playing catch up

We're half way through the summer here- maybe it's a little more than halfway? Audrey and Justin start school at the end of August so it feels like our summer is rapidly slipping away. It's been a busy one. I've had 5 vacant apartments to get ready, show, and fill this month and it seems like everyday someone's air conditioner is breaking or something else is going wrong.

Also last week something clicked in my brain and I've been working on getting projects done before we move. (ordering prints of pictures, then burning them onto back-up CD's, re-doing Audrey's baby book, finishing making this blog into a book etc. Even something inside me (nesting? the opposite of nesting?) is getting all excited to decorate a new place. I'm working on art for the living room and getting new prints for the kitchen.)

Justin has started his new job as a research assistant. He's studying to take the GRE next month and then will start filling out grad school applications in the fall. I'm excited/nervous/freakingoutalittlebit to see where we'll be living for the next two years at least.

In the meantime we've taken some trips, visited some family, eaten some ice cream, watched some summer storms, played at parks and all the other great things that summer should include.

Here's proof:

We're fans of Mickey Mouse at our house

visiting the waterfall in the canyon in Twin Falls. It's fun to be tourists in your own hometown.

My goodness! My husband is a good looking man.

my new very favorite picture

building a fire to make smore's with Justin's family

Yes, that is plastic packaging on his head. No, he would not let me take it off.

watching a hail storm

a gift for Audrey- a cute cat picture made by my Grandma. I love it!

the back is my favorite part- they used an old campaign poster from when my Great-Grandma ran for state representative.

movie night in a fort

my birthday present from my sister, Beth- the cutest quilt ever!

the power was out one morning so we went out to breakfast

we never eat out so it was big treat for the kids

I usually clean vacant apartments after the kids are asleep in bed. While I clean I listen to music. I don't have a stereo or fancy speakers- just my phone, but in the empty apartment the sound echos off the bare walls and it's just loud enough. Tonight it was just me and Carol King. (and a pretty big spider that I had to kill all by myself.)

A few weeks ago we traveled down to Delta, Utah to attend a family reunion on my Mom's side. A lot of the reunion was devoted to remembering my Grandpa Fred, my Mom's father, who passed away 11 years ago. His death was unexpected and hard on the family and my Grandma wanted to make sure that his 57 grandchildren and great-grandchildren knew about his life. I'm one of the older grandchildren so I remember a lot about him. There was a lot of talk about his work ethic and I already knew that he was a hard worker. My Mom had told me that there was never a time she could remember when he didn't have at least three jobs. I could see proof of it when we visited. He was a farmer and I remember him always dressed in his blue work shirt and black engineer boots. I remember him coming in late from the farm. He also owned his own trucking company and among other trips made a haul down to California at least once a week. I remember the white index card taped to the wall next to the door to the garage with his list of things to pack and do before he left each week. At the reunion they passed out t-shirts that have a picture of a big 18 wheeler truck on them with the words "Fred's Fleet" emblazonned at the top.

My Mom helped my Grandpa with all those hard jobs. She was awake at 4 am to go farm before she went to school. She learned to drive an 18 wheeler and made many many trips with him down to California. When she went to Rick's College far away from her family in Rexburg, Idaho she didn't have a car. She took a full load of classes during the day and walked everywhere she went, then after dinner she would walk the 2 miles down a hill to the restaurant where she worked as a dish washer. She would wash dishes through the night into the early morning and then make the long dark walk back up the hill to her apartment where she would get the few hours of sleep that she could before getting up to do it all again the next day.

The other day a particularly harried tenent was in my living room with complaints and then out of the blue asked, "how do you do it?" He knows that Justin goes to school full time and works at the museum, as well as helping me with the apartments and mowing the lawns. He listed how I have two kids and take care of all the paperwork involved here and clean apartments. He asked again,  "Are you just super organized or something?" I told him I wasn't really sure what the secret was and then shocked him more when I mentioned our church responsibilities on top of everything else.

His question surprised me at the time but it's true, we've never been so busy, I've never worked so hard in my life. Kids, housework, scheduling, driving, cooking, paperwork, conference calls, maintenance issues, showing apartments, and dealing with tenant problems during the day then cleaning apartments late into the night.

But I'm proud. I'm realizing how life really is- there are no free rides, no short cuts. There is only hard work and integrity and working, really working for your goals. I now have stories to tell my children about cleaning toilets and showers late at night while my babies were sleeping to put my young husband through school so that we could all have a better life. I really am discovering that 'I can do hard things.'

