Becky's Blog

My GRANDbabies updates:

2010-06-21T17:46:00.005-05:00

I know it has been a long time since I updated my blog but I spend most of my updating time on Facebook. These pics are of Braden and Madilyn. These are just a few of the pics Ashley had taken for a special Father's Day gift for Brandon. They are both growing up so fast. I love it when they come to visit MeMe and PaPa. I will have to download my pics of Jacob and Lauren and post them later.

Madilyn at PaPa and MeMe's house.

2009-08-03T08:11:00.007-05:00

We thoroughly enjoyed our time spent with our precious GRANDdaughter Saturday evening and Sunday. She will be 1 year old in September and the time has gone by so quickly. She has such a sweet personality and she loves to give kisses. She is trying to walk and gets brave at times letting go of whatever she might be holding on to at the time.

A lot of the toys that she is playing with were toys that I have kept that were Jerrod's, Trista's and Brandon's.

PaPa loved getting all her hugs and kisses while MeMe was taking pictures.
She always wakes up in a good mood ready for breakfast. She is wearing part of it on her clothes. She needed to sneeze right after I had given her a bite of fruit.
She went to church with us and loved singing during the Praise and Worship but I had to take her to the nursery since she wanted to keep singing while Pastor was preaching. She is waving bye-bye and is saying quite a few words. She is definately a baby on the move. You can tell how much she loves her Mommy & Daddy when they walked in the door to pick her up. Thank you Ashley and Brandon for sharing this precious angel with us. We truly love our time spent with her. ;)

It's been awhile!!!

2009-08-01T18:02:00.003-05:00

I know it has been quite some time since I posted anything on my blog but I have been working at PVR doing housekeeping and giving mom a break for the month of July. People have NO idea what has to be done to keep the restrooms (12 toilets, 3 urinals,4 showers 12 sinks), 5 cabins, etc clean. Some people just don't know how to clean up after themselves and I feel sorry for their parents and or spouses if they leave the same kinds of messes in the bathrooms at home. Who ever heard of sticking their wet clothes covered in grass in the dryer without washing them first??? And if there is a toilet brush in the stall where you just made a mess please use it and clean up after yourself. I think it is called "common courtesy." What happened to mother's teaching their daughters to wrap their sanitary pads, etc in toilet tissue before putting them in the trash can??? Much less leaving them just laying on the back of the stool, not wrapped in toilet paper and NOT even put in the trash can. OK, enough complaining. I just want my Mom to know how much I appreciate all of the HARD work that she does for our wonderful PVR. I love you Mom. ;)

This is a LARGE toad that Brandon and Ashley found in their back yard. Trista almost cried when she saw this picture. She is horrified of frogs, little frogs, so she couldn't believe this picture when Ashley sent it to her. She said, "That thing needs to be in an exhibit at the zoo." I am not afraid of frogs but I will not pick one up. Brandon and Ashley didn't pick this one up either, it was a little girl in the neighborhood that rescued it from their backyard and put it back in the pond that is almost directly behind their house. I told them that it will probably come back to visit. It had made a hole for itself right under their bedroom window. They also found a snakeskin in their new flower bed. Ashley's comment was, "Well that just lets me know that there is a bigger one out there somewhere." Doesn't sound like my girl's are going to be country girls.

I will post new pics of my GRANDbabies on my next post.

Umholtz Family Reunion

2009-06-16T08:31:00.013-05:00

This is a picture of all but one of my Mom's brothers and sisters. We missed you Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Sandy.Uncle Leon and his family. We missed you Debbie and also Uncle Leon's grandsons.
This is my beautiful Aunt Dorothy with one of Uncle Harold's sons, Jimmy. We missed all of the Miller Family, we love you all!Uncle Johnny and family. We missed you Farrell and family and Josh and family.This is Aunt Cindy and family. We missed you Laura and family and Ricky and family.This is Uncle Harold and family. We missed you Susie and family.This is Aggie's family. Madilyn is hiding behind PaPa Freeman's head. It is really hard to get the babies all looking at the cameras at the same time. We missed you Braden, Billy and family (4), Robert and Family(15), Jimmy and family (4). Too many names to mention all separately. The numbers next to the names is how many was missing from each family. Uncle Tommy and family.My picture of Uncle Earl and Aunt Alice had someones head in the middle of it so I will have to get a better picture from someone, so if you are that someone with a good picture please send it to me. We missed Zondra and family and Ariana and family. Would love to see all of you. Uncle Earl is in this picture standing behind the table behind Aunt Dorothy. This is my cousin Brenda and Barbie.This family loves to eat. I want to thank Aunt Cindy and her children for ALL of their hard work getting this family reunion organized and for providing the meat and all the paper plates and etc. The rest of us brought the side dishes and deserts. We had a wonderful time of fellowship and it was wonderful seeing everyone and all of the new family members that have come into the family since our last reunion. Hopefully it will only be 2 more years until the next one, not 8 years. I really miss my Uncle Ron who has gone to be with Jesus since our last reunion. I did get to spend a week camping with him, Aunt Dorothy, Mary and her children after our last reunion. He was a very special person to me and my family. I LOVE AND MISS YOU, UNCLE RON!

Jacob's Graduation Pre-K 2009

2009-05-21T17:27:00.006-05:00

This morning Jacob graduated from ECC, the Early Childhood Center, Pre-K class of 2009. One of our past school Superintendants, Mr. Paden gave the commencement speech and it was wonderful.

A very good family friend, Ruth Atchley was given the "Grandmother Volunteer of the Year" award. Ruth taught Jerrod, Trista and Brandon in our Children's Church for many, many years and she now volunteers at the Early Childhood Center.

We also got the wonderful news this week that Jacob's transfer was accepted so he will be attending Kindergarten at Pratt next year. So MeMe will know if he gets in trouble. We will probably both have to go through some adjustments next year. I just hope that one of the most wonderful Kindergarten teachers in the school system will still be at Pratt next year, which by the way is the daughter of Ruth Atchley, the Grandmother Volunteer award winner. She loves teaching and has a true compassion for children, just like her Mother does.

Congratulations Jacob!

