Forever is Composed of Nows

Welcome to the World Little One!

Earlier this month, I flew to Texas and with fortuitous timing, this little guy made his debut about a day later. 

Meet our 8th grandchild:

 Porter Scott Gale

8 lbs. 6 oz. 20.5" tall.

Son of Scott and Nicole and little brother to Bailey, Norah and June.

He was born on his Aunt Shanna's Birthday on General Conference weekend.

The Conference blessings just keep piling up!

The big sisters meeting baby brother.

And Nana crying happy tears and bursting with joy.

June likes to check on her little brother. 

My son with his son.

Nicole and her sweet baby boy. 

Beautiful--inside and out.

Another Vacation Highlight

During our week of Disney, I spent a fun day with our granddaughters chilling at the hotel.

I wanted to give their parents a day to play child-free.

We did the laundry and you know, riding in the elevator,

putting quarters in the washer and dryer and 

watching the clothes spin around

proved to be great fun!

I enjoyed the air conditioned comfort and the girls enjoyed

hotel furniture gymnastics.

We went down to the pool grill for lunch and enjoyed some

On Site

"DINNING"

(This made me a little crazy--you know how I am about grammar and spelling)

Technically, it was On Site Dinning when 

baby June wanted a drink of Norah's smoothie,

there was some very loud protesting...

And then Norah kindly shared with her by accidentally dumping it in her lap.

But, since we were just an elevator ride away from a bathtub,

not a problem!

After naptime and an afternoon snack, we met up with the rest of our gang for dinner. 

The next morning when Nicole got the girls up for another day of The Magic Kingdom,

 she told me they asked,

 "Can we stay here with Nana again? That was fun!"

So when it comes to entertainment, Nana's right up there with Disney.

How We Spent Our Summer Vacation

Remember when I used to keep a blog? 

Yeah....

 I begin posts

of questionable importance and then I get interrupted 

and they are left to hang out in the archives gathering dust...

Here's one:

We went to Disney World.

This was a long over-due promise kept.

When Shane and Sam were wee young-uns, we planned a family vacation to Disney World.

A few months before, we were at the Oregon coast on a very busy holiday week-end at a very crowded beach and Sam decided to find his own way to the restroom. 

(We had been momentarily distracted by Seth on a beach bike, running

 into a poor, defenseless elderly lady.) 

Sam, being the independent three-year-old that he was, didn't feel any need to ask for adult supervision to negotiate the crowd and made his way alone to the bathrooms far, far away.

Just as I was in full hysteria and Andy had recruited the life-guard to help us look for him, Sam came sauntering nonchalantly across the sand..

That was the moment I realized I could not handle eight children in a crowded amusement park.

But six seemed doable.

So, for their safety and my sanity, we got an awesome babysitter to spend the week with the little boys. And we  promised  we would take them when they were a little older. 

So, fifteen years later, promise fulfilled.

Whew! 

Anywho, we tagged along with Scott, Nicole and those adorable little granddaughters.

We enjoyed all of the Disney fun in varying groups and worked the Fastpass system with

great precision thanks to the Gale Force Logic Team.

The little girls did the Princess Tour

I think my princesses are pretty sweet!

It was a real Princess Palooza! 

Their Daddy was cast in the role of Palace Guard during

 the theatrical performance of

Enchanted Tales With Belle--

he was a good sport and quite the actor:

And Bailey had a starring role as Belle's father.

She gave a stunning performance--shivering in prison.

Sam and Shane's childhood Dream-come-true

(If you wish upon a star...makes no difference who you are!)

Getting a hug from Tigger!

And we conclude this post with a cute picture of the ever-adorable

June.

Sitting in a Dinosaur Restaurant.

In Disney World.

With a dinosaur hat on her head.

Good times.

Life Lately

Here's a quick re-cap of the ongoing adventures of the Gale gang...

