My baby brother is EXCITED!

Yep, he is.

You see, his first child, his first son, his baby boy is getting married.

Now my brother will be in his element...he is what you might call a 'social person.' 'The more the merrier' is a term he probably says or thinks quite often.

His dear wife, my wonderful sister-in-law, Becky, will probably be an excited nervous wreck. She'll worry ... but she'll have a big smile on her face the whole time.

Now, my nephew... um? Gabe and I were talking about that tonight. How will he be? Not sure.

Sami, my niece, will be flitting around. Do you know what 'flitting' means? I don't either, but it sounds like the right word to use when I think of how I THINK Sami will be.

Yep, it'll be a fun time...

It won't just be my baby brother that's excited, we'll all be. Isn't it amazing how time flies...how kids grow up so fast! Looking at these photos of Addison, it doesn't seem possible that he's getting married!


Becky, Lindsey holding Addison (2 weeks & 5 days old) - that's Uncle Charlie on the right.
This photo was taken in December...so that would make Addison about 4 months old.Here he is a little older, well, quite a bit older. This was taken in June, 1997...so let's see, that would make Sami 7 years old - almost 8 and Addison about 11! John David is just plain old, and Becky is a spry young thing!

Fast forward another 9 years, and here Addison is again on the Golden Gate Bridge...only this time, he's with Kasi - his soon to be bride!

(*Well, what do you know!
flit /flit/ v. flitted, flitting, flits to move quickly, (syn) to dart: Some birds flit from flower to flower.

She would be 13 years old today

Camilla...
13 years ago today she was born to Rema and Dick
John had a baby sister
Today, she would have become a teenager.

I've been thinking about her non-stop...mostly trying to focus on happy times, thinking of her laughing, plotting against her brother, loving Embers, enjoying her friends.

I decided to post some photos from her last 2 birthdays...

This was last year. She actually was still in Memphis on October 26th, so we celebrated once she got home and settled. This was on November 18th, 2006.



These last two were taken October 26, 2005, her 11th birthday. This last one with her holding the knife to John, is one of my favorite photos. To me, it so shows her fun-loving side.

I miss her...

Our newest windows

Saturday, Ron and Pete put in our newest windows. This is in our family room - which will become a dining room/sitting room after all the remodeling is complete. Who knows when that will be!
Of course we have no trim yet...seeing as they're just being put in.
Here's my guy hard at work...hammering away.

Here is my guy and Pete...they worked hard getting those in.
This is my guy TAKEN WITH MY NEW CAMERA!

I already know who is going to win the World Series...

Yep, I've gotten 'the word'....from my mom.

So here I am talking to my mom... (she actually called to find out if Josh, Erica, and Thalia were OK from all the southern CA fires...and yes, they are.) I asked her who she was pulling for and she said 'Oh, I'm pulling for the Red Sox. You know, honey, I've picked the winners of the last three World Series?"

"Oh, I didn't remember that."

"Oh yes, honey. I picked the Red Sox out a long time ago."

So there...place your bets. My mom is seldom wrong.

(And actually as I write, the Sox just went ahead 2-0 in game 1!)

Jack

A Child fills a place in your heart
You never knew was empty...

Karen and Todd wrote this on Jack's birth announcement. How perfect...how amazing is it to finally hold the little one you've carried for so long...

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October 16th - A day I always remember

"Hi Mom!"

"Well hi there, honey, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing great...Happy Anniversary!"

"Oh, I knew you'd call today. You always remember."

And I do. My dad died in 1980, but I always remember their anniversary. I wouldn't be writing this blog if it wasn't for their anniversary...or what came after that day!

Last year, I posted some photos of their wedding day and, if I remember right, of them when they were dating. This year, I decided to post some post-wedding photos.


On the back of this photo, Mom had written that I was 1 1/2 months old. If I remember right, Mom and Dad were married nearly 5 years before they had me...and I was the first. This picture would have been taken in September, 1954. Mom would be 27 and Dad, 32 years old. I think that's right! I've always loved this picture. This is Andy, one of our St. Bernards. His real name was Cardinal Musial of Manitou, after Stan Musial and the St. Louis Cardinals, one of my dad's heroes. In this photo, Andy is two years old and about 180 pounds! He reached up to my Dad's waist...and my Dad was 6'2" - I think.

