We're Moving Along, but still have a big mess!

I didn't take any pictures of the mess this time, only the part that looks good. I'm very pleased with the way it is coming along. It looks so fresh and clean, and the big mess has been worth it. But I'm affraid I'll be dusting until Christmas time!

All three of the pictures are of the ceiling in the living room. All of our furniture is stacked in the dining room right now. I think the living room is done but the only painter here right now is spanish speaking. He's the only one working here this morning so I'm not sure of the plan.

This is above the fireplace, it looks really different. Gene wants me to tell him to paint this area the tan color that you see to the right, but I don't speak spanish.

Here is Gene, talking on the phone to Greg who requested these pictures. Remember the valance above the windows? We're not putting it back. I love the clean look. It's gonna be a big change, I have de-cluttered, by taking all of the pictures down, of course that was necessary for the painting. It looks good, I knew that I had gone over board with the pictures so I'm not sure how many are going back up, if any.

More to come.

I did it, I spoke Spanish! No he could understand english, he just doesn't talk much!

My 60s House

The Mess at My House

We bought this house in 1986, when our children were still in grade school. It has been a lovely home, and I love the open floor plan, but it is deffinatly a design of the 60s. Concequently it has needed some up-dating to bring it out of that time period. Right now we are scraping the ceilings, something that has needed to be done for a long time. That look is so ugly, I wonder who ever decided it was a good idea. It's hard to believe that this house is that old, but it has been a real job bringing it up to date. Doing it slowly though, it's becoming out dated before its done. The kitchen which we re-did in the 90s is really nice, but it's outdated already.

This is the dining room ceiling, it's between the main living room and the kitchen.

This is our living room, with the fireplace all torn up to fix an uneven part. Something that we hadn't previously noticed before the painter pointed it out. The whole thing is turning into a big ordeal. This corner is going to look really different because previously it was covered with dark paneling.

We had hoped that the rock went all the way up, but didn't really think it did. That would have been a nice surprise to find behind this drywall. The drywall is just going to be repaired and painted.

Looking toward the T.V. We wanted to remove the lowered ceiling too, but that would have been a lot more work, and the main reason we had put off this whole scraping project for so long.

Now She's a Teenager!

When I asked Ema what I could get her for her 13th birthday all she said, laughing, was, "A Snuggie!"

So that's what she got from us, along with a basket for her bike. Ella, her four year old sister, thinks Ema is the best! And she is the Best Big Sister around!

Isn't She Getting so Beautiful?

We are a very happy family, with lots of time together. This is during one of our trips to Disneyland when Greg came to town with Dylan for his first trip to our Happy Place

Everyone loves Ema!

Ema with Dylan

Ema and Abby. She really fights with her curls, I think they are darling, and tell her to embrace them. The cutest and sweetest girls I know have naturally curly hair

Brandi with her Darling Girls

Becoming a Grandma for the Very First Time

Thirteen years ago on October 16, 1996, I became a grandma for the very first time. I knew I'd love any new baby born into our family, but I wasn't prepared for all of the joy this little girl would bring into my life. Our Father in Heaven sometimes answers our prayers in ways we wouldn't have thought we wanted but His blessings are limitless. When I became a grandma at 42 I thought I still wanted one or two more babies in our family, with me being the mommy. I didn't know that those prayers would be answered in the form of grand babies, but what a wonderful blessing they have all become, starting with Ema Jean.

I know I'm biased, but I had never seen a more beautiful baby in my life, she was and has continued to be an angel, and a gift from Heaven!
From the very first time I heard her heart beating at a Doctor's appointment that Brandi let me go with her too, I have loved this little one in a way that is impossible to express. Ema became the whole family's little girl. It was so nice of Brandi to share her with all of us.

She loved and embraced our family too. Here she is welcoming another one of her Heavenly friends, Kylie into our family.

She and Dane, too of course, became my littlest friends as I was blessed with the opportunity to assist with their daily care. We enjoyed many fun time especially our trips to Disneyland. Brandi needed my help but the responsibilities of daily care for these little ones helped me more at a time that I needed to be needed more than anything else.

Daily routines were the best.
At the mall

and at the park.
I love being a grandma, and now have a total of 10 sweet grand children, with one more on the way. I love them all so very much. I knew that I'd love being a grandma, but never dared believe that it could ever come close to the love that I felt for my own children. Now I understand and know that the love for our grandchildren is the love we feel for our own children multiplied at least 100 fold if not more!

Time off for Disneyland

For the last several weeks Gene has had to drive to Duarte for work everyday. It has been gruelingly long hours and a lot more physical than his usual routine. So as this responsibility came to an end and his work will be returning to normal, he took a day off, which he rarely does, and we went to Disneyland. My two brothers and two of my sisters brought their families down from Utah during Utah's annul UEA school break. It always coinsides with the hunting seasons, so it seems that everyone who doesn't hunt comes to So. Cal. for a few days at Disneyland. All of the "Mormon families" are so obvious, to me. Any way, what ever the reason it was a great excuse to go to Disneyland with my best friend, who is usually working to hard so that I can play, with my usual little friends, our grand babies and their mommies. It was fun to go on the big kid rides with my family who I don't get to see often enough.

This is just a funny self portrait of us as we're in line for Pirates

These are some of my cute nieces and one nephew. They are great kids, Beka, is Steve and Denise's daughter, and Angie and Brig are Krista and Louis's two oldest kids. I think we were all in line for Indiana Jones here.

More fun with my people

I didn't take enough pictures, but I'll share some of the ones I did take.

Krista and Rachel, her 5th child. Krista is such a cute mommy with 6 beautiful children and one great husband, so dang lucky/blessed! She's been such a wonderful blessing to the whole Haws family!

More of the gang in line for Indiana Jones. The Utahan's from the Haws/Pixton/Pope families had matching t-shirts. Kyle, Jim, Joseph, Louis, Connie and Dave, I think Denise is in the back too.

Cute Megan, Krista's #4 child, and Jacob Pixton, getting ready to go,

man Jacob was one CRAZY driver!!! We filled up two whole cars.

Here's my baby brother Jim and his recently returned missionary, Kyle. He served in Peru and is now trying really hard to get on with the next stage of life. School!!! It was so good to see him!

The Stockards are Moving

I decided to blog about this because it is what I am doing right now and what is occupying my attention. They are just way to busy and Jenny is going in so many directions she doesn't have time to sit and blog,

it isn't what she is concentrating on right now.

Anyone who knows me very well knows that I have a problem with change. Even as a very little girl, I hated the thought of moving, having new routines and making new friends. It was always very traumatic for me. Now as a mother my stress is magnified and knowing that they are grown adults doesn't help me much.

I guess I need to learn to let go and trust in their decisions and choices.

How can I worry when I see the place they are moving too? It's a beautiful home in Fountain Valley, and is only about 7 miles away. I won't be able to just walk over any more on my morning walks or pick the kids up at Eastwood with her, but hey don't they say that "change is good?" They're moving into a wonderful neighborhood, and their new ward, FV3 has at least 90 kids in their primary.

This is the entry way with the formal living room on the left side, and the formal dining room beyond that. They have a three car garage to the right. It has a lot of windows with a lot of natural sunlight.

When you walk straight in from the front door you go into the kitchen

and family room. See all of the sunlight coming in?

This is their georgous back yard, with a newly fenced pool, isn't it beautiful?

And here's the kitchen. She's going to have to get used to a little less space and less storage. The kitchen they are leaving was so big! But see, isn't this a beautiful house. They have four bedrooms up stairs and that's a change from only three. They even have 3 working fireplaces and even three bathrooms.