Robinson Ramblings

Happy Thanksgiving! We are so thankful for: Salvation (Oh, what grace) God's Holy Word - It gives encouragement, comfort, exhortation, wisdom, & hope. (I could go on & on) A wonderful loving family (including a darling grandson) Our new church addition (we are finally using it) Coffee!!!! (no explanation is necessary - I'm of Norwegian descent) Our home (God has blessed us so much) Books (so many books, so little time) to read Warm clothes (hey, I'm freezing most of the time) Visits to McCall (I need a lake "fix" every so often) Family and Friends near and far (they are the best) Opportunities for service (Sunday School, Children's Church, choir, Women's Ministry, etc.) Jobs we enjoy. (Kindermusik, teaching piano, "flipping' homes, real estate) MUSIC (food for the soul) our pets (Sadie, Bastion, Lysander, and Fergeson) and so much more. . .

Henry is going to be a mixture of jock and scholar . He is already a lover of books (okay, the book is usually in his mouth - but he loves it). His Mama has his copy of Goodnight Moon in his diaper bag so it can be read at a moment's notice. He also loves Goodnight, Gorilla (Nana gave him that one). Nana & Henry read together alot when he is at our house. Recently we had fun reading Chicka, Chicka Boom Boom . He loved the rhythm of that! However, his Daddy is working hard to make sure that Henry is a sport lover! Note his cute tennis shoes & the basketball hoodie! Most of his clothes have some kind of sports theme (football & basketball are the favorites). He has a football rattle, a basketball hanging toy on his carrier, & all kinds of other ball toys!! He is also being trained as a body builder (like his daddy). Henry watches his Daddy working out in the garage ( Henry is in his swing or bouncey chair). I am sure that he is taking it all in! It will ...

I am sorry that I've been so remiss in keeping up with my blog & giving you new pictures of Henry . He sure is a sweetie! He has been sick with a head cold & cough so the smiles have been scarce recently. Grandma Watson had the day off from work so she is babysitting today & tomorrow Becca will be home with him (she's been sick, too) so I am baby-less for a couple of days. Here is a picture of Brent , Becca , and Henry on Halloween . The pumpkin outfit was given to Henry by Becca's boss (whose little boy wore it last year). Henry looked so cute!!

Henry is growing and changing daily (although he is still a peanut)! He is the spitting image of his mama! He has cut two teeth & is trying to cut a few more. He loves to get my finger in his mouth & BITE! Clean hands and sore fingers (from all that biting) are all the rage in our house. I still babysit for him every weekday afternoon. The schedule is a bit crazy because I teach piano on Mondays from 4-6 p.m. & I've been filling in Tues. afternoons, as well. Becca's schedule at work has changed to 10:30-7:00. It gives her more time in the mornings with Henry & he only has to go to the babysitter's house for about 2 1/2 hours a day. On Wednesdays I take Henry to Awana with me & Becca picks him up at church. The other days Brent picks him up. He is such a joy to care for and I wouldn't miss it for anything. Life is very full! Brent got a new job at St. Luke's Idaho Elks Rehabilitation. It is a supervisory position & it is a great move for Bren...

Kelly had a great time introducing Brad to her favorites places & people! Nicole, Brad, Kelly & Becca all carved pumpkins & they were cool! The time with Brad was too short but we all enjoyed it & hope that he comes to visit again!!!

Wow! I haven't blogged for a month! Life is much busier now & I will have to work harder to find time to blog. I am back to teaching music 5 mornings a week (and filling in for piano lessons in the late afternoons/early evening) & babysitting for Henry every afternoon (Papa fills in with Henry if I am teaching piano). It is fun and wild all at the same time. We had a friend of Kelly's from Tennesse Temple days (Bradley Davis) visiting us (Thursday, Sept. 27 - Tuesday, Oct. 2). We had a wonderful time with him (took a quick trip to McCall over the weekend). Brad "hit it off" with everyone: Brent, Becca, Henry, Hollie, Dad, Mom, Nicole (Kelly's best friend) & of course, Kelly. Kelly & Brad are "very good friends" but nothing more than that (at this time). Brad is finishing up his first year of seminary this semester. He has two more years (at least) & Kelly has another year at Master's College next year. We don't know what the...

Henry is growing and changing every day. He is 13 weeks old now and is getting out of the infant stage. He talks & sings (after a fashion) with me! Since I teach music each morning, Becca takes Henry to her friend's in-home daycare. I pick him up each weekday at 12:30 & watch him until Brent or Becca get off of work. We have such fun. I am hoping to take him with me on Friday mornings to my Village Kindermusik class. He will love it.

Here it is the middle of August and fall is fast approaching. I won't mind the cooler weather - we have had a record days of 100+ days this summer (no fun). I am thankful that it isn't too humid as well or it would be miserable. We have been able to escape to McCall a few days here & there throughout the summer. I love to cool off by swimming in Payette Lake or sitting down by the lake shore with my feet dangling in the water while I read or cross stitch. What bliss!! I have enjoyed spending a lot of time with Henry while Becca is working. He is a joy and blessing. I will continue to help out with daycare in the afternoons this fall (he will be cared for in the morning by a lady from Becca and Brent's church). I will be teaching Kindermusik Monday - Friday this fall. I am working hard to increase my enrollment during the next few weeks.

