THE BIG Day....Baby Boy Coats

We've been waiting for 9 long months to meet Mike and Kim's sweet little guy. 

After spending and UNPRODUCTIVE 14 hours in the hospital, 

being sent home (IN LABOR), 

packing up an entire house getting it ready to move in 4 days, a few long 11pm walks

down the main street of a very RURAL "village" (for a lack of better words...no gas station or store makes it a village...sort of doesn't it?!...but in a sweet and loving way)...

a rather SHORT-contraction filled 4am walk and a DEFINITE, "IT'S TIME TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL", then another 10 1/2 hours of labor.....we FINALLY got to meet this little angel.... 

His beautiful mommy was a trooper...she never complained once (especially happy after her epidural)

THE LAST picture they had as a 2 person family!

A VERY ANXIOUS and EXCITED daddy, wanting this little guy to arrive...SOON!

...OKAY.....its getting to be a long day, baby boy coats was getting a little stressed, so Kim

gets to wear the infamous "nasal cannula"...which isn't much fun!

Before long...what do we hear.....?!....a little bundle of joy entering into the world!

Daddy got to put the first diaper on, even if it started out "going on backwards", he 

stuck it through and came out like a champ as he diapers his son...the first of MANY TIMES!

Baby boy Coats gets to meet mommy for the first time....tears filled the room by all who witnessed

this sweet greeting!

Their very first FAMILY of 3 picture...a perfect beginning!

Baby Boy Coats has mixed feelings about being out into this cold, bright world.....

But quickly calms down as daddy snuggles with him.

I had the special privilege of being there during the entire event and for a week afterward

...it was a VERY special experience for me and one that I will cherish forever!

His weights and measurements....a very TALL little man!

MEET "Landry Michael Coats"....the newest angel in the family!

Landry isn't quite sure about this "bath time thing"...in fact he hated every

second of that "first time" in the water!

Bath time is over, now a good rub down with yummy baby lotion, extra hugs

and kisses from mommy and daddy, and then some adorable "threads"....he's a 

happy camper!....."now where's dinner"...he says~

Didn't take long before our sweet pink angel turned yellow...jaundice hit with a vengeance

as his bilirubin level hit a whooping 17.8...so he got a "mummy suit" and 5 days on the Bili Lights~

He celebrated his FIRST week birthday....a big day for an adorable little guy!

I went home after spending a week and a half with my sweet daughter, her wonderful husband and this handsome little guy! It was so hard to walk out the door and say good bye....I've never been good at saying "good-bye", but this day seemed to be one of the hardest. I cried most of the 3 hour drive home and then for several days afterward....it was TOUGH! I enjoyed the special time I got to spend with this dear little family! I love being a mom and mother-in-law! Its one of the best things ever....but being a GRANDMA, is even better than that! GRANDKIDS truly are the apple of their grandma's eye! I miss snuggling with this sweet little guy, watching him as he studies my face, my voice and his surroundings. I miss the long talks that Kim and I had all day. I miss the late night chats with Mike, and I miss the 3am chat and nap time when I got to hold this little guy while his mommy and daddy caught up on some sleep. Families are Forever and I'm SO GRATEFUL FOR MINE!!

Independence Day Hoopla...

Okay, its pathetic, I know....here it is SEPTEMBER and I'm just posting

July's festivities....being behind in life seems to be my "THEME" these days!

ON my summer bucket list I set out to have a "BBQ with extended family". This 

took place on July 4th. Deron's brother just moved back to UTAH and it seemed 

like the perfect day for a RED, WHITE and BLUE celebration! 

Halle made a super yummy and creative cake to "spice up" the feast~

Grandpa Wilkerson joined in a game of Bochee (I realize that is probably spelled wrong).

ALL the kids were so excited that grandpa wanted to play...I think they enjoyed spending 

time with him more than the game itself!

Kenron and Halle had fun playing and "jumping", as Kenron would put it~

The adults and kids alike, just enjoyed food and relaxing and good old fashioned "chatting". 