Every night, as I put on my old jeans and moccassins and pull my "Fred's Fleet" t-shirt over my head to go clean I'm hopeful that I'm setting the same example for Audrey and David that my Mom set for me and that her Father set for her.

my Mother

image source

my mother's scent: no purfume, just clean. laundry detergent and lotion.

my mother's hands: functional. quick, precise movements. never sloppy. wiping crumbs off counters carefully, administering care at the hospital, making crisp corners, shelling peas. crimping the edges of a pie just right.

my mother's voice: authoritative but soft. refined. smooth and reasurring. polite.

my mother's attitude: humble. no nonsense. never shrinks away from hard work. witty. loves to laugh with the right people. always, always puts her children first.

my mother's example: the little things matter. taking the time to do it right matters. playing by the rules matters. being kind and thoughtful matters. hard work matters.

I love you Mom, Happy Mother's Day!

sappy

according to "Leonardo"s signature in the corner, this photo was taken exactly 8 years ago- our first married Valentines Day

The other day we were driving to the grocery store. And talking, like we always do. And in the middle of everything Justin paused and said, "this is going to sound sappy." And I got a little excited because my husband is a man's man and doesn't say "sappy" things too often. He put his hand on my leg, looked out the windshield and said,"

"I love having the kids and I think they're great but,

all I ever really needed was you."

And I died of happiness a little bit inside. I don't think he realizes it, but when he says things like that- sincere, honest, lovely things- they mean the world to me and I remember them forever. I tried not to make a big deal about it because it would embarrass him if I did.

But I went home that night and wrote it down in my journal.

Happy Valentines Day Justin

I love you!

part three: making it official

I called my Mom, who had been anxiously but patiently waiting for me to get a chance to call. It was late at night and Audrey's birth family had gone to their hotel. Audrey was asleep in her brand new crib, in her brand new bedroom, with her brand new parents. I got my Mom on the phone and snuck into the dark bedroom. She answered and I whispered, "Mom, I have a baby." She said "Oh! You do!" She asked what the baby was doing and when I told her she was sleeping she was a little disappointed. I offered to put the phone down next to Audrey so she could hear her breathing. I know it's a little silly now, but both my Mom and my little sister crowded onto the phone and listened to my daughter sleep. And it meant the world to me that they were so excited and happy for us.

The next day we saw Audrey's birth family off and then packed up and drove down to see our parents. It probably wasn't the wisest idea since we had just had a stressful few days but we were so excited for everyone to meet her. We stopped at my parent's house first and when we pulled into the driveway my Mom was standing out on the lawn waiting for us. I stepped out of the car holding Audrey and placed her in my Mother's outstretched arms. She said "Oh, Becky" and started crying. She knew how long I had waited for this and how hard it had been. Audrey was covered in kisses by the time we reached the front door of the house. Inside she layed her down on the floor to change her diaper and my darling daughter stretched her tiny feet and hands and talked and talked and talked to her new Grandma. It's one of my favorite memories.

We drove next to Justin's parents house and had another great visit. His whole family was there to welcome Audrey.

Because Audrey had been born in Utah, we had to follow Utah's adoption laws and they required a 6 month waiting period before we could finalize the adoption. At that point they'd have a social worker come to our home and evaluate us with the baby and see if we were providing her with a good home. Those 6 months were difficult. Even though we were so excited to be parents it was difficult to go from not having a baby to having one overnight. As it is with all new parents, the transition was rough. But we also struggled with the emotional aspect of bonding with Audrey. Not in the way you'd expect, however. Because everything wasn't official and we'd had heartbreak for so long, I found myself holding back a little bit. After we'd had her for a week I thought, "If they took her away from me, I'd be okay. It wouldn't kill me." And after two weeks, I had the same thought. But then it was three weeks- and then a month. And I knew that if something went wrong with this adoption that I'd be a mess. She was ours- I knew how to get her to sleep and how to hold her bottle just how she liked it. I developed the sleeping habits of a mother- waking up at any sound she made. Justin played with her while I was cooking and could get her laughing and laughing. Audrey learned to roll over, and then started crawling. And she got excited when Justin walked in the door after work each day. We developed a routine. It became second nature to take care of her.

It was late in January the next year when I got the call from our lawyer that they'd set the date for our finalization. I was sweeping the floor in the kitchen when the phone rang and immediately got anxious. I called Justin at work and told him. We booked a hotel in Utah.

