JOY school

We do a little joy school with friends in the neighborhood.  This is my week and I called Kay (Jim's mom) to ask for craft help.  Because she's a kids' craft pro...because it would be D's dream come true...

And because I have the built-in best thank you in the world:these little arms around the neck are plain, pure magic.

almost as good as his dad's.

thank you Kay for the possibility of both (and for an hour and a half of craftiness, of course).

cake at 98

My in-laws' home was brimming with party-goers tonight.  All celebrating this woman turning 98.

I can't even pretend I knew more than a handful of the guests, but one older gentlemen had me giggling as he looked at the birthday cake and proclaimed, "She's older than dirt."   He then eyed me as though it was no laughing matter, and continued..."Well, she's older than Arizona."

And that gave me pause.  Grandma Scott is two years older than Arizona.  And two years shy of a century.  And I do believe that does deserve far more than a pause.

I loved making this cake.  Simply put, it felt creative and fun.  Grandma is a crochet-a-holic whiz.  Seriously.  Her work is so lovely, and we've been lucky enough to collect a few pieces over the years.  Click here to see my favorite. . . the piece that inspired the cake.

 

It will require some pause for thought to come up with a cake for 100.  And Arizona's big 100 will be fast on Grandma's heels...I'm quite sure that deserves celebration in cake as well.

 

Grandma with three (out of 9) of her children - Mike, Gerald, Wayne   

 

boys meet snow

Shanon and Jared (Jim's brother) invited us to come to her dad's cabin with them this weekend (thank you!).  We gladly accepted, anxious for a getaway and a chance to introduce the boys to snow.   

 
Aidan hadn't been around snow since Megan so rudely moved away from Flagstaff two years ago.  But I guess it's no surprise that he inately knew the full boy purpose of this white wonder.  The problem: this snow, sparse and far from fresh, was more like ice than powder. 

And no one likes being hit by ice. 

I suppose I should be glad Aidan & Abby didn't hone in on Davyn or Jake as target material.  Instead it was Jim.  And they went after him with full force. 

Do you see our sweet Abby Kay?
Looks can certainly be deceiving...check out her game face & form:

Snowballs in hand, this girl turns all business. 

And the face definitely merits a close-up. 

Like I said:  business. 

Well, after multiple upon multiple hits, Jim meant business, too.  Not really, but you'd think so seeing the next picture.  A's head turned at the wrong moment, leaving his face looking like this:

And I wonder...is it wrong that I love this picture?!  Such raw, tender pain in the boy I've "kissed better" thousands of times. 

And what was Boy #2 up to in the midst of the drama?

Peaceful play in a place called Davynland.  

He

is

quite

quite

easily

entertained. 

 
And surprisingly biddable when asked to pose with a non-eager Jake.  

Poor Jake. 

Is it wrong that I laughed as D chased him down?!

I say it's allowed because this boy is all kinds of tough.
And he reminds me that I truly want a redhead of my own.
Curse my overpowering genetics. 

Thank you Jared & Shanon for a fantastic trip! 

4 miracles + many prayers

I spent yesterday morning with my friends, Angie, Grace (top), and Sophia (side).  Ang (of course!) had beautiful long blessing gowns for her two.  They were her first purchase as a would-be mother of twin girls.  I went over to practice my camera skills (ha!) on the beauties.  What I learned?  I have  few camera skills!  Babies - while adorable - are blobs that lie there smileless with their hands all over their faces.   And I'm clueless when it comes to angling a decent blob into my frame.  But I loved the indirect dreaminess of these two pictures.  And I mostly loved spending time watching the differences between two little ones who just happened to share the same womb at the same time.

Congrats to Grace & Sophia on their blessing this Sunday.  Two more little ones I know are being blessed Sunday - a niece and a nephew.

Jared & Shanon's Lily (picture stolen from her blog)

Tyler & Regina's Ryder
 

Life is always a Miracle.  I think all four of these babes were born within one week of each other.  Each miraculous of their own accord and situation.  Lily, a gift to Shanon in the wake of the most difficult year of her life.  Ryder, boy number four with an oldest brother only 6.  Sophia and Grace, a long-long-awaited pregnancy with doubled blessings as a result.

But there's one more nephew who is in my thoughts this week.  Megan is now 24 weeks pregnant and just discovered that her little one has a large hole in his heart.  The full extent of what this means?  Who knows, yet (though tests & consultations certainly fill one's mind with worries about possibilities).  At the least, surgery for a newborn.  And somehow that *least* is by far the *most* we can think about at present.

Megs, of course, is a rock...and Tom, of course, is her rock, but it has definitely been a week laden with worries.  Worries amplified by the reality that Megan delivers early with no signs of labor..and this boy needs every chance he can get to become strong before he greets the world.   And the reality for all of us in Arizona and Utah that she is half the states away from us in distance.  How do you send love & support thousands of miles?  Phones & prayers.  While there's definitely miracle to the technological wonder of the former, the latter is the truer Miracle by far.  Our prayers are with you Megs, and there's no better messenger of our love than a Father who knows how to succor All. 

Happy Birthday Papa!

My two worship Jim's dad, their papa.  Of course, it helps that he wears a cowboy hat, "plays" in a shop full of tools, feeds his dog (D loves Shadow) and has massive tractors & trucks (all large equipment falls under the general "tractor" category to me, but A is already correcting my ignorance often.."no Mom, that's a scraper", etc.).  Little wonder Papa's house is their dream world. 

They're boys.  And Scott's.
And Papa wanna-be's.  

Aidan, 18 months, digging with Papa.

I don't care much about  tractors personally, but I do admire Mike for other reasons.   He  dreams big, teases often, works hard, and raised my Jim exactly to my liking. 

Happy {belated} Birthday!