Tuesday, January 13, 2009

beaucoup de babies ...

We finally met Ayden in person. He is 4-1/2 months old and he smiles, makes lots of sounds, and waves his arms around a lot. What a good boy!!
Here he is with his dad Joe.

And here with cousin Haylee.
Here is great-grandma watching over the little ones while the rest of us are stuffing our faces.
It was a noisy gathering with Edith & Pat, Weldon's 3 daughters & Joe, their babies, Beth & Steve, and us. With everyone telling stories and laughing about memories from the past, our few hours together flew by and, all of a sudden, everyone was getting ready to leave. We didn't get any pictures of the 3 girls together nor of them with their babies. Drat!!

We finally found Kit Carson's latest babies (born around Thanksgiving) - in the junk pile, as usual.
Look closely and you'll see one of the cuties...

No, wait! That's Weldon. Yes, he's definitely one of the cuties!!
Three new kittens.

The white one took a chunk out of my finger the first time I got my hands on him. Turn up the sound and you can hear him growl in the video.


I am finally beginning to see the baby calves as "cute." This one, born Dec 29, captured my heart.

Actually, her black ears captured my heart. There's her little white head and then those black ears that look like velvet.
When she was even younger, the inside of those velvety ears was a brighter pink.
Amazing
:-)

Babies are super cute ... especially when you don't have to live with them!

Thursday, January 01, 2009

What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace. Agnes M. Pharo
What is Christmas? It's the birthday of the King who can change the thoughts of our hearts to reflect the quote above. Happy Birthday, Jesus :-)
What is Christmas? Family! Of my "blood family," only Anna & Marshall are near enough that we can actually get together. I celebrate with the rest of my family via cards, e-mails, calls, and gifts. Fortunately, Weldon's sweet family is right here and they've taken me in with open hearts so I am not lonely during these wonderful days.
What is Christmas? Check out the pictures!
At Anna's on December 14 ....
Every year I give Marshall an ornament as a reminder of something that he was doing or learning or enjoying that year.
This is Anna's sweetie, Jason
And now, Christmas Day at Edith's ....
Four generations (times 2):
Edith, Weldon, Jennifer, and Aniston
Edith, Weldon, Kathryn, Ashley & Haylee
Jennifer's hubby Scott
Kathryn's hubby David
Pat holding a marzipan pig :-)
Steve & Beth and their daughter Maria
Their son Wesley & his wife Ashley (holding Aniston)
These pictures may lead you to believe that we had a quiet gathering with sweet smiles and humble fellowship. But, no! This is the Keiger farm, and even Christmas cannot escape farm humor. Beth had asked me if there was anything that Weldon wanted/needed for Christmas. All I could think of was a poop pusher. That's the snow-plow-like shovel he uses to clean the barn floors after we're done milking. So, that's what she got for him, complete with 4 rolls of toilet paper on the long handle. As a side note, I had got Steve a bottle of hot sauce called, Professor Phardtpounders Colon Cleaner ("an elixer of capsaicin extremus"). So ... Weldon starts to unwrap his present and when he gets down to the blade, the craziness begins. What the heck is taped to the blade of the shovel? It looks like ... no! No way! Beth, what is this??!! She insists that a candy cane bun she was baking fell to the oven floor without her knowledge and when she found it later, it was burned to a crisp. Looking remarkably like a pile of crap (sorry), she taped it to the shovel. Natural farmboy that he is, Weldon just had to get started. First he had to try eating the crap (eeeuuuu), then he had to set up various scenarios to be photographed, all the while the rest of us laughing hysterically. We got a few pictures of the Colon Cleaner and the "candy cane" together; then Weldon added a note: "It works!" This went on and on, till finally Edith decided it was time to clean things up. It certainly was a lot funnier than it sounds here in writing :-)
To close on a kinder, gentler note ... Here we are in front of our tree the day after Christmas, surrounded by a few of our gifts. Thank you, one and all, for the cards, gifts, calls, and displays of love. We love you right back and wish you a
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!