Saturday, September 30, 2006

Jacob Loves Emma

Here are some pics at Sand Springs Homecoming last night. Emma is the daughter of J.B. and Misha, good friends of Jeremy and Trista. J.B. is the son of their preacher and also the builder of their new house. Misha and Trista have been friends since their early school days. Jacob and Emma attend the same preschool and Emma is the main reason Jacob looks forward to going.

House Progress




Jeremy & Trista's house is coming right along. The outside seems to go up so quickly. Jo Ann drives past their house twice a day and is convinced they'll be in it by the end of October! We're still hoping for Christmas.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Refreshing Dip

Last night while Trista was cleaning the kitchen--that's right, there has been an unspoken arrangement since the kids moved in with me, I cook and Trista cleans up afterwards, not a bad deal--Jacob came downstairs with a wet head. He was so excited and proud and when we asked how his head got wet, he said, "uh potty, uh head." (exchange of questioning glances) No way...couldn't be...could it? Trista had to know for sure. "Show me," she apprehensively said. He took her upstairs and pointed to the toilet. I thought it was hilarious, Trista (the germaphobic) freaked out. He was immediately transported to the bathtub where he got a good scrubbing, all the while being warned of how "shhoooeeeyyy" that was and being instructed on the proper use of the potty.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Wedding Follies

The wedding of Daisha and Michael was very nice. Jacob actually did very well, especially since the wedding was at 5:00, no nap, and two hours of picture taking prior to the wedding. He fought against walking down the aisle with Haylee, so Richie had to carry him, but after that, it was pretty smooth sailing. Trista was beautiful. Until she reached "profile range" you wouldn't even notice she was pregnant. I wish I had taken some pictures of her, but of course my focus was on Jacob. Here are a few pics of the ceremony.

Friday, September 22, 2006



Jacob is supposed to be in a wedding tomorrow evening. Last night was rehearsal and he did fine, but we don't have high expectations. He tried on his tux last night, and despite crooked buttoning and a little bit of a dirty face, he still looked quite handsome and was pleased to pose for me.
My self-proclaimed (and now absolutely) favorite sister-in-law, JoAnn, along with the cooperation of her niece-in-law, are giving me a rare treat today. Since my physical activity is still restricted following surgery, Merry Maids are coming today for 1-2 hours of free cleaning. It will feel good to have everything scrubbed and vacuumed again, even for a little while.

I went to a photography class last night on Travel and Leisure. It was very interesting, but confirmed my ignorance in the basics. I plan to go to a class next Saturday titled, "Introduction to the Digital Age". My new camera has so many more menu settings, and I'm a little overwhelmed. Maybe by the time the granddaughter arrives, I'll be a little more adept.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Gift of Gab

Jacob is talking more each day. He has been a little behind in his verbal skills, but is now speaking in phrases. This morning I heard him put a full sentence together. It may not have been his first, but it was the first I had heard. He came into the kitchen this morning and announced that it was raining. I told him to tell his daddy. So he said, "Daddy, come 'ere, I show you, a raining." What a little genius. He works hard to pronounce his words carefully. He rolls his tongue to say his "L's" and when his tongue is touching his chin, we know he's going to say something that starts with a "TH". Of course, his favorite word is still "no". We're working on that.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

New Camera




I'm trying out my new camera, and what better subject than my grandson, Jacob. These pictures were taken last night after his bath. He loves to play guns with his daddy, but always has to check under the eyelids to make sure he's just playing! For some reason, he also likes to sit in the serving tray while watching The Incredibles.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Too Young for Senility

Have you ever written something on your calendar, but left out pertinent information? I have opened my calendar on several occasions to see a time written on a particular date, but had to rack my brain to remember who the appointement was with. I thought I had solved that problem by changing to a Daytimer, where the times are already there, you just fill in the activity/appointment. This morning I opened my Daytimer to a new dilema. There is a small space between daytime and evening time slots. In that small space, I've written "red & black". RED AND BLACK???!!!!!??? What in the cat hair is that supposed to mean? I really must cut back on the NutriSweet! You would think that I would be so aware of my lapses in memory that I would be very detailed in my entries to the Daytimer. So....all day I'll be wondering what significance "red & black" has to my day today.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Coach



