Kara's Birthday

Happy Birthday Kara..... Last week over Labor Day we went to Lake Powell and there we celebrated Kara's 28th Birthday. I just wanted to let Kara know how much she is loved in our family. She seems more like a daughter than a daughter-in-law. I knew she was a keeper when in high school she was willing to change her prom dress for one that met my approval. (Those were my rougher days!) I love how she never ever complains and always looks on the bright side of everything. She is such a positive thinker you would think she took lessons from me! She even says that being happy is a choice and she chooses to be happy. She is an amazing mother and having children has always been her main priority. I know my grandchildren are getting the best of care, they must have been really special spirits in heaven to be blessed to be sent to her. I think she should have 10! She hates any kind of contention in the family and always goes above and beyond whatever it takes to keep peace.... she's the only one who can control Josh! It's just her nature to be concerned about others... she's always taking extra time to check on Grannybird and make sure things are ok with her. She looks for opportunities to help others in need and is sensitive to the spirit in her decisions. She even manages to take Lloyds joking.... We are so blessed to have her in our family! I know I speak for all of us when we say..."We Love You Kara"
Brooklyn was so excited to help us to get ready for Kara's Birthday. It was her artistic talent that made Kara's cake so adorable!!!

WHAT A CUTE FAMILY!

When I arrived in Tuscson, Savannah had big plans to make a blanket for her new baby brother.  I thought that was a great idea and with my sewing background she thought I would be the perfect person to help.  She and Tyler carefully picked out the fabric from their mom's scrap bin.... which was full of some really cute fabric.

Savannah had gotten this cute childs machine for Christmas back a few years ago.  She had plans to sew it using this machine.  Well after much determination and about 2 hours of trying to get the bobbin threaded....I was sure I could do it, after all I was a clothing and textiles major in college and this was a childs machine....we gave up and got out Amy's machine.

Savannah did an amazing job of laying out the fabrics and designing the pattern...I think she may have future in fashion!

When it was all done she proudly took it to the hospital for Baby Dax.  He loved it. He especially loved the bright colors and patterns Savy and Tyler chose.....Good Job!

Britty....this one's for you!

Everyone who knows me knows how I love to braid hair.  It's especially exciting to come to Tucson because Savannah loves me to do her hair when I'm here. When Amy was little she use to let me do her hair however I wanted to. Brittany was a different story.... she was much fussier and would only allow me to fix her hair how she liked it.  Today I did Savy's hair in my favorite side braid, complete with oversized bow!  I was laughing to my self thinking how Britty would hate this style when Savannah informed me she wasn't sure she liked her hair this way.... Savy.... my biggest fan!  Well we were too pressed for time to make any changes so I simply reverted to bribery and Savannah agreed to wear her hair this way in exchange for a treat from Target!  Just the thought of this whole incident makes me chuckle!

Really now....doesn't she look adorable....big bow and all!!

Tyler, Savannah and Paige meet Dax

Tyler and Savannah were so excited to come to the hospital and meet their new baby brother.  They will be such good big brother and big sister.

Paige wasn't quite sure how she felt about this whole new

 baby brother thing at first.  

But the more she thought about it the happier she got.

Grandbaby #7

I just wanted to post a couple of pictures real fast so everyone can see just how cute baby Dax is.  He was born at 12:29 p.m.   Mother and baby are doing great. I even breezed through the delivery!  We will post more pictures later but we wanted to give you a quick preview!

Is he not one of the cutest babies you've seen.  It would be so fun if his hair stayed dark... but we don't think there is much of a chance of that!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today I had the best birthday ever....thanks to my wonderful family. It was a fun day spent with just being lazy and enjoying my kids and grandkids. It's funny how when you get old the things you enjoy aren't the material gifts but the love and relationships. I love how all my kids put so much thought into what to get me.... that alone shows me how much they care. Everyone of them scored a homerun in that department! Brookie kept telling me that she would help me get the cards out to invite people to my party....I think she was a little disappointed that it was just the family. Brittany had plans to make me a cake...Lloyd bought one before she got hers made but she bought the cutest candles ever... which was one of my favorite things even if I was to old to get them all on the cake! I have the best family ever and am so lucky to be able to grow old watching them each become unique and special....I love them tons!!! They are truly the best and the rest of the world should be jealous!

This picture just isn't complete without Zach and Zaira and Amy and Steve and my other cute grandkids!! Check out Zach and Zaira's blog to see the birthday poem Zaira wrote me....I love it!

