Gem of the Week #6

Henry Ensign Thornton is Gem #5.

Youngest of our grandchildren so far being two days younger than Mima.

Being that these two babies were so close together on due dates, I could only get off work to help with one. My days of prolonged days off with the school district were over and I didn't realize until later, that my company would have accommodated more time off.

Corinne had sister in laws and I think Margot (Ben's Mom) might have been there to help.

Here is the first time we met Henry.

Corinne always has beautiful babies. 

 He looks like a doll in this picture.

 This was probably their first visit to see us in St. George.

 Corinne really enjoys having a baby. Henry has been a good addition to their family.

 He doesn't mind a bit if we hold him or get close. That is nice.

                                           Here he is examining Grandpa Fred's "furr" 
                                      (that's what Corinne called her Daddy's arm hair when she was little)

His brothers LOVE him.

 Another visit with us at our neighborhood park.

 First birthday.

  He needed a bath after cake.

Little Pirate brushing his teeth too.

 He is a beautiful boy. Overall pretty relaxed and calm except he does let you know when he doesn't like something. He is a screamer.

  Henry is a very good eater.

 Great Grandpa Burke reading new books to him.

Tuckered out at Disneyland. I thought Corinne looked so beautiful with him. I admire her so much.

Henry  

Of all our grandchildren, I have had the least amount of time with Henry. Now that Corinne works full time, she doesn't have leisure time to send pictures and updates. Her work schedule includes Saturdays so going up to visit as often as we could isn't worth it for one day together.
Life doesn't always turn out as you plan.
Hopefully the future will accommodate more visits so I can enjoy Henry more.

Gem of the Week #5

So Gem #5 is Mima.

I was really happy when Shannon announced we had a granddaughter on the way.

I waited a long time and four grandsons for her.

Even better is she is turning out to be all girl. Which simply thrills me to no end.

Mima loves stuffed animals.

The challenge we have with Mima is she does not cozy up to us really at all.

She loves her Momma best and makes no apology for it. 

Even Brian gets left out a lot of the time. 

Somehow Grandpa got in close for looking at books. Lucky guy!

 I have shown great restraint in not buying tons of little girlie outfits for Mima.

This is probably the first one I sent. It is so hard to not go crazy. I've made her a dress and bought her another outfit for Christmas this year. 

 This little yellow dress is one we bought for Shannon when we lived in Japan when she was three.

I'm glad to see saving it all these years paid off.

 I love this picture for several reasons. 

I love the look on Buddy's face - kind of don't mess with my sister.

I love Mima's little piggie tail on top.

I love that she looks so feminine.

 This picture captures the absolute joy these two girls have being together.

 I just like her smirk in this picture.

 Do I even need to explain why I love this picture?

 Or this one? I think my Mom would have loved this little headband. It's so Taye!

 When Mima was little, she absolutely was not a cuddler. She always hung back like this with her arms dangling. 

 Pretty much she is always happy. Love her one little dimple.

 This is when I knew Mima had crossed over to the world of pink and princess. 

I love this little girl. She doesn't have to do anything but be herself. 

She truly is a dream come true for me.

Gem of the Week #4

Gem #4 is Buddy.

I have to start with this picture. 

It's a good Grandma moment.

Most of Buddy's moments are with his Grandpa Fred.

They are buddies.

Pretty Cute as Where is Waldo for Halloween this year. 

 Living in Colorado has been so much fun. Buddy can play outside in his own backyard.

 Buddy has big emotions. Especially back in these days. He had a rough first couple years of life. Some delays in speech made for a very frustrating period of time for Buddy and Mom & Dad. Another huge blessing that came as a result of their move to Colorado, was getting Buddy connected with specialist that have been working with him to get him caught up developmentally.

 Buddy loves all vehicles related to construction ~ all called Bobs. 

(From Bob the Builder)

 I think this was the moment we realized that these two have a special bond.

 Shannon sent us this photo after they returned home from a visit with us at our house. 

She said it was Buddy staring out the window missing Grandpa.

 Buddy loves our little vacuum. We are giving him one for Christmas this year.

 This was a scary bump in the road when Buddy got RSV.

He was in the hospital for several days.  

  Buddy came to us through IVF (Infertility and In-Vitro Fertilization)

He is pretty much a miracle really. 

We enjoyed having Shannon's family so close to us for a couple of years before they moved away from Las Vegas. It was a great move for them even though we are sad to be so far apart now.

It made such a difference in my relationship with Shannon's family.

I wish we could see all of our grandchildren more. When I retire, I'm pretty sure I will be doing more of that.

We love you Little Buddy. You are so full of vim and vigor. (Ebullient vitality and energy)

reflecting

Yesterday at church while the Sacrament was being passed, I was watching one of our new deacons. For some reason I got lost in many thoughts in relation to our young men and the priesthood. When these young men advance in the offices of the Aaronic Priesthood, it really is only a short time that they perform these duties of passing, preparing and blessing the Sacrament. Sure there are times that the Melchizedek Priesthood assists with the Sacrament, but it is no longer their responsibility on a regular basis.

My next train of thought went to Scott. I searched my memory of an image of him passing the Sacrament as a Deacon and I could not come up with one. I know I watched him, but I don't have an image. Then I thought about him preparing and blessing the Sacrament and again, no particular image came to my mind.

Fred and I talked about this over lunch after church. He agreed with my experience and also shared that all of Scott's teenage years Fred was serving in the Stake and simply was not in our ward. He said by the time Scott was in his last year of high school he realized that he missed all of that.

It was a melancholy kind of day. We are so proud of Scott. He is so amazing. Scott does not speak unkindly about anyone or anything. He is so enthusiastic about what's going on in his life. Always a happy report when he calls. He does amazing things wherever he goes to take everything to the next level. I don't know about Fred, but I sometimes marvel and wonder where he gets these traits. It doesn't appear that Scott has developed or learned any of our bad habits. He is a good and honorable man. We love him.

  

Gem of the Week - Spencer

Spencer will be turning seven on January 1st.

My fondest memories of Spencer are from the time when Corinne and the boys lived with us.
He had just turned one year old. 

During this time, Spencer went to daycare while Corinne worked.

I got to pick Spencer up most everyday.

At the beginning he would cry and come running. Progressively, he got more comfortable there and would be engrossed in play when I arrived. He was such a beautiful cutie pie. It really was wonderful to have a little baby in the house for that time. 

Here is Spencer "sleeping" beside Henry.

 I think a good word to describe Spencer is "Imp"

Maybe not that he is truly mischievous, but he truly has that look. 

 Spencer is a handsome boy. He is doing really well in school. His teacher gives him high praise.

I think Spencer gets a little lost in the brotherhood. I feel like he wants to please and get along with his older brothers. Between all the boys, I feel like he is the one that has deep thoughts and is a survivor.

He also has such beautiful big brown eyes. Even though I don't get as involved with these boys and play (it's a granpa thing), I would love to sit with Spencer and read a book. Just sit close by. I kind of miss the closeness I felt with him when he was a baby.

Spencer will always hold a special place in my heart.