Now it is time for me to do some bragging about my youngest daughter Vanessa. When Vanessa first told me that she was going to be taking woods this year, I thought that she was crazy. I always thought that was a class for boys. I guess I was wrong, or I should say that Vanessa proved me wrong.
The first project that she did was my Christmas present from her. I had always said that I wish that I had a time out stool for the grand babies to sit on. So what did Vanessa make, she made me the cutest little stool. And the grand babies loved it. Now when I tell them to go to time out they fight over who gets the time out stool. Should I say that when there is a time out at my house it usually means for more than one person at a time.
Her second project was a toy box. My son John had been shopping around for a toy box for his kids and he kept complaining on how expensive they all were. So Vanessa spoke up and said that she could make one in her woods class. So she worked and worked on it and finally she was done. And this is the finale picture of it. I am so proud of her and Jaden and Zoe loved it very much.
This has got to be the funniest thing that I have seen in a long time. As some of you know I was going to be going to my hometown of Gatesville, Texas last month for the birth of my oldest daughter's baby.
One afternoon I had the girls get the suitcases out of the storage for me, so I could see which ones I would be taking with me. To see what ones would hold the most stuff, we had opened them up one by one. Well, we had this one opened up and Jaden decided that he wanted to pack himself in there to come with me. First he took the pillow off of my couch and put it in there, Than he got his favorite car and Vanessa's pillow basketball and he climbed in. He laid down and made himself comfortable. When I asked him what he was doing he told me "I AM GOING TO GO TO MEE MAWS HOUSE". Mee Maw is the name that my grand babies have given to my mom. It was so funny, and than to top that off he told Kayla to put Zoe in beside him because she wanted to go to Mee Maws house too!
It was all so cute that I had to take this picture of the two of them lying inside of my suitcase. And it sure did make my mom's day when I developed the picture and took it to her. When she asked me what they were doing I told her that Jaden said that "him and Zoe were going to Mee Maws house". I think that she laughed so hard it made her cry. I can not wait until August when we all go to Texas for our first ever Family Reunion and she is able to see these precious little ones in person. Out of my six grandchildren she has only seen two of them. She saw Rylan when he was a baby and than she has seen Rancher that lives in Texas. So I know that it will do my heart good to see her with the other four. Can not wait until the first of August.
And this is the new addition to my family. Rancher Robert Jeffcoat made his debut on Saturday, March 26, 2011. And oh is he ever so cute!!!!
I was lucky to go to Gatesville, Texas (thanks for the Christmas present from Chris and Jenn) for his arrival. I arrived in Austin on Wednesday the 23rd of March. When Crystal went to see her dr. on Thursday he told her to walk, walk, walk and eat lots of fiber. So on Friday her and I went to Waco and we walked and walked and walked. Saturday morning early she called me and asked me what she should do. She was having some really bad pains and her water was leaking. I told her to call the Labor and Delivery in Clifton where she was going to deliver him at and see what they said. I also told her to call me back. I waited and waited but no call. Finally about an hour later my son in law called my son's house (where I was staying) and told us that Crystal was at the hospital and for us to head that way.
I really felt bad, because she had told us that it could only be her and Randon in the room and the rest of us would have to wait in the waiting room, so my son was not in any big hurry to get there. We stopped at the post office, got gas and stopped at this place for some breakfast. We finally arrived in Clifton at the hospital around 11:30 A.M. As soon as we got there everyone was telling me that Crystal had been asking for me. So I went in and sat with her. By than she had had the epidural and was feeling nothing, but she was so exhausted that she was trying to rest. I thought it would be better if she got some rest while she could and I headed down to the waiting room with the others. And let me tell you there were a lot of others there. It reminded me of when my son Christopher was born in the old Gatesville hospital. I think the whole town was there for his birth.
Later I found out that they would allow me into the Labor/Delivery Room. So when Sharon (Randon's mom) and I went down to see if we could hear anything the nurse came out and got me. I guess Crystal was wanting me in there with her. And even though I was in the room when Chanda had both Jaden and Zoe and also in the room with Holly during labor with Kambria, there was something different about being there with one of my own girls. Crystal had a long time delivering Rancher but he finally arrived at 4:34 P.M. and weighted in at 6 lbs. 15 ozs. and was 20.5 inches long. And what a beautiful baby....He had blue eyes and lots of black hair (he reminded me so much of his Grandpa David when he was a young man). And his skin was so soft and beautiful and he had a dark complexion.