Brookie painted me this beautiful picture.... I actually requested one after I saw the one she did for Brittany on her birthday. I know everyone whos sees this is going to want one.
Tyler, Savannah and Paige had this special delivery sent. It was Savy's idea... she always has the best ideas and she knows how much I LOVE cookies!

Grannybird always remembers everyones everything! I don't know how she does it. She showed up early in the morning with flowers and followed up in the afternoon with more presents..... She is remarkable!!!

After having spent the day with the kids and having a birthday party at home, Lloyd and I met Mark, Linda, Kathie, Ron, Richard and Grannybird at Roy's for an "Adult Only" dinner... whoever thought there would be advantages to age. When we opened the menus there was a birthday greeting in everyones. I especially like the saying at the bottom and know that my next trip around the sun is going to be amazing! We had a great dinner followed by wonderful deserts. (Look how cute the birthday presentation was) Then Mark picked up the bill for everyones dinner....he didn't even lose the flip...Thanks Mark! It was a wonderful night and would have only been better if Carol,Walt and Angie could have been there. It made me realize how lucky I am to have such an awesome family who I love and am so blessed to have!

Thank-you everyone for everything....I Love you All...You brighten my days and make everything worthwhile.

Cooper Kay's Blessing

Today Josh and Kara blessed Cooper Kay Benson. It was a great day and Josh did an awesome job....as we all knew he would. It was fun a fun day but made us miss Amy and Steve and their kids and Zach and Zaira who live in different states and couldn't make the trip. It was great to be able to spend the day with family and friends. We are so blessed.

The Boys and the Girls

I have a tradition of crocheting a blessing blanket for each grandchild. Today Kara pulled out Brooklyn and Brady's. Josh said we were going to judge how much each child is loved by how wide their edging on their blanket is.....

After church we all went over to Josh and Kara's for lunch. Kara did a great job getting everything together and Brittany added to the lunch by making her fruit pizza and her peanut butter chocolate one....she's a great cook and whoever lands her is going to be really lucky! And of course Grannybird was there....always helping and adding that extra special something!

I'm ENCHANTED!

So tonight Josh stopped by with Brooklyn and Brady. He had the kids out to give Kara a little break.... He had just taken them to get a surprise because Brooklyn has spent the last 7 nights sleeping in her own bed. (He learned the fine art of bribery from me) Brooklyn picked out a mermaid Barbie whose tail changes into colorful designs when you apply cold water.  After several attempts Josh informed Brooklyn that he was sorry but it wasn't going to work.  Having much more experience at those kind of things I took over and with in a matter of minutes the Barbies tail was covered with the colorful designs. Brookie took one look and exclaimed, "Oh Grandma... You're ENCHANTED!"  (I think that's fancy for she thinks I'm great!)

Bonjour Butterfly

Bonjour Butterfly

Last week Kara had to take Cooper to the doctor and Brookie and Brady got to go on an excursion (that's a fancy word for trip) to grandmas for the afternoon. We decided that swimming and baking would fill the afternoon. Brookie loves a series of books called "Fancy Nancy".... they are so cute and teach fancy words, like excursion. Brookie loves them. I had just bought the latest one called Bonjour Butterfly which we read. One thing lead to another and before we knew it we had been inspired to bake the butterfly cake. All in all it was a stupendious afternoon! (that's a fancy word for we all had fun!)

Happy Birthday Brittany

It's been 20 years today since Brittany joined our family as our final child. She was so excited to come that she decided to make her appearance 8 weeks early and weighed in at only 3 lbs. 11 oz. Today makes me think back on how blessed I am to be her mother. I marvel at the beautiful young women she has become. She has always had a soft spot in her heart for anyone who would be considered the underdog.... she has a talent for writing and is amazing at always remembering to say thank-you and letting you know she cares and is thinking about you.... she has a flare for fashion and has had since she was little and would critic peoples' clothes at the age of two! She loves to cook and only wishes we would all eat healthier. Brittany never ever gossips.... she hates when people talk about others, I so admire her for that. I think she is an awesome person and I love her tons!!!! You go girl and have a wonderful birthday!

Check out the graphics

Ok.... I've tried everything to get a unique header but this one is the most ME. I know that Brittany is thinking it's so "grandma" but after all that's what I am. Maybe now I can start posting real things.... Stay tuned to see if I succumb to pressure and change it to look more modern and anthropology looking! (Note the time of this post.....I'm going to bed.... I'll see if things look different in the morning)