Pretty Baby

Look at this picture Jodie took of Kara. I stole it off Jodie's blog. Isn't it great? Jodie's doing very well with her new camera isn't she? And look at Kara's new tooth. You can just see it there on her bottom row. Isn't this baby just perfect in every way???

It really is a wonderful life!

Check this out...it's our youngest granddaughter, Kara, sleeping on the Santa blanket. Isn't she adorable? I mean really - what a face!! Look at those cheeks. And that hair. And that little nose and precious little hands. Ahhhhhh, how can I explain the absolute joy of seeing her for the very first time in person? Oh I know just the word...magical.
I have more pictures, of course, but they're on my other camera and the cord to download my other camera is currently MIA. I'm sure I'll run across it eventually and then I will bombard you all with many more pictures of this little beauty (and her mom!).
In the meantime, here's a picture of me and my youngest. Yesterday was Jake's 17th birthday. (sigh) Can't believe it was 17 years ago when we met him for the very first time. Has it really been that long? Sheesh.

Now for the next 3 weeks, we'll have two 17 year olds in the house. Kaleb and Jacob are "Irish twins"...they're 11 months and 9 days apart. It's actually pretty cool having kids that close in age. Well, it's cool now. Back when they were both in diapers, "cool" isn't the word I would have used to describe the situation. lol

Adding to my absolute joy and happiness during this wonderful holiday season, my oldest son Nick is home from Okinawa!!!! I'm so dang happy about this that I could just burst!! Look at him:

Isn't he perfect? Oh, I'm sorry - ya'll didn't know that I had perfect children, did you? Well, it's true...all four of them are simply spectacular perfection. At least for this one month of their lives. LOL And once Nick's perfect wife, Jodie, and my perfect granddaughters, Maddy and Kara, return to Texas from Florida, I'll have my perfect family all together for this glorious holiday season. I've already scheduled a session at a photo studio to have our picture taken - all our kids and all our grandkids and Randey and me - together at last! I'm not usually real big on the whole picture taking thing (if it includes me in the photos, that is), but this is special.

Anywho - before all this excitement of Jake's birthday and of seeing Nick and Jodie and Kara, I spent a couple of days wrapping gifts. I wrapped and I wrapped and I wrapped. And then I wrapped some more.

I've decided that wrapping is my least favorite part of the Christmas fun. Well, it's not so much the wrapping as it is the decorating of the packages. I was a bit overwhelmed this year so I kind of cheated. I used some old decorations from years past (like the little wreath pictured on the red and white striped picture above), but for the most part, I did just basic tied bows. So much for getting fancy this year, eh? I guess it doesn't really matter - little Skye and Maddy Moose won't care that Granny didn't attach Rudolph candy canes and sleigh bells to all the packages...they think all the glitter and shine is eye-candy enough. And I think looking at their sweet little faces as they gaze at the Christmas decorations with such wonder is eye-candy enough for me.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

I almost forgot - here's a little shout out to Charlotte back in my home state -

GO OU!!!!!!!!!!!!

:)

Howdy Strangers!