Roaring River Has Just Begun 2009

2009-05-17T16:25:00.007-05:00

Like father like son, except Jacob doesn't look as into it as Jeremy. Don't you just love Jacob's little fishing vest? Even if he doesn't fish he wants a fishing permit to hang on the back of his vest. We bought him a hat our first trip to Roaring River this year but he won't wear it because it doesn't have a big hook on the bill of the hat like PaPa's. So we will be purchasing one on our next trip which will hopefully be at the end of this week, Memorial Day weekend. If I didn't have to work 3 days after Memorial Day I would be staying for a couple of weeks. Darn snow days that we have to make up. ;(

Jacob talked his Daddy into helping him look for crappie heads (crawdads). They did finally find one as you can see. I would have rather had the crawdad in my trailer instead of the lizard they found. I looked in his little bug keeper that we keep in the trailer for lightning bugs and there was a lizard in it. Might I say it could have gotten out since the lid does not lock shut, so I talked him into letting it go.

There is a park in the resort for the kids to play at. Kylee and Katie are a BIG help with Lauren. They take her to the park and keep her entertained. They always try to do things that Lauren can do with them. I am glad that they have a good time when they are together.

Trista and Jacob went fishing with Jeremy so she decided to take some scenic pictures of Jacob. I really don't care for the one of him looking over the edge of the cliff. The one of him by the waterfall is good but they came back to the trailer and Jacob had nothing but his wet underwear on. Well, guess what!!! Jacob fell into the freezing cold water and thank God he grabbed a tree root and held on until his Mom could grab him. I am just glad I wasn't there when it happened. Trista is always telling me to keep my eye on him when we are around the water. I'm just glad that it happened when he was with her and not with MeMe. We have a wonderful time together with family and friends when we go to Roaring River. It is such a relaxing place to be.

Madilyn

2009-05-11T20:30:00.008-05:00

Isn't she beautiful!!! This picture was taken when she first got to MeMe and PaPa's house and she had just woke up from a short nap in the car. It took her a little while to break away from Brandon. She is definately a "DADDY'S GIRL." Brandon is a good Daddy. He takes care of Braden and Madilyn during the week while Ashley is at work from 7pm until 7am. He calls her his chunky monkey.

Lauren quickly discovered that she isn't going to be able to hold her and feed her the bottle like she use to. So we decided to get out the toys and they had a great time playing together.

She is definately a baby on the move now. She is crawling around everywhere and pulls up so it probably won't be long until she is walking around everywhere, then it will be hard to keep up with her. Aunt Trista was able to get one picture with her.
Before Brandon & Madilyn left I gave her a bath in the kitchen sink. I just figured that the smaller the tub the better!!! She loves her bath time. I think you can tell by her beautiful smile. MeMe loves giving her babies their bath, soaking them in baby lotion, putting their pj's on them, and then I just want to rock them to sleep. She was almost asleep before Brandon got her in the car. She was a tired little angel after playing with Jacob and Lauren. I just wish I could see her every day. She is growing up so fast. We love you Madilyn.

BRADEN'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

2009-04-04T21:21:00.006-05:00

Today we celebrated Braden turning 5 years old. As you can tell it was a bowling birthday party and it was a little hectic with 4 and 5 year olds. They had a blast but Braden and Jacob would get a little upset if they didn't knock all of the pins down. They are both very competitive and like to win all of the time! Go figure since both of their dad's, Brandon and Jeremy are also competitive.

I am not sure about the poses in these pictures, but aren't they cute! ;D

Jacob would lean in what ever direction he wanted his ball to go and that still didn't help it.

I can't end this blog without showing a few pics of Braden's little sister and our precious angel Madilyn. She is also growing up so fast. It is hard to believe that she is 6 months old now. Isn't she a cutie!!!!

This is the first picture taken of me and Madilyn together since she was born. MeMe is usually the photographer. MeMe and PaPa love you both very much.

Spring Break 2009

2009-03-21T20:43:00.007-05:00

We left friday morning at 4:00, Robert called at 3:00 to see if we were up getting ready. I told him that we would be ready even though I had not gotten to sleep until 1:30 after getting things together and doing my hair which takes about 45 minutes just to dry it. I loaded Jacob up in his pj's, pillow and blanket. I did get dressed but also had a pillow and blanket for MeMe. He woke up when we got to Roaring River ready to trout fish. I had to explain to him that we had to set up the trailer first and get the heater turned on because it was COLD outside. Once he got out of the truck he decided that he would go to MeMe and PaPa Fweeman's (Freeman's) trailer where it was warm. After getting the trailer set up and the heater turned on I got him dressed and headed to the fish hatchery to feed the fish. This is something that we do every day besides going to the fish store to see if there are any new toys that he might not already have.
As you will notice in most of the pics Jacob's left eye is closed because he said that the sun was in his eyes and he could only open one. Later that day we took him to the playground area where a bunch of mom's had brought their children, blankets, and picnic baskets so Jacob had lots of kids to play with.

He wanted to show us how strong he was and that he could go all the way across the monkey bars. He wanted MeMe to try it but I told him that I wasn't strong enough so he proceeded to tell me that I need to start lifting weights to make me stronger.

After the first trip of going to the creek with RJ, Zac, Kylee & Katie and Jacob coming back to the trailer with his only pair of tennis shoes wet I decided to go to Wal Mart and get him some wading boots and oh boy he thought they were cool and immediately wanted to go and try them out in the creek, so off we go Jacob, MeMe and PaPa. He said that he wanted to look for taddle poles (tadpoles) and crappie heads (crawldads). As you can tell in the pics he was very careful about turning over each and every rock.

New Family Member

2009-02-17T22:09:00.003-06:00

This is Jerrod's new dog, his name is Dalli. He is a Blue-Heeler that was a Valentine Gift from Jennifer. Doesn't he have beautiful blue eyes? He also has really sharp little baby teeth which Jacob and Lauren can both confess to after today. Lauren kept getting mad because the dog was just playing with Jacob and not her, that was until the dog bit her on the finger. She didn't cry but she did make that pitiful little sad face and then came over for MeMe to kiss her finger.

Jacob was really liking it when Dalli would get ahold of his shirt, growl and then he would shake his head. They sure are cute when they are puppies but then they grow up!!!!!

