Saying Goodbye For Two Years

More to follow but I thought this one of Ben and Harley was just too cute not to post. After he came home from being set apart as a Missionary he changed his clothes and went out to check on his buddy. YUP you are right that is Harley in the kitchen and Richard is waiting to reward him with a treat for sitting still while Bonnie takes the picture.

How could I leave out the newest gift of 2010. Adelaide born Jan. 15, 2010. Jared, Katie and Garrett what a adorable addition to your family. If the doctor had not wanted to leave town maybe she would have waited until the next day to be born and that way we could have shared birthdays. Isn't she adorable??

2010 dedication of the Cliff and Nita Bailey Middle School of Benoka.

This little baby boy was named Michael by the village elders.

The school was dedicated on my birthday! WOW what a present.

Thanks to Mike and Bonnies efforts our family has been so blessed to be able to help provide and education for 150 Malian children.
Thanks to all the family and friends who made this happen. I am always so grateful when Mike returns from Africa safe and sound. The dental mission went really well. What a gift of love to our Malian brothers and sisters.

Three weeks into my foot surgery and on Feb. 17th the cast should come off and then the boot comes...whatever that entails I will have to wait and see.

Thanks to everyone for all the loving care and attention. I could not have been better cared for.

CHRISTMAS 2009

The look on Bonnie and Richards faces tells alot about the gifts!

Here it is January 31, 2010 and I have had so many blessings so it is about time I wrote about them. Ah yes Christmas 2009 was just about perfect, the only thing that could have made it better was if everyone could have been here on Christmas Eve. Everyone was in a holiday mood, we laughed alot, ate well, enjoyed each others company and decided that from now on we will do the crazy gift exchange we did this year. Extra special was having our adorable Garrett here to entertain us. It was so nice to have Kodie with us this year. Mike and Bonnie presented all of us with the book "Jane". It is such an amazing book. Ten years in the making. How can anyone top a gift like that.

Making Christmas Decorations for the ward party....

Waiting for the water to shoot up!

OH my goodness it was cold!

Riding the Front Runner - check out the reflection. How cute can a little guy get?

Great batch of carmels

Jared approves

So Cute

Garrett and KC having lunch

Even KC likes cartoons

One more batch before they leave

Always the clown

Wonderful Recital

Ok, I am pretty ticked off....I just downloaded a bunch of pictures and wrote about them and somehow deleted the complete post....Ah computers!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

Ben had his recital last week and I am amazed at how he plays the piano. Each time I think he cannot be better than the last and he always is. Great Job Ben!

Another Thanksgiving to count all our blessings as a family, we gathered our hearts together to give thanks for one another and most importantly for our Father in Heaven who loves us and guides us in all the circumstances that come our way. Even tho we are not surrounding the same table together it is comforting to know that we are thinking of each other and praying for each others welfare. I am so thankful for all of you and for your love.

Just a couple of pictures of the visitor KC had the other night. Oh my what a stand off that was. I must say Maximus put KC in his place right away and all KC could do was whine and bark after one swift swat and some frightful hissing from Max. Really quite funny..for Whitney and me.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner at Mike and Bonnies. The table setting was beautiful and the meal awesome to say the least. Fun day with lots of laughs and new insight on the good old days. Hope all of you had a delightful day and are now looking forward to the Christmas season.

THE PICTURES TELL THE STORY

Here you will see the best of the best. Becky and Kodie's wedding day was wet but wonderful..

Feel extra blessed to have had Garrett, Callie, Scott, and of course, their parents here for a few days. Loved every minute of the last week. I cannot believe how fast they are growing up, it seems such a short time ago that we were welcoming them into the world. Enjoy

NEVER ENOUGH TIME

Here comes trouble!

It seems like Jason and Corbon were only here an hour or so. What a great little guy and what a super cute daddy. Here are the pictures to prove it. Wish I knew how to send the video of Jason reading stories before bedtime..but alas, I do not know how.

I love this determined little guy.

KC as usual got his fair amount of attention, possibly so much that it is no wonder he was barfing all night. I think he gathered up everything that fell plus everything he found at the playground.

Corbon helped with breakfast this morning?? He managed to get all the dry ingredients in the bowl but when I left for a moment to get some milk from the fridge out on the patio he proceeded to take the dry ingredients out and ..well..since he had already taken all the credit cards, etc, out of Jasons wallet, they were now covered along with his hands, shirt and a fair amount had drifted down to the floor. Who cares, it only takes a minute to vacumn it up and start over.

Just having a little swing

Taking a morning walk

And all good things come to an end. Hurry Back and bring Taya with.

PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED

We are so happy that Whitney, Tyler, Mike and Bonnie will be home tonight. What an amazing gal she has been through all of this. Tyler has kept us updated which has made the wait much easier. Each day most of us spent our time running to the computer to check for the new updates. I am so grateful for Heavenly Father's loving care and comfort to Whitney. Love you Whitney.

Fun day in Salt Lake with friends. We visited the new Church Library, toured the Church Office Building, saw the movie at the Joseph Smith building and totally enjoyed our ride on Front Runner, and of course the #1 lunch at the Church Office Cafeteria. Oh my, you need to try the Carrot Cake... What a blessing to have good friends.

Pictures from the 26th floor

LONG AGO

This is a picture of some of the young women I taught over 25 years ago. It was so much fun to be at the park with them and see all of their families and especially the 3 new baby boys. Between the four of them they have 15 children. What perfect examples of "Daughters of God" It warms my heart when I am invited to join with them.

SUMMER FUN & SUMMER WORK!

I know you will find this hard to believe but yes, that is Richard holding his puppy...and yes they are in the front room, forbidden territory for animals, that is until Richard got "Harley". He is the cutest little guy and Garrett really loved him too. The Taylor family have witnessed a miracle, and I find such joy in this little addition to their family. Now it is two goats, one Iguana, and a long awaited puppy. Happy Day!

Well what could be better than being a great grandma. Here are the pictures to prove that once again grandkids rule: KC never had it so good because he had constant attention. The "Mercantile" has the best ice cream cones, and so of course we had to pay them a visit, the best part was watching Garrett let KC share his ice cream cone. After a morning at Dinosour Park, sharing Ice Cream and going to the Climbing Wall, I went to YW/YM Activity while Jared, Katie and Garrett visited with the Kings and checked out the Mall.

Now it is obvious that KC and Garrett were great pals but it really surprised me when I came home from the YW service activity and found Jared on the couch with KC curled up on his tummy. Jared said, "I think he likes me", well you know I think Jared likes KC so maybe someday they will have a dog and join the rest of the family in this love affair we share.

Time went all too fast and now I just long for the time when they return. Katie and Vickie have posted such cute pictures on their blogs so be sure to check them out.

By the time we finished cleaning up all the fruit that had fallen from the trees, cleaned the shed, cut the trees, cleaned the gutters, etc it was off to a delightful BBQ and Fireside. I think I am way too old to be doing this but until the Bishop agrees I guess I will continue. I do love the girls and as I look back to realtionships formed so many years ago with the YW it has so many rewards. And now it is off to bed because KC is trying to tell me it is time to put out the lights.

Be Happy life is full of surprises and love.