at Nana and Papa's every fall for about 5 years. I know I made lots of different things and whatever I sold was what we bought extras and even Christmas for the kids with. As the boutique time approached I started feeling pretty rocky and thought I was having a terrible time with the flu. Tracy was expecting Kamber and she was born in Nov. About that time I realized I didn't have the flu. I figured this new baby would be coming in July…in good company with Summer and Jade. Not so fun for me as July is hotter than hades, but what are you gonna do, right? Also, getting the kids all in school was gonna be a few more years away. Life sure had some curve balls coming up for us.

Grumpy was working for a solar heating company and his boss assured us he had insurance for all his employees. We thought everything was fine. Before I could even make my first appointment with my Dr., we got the shocking news one day that authorities had shown up at the solar heating company and arrested the owner for tax fraud. Wow. The company folded and Grumpy went to work doing several things that brought enough money in to survive for awhile, but was having a rough time finding something that was a promising career builder. We put the house up for sale in a market much like this one. It wasn't selling. We found out we did not have any medical insurance, his former boss had been less than honest about many things. We just weren't having a great year.

We prayed about our situation a lot and not too many weeks later, Grumpy got a call from a job he had applied for months earlier. He had been calling this company every month for almost a year to be on top of the follow up, and finally his tenacity paid off. This was a good company that his Uncle Harold had worked for for many years. Southern Pacific Pipelines. We knew there was some upward mobility and lots of opportunity to grow with them, so we were thrilled. However, the company insurance had a waiting period, and of course would not cover any pre-existing conditions, so still no insurance for this baby.

After a lot of prayer and soul searching, I felt good about a decision I was making. We talked about it and decided to have our baby at home. We didn't have money for the hospital expenses. I had experienced pretty normal childbirth with no complications four previous times and so was comforted that the Lord would help us through this. I didn't want to incur more debt in our current house dilemma, and I knew things would be alright. I found an excellent midwife and started reading about home birth. I studied up on herbs and got a lot of help from the midwife on things I could do to prepare for a good experience at home.

Things progressed and the months passed by and soon it was July. I so wanted to have a 4th of July baby, but alas, the baby had other ideas. We were of course disagreeing on names but had finally come up with Ivy Elizabeth if a girl, and Robert Sterling if a boy. Finally, late at night I began some serious labor. I called the midwife, and she came over and brought a birthing chair. We set it up in our bedroom and began the long wait through the night. The labor was not bad until about 3 hours before birth. I remember thinking that “what do you know, that demerol really did help!” Now that I didn't have any, I could appreciate it. Very early on July 12th Grumpy put down the video camera (I'll explain that sometime) long enough to catch his son as he came into this world. He had never experienced anything like that before and was appropriately awed. Robert was here in all his 8 lb. 2 oz. glory. Nana was there to help me through this experience and was a comfort. She was in the room and watched it all. She was there and was watching the other kids so I could be taken to a Dr. that would do my stitches. Back then midwives were not allowed to stitch. That took awhile. Once home and resting in my bed I got a phone call from a long time friend of my parents. She was a realtor and wanted to know if she could bring some people by to see the house. I told her that was fine with me, but not to expect much as I had no idea what needed doing to make it presentable for clients to look at. I explained I had just given birth a few hours before, at home, so they could come if they wanted to, but I would be sleeping. They didn't come. (Whew!)

We sold our house in the next few weeks - another prayer answered. I was very sad about only being able to stay nine months in our first home, but we had a new baby in that same amount of time that was mine forever. We were able to rent a house just one street north of Nana and Papa, but had about a month between being out of ours and into that one. We moved our stuff into the atrium at Nana and Papa's and stayed in the basement until the house was available to move in. I experienced my first of several breast infections in the basement. So very painful. I got one every month for 6 months before I finally gave up and put Robert on a bottle. I had been so determined to start him off with the best, but it was not to be breast milk for him. He did adapt to formula well, and so we moved on. He was a joy to all of us. Summer just loved to help take care of him and was such a good little mother. He still remembers her being very much like a mommy to him in his early years. He was the only child I ever had that would let me sit and rock him. He would cuddle and was content to just be near me. All the other kids were always so busy with everything. Me too most of the time. Robert was a night owl like me and would stay up late. Gentle of spirit and slow to anger. Loyal and inherently kind. Some of the things I like most about him.

I hope you had a happy 25th this year. You are finally old enough to get married. LOL. We love you and pray always that you will succeed in your worthy endeavors and learn quickly the things you are being tried to learn. Most of all, we wish for you the happiness of a life well lived and well loved.

Robert for your momma's daddy, Sterling for your momma's paternal granddaddy. It's a good name.