So here's to a Happy Anniversary, Mom. I think John David and I should be the ones to celebrate this anniversary, after all, we wouldn't be here without it!

I wonder if Rudolph has come to check things out?

I've blogged before about our gopher problems. We absolutely don't like it when the gophers come to visit. You may remember Eskie, God bless his soul, and his sentiments toward the gophers.

However...

I do believe I may take the gophers over these beautiful creatures!

I absolutely believe they are beautiful, but to have them hanging out in my yard? I don't think I'd enjoy that.

We saw these bull elk....and of course, I HAD to stop and take some photos. A little bit later as we were driving, there was another bull elk walking around a trailer. There was a car by the trailer with people in it...they had their lights on (it wasn't dark). I finally figured out that they were probably just hanging out in their car cause they were scared to death to get out and walk by these HUGE elk to get to their house!

What a beautiful time of year - especially in Oregon!

Fall is definitely here! Ron and I took our annual trip to the Medford Jazz Festival. We had a great time and found a new favorite band: Tom Rigney and Flambeau. Wow...they were absolutely wonderful. Tom plays the fiddle...and he's incredible.

I took some photos as we were driving...the Pacific Northwest is such an incredibly beautiful place! Makes me want to sing Country Road, take me home, to the place, I belong, West Virginia...well, I better stop there since I've never even seen West Virginia. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.



After traveling on these country roads, Ron and I ate not one - but TWO delicious meals here at Taylor Meats. Now this place is like an old fashioned meat market. They do everything... I don't think they do the slaughtering, oooh, I should erase that. Makes me sick to think of it that way.

I'll start over...

They do everything...serve a variety of meats and sausages to eat in their restaurant, sell it fresh, and sell it frozen. They have all kinds of jams, jellies, sauces, wines, T-shirts, cups, glasses, you name it.

They even have musicians who come and serenade you while you eat - if you happen to be there on a Friday or Saturday night.

Two meals... Yum!

It's exciting to be told you're a winner!

Yep, that's what happened to me yesterday.

I came upstairs to check my email and I had a letter from FamilyFun Magazine telling me I was a first place winner in a contest they sponsored!

This summer as I sat in the doctor's office with my pneumonia, I picked up an issue to read. There was this contest to write a story about a memorable summer moment. You could send up to 3 photographs. I instantly thought about Thalia and taking her to see the redwoods and find a banana slug.

Here's the winning photograph:This adorable photo of Thalia and my story will appear in the June, 2008 issue. Also...they are sending me a Nikon Coolpix camera!

Maybe this will be our 15 minutes of fame?

Here's a little sweetheart....

Meet my friend, Karen. (She IS a sweetheart, but not the 'little sweetheart' as per the title of this post! Keep reading...)

Many readers of this blog already know Karen, and many of you have just heard me talk about her.

See Karen smile?


It didn't last long...

at least not for the next TWO DAYS WHILE SHE WAS IN LABOR!

Karen will probably never believe me again. I had told her how I had LOVED having babies. Well, Karen didn't have the thrilling, quick, uncomplicated, delightful birthing experience I had told her about.

However, Karen is now ALL SMILES, and will undoubtably tell you that it was absolutely all worth it...because....

Meet Jack Dillon! Oh my gosh, this is one precious little man! Todd, the EXTREMELY PROUD PAPA, (who already has 73 photos of Jack in his wallet!) told me that when Jack was born, he came out looking around and stayed awake and checking out this new world for 7 HOURS!

I FINALLY got to meet Jack...I got to hold him, and kiss his little head. (Is there anything sweeter than kissing a little baby's head?) Isn't he precious?

Jack is the "little sweetheart" in the title of this post, but you probably already figured that out!

This guy gave me the chills...and made me cry

Thanks to my Buddy, Bob, who sent me this YouTube this morning. I had not heard of Paul Potts, but I bet we'll all hear more about him.