First, an adorable picture of that sweet baby June:

Miss June on her Blessing Day

Andy and I celebrated our 30th Wedding Anniversary--hard to believe it has been that long. We enjoyed some time in New York City--and that deserves a post of it's own...so stay tuned! While we were
there--during the intermission of "Spider Man: Turn Off the Dark" in fact--we found out Sam was accepted to BYU Provo. There was some mad texting going on between Sam--who was at the Manhattan Temple on a youth temple trip (he was actually walking back from Chipotle with the Bishop at the time; so don't worry--no texting was going on IN the temple!) and Shayla and me. Shayla looked it up for us and announced the good news to Sam and he told me. Perfect timing and much rejoicing. Sam applied a year early and without a high school diploma so we were holding our breath and hoping. He will get a year of college at BYU before his mission which will be good preparation for him.

In the meantime, I was surprised to find that my service was requested as president of our Relief Society. The last two times I was called to fulfill that calling, I had a clear forewarning. The Lord used to mercifully prepare me for things that He knew would overwhelm me. I was humming along enjoying my youth Sunday School class and having fun every month as Cubmaster and never even saw it coming. The Lord moves in mysterious ways. I have lived here seven months and felt at a disadvantage in choosing counselors and secretary but thank goodness for inspiration and guidance. Especially since I wasn't even there for my first Sunday on the job. I was in New Jersey...

...for June's baby blessing--rescheduled after the big storm (one of the many big storms!). We packed up the Uncles Sam and  Shane and made the drive to New Jersey. It was a fun weekend with Scott and Nicole and their sweet girls.

The Uncles with baby June

I gave the camera to Bailey and she got some great shots:

Her Mom--the always lovely and amazing Nicole

Little Sis Norah 

A window and wall composition with construction

paper balloon.

She stood up on the couch for this one.

Selfie!!

Shoe shot

Nana and Bailey shoe shot

Baby sister with Nana

That was fun!

I should mention that I have been homeschooling Shane since January. We are starting small with a couple of other kids coming here twice a week for TJYC and some history, math and science.

It was a big decision that I was putting off while I gathered information and resources. It was

hard to start over AGAIN in a new place. But there have been many tender mercies and we

are loving it. Well, I am loving it and Shane is not hating it.

 I take what I can get with the Truthist. 

Shayla has been loving BYU and will be staying for spring term. She has awesome roommates and they are moving into an apartment together after this semester. The big leap from dorm to apartment! In the meantime she has been getting her papers in for a mission. She loves her mission prep class and we talk often

about the many things BYU is doing in their wards and stakes to prepare SO MANY missionaries.

We will be awaiting the news on her call in a couple of weeks. 

And finally, Gentle Reader, 

I am going to be 50 in a couple of weeks. FIFTY YEARS OLD. And as crazy as this sounds, I can only think of the many good things that have come my way in 50 years of earth life. I don't mind the wrinkles and seriously I have only had one grey hair so far. Thank you genetics. (And no thank you genetics for the buck teeth and the greasy hair and huge pores. You win some, you lose some).

So, where was I? I'm getting old and forget what I was saying sometimes. Oh! The wrinkles and the weakening eyesight and the slower metabolism are a small price to pay for the wisdom and experience that I get to take with me For the joys of eternal family ties. The amazing blessings that come with each and every child and grandchild. The peace that comes from knowing my purpose here and having the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to guide my path. I have lived long enough to know that in the tough times, I can find comfort and that it will all work together for my good.  

My annoying optimism wins out and I keep finding Joy in the journey.

And that's why I kept this Christmas decoration up after the holidays.

The view from my window.

Sisters

We enjoyed several weeks here with the always adorable Gale Sisters: the next generation.

Nicole and Bailey and Norah hung out with us here while their house in Texas was packed up and the new place closed. It is always a joy to have the energy and enthusiasm of those two little girls. And their Mama is pretty awesome too--we enjoyed a lot of girl time which was nice for me.

 What with me being all outnumbered around here nowadays. 

Even the dog is a boy.

 There is a fine line between sweet, happy togetherness and "she's all up in my space" togetherness. These two cross that line from time to time--but the sweet happy stuff is SOOO adorable.

On this morning, Bailey decided it was Norah's Birthday and she wanted to make her a cake.

So she made it out of Norah's breakfast of blueberries and yogurt.

This is a pictorial of Bailey mopping the floor...

she is a hard worker.