This is Jeff's first year to experience the joys and trials of coaching girls' softball. He is Head Coach of the Varsity team and it hasn't been easy. Not only has he never played the game (his expertise is baseball), he grew up without any sisters and is having to learn to deal with the teenage female. I think he eased slowly into this role but now is not cutting the girls any slack. He expects from them what he expects from his baseball players and is gradually weeding out the ones that aren't up for it. This first picture on the Park Hill website is titled "what if I want pepperoni". I think I know my son well enough to guess that what he's actually saying is "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, YOU MORON!?!?"

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Full House

Jeremy, Trista and 2-yr. old Jacob are now permanent residents at our house. Despite mis-matched furniture in the livingroom, boxes piled in the garage, a constant array of balls, bats, drums, guitars, guns, etc. strewn throughout the house and the occasional surrender to a Wiggles video in lieu of the evening news, we are adjusting quite nicely. Jacob is in his third week of preschool (3 days a week) and is also adjusting well. It's a Christian school, so it's nice to know that what he's being taught at home is being reinforced at school. He has been under the weather the last few days and visited the doc yesterday. Fluid behind the ear and "sinus infection"? I didn't know toddlers got sinus infections. Anyway, fortunately he's very good at taking medicine. Their house is finally under construction and hopefully framing will begin next week. Trista is already overwhelmed by all the decisions that come with building. Being 8 months pregnant doesn't help. I've always said that pregnant women shouldn't make important decisions, but most of the big ones will come after the baby is born. That's just 3 weeks from today!

I am recovering quickly from my recent surgery. (Bills are already starting to roll in.) I'm having a hard time remembering that I can't (shouldn't) lift Jacob. When his sister gets here, it will be exactly 5 weeks since my surgery and I should be back to regular activity by then. Just in time to help out with the new grandbaby.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Catching Up




Time to update this blog!

After a week in Canada with my niece Chelsea, I made a trip to Kansas City to help my youngest get settled in his new home. Yes, he's a real grownup now with a home of his own. My oldest, on the other hand, is moving home. Actually, he and his wife are building a new home and will temporarily be living here until it's finished. As though there wasn't enough going on in my life with surgery scheduled for Aug. 30, I allowed our youth minister to coerce me into going on a weekend trip with the youth. We left on Friday, Aug. 25 for a weekend at Burnt Cabin. He had mentioned in an email that he assumed I didn't have a problem driving one of the passenger vans, and I half-way thought he was kidding. Wrong. This became the first of many adventures of the weekend. I thought the gas pedal felt wierd and was feeling rather awkward with it, and my foot kept slipping off the break pedal whenever I had to slow down or stop. But we made it there safely, despite some tense muscles in the neck and shoulders. When we left Sunday morning to come back, we found that the gas pedal was laying on the floor board and the rubber cover for the break pedal was under the seat!!

One of the highlights for the kids was Saturday's trip to the cliffs. I'm a little like my dad and am not fond of heights. These cliffs were at the edge of Lake Tenkiller and the objective, it seemed, was to jump off the cliff into the lake. As our YM was giving safety instructions to the kids, I felt compelled to interrupt and make it clear that, as the oldest one there, I must tell them that this was against my better judgement and that I advised against it. Just wanted that on the record. As I look back on this experience I can't help but remember words from my dad as I was growing up and wanting to do something that "everyone else" was doing..."if 'everyone else' jumped off a cliff would you jump too?" Well now I know the answer to that question, "yes, I would." And I have bruises to show for it. Just goes to show, even at 50, peer pressure is still a very strong force.