T G I O

2009-02-14T14:40:00.006-06:00

In case some of you might not know what that means: THANK GOD IT'S OVER. I mean hunting season. Now all of the camo can go back in its tubs and not be laying out all over my house. But now I have to decide where the newest dear mount will hang in my living room among all of the angels that I collect. HMMM!!!!! There are already two full mounts hanging in the living room so I told Jerrod he needs to come pick one out to take to his house. It really sounded like a good idea to me. ;) His house is rustic and outdoorish looking.

Then my son-in-law wants to know if I have a pot big enough for him to borrow so he can boil his deer skull in because he is going to do a european mount. I DON"T THINK SO!!!!! He asked me about a large pot that I fix stew in and I said, once again, I DON"T THINK SO. I will have to say on his behalf that he does a wonderful job on the mounts that he does for people.

There is a good thing that comes out of hunting season though. We donate the meat from the deer to needy families in the area. It is also a time when Mike, Jerrod, Jeremy and Jeremy's dad Neal spend time together doing what they love to do.

Now starts the fishing. Jeremy's Grandpa has a dock that they seem to want to visit quite often. In fact Jeremy took Jacob with him last weekend to the dock and when they came back Jacob came in and gave me a kiss but I think he had been kissing the fish before he got to my house. His face smelled like fish and so did his shirt where he would wipe his hands after he played with the minnows. There is also the trout fishing at Roaring River. Last year I couldn't figure out what the smell was coming from the bay where they store their fishing equipment until I smelled the towel that was left in the bay. OH MY GOSH as Lauren would say. I didn't want to wash it with the rest of my towels etc. and I didn't want to spend $1.00 to wash it by itself so I decided to just throw it away. OOPS!!! I then had to explain to Mike what had happened to his towel that he uses when he goes trout fishing. We now use disposable shop rags. The good thing about the trout fishing is that we have a wonderful fish fry at Paradise Valley and again it is something that the men love doing together. They fish and the women shop. Sounds like a good time to me.

All Night with MeMe and PaPa

2009-02-10T15:45:00.003-06:00

Madilyn is saying, "Hey everyone I got to spend the night with my MeMe and PaPa!!!" I know that is what she would say if she could talk. ;) We had a wonderful evening taking care of her. It was hilarious watching her in the Johnny Jumper. She is really developing her own little personality. If you walk up to her while she is in her play saucer then she expects you to pick her up. If you look at her while she is in it then she expects you to come over and pick her up so the best thing to do is only look at her when she is not looking at you. She is really reaching for things now, including my hair and boy does she have a strong grip. She got ahold of PaPa's hair once and we all know how tender headed he is. Poor PaPa :( I will have to say that is a little harder getting ready for church on Sunday morning. I had to get myself ready before she woke up so that I could be ready to feed, bathe and dress her for church. It is not as easy as it use to be when my kids were little. We feel truly blessed to have such a sweet GRAND-daughter.

The Fun of Turning 50!!!!!

2009-02-03T16:42:00.005-06:00

I have had a wonderful day today, thanks to all of my family and friends. First of all, this morning when I went to get into my car I turned on the garage light and got the surprise of my life!!!! NO, not a new corvette. As you will see in the pics my car had been redecorated, thanks to Trista, Barbie & Katie. Mike had put the garage door opener in the mailbox and after I had gone to bed they decorated my car for my birthday. Aren't they sweet!!!

As you can tell they were very creative. Then when I pulled out of my driveway at 6:00 this morning my front yard and the front of my house were just as beautifully decorated with signs and balloons. Now everyone in the neighborhood knows that Becky is 50 years old. Thanks guys!!! I went home at lunch to put the balloons in the house to save them for my GRAND-babies but apparently some kids walking to school this morning decided to remove them from my yard.

I just want to remind them that pay backs can sometimes be painful expecially BARBIE who will be 50 next year. I have saved all of the lovely decorations and she might just see her reminders along Hwy 97 on her way to work ;). No seriously, I want to thank everyone for making this day a very special one for me. My wonderful friends that I work with at school made cookies and brought cards and gifts. I am so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. THANK YOU ALL!!!

Day 2 of NO SCHOOL!!!!!

2009-01-28T14:41:00.006-06:00

Lauren and Jacob want to say hi!!! to MeMe and PaPa Freeman and show them what they are missing up here in Oklahoma. My little angels made snow angels. But the last time I talked to Trista a few hours ago she wasn't thinking so much in the way of angels. Lauren had taken all of the caps off of the markers and the opened markers were laying on the carpet that she just got cleaned last week. OOPS!!!
I hate these days because that means we will be in school longer when I would rather be at Roaring River ;(. I haven't been able to see the grandbabies since Monday but I have been able to talk to them on the phone. Jeremy was able to make it to work today but he called Trista and said that the roads are still real bad. Trista is about to go crazy having to stay at home. She did take Lauren and Jacob outside for a while. Hopefully they did alot of running around and will then be ready for a nap.
Mike is at work so I got up this morning and cleaned the house, washed my sheets and put on a pot of chili. We will probably have to eat it for a couple of days since you can't make a small pot of chili for just two people. It is kind of like the time when Mike and I first got married and I was use to peeling 10 to 12 potatoes for dinner before we got married so the first time I peeled potatoes for just us I peeled 10 potatoes needless to say for the next couple of days I discovered many different ways to make other things out of mashed potatoes, ie. fried potato patties, etc.

More Braggin'

2009-01-21T16:58:00.004-06:00

Here is our other beautiful angel, Madilyn Paige.

She got her ears pierced a couple of weeks ago. Aunt Barbie always gets the priviledge of doing the painful job of piercing the baby girls ears. Well, I wasn't there when they pierced them but we did see her later that night at Jeremy and Trista's house. When I walked in and Madilyn saw me she started crying, I guess she thought that I was Barbie. It didn't take long for me to convince her that I didn't cause her any of the pain so she let me rock her to sleep and I just held her while she was sleeping until they left. We have two beautiful GRAND-daughters and two handsome GRAND-sons.

