And then there was #6....

Cooper Ace Russell

April 5, 2017

7 lbs. 10 oz.
21 inches long

This little boy was very tricky.  He was born in the early afternoon of April 5th but we saw this picture of him right after we had headed to bed on April 4th.  This worked out that way because he was born in Okinawa, Japan and the day arrives first there before the U.S.  He was also a very cooperative little boy as well.  When Tosha went to her doctor's appointment on Monday, the doctor was concerned about her continual struggle with her mastitis and decided that Cooper needed to be born.  Tosha was set to be induced on Wednesday night but she went into labor on her own during the night before after her water broke and made his appearance in his own way.  We were grateful that things went so smoothly and that both of them did great.  We are so happy to have him here and I can't wait until I get to see him in a month in person.

Right after he was born

Our newest "little panda"..... (that is one of Tosha's nicknames--)

Going for a walk with Daddy and big brother Niki........

Can't wait for all of these sweet grandchildren to be in the same place at the same time!!!

Hopefully in October of 2017!!!

The Hall Round-up

The biggest news is that Ben will be leaving the Utah State Hospital on Tuesday and be coming to the CRU which is in Layton.  This is the inpatient unit connected with Davis Behavioral Health.  Ben has been there many times and it is not his favorite place but he is thrilled to be leaving the hospital and getting one step closer to home.  Although we feel that there are things he could have benefited from by staying a bit longer (mostly vocational opportunities), it will be a relief to have him closer to us.

Jena will be finishing her mission in TWO weeks.  It is hard to believe.  It has been a great experience for her and for us.  She will be changing to full-time at the Vista Center in Farmington where she goes to school for the rest of this school year.  After that we are undecided what she will do.  Her desire is college and we are checking into opportunities for that--this year or next year.

Tosha, Austen, and Niki are in the waiting game (as are the rest of us) for Baby2 Russell to make his appearance.  His due date is April 15.  Stay tune for more details.

Starting him young to love cars

Scott, Chantel, Scarlett, and James are all adjusting to their new lives together.  Scott is busy with work at IHC Instacare in Sugarhouse and working on the weekends at Red Lobster.  He is anxious for his next move upward which should allow him to quit work at the Red Lobster.

Scarlett and James

Jessica, Elessia, Liam, and Zander are all well in Magna.  Liam is enjoying the new swing set that they found on KSL and also rides on the city bus.  Their car has been in the shop for a while and they have been taking the bus everywhere they can't walk.  Liam loves it, but everyone else is ready to get that car back this week.  Jena and I got to babysit yesterday.

Zander playing with his aunt Jena

Liam was so excited that it was hard to
get him to stop for a picture.

 With James's arrival, Zander is now seems so much older even though he is just four months old.

Aunt Jena and Zander

Gary is busy supporting all of us in our crazy lives--picking up swing sets, running Jena here and there, helping his mom and spending lots of time doing family history work and going to the temple.

Me--I do homework, a little bit of stuff for the Utah Down Syndrome Foundation, housework rarely and cooking even more uncommon around here.  I did accept a full-time job with The Children's Center.  That means I will continue as an intern part time through the summer and then start full time in the fall when I have my CSW license-- around the first of September, I would guess.  That will be a big change for me as I haven't worked full time since I got married in 1978.  It has been an interesting life and I can only say that I believe that my life will continue to move in interesting ways. All I can try to do is follow the direction that I should go---and I couldn't do it without Gary's 150% support.

It has been Conference Weekend and so we have been touched and inspired by the leaders of the Church.  It has been a great reprieve from the busyness of the world, but it is time to get back and to move forward--a little bit better than before.  May it be that way for you as well.

March rains

Northern Utah has been having some record-breaking warm days this March and also some record- breaking rainfall (and snow) this year.  One day this month we had more rain than ever recorded for March in the history of the records of such things.  And I think we ended up about 170% of normal.  

The day of the Vocal Point concert was March 31 and I guess the skies wanted to get just a little more rain down before the end of the month.  It actually didn't rain as much as it looked like it was going to, but the clouds were gorgeous, blowing in from the west. 

At such moments of nature's beauty and power, I truly feel so blessed to be on this earth.  Could there be a more beautiful place in all of the universe?  Perhaps, but I think this will always be a special place to us in the eternities--our home town I guess.  I am happy to be sharing it with all of you.

