Another Year Gone By

Well, sadly, it's taken me over a year to update this blog. And a LOT has happened during that time.

First an update on my dad. Mom and Dad had a wonderful time in Hawaii, but since they were alone, I don't have any pictures to share. I do know they spent a lot of time relaxing and enjoying the sunshine. Over the last 12 months, Dad has lost strength in his neck, tongue, and lungs. He becomes winded easily, but that didn't stop him from being right in the middle of the work building a fence in their back yard last month.

Then on November 5, 2010, our 5th grandchild (2nd grandson) -- Boston Michael Craig -- was born. He is absolutely adorable, with very blue eyes and blonde hair. And, as probably most of you already know, Kelsey has started a blog called Craig Life, which you can find at http://www.kelseyandcorey.blogspot.com/ (OR use the link to the right called "Kelsey and Corey").




Another huge change in our family came in the spring of this year. The company Will works for, Waste Connections, bought a company near Albany, New York, and he's the only one they wanted to run it. So on March 31, Will and Wendy (who spent 6 days looking for a place to live) flew to Albany and Chet and I flew to Boise. The next day we drove back to Newberg with Lilyanah, Ethne, Westyn and the pugs in the van. The only great thing about their move to NY is that we were blessed to have Wendy and the kids (& a visiting Will a couple of times) for 2-1/2 months. Then on Memorial Day, Chet, Wendy, Westyn & the pugs headed east across the country in their new vehicle. Chet flew home after a brief visit and two weeks later, on June 16, he and I flew with Lilyanah & Ethne to join the rest of the family. I was fortunate to stay a few days longer than Chet (who had to go back to work), just long enough to spend a couple of days in their new home. Wendy has also started another blog called This Crazy Upstate Life.



In July we had a Butcher Family Reunion which lasted 3 days. Mona, bless her heart, did a wonderful job of planning activities, including a day at Camp Yamhill and a "scavenger hunt" to find places around here that have been a part of Mom & Dad's lives. They included the spot in Dundee where Daddy was baptized in the Willamette River, the grave sites of his mother and several siblings, and some of the houses we lived in. Then on Saturday we had a a family picnic at Memorial Park. Sadly, our Wendy and her family were the only ones who didn't make it (they'd only been in New York about a month). That's the reason I'm holding their family picture, as you can see above.



A couple of weeks later we had a Butcher/Hubbell family reunion. I didn't get too many pictures, but I got this one of Daddy, Aunt Ruth and Auntie Jo.

On August 31 I was blessed by my husband, who let me fly to New York so I could be with Lilyanah for her first day of kindergarten! She is the most adorable kindergartner!





One more thing, Mom and Dad celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on September 1! And on the 11th we had an open house to celebrate! (See picture at top of this page) I praise God for giving my siblings and me such wonderful parents!

I hope it won't be another year before I update you, but I can't make any promises! Unfortunately, I don't have the excuse of "going to Idaho this weekend" anymore, but I really hope to get to New York at least every 3 months. In the meantime, I'm very thankful for cell phones and Skype!

LOTS of Catch-up

Wow, when you only blog twice a year, there is a lot of news to pass along, so I will try to be brief. First of all, on June 3, after months and months of all kinds of tests, Daddy's Kaiser doctor diagnosed him with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Having already lost my mom's brother, Uncle Jim, to the same disease in December of 2007, we all know what is ahead. Maybe God took Uncle Jim to prepare Mom & Dad for this path, only He knows that, but we cherish every day we have him. Please pray for both of my parents at this very difficult time.

September 1, was Mom & Dad's 59th wedding anniversary!! What an incredible milestone for the most wonderful parents! The 5 of us kids were able to surprise Daddy (I had to let Mom in on it to help pick the dates) with a trip to Hawaii in mid-October. They stayed at the Outrigger Reef, the hotel where their (and Chet's & mine)favorite restaurants are: The Shore Bird and The Chief's Hut (which is now called the Kani Ka Pila Grille, but we still call it The Chief's Hut!). We were so excited to be able to do this for them, especially as the weather starts to get darker, because Daddy loves the sunshine!

