Another Grandbaby!

Last Sunday Linda and Ben welcomed baby Joshua to their family! He weighed 6 lbs. 2 oz. and he has short, medium-brown hair. He's quiet, they say, and likes to look around. We're so happy for them! Sorry for the delay, but I was waiting for some pictures to post - always a bad idea... :/ Right now, Keith and his boys are here mowing the back pasture and hauling away junk that was here from their construction on the house. Last night Mark used Keith's pressure washer to clean the outside of the house and the porch and patio. Yay! Beixi says that next week we'll work on staging the inside. If anyone wants to have a work party, I'm taking volunteers! However, everyone just had babies or is expecting, so I don't think that will work out so well. ;) Mark is still applying for jobs, pretty much anywhere. He hasn't heard back from anyone on the two jobs he was doing phone interviews for, so we still have no idea where we'll end up. Phillip is still visiting us, and it's been so nice to have him around. Right now he's outside working with Seth and Mark. Seth got a job at Burger King, and so far he likes it, I think. They're busier that Tastee Treat, which makes the time go faster, and he can excel at that because he's very coordinated. Anyway, that's all I can think of right now. Sorry no pictures yet. I love you!

If It's Friday, We Must Be In Idaho

Isn't this a cute horse? Just put him on here for fun!

Hi! What's happening in your life? Mine is chugging along. Seth got soome allergy medicine from the doctor and he's a new man. He seems to have grown taller again, too. That's what a little sleep will do for you. :) Let's see...Cameron and Janik and Brianna, Braden, Kylie, and Cammie came by last night, on their way to nursing school at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. Cameron will be a nurse practioner in two years then. He wanted a more hands-on job in health care, and he'll have his Master's in Nursing degree, too, even though his Bachelor's isn't in nursing. Isn't that great? I told him that Megan has been doing her nursing prerequisites. Mark would like to add an RN degree to his skills, too; there are many programs that pay for your schooling if you commit to work for them for a few years (paid) afterwards. Cameron is trying for an Air Force scholarship, and he is sooo skinny right now! (There is a height and weight ratio that's required.) Many of the administrator positiions Mark's been looking at offer tuition reimbursement, if he wants to get his nursing degree. That would only enhance his value to the company. (You know what the church says: Continue to build your skills and education, and develop practical skills, also. Good advice!) So that's all interesting, and the kids are so cute and loving. Brianna's hair is below her waist now, and she's getting some permanent teeth. Kylie is just a little bit of nothing, she's so small, and both Braden and Cammie wear glasses - they look great in them! Their family has legally adopted Cammie now (Cammie is Stephanie's daughter, and Stephanie passed away last year). So now Cammie's last name is Stephenson. After so many struggles, Cammie is a real challenge to raise. She has some deficits that will make her life harder, much like a child with ADHD. The other kids are small, but they seem to instinctively understand, and Cameron and Janik are really good with all of them. Janik told us that Kylie sings the song from Sleeping Beauty, about her prince coming, all the time - her dad is her prince. Isn't that cute? I always used to sing it as, "Some day my prints will come," when waiting to get pictures back from the developer. We'd wait years to send them off, and then couldn't wait to see what we'd taken. It was hilarious to see ourselves years younger. Janik gave Phillip a ride to Idaho Falls with her and some of the kids. (Cameron drove the moving van, with Braden riding shotgun). Phillip is probably excited (for Phillip) to see more family and his friends. We were pretty boring. :/ But really friendly! :) I would play in the craft room or our room, while Phillip played games in the family room and Mark worked on his job search in the dining room and Seth recovered from allergies in his room. We did go see a movie together, and we watched a couple of them on DVD. Phillip's catching up on game time, I think. One of them is a college football game, and it sounds just like a real BYU game in the next room. I grew up listening to football, back in Illinois - till my dad decided to quit watching; he felt he got too frustrated when his team lost, and besides, they were all on Sunday afternoons. Not quite conducive to spiritual reflection. Anyway, I love the background noise of a football game. Mark is waiting for further interviews on the Sequim job. The higher up the interviewer, the longer it takes to hear from them. Meanwhile, he's been doing a little work (unemployment allows you to earn a tiny bit, as long as you're seeking regular employment). It ain't much, but every little bit helps. I think it's so fun to consider all the places we could live. Many of them would be fun to explore. I think I was Daniel Boone in a previous life. Or Christopher Colombus. I'm an adrenaline junkie, and learning, discovering, and exploring are right up my alley. :) And if we lived in a house, what would we like? A cool, older home? I want a really good metal detector. I would love, love, love running it over historical and old home sites! What are you passionate about?

New Baby Jolley

Go to Haley's blog to see their new baby - he's cute! We went up and saw him Sunday evening. That was also Haley's 21st birthday. Monday was Megan's birthday - Happy Birthday to both! We also picked up Phillip at the airport on Monday. We haven't seen him in a year - he's been to Iraq meanwhile, and he actually looks better than he did when he left. More soldierly, muscular, and healthy. It's so good to have another body in the house - it was feeling deserted! Mark is on his third round of interviews with one company, and his resume has gone to their committee at another. We had adjusted pretty well, but it's up and down at times. Then we readjust. It's good for us old folks. Pictures later...