Here with sweetie and fiancee, Jennifer. Good times, bad times, you'll experience them all. You guys hang in there - Life is Good.

The Great Benefits of Family

Emersyn has been getting used to some new faces recently. Taya and Kevin have had to do a little traveling with Gramma's Pearl's hospitalization and passing. Emersyn is a total Mama's girl. She rose to the occasion though, and has been a pretty good sport about all of it. Jordyn has been so sweet about going to Taya's on movie day to watch Emmy as she is a little young for the movies. This allows Taya to go with Maddy and Lauren and have a better quality time with them. Sometimes the movie is too old for Lauren and Jordyn watches her too. She is very good with the kids and has been a blessing to Taya. I have been out to watch the girls, Tawna, Jade, Stacy and Robert and Jennifer have all helped with the grand plan as well as Jordyn who was with Emmy all day Friday. Taya and Kevin are home from their travels, and we are glad they could go and be with family at this sad time. The girls are happy to have their Mommy back, especially Emmy. She does love her Mommy.

Breakfast at Granny's

Breakfast is a funny meal at Grannys'. Like the morning in the pic, most times it's cold cereal fend for yourself stuff. Sometimes Jade's boys come up asking for oatmeal or eggs, so we do that. We have even been known to have a bagel or donuts in the house, and of course my personal favorite, chocolate cake. Our breakfast eaters change a little now and then too. Sometimes Rylee comes by with Summer in the morning. Summer broke her shoulder and can't do her hair, so Jade does the honors in the morning once in a while for her. Sometimes Grumpy is around and will take various grandkids on a plane ride and then go to the waffle house on McKellips, or the breakfast place at the airport in Payson when they go that way. There are a great many times that what we think of as breakfast fare ends up on the dinner table at night. Pancakes, waffles, and eggs any style can be quite an adventure and we eat that kind of breakfast at night more than for actual breakfast. Gotta love it.



We also have some great color artists in the group. I love that the kids will sit at the bar with the little TV on and color some works of art. Coloring is a good skill, and some of the kids take it very seriously. I know I do. I need some new coloring books now, we are getting bored with the same old ones. Got some shopping to do.

Recently Departed

It seems like there have been so many people passing on to the other side this month. People we know and a dear relative too. My cousin Pam called to let me know her Mom had passed away. Pam has been taking care of her for quite a while now, but you are just never ready when the end finally comes. Aunt Virgie was such a sweet lady. I remember all the cards and little gifts she would send for the different occasions. Her Christmas cards always had a mailbox of some kind on them. She was the mail carrier for the rural route in Queen Creek for many years. Uncle Duane carried the route for awhile, and when he became the Postmaster General for Queen Creek, Aunt Virgie began to do the route. She had so many friends and did lots of service in her church making quilts for the hospitals etc. She was quite a lady.

A long time friend passed away about the same time. Debbie Bates, mother to Tawna's best friend Krista lost her battle with cancer. Her family was in our ward twice, and Krista and Tawna have a lot of history together. Debbie was quiet, very talented and one of the most humble people I know. She never spoke a bad word about anyone. She had multiple health problems through the years, but managed to have 7 beautiful children and raise them to be wonderful adults. She served others constantly and had a great sense of humor. She will be sorely missed by her family and friends.

Gramma Pearl has left us too. Kevin's maternal grandmother passed away this month also. She was quite a character and it has been fun to get to know her these last 4 years. You can see how much she loved her family and wanted to spend time with them in Taya's post about her on her blog. It was hard to see her go, and there wasn't much time to get used to the idea. She leaves behind a wonderful daughter and other family that will miss her so much. Carol and her family were always there for her and she knew she was loved. We will miss her adventurous spirit and positive attitude. We could learn much from that attribute from her.

My heart is full and I feel deeply for their families here. We all know while they are in a better place, we are left here to deal with our loss. I hope Pam and her family, Krista and her family and Carol's family know they are in our hearts and in our prayers. It helps a little to remember that lives filled with love leave us with hearts full of sorrow at parting. So much better than the alternative of lives without love that leave not a whisper of sorrow when gone. The greatest comfort is of course knowing we are without them for just a little time and will see them again. Interesting that they both loved the color purple. Their kids all wore something in a purple tint or tone and it was nice.

We will endure and be stronger for it. This is what they taught us and what we know.

A Small Tribute

I found this picture of jets in formation with patriotic smoke on. I love jets, and the power they represent. We have quite a history of military men in the family and I wish I had some pictures to post, but I don't. I just wanted to acknowledge the military service of those I know of in the family.

