My amazing mother

I tried to get video of her lifting her leg off of the machine that exercises it and turning around to eat her lunch. The nurse was in the way so here's right after she turned around. The nurses are amazed at how well she moves!

Of course I shouldn't be amazed. This is my mom we're talking about here. She had her knee replaced yesterday. She said her doctor thought her knee would hurt more today than yesterday. Nope. She is walking all over the floor. She says it feels better already than it did before the surgery!!

Now I'm remembering when her father, my Grandpa Bay had surgery later in life (of course mom has outlived both of her parents by years now). They stripped his varicose veins is what I remember. The doctor said he needed to stay in the hospital a couple more days. He got up and did one legged deep knee bends. His doctor said; "Okay you can go home, if you don't do any more of those for a few weeks"!

Her physical therapist wants to take her around and show her off to all of his other patients who don't move like she does (probably all decades younger than her 82 years). Grandpa refuses to leave her side. He is sleeping on the couch in her room until she goes home. They are a very cute couple and I'm a better person for having visited them today!

Farewell Lunch for Melissa

The moms; Melissa, Kellie, Melidee, Pattie and Krista...

Karen, Krista, Elisa, and Kathryn...

Angela, Sheridan (a kid) and Roxanne... Karen and Kellie... Stephanie and Evelyn... Stephanie and Beck (my Visiting Teaching companions) The kids;

Debbie (my childhood friend) and Hudson. Some Skardas.

Reilly, Josie and Quinn. Ethan.

Tanner, Jaden, Isabel, Mason and Madison.

Skylar, Trevor and of course Elliott. And lots of food! It was great! There were at least 40 people here for lunch! It just shows how much we love Melissa! She's lived in our ward since she got married, had both of her kids in this ward and has helped with every party and wedding reception for every one of us it seems like. We are really going to miss her and her cute kids. Luckily her mom and I grew up together, so I'll be able to keep tabs on her.

Party Time!

Yup, our little Jonathan is a year older! We celebrated his 17th birthday yesterday with cake; Elliott got all dressed up for the ocassion; Josh did join in with the dinner and sang to Jonathan, really he did! Jack and... Steph joined us. (Notice Steph's cute new hair cut?) Joni even made it! She was actually healthy enough to hold Elliott for the first time. I noticed that they have the same big eyes. Jonathan was recently called to be our choir pianist. He had a first practice last week and this week was our first performance for him as pianist for ward conference. We sang "Oh How Lovely Was the Morning" in a very difficult arrangement to play (the same one that is in the First Vision film). He did a great job! He's also the Priesthood pianist and was called to the ward rep for Stake Youth Conference! He's trying out for Madrigals next week and plans to take AP Art next year. He is really a talented kid. He's been driving for over a year without a ticket or accident!! He's a good kid and we are blessed to have him in our family! Thanks for partying with us everyone!

My little cuties doing Monkeys on the Bed

Big Birthday!

Without looking on Facebook I wouldn't have known this, but WOW there's a lot of cool people with birthdays today! Our very own Nicole (Jason's wife), Missy Leary, Danny Perry, Kellie Hales and Sonya Tonks! Our neighbor and Jenny's contemporary and friend (now celebrating on the other side of the veil) Susie Tippetts was born on this day, too. And as a one time only; Elliott turned 2 months today! And to celebrate she smiled for my camera!!
Here's the smile and stick out the tongue at the same time picture;

Here's the smile about to turn into a cry;

Here's a good shot of her chins. She is getting chubby!! Happy Birthday all you awesome people!

Elliott's blessing day.

Elliott was officially named and blessed today! She's pretty excited about it, too. Loving great-aunt Pam. Some cute Learys enjoying the playroom. Some cute Noordas enjoying the doubleshot room. Meg's sisters, brother and sister-in-law. Meg's dad and his wife Noma. Grandma and Erika trying to smile while they are chewing. Some of the awesome Browns. Jack and Steph Eating yummy breakfast food! Josh, Seth and Meg's brother-in-law. Arriving at the Quincy home. Crepes, breakfast burritos, and breakfast casserole!! Josh gave Elliott a very sweet blessing. Some things that stood out in my mind were the blessings to feel of her Heavenly Father's love, to love herself and to be able to share her testimony with others. Oh and that she would feel and enjoy her family's love for her. Nice job Meg and Josh! Thanks so much for coming all the way to Clearfield to celebrate our Elliott!

Babysitting

She was smiling lots today. Not for the camera though. I am enjoying having Elliott all to myself a couple of days a week. She is such a cutie! Her eyes seem to get bigger every day!

She is funnest when you change her diaper. She loves getting her diaper off and stretches and wiggles and smiles. She smiled when I put her in the swing and turned on the music. She stopped when the camera came out though. Meg is so good at capturing her smiles. I'll learn!