Meeting Zoe! – Abundant Blessings

Meeting Zoe! – Abundant Blessings

 

July 10 – August 1, 2021

 

As all good things do, our family reunion time came to an end and Maggie and Lauren’s families headed to the airport.  Our next planned gathering is in December for a second attempt at a Disney Christmas.  This time, California style! Until then, it’s time to get at some real-life things!  Soon after they left, Dick tackled a project on the camper we had been eagerly waiting to do.  When we were in Colorado Springs, a window in our camper had gotten shattered by a projectile of some sort (maybe a rock?).  While waiting for the replacement window to arrive, we had duct taped the heck out of it.  Yep, we were “those people”!  I couldn’t wait to get the replacement window in and the duct taped window into the trash!  Huge thanks to Brandon for helping his dad with this project!

 

We then began planning our own departure to Strawberry Bay.  Strawberry Bay is about an hour east of Salt Lake City and our thoughts were that it was close enough to be able to get back if Anne went into labor.  Well, those plans never came to fruition as Baby Rule #1 kicked in!  Babies are unpredictable!  Anne’s due date with Zoe was July 20; however, Anne delivered Josh three weeks before her due date and delivered Eva two weeks late.  Needless to say, we were all on baby watch, wondering how this third delivery would go!  Well, July 12 (the day before we were leaving for Strawberry Bay and one week early) Zoe decided it was time!  It was actually perfect timing!  Dick and I were able to stay with Josh and Eva, keeping their daily routines in place and keeping Nana and Papa thoroughly entertained!  We were with the kids at their swim meet when word of Zoe’s birth arrived.  What sweet news that was!  Technology is so great!  It’s still amazing to me that I can be at a swim meet and a picture arrives of this amazing blessing from God who has been born!  We didn’t know her name yet, but Mom and baby were both healthy and that’s all we really cared about!  Josh and Eva had been rallying hard to name the baby Zoe ever since they found out they had a baby sister on the way.  Several names were on the list; however no decisions had been made.  Zoe translates in Greek to "life"!  What a perfect name for this sweet, new addition to the family!    

Little more that 24 hours later, Brandon and Anne brought baby home from the hospital.  With Covid policies still in place, children were not allowed in the hospital and Josh and Eva had not been able to meet their new sister yet.  It brought tears to my eyes to be there when Brandon and Anne took baby out of her car seat and introduced Josh and Eva to Zoe!  What a precious moment that was!  I still tear up just thinking about it!  

 

Zoe is about as close as you come to a perfect baby!  She eats, sleeps, needs diaper changes FREQUENTLY, and has very little fussy time.  It does seem like just about the time Brandon and Anne are wanting to go to bed, Zoe enters her “awake” time of the day.  Pretty common, right?  I never have figured out why that is!  I remember being up at night with Maggie (our third child).  I actually cherished that time with Maggie.  As tired as I was, it was the only “alone time” I had with her.  

 

New baby or not, life goes on!  With an active, young family, there is never a moment lacking for something to do!  We found ourselves participating with Brandon, Josh and Eva in the neighborhood “High Fives Run”.  It was so named as is was a 5K, normally run on the fifth month, on the fifth day at 5000 ft. elevation, starting at 5:55 pm.  The date changed due to Covid and the starting time then moved up due to the heat; however, the bell still rang and we all started running!  To be honest, I ran out of the gate and I ran across the finish line, but every stride in between was a walk!  I met a delightful woman along the path that matched me stride for stride and provided delightful conversation.  I think we got so caught up in our talking that we missed a turn and ended up taking a short cut.  It was a bit embarrassing when they called out my name for having come in first in my age group and awarded me with a blue ribbon.  I had no idea they were keeping track of any of that!  Good grief!  

 

Before long, Anne’s parents were able to fly into Salt Lake City from Marion, Iowa to meet their new granddaughter.  It was so delightful spending time with Maurice and Julie!  It was fun for the kids to have all of the grandparents there together!

 

The first official family adventure was to a Notre Dame potluck!  Of course, Zoe donned a ND onesie and fit right in!  The potluck was held at a park in Park City, so again, the higher elevation offered some appreciated relief from the summer heat.  It is so good to have things returning a bit closer to normal.  This was the first potluck we had been to in two years!

 

Some of our time during the days in Salt Lake City were spent taking Eva to one of her many areas of interest – gymnastics lessons, tumbling lessons, dance lessons.  Meanwhile Josh was off to choir camp and opera camp.  Josh has the voice of an angel!  It’s such a delight to sit next to him at mass and hear him participating in all of the musical parts of mass.

Josh and Eva had several swim meets while we were there.  One time I even got to team up with Brandon and be an official timer for the event! Josh and Eva really seem to like these meets, challenging themselves to beat their personal best time with each event they are signed up for.  Who knows, maybe down the road we will see them in the Olympics!  I bet I’m not asked to be a timer, however!

 

We did get out for a short hike with Josh and Eva one day.  We packed up a picnic lunch and headed for City Creek.  There is a beautiful trail along the creek and the kids had a blast beating the heat of the day by walking in the creek!

Somehow, Brandon even found time to get away with us for short bits of time.  We went fo Sweet Lake Biscuits and Limeade for a brunch.  I’m telling you, if you are in SLC, you need to try this place out!  Fun menu and their raspberry limeade can’t be beat!  

 

We had hoped to get out and play a bit of pickleball with Josh and Eva but with the heat, that only happened once.  It was certainly fun and the kids just keep getting better and better at this game!

 

Eva picked up on a trend of renaming some of my favorites!  In addition to “Nana bread” she came up with “Nana splits”, and “Nanacure”.  The girl is creative and never stops being able to put a smile on my face!

 

In addition to the quilt I made for Zoe, I made her a Christmas stocking.  While we were there, I brought it out to add her name to it.  As typical, as soon as I sat down, Eva was by my side, helping me with the stitching.  It’s fun to see her take an interest in my hobbies.  Who knows … maybe some of it will stick!

 

It was such a joy to be able to spend this precious time with the family!  Again, as all good things do, our time with them had ended and it was time for us to take off!  As our truck pulled away from the front of the house, Josh and Eva ran beside us on the sidewalk.  They chased us several blocks before we turned and couldn’t seem them anymore.  This has become their ritual way of telling us goodbye and I certainly feel the love!  

Zoe's first bath!

Saying goodbye was hard, but we have new adventures ahead of us!  We are headed for Oregon and are looking forward to our first ever visit to the state that so many pioneers worked so hard to get to!