In May of this year Chet & I were also able to spend 2 wonderful weeks in Hawaii. The first week we were blessed to spend on Maui with Corey, Kelsey & Paisley and our dear friends from Iowa, Emery & Sharon Killian. It was great fun watching Paisley enjoy the water and the beach, AND we got to see her all day for 7 days straight! She was an amazing traveler on the plane for the 6-hour ride over (in spite of her mommy's fears to the contrary), but she also had the advantage of 4 adults to care for and entertain her. We shared the second week with Jeff & Margaret Garrison, our dearest friends, with whom we share our August 24 anniversary, who moved to Nebraska several years ago. We had a great time visiting with them and got the bonus of spending some time with Jan & Debbie Steen, friends who moved from Newberg a LONG time ago! I don't remember having seen them for ~16 years.

The middle of June, Will & Wendy moved out of the house in Twin Falls where they have lived the past 2 years and into a house in Kimberly, about 9 miles southeast. Corey, Kelsey, Paisley and I drove my dad's truck over (Chet had to work) and worked a long, hard weekend to help them. Their friend, Jason, also helped ALL DAY Saturday. The house has 4 bedrooms, one of which is upstairs over the garage. Two weeks later Chet, Jeremy & I drove over to celebrate Ethne's 3rd birthday. Chet, Will & Wendy worked hard to build a loft bed for the girls, which turned out really cute! Only bad thing is that when they move, it will have to be completely dismantled to get it back downstairs!

I'm going to quit for now and hope to catch up more soon, especially since, so much more has happened, including the birth of our 5th grandchild, Boston! (you can check Kelsey's blog for more info at www.kelseyandcorey.blogspot.com/. Take care for now.

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June is here!

I've been wanting to post pictures for quite some time, so anybody who still happens to look at this blog will see our beautiful grandchildren and how they've grown! The 1st three are pictures from Lilyanah's 4th birthday on January 17 and Paisley's 1st birthday on January 23.







In early February Will & Wendy considered putting Lilyanah in pre-school in the fall, so they visited the school. Lilyanah was very sad to have to leave!


In mid-April I flew to Boise because Lilyanah needed crowns on several of her teeth and the dentist wanted it done in the hospital because of the number of teeth requiring crowns. While coming out from under the anesthesia, she was crying and saying, "I don't want to go to sleep!" She was having a hard time even opening her eyes. That afternoon Wendy, the kids, and I left for Newberg. They stayed with us for about 10 days.




The girls both love to sing, especially Taylor Swift songs. Ethne is very expressive!

January 2010 Update

Well, I doubt anybody even looks at this blog anymore, since it's updated so rarely, but since I like to look at the pictures, I'm going to write in it anyway! Another January has come and gone, and with it several birthdays and the anniversary of Chets dad's death in 2006. As Chet mentioned just last night in our life group, he thinks about his dad all the time, and understandably so. He loved talking to his dad, whether on the phone or in person, and he no longer has that availability. Fortunately he has 1 uncle still living, and although we don't get to Prineville very often to visit with Uncle Bob, we love him dearly and always enjoy the time we get to spend with him.

Now for the birthdays: 3 of our 4 grandchildren celebrated birthdays in January! Westyn turned 1 year old on January 13, Lilyanah turned 4 on the 17th, and Paisley turned 1 on the 23rd. We missed being with Westyn on his birthday on Wednesday, but we were able to be in Twin Falls the next day and spent Thursday through Monday with the Mathias family. Laura and her 2 girls, Violet and Hazel, made the trip with us, so there were 8 little girls (including Lilyanah and Ethne) and 3 boys at Lilyanah's birthday party on Sunday. Of the 11 kids, 8 of them were related. We had a good time!

The next Saturday, 1/23, we went to Paisley's 1st birthday party! I've never seen so many people in Corey & Kelsey's house! Paisley got lots of fun gifts, including a cut little Ariel 3-wheeler that makes lots of noises and blows bubbles!


I'm not posting this at home where all my pictures are, so I'll try to add more pictures on soon! Denise

