California

Isaac, Naomi and Bethany are all still living at home. It was so fun to have them meet little Kayla. During a trip to California last September, I saw my family. the whole trip, Bethany would constantly be coming up to be to put her hand on my tummy and say "Hannah, is the baby kicking?" I believe she bonded with Kayla before she was born because this trip, the other members of the family literally had to pry Kayla out of Bethany's arms!
Introducing new things to Kayla is always rewarding. There was something extra rewarding about holding her while she peered at the crashing waves at Patrick's Point in Trinidad.

We visited the Pier in Trinidad to get a bowl of calm chowder at the SeaScape restaraunt. It was fun taking Kayla out on the pier to see all the fishermen. We saw a huge box of live crab be wheeled up the pier.

Three generations of daughters. How I love my Grandma Dotty, she did the most anyone could do, she gave me my mom!

My dad's parents loved Kayla. Grandma Jeannie held Kayla for the first time and Kayla peacefully fell to sleep in her arms. She stil has the touch!!

This is a picture of me and my two oldest sisters. Sometimes I look longingly on those days as a child when everyday your main concern was playing outside or whether or not mom was going to let you rollerskate before bedtime. My parents never had much in the way of money or possessions but they gave us the best childhood anyone could ask for. They taught us how to play, imagine, be friends with eachother, and laugh. Most importantly, they taught us how to truly love ourselves and love God.

Another gift my mom gave us was a system called "guardians." When each child came home from the hospital, they were assigned to an older sibling, kind of like the buddy system. Guardians would stick together at the fair, hold hands crossing the street, and so on. Naomi was the one assigned to me. I believe I went beyond the assigned guardianship, I think I thought she was my own. I read to her, held her all day, and smothered her in every aspect of her life as a kid. Naomi and I are still great friends and the fact I never put her down and smothered her with affection seems to have had no ill effects on her. She is graduating this year and was just accepted to Humboldt State University. Congrats Nomes!!