Thanksgiving week in Utah

Two days before Thanksgiving, Jeremy and his beautiful bride Nicole were married in the Draper, Utah Temple. The temple is set up high in the hills, which made for a very chilly, windy photo session.

At the luncheon Dad and I hosted after the wedding.

at the wedding reception

Dad and Philip at the reception

Jeremy's best buddies are happy to help decorate the get-away car.

After the wedding day, it was back to the real world, as Dad spent the day trying to fix Philip's car.

Meanwhile, I walked to BYU campus, where I discovered the Paleontology Museum

6 ft.long  prehistoric alligtor skull belonging to this 37 foot dinasaur eating monster

Beautiful weather to enjoy the last of the fall leaves and the first of the snow on the mountains!

Dad and I and Philip had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with Dad's oldest sister Beverly, her husband Denny and our nephew Paul and his wife Kelly, who cooked a wonderful dinner.

Beverly and Carl (Dad/Grandpa)

So, it was a happy week for us -- sunshine amid the rain of the past few weeks. We had left Texas with happy hearts, because baby Dahlia was doing so well, and was goint to finally come home right before Thanksgivng. But that was to last only for a day, as her failing heart couldn't keep up any more, even with the medicines, and had to be brought back to Texas Children's. She will be on the waiting list for a heart transplant. So, we are feeling very sad with this turn of events, but know that she is the Lord's hands and He will take care of her, and do what is best for her. Besides this turn of events, something else was there when we got home. Our mission call! We will serve for 23 months in the Rochester, New York Mission!

Engaged

Here he is, our baby Jeremy J. (Jo Jo), son number three, the sixth child to join our family --


Jeremy with Grandpa when Grandpa was just "Daddy".



And here he is again, all grown up and very recently engaged to the girl of his dreams.

photo swiped from Jeremy's Facebook page (not official engagement photo)

June bride

From this cutie of a baby girl ...

to this beautiful June bride ....

my neice, Kristyn (photo, courtesy of her cousin & wedding photographer, Lauren)

We're so grateful around here

What a month this has been, for Grandpa (and me)!

Grandpa celebrated his big 65th birthday last week, surrounded by 8 out of his 10 grandchildren.

• So grateful that he is having a truly amazing recovery from his surgery on Mar. 7
• So grateful a serious life threatening condition was disovered just in time to be completely cured.
• So grateful for having the very best doctor/surgeon in the great Texas Medical Center who is not only highly skilled in this hi-tech, robotic method of surgery, but who is also a man of God.
• So grateful for the hand of our Lord in all things, for His watchful care over us, His great healing powers, and  for the guidance and comfort of the Holy Ghost.
• So grateful for all of your prayers on his behalf (especially those sweet prayers of grandchildren).

a guest post -- by "the house fairy"

While "Baby Boomer Grammy" is attending to more important matters, like flossing her teeth, I thought I'd sneak onto her blog, and introduce myself.

I am the house fairy! What an exciting week it's been.  Baby Boomer's grandkids have all gotten surprise visits from me (except those darlings in Minnesota, but their turn will come). For their sparkling clean rooms, they get surprise treats from me.

I was in for an especially big treat when I flew to Vidor to surprise the grandkids there. Not only were their rooms so clean that it took my breath away, but I was able to congratulate Dario on a very special event --

He was getting baptized that very same day!  I couldn't stick around to see the happy event (house fairies are very busy), but his Baby Boomer Grammy and Grandpa did.  I can see why they love him sooo much and are so very proud of him.  Not only does he have a very neat and tidy room, but he is a very fine young man who is making very good choices. Way to go Dario!
  love, housefairy 

Milestones

This weekend was one of those times, when I asked myself, "Where has the time gone?"

These two, my first grandchild and my last child, celebrated milestone events.

On Saturday, we celebrated Elayna's first decade of life. She has grown up to be such a beautiful, intelligent, helpful, kind and loving 10 year old young lady.

The next morning, we left the house at 5:00 a.m. for the long drive (8 1/2 hours) to take our "little" Carl out to Texas Tech in Lubbock for his freshman year. We helped  move him into his dorm room, met his nice roommate, and then  attended church at his new student ward, where he was very warmly greeted by the church members. Monday afternoon, after purchasing books, and having lunch together, we said our good-byes and came home to an empty house.