August update

Chet and I were very blessed to spend a week in Orlando with Will, Wendy and the kids in June. We got to experience the kids' first visit to Disneyworld. It was so much fun to watch Lilyanah and Ethne's faces light up at the characters, the rides, and especially the parades. The first character we encountered that we stood in line for was Mary Poppins.Ethne would not take her eyes off her, even when I called her to look at me; she was just in awe. (The 2nd picture is of Ethne looking up at Mary Poppins.) And most of the characters we encountered were really great with the kids; they took their time to talk to them and make them feel important. They didn't just hug them and push them away to get to the next in line.The girls' favorite thing about Disneyworld was meeting the characters. Wendy & Will stood in line with them to meet Tinkerbell & two other fairies. Apparently at one point both Ethne & Westyn fell asleep while they were in line but they woke up just in time! It's hard when they're so young because you have to be 48" tall to go on most of the rides.Lilyanah is 38" & Ethne is 33". In spite of the incredible heat and humidity (Saturday afternoon when we got in the car, it said the temperature was 104, without the humidity factor!), we had a wonderful time. I made each of the girls their own picture album from the week, so hopefully they will remember some of it! The day after we got back was Ethne's 2nd birthday.The party was just a small family affair; Violet & Hazel were the only other kids. Wendy set it up as a "Dora the Explorer" theme, which is one of Ethne and Lilyanah's favorite TV shows and characters. In fact, Lilyanah says she's going to marry Diego. Chet even set up a tunnel for the girls to go on a search using their Map. The tunnel went almost the entire length of the pool room and the girls loved it! Ethne is so little it makes it especially hard to believe that she's already reached the 2 year mark! She's so independent & protective. If someone is over playing & picks up something of Lilyanah or Westyn's, she makes sure they know that it belongs to her brother or sister! She's filling in her smile(FINALLY). In the last month she's had 4 teeth come in! She says a lot of pretty cute things but we especially love when she reaches out her right hand & says "It's nice to meet you." We have no idea where that came from! She has such a precious spirit & is still so cuddly & loveable. Every day Will comes home from work she runs to meet him at the door.<
On August 12, Corey & Kelsey celebrated their 3rd anniversary. Kirby, Kelsey's sister who will leave next week to go back to Oklahoma Christian University, watched Paisley while they went out to dinner.

Just a little catch up info on our 2 youngest grandbabies: Westyn now has his first tooth and just turned 7 months old 2 days ago! Paisley is very mobile. Although she doesn't technically crawl, she scoots and rolls very quickly. They are both absolutely adorable and very sweet!

I hope you enjoy the pictures! Denise

Little Miss Paisley

Hi everyone who reads this(which I don't know why you would since Wendy RARELY posts anything)! Anyway, this is Kelsey and I thought it was about time you all met my little girl so you could see why I am so in love!She is 2 months old today and I cannot believe how fast the time has gone.
Paisley was born January 23rd at 6:44 am. She weighed in at a whoppin 7 lbs 4 oz and was 19 3/4 inches long. She was and is perfect in every way.This is one of her first photos after gracing us with her presence and has remained my favorite. People ask why and I tell them "it was the moment I realized I don't have an ugly child"! See, I was a very unfortunate looking newborn due to being stuck in the birth canal andthe use of forceps among other things, so I was just expecting for that little girl to come out and be ugly! Instead I got this - the most gorgeous little girl I've ever seen!
4 days after my due date I did what they call "nesting". I woke up at 5:30 in the morning and didn't stop until 7:30 that evening when I finally sat down and said "I think I just had a contraction".They got progressively longer and more painful and I finally couldn't take it anymore so at 1 in the morning we went to the hospital and after my midwife mentioned possibility of using a vaccuum, my little Miss Paisley decided to get out of the comfy womb so mommy and daddy could meet her! Labor was something I feared for 9 months, but it was truely the best experience I've ever had!
months later, Corey and I are getting the hang of things. He is a WONDERFUL father. There actually aren't any words to describe how great he is with her. She adores him and smiles at him all the time! She is a great baby who only fusses when she's hungry, gassy, or tired. She is the cause of my sleep deprivation, but is slowly letting me get more sleep (knock on wood).Here is proof that we are doing great - and that we love and adore our little girl!
And here is a picture of her getting a bath just because she's so adorable! Oh and one more thing...pre-pregnancy weight does not equal pre-pregnancy figure. Boo.

Westyn Jack Mathias

Our little guy arrived at 6:26pm on January 13th, 2009. He was 22" long & weighed in at a whopping 9lbs 14 oz.!!! The doctor said it's a good thing I didn't go full term or we may have had an 11 lb. baby! At 10 days old he had his 2 week appointment & weighed in at 10 lbs & had already grown 1/2"! Then yesterday little Paisley Emberlyn was born at 6:44 am! She weighed 7lbs 4oz & measured in at 19 3/4". . . Westyn looks like a 2 month old compared to her!!! Of course the doctor said that's what he's measuring in at, an average 2 month old!!! He's so precious & we couldn't be more in love with him! I had to put a picture of my parents with all 4 of their grandbabies! More later, we are leaving Oregon tomorrow afternoon & I'm already up late packing. I just thought I better post some pics in case anyone still checks our blog! Love you all! ~W.