I was lucky enough to go and stay with Crystal, Randon and Rancher for 10 nights and tried to help them the best that I could. I wanted to be there if they needed me, but I knew that they had to learn most of the stuff on their own and to do it the way that they felt comfortable with. Thank you Crystal and Randon for my beautiful grandson and for allowing me to stay as long as I did. Love all of you very much. And a big Thank You to Chris and Jenn for my Christmas present to come and be there.
And here he is Mr. Strawberry Days 2009. Yes that is right Jaden was in the contest and he WON!!!! But why wouldn't he??? He looks like a very beautiful strawberry with his reddish hair and his beautiful smile. Jaden will be celebrating his 3rd birthday (the day before our family heads to Texas for a family reunion). What better present can a person get? Jaden became my 3rd grandchild and 2nd grandson on August 2, 2008 (he was born on his Aunt Crystal's and Uncle Randon's 1st wedding anniversary. Crystal told me that she could not of asked for a better present than to be getting another nephew.
Jaden is so funny and very talented. Before he was a year old he could play any kind of sport that you can think of and he loves anything that has a ball in it. He is a big Dallas Cowboy fan and stops whatever he is doing to watch when they are on TV. It is so cute to see him and Rylan there rooting for the Cowboys with all of the other guys in the family. He has also loved Toy Story, and anything that is on the Disney channel. If you are ever feeling down all you have to do is come to my house when he is there and he will having you smiling in no time at all.
This is Rylan Savage Steggell. He is the son and oldest child of Thomas and Holly Steggell and my oldest grandchild. Rylan turned 5 in February. He will be going to kindergarten this year and he is really a smart little fellow.
Before he was even two years old he could throw a football better than some professionals can. Or you can say that I am a little proud.
My favorite thing with Rylan is when I have talked to his mommy or daddy on the phone and I want to talk to him, he always asks me if I am Mommy's Grandma or Daddy's Grandma. I love that. And than while we are talking and one of the girls gets on the phone or his parents are trying to get the phone back, he will say no that he is talking to Grandma. I love to hear that word over and over again.
Each of my grandchildren have a special place in my heart, but I wonder if maybe Rylan took a little more since he is my first grandchild. Part of me wants to say yes and than part of me says no, because I do not believe in loving one more than the other. They each have their own special place within my heart and my heart is so big that it will allow other grandchildren to be born and to take their share of my heart too.
Our darling Kambria will be celebrating her 3rd birthday on May 16th. She is such a Diva. She loves to have her finger nails and toe nails polished. And when she can she loves to get into her Mommy's make up. She is a girly girl, and loves wearing dresses. I am so glad that she is like that because I am afraid that my other granddaughters may be tom boys. So it is nice to have one that has that prissy attitude to her.... LOL.
Kambria loves her older brother Rylan and they both are very protective of each other. And you can almost find one where ever the other one is. And I hear that she is very protective of her baby sister Aaliyah too. And even though Rylan and Aaliyah look like their dad, I think that Kambria got her beauty from her mom Holly.
Introducing my third and last granddaughter born to our family. Aaliyah was born on January 26, 2011, four weeks early. Aaliyah has had to fight so much to keep living her life on this fair earth. So many times we thought for sure that she would go home to be with our Father in Heaven again. But by his graces we are still privileged to call her ours. By the pictures that I have seen of her I think that she looks so much like her daddy Thomas and older brother Rylan. She is such a beautiful baby and I love her with all of my heart and thank Heavenly Father for allowing her to stay here with us.
Zoe Marie Steggell joined our family on October 29, 2010. She has bought so much joy to our lives. She looks identical to her big brother Jaden and their daddy. She has the biggest blue eyes and lots of red hair.
I can not believe that she will soon be 6 months old and she is learning so many things. I think the thing that I love about her the most is her little laugh. She loves it when you play peek a boo with her and she will giggle and giggle.
She loves to eat and it is so cute to see how excited she gets when she sees her bottle coming. She will be fusing one minute because she is so hungry and than she will see her bottle coming and her little arms and legs go ninety miles a minute and she starts smiling.
She is really a good baby and the only time she cries is when she is hungry, tired or needs her diaper changed. She loves when her Aunts Kayla and Vanessa take her for a walk in the stroller or take her to the park and swing her in the baby swing. And Grandma loves the way when you put her on your shoulder and she will cling to your neck. I know one thing I am so thankful for all of my darling little angels and I am so thankful that she is a part of our family.
