Change is coming

Robert got home today from AR. He has grown a beard at my request. I just wanted to see what it would look like. Some men would envy him because not all men can grow one. While he is home we are REALLY going to finish up work on the house. I believe by next week we should have a sign out front. Our neighbor has every halloween decoration known to man in his front yard so that is not going to help. We are going to look at houses in AR in a couple of weeks. JJ and I have been truckin' along all week. Today I found evidence of bottom teeth coming in! I can tell he is real close to crawling too! I just love him more and more each day. Ever since we've been home from Colorado we have walked or jogged each day. It feels real good to get out in the fresh air and move. JJ really enjoys it too. In closing, I recently put a counter on the blog and was shocked to see how many people have visited. I know my aunts and cousin Erin check the blog regularly but who else is out there reading it? Please post a comment or send me an email. Here I thought I had a limited audience. I would love to know who reads this stuff. We'll post pics soon.

Back home

We are home now from a long 9 days away. Our time in Colorado was very nice. The aspen trees were beautiful - bright yellow. You will have to check out the picture site to see all the photos from our trip. The best part of the trip was being with family and seeing the beauty of the mountains. Some things we did were: fishing (I caught two rainbow trout), rafting down the Taylor/Gunnison river, eating out, walks in the neighborhood, and scenic drives. I am glad to be back home. The dry air was hard on my throat and JJ did not sleep well while away. He was very spoiled by his grandparents being held in loving arms much of the time. Reality is slowing setting in as I get caught up on daily chores and JJ sits/stands in his exersaucer. Robert is on jury duty this week even though he is supposed to report to work on Tuesday night. It will be nice to have him home this week and have him join us at Bible study Thursday night.

Gunnison, Colorado

Greetings from CO! We are having a lovely time here in Gunnison. We, Karen, John, JJ, and I) arrived Saturday evening and it is now just past mid-week. Robert arrived last night from Conway (via OKC, Denver). It was grueling for him to drive after work, get a few hours sleep, fly to Denver with one stop in Kansas City, and drive a rental to Gunnison. It shows how much he values time with his family. Jay, Tiffany, and Wes (Robert's brother and family) have been here since Saturday too. It has been a relaxed visit here with no certain agenda. We have been hiking, site-seeing, and spent time together here at the house where we are staying. It belongs to a friend of John's. We leave Saturday for Amarillo and then on to OKC Sunday. Robert is catching up on JJ time who is very happy to see his daddy! JJ has had a cough the past week that he just hasn't been able to kick. The weather has been great here with highs in the low 70's and a low of 24 this morning! It has been fun putting JJ in real clothes instead of just onesies all the time. I see it is in the 90's back home and we don't miss that! See you soon.

17 years....

A few things....I looked at the date today to see if I should post a blog and realized it is the anniversary of my mother's death - September 20th , 1990. 17 years is a long time. It's weird to think of the snapshot of our family then and where we are today. Both Jeff and I have spouses and babies for starters. I wonder what it would be like if she were around today. It's been harder having JJ around without her than it was getting married. I think of all the things she would do for/with him. It would be fun to have a mother to share this with. But....life goes on.
I talked to the lady from Children's Medical Center about volunteering. It's not going to work out. They need at least a 3 hour block of time each week for one year. I can't accomplish that with JJ still breastfeeding and we are also moving soon. I'll look for something else and keep you posted.
JJ and I have another big trip looming. Tomorrow we are driving to Amarillo to spend one night with Robet's parents. Saturday the four of us leave for Gunnison, Colorado where John's friend has a house. Jay, Tiffany, and Wes will meet us there and then Robert will join us Wednesday. He went back to work Tuesday for seven days. I was nervous at first to be gone from the house that long but this will be a great trip. It's not like someone is counting on me to volunteer or something. I have great neighbors that are going to take care of the house and pets while we are gone. It will be a great time for JJ to bond some more with Pooh Bear and Nana K. This is the first real vacation for Robert and I for some time. It feels great to have QuikDROP behind us and a new start just ahead. I will probably be able to post a blog entry while we are there (8 days) so stay tuned.

Getting things done

Robert has been home the last several days from his job in Conway. He works 7 days on and 7 off. We have been working on the house trying to get it ready to sell. We should be able to put it on the market soon. We have been talking to a realtor in Conway beginning the house search. We all went to church today. It was JJ's second time in the nursery and he does a great job! Church was very good. It spoke of God giving us a burden. In this case a burden to do something for better. I feel the burden to volunteer my time somewhere and make a difference in someone's life. My neighbor is a pediatric nurse and has spoken of the need for volunteers at Children's hospital, even just to hold under-developed babies or pass out toys. It makes me sad so I have decided to do something about it and sent an email to the volunteer coordinator to see if I can help there. We'll see. It is also something I want to model to JJ - living outside our own bubble and affecting the world around us to make it a better place.

Visit from Aunt Freda

Robert's Aunt Freda came to OKC to visit JJ and me this past weekend from her home in Etna, CA. She had other business here but came early so she could have time with JJ and me. Too bad that Robert was working in Arkansas this past week. He'll be home tomorrow though. It was great for the three of us to hang out. Freda came to our Bible Study group last Thursday and we went to dinner Friday night with Karen Watson, Carmen, and Ellie Grace. Freda and I really enjoyed the time we had together and I was glad, as was she, that she had time to love on JJ. She is great with babies and kids. In fact, she might be one of Ellie Grace's new BFF's. We will look forward to seeing Freda at the next Walker family function.

Pennsylvania Trip

JJ and I are back from our trip to PA to visit one of my best friends Michele and her family - Kevin and Lilly. It was a great time and JJ traveled like a pro on the plane. I was a little nervous to fly with him but the flight attendants gave him high marks - "excellent" to quote exactly. Our time there consisted of dinner out to eat, time at the park, feeding ducks at a different park, lunch at "Spill the Beans", visit to Wilbur Chocolate Factory, hanging out at the Fry house, day drive through the beautiful hills of PA, dinner with a neighbor, a cookout, and just spending time together. You can see all the photos from our time together @ http://picasaweb.google.com/RSJWalkers

One of the best parts of the trip for me was to getting to know Lilly - Michele's 22 month old daughter. She has such a personality and was so cute. Michele has raised her via the techniques perscribed by Babywise. It was good to see those techniques in action and Michele really helped me out on getting JJ's napping and eating down to a schedule. He was off a little on his sleeping while we there but is getting readjusted now that he is home. He has been sleeping through the night since about 4 months when he learned to flip onto his belly. He JUST learned to sit on his own. Teeth and crawling are right around the corner. We went to Babies-R-Us today and bought a jumper so we will see how he likes it. That's all for now.