Happy First Birthday to Sweet Baby Claire!!

November 3rd found me headed for Utah...again! It just happened to be Claire's birthday...hmmmm, did I plan it that way?? Regardless, it was off to get Claire's picture taken. We took a chance and didn't make an appointment and didn't realize how long we would wait. Claire did her best to hang in there and we got some super shots of her...the personality of this little angel comes through big time...and she's got quite the personality!
I think that Claire mostly looks like her handsome daddy...except for when she pulls off this smile with the wrinkled up nose and squinty eyes...that's ALL Katie!!

One of her favorite poses for some reason...hands behind the head.

Ya Ya (Joseph's mom) sent Claire this cute little giraffe for her birthday...she loves it!

While antiquing in PA back in October I found this cute little rocker hiding up in a corner, high on a shelf! Perfect for sweet baby Claire's birthday! Also, these jammies reminded me so much of the nightgowns and robes I used to buy the girls for Christmas each year. Ya Ya made the darling quilt.

Cutest little angel ever!!

Love it!!

The very inquisitive look!

At this point in time, Claire was trying to figure out how to jump.

Something about babies and their feet...can't get enough of those chubby little feet!!

"Grammy, where are you??"

Yep, the shifty eyes look..."Just try and guess what I'm going to get into next!"

I have this one in a large frame in black and white and stare at it almost all day...miss her so much!

At the very end of the session, the photographer had her change back into the original outfit, but by that time she was pretty much DONE! However, we did get one cute shot of Katie with Claire. Katie is always so photogenic!

Moving Right Along Through October!!

I got back from my trip to Virginia to head into a very busy October. I got home and immediately took Sarah over to visit Carmen, our favorite hairdresser, to get her hair done for Homecoming! I can't believe my baby is 16! How could that possibly have happened so quickly?? Sarah has this gorgeous, long, slightly curly hair that I'm very jealous of!! Actually, all of my girls have hair that I love...it's all from their dad!!

What a pretty girl!! She went out to dinner and to the dance with a great group of friends, but I still think that overall she enjoys the church dances quite a bit more than the school ones...right Sarah?

And then the next day was her birthday. We found a great song...Neil Diamond's "Happy Birthday Sweet 16!" It's the best. We played it and danced to it all day long!

I can't remember if I mentioned our missionaries in a previous blog. I can call them "our missionaries" because they lived in our basement...makes them "ours"! We knew from the moment that we met Elder and Sister Hawks back in March that we had made a connection that would last forever. We watched them for almost 7 months work, work, work with members of our ward. It was amazing! We watched them sacrifice time away from their sweet family...missing babies being born, baptisms, and even a daughter's wedding...all to serve a mission. What an example!! Jenny is famous for her bread and cinnamon rolls...man, I sure miss getting a couple of warm loaves on my kitchen counter weekly. Elder Hawks is famous for doing hard labor of every sort. We took turns for most of the summer mowing the lawn...such a help to me!! They rejoiced with us at Marshall's mission call and all of our family events since March. And most important, they adored Sarah and treated her as if she was their own grand-daughter, which for a girl who has spent most of her life without grandparents, is something kind of special. Jenny bought Sarah a sweet necklace for her birthday that she'll always treasure.

Heather is also a huge part of Sarah's life...flute teacher and Young Women leader extraordinaire...love this gal!! Heather bought Sarah a bunch of socks for her birthday...perfect!

Our last Sunday dinner together with the Hawks...I can't even begin to say how much I miss these two wonderful people!!

One more time up those stairs and on their way!

Their car was filled to the brim. Elder Hawks was so incredibly patient as Jenny kept finding one more thing that had to go in. I lost track of how many boxes they ended up having to mail home.

October is big time Marching Band season. Sarah's team had a great season!!

One of Sarah's birthday presents was a trip to see "Phantom of the Opera" at the Fox Theater in downtown St. Louis with her good friend Hilary...too fun!! Hilary makes any outing super fun.

My good friend from California, Jennifer, was finally able to come visit me for a few days...we always have so much fun together. She has never been to the church history sites in this area, so we made the rounds. Our first stop was up in Carthage. It's super sweet watching someone see and feel the spirit of these sites for the first time. She loved everything!

Then on to Nauvoo. The weather was a bit cool and rainy, but the leaves were SO pretty. I love the Nauvoo Temple and never tire of visiting.

Ah, so pretty! We spent the night at the Willard Richards Inn and had the whole place to ourselves...very fun.

Then over to Independence and Liberty Jail, where the prophet Joseph spent that awful winter. I love this scripture from that time period. "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes. Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands."

And then while in the Kansas City area we went to Time Out For Women...yay! Way fun!! It was a lot to do in such a short time and now she knows she has to bring her family back. Love spending time and catching up with good friends!

September Trip with Lindsay-Loo!!