I know my Dad's father served in World War I. My Dad joined the service to serve in World War II, but did not see overseas duty as he was still to be in pilot training when the war ended. His three brothers all served in the Army, Navy and Air Force. Dad did serve as a pilot in the Korean War. He had a great career flying many various types of aircraft. A natural born pilot and patriot. Grumpy went through the R.O.T.C. program and served in the Air Force. He was to be a pilot, but missed the opportunity as they were reducing forces just after Vietnam. He served as an intelligence officer instead. We lived in Okinawa for part of his tour of duty and were able to see some of the places where Papa served years earlier. Grumpy's paternal Uncle's Eddy, and Pat both served in the Navy during Korea. Stacie's brother Aaron just joined the Army and left for training.

I am thankful to these men for their commitment and sacrifice to the service of this country. We have a great heritage and we have a great progeny. We are grateful and we will not forget.

Our Quiet 4th of July

I knew our numbers would be small this year, so I tried really hard to gear down the amount of food I planned. I was only successful on the level of quantity per dish. I guess I just like a lot of choices, or maybe the traditional stuff just had to be there, I don't know. I didn't get any corn, so we missed corn on the cob and watermelon too. We planned hamburgers and hotdogs, baked beans (courtesy Taya), coleslaw, potato salad, a few chips with homemade Rocky Road and Toffee ice cream with of course a Chocolate Cake for dessert. I was really proud of myself for not making huge amounts of everything. I did leave out some of the variety that we just didn't need. By the time I made two batches of ice cream (which Papa did the freezing for), the potato salad, the coleslaw, and the cake and frosting I was ready to hand the burgers and the hotdogs over to Grumpy. Papa went to Bob and Sydney's for some fine cuisine and had a great time there. We just had Taya and Kevin's “mini” family and Jamie and Summer sans their kids. It was nice to talk and visit. Everyone had a good day and I know how much we appreciate living in this land.

I am on volume 8 of a 9 volume series called “Prelude to Glory” that chronicles (in novel format) the birth of our nation and the years following. It is hard to imagine the sacrifice so many men and women made to secure our freedom to choose. In this series as I read I realize as never before that a central government that is too powerful takes away the rights of individual states to govern themselves. That central government that is too large takes away the rights of us as individuals. I need to write to my representatives and make my opinion known. I am only one, but if I don't at least do that, I have done nothing. I sometimes wonder if what is being called apathy is simply that so many of us don't know what to do to make a difference.

Okay, enough serious stuff, back to the food and family. Our burgers and salads are below. I will post the ingredients for the salads on Nana's blog.




Here's Papa freezing the ice cream and filling up our chocolate dispenser for all of us chocoholics. You can see the new faucet Papa had Bobby get for the sink. Bobby came over and installed it last weekend and it is wonderful. Thanks Bobby for the help with that. The old faucet had definitely given it's due.




I love Rocky Road. It is my all time favorite. I hope everyone had a good celebration and remembered to thank God for this land and what we enjoy here. I hope we will do all we can to preserve it for the unique nation that it is. I do love America.

So Very Nice…

Whoever thinks appliances are not a great gift doesn't live in the real world. Nothing wrong with a wonderful new microwave to make our lives easier. Thanks again to our kids for getting us such a nice present. I have to admit, the first time I put something in to warm up, I had to resist the urge to slam my fist in just the right place to get it to work. There are definite advantages to a door that doesn't fall apart if things aren't aligned just so, and a turntable that actually rotates the food. AHHHHH. Life is good.

Thanks Jamie for making time to help get it installed. Here's to all the warmed food in the years to come. Yeah!

July

July is the month that signals that summer is half over. Unfortunately it is also the first of the worst months (heat wise) of summer. I do enjoy the monsoons though, and have always been up for watching the lightning light up the sky. We have just a few birthdays this month, it's America's birthday, Robert's, Summer's, Jade's, Austin's, Jennifer's and Dawson's. It is also Gramma and Papa H's anniversary. They always seem to be traveling for their anniversary - I guess I would too if it were in July and I could go somewhere else besides the valley of the sun. I typically grin and bear the heat and the added humidity through July, gnash my teeth through August and am downright mean and nasty by September. The only good thing is that there are very few snowbirds here now, so there are a few hotter than hades months to thank for that blessing.

Papa's eye surgery went well and he is scheduled for the other eye the end of July. Grumpy and I are being boring and staying home for the 4th. I will make ice cream and BBQ for a pretty traditional day and am looking forward to not being out on the roads traveling. My dream is to have a cabin in the mountains where the kids can enjoy the cooler weather and spend some time together enjoying a simpler life. Not too simple, just not as busy as here. We still love our computers, DS systems, Wii, and all the other pastimes of today. What would I do without all the NCIS re-runs?

Here's to getting through July with a good attitude.