She was really serious about getting the floor clean...

even though the mop is taller than she is.

She was also a happy helper putting the silverware away:

Norah was a natural alpha with Gunner (I don't have any pictures of her with him--I was usually hanging out with Bailey while Norah was sleeping in in the morning or napping)

She would follow him around and say:

"Hey Gunna! Hey boy!"

and then hold her arms out and say

"Gimme a hug."

We still say "Hey Gunna! Hey Boy!" at least a dozen times a day to him.

Bailey was a little more wary of the dog. She did warm up to him eventually and he basked in the glory of the many chocolate Cheerios she tossed his way. She was always very careful to stay up higher than the dog with her arms and legs out of reach.

She is a wisely cautious little girl.

Bailey loved to help with the cooking. We had a lot of fun together in the kitchen.

Bailey's imagination is another source of entertainment. She came with her Cinderella doll and I found her a pioneer Barbie in a box of Aunt Siara and Shanna's old Barbies.Yes, there were pioneer Barbies. They were in a sale bin at Fred Meyer years ago. 

Clearly I was the only mom who was excited to find a modestly dressed Barbie. 

They were not a big seller.

 Bailey called her Apple Girl and she and Cinderella had many adventures along with the other odd Barbie we dug out of the box of toy relics. 

This is Cinderella getting a check-up. Bailey put the stethoscope around her waist instead of in her ears.

All tuckered out after a walk. Norah was asleep on the other side 

but she was up running around by the time I got the camera.

I got to do Bailey's bedtime routine with her each night. We would agree on the number of books that would be read on the couch and then up in bed. She reminds me of her Dad--a shrewd negotiator. One night I told her we had read the allotted number of books and she should go to sleep.

She asked if she could just look at a book. That seemed reasonable. Pretty soon she was saying, "What is this word Nana?" and I would tell her. And then another word and another until I realized we had read the whole book.

 But when she snuggled up and said

 "Nana I feel so comfortable because I love you so much!"

I was willing to read her a hundred books.

We enjoyed our time with those precious granddaughters. And now they live close enough that we will get more of those good times. 

And there is another sweet girl on the way. 

She will be joining her sisters around Christmastime.

Wherein I Boast Shamelessly About My Adorable Grandchildren

We are now the proud grandparents of two precious little girls! I'm not going to beat around the bush here--it's awesome! I love my kids like nobody's business but they were work--grandchildren are all play. It really is payback time.

I was lucky enough to spend some very happy days with our little Bailey last week. Mama went to the "hopistal" to have "Baby Sister" and Bailey hung out with me at their house. I took her to Costco where they happened to be serving free samples (can you believe it?) of strawberry smoothies. Bailey enjoyed her free sample and sweetly asked for another. Normally I would never think of going back for a second OR allowing one of my offspring to do so. But you know I turned the cart around and went back TWO more times for Bailey to have some more. Even when she spilled one. Why? Look at those big blue eyes and imagine her saying

 "More please, Nana."

She enjoyed coloring.

She is a happy little helper--no slacker here! She ran to get the broom

and got right to cleaning when she saw some crumbs on the floor.

Mac and Cheese is a favorite.

 She needs a spoon AND a fork and savors every bite!

She's not quite two but she knows her left foot from her right.

(She also knows all the letters and sounds of the alphabet and

any color or shape. And that's not all! She also knows

her geography: she points to the states on the map and names them...as well as the

people she loves who live in that state. )

She can put her shoes on like a pro.

She has amazing hair and she even let me french braid it one day.

Maybe it was because I let her play with the DVDs and

that kept her still long enough to do the job.

Shhhh, don't tell "Daddo"



Bailey with Daddo and Norah



Bailey was so excited to see her Baby Sister...as we drove to the"hopistal" she told me:

"I want to see Baby Sister! I need to talk to Baby Sister."

I'm sure they will have plenty to talk about.

Calm, serene, happy little Norah

Ten Perfect little toes...

She got her fair share of hair.

I think this will do for my Quarterly Grandchild Adoration Blog.

But since there are two now I believe I can double the bragging.

I'll have to check on that.