Happy New Year!

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LIFE

We've been so blessed to be busy with guests that I haven't had much time to keep this blog updated! First Corey & Kelsey came for a visit which you probably just read about. . . A few days later Mom & Dad came for the weekend (Friday through Sunday). They left & on the 2nd of October Will's dad & his dads wife Ann arrived. The girls hadn't seen them since last Christmas but they took to them both so quickly & enjoyed having their Grandpa Mike read to them & chase them around the sofa! The visit was too short but there was hunting to be done so they headed out a few days later. After they left we didn't have another visitor until Will's mom flew into town on the 17th. In between on the 11th & 12th we had snow!!! SO BIZARRE & SO FUN! I didn't have our winter gear out yet so our hands could only take making the small little snowmen you see in the photo with Will & the girls!!! There's also a picture of Lilyanah reading a book to Ethne. It was so sweet & I was so impressed at how Lilyanah would get phrases from the book exactly right! Will picked his mom up from the airport & we had a good time going to the park, visiting the library, dancing around the living room & playing! She didn't just spoil the girls while she was here Will & her went shopping & came back with GI Joe toys that are supposably for our little boy. Of course as soon as they got home Daddy had them out of the box & was showing them to a very eager Lilyanah who loves her 'little brother's toys'. We had such nice visits with everyone who came! It was the first visit to Idaho for Will's Dad & mom as well as Corey & Kelsey. We feel so blessed to have family that loves us enough to travel to us!!!! Lynn (Will's mom)stayed until Sunday morning. I stayed up late Saturday night getting the car loaded up so we could drive out to Oregon right after he dropped her off at the airport. Mom & Dad weren't expecting us until Wednesday so we thought it would be a fun surprise. The girls were absolute angels, Ethne slept most of the way & I have to credit most of Lilyanah's good behavior to the tv/dvd player attached to the back of the driver seat! Will had to fly out early the next morning so he may have spent 12 hours in Oregon before having to fly back to Idaho. We stayed out in Oregon for 2 weeks! Will was at the end of budgets with his company (a CRAZY busy time)so it was a perfect time to take us out for a visit. . . . The girls loved seeing & being around everyone! Mom was surprised to see us but to our surprise it was Kelsey who cried at the sight of the girls! Dad & I got over to the house to rake up leaves from our HUGE oak tree in the front yard & clean up around the outside a bit. I got to have a girl's night, at which Korie Jones brought the yummiest ginger snap cookies & we watched Made of Honor. It was good to have some big girl time! The girls loved getting to see their cousins & spend time with Gigi over at her house. We had our annual Halloween party (an 80's theme) on the 31st. Mom & Gigi hosted a small grandparent/grandkid party next door @ Gigi's house. Our girls had a blast! Afterwards the girls came over to our party & danced under the disco ball, they were pretty funny to watch! Saturday Will woke up early & made me birthday pancakes (from scratch), such a sweetheart! Then we moved Corey & Kelsey into their new house, at least their stuff. . . . Kelsey & I were a little pathetic trying to help but we did what we could! Kelsey made her yummy homemade chili for dinner at my request and our Oregon visit was just about over. We went to church & took some family pics on Sunday before heading back to Idaho. The ride home went without incident until we stopped at the airport so We could pick up the CRV. We had to both drive to Boise since Will had to fly back & have a car. Anyway, somehow the car alarm had been set & worn the battery down. The problem was that we didn't have the keychain with the remote to turn the alarm off. It was nearly midnight & we had to call Kody in Iowa to tell us how to get the alarm turned off so the battery would charge. We were there in the parking garage for nearly an hour but thanks to Kody answering his phone we were able to get the alarm off & the car started! We were not excited at the possibility of having to leave the car there. It would have meant a 2 hour drive back to Boise with the remote, charging the car & turning around for another 2 hour drive. YUCK! Needless to say, we are indebted to Kody for helping us out in the wee hours of the morning! Our arrival back into Idaho marked the end of a crazy month + of travel for all of our sweet family who came to visit us & of course our last visit to Oregon before our little baby boy is born. This at least takes us into November! I really am so sorry for being such an awful blogger lately! I really thought I'd get back in the habit once we moved here but not having family around even though I don't work anymore I find I'm busier here than I was at home in Oregon!