Life Happens........

Yep, that's my excuse for neglecting to post anything for so long. I know- poor excuse. More than half a year has gone by since the last post. Yes, things have happened both good and not so good. But I'm still thankful for all I've been blessed with. Let's see....in our family, there have been some sad and hard moments as well as moments of happiness and contentment. The first of May brought terrible flooding to the Nashville area- we only had to deal with 5-6 inches of water in our basement when others lost so much!

Later in May, Joel and I made a trip to Oregon to spend some time with his parents. This was followed a few weeks later with another trip to Oregon for his mom's funeral.


Between the two trips, we moved into a new place on 2 acres. The bonus- a very big shop for Joel and all his building and woodworking tools. He's happy- I'm just anxious to do some work on the house. We also made a trip to Montana for the Schaffer family reunion on Flathead Lake. Jeepers! It was so nice to get away from the humidity!! Yes, it made me homesick but I know that we are where we are suppose to be at this time in our lives.



And of course, there have been those special moments that only grandchildren can bring.....

This is Lukas on one of his trips with Grandma to the park.












Alayna and Lukas- he wasn't too sure about that cold Flathead Lake water!




Annabelle seems to always be happy! Here she is taking a bath in her great-grandma's kitchen sink.

I'm a little tired and stressed but I very much appreciate all my blessings.......and I choose to be optimistic!!

Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be. - Grandma Moses

Family!!

To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there. ~Barbara Bush

Wow! I am so thankful for family! It's been a wonderful month or so- and all because of family. Christmas was so nice and peaceful with good food, fun times and especially because of family. Having my parents come from Montana and stay a few days just made it that much more special. Yep, a great Christmas!

Then, on Tuesday, Jan. 12th, our family welcomed a new member- Annabelle Thelma Sims. She was born at 12:30 in the morning and weighed 9 lbs, 12 oz., and was 21 inches long. She is a doll!! I love seeing Caleb hold her. He definitely has another love in his life. It's so much fun to see our family grow and we love our kid's little families.

Lukas continues to be a wonder to us all. He is so active- but in a good way. What a cutie! Grandpa Joel is Lukas's best buddy. We love how he does his little happy dance when he sees Joel. He has everyone at church wrapped around his finger. Speaking of church- Joel was called to be the second counselor in the Bishopric on Jan. 10th. What a shock! But boy oh boy do I like seeing him in a suit! :)

I so appreciate the knowledge I have that families can be together forever. What a comfort that is! No matter what happens in our life, our family will continue.

I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich. ~Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford