My Grandma

Today the world lost a great lady. My grandma (my mama's mudder) passed away this morning. She lived a good long life. I'm not sad for her. She is reunited with her sweetheart and her parents and my Mom. Grandma grieved hard for the loss of her daughter. I know she is celebrating and at rest. I am sad for me though. More than I thought I would be. We've known this was coming for a while. I just wanted to post a few pictures of her doing what she loved best....being with her family. Of course most of these photos are from the digital age so my kids are the babies in the photos, but she was a huge presence in my life. I appreciate the time she invested in me (and all of my cousins). She taught me so much. She will be missed.

(above) Jo and Lacey swinging on the porch just visiting.
(below) Brook and Bridger during one of the hardest trips to Meeker we made. We had whiny babies, humidity and sickness. Oh the memories!!

Pretty sure this was Lacey's blessing day. 

Baby Kevin and Mom, Grandma and me. We were so young!!

Baby Bridger!

Sweet Jo and the girls...priceless.

I think I am about 11 years old in this picture. This is my grandma's family as of 1983??

Lots of Meeker pictures. When Grandma moved to Meeker, CO we started taking yearly trips to visit. They became some of our favorite memories. I am so thankful for the blessings of family. Families ARE forever!!

Jo and Her Boy

 I only have two words to describe these two....TRUE LOVE!!

More Christmas Fun

He thought about crawling while he was here.

He came close a few times.

But in the end decided the belly crawl worked just fine.

He was also working on his third tooth. But you wouldn't have known it. He loved to be held and smiled all the time.

 This whole grandma gig has got to be the best thing ever. I didn't know there was this kind of love. It is different than the love I have for my own kids...it's almost bigger...but it is amazing.

 Michael LOVES to play with his Daddy. They are best buds.

 We tried an indoor family photo...we'll try again for an outdoor shoot next time. The lighting was so off. But there we all are.

 Miss Jo is more in love with this boy than she ever thought possible. He has wrapped her tight around his little finger!

The Best Christmas Ever

We had the opportunity to have Kevin and Abby and Michael come to our house for Christmas. We had the best time. EVER.

This baby is amazing. He is smart and happy and sweet. We all fell more and more in love with him every second.

He figured out if he waved at us he would get anything and everything his little heart desired. 

And wave he did.

He would play and be happy until he wasn't. So we'd either give him a nap or some food or a clean bum and then he was happy again.

He really is the sweetest little guy.

We ALL loved playing with him. Our day became filled with baby talk and rattling toys. And we LOVED it.

Even Darla eventually warmed up to him.

The kids still wanted to do our Christmas Eve tradition of Christmas jammies. I love that they have such good memories of our family traditions. I loved having all my babies at home.

Arizona

At the beginning of December Jim and I went to Arizona to visit his parents. It was lovely. The weather was a balmy 68* and the sun was shining.

We did some target practice and soaked in the sun.

We went on a jeep trip through the desert. 

Big jeeps and little jeeps, old(er) folks and young(er) all traveling in a line to see where the road went.

The mountains were beautiful and the sun never stopped.

I think this will have to be a yearly event. It was so nice to escape the cold for a few days!!

Throwback Thursday

I miss this woman. Every day. I am SO thankful for the Plan of Salvation. I know I get to see her again. I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ and for his sacrifice that made families forever. I love this time of year. To celebrate His birth brings me such joy. 

Wordless Wednesday