March

So... still catching up on family news (perhaps you've noticed that I'm doing February and March's blogging in April....yeah. Sorry. I'll be better, I promise.)


Chase was talked into going to the LDS prom on Oakland. He didn't really want to go and didn't really enjoy the dance he said... but he sure looks handsome!


We have been to the beach more this winter/spring than we went all summer last year, I think! I told Dorothy that these last 3 times we've gone it's felt almost like a spiritual experience for me! So peaceful and calm and temperate. She says it's because Carmen is there with us! I hope she's right. This time Dorothy and the boys and Jessica and her 5 went with us to Sea Cliff beach in Aptos and it was a perfect day. I finally got around to taking a bunch of photos at sunset when the light was warm and mellow.


Okay. I don't get why Isaiah likes draping himself with seaweed. For me seaweed is something that looks cool at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and it tastes good on sushi, but when it touches my foot at the beach I shudder (and sometimes shriek) and kick it away. It's slimy and sometimes smelly and just yucky! But Isaiah, almost every time, gathers as much as he can find and drapes it around himself and plays the SWAMP THING. I think he does it because he knows it grosses me out. EEEW.


Here's my adorable boy on the beach at sunset, patiently waiting for me to be done drinking it all in, taking photos, shaking sand out of blankets and towels, and ready to receive his armful to schlep back to the car. It's been a pleasantly warm afternoon, but as soon as the sun goes down it's all of a sudden freezing and we all rush through our packing up and shuffling back to the cars. No matter how chilly it's gotten, though, we're still going to Marianne's for ice cream on the way home!

Here's our final photo for March:

You have to know that my Ally puts a premium on comfort and convenience. She has long, very curly hair that she washes because I make her and she conditions in self-defense (have you ever tried to comb tangles out of very curly hair?). She prefers jeans and t-shirts to any dressier clothes and she brushes her teeth only when absolutely necessary. But! She is on that threshhold between childhood and womanhood, so she has her woman moments too, and more of them all the time. She cherishes her tomboy comforts, though, and wishes to postpone fussing and primping in general. Today her Aunt Jessica (Ben's wife) has girlied her up. Her hair is moussed and diffused. Her face is delicately made-up. Her person is carefully clothed. And for this picture, her glasses are off. She looks quite gorgeous. And I do love this gorgeous creature. But I love my sweet, brilliant, generous tomboy too. I'll take her in whichever guise she chooses to present herself. She's our Allegra no matter what.

Her sister is home this week (April 18 is the day I'm writing this). She has tortured Allegra almost every day. Torture=doing her hair. So I'll be posting pictures of all that glamour too. Soon. (April's not over yet!)

Late February 2009

Someday this sycamore will be a big, beautiful shade tree, right at the corner of the garage patio so we can barbecue out of the sun. Tonight it is in the corridor of light from the sun that is just sinking into the hills in the west. My camera isn't really good enough to catch the subtleties of sunset, but you can still get a sense of what a beautiful evening it was this spring day.

I haven't updated this blog for too long. These last few months have been very full.



Our Carmen died on February 18, around 10 p.m. I had visited her that day and she was very weak and not always "with" us. She couldn't see or hear well and she let me hold her hand. She was usually in too much pain to want to be touched, but this day was different, for which I am grateful. So, we have lost her and we will never forget her and never stop missing her and never stop being grateful that we were trusted with her and that we knew her. We know she is ours forever.



Here are Reed and Dorothy the day after Carmen's memorial service. All of our family came into town to be together, of course, and on this Sunday we met at my brother Ben's house for a big Family Home Evening. Reed and Dorth are tired, but doing very well. They are a source of peace for all of us, and for everyone they talk to.


The big event this Sunday was the blessing of the newest baby in the family, Abigail Carmen. She was born on the day we were told that Carmen would not make it. Ben and Jessica decided to name her after her cousin. Here's my sweet Chase with his baby cousin. He is a kid magnet! They all love him and he is magic with them.



Here are all the Galbraith cousins except for my Rayne. She flew into town for Carmen's viewing and burial on Friday, but had to return to school on Saturday and so missed the memorial (which was wonderful) and the family gathering on Sunday. We missed her a lot and she missed us too, but she needed to be at school. Her grades, by the way, are fantastic. Go Rayne!

So, a sad February but a beautiful one too. Our family has never experienced such depth of sorrow before. I'm so very grateful for such a strong and loving family to share burdens and to share happiness with. I'm especially grateful for the sealing bonds which promise an eternity of togetherness.