I am so grateful for the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the hope of a glorious resurrection. I'm grateful for eternal families. How could a parent go on without these principle of hope?
Jul 30, 2011
We Heart Tiny Baby Dylan
I love this photo taken of Spencer and Deborah holding tiny Dylan's feet. Their hands suggest a heart centered around their sweet little stillborn son.
I am so grateful for the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the hope of a glorious resurrection. I'm grateful for eternal families. How could a parent go on without these principle of hope?
I am so grateful for the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the hope of a glorious resurrection. I'm grateful for eternal families. How could a parent go on without these principle of hope?
Jul 29, 2011
Celestial Child
Wednesday was a very eventful day; early in the day the words from Job came into my mind.
Shortly after little Chloe's birth I got a text from Spencer telling me that he and Deborah had gone in for a routine 33-week prenatal appointment and they couldn't detect a heartbeat! It is every parents nightmare! An emergency ultrasound confirmed that, in fact, baby Dylan was gone. Having lost two children myself I know the heartache but now I ache because my dear Spenny and Deb are having the same experience.
The process of bringing about the birth process of a stillborn child is a slow one. Last night (about 36 hours after first discovery) at about 9 pm little Dylan was delivered. He weighs 2 pounds 4 ounces and is a beautiful, perfect little boy.
The AV hospital staff have been marvelous. They gave Spencer and Deborah all the time they needed to be with their tiny son. Auntie P and Deborah's two sisters arrived after his birth and took photos.
This one tears my heart... he is lying on an afghan made by his great-gramma Edna.
He is just a tiny little Celestial Child gone on before his loving parents...
to await their arrival.
"...The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 1:21
Shortly after little Chloe's birth I got a text from Spencer telling me that he and Deborah had gone in for a routine 33-week prenatal appointment and they couldn't detect a heartbeat! It is every parents nightmare! An emergency ultrasound confirmed that, in fact, baby Dylan was gone. Having lost two children myself I know the heartache but now I ache because my dear Spenny and Deb are having the same experience.
The process of bringing about the birth process of a stillborn child is a slow one. Last night (about 36 hours after first discovery) at about 9 pm little Dylan was delivered. He weighs 2 pounds 4 ounces and is a beautiful, perfect little boy.
The AV hospital staff have been marvelous. They gave Spencer and Deborah all the time they needed to be with their tiny son. Auntie P and Deborah's two sisters arrived after his birth and took photos.
This one tears my heart... he is lying on an afghan made by his great-gramma Edna.
He is just a tiny little Celestial Child gone on before his loving parents...
to await their arrival.
Celestial Child by Becky Osmond Close
For one brief moment in the span of time
You stepped across the veil and became a child of mine.
Sweet Celestial Light, sleeping in the night,
Angels came to take you home again.
This earthly test was not for you-
But, oh, for me!
As yearning grows within to hold you tenderly
But I can feel your love, reaching from above,
Through the veil and deep within my soul,
And Oh, what comfort is given me
To know that you are mine forever
Now seeing through my tears,
As my sorrow disappears
A vision of Eternity together!
For one brief moment in the span of time
You stepped across the veil and became a child of mine.
Sweet Celestial light,
Glowing pure and bright
Save within your Heavenly Home above.
Jul 28, 2011
Precious Tiny *Pork-chop*
Yesterday at 8:50 AM little Chloe couldn't wait any longer to be born and came 4 weeks early. She weighs 6 lbs and is 17 inches long. She had a little trouble breathing on her own at first but after several hours in NICU she was able to join her Mommy, Suzi, in their room.
Not wanting to rush too much we waited until she was a whole 11 hours old before we went to meet our newest little darling! She is an angel straight from Heaven!
Momma and baby are doing fine...
Grammie and Grandpa are happy to have her here; and healthy, especially after the initial scare.
She sleep the whole time we were there and she squeaks! I told her she does baby-Darth-Vader breathing... just like Grandpa!
