This is My Blog Attempt: 2009

Friday, November 13, 2009

In Memory of my Father.

Francis Daniel Small

Born May 21, 1914

Died November 11, 2009

My Dad and Me

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

It All Started Here

On August 19, 2009 we boarded a plane at Charleston International Airport to start our trip to Lemoore, California. We had not flown for quite some time, so we arrived at the airport a lot earlier than we needed to.

Our next stop was O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. OMG!!!!! I thought for sure I'd have a heart attack in this airport. This is the second busiest airport in the world, the first being Atlanta. We had less than an hour to get from one side of the airport to the other to catch our flight. We managed to do it but don't ask me how.

It was then on to Denver International Airport. The terminal building is designed to resemble the snow covered mountains in Colorado.

And finally, aftger about 14 hours, we arrived in Fresno Yosemite International Airport and were met by Vic and Virgina. It was great to get off the plane and not have to worry about running to catch another one.

Thank You Grandma Ginia and Grandpa Vic

Because Matthew decided he could not wait until August 24th to be born, Victoria had no one with her when she had to go to the hospital on August 15th. We were due to arrive late on August 19th, but until then there was no one. Victoria's neighbors were wonderful and took Jonathan and Clara into their homes and cared for them. As soon as Vic and Virginia heard Victoria was in the hospital they dropped everything they were doing and went to Victoria's home. They brought Victoria food, cared for the children and even got Clara off to her first day of school. When Mike and I arrived they graciously left to go back home so we could have time with our daughter and grandchildren. Vic and Virginia now have 18 grandchildren and even a couple great-grantchildren. When Clara was born--and she also came early--Virginia was here in Charleston. She had come here to be part of Victoria's baby shower. She was due to go home the day before it turned out Clara was to be born. Clara was seven weeks early, and I know Virginia was as concerned as I was, but again she let me do the "firsts" and stepped back. Vic and Virginia are wonderful people and Victoria is lucky to have such great in-laws.

Grandma Ginia and Matthew

Grandpa Vic and Jonathan

Grandpa Vic and Jonathan have a special understanding

Grandma Ginia and Matthew

Matthew Caleb Stein

These are pictures of Matthew Caleb Stein. Matthew was born August 15, 2009 at 2023. He weighed 5 pounds 15 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long. His original due date was August 30 and he was actually due to arrive via c-section on August 24th, but he decided he wanted to choose his own birthday.

Matthew loved being swaddled in his blanket and only cries when he is wet, cold or hungry.

I was amazed at how much he kept his eyes open and I swear he followed you with no problem.

He looks a lot like Clara did when she was born

His entrance into the world was a little rocky. . .

And he had us all worried for both him and his mother.

But in the end he is perfect and that's all that counts.

Random Pictures

These are just random pictures we took of everyone while we we in California. They are in no particular order, nor were they necessarily when we were doing tourist things or anything special. Enjoy.

Clara

Jonathan is not always the most congenial person when he first wakes up from his nap

Jonathan

Victoria and Jonathan

Matthew and Monica

Matthew, Victoria and Jonathan

Clara and her mother had a deal--if Clara learned to ride her bike she could have a Miley Cyrus tape. The tape went with us everywhen in the car and Clara knew the words to all the songs

Clara singing along

Not only could she sing the songs, she knew the hand motions too

Monica feeding Jonathan

We even took pictures of Clemson (who became my BFF because he was getting no attention from anynone and when he came to me I'd pet him) and. . .

Penelope

Monica feeding Matthew

Jonathan loved holding Matthew

Jonathan would hold Matthew as long as he was allowed

Clara loved holding Matthew too.
And she did a very good job of it.

She knew just what to do

Clara

Matthew, Monica, Clara and Jonathan

Matthew, Monica, Clara, Jonathan and Michael

Monica, Clara, Jonathan, Michael and Matthew

Clara, Jonathan, Michael and Matthew

Clara, Jonathan, Michael, Matthew

Monica, Matthew and Michael

Monica, my BFF Clemson, Matthew, and Michael

Front: Jonathan and Victoria; middle: Clara, Back: Monica, Matthew, and Michael

Monica, Matthew, Michael, Clara, Jonathan and Victoria

Matthew and Michael

Jonathan, Matthew, Clara and Victoria

Clemson, Jonathan, Matthew, Victoria and Clara

My BFF Clemson, Monica, Clara, Victoria, Matthew and Jonathan

My BFF Clemson, Monica, Clara, Victoria, Matthew, and Jonathan

Michael and Matthew

Jonathan and Matthew

Favorite Quotes

The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you will see.