We won't be seeing him very often, now that he's spread his wings and flown out of the nest. But he'll always be our baby.

P.S: Grandpa and I are now empty nesters. I recall my mother's favorite poem,  "The Open Window", by Longfellow. He speaks of standing in front of the old family home, looking up and seeing "the nursery window, wide open to the air; but the faces of the children, they were no longer there". (Thank goodness for grandchildren, who, when they visit, bring again liveliness and cheerfulness to this empty house.)

P:S: to our grown children -- no matter where you are, you are never far from our hearts.

a lot has been going on this month (part 2)

At the end of June, we flew to Utah for Andy and KayLynn's  wedding. The celebration began the evening before the wedding, when the bride-to-be's parents hosted a wonderful barbeque at their home for family and friends who had flown in.

Andy enjoyed the reunion with several of the guys he has grown up with who had flown in from out of state.

We sure enjoyed meeting KayLynn's sweet family. Here's her mom and sisters . (Her Dad and brothers had to leave for a while to play in their baseball team's final tournament.)

While everyone enjoyed visiting, the bride and groom had fun unwinding and relaxing before the big day.

 The wedding was beautiful. I was so happy that our four other sons got to be there for their brother.

Our oldest daughter,Emily, was the fantastic wedding photographer.

The youngest member of our family group to travel to Utah, was grandson Colby, accompanied by his very loving and patient Daddy, Mark. (Colby's mom stayed in Minnesota with newborn sister.)  Here is Colby enjoying the lovely reception.

The day after the wedding, the newlyweds had us over for lunch and then for an outing up in the mountains. Then they were off on a honeymoon trip. We are so blessed to have another awesome daughter-in-law, and we're so happy that Andy has such a sweet, loving, supportive wife.

Graduation Day

Tomorrow, our youngest, "little" Carl will be walking across the stage at Moody Gardens in Galveston to recieve his high school diploma. Then, in August, he'll be a "Red  Raider" at Texas Tech University in Lubbuck (same place his Dad recieved his college degree 41 years ago). All eight of our kids have graduated from Friendswood High School. It's hard to believe that soon we'll officially be empty nesters.

A fond farewell to 2009

Good-bye to Christmas 2009....Good-bye to the very last of the Christmas cookies...Hello to New Year's day... And Grammy is still in the kitchen, working on her final holiday pie. After staying up til the wee hours New Year's Eve, this Grammy was beyond tired and had to get a lot of help from her good friend, "Cooking Show Grammy." "Cooking Show Grammy", with her fake southern accent and crazy ways, took over, and taught Kyla how to make a pie. Kyla loved doing some commercials for the cooking show,which will soon be aired on the Fools Network.Well after all that work and all that fun and all that family, it's time to take a deep breath, and contemplate the New Year. I think about time and how it passes too quickly. What if in this new year, I make a resolution to treat each day as if it were my last and take the time and make the time to do something that means something in that context?

Here's my childhood friend, Carol, who in this picture is wearing a wig because she is bald from chemotherapy. Her cancer was incurable. She died within a year of this photo taken in 2001. She lived life to the fullest, while dying. She took the time to visit me for a week --that's when this photo was taken. We packed a picnic lunch every morning and in spite of her fatigue, we saw the sights, shared memories, laughed and had the best time. She took the time to take wonderful trips with her husband. Evey night, they took the time to say "I love you" and "good-bye", because that night could be her last.

Make the time and take the time each day. Appreciate those precious moments and be grateful for the gift of time -- every second, every minute that's packed into the year 2010. Have a Happy New Year! Don't ever take the precious gift of time for granted.
That's my New Year's resolution. How about you?

graduation!

It was a happy occasion for the entire family to witness Mark's graduation (in May) from U.T. San Antonio Dental School. Four years of very hard work flew by quickly. In a few short weeks Mark and his family will be moving to Minnesota, where he'll be practicing for at least 4 years.

"My Mother made me go to this." (Carl)

Carl (pictured here with his friend Adam) is "enjoying" the big banquet, held last Fri. evening at Moody Gardens Conference Center, honoring recent Eagle Scouts.

