Anna Speaks

Finally, I have been able to post a video of Anna speaking. This was recorded on her 9 month birthday, 12-10-09. Anna had been babbling away to us so, I grabbed the camera. Mark was standing behind me trying to keep the other kiddos quiet and keep Anna's attention. It's a little loud at first, but you can clearly hear her say, Dada and bye-bye. We may finally have a kid that speaks before age 2. LOL

My "Cool" Girl

Emily was digging through the hall closet and happened upon her black leather jacket. I got inspired and used my make-up on her. Yes, I put make-up on my eight-year-old. I want to call her a "Bad Bleep", but since my mom accesses my blog at work, I'll keep it clean.

What a difference a smile makes:

Happy Birthday, Garrett!

Garrett turned four years old on October 14, 2009. We had his family birthday party on Sunday evening. The little guy requested balloons, party hats, cake and pizza. He can't make up his mind which super hero he likes best, so he had batman plates, spiderman napkins and a superman cake.

Garrett is such a smart and funny guy! He always has something witty to say and it will usually make you laugh. These days, he has gone to calling himself: Super-Fast Garrett, Spiderman Garrett, Batman Garrett or Superman Garrett. Can you see a running theme here? In keeping with the theme, Garrett received all hero related gifts this year. Among the favorites are his Spiderman costume courtesy of Aunt Jessica, Uncle Jeremy and cousin Morgan, his super hero set from Meemo and Papa and his batcave from his brother and sisters.

That pizza really hit the spot...............now I am just going to sit back, relax and wait for some cake.

I'm tired of smiling, just cut the cake already! Is this good enough?

Superman cake that I spent hours creating. Destroyed in less than 5 minutes.

Time Sure Does Fly!

Nine days since my last blog post. Better than the 2 month drought though. We've been easing into the new homeschooling year. Today, Emily started rhyming words all on her own. This was a pleasant surprise as she had struggled with rhyming in public school. One of the greatest "tools" for homeschooling her has become apparent by accident. She loves to use a magna-doodle to do her spelling and math. I still have to make her do work sheets so we'll have something to put in her portfolio, but the majority of her work is done on a magna-doodle. Hey, whatever works! ----That's my teaching philophosy.

Jeepers!

It has been over 2 months since my last entry! Bad, bad Christi. So much has happened in that time. We went to Texas at the end of July/beginning of August. And just two weeks ago our faithful computer finally gave out on us. I will have to take some time soon to update everyone on the trip to Texas and the following weeks, but for now I have to make this short. I did want to mention that Anna Jaye turned 6 months on on 9-10-09. I've included a few pics of the big day. The first one is my absolute favorite picture of her so far:

Smiles and a New/Old Chair

You should all know that I have changed the settings to this blog. Now anyone can leave a comment whether or not they have a google account. The only condition is entering a security word (provided at the time of the comment). This is to prevent spammers from leaving comments. So, if you are reading this, please let me know. I love to hear from people!

Anna has been smiling for a couple of weeks now, but I haven't been able to capture them on camera until today. First, the batteries were dead. Then I would get her to smile, only to have the red light before the flash irritate her. I fiddled with ways to make it work and finally succeeded today. Here are the results:

Trying for a smile..................

Almost got it.........................

There it is!!!

Hey, I could get used to this!

A few days ago, I stopped in at Goodwill to look around. I do this periodically because you never know what you may find. This time I was actually looking for something I could work out in. No sense in spending lots of money on clothes in my current size when I don't plan on being this way for long. I did find a pair of shorts and a shirt that will work for now. I also found this:

I love this chair! I walked into Goodwill and it was sitting at the front of the store. I sat in it for about 5 seconds before I decided it had to be mine. It may not look it, but this chair is very comfortable. I have been wanting a reading chair for awhile now and this one will do nicely. It will have to be reupholstered sometime soon, but until then I can get a cover for it. At any rate, it was a steal at $5.00! Now I just have to find a place to put it other than the front hall......

My Uncle Ken

My Uncle Ken passed away on Saturday, May 23, 2009 at the age of 63. His passing was very unexpected and our family is dealing with the shock and grief. Services are being held on Friday. I cannot be there so I hope that this blog post will somehow stand in my absence. I want to remember Ken and do so in a way that will honor him.

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These are some of my memories:

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Ken and his family moved from Texas to California when I was just a little kid so he was not a part of my everyday life like most of the rest of the family. However, the distance did not diminish his presence. I clearly remember gathering at my Granny's house on Christmas Eve and opening packages that came from "California". There was always great excitement for these gifts because even though Ken and his family lived so far away, they always knew the perfect gift for the person who's name they had drawn. I still have a doll that Ken's son sent me one Christmas. The doll's name is "Junior" and now Emily plays with him. And every Christmas Eve while we all together, we could expect a call from Ken.

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When I was seven, my family took a vacation from Texas, through New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, California, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and back home. While we were in California, we stayed with Ken and his family. I was so excited to stay at their house because they had 2 stories. Somehow, I thought it would feel different to sleep upstairs. LOL. We did lots of neat things while we were there; we all went to Disneyland and panning for gold. But one day, Ken wanted to show my dad a house he was building for a doctor. Being the curious child that I was, I tagged along. Hand in hand with my dad, Ken showed us around this magnificent house he was building. Even then, at the age of seven, I knew he had some real talent and skill.

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I didn't see my Uncle Ken again until six years later. All of his siblings and their families (including me!) met up with Ken and his family in Las Vegas. I don't remember much of the adults during this trip. (Hey, I was a newly minted teenager and I was having too much fun hanging out with all the cousins!) But I have this image in my head of Ken standing outside the hotel, near the valets with a camera around his neck and a big grin on his face. I know by this image that he loved being surrounded by family.

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During his time in California, Ken and my dad would make wagers on the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys. It's a random memory, but one that made my dad smile.

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A few years ago, Ken and his wife, Norma, moved to Texas. I had already moved to the Carolinas by that time so I still missed being a part of the everyday life of our extended family. However, every time I saw Ken on my return trips I was welcomed with a big hug like I have never been away.

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Some final thoughts:

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Because we lived so far away from each other during most of my life, I didn't get to know my Uncle Ken in an everyday manner. Still, he was a legend within our family. I grew up hearing tales of when he and my dad and their sisters were little. I heard of his great service to our country during Vietnam. I heard about his three tours of duty and the same number of purple hearts he received. I also heard of how he drove all night once to save my dad, but you'll have to ask my dad about that.

More than a legend though, my uncle Ken was a good man that loved his family and his friends. He always had a ready laugh and a good comforting hug for you. He was not an idle man and even if he was still, you could almost see his brain working. I know all that knew him and loved him will miss him, including this long-distance niece.

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http://www3.cottonwoodtexas.com/obituaries/191/ken-farmer-passed-away-saturday