Home for the Holidays!

This year that phrase brings a new and deeper meaning than ever before.

Twas a week before Christmas and all through our house,
not a creature was stirring we'd all headed north.

We had a baptism and blessing and things to attend,
Even Lindsay was planning her trip from Bend.

Jen and with her kids were the first to arrive,
with an older sister checking on every hour of drive.

Then it was I who arrived on a flight from Southwest
and grateful for Rich to give his 4 wheel drive such a test.

Brian and Mal headed north in their new car
because of the storm it took more time to travel that far.

Natalie then boarded a flight that was soon coming our way
she stopped in Boise and found Bill too, on his way.

Saturday arrived and Redden's baptism day,
The weather was terrible but most found their way.

We all got dressed up and ready to go
We hoped that we'd all make it through the deep fallen snow.

We arrived at the church and had a wonderful time
but soon learned that Mother nature was not being kind.

So we decided it was best if we blessed the new babe
because the chance to leave would soon possibly fade.

We gathered at Andreas for food and some fun
and realized we're staying when the forcast was done.

The weatherman relayed some bad news to us all
We will all have to hunker down for a very long haul.

It was snowing and blowing on I-84
We were going nowhere and must stay indoor

We had 19 of us in that Turner household
We soon realized this would be a story often retold.

For most I am sure that it was a challenge to bear
but for Grandma Chris it was a chance I hold dear.

You see the grandchildren are not often together
Now you can see why I was so glad for this weather.

Children were running around and around
and people were sleeping all over the ground

Andrea learned from what prophets had said
What food should be saved so that your family is fed.

Bless her heart for her efforts and listening close
We all had plenty to eat be it her fruit or pintos.

Our dear Jenni was busy with her scissors a clipping
She had people lined up for their turn at her snipping

We waited and waited for news from that man
hoping he would tell us we could continue our plan.

The news was announced early Tuesday morn
As the news came to me i was really quite torn.

It was time to pack up and to head out the door
We first must buy chains from the old tire store.

A special thanks must be given to Brian, my son
Your putting on snowchains i am sure wasnt fun.

We sprang to our cars to be on our way
You see I-84 had verily opened that day.

But a tear came to my eye as we drove out of sight

Merry Christmas to my children I'll miss you alright!

It's an Early Christmas!

Today I came home from work to find a box from Sydney, Australia. Inside it had Cadbury Chocolate, a McDonalds card I sent him but it wont work there, a bag of tim tams, some Milo (the drink you drink when doing the infamous Tim Tam Slam), A surprise for a nephew, and my most favorite, another MEMORY CARD! I just had to post one of his videos to see if you think he's getting an accent.

I am gearing up to be the #1 Aunt once again.

My little sister and her husband and their son Bridger, had the stork deliver a new addition to their family.
I think his name will be Landry and he weighed 6lbs 6 oz and about 19" long
I cant tell if he looks like KC or if he has some Painter shining through.
Isnt he adorable??

Thanksgiving in Idaho

First off I want to say thanks to Mom for letting us come up for Thanksgiving! Its always fun to go back home. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner with all the expected dishes.
I have to give two thumbs up to Janiece and her two girls for making the cutest place settings I've seen! Home made cornucopias! She took sugar cones and steamed them so they would get soft and then they formed then into the shape of cornucopias and then put candy corn and also the little pumpkins that are also made out of the same kind of candy. Take a look at these! Arent they cute?




We played Rummy, Blackjack, Texas Hold 'em (I took Brad to the cleaners on this game!, and Apples to Apples. We laughed so hard that I think my little sister and I may have wet our pants. I blame mine on my age and she blames hers on being 8 1/2 months pregnant. We all stayed up and talked till wee hours of the morning. We had a race getting our PJ's on with Grandma Wilm and had more fun than you can imagine.
Here are some pics of times during the holiday weekend.







Thanks to Mom, Brent, Janiece, Dan, Laura, Jeff, Bailey, McKell, Quade. Thanksgiving dinner was awesome. Thanks to Brad, Kim, Hayden, Kylee, Natalie, Cari, KC, Bridger for joining us later in the day to have fun.

My nieces and nephews are great, I got lots of hugs, and back rubs and even pictures drawn for me. I hate to break it to you Cari and Chuck, I still think I am the favorite AUNT!!

Girl's Night Out!