The featured speaker was Texas Governor Rick Perry. He gave a great speech on the values promoted by Scouting, and how we can't remain silent in the battle between good and evil in our society. Hope Carl was listening when he mentioned how "Eagle Scout" really stands out on a resume. I got to shake Gov. Perry's hand-- his handshake is very firm.

Another Christmas to remember

The joy of having almost everyone together. (missing-- Andy in Utah, Walter and Jessica celebrating with Walter's family, and KoKo, feeling too sick to join in the group photo.)

The joy of babies' first Christmas. Laila and Colby are just one month apart in age.

The bitter-sweet joy of having KoKo with us for her last Christmas. She mainly kept to herself, being in pain from a sudden, rapidly growing and huge cancer tumor. But on Christmas Eve, when we were gathered in the living room celebrating the birth of our Savior, she joined us. She is out of her pain now, and passed away peacefully this morning. How I am missing and sorrowing for her. After we get back from our trip, I'll post a memorial for our beloved pet.

Christmas is for remembering...

Christmas pasts -- 1954, with brothers Wally and Charlie. Lots of snow, icicles hanging from the doors and windows. Getting up in the wee hours to see what Santa brought and waiting for parents to wake up before we could open our presents. Seeing the decorated Christmas tree for the first time on Christmas morning, following the custom of my mother's native Austria, where the tree would be decorated while the family was at mid-night mass.

First Christmas in Texas, as newly weds in 1974. Our only Christmas without kids. What added joy each new addition to the family brought each Christmas.

Christmas is for remembering all of this and much more -- loved ones who have passed on, family members who can't be with us this year( our Andy in Utah), our extended families, and friends who have touched our lives. But most of all we remember the birth of our Savior, who has given us all that we have, and brings peace, hope, and light to our lives. Merry Christmas to all our loved family and friends!

weekend get-away

The weather was perfect when we arrived in Austin on Friday, warm and sunny. I had fun running half of the boys' course (Grandpa walked it), and then we relaxed by the duck pond. The next day, the day of the state cross country meet, the first really cold front blew in, with chilly 20 to 30 mile gusts of wind. Carl could hardly see where he was running, with all the dust blowing in his eyes. His time wasn't his best, and his team didn't place very high, but they had so much fun going to state in a chartered bus, staying overnight at a hotel, eating out, and competing with the best from all over the state. It was awesome of Mark and Courtney to join us. What a trooper Courtney is, ready to have that baby any day and walking around Old Settlers Park to help cheer on Carl. After the meet, we went to a nearby Ikea to get their baby crib (but it was out of stock). We had fun walking around, looking at all the cute stuff. We went out to eat and parted ways--back to San Antonio for the expectant parents and back to Houston for us. (Thanks for coming, Mark and Courtney. Courtney looks so great for being in the 9th month, but she's definitely ready to pop.)

Olympic fatigue

Grammy and Grandpa are feeling major exhaustion heading into the final stretch of the 2008 Olympics. But we are so addicted to the Olympics and have enjoyed every minute. It's been fun watching 3 of the athletes whom we've seen complete in person. We saw BYU grad Josh McAdams (steeplechase) running in a meet at BYU (Jeremy got to run with him his freshman year.) We saw Leonel Monzono (sp?)(men's 1500--he didn't make it into the finals, which are on tonight) run at almost all of Jeremy's state meets. Jeremy competed against him at state in the mile and beat him in the mile (but Monzono was having a bad race, having just come off the 800, which he won). Monzono, who was a year ahead of Jeremy in school, was terrific in high school, winning every state cross country meet. Another athlete, who ran for LaPorte's high school and was in our district was Kerron Clement, who medaled in last night's 400M hurdles. I remember how amazed I was at the effortless grace and speed with which this high school athlete cleared the hurdles, and knew he'd go far.
This is our official Olympic souvenir all the way from China! A delegation of chemists from China visited the lab at the refinery (Exxon Mobil wouldn't let them visit!) and Grandpa showed them around. They told him how China is about to build a huge refinery, bigger than any of ours. They were amazed at all the fancy equipment the lab has. In China, where there is such a big labor pool, they use people to do a lot of testing that is done by high tech equipment here. One of them gave Grandpa this "Beijing Official Licensed Product", complete with the added security feature of an "anti-counterfeiting label". (Who knows what other features it has, like an embedded spying micro-chip.)