Grandpa's Last Ride

This is my Great-Grandpa Z. You met him here. Last Sunday, the 31st he "moved" back in with my Great-Grandma. He lived 97 fast and furious years. He worked hard, he played hard, he loved the gospel and his family. I have never known anyone with the tenacity, strength or work ethic that poured out of my Grandpa. He loved to make the grandkids scream/laugh. Whether it was swerving into a bush or putting on a silly wig, he was a GREAT grandpa. I will miss his sweet face.

I will forever be grateful for the blessings of this place and the opportunity to be an eternal family.

I can't imagine having to go through this past weekend without the sure knowledge that I will be able to see him again and that he is having an amazing reunion with my Grandma.

Much to our families surprise and excitement, this beauty was sitting in front of the church when we showed up for the funeral. No one had requested it or was even aware that the funeral home had such a car. The funeral home had taken it upon themselves to bring it out, knowing my grandpa was such a "car" guy.

If he couldn't go in one of his own, I know he would have appreciated this. The car was beautiful. On the trip between the church and the cemetery, we passed Grandpa's house, the driver pulled in to let Grandpa come home one last time before proceeding on. It was the hardest and best part of the weekend.

I love you Grandpa, give Grandma a kiss for me and I'll see you soon enough.

Potty Training

That's right, we are working on potty training. Wish us luck! Maybe we can turn that frown into Mom's smile when I don't have to change anymore diapers. Actually, Kyah started out as a great sport, she stayed dry until 4 in the afternoon, using the potty the whole morning. It's starting to look like that day was more of a fluke than the rule. Oh well! Guess we'll keep trying.

Any advice?

Deja

This is our friend Deja. She has been a guest in our home for about a month and a half. Her family moved into a place where they couldn't take her, so I volunteered to let her stay. Depending on where her family moves in the future, she may be ours forever. My kids, who have always been timid around dogs have done a great job. Jaxon still has his moments, but Kyah has been completely won over. She loves her, she asks about her in the morning and she pets her head as she lays in bed at night. Anytime Kyah sees a picture of her she says, "Deja good puppy." I am so grateful that they are friends and that Deja came fully trained. We are finally making use of the built in doggie doors at our house. I will keep you updated as to her full time residency, but thought I should introduce her to you.

Growing...

These are my babies... they look like babies, right???

What's that you're saying?

No?

Well, I guess you're right.

My sweet little girl went from this ... a rollie pollie bundle of smiles, (she was such a little chunk)

to this... a tall thinned out girl who speaks her mind and has more attitude in her 2 year body than I do at 27. She is amazing! If I can get that stubbornness and persistence aimed at the right direction, all my worries will be over.

And this sweet little face ... it breaks my heart. I can't believe how much time has gone by, while I haven't been looking he's grown up...

Into this ... He is kind and he is diplomatic. You can try and get him to have a favorite - he won't. If he loves me, then he loves Dad and Grandpa and Grandpa and Nana and Papa and the list goes on. He wants to be a "construction builder" so we can all live together in one place and he won't have to miss anyone. I can't think about kindergarten this fall or I'm sure I'll have a panic attack.

I sure love these kids!

The aftermath...

Jaxon has so many fun new toys to play with.

His favorite new toys are his Bakugan Dragonoid and his stomping dinosaurs.

Kyah has a new chest filled with princess dress up clothes.

She also loves to carry around her new Littlest Pet Shop animals.

Both kids received hand made quilts from their Grandma Kristi and lots of clothes (they just keep growing). Harley and I were just grateful to get to watch their excitement. We were also grateful for Harley's new video games and my digital picture frame and camera.

What a Christmas!! It was fun to

stay up late and play games, hang out with the families and eat lots of good food.

I am thankful for this time of year and for the giving spirit. I am thankful to celebrate the Savior of the World, Jesus Christ, not only for his birth, but for his life, his perfect example and the greatest gift of love - the atonement.

T'was the night before Christmas....

So we made and decorated sugar cookies. We hung our stockings from the fireplace with care and we spent the night at Harley's parents and stayed up causing chaos until all hours of the morning.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Kids say ....

I work downtown and it tears me apart to see people sitting in the very cold weather and begging. Everyone in my family is very sensitive to this situation. It has always been a concern to help those in need. We are always wanting to do "something."

This Christmas my family and I put together "gift bags" for the homeless. It was a bag with an array of food/snacks, socks, mats and mittens. It's not a lot, but we hoped that it would be something "nice." In preparation of the deliver and in explanation of what we were doing I tried talking to Jaxon what being "homeless" was, based on our conversation I thought he understood and he was happy to help.

Last night we set about delivering these gift bags. Because it was later in the evening and because my kids are both sick, my Mom thought that we should not take them out in the cold. While we were driving around a few questionable blocks of downtown, we came upon a man who my Mom thought might appreciate a bag. She rolled down her window and asked if he needed some food and Jaxon yelled "And a house?" He thought that in addition to giving them the gift bags we should have brought wood, nails and paint and then he could have built them a house so they wouldn't be homeless.

I love my sweet boy. He is always wanting to build something to make life better. He constantly tells me he wants to build a house big enough for our family and both sets of grandparents and all of the siblings to live together. I hope that he holds onto the desire to make the world better and the belief that he can do something about it.