For some reason I was terrified of the finalization. I was nervous to see Audrey's birth family again and hoped that they thought we were doing a good job with Audrey. I was nervous to go stand in front of a judge. I was nervous that something would go wrong and they would take her away from us. For weeks before we went I had nightmares that the judge declared me an unfit mother, or one time there was a dream that I drank a glass of alcohol and then couldn't take Audrey to the temple to seal her to us.

February 10th came and we packed up and headed to Utah with Justin's family and my little sister. I was glad they came with us since I was so nervous. The next day on February 11, 2008 we went to the courthouse. When it was finally time for our hearing everyone went in and sat down. Justin and Audrey and I sat at a table in the front and our lawyer spoke for us to the judge, who had already looked over our social worker's report. The judge asked us why we wanted to adopt Audrey. I spoke first and all I could get out was, "I love her so much, she's made me a mother" before I was crying. Justin spoke much more eloquently than I did but I don't remember a word of what he said. The judge said that our report looked good, that we looked like good parents, and gladly approved the decree of adoption. It was done. We took pictures, did more paperwork and drove home.

The next morning is another clear memory. We woke up like normal, I scooped Audrey out of her crib and walked downstairs and started making her bottle. And I thought, "I'm her Mother." and I really felt like her mother. The day before I had seen my name on paper after paper and form after form and even on her newly printed birth certificate. The law had bound us together, and I felt more comfortable about my new role than ever before.

We sealed Audrey to us in the temple just a few weeks later, on March 1, 2008. That was another wonderful day. The ceremony was beautiful, my baby girl looked gorgeous in her white dress and our whole family was there to support us. The next day in church Justin stood up and gave her a father's blessing. In it he blessed Audrey to be like her Mother.

And I knew that he was talking about me.

the adoption story part 2

We drove down to Utah the very next weekend to meet Audrey and her birth parents. We knew Tarl, of course, since he was Justin's second cousin but had never met Megan. We arranged to have dinner with them at a restaurant in Provo. Justin and I got there first and went inside and sat down. I was so scared and nervous. When they walked in Audrey was asleep in her carrier and I tried not to stare. She was beautiful. We ordered our food and talked and got to know Megan and Tarl. They were great kids, just so young. Somewhere in the middle of dinner Audrey woke up. Megan pulled her out of her carrier and held her for a minute before turning to me and saying, "Do you want to hold her?" I said yes and I held my daughter in my arms for the first time ever. It was a strange feeling at the time- I know that Justin kept talking, but I just sat there, wondering if this baby would be my child. I wanted to kiss the top of her head but I didn't want to freak Megan out so I just kept leaning my cheek down against her soft baby hair.

The next day we saw them again, this time at Megan's house. They let me hold Audrey again while Megan and Tarl and Megan's sister asked us tons of questions about how we would parent Audrey. I'm sure they could see how nervous I was. We answered the questions as much as we could. At the time we weren't parents and had no idea about raising kids. They told us that they would take a few days to think about it and let us know. When we left their house and headed home I burst into tears in the car. The weekend had been a stressful, emotional one and I'd already surprisingly felt a bond with Audrey and it was hard to leave her. I told Justin that if they didn't let us adopt her that I was done with trying to have kids in any way. I couldn't go through this anymore.

We watched our email like hawks the next few days and answered our phone on the first ring. They were the longest few days of my life. Finally an email blinking in our inbox. Megan would like us to be Audrey's parents. We jumped up and down in our kitchen and I called my Mom. We were going to have a baby.

We got a lawyer, and a social worker and started the process. It's not easy to adopt. Background check. A 40 page stack of papers from our social worker that asked us questions about EVERYTHING in our lives. 3 reference letters from neighbors and our family. A physical from our doctor. A home check and interview from our social worker. A large check to the lawyer. On and on.

It had been about a month and we took another quick trip to the Oregon Coast with Justin's cousin, Robert. We had a great time. On the way home we got a phone call. They were bringing Audrey up on Saturday. It was Wednesday. We panicked. Once we were home I cleaned the house for days, we bought a crib and some clothes, diapers and formula. Then Saturday came. And Megan and Tarl and Tarl's mother came. And there was my baby. Tarl's mother kept calling me "Mom". It was surreal. I was so scared that I was going to do something wrong: hold her wrong, change her diaper wrong, say something wrong and make them change their minds.