Lauren

2009-01-04T17:07:00.003-06:00

Okay, call me a proud MeMe, but isn't she beautiful. She has those big dimples and that beautiful smile and big blue eyes. I know that it is January and she turned 2 in October but we took her yesterday for her 2 year old pictures. She did so good. I will be posting some pictures later of her and Madilyn in their matching Christmas dresses, when we get them taken. ;) Don't hold your breath but we will get them taken.

Looking Back at 2008

2009-01-03T09:29:00.019-06:00

Brandon, Ashley, Braden and Madilyn

Brandon and Ashley went from a family of three to a family of four in 2008. Ashley passed the State Medical Boards, got her nursing license and is working for St. Francis Hospital where she is a critical care nurse. I really admire her for being able to do the job that she does and Brandon was promoted at his job to Manager of Surveillance. Brandon also graduated from UNLV with his Masters this year. Aren't they a beautiful family. I am so proud of them both and thank God for the precious new grandaughter Madilyn and for our grandson Braden.

Jeremy, Trista, Jacob and Lauren

Lauren gave up the binky this year although it was not an easy task. All she ever asks for at night is her own bed, her binky and her blanket (with a tag). Well anyway Trista found her several times in her bed with a binky, she must of have had some stashed for "just such an emergency" but she would always tell Trista that it was for her baby. She has several dolls and known of them are wearing clothes. The first thing she does is take their clothes off of them. She even took the clothes off of her life size Barbie and put them on herself so she could be the "Princess." She loves to read, or be read to, dance, sing, and dress up. She is my little Trista all over again. ;) I am going to love watching her grow in 2009.

Jacob started school this year in the 4 year old program. This was also his first year to play T-ball. Here we go again, BORING. Sometimes it looked more like football instead of T-ball since everyone on the team went to where ever the ball was hit and everyone wanted to get the ball. He mostly stood out in the field with his best friends Pierson and Baylor and it was quite comical. They would be talking instead of paying attention to the game. You could tell that Jeremy and Shaun would get a little upset so Trista and Kauleen would take over helping the kids while they were out on the field. Of course they loved it when it was their turn to bat. He is sure growing up fast. Just to think that he will be going to Kindergarten at the school where MeMe works.

Mike, Becky & Jerrod

Mike retired this year after almost 31 years at the Steelmill and 31 years of shift work. We bought a fifth wheel which is our second home during the summer. We spend alot of time at Roaring River, the men trout fish and the women hang out at the pool or go to Cassville to go antique shopping. We have a wonderful time. Most of the time that we are there so is Robert and Carol and the boys, Davey, Robyn and the girls, and Uncle Johnny and Aunt Sharon and on occasion they will have their GRANDchildren with them also. It is a wonderful time of relaxation and fun with family. Our kids sometimes come up on the weekends if we spend a couple of weeks away from home. Most of the time I have Jacob with me and a couple of times Braden has got to go with us. We love to be with out children and GRANDchildren.

Jerrod is doing well. He has his own little house with his pit bull named Pearl. Jacob loves to spend the night with Uncle Jerrod. Jerrod loves his nieces and nephews. I think he probably lets Jacob do what ever he wants when he is with him. He usually spends the night on Saturdays and then Jerrod will get up and get them both ready for church. I know that he will be a great dad someday. He loves kids.

Learning to "Let Go and Let God"

2009-01-01T19:07:00.003-06:00

I just finished an awesome book, "The Shack." I have used the phrase alot, "Let Go and Let God," and this book taught me alot about myself and hopefully some of the things I am going to share with you will help you also. It taught me how to truly what you might call, "practice what you preach." I am always telling my kids to, "Let go and let God." Some times there is pain in your life that you thought you had truly forgiven people of but the pain is still there.

If all you see is your own pain you lose sight of God. We are all created to be loved. Trust in Him and know that His power can work through you. All love and relationship is possible for us only because it already exists in God. If your heart is full of pain, anger and confusion you need to rest in the trust you have in God even if your trust is small. God's love is simple, warm, and genuine.

Forgiveness is first for the forgiver; to release us from something that will eat us alive; destroy our joy and our ability to love fully and openly.

If Jesus is the center of our life then together we can live through everything that happens to us. He wants to be the center of our life because that is where our friends, family, and etc. exists.

I learned that I can't build a wall to protect my children and loved ones or to keep them from feeling pain. My wall can keep me from growing closer to God and possibly keep them from growing closer to God also.

We are the pinnacle of God's creation and the center of His affection. Even if you do not always understand what God is doing you must always trust Him. God is an awesome God and all the processes of your life is covered by His goodness.

God bless you all and have a safe healthy, prosperous and blessed 2009.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T20:20:00.006-06:00

Today we had Christmas with our children and GRANDchildren. Trista, Jeremy, Jacob and Lauren will be flying to Michigan in the morning to spend Christmas with Jeremy's family and Brandon, Ashley, Braden, and Madilyn will be spending Christmas in Bristow with Ashley's family. Jerrod will be with Jennifer's family tomorrow in Mannford so Mike and I will probably sleep in and then go and spend the day with Barbie and her children and GRANDchildren. We all had a wonderful time at Jeremy and Trista's house. I helped her get her laundry caught up and get things ready to be packed for their trip. They have a layover in Chicago and I just hope that it doesn't turn into a long one. As of this morning the airport in Chicago and been shut down because of bad weather. A long layover wouldn't be much fun with two young kids.
This is a picture of Lauren and Abby. We have ALOT of Abby videos. Abby is from Sesame Street, just in case you didn't know. I took the presents to their house last night so that I wouldn't have so much to unload today and couldn't resist "Pwease MeMe, I want my pwesent."
This is a picture of my precious Grand-daughters, Lauren and Madilyn. Lauren thinks that she is a big girl since she got to feed Madilyn. Aren't they beautiful!!!

Braden and Jacob are truly enjoying their video game that MeMe and PaPa bought each of them. At one point they both came out of the bedroom asking for a piece of cake and when I had asked them if they were through playing with their new game they both said, "No, but Daddy and "B" (that is what they call Brandon) wants to play the game.
Uncle Jerrod received the honor of handing out the presents again this year, minus the Santa outfit. We are not able to convince Lauren that Santa is a nice man and that she doesn't have to be scared of him. We had a wonderful day with our family, Mom & Dad, Barbie, and Jeremy's Mom & Dad and his brother Jeff.

