Milestone for Alex..

Alexandria, our eldest grandchild (of soon to be 17 grandchildren) turns 18 years old today. As you can see from these pictures, Alex has grown from an adorable little girl to a lovely young lady. She has always had a great since of humor, collects monkey parafanailia, is very bright and loving, and is a great writer. Alex will also be graduating from High School this month and will attend Idaho Jr. College in the fall. Her focus is on computer classes, like her Grandpa Ed, she wants to go into the Computer Science field. Like most kids her age, she is pretty good at computer graphics, etc.

Alex has a sister, Candace and a brother, Jordan. She likes to go out with her friends hiking and sometimes hunting, four-wheeling, school spirit events and works in her marketing class as the student store manager. Of course she is very close to her family, and she seems to have the most fun when we all get together to just visit or sit around a warm camp fire in our backyard. An avid music lover she can play the piano (not as well as she should, cause she won't practice), but maybe she will get serious someday...her favorite instrument right now is playing the drums when she plays Rock-Band. She is actually pretty good, and so far, no-one can beat her scores. All-in-all, she is a well rounded teenager who loves her family and friends and is excited about her future.

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY our sweet Alex, we are so proud of you and love you very much!

We're 37!

Today, November 16th is our 37th Anniversary. I could write a book about Ed & I, but for space sake I'll just say this; we started out as kids, and with a lot of work, fun, unconditional love, forgiveness, faith and an unbreakable covenant, here we are four great kids and 16 (and counting) grand kids later, living in beautiful Idaho, still enjoying being with each other- a most important factor to staying together. If you don't like the person you're with..I think you're with the wrong person. I like Ed! He's strong, very smart, definitely funny, great Dad, protects me and is always ready for an adventure; some I'm ready to take and others I just say, "That's okay honey, I'll pass on the glider ride." :) But all in all, we love and respect one another, we grew up together and now we're growing old together. When we reach our 50th, I'm sure this 37th will seem like we were babies, and that's fine by me because we are young at heart. I think at 50 years we'll laugh and say, "Is that all? We're ready for the next 50. Happy Anniversary Sweetie!

Belated birthday wishes to our Granddaughter Sophia Fabre' Sabo who turned 6 on October 20th..Sophia is bright, funny and very witty for her age and of course beautiful as you can see. It's a no-brainer why her nickname is 'Beauty'.

And, happy birthday to our youngest grandchild, Lucas Jason Skinner, who turned One on November 14th. I haven't had a chance to see Lucas yet, but thank goodness his Mommy takes great pictures, so I get to see my little guy often. Happy birthday sweet pea. Now for an announcement for those of you who don't know...number 17 is due in June, yep, Candy and Greg are expecting their 8th child! Are we a blessed family or what!!!! So, I will be keeping everyone posted, but you can also read her blog, just click on the link. Candy has a great one, and she is writing regular updates. I'll leave you with a beautiful fall picture, one created by our Creator...enjoy.

HOW TO RESPOND TO A BLOG - 101

This is mainly for my Blog-challenged friends and family who never leave comments, and I don't know if they are reading the blog or not....so here are step by step directions for you and in the future, there should be many comments left RIGHT!! Currently, the only one I hear from is Candace and her girls (actually, Candace is MY Blog-Master) I want my blog to be viewed and shared by my whole family and close friends, so come-on guys these directions are easy.....



1) At the end of each entry you'll see the time the blog was written and the word comments.

2) Click on the word comments (you will also see what others have written)

3) Write what you want in the space titled Leave Your Comment, if you want, just write who you are at the end of your comment scroll down to Preview for spell check and review

4)Next click on Publish Your Comment.....

or

5)You can choose Name/URL, write your name in the box (URL is N/A) then click Publish Your Comment



It's that easy! I love all the e-mails, jokes, poems and news you all send me, but I sure would like to know if you are reading the blog (Candy's and Cheyenne's too). Since we are all so spread out, I want to make sure we stay connected, the blog is a good substitute for all of us.