See this?Know what it is? It's my new laptop (and somewhere in Florida, Susan just fell off her chair laughing because one of the last things I said to her before she left Texas was that I "hated to break the news to Randey, but we're NOT getting a laptop!"). See, Randey suddenly started talking about the need for a laptop during their visit. Remember I had computer problems fairly recently, but that Randey had fixed the problems? Well, apparently, Randey the Soothsayer knew more than he was letting on about the health of my computer. I, however, was blissfully ignorant so when he started talking about a laptop "just for me", I thought he'd lost his mind. I mean, sure...it was a nice thought and all, but a laptop was a luxury, not a necessity because, after all, he'd fixed my computer, right? Well here's a little lesson for all of you. Apparently your computer simply cannot withstand the ravages of having three teenagers using it for all manner of downloads to Zunes, downloads of games, myspace discussions, etc., etc., etc. And while my old computer will still turn on (eventually) and it will still allow me to do certain things, it has also developed an annoying habit of totally locking up for no particular reason. I tried using Randey's work laptop for a while, but after I'd typed out this big, long, detailed comment on someone's blog and his computer opted for the "blue screen of death" rather than actually posting said comment, I lost my temper and threatened to send our family back to the stone age as far as computer ownership goes. Then, after we'd run to Target the next night for some little something, Randey casually suggested we head next door to Best Buy. And before I knew it, I was the proud owner of a new laptop of my very own. Now I just have to figure out how to use it - it took forever and a day to figure out how to download photos to it (and took even longer to find the stupid cord. I used to download pictures via the printer). But I think I'm back on track now. I've finally been able to do the "snack tip" post (which is right beneath this one). I also have a few more recipes to post and will be writing that post over the next 2 days. Meanwhile, check out the snack tip post and check out these cute little Halloween things we found for our youngest granddaughter, Kara:
Cute, huh? The little pumpkins on the booties rattle when you shake them. (Yes, ma'am - it's almost that time of year again!!!) Kara will be wearing little noise makers on her feet - hope she finds them as entertaining as I do (the boys and Randey are probably sick of hearing me shake them. lol). Speaking of the boys...Kaleb came home from work the other night and, after a stop in the kitchen, came to ask us "what's with the George Bush spaghetti sauce sitting on the counter?". Randey and I looked at each other, wondering what on earth was he talking about. This is what he saw:
Kids today. I mean really. I'm apparently only one of about 28% of Americans who actually still like W, but even I would never compare him to Paul Newman. Geez. My first instinct was to rush out and rent a copy of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in order to educate my child on the natural wonder that is Mr. Paul Newman. And if he ever looks at Robert Redford and calls him Dick Cheney, maybe I will. LOL

First a Moose, Now a Monkey

Here's some more pictures of our newest granddaughter, Kara. I stole these off of Jodie's blog. (Jodie's her mommy, of course.)
Look at those chubby cheeks! Isn't she precious, the way she's sleeping? What a cutie. And here she is, looking like a wise old Chinese man. (Confucius say....)
Now look at this face...she's finally got her eyes open in this one. I love that little smile. So sweet...

And then the eyes are shut again. It looks like she's saying "I'm done with you...go away now". (I'm thinking this little girl is going to develop into quite the diva one day.)
Awwww, here's my baby holding his baby. How sweet is this?
And now we come to the money shot. This is the picture that is truly earning her her nickname...Monkey.
She's making a bit of a monkey face and it's something she apparently does quite a bit. According to her very own mother, she also has "monkey hair" too. So there you go...we have a Maddy Moose (although I'll have to say up front that"Moose" wasn't decided on because Maddy made Moose faces, whatever those would look like! lol) and now a Monkey Baby. I told Nick that's what I was going to call her. He insists she doesn't look like a monkey. I told him to ask Jodie. lol And since Jodie came up with it originally, I'm not feeling too bad. Besides, she's the cutest monkey I've ever seen in all my born days. I can't wait to hold this little girl. Fingers crossed that we'll get to around Christmas!!

In the meantime, here's a look at the books we've bought her:
And yeah, I do think she's smart enough to read already, but since we don't want her to develop eye strain at such a tender age, her Grandpa and I are going to record ourselves reading these books to her. Then we'll send the recordings to her Mommy and Daddy so they can play them for her at bedtime. Maybe that way, at least our voices will be familiar to her when we meet. (Fingers crossed for that, too!).

My Favorite Picture of Kara

Don't you just love this picture? She looks so uppity. lol

"I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille!".

Introducing.....PERFECTION!

Or, as her parents like to call her, Kara Elizabeth. (Of course, as her grandmother, I feel I should announce this as, "Another Jedi is born!" lolololol - Hey! What do you expect from someone who calls herself "Granny Skywalker"???) Isn't she stunningly beautiful? I mean honestly. Have you ever seen such a pretty baby? Personally, I have not. (Well, not since November 20, 2005, when Conner was born and then, of course, way back in 1999 when Ms. Maddy made her way into the world!)

Here's a group photo of the family. That's Maddy Moose on the left, Baby Kara, Jodie and Nicholas (Mr. OU). Funny how Maddy seems to be the most alert one of the bunch. You'd think Jodie, Nick and Kara had just run a marathon or something, wouldn't you? lol

Check out the toes on Kara! Nick had said she had some long ones. Nick was not wrong!! lol Bless her heart...I think she could hang from a tree limb with those things! (Beautifully formed, though, aren't they?)

Awwwww - here's another shot of Ms. Kara's face. HOW CUTE IS SHE??????