They left the next day. We walked them out to their truck and then stood on the sidewalk and waved to them as we watched them pull out and turn the corner. And then Justin and I looked at each other. And we looked at Audrey. Here we were and there were three of us. Suddenly we were a family.

the adoption story

my baby girl- back before she was mine

Writing David's birth story got me thinking that I haven't written Audrey's story here. And since my ultimate goal with this blog is to make it into a book for our family, the story of Audrey coming to our family is definitely essential. And so, here we go.

I've written multiple times about our struggle with infertility. When I look back on those two and half years they are mostly blurry, thank heavens. That time is a section of my life where I know that I wasn't the greatest wife, friend, daughter, or sister. Unfortunately, I was mostly focused inward on myself and my problems...hurting. But, there are stark glaring moments during that time that stay with me, and probably always will: the afternoon that I went to the gynecologist and was diagnosed with PCOS then called my Mom and burst into tears, the empty, alone feeling I was left with that one time that I was sure that I was pregnant and then the test showed one lonely line, the palpable jealousy toward anyone else who was pregnant or had a baby that I'm sure I didn't hide well, the crying that I tried to keep from Justin late at night- it was a hard time for us.

One night Justin and I were sitting on a bench outside our little house in Twin Falls and he told me he was done. He'd had enough of the scheduled intimacy, my emotional roller coaster, the pressure, the stress. He was done trying to conceive. I was glad it was dark so he couldn't see my face, although I'm sure he heard the tears in my voice. However, I agreed. We'd give it a break. The stress was hard on our marriage and we'd run out of money for more doctor's appointments anyway.

Although I was never able to put it out of my mind we stopped talking about trying to have a baby, stopped actively pursuing getting pregnant. A few months after that in November 2006 we moved to Boise and the move helped a lot. It was great to be in a new house, in a new town, and we focused on exploring Boise and making plans for the future- a future that included just the two of us. One day in May of 2007 I was talking with my Mom on the phone and she brought up the idea of having a big family fast for Justin and I to have children. It was a great idea and so we asked our parents, and a few other selected family members to fast with us on the first Sunday in June.



That Sunday came and went, a few weeks went by and for personal reasons Justin and I decided not to attend his annual family reunion. We went to the Oregon Coast instead and had a terrific time. When we came back Justin's brother, Marc, had sent us an e-mail that had an interesting little line at the very end of it:


"p.s. Tarl is getting a divorce and they're thinking about putting the baby up for adoption. "


Tarl is Justin's second cousin who had also been at the reunion. His family lives in Utah and we hadn't seen them for a long, long time.


We'd thought about adoption, of course, but I had always assumed that if we did adopt it would be after we exhausted all fertility treatments and that we would take a more traditional route, through an agency. When I read what Marc had typed I immediately dismissed it. There were multiple reasons to: we weren't sure that we wanted to adopt, if we adopted from a family member it would be too messy, we didn't want to get in the middle of a divorce...on and on. Then a quiet thought came to my mind: "You just fasted and prayed for a baby."


With that calm, quiet feeling in our hearts we called Tarl's mother and asked what the situation was. She explained that yes, Tarl and his wife Megan were getting a divorce and they had talked briefly about adoption but they had decided against it. We told them we couldn't have children and asked them to keep us in mind if adoption came up again. A few days later she called back and said that they liked the idea of us adopting the 7 week old baby and asked if she could send us pictures.


I remember the next day vividly- sitting at the desk in our townhouse in Boise, opening the attachment on the e-mail she'd sent and seeing a tiny baby laying on a blanket. There were 3 or 4 pictures but the one that haunted me was the picture at the top of this post. We printed it out and I carried it around with me and stared at it constantly. She was beautiful. Right then I knew that we had to see where this adoption thing could take us.

the last part- delivery

The labor and delivery rooms at St. Lukes in downtown Boise are like glamorous hotel suites. Granite and hard wood finishes, jacuzzi tub etc. We walked into ours on the second floor and were very impressed. Audrey finished her chocolate milk while the nurse helped get me positioned in bed- monitor for contractions, monitor for baby's heartbeat, IV, pitocin drip. We watched it get lighter and lighter outside our window until finally the sun was up and we could see that it was snowing. The snow continued all day long, and I remember thinking that I'd have to tell our baby about the weather. I love snow.