Later today, I hope to post another update. I have birthday's to cover and will have beautiful fall pictures. So...who will be brave enough to be the first????

Fall & Birthdays

Fall brings birthdays in this big family. September 26th was Miss Chloe Linda's 4th. She is the sweetest little girl with eyes that will melt anyone! Number 5 of 7 kids, she loves dresses, never tires of smiling, playing with her brothers and sisters, and is already a big help to her Mommy around the house.

Next is Cheyenne, Chloe's big sister and the eldest of the Sabo 7. October 2nd is Chey's Sweet 16...wow as you can see from these pics of her as a little one, she was

a busy toddler. She was born in England while her Dad was in the Air Force. While there,we went to fabulous sites, we had a chance to go to the Hard Rock Cafe (see our cool shirts). That was such a great visit because I was able to spend almost a month with her... at that time she was an only child...can you remember that Chey? She's been growing into one of the brightest, and talented young ladies I know. Already a very good pianist, she sings, is about 2-3 grades ahead of her age group...a Straight "A" student, has her own blog, sews, cooks, volunteers in her community and church... has won countless awards in her Awanna classes...well the list goes on. Of course as her Gramie, I'm bias, but all who know her feel the same. She is a beautiful and gracious person, who has great things to accomplish in her future. Cheyenne is also the second grandchild of 16. She is pictured here with her cousin Alexandria, who is the eldest of our grandchildren. It's hard to believe that Alex will be 18 next May and Cheyenne is close behind. The time goes by so fast. The girls had fun growing up together when we all lived in California, and I miss those days, and certainly miss all the grandkids being together more. Happy Sweet 16 my beauty!

The other family birthdays are two of my sisters...my baby sister Tammy, also on October 2nd. (One of my little brothers, Patrick, is also an October 2nd kid.) And, my big sister Diane, eldest of 14! Will celebrate her birthday on October 16th. Look how beautiful they are.. both are nice, loving and brilliant accomplished women and are the best sisters. There are seven girls in my family. We all have the best time when we get together. We are very close, as with my brothers, but the girls have a special bond.

So, for now that's it. Happy Birthday to all. God's blessings on your birthdays.

Commitment

Let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Heb. 12:1

Today, September 28th Candace and Greg celebrate their 17th wedding anniversary, and seven children later, they still look like newlyweds. This past April 4th, Jeremy and Michele (in pink) celebrated 10 years/2 children, and on March 3rd, Jason and Tara celebrated their 8th/4 children. Each of our children chose their friend as their partner, each chose a Christian, each chose a fabulous parent and each chose someone who treasures the vows they made. With all these traits, the love and respect they share comes easy and the families they have are strong and happy. Each year of marriage brings them more knowledge, love and the strength to honor the commitment they made to one another, trusting in God to continue to guide them as parents and partners. It is such a blessing to see your children grow into loving spouses and parents. It's even more of a blessing to know that the person they married was God's perfect choice. We couldn't even imagine having any other son or daughter's-in-law. Greg, Michele & Tara, thank you for loving our children and grandchildren so well.

And so today, Candace and Greg; Happy 17th! You have accomplished so much so far, and have so many more great years to come. We love you! God bless you all.

Pot-Por-Ri Update

Howdy All,

Well, things here in Idaho are heating up..our summer has arrived and it is hot! But, it certainly is a welcomed change from our looooong winter. We've been outside workin' on the front of the house's landscaping. Whew! we finally got the work done this week-end. As soon as I get the after pictures, I'll post them. Luckily the majority of our property is au-natural which we love, so we don't have too much up-keep to do...just keeping the weeds from over taking everything is the most time consuming.

