At Family Member’s Home | The Beauty Around Us

Welcome Harper and Juniper!

Our grandchildren arrived on May 18. Harper was born at 5:04 PM and weighed 6lbs. 11oz. June was born at 5:06 PM and weighed 6lbs. 13oz. My stepdaughter and babies are doing great. I LOVE being a grandma!

I took this photograph of the girls today. The girls are 3 days old.

Juniper (on left) and Harper

Easter Vacation: Family Visit

Bob and I spent the Easter weekend in Alexandria, Virginia. We used to go to Virginia a few times a year to visit Bob’s brother and our sister-in-law. We have missed those trips to Virginia, since John and Dorothy moved to Hawaii. We miss visiting with John and Dorothy; however it is still possible to get our Virginia “fix” by visiting my cousin, Vernon, and his family.

When we visited Vernon and Wendy in May 2011, their family had recently been increased by 1. Their son, Aiden, was born on May 14. We were among the first to meet baby Aiden.

This is my favorite photograph of Aiden from our May 2011 visit.

Aiden giving Daddy a fist bump

Fast forward 11 months, and here are the photographs that I took of Aiden this year.

Aiden was fascinated with Bob’s mustache and beard!

Aiden checks out Bob’s beard and mustache.

I LOVE Aiden’s baby blue eyes!

In addition to visiting with Vernon and family at his home, we accompanied the three of them to Wendy’s mother’s house on Saturday, April 7th, for the Seder — the focal point of the Jewish Passover celebration. It was nice to see Wendy’s mother and sister again, as the last time we saw them was at Vernon and Wendy’s wedding in October 2009. A book entitled “30 Minute Seder” provided for a memorable Seder Passover that both engaged and entertained all participants.

The Nursery

The nursery is ready for the arrival of our grandchildren.

The changing table was the last furniture item to be placed in the room.
Soon it will be full of diapers and wipes.

We now await the arrival of Harper and Juniper.

Emily and Dan

My niece, Emily, and her boyfriend, Dan, requested a photo session while Bob and I were visiting my brother and his family at their camp this past weekend. I was more than happy to oblige.

Emily is 13 weeks pregnant.
Will I have a new great nephew or great niece?
That is the question.

A Day at the Camp

We visited my brother and his family at their camp this past Sunday (July 3). The camp is located an approximate 1 1/2-hour drive east of where we live. There were 22 people, including Bob and I, five dogs and one cat at the camp that day. We had a good visit with everyone. I created a slideshow to showcase some of the photographs that I took that day.

Memorial Day Visit with Cousins

We visited with my cousins Vernon, Wendy and Aiden for several hours on Memorial Day.

We hadn’t seen Vernon and Wendy since their wedding in October 2009, so there was much to catch up on. Even though we have stayed in touch via telephone calls and Facebook, I feel face-to-face conversations are the most rewarding. We had a very good visit. As is usually the case when good times are being had, the time went by much too quickly.

Vernon and Wendy have a new son. Aiden was born on May 14th. We were honored to be among the first to meet him.

Aiden giving Daddy a fist bump

R.I.P. Jasper

Due to kidney failure my stepdaughter’s cat, Jasper, was put to sleep on 4/4/2011.

Stacey shared her feelings about Jasper on Facebook. I don’t believe Stacey will mind if I share her words with you. Stacey wrote that Jasper “was my buddy, always there wanting to rub his head on me, or following me around the house telling me stories. I’ll never find another cat like him. He was truly unique.”

Jasper, you were loved by many. All those who loved you will miss you. R.I.P. Jasper.