Gotta Just Love that Baby!

My mother was right! It's great being a grandmother. So I'll just share a couple of pictures we took of our cutie pie while together last week in Utah and Nevada.

Graduation Hurray!

So wonderful to attend Andrea's graduation at UNLV where she received her master's degree in education, emphasis in children's literature library science. She's been steadily working on this for three years while teaching first grade and then this last year starting over as the school librarian. Hats off to you, Andrea!!!

A Heart felt Prayer

One thing I love about being in Primary is the honesty of the children. Pure and simple honesty. One nine year old boy closed primary with his heartfelt prayer: "Thank thee that we can hear some of the stories about Jesus in Primary today, but we look forward to being with you again so we can get more details. I have a lot of questions!"

Whew, I made it to the end of the internet

I have not been keeping up with blogs or facebook for quite some time. Life is good but very busy. This Sunday afternoon I had some quiet time and decided to catch up on blog reading. What fun! I learned lots of new recipe ideas, caught up on nieces and nephews and their doings, learned great quotes and inspirational ideas as well as some funny ideas that didn't work so well (green food coloring in the toilet for a 3 year old was frightening on St. Patrick's day). So thank you everyone! But I am glad to be caught up with google reader (or whatever it's called) and reach the end of the internet (so it says).

Carmela Day 3

At the request of family members, who don’t want to miss a minute of this little baby’s first days, and a Grandma who just can’t stop taking pictures, here are a few from Carmela’s third day after arriving home from the hospital.

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Carmela Day 2

Here are some pictures we took at the hospital in Phoenix last night. Mike, Brent and I drove out Saturday evening and went straight to the hospital. Tamara was discharged Saturday morning and Carmela was discharged today (Sunday morning). Her breathing was much improved last night and gradual improvement in eating. Today she has been eating better! She sleeps alot - important for her to conserve energy for eating. She just feels SO wonderful to hold. Mike and Brent returned back home tonight. Glad they got a little cuddle time in. We love being grandparents!

Pearl Harbor Day

When I walked into a nursing facility for work on Tuesday, December 7, I mentioned to a few residents sitting nearby that it was Pearl Harbor Day. Two men later came up and shared personal experiences they remembered on that day.

One of the men was a boy living with his family in Navy housing near Pearl Harbor. His dad left for work down at the harbor not suspecting anything unusual. When the sirens went off, this man (then a boy) and his mother went into an underground bomb shelter. When all was clear and they returned to their home, they found that one side of the house had bullet sprays all across from the living room through the kitchen including through the refrigerator and into a bedroom. His father was safe but lost some of his friends.

Another man, also a young boy at that time, told how during the week after the attack, his dad packed the whole family up and drove from San Diego up to Monterrey to enlist in the army. He was turned down because he had three children, so they returned back to San Diego. Many things were in short supply and couldn't be purchased, like shoes. His father would drive to Mexico and purchase huaraches (leather sandals) for his children. This little boy didn't have a pair of shoes other than the sandals until he was 7 or 8.

Both were grateful for their dad's example of service and patriotism to their country and the freedoms we enjoy. What a great reminder of the American spirit on a tragic day years ago.