Lindsay and I had a great trip in late September/early October to the East Coast. We met in St. Louis and then flew together to Baltimore where my oldest sister Sharon picked us up...and then we headed to antique country in Pennsylvania! This was Lindsay's first real "let's go antiquing" experience. I think she couldn't believe that it could actually go on for 5 days! Sharon knows everything "antique" and I always feel confident in her opinion of whether something is a good buy or not.
Add my niece Pammy into the antiquing adventure and it becomes a real "trip"!!

Pammy is all about pink, leopard anything, Harley Davidson, and bling!! She's my niece that is 2 years older than I am.

How fun is it to have a birthday while you're antiquing!! Which is what I did. These girls snuck around to find a fun little something they new I'd love. This little chest is actually two drawer sides from an antique sewing machine put together...perfect for lots of little things! My sister Sharon, me, Pammy, Karen (my nephew Scott's wife), and Darlene (my nephew Preston's wife). So much fun to spend time with all these gals.

Couldn't pass this up! Yep, I know that I have one kind of similar to this, but this one is actually quite a bit bigger, has a lot more storage space, was pretty darn cheap, and is in perfect refinished condition. It's currently in storage at my sister's house...can't wait to go retrieve it at some point! Who will the one I currently have go to??

Ahhhh...live and learn. Whenever you go back and look at something several times and even take a picture of it...sure sign that you should have bought it!! This looks SO much like Claire to me and I really wish I would have bought it, in spite of the price. I'm hoping someone else didn't fall in love with it in the intervening 8 months and that it will still be at the Covered Wagon when Sharon goes back in April. One can hope.......

We were in one antique mall and this cute little lady was walking around pushing an umbrella stroller with all of her finds in the seat...I commented to her about what a good idea that was and she said something fun in return. As we were leaving, they were also. A young man opened the door for her, and her daughter (on the right) said, "Gee mom, when you're 105 people are so nice to open the door for you!" I overheard that and couldn't believe it...seriously, she's 105 years old and still antiquing strong. We decided to name her "The Antique Antiquer"!

My very handsome nephew Scott Carter...loved Scott and Karen's home!

Also got to stop and see Chrissie. She is Sharon's oldest grand-daughter (one of Pammy's daughters) and this past summer sweet baby Vayda joined their family of two little boys. Little Vayda is darling. There was quite a bit of concern about her kidneys...one of them isn't functioning, but she is very strong. A decision is coming in the future as to whether surgery will need to take place, but for now she's healthy as can be! I can't believe my oldest sister has as many great-grandchildren as she does...crazy!!

Once we were done antiquing in Pennsylvania we headed back down to Virginia to spend some time at Sharon's house. Stratford Hall, where George Washington was born, is a couple of miles up the road. I love all of the history in the area.

One day we also headed to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home...loved it and it was a perfect day! Again, I love the history and spending time with Lindsay and Sharon!

The area around Monticello is absolutely beautiful!

Lindsay and Thomas!

Another day we headed up to Maryland to visit the Washington DC Temple. I have such wonderful memories of when this temple was built and how we were able to take people through on tours before the dedication. Lindsay really enjoyed being there.

The way cool thing about Facebook is being able to hook up with old friends! From 7th to 10th grade I attended a private school in Maryland. One gal stood by me through thick and thin...Laura! Earlier this summer she found me on Facebook and we were able to figure out a time to meet while I was back there visiting. What a great friend she was and is!!

I did NOT make the same mistake twice! When I saw this window I stopped breathing for a minute (OK, a few seconds)! This picture simply does not do it justice. It's dark outside while Sharon is holding it up, but with light coming through it, oh, the colors are just so beautiful...all these jewel tones and colors. Sharon wouldn't let me bring it home on the plane...oh well. So it is waiting for me in Virginia also. I can't wait to get it cleaned up and hung in the perfect place. All in all it was a fantastic trip. My oldest sister is very much like my mother to me. She was always there as I was growing up and I spent a lot of time at her home, with her kids...sweet memories. One night Pammy and Lindsay and I spent a couple of hours looking at my dad's slides...Pammy has this cackle of a laugh that is just her. I can hear it in my mind so clearly.

September!

Love the fall season...maybe it's because my birthday is in September. Whatever...this September was sure a busy one and here's a few highlights!

This picture is not quite in the right place, but oh well. When I got out to Utah Katie, Claire, and I did a little shopping up in Park City. Claire loves mirrors! I love this picture of her.

"Deer in the headlights" look by me! We LOVED Mary Poppins...it was amazing!!

Not quite sure when it was, but at some point I watched the Davis kiddos for a weekend. They are so much fun and I love each one of them! Kim and I are trading "services" kind of...she's Sarah's physical trainer and I give the older three girls piano lessons. Working pretty good! I headed out to Utah for a quick trip to help Lindsay at a wedding show she was doing at Thanksgiving Point...she's doing wedding announcements on the side. I crammed a lot of visiting in in just a few days. I was able to meet Holly's family - Chris' new in-laws. While in Bountiful for that visit I stopped over to see my Uncle Paul, my dad's last surviving brother. He was doing amazing. Two of his daughters, Christine and Pinkie (my cousins), live close by and it was great to visit with them. My Uncle Paul will be 95 (?) I think this month...wow! He served in World War II and this is a little information about his service!

Paul O. Huber joined the Army in January, 1941 and was assigned to the Field Artillery, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

On November 8, 1942, Huber and his men landed at Algiers, North Africa and captured an airfield. They fought with only small arms because the wrong ammo had been shipped and didn’t fit into the breaches of their cannons.

On July 10, 1943, Huber’s unit took part in the invasion of Sicily. During the brutal, six-week battle, Huber single-handedly manned a mountaintop observation post. Disregarding enemy shells raining down around him, he directed U.S. artillery on Nazi positions. For his gallantry, he was awarded the Silver Star.

On D-Day, June 6, 1944 Huber landed in the second wave of invaders on Utah Beach. Acting as the 9th Division’s liaison to allied paratroop forces, he forced his way inland to the French town of St. Mere Eglise and again was exposed to enemy tanks and artillery. For his actions he was awarded the Bronze Star.

At the city of Cherbourg, Huber helped accept the surrender of a German General and Admiral and the 4,000 enemy troops manning the garrison. Shortly after, he was given a battlefield promotion to Major.

Huber and his unit went on to fight in both the Huertgen Forest and the Battle of the Bulge. During March, 1945 his unit was one of the first to cross the Rhine River into Germany, utilizing the famed Remagen Bridge. He remembers watching the damaged bridge collapse, stranding U.S. forces in German territory. The University of Utah honored him on Veteran's Day this year, November 11th (also my dad's birthday!).

Pretty cool, huh??

Cousins Jayne and Lindsay. Fun stuff...Jayne and her husband, Ta, are adopting a little girl from Samoa. Paper work is all finally coming together and they are headed there during the Christmas break to pick up baby Poppy! Can't wait to meet her!

Love my sister Becky!! She always puts on a great meal when we come to town!!

That trip was just the beginning of a very crazy 4 months!!

My Missionary Named Marshall!!

Marshall has been called to serve in the Brazil Porto Alegre North Mission. He left on August 26th to serve in Brazil for two years. Marshall has been preparing for his mission pretty much his entire life and he was so excited. We had all tried to guess where he might go...we kept thinking it might be somewhere that he'd be able to use his 4 years of high school french. However, he was needed in Brazil, is learning Portuguese and loving it!

Rich has given Marshall his haircuts for most of his life...one more! To say that Marshall loved his cell phone and computer contact (namely Facebook) would be a huge, huge understatement! We had an appointment for Marshall to be set apart as a full-time missionary with President Holt Monday evening. Early that afternoon he handed me his phone and told me he'd turned it off and was ready to move forward and leave that all behind. In my mind I had expected for him to hang on to it to the very last second, but I was so pleased. It was an amazing transformation - those last 24 hours. We could literally sense the new mantel that had been placed on his shoulders. President Holt gave him an incredible blessing. The three of us left his home filled with great anticipation for what the next two years would bring.

After leaving President Holt's home we headed over to Lottawatta Creek for one more super yummy meal! Love this pic of Rich and Marshall!

August 26th...early in the morning. Sarah was on her way out the door for Seminary. One last hug and a bucket of tears for her big brother! These two have been great friends the last several years.

Marshall's flight left around noon, all as planned. He headed for Dallas where he met up with a couple dozen other missionaries also headed to Brazil. Rich and I headed for Cheesecake Factory and drowned our sorrow in a piece of Red Velvet Cheesecake...oh, so, so, so yummy!

Those first few days that your missionary is gone are filled with tons of anxiety! We finally heard he was there and all was well by the weekend. He looks so happy here!

Marshall and one of his first instructors. His first stop was in Sao Paulo at the CTM where he worked on learning the language and missionary lessons for approximately 8 weeks.

He left Sao Paulo for Porto Alegre in mid-October. This is a pic of President and Sister Pavan, his Mission President and wife. I don't even know these people, but have such appreciation for the service they are so freely giving. I know they will bless my son's life in ways that I could never even dream of.

This is a fairly recent picture of Marshall at the Porto Alegre Temple. I'm so glad that there is a temple in his mission and that he will be able to get there occasionally.

The first weekend in December and Marshall had his first baptism...so exciting to see people's lives change for the better!!

Marshall's first companion was named Elder J. Souza ("Souza" is a very common name and so they add an initial) on the left...he's recently finished his mission and gone home to Rio, and his second companion is Elder Quieroz from Salvador. Love the fact that they are always with a companion!

I am attempting to keep a much more detailed account of Marshall's mission experiences in a blog dedicated totally to the mission...check it out at www.elderbowerman.blogspot.com. I LOVE having a missionary. I am amazed...I don't think I could do what he's doing. We had a great conversation with him on Christmas Day. He sounded so happy. He talked a lot about his routine, how he does his laundry, the members, the area, etc. Moms live for these phone calls and I'm already mentally calculating how long away Mother's Day is when I get to hear his voice again.