Happenings

What's been going on in the Jansson Family?

Baby Ray's Baptism was in March:

Brian and Flora chose to have Raymond Francisco Baptized on my Mom's Birthday.  They also asked that we have a photo of my Mom brought to the celebration to display.  Ray did a beautiful job of framing a picture of my Mom along with a picture of Raymond and this poem:

I know you see me, small and bright

And smiling in the quiet night

Though you may wander sweeter lands

You come to me and hold my hands

Though loved ones may have gone their way

With little ones they come and stay

They visit softly, and with tender care

Whisper to us a sweet silent prayer

Happy Birthday, Mom-Mom!

It was a beautiful day and a beautiful celebration.

And...

Sophie is walking!  Here she is on her First Birthday, taking some of her first steps.

That was at the end of March, she gets around a lot better than that now!

We had a visit from my youngest brother Joey and his son Jake:

Here's Miss Mia showing off her 'big girl' bed (I love her princess motif in her room):

And here she's showing off her sister Sophie's room (owl motif):

And ~

Eóghan is crawling (combat style):

Ray and I took a trip to Pennsylvania with Diane & Steve over Mother's Day weekend to attend our nephew William's graduation:

(William is also our Godson)

Here he is with his sweet girlfriend Dana:

(Dana graduated third in the class and William graduated eighth)

The weather was perfect, the campus was beautiful, it was really a wonderful weekend and lots of fun!

I'll have to post about that trip sometime soon.

The following weekend there was a big party to celebrate!

And it's been babies, babies, and more babies at our house!

(I've never before tried potty training a baby this young ~ but he's doing very well!)

And I have to introduce the newest member of our family ~

Zoe Xaia

Her parents ~ Jackie & Scott

Here's Jackie on Easter Sunday, looking like she's ready to pop!

And she was!  Jackie wasn't due to deliver Zoe until mid-May, but Zoe had other plans ~ she was born on April 18 (which is also Helena's Birthday [Helena is Ray's Mom])!

We've all been enjoying this new addition!

And I've been busy re-arranging furniture and changing out slipcovers, carpets, and curtains...

...and Ray's been busy getting the pool and decks ready for summer (this is actually looking good compared to when he first uncovered the pool!  It was the worst I've ever seen it, all this green sludge on top of the water!  Yuk!)

We unfortunately lost four outdoor dining chairs, the rattan was beyond fixing, and even the metal frames were worn, so we are on the lookout for some inexpensive replacements.  And I think the little cabana Ray made will be gone too, he wants to get a big portable awning for the side deck this summer.  And I guess he'll be spending this weekend power-washing the decks.

Ray's also been very busy landscaping, laying bricks, and planting around the tree by our curb and in the front of our house:

(Our front lawn is the size of a postage stamp, so there's not all that much anyone can do with it, but I think Ray does a nice job making it look pretty!  And I can't get over how expensive plants are!  What do people with lots of property do?!  Some of these plants are supposed to come up each year, but ours never seem to survive the winters.)

(Eóghan enjoyed sitting out and watching Ray toil and labor!)

And that's some of what has been happening here at home.

(Now that I've finished playing 'catch up' between this post and my last few on Family Circus, I'm hoping to post more often and hopefully they will be much shorter posts!)