As the sun started going down that night, we all could see it was going to be a FABULOUS 

sunset. But from our house all we could see was a smidgen of it, so we ventured down the road

for a FULL VIEW of what it was really going to look like.....

It was BREATH TAKING to say the least!.....a site to behold, another reminder that

GOD is in control and blesses our lives with the beauties of the world!

So GLAD to be an AMERICAN, where at least I know I'm free...

What a blessing it is!!!

Summer Projects 101

Summer consisted of A LOT of projects...some inside the house, some outside....some 

of the projects involved paint, others didn't....WE GOT many projects done but there

are still many more to do, we just ran out of summer months and the time to WORK. 

We painted the cement wall in our yard. It went from the dingy old yellowish color 

to a bright vibrant white!

THE FINISHED project!! It looks great!!

Then we started painted the stairs up to the loft in our house. I didn't get a "before" 

picture...but imagine the bare wood with plaster and food stains all over them...yep, its an 

ugly thought and thats why we decided to paint them. It took an entire day as the paint

kept peeling up, finally I tried a few tricks and they worked....the paint is perfect now and 

we love the new WHITE stairs!

I got this table for FREE last year along with 4 chairs. I always new what I wanted to do with

it but never got around to it. FINALLY, I found an afternoon to be creative and this is what

I did! I LOVE IT. The "year" on the table has significant meaning to me, its the year my grandpa was born....50 years before me! He was a special man in my life and I've always thought it was neat that 

we were born exactly 50 years and 1 day apart! 

Another project we took on was painting out shed. We have always "oiled" it, but it needed

something more...a little paint! THIS project turned into MUCH MORE than we thought it would.

It was very tedious and time consuming....ended up taking MUCH more paint than we anticipated and alot more man power than we thought. 

 But the finished project was well worth it.....we love it!!!!

NOW if we just had another 3 months of summer...actually I would go for year round

warm summer temps and sunshine.....I would THRIVE in those kinds of conditions....AND I could conquer all my projects!

Camera Practice #1

I got a camera awhile back and still can't use it the way I KNOW it can be used...

SOOOOOOOOOOOO I thought I would practice, I got these two handsome fellows 

for the morning and thought I would take some photo's of them....I have to admit, that 

I can't capture half of their cuteness in the poor photo's that I take...BUT with practice, I hope to 

be able to do better! They are adorable and such fun little boys!

"Awe Grandma....not MORE pictures, I'm so done with them!".....what funny kids!

Yep, Kayson had enough of the "smiling"....he crashed and fell sound asleep!

I got a lot of pictures, and a lot of practice, BUT I need more before I feel confident in using my 

BIG camera (because I have a small camera that I love, but it can't quite take the COOL pictures that the BIG one will eventually be able to take....with the owner learning how to do it).

Here's to one day being able to take AWESOME pictures!

Summer Hiking...Headed To The Top

There is a hill/mountain (depends on your perspective of what a hill or mountain is) behind my house. Its quite a jont to the top, but I wanted to climb it this summer as part of my "Summer Bucket List". 

One sunny Saturday morning, Halle and I ventured out to make this happen. 

Every step you take, you can see more and more of the neighborhood and the town below......

The pictures just don't do the view justice...its a bit breathtaking and crazy beautiful. You can see 

where the town begins and ends...its gorgeous!

As we walked farther up the mountain, we looked off into the distant to see this "make shift potty"...

Didn't know for sure what to think about it....interesting for sure!

Finally made it to the VERY top and could see the entire town......I love this little place I live!

The cactus were in bloom, something that comes and goes so quickly that you don't often see

the beautiful flowers that the ugly cactus produce.

On TOP of the mountain with  the cell towers and other "towers" that keep our electronic 

devices going............

We hiked for about 2 hours....ventured home and ate homemade Baklava, something that 

I ADORE!

It was a great trip and a fun day!......I am glad I live in a place where I have "adventures" 

right out my door!!