It's Official!

Thanks to Tim's roommate, Rene Martin, we have pictures to show! Tim signed in Memorial Hall where the Peace Talks took place last year.

Dad and his birthday shirt!

Dad's birthday is August 23 and he will be 85 years young! He needed some spiffy shirts that fit his new lean body so here he is in his early birthday shirt! Looking good, Dad!

Catch up day on the blog! My Dad; Tim USNA and Josiah!

While I was in California we brought my dad home from the nursing facility where he had been staying after the hospital stay in June. It had been about seven weeks since an ambulance rushed a very sick man to the hospital. It was a great day to bring him home! My brother, Tom; sister, Nancy and I were pleased to have him home. I was especially grateful to be a part of the big day! We brought him home on August 2, 2008.

August 18, 2008 Big day for Josiah and Tim! 4th BDay and Signing 2 for 7!

Yesterday we took Tim back to USNA for his junior "Second Class" year. Rene Martin and Ty Moulton spent the night Saturday with us and were on hand to help load the cars for the trip over to the Yard. Rene and Tim have been roommates since plebe year and will room together again this year in a 2-man room. Ty is in 10th Company with them. Great to have them help especially once we got to the yard since they live on the 5th deck and it was quite a distance just to get inside! Thanks, guys! Rene is a prior enlisted sailor and has been a great friend to Tim. Ty is from Montana and we hear is quite a basketball player...he's the tall one!

So today is a big day for Tim! He will sign the "Two for Seven" which means he is obligated now to two more years of school and five years of military service following graduation in 2010. Two years at school for a total of seven years to go. It's been a heavy weight on his shoulders as we hear it is for many midshipmen. At this point Tim could walk away and not owe but once he signs he is obligated to stay and finish. We know he will make a great officer! This is not a decision we take lightly either. Already he sent an email last night that he's beginning his leadership duties as a squad leader. Second Class does a lot of the training for the plebes. Tim had a great example when he was a plebe so he now can use what he learned.

Happy Birthday, Josiah!

August 18, 2008! Today is Josiah's 4th birthday. You can see the progression from birth to last year's third birthday! We will have to wait for the 4th birthday photo as we are in MD and Josiah is camping with his family in Oregon. We will get to celebrate with him in September but in the meantime have sent a special Star Wars gift to our little Star Wars buff! Josiah has brought joy to this world and our hearts since the day he was born! What did we do for fun before he came along? I have many favorite moments with little Joe but one remarkable thing about him is that he is so aware of how people around him are doing. He always wants to make sure everyone has met! His imagination is amazing! Every phone call, "Hi Grandma! Where are you?" Well, I wish I were with Josiah today! Grandpa and I love you very, very much! Happy Birthday!

Back in Annapolis

It's 11:16 pm and do you know where your children are???? Jeff and I will pick up Tim and Catherine at 1:15 am at BWI airport so we are up for awhile!!!! I flew in last night from California. Tim has about a week left of his summer leave and has spent the last three weeks in Corvallis. He and Cat planned to come back here so they could do the DC sightseeing together before his school year begins August 17. We are taking them to Mount Vernon tomorrow...after we all sleep in! Of course, they are on west coast time so it's only going to be 10:20 for them! Having them come makes it so much easier for me to get settled back here after spending two weeks with my family in California. My purpose for the trip to Calif. was to go help my sister and brother caring for my dad. It was perfect timing because Nancy's daughter had her baby a month prematurely and that allowed Nancy to be with Becky and the baby...Leah! My dad came home last Saturday and is doing really quite well. He has a care giver there for part of the day so he's not alone. She does the cooking and cleaning for him. His balance is not great so we are concerned about him falling. But, since coming home he's doing better than we thought. He's no longer in "patient mode" so he's doing pretty well. We are thankful. I'm also very thankful for Jeff's parents who so very generously shared their lovely guest suite and car with me. It became my home away from home!!! Dolores is a great cook and out-did herself with wonderful meals. Gerald and I did a lot of visiting in the front courtyard and back patio. I LOVE sitting outside in the DRY air of California! It was in the high 90's most of the time but dry:) I must admit today was a lovely day in Annapolis and wasn't too humid since a storm blew through last night. It's good to be home with Jeff, of course!