It's Birthday Time for Shane

This cutie is celebrating a Birthday today!

The baby of the family is turning 17!

SEVENTEEN!

We had cake and ice cream Sunday while Dad was here and the missionaries were over to join in--we need some extras around here now that we are down to the last of the Mohicans.

Here are some places to look at cute pictures and to read about  our Shane.

When he was a little preschooler, we had a lot of time together when the older seven were all in school. That was our warm up for this phase of life.

Here is Baby Shane with Big Brother Scott:

 Back then, we played a game called "I Love You More Than..."

I would say, "I love you more than all of the stars in the sky." and he would try to beat that with

"I love you more than all the sand on the beach."

We would go back and forth until he declared himself the winner and ran off to play. One morning when we were snuggled up together he came up with "I love you more than all of the pyramids in ancient Egypt!" It was hard to top that one for creativity.

The toughest thing about being Shane right now is being the last one at home. The other siblings think it would have been fun to try out being an "only child" for awhile, but Shane claims it's not all it's cracked up to be. 

Here's a little gem from the back of my journal:

"Shane was having a melt-down because I wouldn't let him have something that belonged to one of the older kids. As he kicked and yelled on the floor, I said

 'Shane, you don't always get everything you want.'

 He wailed back, 'YES... I.... DO!!!!"

Well Shane, I guess you know by now that you don't get everything you want--otherwise you would have a few more siblings so you wouldn't have to be the baby.

I'm sorry that didn't work out the way you wanted.

But hey! We can play a fun round of "I Love You More Than"!

Bonus Pictures:

His scrapbook page from a Father's Day gift we made for Dad many years ago.

Sleeping in a Russian Dance pose in his beloved car bed.

Happy Birthday Shane!

I love you more than all of the pyramids in ancient Egypt!

(I know, I totally copied you. I just can't top that!)

A Semi-Annual Update

Well, how have you been? I've been caught up in the day-to-day of life. Moving, then not moving. Packing like a mad woman and then not packing like a mad woman. Enjoying new grandchildren--joy and rejoicing and all of the good stuff. Serving in my calling, feeling the love and partaking of the wisdom of amazing Relief Society women. Allowing for the mourning process of leaving this place I have come to love. I think I am an East Coaster somewhere deep down, even though I am born and bred of Pocatello, Idaho and parts thereabout. I have sent some sobbing prayers to heaven asking why I had to come to love the people and the history and beauty here and now I have to leave. But you know I also sent sobbing prayers to heaven when I had to leave Washington and then again California so I'm starting to get the idea that I am supposed to be learning something here. Perhaps that there are amazing people yet to meet and love and vistas ahead to appreciate and more history to be learned.

Luckily, I am an (annoying) optimist so I am looking on the bright side.

Which is a little easier with the bone-chilling arctic weather we have been 

enduring here as of late. 

California sunshine, here I come.

Eventually.

In the meantime, we have two offers on the house and we are just waiting for the paperwork and etc. to work their way through the various bureaucracies. We'll see which one comes out on top.

While we are waiting, I offer a pictorial timeline for your viewing pleasure:

I started taking pictures of the places I love around here so I can hold them

in my heart and see them in my picture file too.

This is the unique, historical building that is home to our

local paper: The Newtown Bee.

The bee on the roof and the bee on the door...just... too awesome.

Christmas came and went....Shane and I felt the need to have a

real tree this year. Christmas Spirit was in short supply with 

everyone spread out across the country.

 We brought home a beautiful, fresh tree and

the amazing pine smell was magical.

We spent actual Christmas in the Golden State. Here you see our

Christmas Eve dinner. Andy saved the day by finding a beautiful spot on the 

beach right next to this awesome diner. So we enjoyed our yummy

food as we watched the sun go down over the ocean.

A perfect California Christmas...

...was made even better with some family time talking with

our missionaries. Sister Gale serving in the Illinois, Chicago West Mission

and

Elder Gale serving in the California, Los Angeles Mission. We were able to get

everyone on our Google Hangout and I loved listening to the family banter and the

grandchildren chiming in. Sam gave us a sampling of his Spanish and they both

shared experiences and testimonies. 

A few days after Christmas, we got to see family and friends in our

old ward in Ramona, California. We were there for the very special

occasion of the Blessing of our precious Mabel.

Look how adorable she is in the dress her Mama wore.

We enjoyed our time there and the Horton family hosted us

for dinner and entertainment. 

They are always fun to hang out with.

A few weeks after Christmas,

I zipped down to North Carolina for some daughter/grandbaby time. 

I love that we get to be friends now. 

One of the many rewards of mothering awesome kids.

Cuteness Alert! 