Here's Nick, pestering the poor little darlin'. What is it about a baby's mouth that just makes people want to play with their lips? Can you see her trying to open her eyes?

And here's Nick....still playing with her mouth.

And here's Kara, finally looking up to see who in the heck has been aggravating her so. And it's DADDY! Yay! (She looks smitten with him, doesn't she? - I'm thinking the feeling's mutual!)

Here's Maddy holding her newest little sister. Moose is an old pro at being a big sister. Kara looks perfectly happy to be with her, doesn't she? Oh, by the way, Kara weighed in at 8 lbs, 4.5 ounces and is 21 inches long. At least, that's what the e-mail said. We thought we were first told that she weighed 8 lbs, 1 oz. and was 23 inches long, but I may have written that down wrong in the excitement of the moment. She was born April 17th at 5:25 a.m. (Okinawa time, which means it was something like 3:25 p.m., April 16th, central standard time. I think. That time change thing always confuses me. I quickly become my village's idiot whenever asked to figure it out. lol). Okay, I'm off to send some e-mails to those who don't read my blog.

P.S. She doesn't read my blog, but I still have to say a great big THANK YOU to Jodie's friend and neighbor, Samantha, for calling us with the news of Kara's birth and for e-mailing all these pictures (these were just a few that she sent - what a great friend, eh?)

Blessings

Allow me to introduce to you.............(drumroll please)..........Kara Elizabeth!Kara is my youngest granddaughter. Isn't she beautiful? Being the grandmother of Miss Maddy Moose (age 8) who is the cutest, most gorgeous and most incredibly adorable little girl in the whole wide world, I happen to know a little something about beautiful granddaughters. Oh sure, you can't really tell for yourselves just what a perfect child Miss Kara is (these black and white photos can be so unsatisfactory sometimes, don'tcha know) but trust me when I say that she is a breathtaking sight to behold. And she's due to make her grand arrival sometime in the first half of May (unless something changes). The doctor says she's a little big for her "age" so either she'll be born sooner than we think or she's going to be born chubby (and there ain't nothin' wrong with that, or so says her chunky granny!).

This next bit can't compare to the beauty of our baby Kara, but I want to share it with you anyway. As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, Randey got tickets for us to attend the Home for the Holidays show at the Ft. Worth Symphony Sunday evening. I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it was. They performed some of my all time favorites, like Carol of the Bells, White Christmas, Ave Maria, O Holy Night and Sleigh Ride. There was even a perfectly charming duet of Baby, It's Cold Outside sung by the Conductor (Ron Spigelman) and the Soprano (Julie McCoy). I simply don't know when I've had a better auditory treat (excluding all my children's band recitals, of course. Those were a joy and a pleasure to attend all their own and nothing but nothing can compare to them!). When Ms. McCoy sang Ave Maria, I was transfixed by the sheer clarity of her voice. Each individual note seemed to stir my senses in a way that actually surprised me. And when the orchestra played White Christmas, I simply shut my eyes and was magically transported to a place of pure beauty and bliss. I've wanted to do that for so long....sit in a concert hall and shut my eyes while the music swells all around me. The experience Sunday night was everything I'd ever hoped it would be. Pure magic. Ahhhhhhh............ The only thing that could have made it any better would have been if my boys had been there. All three of them love music (in all forms) and I think they would have felt this musical event just as I did, with their eyes, their ears, their hearts and their minds. (And no, I'm not forgetting that I have a daughter. I'm just pretty sure she wouldn't have loved it. To Des, if it isn't country, it's not worth listening to. Sometimes that kid just baffles me.) We're going to look into taking Kaleb and Jacob to a performance soon. As for me, I could go every week and never grow tired of listening. Magic, I tell 'ya. Pure magic.

I was reflecting this morning on all the many wonderful things that have occurred in my life lately. I'm happy to say I suffer from an embarrassment of blessings! My boys and my husband, who showed me that Christmas means more to them than just the presents. My beautiful baby granddaughter, who is healthy and happily growing in her mommy's belly. A chance to hear a real, live symphony. Life doesn't always feel this great. My cousin's unexpected passing was a big blow to so many of us. The anniversary of my grandson's birth and passing always brings a feeling of bittersweet longing. But these sad and terrible events do help me to appreciate the blessings all that much more. And for that, I am thankful.