Grandma and Grandpa Watson were here on Sunday to help celebrate Brent's birthday. They are equally as crazy about Henry as Nana & Papa! We try not to fight over our little darling!! Henry went swimming at the Watson's neighbor's pool on Saturday with the whole Watson family. Becca said that he loved the water! I don't suppose that he will love swimming in Payette Lake up in McCall when we all go camping later this month. It will probably be quite a bit colder than the pool.

This is a special month - Happy Birthday to Mari & Auntie Midge (97 years young) on August 4 and Kari on August 29! Wish I could be with all of you to help celebrate your birthdays!!! We love you! Becca has enjoyed working a four day work week (since going back to work) with Wednesdays off. Today was her last Wednesday off & it hit her hard, I think. I went over to see Becca and Henry today and take a walk to the park & lake near their house. It was fun to spend time with them. Henry is so alert & happy . He has really changed alot in the last week - he is sleeping longer at night and is awake more during the day. Yea! On Sunday we celebrated Brent's birthday (#27). Becca, Brent, Henry, Brent's parents & sister and her husband, Kelly, Hollie & her friend, Tyree (in picture next to Hollie), Rich & I, and Liz, Brian, & Olivia (church friends of Becca & Brent - Olivia is 1 mo. old) came over for lunch & birthday cake . We had a good tim...

Here is Papa trying to get Henry to sleep but Henry wasn't acting too sleepy! Pap a did get him to calm down. Henry is sooo smiley ! He is such a joy to play with - he is very entertained by his Jungle Gym! He kicks one of the sides to get the lightning bug to light up. It doesn't take much to entertain this Nana !

This past week was challenging. The weather was HOT, HOT, HOT & we were so thankful to have air conditioning!! However, on Monday our water heater went out & after trying to fix it, Rich came to the conclusion that it needed to be replaced. He got a new water heater & before he put in the new one, he disconnected the heater/air conditioner. Once he got the new one in, he couldn't get the air conditioner to work & oh yes, the hot water heater didn't work either. Eventually he was able to get someone to come out (on Friday) to fix both (he had done a good job installing everything just a minor adjustment by the professional - for a $75 fee). Finally by Thursday late afternoon we had hot water & air conditioning!!!! What a relief! I do not like 104 degree days! The weather is cooler now but we are still thankful to have everything up and running.

I know it seems that all I write about is Henry but I couldn't resist putting these pictures on my blog. Becca and Brent had his six week old pictures taken today. I don't know why his skin color looks different in the two pictures - I think that was our scanner's fault. Anyway, we think that he is a doll!

I babysat for Henry today while Becca had her second day back to work. Yesterday Brent's mom, Bridget, took care of him. Becca only worked until 1 p.m. so it wasn't too bad - she was so glad to see him when she got home! Henry and Nana had a good time!!

Henry is smiling alot now. He is also cooing and making cute baby noises! It is fun to interact with him- singing songs & rhymes, making funny faces, and talking to him! He is so much more alert and responsive now! Today we had some friends over for lunch who were close to Hollie and Becca in high school and college. Amanda and BJ Bourn moved to Washington so that BJ could go to seminary. Becca, Brent, Henry, BJ, Amanda, Iyana (their daughter) and BJ's mom, Kara, came over along with Kelly's friend, Andrew. We had a fun afternoon. Iyana loved Henry & Henry loved the attention!!

I love summer! Rich and I sit outside and have our coffee and devotions and take bike rides in the cool of the morning. I am able to visit with my girls and grandbaby as much as I like! Even though I love teaching, it is nice to have a more relaxed routine during the summer. Henry just came over with his mama & he will stay with me for an hour or so while Becca does some shopping. OH JOY! Tonight is the last night of VBS. Tomorrow night is the program & picnic. I have actually enjoyed the evening format. For one thing, it is shorter (only two hours: 6:30-8:30) & it is cooler in the evening. It has been nice to have more men & working women be able to be involved.

This is beautiful Payette Lake in McCall, ID. We are going up to McCall on Monday & stay for the week. Here are a few pictures of the interior of our house. Last summer Cheryl & Dwight were with us at the cabin. We had such a good time - wish they were coming out again!! We would love any of our family & friends to join us in McCall.

I have been waiting for Kelly to get her new haircut so I could put a picture on the blog of her! She is writing for the Boise Weekly this summer & last weekend went to Weiser, ID to get a story on the Weiser Fiddle Festival. She said the music was incredible & everybody was so friendly. A great time was had by all. Yesterday I was able to babysit Henry for 2 hours while Becca had therapy on her knee & went to Target. Henry and Nana did just fine!! He is a sweetie!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!! Cheryl - June 25 & Sara - June 26 Sing the Lake Nebagamon Birthday song to yourself from me. . . "A Happy Birthday to you, a Happy Birthday to you - every day of the year, may you feel Jesus near. A Happy Birthday to you, a Happy Birthday to you, the best that you've ever had."

I am so fortunate to have Rich as my friend, helpmeet, love, soul mate. . . I appreciate the way that he takes care of me and unselfishly does things around the house or takes my bike to get the tire fixed. He doesn't even ask what he can do - he just does it. He is very thoughtful and loves to just spend time with me. He doesn't complain if I am too busy to cook (he is a very good cook) or if my haircuts cost too much. He always wants the best for me. It is a joy to do things for him because he appreciates everything! He is my best cheerleader and encourager (especially with playing the piano) - I count myself so blessed. Most importantly, he is the spiritual leader of our home. He is so genuine and transparent in his Christian life that others are drawn to him. Thank you, Lord, for your grace and mercy in my life. I don't deserve it but I'm so grateful!!