My Grandmother

Some of you may already know that my grandmother Pat Houston passed away yesterday, September 10th. She was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, my church as well. After having not attended for about 25 years, she had recently begun attending services again which was very exciting. When I would go home to visit I would see her and my grandfather there in the back row of the congregation. They would be smiling and happy and it was great. This grandma was not the type that baked cookies all day long, but she was fun nonetheless. She was very excited her newest grandbaby Jane and had been making clothes for her since she was born. She'd made crochet blankets, hat and booties, dresses, pajamas, and many other items. Grandma was very skilled with the sewing machine and was excellent at crochet. I always felt very welcome and loved in her presence and we will miss her very much.
We love you Grandma.

From Jane visits Seattle

The funeral service for Pat Houston will be held on Saturday, 9/13, at the
Bellevue Stake Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
It is located on Main Street just west of 148th Ave SE.

There will be a viewing from 10:30-10:45 AM, in the Relief Society Room and then the service
will be held from 11 AM - 12 PM. Following the service, the burial will take place in Redmond.

Then, at 2 PM there will be a luncheon at the Chapel for immediate family and close friends.

An additional viewing will be held on Friday, 9/12, from 4-8 PM at:
Sunset Hills Funeral Home (0.90 miles)
1215 145th Place SE, Bellevue, WA 98007 U.S.A.
Phone No: (425) 746-1400

Remebering those who died in the Cedar City plane crash

On August 22nd a plane crashed in Moab, Utah and the 10 people on the plane died. All of them were from Cedar City and although I didn't know any of them, I know many people who did. My heart goes out to all those who are grieving. I can only imagine the sorrow they must be feeling. It is comforting to know that families can be eternal. If anyone would like to see the memorial blog for those who died in the crash, click on the title above or paste the link below.

http://www.cedarcondolences.blogspot.com

Jane walking with her walker

In this video Jane walks with her walker, her new favorite thing to do, claps and signs "milk". She is learning some signs for different things including "eat", "duck" and "book". She is picking them up quickly so we will soon be learning more words.

Jane's 1st Lemon

She liked the lemon. After eating, we walked around the mall and she continued to hold it and eat little bits now and then. She also likes dill pickles and cheese. Luckily her taste buds are like mine and not whimpy like Scott's.

Nebraska is our Home

So, we have really enjoyed living out here in Nebraska. Jane has acclimated very well (she actually never missed a beat) and we feel fairly settled into our new place. Big story...we bought 3 more giant bookshelves and are filling them up today. We still need a couch or two, but other than that we are pretty good. Scott is still settling into the rhythm of school, but he'll be fine once he buckles down and does the 9-5 thing and treats school like a regular job. I'm trying to be brave and will be going to church activities to make friends with some girls in the ward. We have met some couples who are our age and seem very nice and fun. And Jane, well, she's very wiggly and is trying to be an independent walker. Her new thing is to get into cupboards (literally climb into them), open drawers and pull everything out of them (no, that doesn't get old), and get into the toilet when daddy forgets to put the lid down. She's very into trying everything that I am eating and yesterday we discovered that she likes lemon wedges. She ate a whole one while we walked around a bookstore. She also likes to lick pickles and eat cheese. She is a girl after my own heart. So, here are a few recent pictures of us and our Jane.

Making a house (apartment) a home

So, we are slowly finding some great buys at garage sales, setting up our house with furniture that we need. We are still short a couch and some bookcases (anyone that had been to our house in Cedar would know that we have a lot of books which, by the way, are still in boxes...yes, it is a tall teetering tower). This last Saturday we found a great coffee table and matching side table and a desk and hutch for my craft/sewing stuff. I am very excited about my "creative" area, I've wanted my own workspace for years (and those who remember our Cedar home probably also remember frequently seeing my sewing machine on the kitchen table). It's not quite set up yet, but once it is I'll definitely be showing it off. Now I just need to be more proactive about using it and having fun being crafty.

Jane is so cute! She is cruising all around the house, holding onto things/walls as she walks. She hasn't had the guts to take a step on her own yet, but I have a feeling it will be soon. She loves exploring all around the apartment and carrying things with her as she goes. This week she started signing "milk" and sometimes "eat". The only problem is that she is indiscriminate with when she signs and what she may think it's for. Oh well, at least she gets that it means something. It is very cute. She is also big into talking...not that I know what she's intent on telling me, but once she figures it out herself I will enjoy having intelligable conversations with her.

My sister Sarah is also visiting us for a couple of weeks. It's been fun having her around. She is an excellent cook and is not afraid to whip out a meal now and then. I appreciate the extra help. She is also not afraid of a dirty diaper or giving Jane a bath, which is also wonderful.

Scott is getting along well at school. He is teaching 2 sections of the same class, a business speech class, and so far he enjoys it. As far as his own classes go, I think he is feeling a little overwhelmed and realizing how hard the program is. I don't think we will be seeing much of daddy around the house during the week for the next few years. But he is going to try to leave school at school so time at home will be more enjoyable.

We went to the Haymarket farmers market a couple of weeks ago and bought some great produce. There is a little duck pond near our house that we enjoy walking to. Jane likes the breeze by the pond and watching the ducks. The libraries here are great, we really enjoy going to them. We look forward to getting to know our new city a little better and finding fun family activities.

I can't seem to find out camera right now, but once I do I'll post some pictures.

WE'RE HERE!

So, we are finally settled in Nebraska. It took 14 people from our ward in Cedar City to help us finish packing and filling the truck and 6 people from our new ward in Nebraska to help us unload the truck and then we were done. Thank you all for the many hours of help with this long process. Although it was a sad and hard move, we are really excited to be here and look forward to what is to come. So far we have really enjoyed Lincoln and all the things to do and see. It's a lot bigger than Cedar so it's an adjustment, but I LOVE the fact that a Super Target is a 2 minute drive from our apartment! It sure beats the old 45 minute drive! Our ward seems really friendly and we feel really comfortable there and we are really happy with our apartment. I'll let you know more and post pictures once we have our internet set up.

We miss all our friends in Cedar, but the sadness hasn't really hit yet. Probably in a couple of weeks, once the exciting newness of the move has expired and we realize we don't have anyone to hang out with, we will cry a little more and realize how much we will miss Cedar City. You Cedar City friends better keep in touch!

Right now we are in Seattle for the next week for a family reunion on my mom's side. After that I will update the blog with new photos and stories.

Cool Online Baby Stuff

So, I found a website called www.babysmash.com which is awesome! On it you can download a program that allows your baby to bang on all of the computer keys, and even play with the mouse, without hurting your computer. And with each key hit, a shape, number or letter pops up on the screen and along with it a giggle or a voice saying what it is. Jane loves to play with that program.

Also, my friend Jamie told me about a website called www.etsy.com where homemade products can be listed and sold by anyone (without any sellers fees). I just checked it out today and I have high hopes of selling some homemade baby items on there in a couple of months once we move and are settled, and once I figure out what I want to make. Meanwhile, there are a lot of great products that are sold on there from handmade books, organic soap, jewelry and clothes to everything baby. Check it out!