--Winston Churchhill--

May you live all the days of your life.

--Jonathan Swift--

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

--Martin Luther King--

Our talents are the gifts God gives to us...what we make of our talents is our gift to God

--Leo Buscaglia--

Our truest life is when we are in our dreams awake.

--Henry David Thoreau--

People know you for what you've done, not what you plan to do.

--Unknown--

Please all and you will please none.

--Aesop--

Presence is more than just being there.

--Malcolm S. Forbes--

Pretty much all the truth telling there is in the world is done by children.

--Oliver Wendell Holmes--

Sit quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself.

--Zen Saying--

Some have been thought brave because they were afraid to run away.

--Unknown--

Someone may have stolen your dream when it was young and fresh and you were innocent. Anger is natural. Grief is appropriate. Healing is mandatory. Restoration is possible.

--Jane Rubritta--

Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.

--Stephen Conley--

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.

--Booker T. Washington--

Age is not a particularly interesting subject. Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough.

--Don Marques--

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.

--Unknown--

We never know the love of a parent till we become a parent ourselves.

--Harriet Ward Beecher--

If I had my child to raise over again

I'd build self esteem and the house later

I'd fingerpaint more and point the finger less

I would do less correcting and more connecting

I'd take my eyes off my watch and watch with my eyes

I would care to know less and know to care more

I'd take more hikes and fly more kites

I'd stop playing serious and seriously play

I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars

I'd do more hugging and less tugging

I'd see the oak tree in the acorn more often

I'd be firm less often and affirm much more

I'd model less about the love of power

And more about the power of love

--Diane Loumans--

Parents who are afraid to put their foot down usually have children who step on their toes.

--Chinese Proverb--

They fuck you up, your mum and dad

They may not mean to but they do.

They fill you with the faults they had

And add some extra, just for you.

--Phillip Larken--

Your folks are like God because you want to know they're out there, and you want them to approve of your life, stlil you only call when you're in a crisis, or you need something.

--Chuck Palahnuik--

Parents are the bones on which children cut their teeth.

--Peter Ustinov--

Parents must get across the idea that "I love you always, but sometimes I do not love your behavior."

--Amy Vanderbilt--

If you look deeply into the palm of your hand you will see your parents and all the generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive at this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the combination of each of these people.

--Thich Nhat Hanh--

The joys of parents are secret, and so are their griefs and tears; they cannot utter the one, nor will they utter the other.

--Francis Bacon--

If you've never been hated by your child, you've never been a parent,

--Bette Davis--

To a father, when a child dies, the future dies; to a child, when a parent dies, the past dies.

--Red Auerbach--

Sometimes you must love your children enough to let them hate you for a while.

--Carol Burnette--

Children aren't happy without something to ignore, and that's what parents were created for.

--Ogden Nash--

A truely rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty.

--Unknown--

Blessed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father.

--Lydia M. Child--

The greatest gift I ever had

Came from God--I call him Dad.

--Unknown--

Old as she was she still missed her Daddy sometimes.

--Gloria Nalor--

The heart of a mother is a deep abyess at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.

--Honore de Balzar--

My mom is a neverending song in my heart of comfort, happiness and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune.

--Greycie Harmon--

Grown don't mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that supposed to mean? In my heart it don't mean a thing.

--Toni Morrison--

I cannot forget my mother. She is my bridge. When I needed to get across she stretched herself long enough for me to run across safely.

--Renata Weems--

It's not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it.

--The Golden Girls--

All that I am or ever hope to be I owe to my angel mother.

--Abraham Lincoln--

A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.

--Irish Proverb--

Someday you'll cry for me

The way I've cried for you.

Someday you'll miss me

The way I've missed you.

Someday you'll need me

The way I need you.

Someday you'll love me

But I won't love you.

--Unknown--

This is My Blog Attempt