And speaking of Grandpa... whose chubby face it this? This is where the *pork-chop* part comes in! Look at those chubby little cheeks! And because she is proportioned she is a tiny pork-chop... and Grammie loves it!
I always marvel at the beauty of a tiny newborn; so perfect, so miniature, so delicate... what a miracle!
She has a beautiful head of hair and a nicely shaped head...
But this??? THIS... is one of the sweetest parts of a new baby...
These tiny feet will
Grow and learn,
Run and play,
And follow in the Savior's way.
Not wanting to rush too much we waited until she was a whole 11 hours old before we went to meet our newest little darling! She is an angel straight from Heaven!
Momma and baby are doing fine...
Grammie and Grandpa are happy to have her here; and healthy, especially after the initial scare.
She sleep the whole time we were there and she squeaks! I told her she does baby-Darth-Vader breathing... just like Grandpa!
And speaking of Grandpa... whose chubby face it this? This is where the *pork-chop* part comes in! Look at those chubby little cheeks! And because she is proportioned she is a tiny pork-chop... and Grammie loves it!
I always marvel at the beauty of a tiny newborn; so perfect, so miniature, so delicate... what a miracle!
She has a beautiful head of hair and a nicely shaped head...
But this??? THIS... is one of the sweetest parts of a new baby...
These tiny feet will
Grow and learn,
Run and play,
And follow in the Savior's way.
Jul 22, 2011
Too Many Cooks
Camille and I drove down to Palmdale on Monday for Andrea’s funeral. It was a beautiful funeral with the necessary mix of tears and laughter, memories and hopes of a glorious resurrection. I’m grateful we could be there.
Later that day after an obligatory Wal-Mart run we came back to Auntie P’s with the making for a fun bbq. Apparently we must have been hungry when we went shopping because we all came back with our idea of a fun dessert. Spencer, Deborah and Riley came over to Auntie P’s to join us.
I’d found some yummy peaches that just begged to be made into a fresh peach tart (you know my favorite tart this summer with fruit d’jour?). The only problem is I decided to plug in the hand mixer before I put in the beaters! This is a somewhat authentic reenactment of the original incident... no Grammie’s were hurt in the process!
Ah, but Sonny... she’d found some ginormous *muush-mallow* and wanted to make s’mores. Afterroasting burning the marshmallows over the gas range she realized it wasn’t hot enough to melt the chocolate... soooo she microwaved the whole mess! Mess is right!
I think this is the *mush-mallow* that ate Cleveland!
Camille wanted to try the same thing...
(I love Sonny behind her! Bwahahahaha)
It was so nice to have an evening to visit with family...
And be with little Riley again... he is such a sweet boy!
The part I love about family is that when you get together it is like no time has passed. I suppose that is what happens when you’ve known each other for a good portion of your life. Here is Camille and Sonny cheesing it up together... they’ve known each other since Camille was a toddler but now they interact as peers! I love it!
And now today, Thursday, Mams and Mum are motoring it back home to Utah!
(Thank you to Auntie P for these wonderful photos... my camera made the trip but hardly came out!)
Later that day after an obligatory Wal-Mart run we came back to Auntie P’s with the making for a fun bbq. Apparently we must have been hungry when we went shopping because we all came back with our idea of a fun dessert. Spencer, Deborah and Riley came over to Auntie P’s to join us.
I’d found some yummy peaches that just begged to be made into a fresh peach tart (you know my favorite tart this summer with fruit d’jour?). The only problem is I decided to plug in the hand mixer before I put in the beaters! This is a somewhat authentic reenactment of the original incident... no Grammie’s were hurt in the process!
Ah, but Sonny... she’d found some ginormous *muush-mallow* and wanted to make s’mores. After
I think this is the *mush-mallow* that ate Cleveland!
Camille wanted to try the same thing...
(I love Sonny behind her! Bwahahahaha)
It was so nice to have an evening to visit with family...
CAMILLE, DEBORAH AND JOANIE
And be with little Riley again... he is such a sweet boy!
