Oh Well, No Pictures

I have sat down to post a blog with pictures 4 times now. Every time I try to upload pictures, the whole thing crashes. I give up!

A lot has happened in the last 4-5 months and they are all wonderful and exciting.
Ken came home from his mission. We were lucky enough to go and pick him up in Florida. It was a great experience to meet people that were special to him on his mission. We were also privileged to have breakfast with Pres. and Sister Newman, Ken's mission President and his lovely wife.
I even got to see an alligator up close! It sure is beautiful there.

Then when we got home, Ty and Cami, Tori and JennAdam came from UT and we had a great family reunion. It really doesn't get better than that!
It was so nice to be together. We had great meals, heard great stories, played in the park and gathered in the bishops office to participate in Noah receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood, heard the boys sing in Church......the list goes on and on of cool stuff.
You can see some of the pictures I wish I could put up, on JennAdam's blog.

I then found out that I am going to be a Grandma. Although Meg and John have two darling boys (that I have wished so hard to meet!) and it's been fun feeling a bit like a grandma, I'm so happy for Ty and Cami. I love hearing how things are going and I know they are going to be great parents.
If you want to see some major cute boys, check out Meg and John's blog link. They are such a darling family and I am so impressed with all the things they do.

Then Ty and Cami came for Thanksgiving. Tori came too, by train. I'm happy to say we get to keep Tori this time!
We had a great visit with them, even though poor Cami was a bit under the weather. Morning sickness and smells of all the cooking must have been a real trial, but she is a real trooper and didn't let on.

Though I'm was very happy for Ken, it was hard to see him go. He left with Ty and Cami to go to UT. He starts the winter semester at BYU. He has been staying with Steve's mom and has been a great example of service. Grandma is going to miss him very much when he moves into his dorm at BYU on Friday.

We had a very different Christmas this year. After not receiving any of our deposit from our old land lords (a very frustrating and saddening situation that we had no way of countering) our funds for Christmas were gone. So, I started crocheting my little heart out and looking for a way to make it a nice Christmas.
I can't tell you how grateful I am that my children are so good to get homemade things.
We were even blessed to have members of our ward take what we made to our family in UT. Shipping is a killer!
Anyway, we had a great Christmas. I am soooooo very blessed to have such good kids. They are a sorce of great joy and happiness.
I was so glad to see how the kids have recieved Steve's first book. I was so excited about it and figured they would like it, but I didn't realize how much. Everyone may not agree, but MY family rocks!

Hope you all have many blessing to count. That this coming year brings you joy, blessings that are looked for and not looked for. I hope you are able to see the hand of the Lord in your lives so that you know how much He loves you and is helping you to grow and learn.
May we all cherish each moment, and see the light that shines for us even in the darkest hours.

Karen

A Poem by Cubby

I still have a lot to catch up on, but in the mean time, here is a neat poem that Cubby wrote the other day.

A New Winter

I smile
as my nose
grows numb
and starts
to run profusely
because I'm still
having fun
my frigid lips
release
an icy breath
of steam
that rises
and evaporates
into
nothingness
I hear
the quiet swishing
of sleighs
rushing sliding
down the hill
I stoop
and dig my
fingers into the
soft white layer
surrounding
us but I am
hit
with a
tight ball
of snow
I giggle
as I throw
one in return
our laughter
greets
a new winter

Tori Turns 18

Well, our pretty Tori turned 18 in October. She got a lot of pink, which seems to be her new signature color. Her other being bright green. She got some hot pink duct tape to give her duct tape shoes a new coat of color. Turning 18 is a special thing and though we would have liked to make it a big deal, we weren't able to. Her main present was being presented with an opal ring that had been her grandmother Cummins's. Tori and my (Karen) birth stone is opal, so it was a special thing to pass on.

Fun with Horses and Aunt Janelle

Janelle (Steve's youngest sister) took Noah, Tori and Cubby to our nieces place in Lehi and let them let them ride, Georgia, a sweet horse that Janelle had been teaching Tori how to ride while she had been staying in UT. She has become a major fan of riding horses and wanted Noah and Cubby to have a chance to have some of the fun she had been enjoying.
They all seemed to have a great time, except maybe Janelle because she probably didn't get much of a chance to ride. Thanks Janelle!!!!

Tori's Coin Ceremony

It's started with Ty. The night before he left to work at a dinner theater in Pennsylvania, Steve pulled a 1878 silver dollar from his pocket and told Ty it was an executive decision maker. It was something to help with those decisions that aren't major and don't need Heavenly Help or parental advice. I mostly missed this exchange. It was a last minute thing between Steve and Ty.
Then, when Jenn was heading off to the Army, Steve pulled out one for her. I thought it was cute and she seemed to think it was pretty special.
Then, when Jenn came home for medical reasons, she told me how she would go to sleep, holding that silver dollar. She would be holding it to get strength from her father during a very hard time. In the morning, when she woke up, she would have the design of the coin imprinted on her palm.
It was then that I realized that "the coin" meant a lot more to the kids than I realized.
Then, when Ken was leaving on his mission he got his and I paid much more attention to the significance of it, and I remember all of us getting a bit teary.
So, when we went back for Ty's graduation,
it had been decided that Tori would be
staying in UT, at least for an extended time.
So, Steve decided that Tori was now a grown up and on her own, in that sense.
Here are the pictures of the "pacing of a coin" to Tori. It was a very special moment and more explination went with it, and as a result, more emotion was felt and shown.
I'm so grateful to an inspired husband that thought to give one to Ty, and thus start a tradition that has become very important to us and our children.

Post Grad Party!

Ty was the head BBQer at his Graduation party, and I'm glad he was. The Hot Dogs and Hamburgers were cooked to perfection.
We had great food, great people and a lot of fun! The best ingredients for a wonderful party!

Grandpa Cummins watches to see that Ty is doing a good job.
My dad has been a great BBQer for a long time. Nice to see that Ty inherited his skill!

Tori and Aunt Janelle.
Jenn, Adam and Grandma Kenworthy
Cami and Janey
Grandma and Jenn
Steve and some yummy food!

WOW WEEEE!!!

What a super cool life! So much has happened lately: it's really hard to begin. I will just do several short posts because doing all the pictures in one post would be a nightmare!

The steamroller action of our life really started picking up with the graduation of our oldest son, Ty.
He graduated from BYU with his bachelors degree in Anthropology. Soon he will be going on to graduate school and working hard for another 4+ years. He's really good at what he does and is being recognized by people in his field for the interesting and good work he is doing. I love to hear him talk about the things he has learned and what he is interested in. Fascinating!

The pictures aren't in any kind of order, but we have our cheering section of very proud family members (starting at the left, we have Noah, Me(Karen), Cami, Cami's sister- Janey, Cami's mom -Paula, Cami's dad -Roger, Steve, Cubby and Ty's Grandpa Cummins (Mel). Tori took the picture.











An extraordinary couple! Ty and his proud wife, Cami. (I love this picture!)

Ty walked the walk!
A very sweet, loving and supportive wife, Cami and her sister.
Grandpa Cummins, parents and Ty.
Very cool! This was a special occasion that we were very grateful to be able to attend. We were also grateful that most of the family was able to be there for the ceremony, that Grandpa Cummins was able to be there as well as Cami's parents and sister.