Good-bye Grandma

My grandmother passed away a couple of weeks ago and this last weekend I had the opportunity of going up to Utah to attend her funeral.  It was a sweet occasion and I feel blessed to have been able to attend and participate.  I got to see her life from a different perspective during the funeral when each of her children painted a picture of how they remembered their mother.  She truly was an elect women and a great example to all.  I am lucky to have had her in my life for the last 27 years and to call her my Grandma.  I know that she is working hard on the other side serving others and magnifying her calling alongside her husband. 

Thank you Grandma for your legacy.

God be with you till we meet again.  

Gabriel @ 3 Months

On the 25th Gabriel celebrated his 3 month birthday.  For kicks and giggles I measured and weighed him.  He weighed 17 lbs and measured 27 inches.  I have no idea where that puts him in the percentiles, but I imagine somewhere in the 97th and above for both.  Love his little rolls!

Life of a Little Man

I was going through my photos from this last month and realized how many I had of Gabriel that were fun and hilarious that I wanted to share.  Typical mom, what can I say? 

I was doing laundry and Gabriel kept me company... I love how happy he was to see his best friend again (the fan).

When we moved Gabriel into the crib in his own room we made certain he wouldn't feel lonely and that he would be watched over.

Love it!

Creepy Crawling Critter

When we moved into our townhome back in May all we heard from all of our neighbors was nothing but raving reviews.  Great location, family friendly, one story, washer/dryer inside the home, grass and tree areas to enjoy right outside, amazing neighbors, etc...  We thought that we had scored the ultimate jack-pot on this place.  Of course, there always has to be at least one thing that has to go wrong for anyplace.  For this home the one downer are our creepy crawly critters: scorpions and cockroaches.

The cockroaches wouldn't be so bad except that our cats decide to go "fishing" through the chicken wire on their outside enclosure to capture the bugs and then bring them inside to show us their find.  Needless to say, neither Eric or I are all that impressed with their hunting kills.

The scorpions on the other hand live in the trees which are right outside our home.  From what our neighbors have been telling us, they live in the rocks and on the trees and when the wind blows really hard they fall down on top of the townhomes.  Each home is built with a fireplace, and not all the doors are completely secured closed.  One way or another, they enter our home uninvited. 

Since moving here we have only encountered a couple of scorpions, and thankfully they have all been dead.... up until last week that is. 

We found our first live scorpion crawling across our kitchen.  Thank goodness for our cats because they are our "guard dogs" in spotting them out.  Poor Eric couldn't even see it without his glasses on, although he can't see much that is far away without his glasses on.  Never ceases to amaze me just how "blind" he is when I have been blessed with 20/20 vision... only one in my family.  Eric is looking forward to the day when he will get lasik eye surgery (perk of becoming a pilot in the Air Force). 

Back to our friend, Mr. Creepy Crawler with a sharp stinger.  Well, we captured it under a glass cup, put a black light on it and had some fun before executing it.  Don't let the pictures give you nightmares. 

I can confidently say that I am now a vigilant ground looker as I walk around our townhome dreading the day I meet some more of our creepy crawly neighbors. 

Family Fun in Tucson

End of July I went down to Tucson for a couple of days to spend time with family.  My sister-in-law Angela was leaving the first week of August to head of to Kansas with her little ones and my brother.  I decided to take this opportunity to head down to Tucson to pass some quality time with them.  As luck would have it though, The day after we arrived little Caleb (my nephew) got sick with strep throat.  Unfortunately we were unable to spend as much time together as I would have liked, but we did get to hang with them a couple of times.  I am grateful for the chance I had to spend some time with them around 4th of July time.  I love my family and I love the gospel ties that bind us together for all eternity. 

Savannah and Gabriel



Merma, Savannah and Gabriel

Jocelyn and Caleb wanted to put on a dance show for Angela and I... quite entertaining as you can tell from the photos.  :)  I love these kids and their desires to do performances. 

 



Making smores.... one of my all time favorite desserts.



Jocelyn

Ashley



Caleb



Savannah and Papi

Jocelyn and I happened to wear matching outfits.

In Loving Memory of my Grandma Donna

On Thursday, August 8th, 2013 my Grandma Donna (Full name: Donna Zola Packer Swiss) passed away.  She was my father's mother.  She was a little over 92 years old and lived a great life.  She left us all with a great legacy to live up to.  She will be greatly missed but I am glad that she has been reunited with her husband, my grandpa Alfred Swiss.  He passed away a little over 13 years ago in June of 2000. 

I can't help but think of the country song: "Waiting on a Woman" by Brad Paisley. 

http://grooveshark.com/#!/search?q=waiting+on+a+woman

Ok, I know that this might be a little sacrilegious, but I can just see my Grandpa sitting up there, tapping his foot saying: "Come on Donna, we've got work to do.  I've been waiting on you for 13 earthly years... let's go!"  And when she finally did pass on and they were reunited I imagine her reply to be something like: "I had things to do... besides, you should have been used to waiting for me by now."  Well... maybe their conversation wasn't quite like that...but I am certain that their reunion was a joyous one.  Oh the blessings of eternal families and the power of sealings through proper priesthood authority in the temples.  One more reason this gospel is true.

I will miss her.  But I am happy for her to have finally "graduated".  Happy/sad occasion for sure.  Until we meet again Grandma, I love you.

My Dad, myself, a cardboard picture of my brother Tyler (on his mission in Argentina at the time) and my Grandma at my brother Nate's wedding - December 2005



My Aunt Kathy, myself and my Grandma 2 days before I went into the MTC - February 2008

Me and Grandma Donna; picking me up from the airport returning from my mission to Italy - August 2009

Swiss Family visiting Grandpa Alfred's grave in Brigham City - July 2010

One of my favorite pictures of Grandma and Eric - April 2011

Our Wedding - April 2011

Most of the family at Grandma's 90th Birthday at a Chinese Restaurant - per her request - June 2011

 

Last Photo with Grandma - August 2012

Rest in peace Grandma. 

Our Big Boy

Gabriel had his 2 month check up on the 26th of July.  Now, I knew he was a big boy, but I didn't realize just how big.  He weighed 14 lbs putting him in the 90th percentile for weight. and he was 25.5 inches long putting him in the 97th percentile for height!  Talk about big boy!  According to my mother-in-law Eric was a big baby so it runs in the genes.  Plus, my dad, all of my brothers, Eric's dad and his brother are all at least 6 feet tall and weigh 185 lbs and above.  Gabriel is fitting right in our family! Love this little... well big boy