almost time for school to start

Seems like just the other day that Jessica was in kindergarten.

Now, she's about to start her 3rd year of teaching Kindergarten. We visited her classroom this week while she was getting organized.

We admired the paint job Walter did on one of the long walls -- a very vibrant color with the bottom half painted with chalkboard paint. He's not finished yet. The window and door frames along that wall will be painted an equally vibrant shade of lime green.

We also checked out Jessica and Walter's new digs. They're living in the same ritzy part of town where her school is (near Rice University).  Just 5 minutes away from work, Jessica won't have to fight the traffic anymore.

a lot has been going on this month (part 1)

The first part of June, we drove for 8 hours, through the heart of Texas and to the panhandle to the college town of Lubbock for several days of our youngest's freshman orientation at Texas Tech University.

                                                                   Go Red Raiders!

He'd die if he knew I was taking this picture. This was the last hour of the last day we were there, and Carl was pulling up the list of books he'll need in the Fall.

It was a great orientation, with lots of informative sessions for both parents and students. Carl got to meet with his advisors in the college of mass communications and with their guidance, registered  for his fall classes. Everyone was so friendly and helpful, and we met some wonderful folks.

Back to humid Houston, after enjoying the dry, cooler weather in Lubbock. (Dad had fun spending time at the university he graduated from. Although I didn't graduate from Tech, I was really impressed with the place and think it's the prettiest campus next to BYU.)

Mother's Day thoughts

My journey of motherhood began with "mothering" my 4 younger brothers (here with the youngest, Billy).

Then, after Carl and I were married, the first to join our family were these two sweet little girls (Emily and Lauren). They made the job of mothering so easy and such a joy.

Soon, little Mark would join them.  Emily and Lauren were such helpful big sisters, making my job as a mother easier.

Our little family grew as Andy and Jessica joined us. My job as a mother became more challenging, more of a balancing act, and how I wished there were two of me.  Thanks to a very helpful husband, and  helpful big sisters, I was able to laugh more than cry.

Then came along Jeremy, Philip, and baby Carl.

 How did I do it? I ask myself that in retrospect. Well, I didn't do it all. Things didn't get dusted that often. I was tired a lot of the time.  There were plenty of challenging moments, especially as they entered the teenage years.  But through it all, I was happy, really happy, and so thankful for each of them. My love for them carried me through.  God always gave me the strength I needed.

I wouldn't trade those years for anything in the world. The journey of motherhood continues as I hold each grandchild in my arms (here is Emily's first daughter, newborn, Ava).

If I'm lucky, I'll get to hold some of my great grandchildren in my arms, as my mother-in-law did (here holding Lauren's firstborn, Elayna, in her arms about a year before she died).

still raising a kid....

TaTa, the baby of the family, the last of eight kids, the child of our old age...I feel sorry for him that he lives life as an only child, his older brothers and sisters married or away at college.  Life must be pretty boring living with an old grandpa and grammy. He is the focus of our daily attention. He must feel like a bug under a microscope. Poor kid.  He doesn't even get spoiled. He drives around in a beat up Chevy pick-up truck with a busted out side mirror.  He has to be in by 11:00p.m. on the weekend. Parenting an "only child" presents different challenges. We do have our "moments".

 So I'm grateful for the wonderful women's conference the church put on last weekend.  Randall Wright, an author,speaker, and teacher (who is also related to son-in-law Walter) reminded us that as parents, we are coaches. Our kids are on scholarships (they've been given everything), and so there are expectations.  The secret of good coaching is to have clearly defined rules (and consequences)and high expectations along with good relationships (lots of positives -- hugs, "I love you's"). With teenagers, there are many times you don't "like" them or what they do, but they must feel our unconditional love. 

 What's not to love about the baby of the family?

visiting our favorite teacher

One of the nice things about being retired is we can take off whenever... so today we visited Jessica at the HISD magnet school near Rice University where she teaches kindergarten. The kids were still on holiday break, so only the teachers were in for a work day.The school was built in the 1940's and is nestled among lovely and very expensive homes, with ancient oak trees lining the street. The classrooms are huge. (And this is only 1/4 of the room.) The windows of Jessica's room look out onto it's own outdoor patio. Here is one of the patios in the center of the school. The school has a lot of character and charm, lacking in modern schools.
We were impressed with all Jessica has done to make her classroom a fun learning environment. We might be a little prejudiced, but we'll say it anyways, "Jessica, you're the best little kindergarten teacher that we know!"

Saturdays

Our Saturdays go like this -- Around 5:00 A.M. I wake up to fix a pancake breakfast for Carl, as he gets ready to board the bus at 6:00 A.M. for a cross country meet. Then Grandpa Carl and I hop in the car and drive out to the meet. We've been doing this for about 12 years, starting with Andy, then Jeremy and Philip . We've rarely missed a meet all these years (the exception being a few Saturday morning general conferences). We've been there for most of our young coach's career.


A sprint to the finish (Clear Creek meet)

Carl, a junior in high school, is happy to be running on the varsity team. He's been one of the top four runners of his team.

The stork is our new family pet!

These three gals, my daughters and daughter-in-law, are all expecting at the same time! Courtney is expecting her first, a boy, at the end of November. Lauren is expecting her first boy, after 3 girls, at the end of February. Emily is expecting her fourth, a girl, in the beginning of November. When these three are born, our grandkids will outnumber our kids. This Grammy is very excited to meet the new little ones. I love their mamas (and daddies) very much!

Jeremy's home!

Jeremy flew out of Anchorage, Alaska at midnight (the sun was still shining at that hour) and arrived at Intercontinental airport at noon.

A good missionary! Jeremy was able to lift this man's spirit (he had flown in for the funeral of his brother) In a short period of time he was able to teach him, and gave him a pamphlet. "It's hot here", says Jeremy, walking through the airconditioned terminal. "Just wait til you walk outside", we tell him. He's going from 50 degrees in Alaska to 95 in Houston.

Jeremy's amazed by how much his neices have grown in 2 years.

He'll be home soon -- May 27!

Jeremy's finishing up on the lovely island of Sitka, and says "I wish I could stay here longer." In his last letter he tells of two recent baptisms and finding "a golden family of 5 yesterday". "The spirit was very strong while we taught them. So I'm hoping they will be baptized before I leave... We have been having a lot of success and finding a lot of people to teach. I feel our strong prayers and hard work have been paying off. I'm on my very last lap and I feel like kicking it all the way to the finish line."

a major milestone

From little boy...

.....to Eagle Scout! (How did our "baby" grow up so quickly? "TaTa"/Carl at his Eagle Court of Honor in April. His niece Avery was so excited, she joined him up on the stand.