August 29, 2008 by Marlene.

Here are some pictures of Dad’s Headstone I took today. Mom will probably give more of an account later but I just want to get technology working for tonight.

fe.com/__oneclick_uploads/200

8/08/p8292731-2.thumbnail.jpg’ alt=’p8292731-2.jpg’ />

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

August 28, 2008 by Melanee.

My sister Emily rallied my seven siblings and I to plan a 50th wedding anniversary party for my parents. The party was held August 21st even though their actual date is Aug 22. We had a wonderful time seeing family members and friends we have not seen in years. My mother was overjoyed with the celebration and my father mingled steadily through the evening. I was able to find a cake decorator at the week’s notice to replicate my parents wedding cake at a really good price. Thank goodness for the internet. We didn’t have the cake made out of fruit cake like it traditionally was back then, but I made a loaf pan for samples. We had pictures of their reception, honeymoon, and later years. Our gift to them was a portrait of our parents with all their grandchildren and great grandchildren taken at Rachel’s wedding.

A recipe book which was a labor of love was put together by my two sisters, Ellen and Rachel, with contributions made by me and my siblings. We put together a family cookbook of all the recipes great and small that we have memories of and have shared at holidays and dinnertime. Once the book was done I had to read every page. I laughed so hard at parts and just enjoyed remembering the family experiences we had a dinnertime. All the siblings contributed many recipes including my mother’s cheesecake recipe. This cheesecake fetched almost $1000.00 at a church auction many years ago when money was allowed to be raised for upkeep of the church building.

Rachel was at my house the Sunday before the celebration- all night long -formatting the book. Ellen had spent hours before compiling the recipes and writing the introduction and memories. It’s a treasure.

During the evening grandchildren and friends swam at the pool while others visited and caught up. Just a nice casual atmosphere. I am so glad I could spend the time making it a special evening for them. Let’s hope they have many more years together.

A side note to say that today would have been Kev and my 28th anniversary. I miss him still and send my love to him up in heaven. My beliefs that I will be with him in the eternities keep me going. Happy Anniversary Kev!!

I came across a card he gave me for our 14th anniversary that he made on the computer.
Front cover says: So Now It’s 14 Years!
Inside says:And I can’t wait for the next 14 years!! I’ll Love You Forever
Hand written say: I know this isn’t the greatest card, but really wanted to tell you how much I really love you. The past 14 years has really been the best years of my life. I can’t believe that our love and affection keeps growing day after day. I can’t imagine our love and our relationship after the next 14 years! If it’s anything like the last 14 we’ll be in Heaven!

I agree with what he says.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

August 23, 2008 by Ashley.

Well, Lydia had her 2 month doctor appointment this past Wednesday (even though she’ll be 3 months on the 28th). Her measurements were… head: 16” (75%), weight 12 lb 2.5 oz (50%), and height 22 ½” (25%). So she’s short and chubby with a big brain… we like her that way. She also got her first vaccine. I had major butterflies going to the doctor’s office because I was sure I was going to cry with Lydia. Pat and I decided to do an alternate vaccine schedule (we think her body is too small to be bombarded with so much right now) so she only got 1 shot (as opposed to the 4 usual ones). Once she was poked she started her “purple cry” (titled that because she turns purple), but luckily she was really tired so she calmed down quickly. It usually takes her a while to calm down but I was glad it went so well. And amazingly enough I didn’t cry. We’ll have to see how next month goes though!

Here are some other pictures I took. She was pushing up so well and actually looking at the camera! I couldn’t decide the best one so I’ve included the top 3 (of course they probably seems exactly the same to those who aren’t Lydia’s parents…but I think each one is unique and adorable).

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

August 20, 2008 by Mallory.