First off I just want to tell Natalie and Mallory thank you for taking me along to see Twilight! I finally caught a glimpse of how people got so attached to Harry Potter movies and couldnt wait for the next one to come out. I am still not sure how they got 122 minutes of a movie to feel like it lasted 22 minutes but they did.
Although when we headed up to the movie and went in the parking garage I almost went bonkers. We got in there and moved about 10 feet every 20 minutes. So I told Mallory she better go in because it was getting so close to the movie start time and I knew how badly she wanted to see it. Thank heavens we happen to all get into the theatre just as the previews were finishing. After the movie we headed to The Melting Pot to enjoy dinner. I think Mal and Natalie got a little bit giddy from the cheese fondue. Its a good thing I was the designated driver!
Thanks again Mal and Natalie and for those of you that havent seen "Twilight" its a must.

My Trip to Wendell

Well this past weekend I spent with my other 3 grandchildren, Riley, Madison & Little Lily Bug (i'll post a picture to prove that name fits her)
Grandpa Jeff and I took off for Wendell Friday afternoon about 3:30 and headed up to Wendell. We wanted to surprise a little boy that was turning 5. We made it up there about 8:30 and when we peeked in the door I got the best hugs from Riley and Madison. Jen and Bill and the kids waited for me and Grandpa to get there to have cake and ice cream. He had the neatest cake that Jen had made her self that looked like Lightning McQueen. He got a lot of neat stuff for his birthday.















Lily Bug is being a Lady Bug for Halloween and so her name does fit the costume. As you can see she makes a pretty cute bug!


















Then Saturday Jen and Bill took us to see the land that they want to build a house on in Hagerman. It's such a neat lot with good neighbors and close friends that live near and the view is so much nicer than where they are now. I hope they are able to make that move soon.
They also took us to a home that Bill has been working on. As you can see in the pictures below ITS HUGE! The smaller building is a guest home on top of a 3 car garage while they build the home. It was interesting and more like a resort than a home. It had the look of an old castle and we all hiked up the spiral stair case to the top windows on the far right side of the photo. IT was quite a trip wasnt it Grandpa Jeff? (I'll post them when I figure out how to get them off my camera)

Then later Saturday Jen, Riley, Madison, Lily and I went to a pumpkin patch in Buhl. The kids had fun picking out some pumpkins and some gourds. We brought them home and decorated their front porch. As you can see Riley and Lily didnt mind their new guest, but the reason Madison isnt pictured is she wouldnt get close enough to it to have her picture taken :)

















Bill, Jen, Riley, Madi and Lily Bug, Thank you for letting Gma Chris and Gpa Jeff come up and have fun with you guys. We love you so much!!

Trip to Oregon

I just got back from Oregon last night and had a great time.
Friday: I was able to get Redden up and off to school and we didnt even miss the bus. Austin and I got to play hockey with Star Wars figures. (dont knock it till you've tried it) We played the Memory game and then met dad at A&W for lunch. Later that day I went to the hospital and got to take the roll of "director" and video tape the birth of my 3rd granddaughter. I really dont think I am partial in anyway but dang she just as cute as the other 5 grandkids I have.
Saturday: This was soccer day and with Austin and Redden both having games, Guess who got to play soccer grandma? Thats right me! Now Redden and I did good getting ourselves to the soccer field (mind you I havent driven around Oregon City much). We got there just in time for it to begin to down pour. So I decide to sit in the van for a few minutes while Redden is out playing soccer. (I am quietly thinking to myself they will call this game off soon)NOPE! Played this soccer game in a down pour that almost looked like it was snowing cause it came down so hard. I felt so bad for Redden because he looked like a drowned rat, at least grandma had a jacket and an umbrella and a camp chair to sit in as the rain came streaming down. We of course had to stop and buy some hot chocolate on the way home. Which Redden opted to hold instead of drink because it was keeping his hands warm :)



We picked up Baby Jessi and her mom from the Hospital on Sunday afternoon. Since that time Andrea hasnt had a problem finding someone to hold Baby Jessi.
Jessi and I were roommates and the first night we didnt get along to well. But after a chat with her about 3am I think we ironed things out.
That little chat led us to one night with about 7hours of sleep and another one with about 6 hours. Little did we know that Andrea wasnt as pleased with Jessi's and my ability to sleep. For some reason she thought feeding her would relieve some discomfort???

It is tradition started by my mother that Grandma's give the first bath. As you can see I think she likes it!

Besides all of the things above, we baked cookies and banana bread and did vinyl projects and we picked up quickly and had to leave so realtors could show the house. I got to visit with Aunt Lindsay for a couple of days. I had a nice chat with Rich one evening.

Thank you Andrea, Rich, Redden and Austin and especially baby Jessi for letting Grandma Chris share such a special time with all of you.
Riley and Madison and Lily , Grandma Chris is coming up to see you guys pretty soooon!!
"Family is one of God's Greatest Masterpieces"

I need a new DO!

I have really been wanting a new look, but being a chicken of change I have a hard time deciding the kind of look I want. So I looked around for new hairdo's and thought the best way to decide is try my "face" on different do's. Tell me what you think? 50's, 60's, 80's or 90's?

