October

Abby turned 8! We were so proud of her decision to get baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!  It was such a special day, made even more so by having Grandma and Grandpa McLaughlin, Grammie and Grandpa Ward, Aunt Jennie with Josh and Emma, and Aunt Melissa's family all there.   

 

 

 

It was a busy weekend with Abby's baptism and James's baby blessing, but we were so happy to be able to fit it all in with so much family here.  Here James is getting some love from Aunt Melissa after his big day.

and more love from his cousin Austin

 

Abby and her friend Krista (who share the exact same birthday) had a joint party this year.  All the girls got their hair, make-up, and nails done, got to dance and play in the party room, and topped it off with a limo ride after ice cream and cake.  It was the most stress-free party ever and so much fun!

 

Abby's Favorites at 8:

Color: Blue

Food: Cauliflower

Book: The Gernonimo Stilton series

Movie: Rise of the Guardians

TV Show: A.N.T. Farm

Treat: Donuts

Sport: Tennis

Activity: riding bikes

Song: "Blown Away"

Place: Disney World

 

 

Halloween!

 



 We had fun carving pumpkins with Grammie and Grandpa

(Emily's, Abby's, and Jane's pumpkins)

 

 

Grandpa surprised us with his Mitt Romney mask when we drove up one afternoon

Grandpa with the boys

Playing CandyLand



                                            

Baby James meeting Aunt Jennie and Josh

                                            

Grandpa was able to squeeze in a bike ride to the bayou with the kids before Grammie and Grandpa had to leave

Field Day 2012

 

Sweet Baby James

James Matthew

September 5, 2012

8 pounds 14 ounces

21 3/4 inches

Amazing photography compliments of Marci at www.threepeasphoto.com

 

Will has been loving "baby brother"

It was wonderful to have Grammie come and take care of us all for a week! 

Summer Fun

 Camping at Matagorda Beach

 Emily and Abby participated in a show choir camp while Jane went to a ballet camp.

 Father's Day 2012 -- Breakfast in bed wouldn't be complete for Mark without a bowl of Reeses Puffs

 All three of the girls enjoyed tennis camp

 The tennis camp coach offered to have Will join the toddler camp.  He was a bit young, but it gave him something to look forward to :)

 

 His favorite part were the treats afterward

 Family night at the Astros

 We stayed close to home this summer due to the baby, but we were able to get away for a fun weekend at the Great Wolf Lodge.

 Emily became quite the baker this summer.  Here is her first batch of Grammie's homemade rolls -- delicious!

Off for the first day of Kindergarten, 2nd grade, and 5th grade!

March

 Like father like son.  Will all prepped to drive a golf cart.  He's obsessed with "vroom, vrooms" these days.

 Emily turned 10 with a pajama party.  We had such fun making flip flop slippers, decorating cupcakes and watching a movie on the big screen. 

 Will's first "official" haircut -- the other being an unmentionable experiment made by Mommy who has no experience cutting hair (how difficult can it be to cut a little boy's hair?!).  Fortunately, he was too young to notice the comments like: "So you tried to cut Will's hair yourself, huh?"

Busy boy.  Lots of exploration and messes these days!

Family Reunion

For the first time in 17 years, we were all together again, just my parents and their seven children (no spouses or children were able to make it to the funeral).  It was wonderful to all be together as adults and spend time together celebrating Grammie's life -- a life so well-lived.

 My beautiful sisters

Virginia Elaine Davis Ward

August 6, 1921 ~ January 23, 2012

On January 23rd, I received a call from my mom saying that Grammie Ward had passed away at the age of 90.  While I’ll terribly miss the presence and influence of this truly angelic woman, I felt overwhelming joy as I thought of her released from the constraints of mortality (she had been in decline for the past few years) and reunited with those she loved so dearly who had gone before.  I could just imagine her joyful smile and contagious chuckle as she was reunited with Grandpa, Uncle Philip, her baby daughter Julie Anne, her parents.  I’m so grateful for her influence in my life. 

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Grammie.

 

 Young mother.

 Young love

 Grammie was often asked to model for newspaper ads for local department stores.  Whenever I've seen these photos, I've thought she looked like a 1940s film star.

Beautiful, irrepressible Grammie