Hill Family Christmas Part 2

2008-12-23T14:29:00.005-06:00

Okay, you are not going to believe what my daughter did!!!! When she got home from the "Hill Family Christmas" she was looking at the pictures that were taken that day. I was not able to take many pictures because Lauren was attached to my hip because of Santa. Well, Sunday morning before church she DELETED ALL of the pictures taken the day before because she THOUGHT she had downloaded them on her computer. Well guess what she DIDN'T so now I am e-mailing everyone trying to get pictures. We had taken pictures of the families, the grandson's, grandaughter's, in-laws, etc. Pictures of everyone in their sombraros that Grandad and Bonita had given as gifts. Someone suggested that we go Christmas caroling in our new hats but we convinced them that it was too cold. THANK GOD.

This is a picture of Brandon, Ashley, Braden and our newest angel Madilyn. It was taken on Christmas Eve at Trista and Jeremy's house. Braden was with his dad when we had the Hill Christmas so I wanted to let everyone see this picture of Brandon and his family. I am so proud of both Brandon and Ashley. She passed her nursing test and is employed at St. Francis working on the critical care floor. Brandon was promoted and is now the Junior Manager or second in charge of the Surveillance Operation at the casino. God has truly blessed them this year in all areas of their life.

So here is a picture of Lauren and Madyson Sunday morning at church. Aren't they BEAUTIFUL??? Don't worry I will be updating more Christmas stories later.

Hill Family Christmas

2008-12-21T17:45:00.005-06:00

We had our Hill Family Christmas yesterday. Our niece Amy and her husband Carl invited us to their house for our Christmas celebration this year. EVERYONE was accounted for and present this year. Tye, Janina, and Addison had to come the farthest. They came from Hawaii where Tye is currently stationed. I think we should have all gone to Hawaii, I bet it would have been much warmer there. We had a wonderful time. This year we had 3 new babies born, the first picture is my little angel Madilyn, she is the daughter of Brandon and Ashley, Sophie, the second picture is the daughter of Lori Beth and Daniel, the third picture is Addison, which is the daughter of Tye and Janina. Who knows how many new ones we could have next year!!! Jacob did tell Santa that he wanted a baby brother and the last time he told Santa something like that he got what he wanted, a baby sister.

Below is a picture of the new ones we had two Christmas's ago. Boy have they grown. This is Chloe, she is the daughter of Lori Beth and Daniel and the big sister of Sophie, Preston, is the son of Amy and Carl and he has a big brother named Ian and my little angel Lauren which is the daughter of Trista and Jeremy and she has a big brother names Jacob. Lauren is terrified of Santa. If you ask her to please have her picture taken with Santa she says, "MMMM, NO!" Today at church my nephew Justin was dressed like Santa and was handing out the gifts to the children and I even told her that it was Justin but there was NO WAY she was going to get anywhere near him. Sorry Santa. I am sure it is nothing personal. As you can tell by the look on her face she is not interested this year, maybe next year.

Cold Outside but Warm in MeMe's Bafwoom

2008-12-16T19:46:00.003-06:00

Another day spent with Lauren and Jacob since school was out. I think today it was just because of the wind chill although the streets are still slick in the neighborhood. Got everyone fed with sausage patties, doughnuts and orange juice and it was time for the morning bath. By the way the doughnuts and orange juice is what Trista picks up on the way to MeMe's house, I do have more nutritional things to fix them. LOL I was trying to get a good picture of Jacob smiling but the only time he was smiling was when he was splashing the water in his sister's face and I didn't want to get my camera wet.

I had a dentist appt. today to get my teeth cleaned so before I left I got Lauren to sleep on my bed and Jacob was coughing his head off so I gave him some Dimetap (because his PaPa took all of his Benedryl) thinking I was killing two birds with one stone. One for the cough the other to make him sleepy and take a nap. Well guess what? Dimetap makes him climb the walls and ceiling. Mike said that Lauren woke up about 15 minutes after I left (whatever) so when I got back about 2 hours later he was a little frustrated. :(

I did get to video Lauren singing her songs today. "Row, Row, Row Your Boat, ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." On a couple of them we got to hear them twice cause she would say, "One more time MeMe." It turned out really good. Jacob and Lauren also sang "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" but the Dimetap kept him from standing still. I will go to Wal Mart tomorrow to restock on the Benedryl, hide it from PaPa, and will never again buy Dimetap. I sure hope that we are back in school tomorrow. Even if I don't have the GRANDbabies Mike is driving me crazy being home all day since being laid off last Thursday from his job, yes, two weeks before Christmas. :( We are keeping our faith in God that he will be back to work REAL soon. We know that he got the job because it was God's will in the first place and we are keeping the faith that the lay off will not be for long. He really enjoys the job and the people that he works with. He doesn't feel good ;( and we all know how much worse it is for a man to be sick.

Schools Out So It's to MeMe's House

2008-12-15T19:48:00.004-06:00

Well, we had our first day out of school because of the weather so Jacob and Lauren spent the day with MeMe and PaPa. When Trista brought them to the house this morning she brought Lauren in and was on her way back out to the car to get Jacob only to find that he had already gotten out by himself. He is always reminding us that he is a big boy. Well it wasn't icy at their house like it was here so when he got to the sidewalk he took a little tumble. His first comment was, "I'm OK but that sure is slick." After they had donuts and orange juice for breakfast I told them that it was time for their bath but Lauren wanted me to first turn on the heater in the bathroom. They love MeMe's bathroom heater in the winter. I guess they no longer put heaters in the bathrooms when they build new houses these days. While in the bathtub they both had to be alligators. Jacob wanted to get out first so he could watch cartoons, then it was Lauren's turn. She usually takes a little longer because of fixing the hair, putting LOTS of lotion on and then setting in front of the mirror for a while. I guess it's a girl thing. We then went into the living room and she wanted to watch something different (of course) so we got out the little DVD player so that she could watch "Elmo's Christmas Countdown" while my little OCD grandson lined all of his 200+ cars up and kept telling me to watch him turn "fwips." They have to all be facing the same way, same colors together, etc. Lauren tried helping her brother but that didn't go well. He kept suggesting to her that she go watch another movie. We had homemade chicken and noodles for lunch and then it was nap time. I took Lauren to my bed and PaPa and Jacob were going to nap in the living room (which didn't happen.) Jacob came to my room a dozen times and then would leave needless to say Jacob nor PaPa got a nap. It took her a little while to fall asleep since she only likes her bed. She took her socks off and then would put them back on several times. She would whisper things to me since I had my eyes closed pretending to be asleep, finally when I turned the other way she decided to go to sleep. We had a little success on potty training today. Then only things is she is telling us when she needs to poop but not pee. But I would much rather change a peepee diaper than a poopoo diaper. We really have to watch though because if we are not careful she will have the whole roll of toilet paper used before we know it. I think Jeremy spent part of today fixing a clogged stool because of her putting so much toilet paper down the stool. I already know that schools are closed again tomorrow but I might just have Jacob since Lauren usually spends Tuesday's with NaNa. I love the time I get to spend with all of my grandbabies.