Since my last posting, there have been a few more birthdays, Celeste (Candy's & Greg's 2nd) turned 13 on June 22nd, and I had Seth's birthday wrong, his was June 26, not the 6th....next was Laiken (Jason's & Tara's 1st) turned 8 on June 29th, and Saylor (Jeremy's & Michele's 1st) will be 9 on July 7th along with my sister Judy and Ed's Dad. My brothers Chucky, dba Charles, and Larry also celebrated birthdays, and Ed's brother Andy.

The wildlife has changed from deer to birds..lots of them and different kinds. Our resident quail families had their chicks...12 in all, and the raccoons still come by at night and eat Chevy's leftover dog food along with an occasional stray cat. Ed and I have been riding our bikes or taking the four-wheeler out on the dirt roads. There are about 75 miles of different paved bicycle trails here. We usually drive to Harrison about 20 miles away to the trails that go along the Couer d'Alene lake. Sometimes Angel, Jordan or Alex will come with us. The last time Ed went he took Alex & Jordan and a couple of Jordan's friends. Besides being great exercise the scenery is great. On one trip, Ed & I saw an eagle's nest (they come back to the same spot each year) with two babies, that were just as big as momma. The other giant nest around here belong to the native bird Osprey. Just about every other telephone pole has one of their huge nest, which they also use every year. Along the river banks we see turtles, one just about every 5 feet or so. And of course those yucky slimy water snakes...ugh! We have a good time.

I'm also working again. I'm the Office Administrator/HR Manager for Harrison Dock Builders in Harrison. The company has been around since 1983 building docks, ramps, boat lifts, etc. for just about everyone here that has a boat and lives near or has property by the water. I never knew so much goes into building a boat dock, but if you every see the fancy boat slips and canopies some people have, you'd be surprised. An average boat dock and ramp ranges anywhere from $1,000 to $50,000 for residential, and in the $100,000's and up for commercial. My company has a great reputation, they even go to other states to build for people who only come here for the summer, but may also have a home where they live..During the winter they will round up docks for over 300 of our customers who want dock storage service, (boat docks, ramps and canopies) and take them by tug to a cove where they are stored during the winter. Our busiest part the season is getting all those things back and secured for the summer. Due to the flooding this year, there was a late start. Normally they start around May, but the high water didn't go down until late June. They finally got done a week ago. Most of our customers were understanding, but there were a few who just couldn't understand that the weather sometimes prevents work on the water from being done...they just want their boat docks back no matter what! Anyway, work is fun. I had to learn CAD because we draw what the work is going to look like and since these docks, etc. have to have a permit (another thing I didn't know) we have to show size, materials used, water depths, location..and so on. Everything these days is regulated. Even the lake/riverside neighbors have to be notified and sign off before a permit is given....So, I have an interesting job, but more important, I work for very nice, honest and successful people. My hours are M-F, 7:00 am to 3:30, paid holidays (even Good Friday), vacation, medical, sick and profit sharing. I hope to be here a long time. So, if you know anyone who needs a dock, call me at HDB (Harrison Dock Builders).

Okay, I guess that is the latest news for now. I'll post more pictures in the next blog. Until then..God Bless

everyone.

Oh My Heavens..SETH is 7!

Candy & Greg's oldest son...Seth is 7 years old today, June 6th. He is a great little boy who no longer is considered, 'one-of-the-babies' which is what Candy called the younger kids after Cheyenne and Celeste, because there was a larger gap after Celeste was born...Anyway, he's a big boy and a loving and kind big brother to four little Sabos, and the sweet fun little brother to his two older sisters. He loves helping Greg, doing the "MAN" chores, but is also a big help to Candy around the house and loves playing with his buddy lil' sis' Sophia. He can't wait until his little brother Ethan is old enough to share his room, he's wanted bunk beds since he was born. His favorite color is Orange, and he loves being outdoors like most little boys. He's doing very well in school and learning his scriptures. One of the pictures shows him after the award ceremony for Awana, which is a bible study class for children. He did great!
(Sophia also won an award for knowing the most scriptures for the year!) Candace may have more details on her website)

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY SETH-MAN! We love you!