The part I love about family is that when you get together it is like no time has passed. I suppose that is what happens when you’ve known each other for a good portion of your life. Here is Camille and Sonny cheesing it up together... they’ve known each other since Camille was a toddler but now they interact as peers! I love it!
And now today, Thursday, Mams and Mum are motoring it back home to Utah!
(Thank you to Auntie P for these wonderful photos... my camera made the trip but hardly came out!)
Jul 20, 2011
"It's All Fun and Games 'Til Somebody Gets Hurt!"
I love our tradition of 3rd Sunday Grammie Dinner. Most of the local children and grandchildren come for a yummy dinner and an evening of fun and visiting. But this week Unca Stuey was in fine form. He took off his tie (on Sunday!!) and went outside with his adoring fan club.
I became aware of the frivolities, grabbed my camera and got outside just in time to see him *airplaning* Kaia around.
But Unca Stuey is always looking for the next fun feat! He got both little girls; Elise and Roxie, each by one leg and started to spin...
Go faster... (At this point mama-Jessica had to look away! Look out of the way!)
Ahhhhh... too fast... Yeah, it's all fun and games 'til somebody gets hurt, or in this case, scare-scare! (But look at Roxie's face! She is totally diverted!)
But that's ok. Unca Stuey can make it all better.
Christian wasn't into the spinning, but he loved the *throw up in the air* routine.
And where is Sophie all this time? Staying safely away from her rowdy Unca Stuey! Showing us the pretty flowers. This little 16-month-old can sure talk! What's up with that?
This little lovely has eyes that are the same color as denim. Uncle Spenny's eyes are like that too. I love it.
Ashton is growing so fast! She is almost as tall as her Mama... she passed up her Grammie years ago! What a lovely girl.
It is one of my greatest joys to be here in Utah with so many of our grandchildren and family. I just wish the rest of them were closer.
Happy time!
I became aware of the frivolities, grabbed my camera and got outside just in time to see him *airplaning* Kaia around.
But Unca Stuey is always looking for the next fun feat! He got both little girls; Elise and Roxie, each by one leg and started to spin...
Go faster... (At this point mama-Jessica had to look away! Look out of the way!)
Ahhhhh... too fast... Yeah, it's all fun and games 'til somebody gets hurt, or in this case, scare-scare! (But look at Roxie's face! She is totally diverted!)
But that's ok. Unca Stuey can make it all better.
Christian wasn't into the spinning, but he loved the *throw up in the air* routine.
And where is Sophie all this time? Staying safely away from her rowdy Unca Stuey! Showing us the pretty flowers. This little 16-month-old can sure talk! What's up with that?
This little lovely has eyes that are the same color as denim. Uncle Spenny's eyes are like that too. I love it.
Ashton is growing so fast! She is almost as tall as her Mama... she passed up her Grammie years ago! What a lovely girl.
It is one of my greatest joys to be here in Utah with so many of our grandchildren and family. I just wish the rest of them were closer.
Happy time!
Jul 18, 2011
Holly's Cowboy Quilt
Last fall we all had a girls-weekend at Holly's new house in Idaho. It was a wonderful time rekindling our long-time friendship. Traditionally these girls-weekend trips were all about *what are we going to craft!* (But that is a whole different post). And even though we didn't have any crafts in tow this time Holly did have a project for me. She wanted me to make her a table runner quilt. That sparked an idea in my little girl mind. I told her I would like to make her a house-warming quilt. So we went fabric shopping at her local drug-store-that-carries-fabric! (As opposed to the Ace Hardware-that-sells-fabric in Cedar City!) Poor Holly got her first taste of quilter's sticker shock when they rang up her total.
OK... so now fast forward- the top is completed AND I have my wonderful Handi-quilter Sweet 16! This is the first quilt since I got my HQ16 where I really got to color outside the lines. I knew I wanted to use a paisley quilting pattern. I ferreted the net for some ideas, printed out a couple and then started. When I tell you I color outside the lines I literally mean that... I don't do well when I have to stay right on the line when quilting. I find that I do the best by learning the pattern and then I do it all freehand aka free-motion quilting.