Hello Holidays

2008-12-05T16:20:00.004-06:00

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and now its Christmas. The Christmas tree is up, decorated and the presents for my GRANDbabies are under the tree. I wasn't going to put the tree up since we are having our Christmas at Jeremy & Trista's house Christmas Eve but Trista and Ashley wouldn't hear of it. So I had the tree ready for them to decorate when they came over on Saturday. I promise it will come down Christmas day and that only takes me a few minutes. I was trying to get some pics of Jacob and Lauren today but they wouldn't cooperate, which means when one was looking at the camera and smiling the other one wasn't. Go figure!!! So I am picking out the best one and it just happens to be of Lauren by herself. Don't you just love her dimples. I am also including a pic of Lauren and Aunt Bobbie (Barbie). Tonight is the Sand Springs Christmas Parade of Lights and our church has a float in it so Jacob and Trista will be riding on the float while Jeremy and Lauren rides in the truck with JB and Aubrey. Lauren has had a double ear infection and she is just starting to be herself again. Right now she is in the living room aggravating her brother by trying to take his brownie. They both just finished a dip of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream so I can't imagine them wanting a brownie. Our trip to Braums for ice cream is an everyday thing after I pick up Jacob from school.

Madilyn

2008-11-22T12:40:00.002-06:00

Madilyn, Ashley and Brandon came to visit MeMe last night. PaPa was gone to western Oklahoma deer hunting and they were a pleasant surprise. She is getting so big. She loves to lay in the floor looking at the ceiling fan. She is trying to talk and loves to smile. She has actually spent the night with us a couple of times. She seems to sleep better at MeMe's house so Brandon said that she can just stay here until she turns 2. LOL They have discovered that she likes to be in the baby slingpack, so Brandon just walks around the house with her snuggling against his chest. He said that he did it for about 3 hours the other day. I also have seen pictures of her asleep in the sling laying on his chest. I don't think he realizes what he is getting himself into, but Trista has tried to warn him. Jacob is still sleeping in mommy and daddy room. They went and bought him a child size cot and he sleeps on it at the end of their bed, all the while his little sister sleeps peacefully in her own bed in her own room.

For the first time in his little four year old life he said something that did hurt MeMe's feeling a little bit. I pick him up from school everyday and when I picked him up on Thursday he told me, "MeMe I don't want you to pick me up anymore cause it is NaNa's turn. You get to pick me up everyday and you need to share. That night when Mike got home from work I said, "Jacob tell PaPa what you told me today when I picked you up from school." Well, Mike's remark was, "I wish I could pick you up from school." So when I went to pick him up yesterday, (friday) he started crying saying, "MeMe you weren't suppose to pick me up, PaPa said that he would pick me up today." I had to try and make him understand that PaPa Mike and PaPa Neal had gone hunting. So the next time PaPa has a day off he is suppose to pick him up from school.

A little update on Lauren (little Trista). She has become quite to little tattle tail. We were in the car on our way home from picking Lauren up from Miss Ann's and Jacob was telling me a story about what he had learned at school that day. He doesn't understand that MeMe can listen to him and Lauren at the same time and he told Lauren, "Sissy be quiet I was telling MeMe something," and her response was to say, "MeMe, Bubby yelled at me." Trista will hear them fighting in the bedroom about who knows what and tells them to quit fighting and in a very short time Lauren will come out saying that Bubby hit her, which most of the time didn't happen. She is just like her mother was, aggravating the boys and then coming and telling on them about something they didn't do to her.

I thank God everyday for my "Little Blessings" from heaven.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-02T19:10:00.005-06:00

Another Halloween has come and gone as is the tough decision of Jacob trying to decide who he wants to be. Trista received a catalog in the mail full of costumes and Jacob wanted to get them all. When I told him that he only needed one he went to his room crying and telling me, "MeMe you hurt my feelings." I told him that I was sorry but that he wouldn't have enough time to wear all of the costumes in one night. It took him a while to forgive me but he finally did. I told Trista to throw the catalog away because that was the first thing he wanted when we would get to his house after school. Can't wait for the Christmas catalogs to arrive. LOL Well, as you can see he is Spiderman again only this time he has lots of muscles. Braden was a vampire, Lauren was a ballerina/fairy and our newst little angel Madilyn was Tinkerbell. We went to the Trunk or Treat at our church and had a wonderful and safe time of trick or treating.

Madilyn Paige Hill

2008-09-26T22:39:00.003-05:00

Today, September 26, 2008 Madilyn Paige was born. She weighed 9 lbs. and was 22 in. long. She is gorgeous. I was watching Brandon while he was in the nursery with Madilyn and one minute he was smiling and the next minute he was tearing up. When he did that of course then MeMe would also shed a few tears. He kept catching himself talking to her and calling himself "B" instead of daddy. "B" is what his step son Braden calls him. I can't hardly believe that my baby now has a baby of his own. I know that he will be a wonderful Dad. No one but Brandon and Ashley knew her name until after she was born. They kept it a secret. So when I said my prayers last night that everything would go well today with the C-section I said Ashley's name in my prayer but all I could call the baby was "baby girl" since they wouldn't tell us her name. They had her name in a sealed envelope and we got to see it when Brandon held the card up to the nursery window. Thank you God for another precious miracle.