Reflecting on a Jar of Costco Pickles

Gentle Reader,
To say that life has been hectic would be an understatement. So much to blog about, so little time. Add to that the complete meltdown of my old faithful laptop. The one I held onto even when I got a new one for Christmas. I liked blogging on it because I knew exactly how to do everything on it. I'm an old dog who is slow to learn new tricks. It had a major overheating problem but I had learned to work around it. Until one Sunday morning when I printed off something for church and left it open and running without propping it up for air to circulate under it. I came home from church to find it cold and unresponsive. Since my in-house IT Support is on a mission, I was left to stare at it in shock and disbelief. How could I have been so careless?

So I am forced to stop living in the past and get on board with the new technology--which of course will be obsolete in a few months. I may even update my iPhone. Sam will be so proud. It's just that I like things the way they are. I am resistant to change. Which is probably why I keep getting forced opportunities to experience change and deal with it.

Life goes on as they say and I am adjusting to relocating (again) at the same time I am adjusting to the shift in my family dynamics. For so long I have enjoyed the happy chaos of a full house. For years it has been my daily routine to do three loads of laundry (minimum) and cook large quantities of food. I did not know the meaning of peace and quiet and couldn't imagine "alone time". I rarely had the luxury of thinking an uninterrupted thought and anytime I needed to talk on the phone, it turned into a game of hide and seek while I tried to find a quiet place as my children followed me from room to room and closet to closet with their loud insistence that I was desperately needed. I was up early with seminary goers and up late for heart-to-heart discussions and then on call through the night for nursings, bad dreams, sniffles, tummy aches or sometimes just that unnerving stare from a child standing by my bed that would startle me out of slumber.

It was my life and I wholly embraced it. It was my work and my glory to bring to pass the mortality and daily sustenance of those souls I had been entrusted with and I  was determined to give it my all.  I knew that one day these amazing people would grow up and go out on their own. Some days it didn't seem to be happening fast enough...but then Scott went off to BYU and suddenly it was like someone hit the fast forward and  he was on a mission and Siara was at BYU then Shanna followed her. And on it went one after the other until we were down to Sam and Shane, collectively known as the "little boys". Not so little any more.

So that brings us to now.  Our refrigerator/freezer got zapped by a power surge during a lightening storm while we happened to be out of town. We came home to the stench of rotting food and had to throw it all out and start over. I headed to Costco to replenish our food supply and began the familiar trek up and down the aisles. I came to the pickles and  looked at the gigantic jar of delicious kosher dills. I started to reach for it and then stopped as I was flooded with the realization that since Andy is working in California and Sam would be leaving in a few days for his mission, it would just be me and Shane. My life flashed before my eyes as I thought of all the giant jars of pickles we had consumed. Including many jars of pickles we canned from the cucumbers we grew in our garden. I thought of our food storage in Camas with its shelves and shelves of food staples including a shelf of pickles. I was blinking back tears and trying to remain composed as I drew back my hand. I would need to buy a small jar of pickles at the Big Y on my way home. Although the shrinking of our household happened gradually, suddenly my realization of it came in a cosmic shift. Standing in front of the pickles in my local Costco.

 I pondered this as I drove home--I was alone in the car and free to think uninterrupted thoughts! The truth is although the household is shrinking, our family--like the universe,is expanding. It has grown with the addition of spouses and grandchildren. I can accept the changes that keep coming because I know one thing that does not change: our family is eternal. And some of them  don't even like pickles.

Here We Go Again

The Gale Academy of Classical Education is on hiatus for the week so here is an opportunity to do some catching up. 

A list of recent happenings:

We found out that we have a couple of more Gale grandbabies on the way. 

Always joyous news! The Seth and Taylor Gale family have officially announced. That sweet little blessing is due in September. 

That is all I am authorized to say. 

Sam is almost finished with his freshman year at BYU. We got this notice in the mail:

He was invited into BYU's honor society due to his

"...early academic achievement at Brigham Young University"

He joins Siara who also earned that prestigious honor. 

He received his mission call to the California, Los Angeles (Spanish speaking) Mission. He reports to the Mexico City MTC June 11th. 

Spencer will be graduating from BYU next week.

 We are heading out to Utah for graduation and during our whirlwind trip, Andy will ordain Sam an Elder and we will all go to the temple with him to receive his endowment. So, overlapping happy family milestones! 

Spencer has earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and he and Adrianna will be heading out to Wisconsin to begin gainful employment right after graduation. Well done! Graduation and a real job! 

Also, this happened:

General Conference with CONFERENCE BINGO!

They ate all the Skittles right away so coloring was a fun way to fill in the squares.

Scott and Nicole and fam were here for Conference livening

things up for us.