Holly was in love with this Alexander Henry cowboy print so that was my base. Because we were shopping without a pattern in mind we got some good companion prints. When I found this fun pattern in one of my quilting magazines and knew that this was *just the ticket* for Holly's cowboy quilt. So when it came time to start cutting I went *shopping* in my stash.
I had the quilting finished before my hand surgery but I still needed to bind the quilt. Since I knew I would be seeing Holly in Palmdale I got the binding on and made my delivery. Now I can hardly wait to see it on Holly's cowboy bed.
OK... so now fast forward- the top is completed AND I have my wonderful Handi-quilter Sweet 16! This is the first quilt since I got my HQ16 where I really got to color outside the lines. I knew I wanted to use a paisley quilting pattern. I ferreted the net for some ideas, printed out a couple and then started. When I tell you I color outside the lines I literally mean that... I don't do well when I have to stay right on the line when quilting. I find that I do the best by learning the pattern and then I do it all freehand aka free-motion quilting.
Holly was in love with this Alexander Henry cowboy print so that was my base. Because we were shopping without a pattern in mind we got some good companion prints. When I found this fun pattern in one of my quilting magazines and knew that this was *just the ticket* for Holly's cowboy quilt. So when it came time to start cutting I went *shopping* in my stash.
I had the quilting finished before my hand surgery but I still needed to bind the quilt. Since I knew I would be seeing Holly in Palmdale I got the binding on and made my delivery. Now I can hardly wait to see it on Holly's cowboy bed.
Jul 15, 2011
Busy Hands take a Vacation
It was a month yesterday since I had my bilateral carpal tunnel release. It seems like so much longer! As I type that short span of time I am able to be more patient with myself. I guess I didn't realize how busy my hands are or how much of an impact having them *surgered* would make.
The scars are still very hard (I say they feel like a pork-chop bone. My body always does this with scars. They will soften with time) and my hands are tender. I can't do much that requires palm strength and especially not pushing! Yikes. I've become adept at knuckling my way around (hmm, like a chimp?) instead of using my palm. It's amazing what we don't realize when we have a normal healthy body!
I thank my Heavenly Father every day for the continued healing! And I'm grateful to I know that 6 to 12 months from now I will have my hands back, strong and healthy without the tingling, pain and numbness from pre-surgery days.
But for now... these twolittle not-quite-so-little hands are taking a vacation. (Thank you Stuart for taking over the lawn mowing!)
The scars are still very hard (I say they feel like a pork-chop bone. My body always does this with scars. They will soften with time) and my hands are tender. I can't do much that requires palm strength and especially not pushing! Yikes. I've become adept at knuckling my way around (hmm, like a chimp?) instead of using my palm. It's amazing what we don't realize when we have a normal healthy body!
I thank my Heavenly Father every day for the continued healing! And I'm grateful to I know that 6 to 12 months from now I will have my hands back, strong and healthy without the tingling, pain and numbness from pre-surgery days.
But for now... these two
Jul 14, 2011
Saying Good-bye
In the early hours this morning my sweet friend, Andrea, went home to her Heavenly Father after a long and valiant fight against cancer. She was such an example of enduring to the end.
The first time I remember interacting with Andrea was when our little girls, Camille and Desi, were in kindergarten together. The girls became best, and live-long, friends. You know how that draws moms together too. We both hosted countless sleep-overs and other fun activities for our little girls. But I really came to appreciate Andrea as MY friend when we served together as the Young Women Presidency in the Palmdale 2nd ward. I could always count on her for good ideas, enthusiasm, and *keeping presidency meeting under an hour*!
Andrea and I shared many things: a girls getaway weekend in Big Bear where she had the most wonderful photos from their years in Japan to scrapbook, our woes and trials as mothers, our love of the Gospel of Jesus Christ AND she has kindly shared her grandchildren with me as well.
Andrea was such a good example of unconditional love, persistence, generosity, creativity, spirituality and so many more that I can't list.
