Good Friday

Meet the newest member of the Gale family:

Miriam JoAnn

8 lbs. 3 oz.

Born in a birthing center with the

gentle attendance of midwives.

When Shanna called to tell me she was in labor, I jumped in my car and started driving.

I drove through eight states and through the night and through some

snarly traffic jams until I got to the birthing center.

Just a few minutes after Miriam made her grand entrance into the world.

Which was just a few minutes after midnight.

Which was Good Friday.

A very good Friday. 

I hurried to wash my hands and held that sweet little granddaughter. 

She was calm and alert and quietly looked around.

After her inspection, she was pronounced perfect and she nursed and fell asleep.

So we all decided to take a little nap. The midwife pulled out a couch bed for me, and 

everyone else settled in for a snooze. That little baby slept for so long we all crashed until the sun came up.

We bundled up that little bundle of joy and took her home to meet her big brother.

Who had spent the night in the care of his Keaton grandparents.

He said "Hi baby sister!"

Miss Miriam showing us some graceful ballerina moves.

(Isn't a baby stretching just the cutest!?)

Getting to know Aunt Siara

On her blessing day, I dressed Miriam in the blessing gown that I made for 

her mama when she was my little baby girl.

Mother and Daughter

Mason wasn't pleased with all the picture taking...

...but he warmed up to it a little later!

Welcome to the family, little one.

Birthday Boy

Brand-new Baby Mason

One Year Ago

(I just noticed that one of my FAVORITE pictures is right behind me~)

I was holding my grandson just a few minutes after I saw him born.

Shanna had him with midwives in attendance in a hundred-year-old home that is

now a birthing center.

The lights were dimmed, soft music was playing. There was a sacred feeling

of reverence in the room. It wasn't an easy birth--and if she had been in a

hospital she very likely would have had a c-section. (My daughter has a "tipped uterus" just like me and it made it difficult to dilate and slowed her progress for several hours)  But because of the inspiration and skill of the amazing women watching over her, it was a beautiful and natural birth.

I still remember the lovely smell of the essential oils they used to get the cervix to dilate the last bit--Mason came out smelling like lavender and rose. I am sharing more than I intended to here, but I can't celebrate Mason's one-year-milestone without remembering his special delivery.

Mason at Burgerville with his Daddy

So a whole year has flown by and Mr. Mason is walking and talking and keeping his parents on their toes--as any good one-year-old should.

Happy Birthday!

Blessed

Mason wore the outfit his Daddy was blessed in.

Mother and Child

Mason, freshly blessed with Mom and Dad.

Holiday Special

Thanksgiving Day at the Gale Home:







The Day After Thanksgiving Day at the the Gale Home:

I am wearing shorts and flip-flops---it was 80 degrees

We got an artificial tree from Costco. Due to the high flammability of the state of California--and more especially here in the dry desert of the southern end of the state--we didn't even consider a real tree.

Shanna and I dragged it out of the box and put it together.

I was pretty excited about it being "pre-lit" because wrapping the lights around the tree is my least favorite past time. It took some engineering skill for us to get it put together, but we managed.

I plugged it in with great anticipation ...

...and only one section of lights came on.

My first thought was that the tree was faulty.

Then I considered the possibility that there was some

connecting that needed to be done between the sections.

Brilliant deduction.

I dug through the box it came in looking for instructions, but couldn't find any.

So we had to rely on our own electrical engineering experience:

random plugging and unplugging...

VOILA!

We had a beautiful, artificial, pre-lit

Christmas Tree.

And then I noticed the directions were taped to the lid of the box it came in.

It was Sam's turn to put the Angel on top.

He has waited 8 long years for the privilege!

When you are 7th in a family of 8 kids you learn to be patient and take turns.

Hopefully.

And the next day it rained all day long.

That is only the second time we have seen rain since we moved here. It was fun feeling like we were back in the Northwest with the rain coming down and turkey soup simmering.

Shanna and I made two batches of fudge with two different recipes.

One of us might have broken the thermometer into the second batch of fudge.

We're pretty sure we got all the glass out.

So don't worry.

And to top off the holiday,

BYU beat University of Utah.

Good times, good times.

Wish You Were Here

Christmas this year didn't turn out quite the way we planned. Thanks to mother nature and over-stressed airlines, Shanna and Austin weren't able to get here for our family Christmas.

I laid on my closet floor and cried until my ears filled up with tears. Then I realized that wasn't any way to spend Christmas.

And my ears were wet.
We had to somehow muddle through without our Nunny and her Hubby here with us.
Bailey made our Holiday cheery and bright. This was the little dolly Sant brought for her. Shane was VERY happy with the giant Calvin and Hobbes books he got.
Siara in her pirate pantaloon pajamas.

(Shanna...ummm...yours are like this too. Matching jammies are a tradition!)

Can you say "MONKEY SLIPPERS!"
Mmmmmm Mashed Potatoes
Our traditional ginger-bread house. The other part of the tradition that developed with the younger four boys: we blow it up.
Thanks to Scott's engineering talent we found a way for Shayla to get the angel on the tree.

The angel has landed

An aerial shot of the cabin...Grandpa and Sherrie were here.

The Christmas Eve feast

There's a big hole in the stair picture where Shanna and Austin should be!

WISH YOU WERE HERE!

We LOVE you!!

Merry Christmas!!!!

NOW It's Official

Just so you know, now that your name is on a Christmas Stocking,

there is no going back. You are now officially part of the wacky Gale Family.

Please try to make the best of it--Eternity is a long time.

Dinner Conversation

While we were in Utah to greet our new granddaughter, we had the chance to get together with our kids who live there. Shanna was kind enough to host dinner at her home Sunday night and she and Siara put on a lovely spread. It was so nice to sit down with our older four and Shanna's hubby and enjoy dinner and conversation.

Austin works at a sporting goods store and was telling us how guns are selling like hotcakes because people are worried about gun restrictions after the presidential election.

Austin: Yeah, business is booming--we are selling guns like crazy. People are worried they won't be able to get guns after the election.

Siara (who works at Nordstrom in the handbag dept.): I wish they felt the same way about handbags.