"Pick yourself up,

brush yourself off, and start all over again."

That old song keeps coming back to my mind. A new year, a new start. One of the blessings of being human.

Joe and I spent New Year's Eve and Day in Byers with some of the kids. I was getting over, and Joe was coming down with, miserable head colds, so we dragged home on Friday and have sort of hibernated in the warm house this weekend. It was quite cold and snowy outside so it was a good time to hibernate. Having the new HD TV, that we gave each other for Christmas (the old one was about 16 years old and getting blurry, as are our eyes, so it was a good idea Joe had. Plus we got a great deal on it.) made the hibernating enjoyable, as we watched lots of old movies, which we love better than most new ones.

We especially enjoyed seeing the new babies; our 2 new great grandsons Brendan and Adam, as well as Jayden, the second son of Joe's kids half sister, Shannon. Though Shannon, Bryce and Jayden aren't really our family, they have always seemed like family. I guess they are kids and grandkids-in-law, like Joe's first wife, Frances, is my wife-in-law. Can you believe that a man would actually marry two women named Frances Marie?!!

These two photos were taken at the Mexican restaurant in Strasburg on New Year's Eve.

Mandy (horrible photo) in her funny rabbit skull and crossbones on barbed wire shirt.

Mandy with Jayden. He had his first surgery for cleft palate and lip the first week in December. He has several others to go in the next few years.

Here are some blurry photos; scans from a photo collage that daughter (new grandmother) Lori made for us.

Cody and Breanne with Adam, and Brian and Tabi with Brendan, at the hospital after Adam was born.

Close up of Adam, who looks like his mom, Breanne.

Brendan, who looks like his dad, Brian.

Puppy, Cooper. Remember her from the Labor Day camping post.

Some of these photos were taken with my new plaything; my photographer brother, Steve, gave me his Canon Power Shot Pro camera that he no longer uses. It is going to take me a while to get comfortable using this one. I didn't realize just how idiot proof my little Canon Elph was, but this one has many more pixels as well as OPTICAL ZOOM, so it is well worth "doing poorly until I learn to do it well." Watch out birds, here comes Granny Fran.

I will be posting my quilting plans for the year in a few days and sure hope I manage to be more productive and creative this year. In 2008 just surviving seemed to take most of my time and

energy.