Justin's parents came from Twin Falls and took Audrey back to our house in Nampa to get ready for her friend's birthday party. Soon after my Mom and sister arrived (complete with snacks and make-up- life savers!) and we relaxed and talked and watched Harry Potter. Every once in awhile the nurse would come in and up the level of pitocin in my IV and remind me that I should sleep but I was too excited. I was having a baby!

After a few hours my back started aching. I thought it was just from sitting/laying in one position for too long. I rolled around and shifted, my Mom positioned pillows like a pro and I found some relief. But soon it was back- a strong, burning pain in my lower back. As the pain intensified we figured out that these were contractions and I began to notice a definite increase and then decrease in the pain. "Wow," I thought "so here we go."

I had told the nurses that I wanted to go as long as possible without an epidural because I'd read that an epidural can slow down the labor process. The pain continued to increase and I was glad that my sister had left to go to a store because I wasn't able to stop the tears from coming. Justin was right by my side and quiet and later told me that he'd had a really hard time watching me handle the contractions. My mom was encouraging. I was so glad to have both of them there. Our nurse suggested I sit on a birthing ball to relieve the pressure on my back which helped a little- and I encouraged Justin and my Mom to talk so I could have something else to focus on. Finally I had dilated to a 5 and the nurse suggested an epidural saying that sometimes it could actually speed up the process since it would let my body relax. That was all I needed to hear.

The epidural was administered and I was comfortable again. My Mom and sister went to get some dinner while Justin and I sat and talked with the nurse. She knew this was my first pregnancy even though we had a daughter and wanted to know our story. We talked for awhile about the miracle of Audrey's adoption. She checked me again when it had been an hour since the epidural and her eyes got big. "Guess where you're at" she said. I hopefully said "A 6?" and she laughed and said "try a 9! You've dilated 4 cm in an hour!" She told me to call my Mom and sister and to get ready, at the rate my body was going we'd be ready to push soon.

I was fully dilated quickly and they called the on-call doctor and then had me start pushing. I'd hold my breath and push while the nurse counted to 10 three times with every contraction. After just a few minutes in the middle of one of my pushes she shouted, "I can see the head!" I lost all the breath I'd been holding and said "what?!" It all seemed so surreal. Suddenly I could feel the baby in the birth canal as well- a hard bony little ball between my hips- amazing. She had me stop pushing since the baby was obviously farther down the birth canal than they thought and the doctor still hadn't arrived. When the doctor finally came, she breezed in through the door with at least 5 other people. Curtains were pushed back, shiny instruments were pulled out of sterilized bags and laid on tables, the room was a flurry of activity. The doctor put on her mask, got into position and told me to start pushing again.

It was only two or three more long pushes and he was out- red and crying loudly- an angry little ball with dark hair and tiny hands and feet. They immediately laid him on my chest. He was perfect. I said "hello baby" and the most amazing thing happened- he stopped crying and shifted his head to look at my face. I was surprised that he'd recognized my voice so I kept talking- he laid there quietly and just watched me. It was such a special moment. A few minutes later Justin leaned over my shoulder and said something to me about the baby's hair and his eyes got bigger and he moved his tiny head to try to see Justin- another familiar voice. Thinking about it even now makes me cry.

They moved us up to our own private room on the 8th floor and offered to take David to the nursery for the night so I could get some sleep. But I couldn't let them- I pulled his bassinet next to my bed and stared at his face. Justin slept on the other side of me on the couch and I laid down and tried to sleep but I just couldn't. I couldn't take my eyes off his tiny face. I'd given birth! I'd had a baby! That magical, mysterious act that defines women- I'd done it! That mysterious thing that I'd had to watch and hear about from others but never expected that I'd be able to participate in- it had happened. And it had been more wonderful and exciting and amazing than I'd ever imagined.

the next part

source

Back in April when we estimated our baby's due date (about 2 minutes after the test came up positive) I was disappointed when I realized he would be born in December. I'd heard multiple people complain about the hassle of having birthdays close to Christmas. But as we drove into downtown Boise in the early morning and saw all the tall building decorated- sparkly lights on their edges, cone shaped Christmas trees on the very tip tops- I was glad. What a magical time of year to have a birthday!

We pulled into the hospital parking lot and walked toward the door. I was embarrassed that my pants were wet and grateful that the early hour meant less people around to see me. Just inside the main revolving door we were greeted by a 15 foot Christmas tree decorated in blue and silver and surrounded by poinsettias. It was beautiful and Audrey was completely wowed. I wish now that I had taken a picture of it. We took the elevator to triage and checked in. The lady who took my paperwork called back to get a room ready for me. I don't know what the person on the other end of the phone asked but she glanced down at my pants, laughed and said, "oh yeah, she's definitely ruptured."

