Latest Owl Sighting

About five years ago (??) our family started a little game. It all began when Grandma Lin (Jim's mom - aged 94 now) gave Annie this spotted owl figurine-type-thing for Christmas. At that time Grandma Lin was in the habit of finding things among her basement treasures to give to people as "gifts." Annie somehow voiced a "thank you" upon opening her gift which was the owl, but the rest of us were laughing quietly to ourselves, wondering what in the world Annie would do with this hideous gift. I'm not sure who - was it Jason??- came up with the Hide the Owl game, but we've been playing it ever since. I'm not even sure Jim and I knew the game was on until several weeks after that Christmas (I mean, it was a LONG time after), I was taking something off of a shelf in our family room, and there sat the owl staring back at me from my shelf! In horror I recalled all of the times we had entertained guests in our home, or the times our cleaning lady had come during that time, not even knowing that the owl had been displayed on my shelf for all to see! It was actually pretty hilarious! So began the tradition. When visiting the home of one of the other family members, the holder of the owl tries to unknowingly find a place to display the owl in their home. It must be a place where it can be seen, but you try to find a place also where the unsuspecting homeowner won't discover it right away. Once discovered, the owl is to be photographed and sent to the rest of the family to share the news of an Owl Sighting! The rest of us know then to be on the lookout for the next sighting!

I think that Jim and I have been the most frequently surprised participants, as it seems the family members all come to our house the most often. Most recently the owl had been mysteriously in hiding for more than a year, but then resurfaced on our china cabinet a few days after Christmas this year. Unfortunately, the rules are against putting it in someone's suitcase to be discovered upon arriving home. If that were allowed, we could have tried to send it to Africa with Jason and Roxanne. So for now, the owl won't be traveling too far from home. But Annie and Jorie, BEWARE! One of these days you may be experiencing an owl sighting!!

Family Pictures

During Jason and Roxanne's last visit with us we all gathered at our house for a family photo shoot. With six kids age five and under it was really tricky! Not one of the entire family shots has everyone looking at the camera, but at least we have proof that we were all together!

Original Fam

The Inlaws

Everyone

The Village People?

Who ARE these people??

Our precious grandkids

Who Will You Be?

When I "retired" from teaching in 2008 Jim gave me a book written by Maria Shriver called Just Who Will You Be? a sweet book about becoming the person you want to be during the next phase of one's life. I pretty much thought I'd just concentrate on being a grandma, and didn't care about a new "career" or huge life-change. But when Annikah was here she saw things differently. I brought her downstairs one day to choose some new books to read from my children's library. I explained that I have so many children's books because I used to be a teacher. She thought for a minute and then asked me, "Bibi, are you a baker now?" I guess that was a pretty good observation because during the time her family was with us I baked cookies, two cakes, a pie, and prepared lots of meals in my kitchen. In her eyes that was what I do most of the time, so that must be my new job or calling in life! So precious!

Cute Stuff

We've had Jason and Roxanne's family will us for the past week and a few more days to go. This is our last period of time together before they head back to Africa in a couple of weeks. I'm not looking forward to this goodbye as it could be almost two years before they come home again. And this time we don't have plans to go visit after the first year passes. The girls will change so much in two years - and of course little Evy won't remember or know us at all when we see her. We hope that Annikah will keep good memories of us and be excited to come back to see Bibi and Babu when she's 5 1/2.

While they've been here I've been soaking up little girl love from them both. Annikah is such a girl - she spends time almost each day setting the table and making muffins with articles I've gathered for her to play with. She uses plastic coasters for plates, small votive candles I keep in an old muffin tin for her muffins, and an assortment of plastic cups and glasses to go along with her place settings. She also loves playing with Jorie and Annie's old Barbies and some of my shoes, purses, and make-up. It was fun to give Anni a manicure and to see her dress up in her fancy princess dresses. Soon we will be back to legos, trains, Star Wars, and checkers - all toys of choice when Joel and Silas play at my house. But for now it's all things girly, and it's a fun change for me.