Ode to the Arts

Have I used that title before?  In the past few weeks, we have attended two plays--"Seven Brides to Seven Brothers (Hale Theatre) and "Mary Poppins (Centerpoint Theatre) and one concert by Vocal Point (at Centerpoint Theatre as well).  There is something magical about being in a darken theatre and watching talented people who have sacrificed and practiced and love what they are doing.  And the stories they tell and the songs they sing not only take me away from the daily cares of life (meaning homework) but they inspire, touch me, and encourage me to laugh, to cry, to love more and to try harder to develop my own talents and skills.

For example:

Love never goes away,
It plays on like a song.
Oh, love never goes away,
He holds me and I know where I belong.

I am not really a romantic but for some reason the concept of Love "plays on like a song." really touched me.  How true that is--and not such in romantic love like between husband and wife but in all areas.  I have loved people of all ages, sizes, skin colors, and nations and each one of them still dwell with me in my heart to be remember and re-remembered throughout my life. Like a song from the past we instantly remember the words to when it starts on a the radio--love plays on and on and on.

I am not a fan of this play.  After all, stealing 6 girls from a nearby town to become the wives to six brothers is fairly far-fetched.  But Jena loves it with its music and dancing so I didn't want to simply skip it.  It was a great performance and had its moments of delight with dancing and comic moments.  I left being glad I was there to share it with Jena and Gary.

And who doesn't love "Mary Poppins".  This was the Broadway version which is slightly different than the Walt DIsney show and more closely related to the books.  Jena and I ushered and slipped into our seats as it was getting ready to start.  Seeing a familiar play like "Mary Poppins" has its own rewards.  I waited in anticipation of "Feed the Birds" knowing I would cry (and it did not disappoint--the actress had an amazing voice suited for this haunting tune), eager to see how they danced one of my favorite scenes "Chim Chim Cheree", and excited to see and hear "Let's go Fly A Kite".

As a kite lover, I love the words of that song and a quote familiar to "Mary Poppins" fans:

"With your feet on the ground you’re a bird in flight with your fist holding tight to the string of your kite."

How about "A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down"?  What mother hasn't sang that to a child since the movie brought this story to life?

And there is the whole-  "Supercallifragilisticexpialidocious!  All of us at school at that time were busy trying to learn to say it and some of the more ambitious could also spell it (not me--I cut and pasted it here.).

Plays not only entertain us but they remind us of the beauty and the blessings in our own lives as we see the lives of others' played on the stage before us.  I am so glad that Gary enjoys theatre like I do (I didn't know this until after we were married) and it is fun to share that love with Jena.

Then last Friday night, we headed to the Vocal Point concert in Centerville.  I knew it would be a great concert as we had heard them perform at Roots Tech.  And it was great and made even more fun by the fact that one of the young men in the group was from Centerville and we were sitting surrounded by many of his family and friends.  That made the concert even more fun!

Gary, Jena, Emily (one of Jena's friends) and I went.  It is very hard to get good pictures while they are all moving on stage but these will serve of reminders about this great concert. They are a group of BYU students who actually take a one credit class for Vocal Point that requires about 30-50 hours a week on some weeks.  My music friends always complained about the credits they got for classes which required so much practicing.  I guess it hasn't changed in 40 years.  They are an a capella group which means there is not instruments or sound track used when they sing.  Every sound is made by the different members of the group.  Their BeBop guy was amazing.  He is the one that does all of the drums and other sounds which are in the songs. He did a 4-5 minute solo combining so many sounds.  I couldn't figure out how he could even breath and still make those sounds.  It was very impressive. 

intermission--Emily and Jena

at the restaurant afterwards for dinner 

Check them out on YouTube (if that still exists when you read this blog).   They shared a youtube video during the concert of one of their young fans who has Down syndrome.  His family noticed from the time he could walk how he loved to dance to Vocal Point music and youtube videos.  This youtube was filming this young boy's visit to a rehearsal of Vocal Point.  He was 3 or so years old and it was so fun to watch him dance...and yes, you know I cried.  I had seen the video before as it went the rounds on facebook but it was before I really knew who Vocal Point was so it was sweet to see it in that setting.

Music, dancing, theatre, costumes, the anticipation, the memories---how blessed we are by the talents of those who share this earth with us!!