Mike's Retirement and our 31 year Anniversary

2008-07-14T22:05:00.003-05:00

Well it finally happened. Mike retired from the steel mill after 31 years of shift work. We will no longer be able to call him MIDNIGHT MIKE. LOL God has really blessed us during the 31 years that he has worked there. Mike has already found another job and we feel like God provided this job for him. It is straight days and for the most part weekends off.

We also just celebrated 31 years of marriage and are looking forward to 31+ years more. We spent the week at Paradise Valley Resort in our new home away from home. We got to spend time with Mom & Dad, Uncle Johnny & Aunt Sharon and 3 of their grandon's, Robert and Carol and the boys, and Robyn and Davey and the girls. Trista, Jeremy, Jacob, Lauren, Ashley and Brandon came down for the 4th of July. I had a wonderful time being with the family.

God Bless You All,

Becky

MeMe and Jacob's 9 days at Roaring River

2008-06-09T20:15:00.011-05:00

We just got back from 9 wonderful and relaxing days at Roaring River, Paradise Valley Resort. We went swimming everyday, played at the park and went to the fish hatchery to feed the trout. If I remember correctly there was only one day that Jacob decided to take a nap and he looked so sweet (as usual.) We also went through about 10 bandages. LOL One of the times that he insisted on a bandaid was when he got bit by a fly and yes, it did bring a tiny spot of blood to his arm. Well needless to say that was the end of the bicycle riding for the evening because everywhere he looked he would see a fly. After a very busy day we were usually in bed by 11:00 and would sleep until 8 or 9 AM. He got very independent about going to the bathroom by himself once he found out how to flush to toilet, I just had to make sure he didn't add too much water. I told Trista that I was thinking about staying this week since Mike was working midnights but she said that she would call the police and say that I had kidnapped her son across the state line. LOL I will admit that I cried when he left Saturday evening to come home with his mom. I told Trista that I will take Lauren when she is potty trained and will sleep somewhere else besides her own bed. Thank you God for blessing me with such sweet GRANDbabies and wonderful parents that will share them with me.

Becky

Our new home away from home!!!

2008-05-27T18:32:00.012-05:00

This is our new home away from home. We spent the weekend at Roaring Riving in the Paradise Valley Resort (which we also bought a membership for.) We had a wonderful time and didn't want to come home. It is 32 ft. long with 2 slide outs and tons of storage. Luckily the shower is also a small bath tub since Jacob does not like to take a shower. He thinks that flushing the toilet is cool!!! And Lauren thinks that climbing the stairs to the bedroom is fun. We took Jacob with us and then Trista, Jeremy & Lauren came and stayed Sunday night with us. We can't wait for all of our children to come and spend some time with us. Of course the men love to fish and the women love to shop. Eureka Springs is only about 30 minutes away and Branson is about 1 hour away and then there are lots of antique shops. We don't have to get up at 5:30 a.m. to shop like the men do when they go fishing. Our camping spot was right by the park so Jacob didn't take a nap the whole time we were there. We went swimming one day and went to the fish hatchery a couple of days to feed the trout. Barbie and Richie and all of their family came for the weekend. Robert and Carol and all of their families were there and the kids had a blast together. We will be spending alot of the summer in our new home away from home.

Becky

Brandon's Graduation from UNLV

2008-05-19T23:54:00.004-05:00

Brandon graduated from UNLV (University of Nevada Las Vegas) this weekend with his Master's Degree. It has been a long road and he is glad that it is over with. He also turned 26 on the 15th. Trista and Jeremy went with Brandon and Ashley to Las Vegas and they had alot of fun except when Jeremy got sick from too much sun and we think that Ashley has strep throat. MeMe and PaPa had lots of fun taking care of Lauren and Jacob but they were really glad to see their mommy and daddy when they returned home on Sunday after being gone for four days. It took MeMe a little longer to get ready for church since I am not use to getting two little one ready and myself ready. We arrived to church just in time to hear Pastor Larry's sermon. I am not as young as I use to be and can't believe that I use to get three kids ready and still get to church on time. God has blessed Brandon with a wonderful job and he is moving up very fast in the company. He enjoys his job and knows that God has great things in store for him in his career at Cherokee Nation Casino.

Here we go again, Let's Play Ball!!!

2008-04-26T18:16:00.003-05:00

Jacob had his first Wee Ball game this week. It has been a LONG time since I have attended a baseball game at the Sand Springs Baseball Complex but the time has now come once again. It was an exciting game watching most of the little ones run everywhere except to first base. Jacob would get a little upset when his best friends twin sister would hold him and her brother back so that she could get the ball first. LOL Needless to say Jeremy and Trista have alot a years to look forward to since we all know that Jacob is going to be a superstar baseball player just like his Daddy, his Uncle Jeff, and his Uncle Brandon.

It's A Girl!!!

2008-04-26T18:11:00.003-05:00

This is a picture of the soon to be parents of a baby girl. We found out this week that they are going to have a girl, so now MeMe can start buying pink things. The baby is due in October and we can hardly wait. We are being blessed with another angel from God.

My Little Flower Girl

2008-04-10T22:11:00.003-05:00

Lauren discovered the flowers again this year. She was trying to act like she was just smelling them when she was really trying to pick them. She did succeed in picking one of the purple pansies. I noticed that she was keeping her hands clasped together, even when she was getting into her Daddy's truck to go home. So while I was trying to help her into her car seat I noticed just a tiny bit of the flower sticking out of her hand. When I asked her what she had in her hand she just looked at me and said, "kiss MeMe!" While I was planting about 6 flats of flowers last weekend I could not keep her out of the water and potting soil. She loves to get dirty and I love to give baths. LOL

New GRANDbaby!!!

2008-02-21T20:46:00.002-06:00

It is now official, we are going to have another GRANDbaby. Brandon and Ashley are expecting this wonderful angel (gift from God) the first of October. These are the ultrasound pics. The middle one is the best one. They will go for another ultrasound next week so I will update the picture. This will be number 4.