I'm grateful to know that we will share our friendship through eternity. I know she will be busy using all her wonderful talents while she waits for the rest of us to catch up.
Love you sweetie-girl!
The first time I remember interacting with Andrea was when our little girls, Camille and Desi, were in kindergarten together. The girls became best, and live-long, friends. You know how that draws moms together too. We both hosted countless sleep-overs and other fun activities for our little girls. But I really came to appreciate Andrea as MY friend when we served together as the Young Women Presidency in the Palmdale 2nd ward. I could always count on her for good ideas, enthusiasm, and *keeping presidency meeting under an hour*!
Andrea and I shared many things: a girls getaway weekend in Big Bear where she had the most wonderful photos from their years in Japan to scrapbook, our woes and trials as mothers, our love of the Gospel of Jesus Christ AND she has kindly shared her grandchildren with me as well.
Andrea was such a good example of unconditional love, persistence, generosity, creativity, spirituality and so many more that I can't list.
I'm grateful to know that we will share our friendship through eternity. I know she will be busy using all her wonderful talents while she waits for the rest of us to catch up.
Love you sweetie-girl!
Jul 9, 2011
Golden Sunset
Laster-evening during an intermission from a Harry-Pot-a-thon with Auntie P I went upstairs just in time to see the whole sky filled with that wonderful golden light that I just love! I whipped up the blinds, opened the window and shot right through the screen to capture this beauty. We live in such a beautiful world!
Jul 8, 2011
Old School
My hands are finally healing enough that I can get out and do things! (Boy this has been torture!) Several days this week I've gone up to Miss Camille's new school to help put things in order... and boy-howdy, does that room ever need some order!
For the last four years this room; Room 4, Mrs Maynard's new school home, has been inhabited by a different first-year-teacher! This last teacher; pregnant and moving across the country, literally picked up her purse and walked out of the room. Every single cupboard was stuffed with junk including: thank you notes, bakery cupcake from who-knows-when, old bulletin-board things, etc. So can you guess what Miss Camille has been doing? Yup, lots of cleaning and de-junking.
I felt like I'd stepped back in time as I walked down the hallway! This little school looks like it was built in the 1940s! It looks exactly like the school I went to right down to the cubbies where students hang their coats and signs on the bathroom doors...
The floors are waxed to a deep shine (yeah... and this photo was taken before the custodian stripped and re-waxed the floors today!)
And, AND... there is a vintage wooden teacher's desk and chair plus an equally old chest of drawers! They look like they've been tortured by little hands for the more years than I've been around! Miss Camille got permission to paint them and now they have a new lease on life.
Before we left yesterday afternoon (after another torrential thunderstorm) we finally got to the point where we had started putting Miss Camille's teaching aides put away in clean and empty cupboards, the desk and chest of drawers newly lined and re-assembled, and the first bulletin board fabric up! Yup, it's coming right along.
For the last four years this room; Room 4, Mrs Maynard's new school home, has been inhabited by a different first-year-teacher! This last teacher; pregnant and moving across the country, literally picked up her purse and walked out of the room. Every single cupboard was stuffed with junk including: thank you notes, bakery cupcake from who-knows-when, old bulletin-board things, etc. So can you guess what Miss Camille has been doing? Yup, lots of cleaning and de-junking.
I felt like I'd stepped back in time as I walked down the hallway! This little school looks like it was built in the 1940s! It looks exactly like the school I went to right down to the cubbies where students hang their coats and signs on the bathroom doors...
The floors are waxed to a deep shine (yeah... and this photo was taken before the custodian stripped and re-waxed the floors today!)
And, AND... there is a vintage wooden teacher's desk and chair plus an equally old chest of drawers! They look like they've been tortured by little hands for the more years than I've been around! Miss Camille got permission to paint them and now they have a new lease on life.
Before we left yesterday afternoon (after another torrential thunderstorm) we finally got to the point where we had started putting Miss Camille's teaching aides put away in clean and empty cupboards, the desk and chest of drawers newly lined and re-assembled, and the first bulletin board fabric up! Yup, it's coming right along.
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