The Annual Lloyd Painter Reunion

Labor Day Weekend was the Annual Lloyd Painter Reunion.
We had alot of fun even though the weather didnt permit us to stay outside the entire time. We ate and ate and ate, we wore Doo-rags as a tribute to Kim for her courageous battle. She is amazing to me.

We went on a treasure hunt, we stayed up way to late and really enjoyed everyones company. I hope that more family can come next year. Make sure and plan ahead so that you can make it up next year.
Here are a few pictures. Lily even turned into a biker chick and as you can see by her face she thought it was awesome.

She also learned how to suck spaghetti in her mouth I'll have to have Natalie send me the video.
We had a ball! Thanks mom for letting us ransack your house for a weekend. Its memories like this weekend that live forever.

Doesnt get any better!

Well the summer ended good for Grandma Chris. All 5 1/2 grandkids came to stay with us for a day or two and I loved having them. We went to movies, out to dinner, played with Grandma's new swimming pool, played with toys, just relaxed, hid in the trunk of the car and just plan had alot of fun. Thank you to my Grandkids for coming and staying with me. I love you so much

We need to decorate my new office!

Well it finally happened, I got to move offices and after getting situated I noticed that Grandma Chris or Aunt Chris (depends on who you are) needs to have some help decorating her office. I have one big wall that is a magnetic white board that has several magnets to hold pictures to it. So this is my plan.
I want all my grandkids and my neices and nephews to draw or make me as many pictures as they want so that I can hang them on my wall in my new office. I even want to make it a contest and I'll be awarding several different prizes, such as most original, prettiest, and etc.
Please send them to my new work address at the University of Utah.
Chris Haber
Department of Anesthesiology
30 N. 1900 E. SOM RM 3C444
Salt Lake City, Utah 84132
I'll run the contest until the end of July.. so hurry and send them to me.

Girls Weekend in Vegas!

Sin City Got the BEST OF US!

Let me just start by saying there are mother and daughter rules that go with out even saying them. These are just a few I wish to mention.
1. When your daughter is pregnant she is to tell her mother as soon as she tells her husband, mom needs to know so that she can brag and boast and be all excited with her.
2. You do not get tattoos for any reason when your mom is in the same room.
3. You are not to be back seat drivers when mom is driving a 7 passenger van.
4. You dont make your mother buy a swimming suit so she doesnt scare other guests at the pool.
These are just 4 that I mention because they were all broken by my daughters and my daugther in law.
1st rule is broken by my oldest daugther Andrea. 5 1/2 months pregnant and I FIND OUT? whats wrong with that picture. I dont think she will ever live this down. I am wounded beyond repair :)
2nd rule broken BY ALL OF THEM, all 5 of them got tattoos and all i could do is pace around the tattoo shop looking at obscene lighters. (huh linds )
3rd rule broken BY ALL OF THEM AGAIN (I have to correct myself Mallory was a good backseat person and didnt tell me what to do ) :) I dont know if they are serious or not but I think they have plans to take my license away within a year or two based on their input of my driving skills, I actually thought i did exceptionally well.
4th rule broken! I now have a swim suit and a swim suit cover that will probably never get worn again, unless of course they cohert me into getting close to a pool again.
IN all seriousness I had a great time. We had alot of fun walking down the strip and seeing the night life of Vegas. Hanging out by the pool all day was one of the funnest for me even though I did buy a suit. We all enjoyed going the Medieval Knight dinner and show. I think Jen and Linds have a new love named "Chris the Robot" he was so fun to watch and he got Linds pretty good. I could have watched him for a long time. We walked and walked and walked and shopped and shopped some more. I fixed breakfast for them Sunday morning and I think everyone liked it.
To my "daughters" thank you for going with me and making it so much fun. I truly do have issues with everyone being all grown now and one thing that keeps me going is knowing that there are alot more times like our Vegas weekend in the future.
Thanks again for going girls.. I love you all so much and I definitely had a great time with all of you.

She DID IT!!

Well I just have to say, "Way to go Nat". I am so proud of her determination and desire to graduate. I know it was alot of work there at the end and some concern on her part and mine. She called me last week crying and saying "I made it mom". Talk about a tender moment, I think we both were crying when we finally hung up.
I wish her all the best in what lies ahead of her. I hope she will take the opportunity to accomplish more great things, and that she'll go out and experience college, and working, traveling and taking some time for her to spread her wings and grow.

I love you with all my heart and I will definitely miss her. It seems the birds have all spread their wings. :(

IS THERE A SUPPORT GROUP FOR THESE FEELINGS?

Again way to go NAT! I LOVE YOU