Hello

Our new baby is due in five weeks. :) Mandy's pregnancy has gone about as perfectly as any pregnancy could possibly go and she's absolutely glowing - maybe the most beautiful pregnant person I've ever seen. I'm pretty sure it's because she struggled so and suffered a loss and now it's finally happening. She's going to be a mommy in less than six weeks.

How I wish I could post new photos, but my amazing, wonderful, VERY EXPENSIVE digital camera's battery finally died and when I went to the store to buy a new battery I was told my amazing, wonderful, VERY EXPENSIVE camera is now a dinosaur. The sales person tried to be kind but she suggested that if I'm really lucky, I might find a new battery on eBay. LOL

So now I'm working with a quickly purchased $50 camera because I had a brother's wedding to go to and I needed a camera quick! Ugh! Ugh, ugh, ugh!

So what's new with our family? So many things.

I promise you as soon as I figure out this el cheapo camera, I'll try to upload some photos. Meantime, I'm buying lottery tickets in hopes of being able to buy another camera that's actually worth messing with.

Cameron is now in first grade. Seriously, he's six years old and as cute as he can possibly be. He's still a little guy - I don't think Cameron's ever going to be a big guy, but if attitude makes up for that, he's a really, really big guy. He's a sweetheart. Still adores his Nana and his parents are doing a truly great job of raising a fine young man.

He's very excited to be a first grader. I mean, "Nana! It's all day! I eat lunch there and everything now and even if Nathan and I have to be in separate classes, I still see him at recess!"

(Ahem. Apparently there were some issues with those two staying on task when they were in kindergarten together last year. I believe it was something like - SEPARATE THOSE TWO NEXT YEAR! )

And I'm really happy to report that Grand Junction finally got a pediatric endocrinologist. And she's helping all of us get a better grip on Cam's diabetes. He hasn't had a crisis in a year now and believe me, that's a huge, huge step forward. It means all of us who are involved in his 24-hour-a-day care are doing a better job.

Now about Little Miss Avery. Oh.My.Word. She's three. What a pistol! She was the quietest, easiest baby in the world. And then one day she exploded. She became Avery. You know, when her mom had me pulling my hair out by the roots, all I could think was, "How I hope you get a daughter just like you someday!"

And she did. LOL

She's beautiful. She's feisty. And she's adorable. And...she has attitude. She makes me proud. I absolutely adore her and her quirky way of talking and her don't-mess-with-me take on everything. Trust me when I say, Cameron's days of being the boss are history.

I'm assuming you wanted to hear all about my perfect grandchildren. Of course you did! LOL

I still have my Fridays with them. Nowadays, I call it freaky friday. It's funny how life turns around. For a couple of years, it was just me and Cameron on Friday. Then for a year it was all three of us on Friday. Now that Cameron's in school all day, it's just me and Avery on Friday. Actually, it's perfect because I have an amazing relationship with both of them. Somehow, we've managed to have such special time, one on one, that they think Nana hangs the moon.

And now the miracle we prayed for, for three years, is upon us. Mandy and Aaron's baby is due in five weeks. A boy. Jayden. Jayden Gregory (Aaron's father was Gregory.)

I've gotten a huge kick out of all the names they've told me were for sure going to be the name. But I like the one I'm almost, pretty sure, maybe, possibly is the one they'll go with.

So last weekend a momentous thing happened in our family. My baby brother got married. He's 53. There you go. Proof positive...you're simply never too old to find "the one." Our family couldn't possibly be happier to welcome Stacey. They've been together for several years and through a lot of ups and downs, and we're all so happy for them. Truly, this marriage was made in heaven - I haven't felt this sure that a couple is "right" in a long time.

It was the perfect reason to have a family reunion. The last time my entire immediate family (meaning my parents and my siblings) got together was at my brother Jerry's funeral. That was seven years ago. That's just way too long for a family to not be all together in one place. We're all so spread out. Bev lives in Texas. My dad lives in Kansas. My mom and three brothers live in eastern Colorado. I live in western Colorado. But we made it happen.

They got together last summer for my dad's 85th birthday but I wasn't able to go. This time, I made sure I was able to go. As you know, I'm that freak person who is suddenly terrified of driving, after driving in Denver traffic for 30 years, so I took an Amtrak train from Grand Junction to Denver last weekend. It's an arduous thing, when flooding in Omaha has Amtrak's tracks under 3 feet of water, meaning up to 12 hour delays, to take a trip on their train. But I got there.

I could go on and on about how exhausting it was...the constant worry about getting to the train station by their deadline only to sit for six hours waiting on their train...the lack of sleep because of such late arrivals...but I won't because it was truly a wonderful wonderful thing to be with my family again.

In two weeks Krissy and I will pack Cameron and Avery in the car and make a really quick trip to where Mandy and Aaron live because Krissy is giving her sister a baby shower and it needs to be where Mandy lives because, you know, that's where all her friends are. LOL We're leaving here on Friday and coming home on Sunday. And most of that time will be spent driving. Like I said, a quick trip.

And three weeks after that, I'll be back on Amtrak to go there and be in the birthing room with her. That's all up in the air. As we all know, two weeks early or two weeks late is considered "on time" when babies are born. I have no idea how to book my trip. If I wait for them to call me, it's an eight hour train trip on a good day and a lot longer if Amtrak's schedule is still not right. Ugh! I can't spend a whole month out there, but I surely don't want to go too early and have to leave before Jayden decides to make his grand entry.

What to do, what to do. Oh! I know. I'll do what I always do. Flow.

Yes. I will just flow.

xoxoxo