We were taken back to a very tiny curtained room where I was changed into a gown and hooked up to monitors. Contractions were happening every 1-3 minutes but they were so minor that I wasn't feeling them. I was told to go walk around the hospital for 30 minutes. Justin helped Audrey change out of her pajamas and we walked first to the cafeteria- a banana for me, yogurt for Audrey, chocolate milk for everyone, then to the Christmas tree- Audrey and Justin went out to the car for our bag while I stood in the lobby and called my parents. And then back to triage- they wanted to monitor the baby's movements before they sent me to Labor and Delivery, but he was asleep. The nurse tried a few techniques to wake him up and then finally "buzzed" him with a small device she placed on my stomach that let out a loud noise and a vibration. We watched my belly jump to one side and then he was active and we moved to the Labor and Delivery room.

the story

3 months ago today.

How has it already been three months?

I start to write the story of David's birth but it is either too long and detailed or not detailed enough- it is either too emotional and personal or not personal enough- it was one of the greatest experiences of my life and the words to express it just won't come out right. Or write. (ha.) But there's so much I want to be sure that I don't forget, and it's already been three months.

3 months. And so...here goes.

3 months ago today I was lying in bed and my belly was large and my ankles were swollen and my hips were aching. It was a little after 4 am and I rolled over from my left side to my right which took a lot of pulling and shifting and grunting. Finally I settled into my pillow, shut my eyes again and tried to find sleep when I felt liquid sliding down my legs. I layed there for a few moments realizing what this meant and my heart started beating faster. I reached over and nudged Justin. It felt like some cliche line in a movie when I shook his shoulder and said,

"Justin wake up- I think my water just broke."

He bolted upright and said, "What?". I explained what I thought was happening again as I climbed out of bed and walked to the bathroom. At my doctor's office the week before the nurse had told me "If your water breaks you're going to need a sham-wow." and she was certainly right. I had to stand in the shower because the fluid just kept coming. Justin asked me what needed to be done and I had a hard time clearing my head and focusing. Adrenaline was pumping through me and I just kept thinking "I'm going to meet my baby today...I'm going to see his face...I'm going to give birth..." Justin stood in the doorway of the bathroom and I stood in the shower, dripping, and we tried to figure everything out- what were we going to do with Audrey? What about the birthday party she was supposed to attend later that day? Should I eat something before we left for the hospital? Should we install the car seat now or later? How was I going to get dressed with all this water continually cascading down my legs??

We stopped our conversation short when I started shaking. I made myself get out and get dressed, which helped calm me down, then walked around the house with a towel between my legs as I gathered the hospital bag, my pillow, and everything else we needed. Downstairs I forced myself to eat a small bowl of cheerios and then asked Justin for a blessing. Afterward we woke up Audrey, wrapped her in a blanket and stepped out into the cold morning and climbed into our car. As we pulled out onto the street Justin said, "So, December 4th. Our baby's birthday is going to be December 4th."


more to follow

On Saturday we drove down to Wendell for my Grandpa Dale's 80th birthday party.

It was a great time.

Audrey got lots of help stealing tastes of the birthday cake

my Grandma Phyllis

Happy Birthday Grandpa.

Old Family Photos

I love old photos and already have a few great ones of both my family and Justin's family hanging in our home. Recently my Uncle Dale took the time to take photos from my Great-Grandma Jane's photo albums and scan them into flickr so that everyone in the family could have access to them. I AM THRILLED. Here are a few of my favorites that may soon end up on our walls:

my Grandma Jane and Grandpa Ray

my Grandma Phyllis with my Uncle Don and Uncle Matt

my Great-Great Grandma Rie

my Grandma Jane standing in front of the house my Grandpa Ray built for them in Wendell

How fantastic are these old Wendell basketball uniforms? My Grandma Jane is in the front row on the left.

my Grandma Jane with two friends (standing for portraits on rocks seemed to be a trend)

Thank you so much to Uncle Dale for doing this for us and Aunt Eileen, if you read this, please correct any errors! How great is it to see our ancestors in different points in their lives? I love to see the clothes and activities and trends, to see again family members now gone and look for family resemblances. These truly are such a treasure.