So this past week was the first week of school with students. (This week is the second week.) All I have to say is man oh man….The students in this school do not know how to control their talking!!! Oh my goodness. Every teacher I talk to tells me that all they’re students are really talkative. It is insane. It’s really hard to keep them in control with their talking!!! But it’s gone pretty well. I have 23 students. Unfortunately, my classroom is tiny and 23 students in there is really crowded. We really can’t walk around while the students are in their seats. I heard a rumor that we may be getting another 3rd grade teacher, but it’s not for sure yet. I really hope so because then our classes would be so much smaller and hopefully more controllable with the noise. Let’s see how it goes for the rest of the year!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

August 19, 2008 by Ashley.

Here are some photos from our time in Connecticut. It was a lot of fun

Leah and Anya with Lydia at Mom’s house. Anya loves her new cousin.

Lydia was blessed on July 20th. All my family was in town from my aunt’s wedding on the 19th, which was really nice. My mom made the blessing dress. It’s the same one all my sisters and I were blessed in. The dress looked so nice even though it’s 27 years old.

Lydia falling asleep at the wedding. We put a cracker in her hand and she held it while she was sleeping

Grandma and Lydia at the wedding

This is the Moses basket Lydia slept in the whole time. The red material my mom also made for Mallory for when she was a baby (now 22 years old).

We think Lydia may have bad dreams sometimes. Here’s a picture of her getting upset in her sleep. It’s sad that she starts to cry sometimes… but really cute at the same time.

Monday my mom took us all to Lake Compounce. It was great to let loose and go on some roller coasters. Plus they had a water park which was a ton of fun, especially since it was very hot that day. Even with 2 babies in strollers we managed to organize our ride going so that everyone could go on the rides (I thought I’d have to sit out a lot to watch Lydia). Pat had a blast because he and Marlene ran off to do all the rides that make me ill while Leah and I brought her kids on the kiddie rides. Later, Pat and I tried to see if Lydia would like the water at the water park. The second her toes touched the water though, she quickly pulled them up and started crying. Guess she’s still too young for that (well, that and the kiddie pool was surprisingly cold).
Group shot: my Mom, Wendell (Mallory’s husband), Mallory, Marlene, Me, Pat. Leah and Anya in front. We had to take this pic so fast because the strollers with Lydia and Kevin were out of everyone’s reach, but we really wanted to get everyone in the pic for once.

For one day we visited Mystic Seaport. It was a tad drizzley, but a nice day nonetheless.

The day before we went to Mystic Seaport, we visited the Mystc Aquarium. It was stormy outside, which made it waaaay crowded in the indoor portion of the aquarium. Luckily it lightened up late and we were able to enjoy it with less people around. Lydia was fascinated by the bright colors of the fish in the tanks.

Here is us in front of one of the little historical shops there. (They have a whole historical town with a church, school, and buildings for all different purposes). I wanted to get this one because it was the “chemist” shop… or pharmacy in those days.

Here are some pictures of us touring one of the large ships they have docked there.

Walking around town_______Mallory carting around Lydia_______Pat and Lydia escaping the rain

Anya took a real shine to Pat. (He was big enough to throw her around when they play)

A Four Generation Picture… rare in this day and age.

Lydia loving her Great Grandma

Random pix of Lydia
Doing her exercises________Ready for her manicure______Happy baby

Starting to clasp her hands for praying (we didn’t get the camera in time to catch her totally clasping her fingers-it was cute though)

Posted in Our Life, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

August 12, 2008 by Melanee.

Leah, Ed, Anya and Kevin are here for a couple days till they leave to go to a wedding in upstate New York. I have enjoyed having them here. Anya has said a few things that I need to share.
I was laying down with her in her bed last night trying to get her little body to settle and go to sleep. All of a sudden she went to her knees and said, “Heavenly Father, Please help me with the nightmares and hope I get to sleep.” “Heavenly Father, Please take care of Grandma” I felt its power in her very humble words. Of course I could not keep from tearing up. An almost four year old child can really understand.
Then today as I tried to get her ready for bed she claimed she was hungry. Of course I will let her have something to eat (Grandma’s prerogative) so we went to the frig. She asked for a spoonful of jelly. I told her no. I suggested some yogurt. She said, “Grandma you are so smart.” I will try to live up to her expectations.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »