Mallory's Blessing Day

Here are some pictures of Mallory just before she was blessed.  As I stated before this is the dress her mother was blessed in.  I should have put her on a contrasting blanket but this is the ensemble she was blessed in.  It was a beautiful day, full of joy.  She was so sweet during her blessing.  Like I have stated before.  It was a great trip.  More pictures of the trip will follow but I will be focusing more heavily on Marcus, Pam and Chris and the Bahlmann's for the next few days because if their birthdays and anniversary.  

Home Again, Home Again...

 I apologize up front for this lengthy blog.  I had made a pledge to myself to keep them short this year.  Unfortunately there is no other way today.  We are back home in Middletown, Rhode Island once more.  We got on the plane and looked across the aisle and a sweet young family from our ward - the Harpels - were sitting there.  They were coming home from California.  We have gotten quite close to them and his parents because his parents live in Connecticut, where our stake center is.  It was quite fun to be greeted by a friendly face at the airport and get a big hug on our arrival from Connecticut Harpel family!  Our flight was  textbook perfect - left on time, arrived on time.  Our suitcases were the first ones off the plane and we were home literally 40 minutes after we left the plane.  It was because of the great prayers of our grandchildren and daughter - I know it and I will put the praise where it belongs.  It was hard to leave the Bahlmann family.  We had a great time with them.  Mallory is a joy and this time Luke warmed up to us immediately so we had a great time with the whole family all along.  Plus we got to see the Davis family and that was just wonderful.  I will post pictures tomorrow but right now I am playing 'catch up'.  


I read 4 books on the plane but one just keeps haunting me.  It was titled "Unwrapping Christmas" by Lori Copeland.  It was basically my autobiography at one time in my life.  This woman was so busy with church and her children's school's charitable activities that she didn't have time for her family.  She didn't know how to say "No".  Finally she fell down on Christmas Eve and couldn't perform her family responsibility and the extended family had to step in.  The world didn't stop.  It took a nervous breakdown for me to realize that the world could go on without me and that my family and marriage were the number 1 priority in my life.  Up to that point I thought I was being so benevolent when what I was really being was a martyr - not to the outside world - just to my family.  I almost lost a daughter during this time.  Thankfully the Lord has given me a second chance with her.  It was just a reminder that the Lord and family are always our first priority.  My daughters are far better mothers than I ever was.  It makes me proud.

Hello, Goodbye!

For the last 2+ weeks we have been in Las Vegas spending time with the Bahlmanns.  We were able to have Christmas with them and share in our newest granddaughters baby blessing on January 2. Pam, Chris and Dutch also came down and spent the weekend of January 1st with us and that was a joy so we were able to see two of our daughters and 1/2 of our grandchildren.  It has been a pretty incredible trip.  I am having a hard time going home to reality but it has to be done.  Tomorrow I will be in cold, dark Rhode Island.  The only plus side is our wonderful Church family there.


The above pictures are the Bahlmann family picture that Jodi Carpenter took last summer in Kerrville, a picture we took in Cedar City, Utah when our family was there for Heidi's college graduation of Anneke and Marcus and a picture of Anneke taken last summer.  

Pam on Rollerblades

Here is a picture of Pam on Rollerblades when we lived in quarters on the VA grounds in Kerrville, Texas.  She received them for her birthday.

Pam at 18 months

In keeping with my idea of posting pictures of people whose birthday and anniversaries it is this month, here is Pam at 18 months.  Pam is our youngest daughter.  The whole time I was carrying her, I was calling her Diana Eloie but Clyde was calling her Jenny Rebecca.  When she was born, I looked at her and knew her name was Pamela Eloie.  It was a name we never even considered up until the minute I saw her.  Pamela means 'all honey' and she has had platinum blonde hair her whole life.  Eloie was for a very special neighbor of my parents that our daughters grew up calling 'Grandma Eloie'.  Eloie Martin's birthday was January 19 and Pam's birthday is January 17.  Once again I apologize for the pink picture but this is what happens when you lose the roll of film for years before developing it.

Blessing Day!

This is a picture of my father and Carianne on the day she was named and blessed.  Today we are doing that same thing for Mallory Hope Bahlmann, our newest granddaughter.  Mallory will be wearing the same dress as Carianne (and her mother and aunts wore) and that her sister and cousins wore to be named and blessed. I will post pictures later.  

The End And a New Beginning

This really has nothing to do with January except that it does portray 'The End' very well. This is Heidi and Pam's graduation day with their bachelors.  Pam had already graduated in the morning and we were down in Cedar City for Heidi's later that afternoon.  That is Anneke in the middle.

This is the group coming back after Heidi's graduation, hence the beginning.  Here is hoping this New Year is the beginning that you each want.  Happy New Year!