Family Milestones

ELLA'S BLESSING
Well, we were fortunate to attend Ella Lorraine Swenson's blessing on Sunday January 25th in Idaho Falls - certainly a milestone for their little family as well as ours. Ella looked like a little princess - in fact that's what her Uncle Derek calls her, "my little princess." Several of Nate's family were able to attend and George and I were there. It was a really quick trip, but worth every moment on the snowy roads. We would not have missed it!

Ella in her special dress from Grandma Kayanne!



A very proud Papa and a sleepy Ella!


Is she a tiny might or what?!?!



Heather, Ella, and Nate


Sweet kisses from mom and dad.



A beautiful mom and her daughter!



Family....what could be better?



Being a grandparent is the GREATEST!!!



Three generations of love....I think this is my favorite picture of the day.



Ooooohhh yeaaaaa ....back into soft clothes!

Gratitude

I have found that gratitude has been something that has always come easy for me. A silly thing to say or even think about I suppose, but I have always been.....well.....thankful for that. Even in the hardest of times I have always been able to find things I am grateful for. As a new year starts and things look a little bleak in many respects I am grateful for all that I have. I am especially grateful today for the kind thoughts and acts of others. This past Christmas was great. I was thinking of the wonderful gifts I received and I thought about how I was just as grateful for the thought that went into them as the gift itself. Matt and Chantile got George and I a cool lantern / radio / cell phone charger that you crank up, so no batteries are needed. They knew we have been trying to follow the counsel from our church leaders and be prepared. Kind thoughts and acts. Amber and Zane got us a foot massager. They knew how it could be a good stress reliever and how George and I both have trouble with our feet at times. Kind thoughts and acts. Joe and Tabby got me a beautiful book with collections of Greg Olson paintings that go with the song "If the Savior Stood Beside Me." I took it to share with my nursery kids the very next Sunday and they were mesmerised with it. The best part of the whole book was Griffin's little signature in the front. Kind thoughts and acts. LJ got us a gift certificate to Pizza Hut. He knows how busy we are and how we often get a bite to eat on our way home at the end of a long day. Kind thoughts and acts. Perhaps the gift that touched my heart the most wasn't for me or from me. I received a call a few days before Christmas. Vicky, my sister, had an unusual excitement in her voice. She had read Amber's blog about wanting a certain nativity set but lamenting that the expense was going to leave her wanting it still. Vicky happened to have the set and packed it up and sent it to Amber. Vicky's joy about the surprise was very contagious and I found myself giddy with excitement to see Amber's face when she opened the package. Well, a comedy of errors pursued with incorrect zip codes (MY FAULT!) and UPS sending it all over the country, but finally the package arrived. And it arrived on a day that I was babysitting so I could see Amber's face first hand! Tender mercies for sure!! Well, needless to say she was thrilled beyond words. I found it hard to hold back the tears as a spontaneous cheering erupted in the room. Zane was snapping pictures, Ciara was dancing around singing, "I love it, I love it!" Dalin was squealing with delight, not knowing perhaps what was really going on, but feeling the spirit just the same. It was wonderful. It was an amazing Christmas gift for everyone. Kind thoughts and acts indeed. I am grateful for that. I am grateful for my family. I am grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who gave us the ability to have emotions.

Griffin's First Sleep Over

About a week ago Griffin got to sleep over - his first sleep over at Grandpa and Grandma Julie's house. It was fun. Is this a cute little cherub or what?! Check out those gorgeous eyelashes!!

Riddle: What's more peaceful than watching a sleeping child?


Answer: Snuggling with one!!! We love you Griffin!!

More Birthday Fun!

Splish, splash!! For Jasmine's birthday, Matt and Chantile gave her a party at a local indoor water park. We had a family party on her actual birthday. I think there were six girls that went and had a fantastic time! I stopped by to snap a few pictures - what a fun place!! There was an enormous bucket (like 8 or 10 feet in diameter and probably 10 feet tall) that would fill and then spill out on any thrill seekers brave enough to take the beating. Ciara thought it was absolutely hilarious and I could hear her squeal and giggle above the roar of all the water. What a funny kid. Jasmine seemed to be having the time of her life. A very welcomed departure from the ice and snow only feet away on the outside of the building. Chantile was brave to chaperon. Me, being the Nervous Nelly I am, would have been a reck by the end of the afternoon, but Chantile was loving it. Matt bailed and went to see Russ - party pooper. :-) I regret I didn't get a picture of Chantile watching the kids play - she was really cute.

These are Jasmine friends that got to go with her.



Ciara - laughing at the bucket dumping.


Happy Birthday Jasmine!!

Christmas Day at the Kotter's

Amber and Zane invited us over to their house for dinner on Christmas Day. Zane's mom and dad, Rich and Ronda Kotter and two of his brothers, Travis and Jared, came for Christmas. It was so awesome to see them. I just love that family!! We stopped and picked up Chantile and Jasmine and drove in to Billings for a wonderful dinner and family home evening. Travis gave us an impromptu lesson about the first vision and did a marvelous job - I guess those missionary discussions stay with you! Then we sang a few songs together. It was a wonderful evening!

Dalin loves his family! He squeals and smiles when ever he sees Papa!



He loves his Grandma Kotter too and it's pretty obvious how she feels about him, no?!



Grandpa Kotter played for us while we sang Christmas songs!


Jared played Christmas songs on his guitar. He did a great job! Look out Roger Daltry!


Travis is on the left and Jared is on the right. They are Zane's younger brothers. Travis is a return missionary - he went to Brazil.



Rrrrrrrr ...... Down.....set....hike........hike!

Christmas 2008

Christmas Eve brought fun, laughter, presents, and love. We had a Christmas Eve lunch as Matt had to work at 3 P.M. (Bummer) and then opened a few of our gifts. We have always had the tradition to open one gift on Christmas Eve, but with the kids grown and having families of their own and building their own traditions, we often open up all or most of the gifts after our dinner. Tabby wasn't feeling well so we missed her and Joe, but Griffin came with LJ and that was great! We all ate too much - well - I know I did - and had a wonderful time.


Chantile - such a cute Christmas elf!!

Amber stuck these bows on Dalin's head - he had just awakened from his nap and wasn't quite sure what was going on. He kept looking over to Matt who was sitting next to him with a, "what are they doing to me, Uncle Matt?" look on his face. It was pretty funny!

Uh, uh, uh....tools.....who cares if they're pink!

I painted this for Ciara to go in her room - I think she liked it. The lettering on the painting says "Just because you're small ... Doesn't mean you can't do BIG things." I know she can be or do anything she sets her mind to. I believe that about all our grand kids -

I think this was one of Matt's favorite gifts - it's a set of mini remote control helicopters Amber and Zane got for him. He's a big RC fan!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Isn't Jasmine a beautiful girl!!

Griffin is a car nut - he got soooooo excited about these cars. (He gets excited about ALL cars!) I wish I had a video clip so you could hear the excitement in his voice - he was way cute dancing around as Uncle Zane opened the box for him. I am so glad he got to come. He brought smiles to everyone!

An elephant?! Wow, how did you know I love elephants??!!

Ella's Grand Entrance!

She's here! She's here! Little Ella Swenson arrived safe and sound yesterday morning although she is almost a month early. As far as I know everyone is safe and doing fine. Heather is feeling well, tired, but OK. I haven't had a chance to talk to her yet, but George did yesterday several times, and it sounds like things went fine. Ella weighed 5 pounds and 7 ounces and was 19 inches long. I think Nate has pictures to post on their family blog ( nhswenson.blogspot.com ). I checked this morning but he hadn't posted them yet. Hmmmm....do ya think he might have been a wee bit tired when he went home from the hospital last night??!! What an amazing Christmas present! Now we have 3 grand-daughters and 2 grand-sons. Each one of them is a treasure to us. Now all I want to do is get in the car and drive to Idaho Falls. These things kick my "mother-heart" into over drive! Congratulations Nate and Heather and Ella! Oh, and Tank too. He will be a good big "brother." He may have to work on his "gentle" skills a little. Can't wait to see you guys!!

Here We Go a Caroling!!!

For the Wednesday Night youth activity at church the leaders took the kids caroling. George loaded a trailer up with hay bails and the kids and off we went. We went to a few members homes and sang and the kids sang while we drove as well. It was a fun night even though it was so cold. It was only around zero degrees - brrrrrrrr! After the singing we all went to the church for pizza and hot chocolate! It was a fun night!


These are the great people that George is blessed to work with! We just love them all!!


Lock and load! (As they say in Montana)


We have great kids in our ward - they are amazing!


Tammy Wheeler stayed behind and cooked the pizzas and made the hot chocolate - the kids loved the food.

Singing Sensation!

On Tuesday, 12.16.08, Jasmine had her annual Christmas Concert at school. She attends the Park City Schools which is a very small district. In fact, Kindergarten through 12th grade is all in one building complex. There are advantages and disadvantages with such a small town and school, but one great thing is the parent support! There is always a big crowd - standing room only - for any event the kids are having. I love that about Park City! Jasmine did a wonderful job singing and looked so beautiful!! I love you, Jasmine!!


A very proud Mom waiting to see her little star!


My beautiful Jasmine!


Oh how she loves to perform!!

One of Life's Milestones!

Well, It's been a whole year! Dalin had his FIRST BIRTHDAY yesterday (12.10.08). We had a fun party at Amber and Zane's house - enjoy the pictures!!





(Dalin opened some Christmas gifts early at Grandma Kotter's house and got into a little trouble)










Dalin got Ciara a gift too - a microphone - he's a class act!

Dalin obviously needed a bath after the cake .........

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, I LOVE YOU, Dalin!!!

Love, Grandma Julie