My Baby Boy is ... well, he's 29 years old now!

I can hardly believe that Gabe is 29 years old. He told me this wasn't a 'big deal' birthday...but every birthday is a big deal to me.

My friend, Karen, just had her first son - Jack - on Sunday. As she was in the hospital waiting for Jack to get as uncomfortable as she was so he'd come out, I was talking about being pregnant and having Gabe. See, Karen gained 60 lbs...but I had her beat since I gained 62 pounds with Gabe.

Anyway... it was fun to relive that time in our life, especially with October 2nd just around the corner!

Gabe was...well, he wasn't the easiest child. He had a temper... he liked to scream ... he did NOT like to sleep much. Poor Joshua had to stop taking naps because his baby brother was too noisy. So Ron and I had to constantly stay on Gabe - we couldn't let up. Now I look at the man he turned out to be...and I am so grateful. I hope Emily feels the same way!

Gabe always played hard - as evidenced by this picture. It's one of my all time favorite pictures of him because it typifies a lot of who he was as a little guy.

Ron and I were at the hospital about an hour before he was born. He came out weighing 9 lbs 9.5 oz. and he was 23.5 " long. I remember the nurse putting a little blanket over him after he was born. They had it up around his shoulders...then they moved it down to cover his feet...then moved it back up to cover his shoulders...until FINALLY someone said, 'My gosh, let's measure this boy.' He was too big for the little blanket.

We only stayed at the hospital about 2 hours after he was born. Joshua was about an hour and a half away and I wanted to get to him so he could see his new baby brother! First we stopped at Wendy's for Ron to get something to eat. Gabe thinks THIS INCIDENT is why he likes fast food. Um? good excuse, I guess.

Here's a proud 2 1/2 year old Joshua holding his new brother. You can see how happy he is!

This is Gabe at 2 weeks old. Notice the shirt? I don't think he's still a Cowboy fan, but his Saddy sure is.

I'm not positive how old he is here...not much, maybe a month?
Fast forward a number of years... Joshua - with Erica & Thalia, Gabrial - with Emily, and Lindsey - with Donnie. They mean everything to Ron and I.


Happy Birthday, Gabe!

My Very Favorite Aunt

My Aunt Jane has always been my very favorite aunt. Truthfully, she's always been my only aunt, but if I had 100 aunts, she'd still be my favorite.

She tells me I'm her favorite niece.

Aunt Jane is my mom's sister, her baby sister. They called themselves Jane Lee and Bonnie Woo (Lou).
Here is Aunt Jane and I in our front yard. Aunt Jane tried to teach me how to swim...probably not on this day, but when I got older.
Here's Aunt Jane and Uncle Charlie. I don't know if they were married yet - they may have been "courting"!
One of my favorite pictures. This is Mimi holding me with Aunt Jane beside her.

I grew up with Aunt Jane and Uncle Charlie being an everyday part of my life. We lived in the same city. Aunt Jane and Uncle Charlie have 2 kids - well, guess I shouldn't call them kids, but my cousins, Patti and Ray.

My Aunt Jane hasn't been in the best health for quite awhile, but she still is positive, happy, and tells my mom she's not worried, that she knows God is in control. That's my Aunt Jane.

Yesterday, Mom, John David & Becky all went to see Aunt Jane. She lives about 2 + hours away from Mom. They all went out to Red Lobster for lunch - including my cousin, Patti, and her two daughters, Elizabeth and Grits...I mean, Emily.

GRITS is a hoot! She's always makes me SMILE...she came out to visit one time and wore a baseball cap with GRITS on the front. It stands for Girls Raised In The South.

Thankfully, Elizabeth took some photos - sent them to my brother - who sent them to me - who happens to be a blogging fiend and .... here they are!
Elizabeth, Grits (Emily), Mom, Aunt Jane, Uncle Charlie, Patti, John David, Becky

Patti, Mom, John David, Becky, Grits, Uncle Charlie with Aunt Jane in front.

What a smile, Aunt Jane! I wish I could have been there.