Redecorated Kitchen and Dining

2008-01-21T10:54:00.000-06:00

Ashley had asked me before Christmas is she and Trista could redo my dining room and kitchen. That meant tear off the wall paper and paint, but the one stipulation was that they got to chose the color of paint and the wall decorations. They finished it last night and I LOVE it. They even put up crown molding along the ceiling. God has truly blessed me with a wonderful daughter and daughter-in-law. Thank you both so much.

Becky

Ready for Christmas

2007-11-26T19:22:00.001-06:00

Well today is November the 26th the tree is up and the presents are all bought. I did most of my shopping online and it was wonderful not having to fight the crowds. There is just one or two more things to buy (unless I find something that I just don't think my grandbabies can live without.) Every commercial that Jacob sees on the television he says, "MeMe I like that." You also know if it is something that Lauren likes because she just points at the television and says, "oh." I am sure that they will not want for anything. I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed CHRISTmas and a happy and safe New Year.

Mom & Dad

2007-11-20T20:23:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration this past weekend for Mom & Dad. We had a great time visiting with family and friends. Our cousin Kathy and her husband Dwight surprised all of us by coming from Oregon and there were probably six or seven couples from Roaring River (Mom & Dad's summer retreat area) that came. Seeing them renew their wedding vows was awesome. Their anniversary isn't really until February but they will be in Texas (at their winter retreat) keeping warm while we are all here freezing to death. I just Praise God that they are still able to travel and that Mom is doing great and her recovery is going great also. Thank You to everyone for all of your prayers for her this past year. God is truly awesome and we know that HE is in control. We just have to keep the faith and grow closer to Him and stronger in Him each and every day.

God Bless,
Becky

Trunk or Treat 2007

2007-11-04T18:51:00.000-06:00

This year we had "Trunk or Treat" in our church parking lot. This is our grandson's Jacob (Fiderman) and Braden (Dinosaur). They had a blast. We had the cars decorated and big blow up toys for the kids to play on. We had a fantastic turnout for our first trunk or treat. We had around 1000 people and over 300 of them were children. It was hard to get a picture of the boys without their mouths full of candy. I didn't get a picture of Lauren in her Sleeping Beauty costume because it was itchy and she HATED it but she did look adorable the short time she had it on.

IT'S FIDERMAN

2007-10-13T23:46:00.000-05:00

Just in case you can't tell who this is; it is fiderman. This is what Jacob wants to be for Halloween. Lauren had just gotten up from her afternoon nap and was terrified when she saw him. He now has somewhere that he can go and she WILL NOT bother him. It is in his new tent (Lightening McQueen Tent) that PaPa and Uncle Jerrod got for him when they went to buy some hunting boots; which they didn't even get. Unfortunately the tent stays up all of the time and has been added to the rest of the toy collection in my computer room. So now he gets all of the toys that he can and takes them to his tent. Lauren just stands at the door looking in, trying to get the courage to get in with him. He said that him and Braden can take a nap in it the next time that Braden comes over.

2007-10-05T12:25:00.000-05:00

It is hard to believe that this ANGEL is one year old. She is so Trista. Jerrod is always calling her "Little Trista." She is truly a blessing and a gift from God. I can't hardly stand it if I have to go one day without seeing her. After this picture was taken Aunt Barbie gave Lauren her first haircut and it is so cute. We cut off all of the baby hair that she never lost. If PaPa Hill (Mike) or PaPa Freeman (Bill) is around she is usually in their laps drinking their tea or eating whatever they will give her. She is not a picky eater like Jacob is. She eats all of her food and then wants some of yours also.

1st Major Bicycle CRASH!

2007-09-10T20:40:00.000-05:00

If you will look closely at Jacob's left elbow you will be able to see 1 of 3 battle wounds from his first real bicycle wreck. Jacob wanted to ride his bike last week when Trista went for her evening walk. She had Lauren in the stroller and Jacob was on the bike. Well, Jacob got to the top of the hill before his mother and when he got there first she thought that he would stop and wait for her. Well he didn't wait and it is all down hill from there. He was going down hill fast and didn't know how to stop so Trista yelled at him to turn his wheel into the grass. When he turned his wheel he ended up flipping about 3 times. His elbow was probably the worst of the wounds. It scared his mother to death. So when she finally got to him she put him in the stroller (covered in blood) and hung his bike on the stroller and headed back up the hill for home. When she called me I could tell that it had scared her alot. She said that everything seemed to be in slow motion. He wasn't crying when she called me but when she got him on the phone so that he could tell me what had happened he started crying for MeMe. That always makes us Grandparents happy to know that our little angels love us so much.

Trout, Trout, Trout

2007-09-09T20:52:00.000-05:00

This is a picture from Roaring River when we took Jacob with us to visit Mom & Dad and to take him Trout Fishing. His NaNa Blevins bought him a book for Christmas called "Trout, Trout, Trout" and he loves for us to read to him. Trista is always saying, "Jacob Neal Blevins don't talk to me like that," so while we were at the river one day fishing he was getting a little too close to the edge for MeMe and I told him to scoot back a little bit. He turned around and told me "MeMe don't say me like that!" It sounded just like Trista telling him "Jacob don't talk to me like that." He managed to say the same phrase to me a couple of times that weekend. Right now he is saying, "What the heck," and everything is "Why come?"

Our little cheerleader!

2007-09-09T16:36:00.000-05:00

I guess she is going to follow in her mother's footsteps. Sometimes though I think that she is tough enough to be a football player. If she gets mad enough she can give Jacob a run for his money. PaPa Freeman is a little concerned about her wearing an OU cheerleading outfit, because as most of you know he is a loyal ALABAMA fan!

My angels!!!

2007-08-24T16:07:00.000-05:00

These are pictures of my angels. Jacob and Lauren are the children of Trista and Jeremy. Braden is the son of Ashley & Brandon. Jacob and Braden are both 3 years old and they love playing together. Lauren is 10 months old and loves to be wherever the boys are, usually tearing down the castle they just made from blocks. Mike and I are called MeMe and PaPa. We got Jacob the four-wheeler for his 3 year old birthday and Trista wanted to know why she didn't get toys like that for her birthdays. LOL