After Kayla and I got back from Texas, I wanted to do something with Vanessa. So I talked withCasey and Ashlee to see if they wanted to go to St. George for the weekend and hang out. I was planning on getting a hotel room for the weekend, but Ashlee's parents were nice enough to let us use their house in St. George for the weekend.
We decided to go for the weekend of the 24th of July. I thought since I had promised the girls that I would eventually take them to see what Vegas was like, we would do it this trip since Casey and Ashlee were with us.
We left here on Friday night after Ashlee got done with beauty school for the week. As soon as we were packed up, gassed and had something to drink for the ride, we were on our way. Since we did not stop for dinner on the way down, we decided after we had dropped our stuff off at the house to go and get something to eat. We were all so tired we did not want to go sit in somewhere, so we just got some take-out and went back to the house to eat. After we ate it was off to bed for us (especially me), I think the girls stayed up and played cards for awhile. But I was tired and I kept hearing that bed calling my name.
Saturday morning we woke up and the girls and I dropped Casey off to visit with a friend of his that lives down there and we were off to meet up with my friend Kate and her son Jared. We spent most of the morning shopping and than met up with Casey for something to eat. Saturday night Casey, the girls and I spent the evening playing cards and just enjoying the time to relax and spend together as a family. We decided that we would go to Vegas for the day the next morning, since my friend Kate had to work. So the next day we woke up early, we all got ready and than off to Vegas we went.
Vegas was fun, but very hot and tiring. Casey had been struggling with a sprained ankle and I was completely out of breath. We did walk to the Coke Cola and M&M's store and walked around for awhile and than we headed back to the car. It was a very long journey since we had parked at the Belagio and walked down. As soon as we got to the car we stripped off our shoes and relaxed in the nice cool air condition car. On the way back to St. George we decided to stop at Cracker Barrel in St. George for dinner. The atmosphere was really nice and cool and the food was delicious. Everyone but me had decided that they wanted to go to the pool that is in the community that the McFarlane's house is in. So they all went swimming and I decided to head to bed and read for awhile. I think I was asleep when they all got back.
Monday we got up and packed everything up. Than we made sure to shut everything off and close up the house. As soon as this was done we headed back home to Pleasant Grove. Thank you Casey and Ashlee for going with us, and a very special thanks to Clarke and Shawnee for allowing us to use their house in St. George.
And finally the day arrives. It is 6:00 pm on Friday, April 23, 2010 and the wedding of the century has just taken place. I was wondering if my son Chris would ever find the woman of his dreams and settle down.
Well, he finally found her and I have to say that I am very impressed. Her name is Jennifer McCormack and she is originally from New York. She come from a very loving and friendly family and I am so honored to call them my extended family.
Chris and Jenn were married in the same church as his father and I had been married in. It would have been 40 years this coming May 19th. At the time that his father and I were married in it the church had just been completed. It is also a family tradition to be married there since his aunt and also his sister Crystal were married there too.
After the wedding they had a reception on Jennifer's aunt and uncles ranch in Mound, Texas. The scenery and everything was spectacular. I never have seen such a lovely place in all of my life. I had forgotten how you could look out for miles and miles in Texas and see all the lovely scenery. I am so glad that Kayla, Caleb and myself were able to attend their wedding and reception. I just wish that the rest of the family from Utah could of gone along also.
This is my oldest son Chris and his lovely wife to be Jennifer. This picture was taken the night before they got married. We were all out at Jenn's mom Debbie's house for a rehearsal dinner.
We had a lovely time out there and there was lots of food and people to socialize with. I am so happy that my son found such a wonderful girl to make his wife. And I have to say that he is marrying into a very loving and friendly family. I am so blessed that he has finally found the woman of his dreams. I wish for them all of the happiness in the world. And thanks Chris for giving me such a wonderful new daughter. Love them both!!!!
And it would not be a trip to Texas without going to lunch at our favorite BBQ place in Clifton, Texas. A few years ago my daughter and son in law told me that they had a place they wanted to take me for dinner. So we headed to Clifton, (where my oldest and best friend Ann and her family live). There they introduced me to "THE BUCKHOUSE" and my heart is still there. They have the best barbeque in the world. Here we met up with my friend Ann and her granddaughter Morgan. It was so nice to see them again and to be able to share one of my favorite eating places with you.
