Mourning

Melissa's Grandma Dorothy passed away this morning. This past week she was mostly unresponsive. We can be thankful that she no longer suffers. Details for the wake and funeral will be made available as soon as they become available. Please pray for her.

countdown to Thanksgiving

Today I have a day off - a free day - to do what would take a week. Just wanted to touch base with all of you. We've done nothing exciting, but Pop can say that he has completed the cutting of Christmas puzzles. After he cuts them, he takes them apart on the dining room table to count the pieces. After that I get to assemble them, but I fell behind. There were as many as 8 at one time. Pop actually worked with me on putting them together, so now they are all bagged and ready.

I talked Bob and Mary Ann, into coming on Friday instead of Thursday night, since I have to work 5-1 on Friday. No specific plans yet for while they are here. Their main focus should be to spend time with Gram. I presume they are leaving Sunday, so feel free to include yourselves into our weekend if and whenever you're able.

I hear that Dave is back from Seattle, and D.J. should have gotten home from Philadelphia late last night. But that's for them to tell us (hint hint).

Hope everyone has a good week.

Gavin's Blog

We started a separate blog for Gavin. You can check it out here:
http://gavinchard.blogspot.com/

Today was a rough day for little G - he got circumcised. Most babies get circumcised shortly after birth but with all the other stuff he was going through, his got postponed. Today was his 2-week checkup at the pediatrician and the procedure was done right there. Brandon stayed with him during it but I couldn't bear to watch so I waited in the lobby. Apparently he did great and didn't even cry! Until they pricked his heel and squoze his foot for 5 minutes straight to get enough blood for his "routine tests". He's been sleeping a lot ever since, which is probably a good thing.

Yesterday was a bit more fun - we took Gavin for his first hike! He slept through most of it but I think he enjoyed the fresh air and I KNOW the dogs appreciated the chance to get our and run around a bit.

Gavin Video - Take 2

The magic of the electronic age comes at you once again... But this time with Gavin's eyes open. Find a comfy chair for this one - and be thankful our camera only shoots 3 min of video at a time :)

Gavin video

Testing the video capability of the blog site. We'll get a video of him when he is awake.

Happy Birthday, big brother!

Dear DJ,

Hope you have a great birthday! Bummer when they fall on a Monday, but any day is a good day to eat cake :).

Love and best wishes from Utah!

Tristan Robert

Just got a phone call from Robert. Tristan Robert (a boy) was born today, Nov. 11, at 9:42. 8 lb. 5 oz. I think it's a neat name, but Pop says it sounds like a girl. Cecilia is very pleased with her brother and told Lisa "It's my baby, not yours."

That's the end of the line for new babies for the time being, as far as I know....

We're having a lazy day today. Pop is watching the Bears play a lackadaisical game. He spent some time cutting and seeding jalapenos and stuffing them with cheese. Tomorrow I'll buy some corn flake crumbs when I get off work, and we'll finish making the "poppers."

Gram seems to be doing fine, althought she's very tired and weak. I got her laundry and stuff squared away yesterday.

We're looking forward to meeting Chris and Sami and their parents at Famous Dave's tomorrow, to celebrate D.J.'s birthday.

We're enjoying and appreciating all the pictures and updates of Mr. Gavin Chard....