Wonderful Kids!

Well, it’s been too long since I’ve posted to this blog.  The best photos I found to share featured our grandkids and Holly.  Here are some of the best poses:

Olivia is really trying to crawl.  She rolls all over the place and captivates us with her big eyes.

Iris has taken her first steps and celebrated her first birthday recently.  She has a beautiful smile.

Chloe loves preschool and is always singing us the fun songs she learns.  Of course, she had to take her teacher (Granny Goose) an apple on the first day of school!

Eve keeps us all entertained with her big hugs and infectious smile.  She knows how to really touch Grandpa’s heart.

Devlin is a big six years old now, and firmly entrenched in first grade.  He loves space and science and amazes us with his reading skill and ability to remember scripture stories.

Then, we have beautiful Holly!  She is a sophomore in Mesa High School.  She keeps busy with cross country, choir, piano and good friends.  She was on the Mesa High sophomore homecoming float this week and helped serve at the dance.  She is really growing up!

So, that’s what keeps us busy and happy!  We are blessed beyond measure.

Thank Heaven for Little Girls

We love our little granddaughters. It is so fun to spend time with them and see them grow up. Here are a few recent photos you might enjoy.

Christmas Eve Music

Following a long tradition, we gathered to share musical talents last night after Christmas Eve dinner. Maybe the big hit of the night was Devlin belting out "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" with a bit of coaching from his mother and helpful smiles from Eve.

We couldn't help notice how the earnestness of his delivery so matched the boyhood mannerisms of his father!

Claudia and Holly tickled the ivories with a great four-hand rendition of "Jingle Bells."

Thanks to everyone who sang and performed so well, even though your photo is not included here. We are were uplifted and inspired by the wonderful message of Christmas.

More family holiday photos are on Mark's Flicker page.

The Nativity

Every year on Christmas Eve, we read the story of the birth of Christ from the books of Luke and Matthew in the New Testament as we celebrate the miraculous birth of the Savior of the World.  Each year, the actors are a little bit different, depending on the age and availability of our children and grandchildren.

This year, Dave and Rachel were Joseph and Mary, with baby Iris blissfully acting as Baby Jesus.

Holly was the lone shepherd who came to the stable as instructed by angels.

Three wise men, Eve, Devlin and David, soon joined the Baby Jesus to offer their precious gifts.

I can still remember my Dad reading this wonderful story each Christmas Eve when I was a little boy.  We can only hope that our grandchildren will continue the wonderful tradition.

More family holiday photos are on Mark's Flicker page.

Happy Halloween!

The best part of Halloween this week was seeing the grandkids in their great costumes. Devlin and Eve dressed as the two star robots from the Wall-E movie. Devlin was Wall-E and Eve was Eve!

Chloe was a beautiful ballerina. She stopped dancing long enough to get some treats from Granny.  Granny and Gramps sat in the rocking chairs all evening on our front porch, in our wonderful Arizona shirt sleeve weather, passing out candy to all the little (and big) kids who happened to come by.

Neither Granny or Iris put on costumes for Halloween, but we think they look great, just the same!

It's nice to know that Wall-E is learning to read!

Iris Olivia!

The big excitement in Mesa during September was the birth of Iris Olivia Dixon, our seventh grandchild, born on September 23rd to Rachel and David. What a wonderful little girl! We are so grateful for the sealing power that binds us all together as an eternal family! 

Please accept my apology for the huge delay in posting this great news.