Here is Caleb enjoying the state flower of Texas, the beautiful bluebonnets. One of the afternoons that we were in Gatesville, I wanted to go visit some of our families gravesides. So Caleb, Kayla and I headed down to the graveyard to take some pictures. I always try and visit the gravesides of my son(Cody), grandparents, and great aunt and uncle. There are other family members buried in that cemetery, but these graves are right by one another.
After visiting the graves for awhile and taking some pictures, Caleb decided that he wanted to go and take some pictures of the beautiful bluebonnets. He wanted to take the pictures home to show his family. It was so nice to be able to go and visit the family that has gone on to a better place. Although we love and miss them very much, we know that the day will come that we will all be reunited again.
Oh what a wonderful trip we had, when we headed to my hometown of Gatesville, Texas. My oldest son Chris was getting married on the 23rd of April, so Kayla, her friend Caleb and I rented a car and drove down to Texas for the wedding and to visit with family and friends.
We left around the middle of April and it took us two days to make the trip there. We knew that once we were there that it would be a very busy time, with so much to see and do. Thank Heavens for Caleb, because he did most of the driving there and back. I am not very confident when it comes to large freeways and busy intersections. I was more at home when we reached the Texas highways. They were so much more relaxed. I am so thankful that Caleb was able to go with Kayla and I, and I know that I will miss having him around this August when we go back to Gatesville, Texas for a family reunion for my mom.
The first of April of last year, we had a wonderful surprise when some really good, old friends of ours came for a visit. It was so good to see them, it had been so long. The last time we saw them was when Vanessa was just a baby. Jim and Linda Collins along with their 3 sons James, Michael and Kristen became our friends about 25 years ago, when our sons Steven and James became best friends in school.
Jim and my ex Virgil both were serving tours of duty at Ft. Hood, Texas. Steven and James were attending elementary school on post and immediately became best friends, (it seems that is the way I have met most of my good friends. Through my children). It did not take long and Linda and I became best friends also. Our families got together for birthday parties, backyard barbecues and shopping for Linda and I. It was not long before our family was getting out of active duty and heading for Virgil's home state of Utah. And that is how we came to live here.
Anyway after Jim came home from a tour of duty in a war zone, they came for a visit when we lived in Pleasant Grove along time ago. Actually it was when Kayla was a baby. They were on their way to visit their family in Washington state. And than they came again on their way to moving to Washington state when Jim retired from the U.S. Army. Although we did keep in touch with phone calls and emails, I have to say that it was really good when Linda called and said that her and Jim were going on a vacation across the U.S. and wondered if they could stop by and visit with us for a few days. It did not take me long to answer her, I think she may still be a little deaf in that one ear from my screaming.
They were here for a few days and I have to tell you that I wish that they would come back again really soon. Linda, Kayla, Vanessa and I had a fun day shopping for gifts for weddings and we all enjoyed a Pineapple Upside Down Cake that Jim made for us. So dear friend, please do not make it another 16 years before you come for a visit again. In fact tomorrow would not be too soon!
Boy, has it been along time since I blogged last. So I decided to start afresh and make a new blog for this new adventure in our family. Our family has really grown over the last few years. This is the latest family picture of all of us at Casey and Ashlee's wedding reception. Yes, my youngest son got married on November 7, 2009. I know you do not have to tell me that it has been almost 2 years since this picture was taken. What can I say I am just alittle slow in getting to this. But there will be more to follow, I promise.
And since this picture we have added a few more family members to our family. My oldest son Chris got married on April 23, 2010 to a very lovely girl (originally from New York), but had settled in our hometown of Gatesville, Texas. His new wife is Jennifer. I guess I will have to add their picture in another post, since it will not allow me to do it the way that I would like. Also we have added 2 new granddaughters, and 1 new grandson to our family. John and Chanda had a baby girl in October of last year, Thomas and Holly had another baby girl in January of this year and my oldest daughter Crystal had her first baby, a boy in March of this year. So the last few years have been a very busy one for all of us.
So I hope that you will enjoy following my new blog and also visiting my old one every now and again. The address to the old one is www.thelifeofmaggiebrooks.blogspot.com and the address to the new one is www.maggie-brooks.blogspot.com. So come and visit any time and do not forget to post your comments. I enjoy hearing from everyone. Now off to my next blog.
Now it is time for me to do some bragging about my youngest daughter Vanessa. When Vanessa first told me that she was going to be taking woods this year, I thought that she was crazy. I always thought that was a class for boys. I guess I was wrong, or I should say that Vanessa proved me wrong.