I got to spend a week with these two princesses.

There was a lot of Frozen going on around here--

including some fun braided hairstyles.

Norah made the crown and dubbed herself

"Queen Norah"

She also planned a party. When she read the announcement and invitation she was

so cute, Shane and I laughed. She became quite indignant 

and decreed:

"No laughing at Norah! No laughing at the party!"

It was hard not to defy her Royal Decree!

This was the creative party favor she came up with.

These two loved sleeping in the "Big pretty bed" and were

merciful on their old Nana and slept really well. Bailey had some

growing pains the last night so I moved Norah to another room and laid down beside Bailey to rub her feet and her leg. At one point she was crying and I felt so

bad for her. I asked her if she wanted to say a prayer and she wailed,

"Nana, I can only do one thing at a time and I am crying right now!"

And, in conclusion,  you may already know that this is also going on around here:

Another move...

Clear back across the continent to

California.

Deja vu. 

Another job lured Andy away and he started there last Monday. 

Shane and I shall hold down the fort here until someone buys the fort.

I am in denial--the first step in the mourning process. 

Although I have done a lot of packing in spite of my delusional thinking.

I will let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, we have  been blessed beyond measure in so many ways I am going to trust that we will be where we need to be and our family will continue to grow and progress in all the ways we need to.

We Need a Little Christmas

I've been working on a project or two around these parts which has led me

into the Gale Family Archives. 

I get lost in the funny, cute, sweet, precious memories of

those amazing kids we were blessed with. 

I thought my projects would lead to Christmas

gifts but it looks they will be maybe for Birthdays.

Luckily the birthdays are spread out over the year so

I may just pull it off.

In the meantime....

Enjoy these blasts from Christmas Past:

Matching Jammies!

Siara showing our gingerbread (ok graham cracker) house tradition.

Christmas Eve Classic--Jammies for everyone except

Scott who preferred sweats and his awesome Blazer ensemble.

Joy School Christmas Pageant!

It was Seth's group but Spencer wanted to join in the fun....

so he threw on a pillow case and became a shepherd.

Bethany, Heather and Morgan-some familiar friends from the old Camas Ward.

California Christmas--the boys in their jamjams

This picture just cracks me up. 

Our Awesome Family Picture--perfect for our Christmas Card...

...except for Scott's lovely flower hat. 

The traditional Gale Family Nativity on Christmas Eve

got livened up when Seth decided to be Caesar Augustus.

Baby Shanna--

Not lovin' the Camas Ward Santa

A fun Cabin Christmas from a few years ago.

In Which Shayla Goes on a Mission

Just a really cute baby June with her PopPop on the Sunday morning that 

Shayla gave her farewell address in the Newtown Ward.

Miss Norah turned three the day before and blew out her candles. 

She plugged her ears as we sang "Happy Birthday"--can't say as I blame her.

Shayla and her fan club:

Bailey, Mason and Norah

The whole next generation of Gale posterity on one couch.

This is the only picture out of many that didn't have at least one child in motion and blurry.

Oh, but aren't they adorable?!

And off she goes to serve a mission. 

We were held up by traffic on the way to the airport and she had to hurry to make her flight.

 We had most of the summer to say good-bye but the final send-off was short and quick.

There were tears and smiles and hugs.

Our Sister Gale will be a wonderful missionary. 

Her loving heart and obedient spirit will serve her well as she serves the Lord.

Long Over-due Update

Gentle Reader,
Hello, it's been awhile. Life has been on fast forward here and the blog has been at the bottom of the "To Do" list. But things have settled for the moment so let me catch up a bit.

First, my camera went on a mission. Shayla has always liked my camera--mostly because it's red and we both love things that come in red. (I just realized that I regularly dressed her in red when she was a little girl--perhaps my color preference spilled over to her through her wardrobe. Hmmmm)

Case in point....

Anyway--she also likes its many features which are sorely underutilized by her mom.  So, I sent it with her to record her adventures on the mission. I haven't replaced it yet and in the meantime I have been using my phone to record the daily Gale Adventures. But, being technically challenged as I am, I haven't transferred the pictures from phone to laptop yet. So, reason number one for the lapse. 

Here are some pictures taken with that pretty red camera before it went off on a mission--

so I can do some catching up with those for now...

We said good-bye to Sam and sent him off to college.

(That event will get its own post--it's one of those half-finished ones hanging out in my archives) 

Mason!

Shanna came to visit and we went apple picking.

Mason was a dedicated apple picker

He worked hard to fill that bag

Sweet Miriam was her usual adorable self--she gets that from her Mama.

It was fun to hang out with Shayla before she left 

So there's a partial catch-up--

to be continued...