Sweet Home Alabama

Susie Q. Sorensen

We had the best weekend. We love going to Huntsville. We were finally able to see our little Susie Q, who just happens to be cutest baby. When I held Susie for the first time, the biggest smile lit her face up. She also tried to coo. I like to think she recognized my voice. Quincy laughed and commented that I have the right touch with her babies.

There is nothing happier than seeing cousins play. Kayleigh, Everett, Zoe, and Kaija will disappear for hours with each other. They are usually destroying their bedrooms with their creativity, but at least they are having fun! Cozette tries to keep up with them. She thinks she is a big girl now.

On Saturday, we visited the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. To say that Kayleigh and Everett had a good time is an understatement. The highlight of the day was riding "The Space Shot."

This is the Space Shot. It blasts you up to space then drops you. It is quite thrilling.

This is Brad. He is our hero. He is brave at everything except for riding scary rides. I hate to say it but he is a little wimpy when it comes to amusement parks.

We were shocked when he agreed to ride The Space Shot with Kayleigh and Everett.

It was one small step for Kayleigh and Everett...

ONE GIANT LEAP FOR BRAD!
Go Brad!

Zoe and Kaija are doting cousins to Cozette. They are the biggest helpers.

Susannah Quincy was blessed on Sunday. Her name is officially on the records of the church. She received a beautiful blessing from her Daddy. Susie was a perfect little angel. Cozette decided she wanted to be very loud during the blessing, so I had to take her out in the middle of it. After church and lots of picture taking, we went to Faith Memorial. Mommom arranged a beautiful autumn floral arrangement to put on Elijah's mausoleum. I felt a sweet witness that Elijah knows how much we miss him.

All good things must come to an end, packing to go home is never fun. The children did not want to leave each other. It was so sad to drive away because Zoe and Kaija were running after us as fast as they could screaming, "Bye...bye, we love you!"

Indeed, Quincy does have the sweetest home in Alabama.

Families are Forever.

Photo Shoot

Isn't she lovely?

Look at Cozette's little hands.

Restored

Autumn has arrived. I didn't want to water my flowers this morning. I am ready to plant some Pansie's but this pot of withering Vinca reminded me of a wonderful experience I had earlier this week and how Heavenly Father is able to restore all things.

So, I watered this little pot of flowers.

My eye glasses recently broke, so I had to go buy some new ones on Monday. I had an optometrist who is not my usual ophthalmologist refract my eyes. As I proceeded to tell this young doctor about the history of my steroid-induced glaucoma, cataracts, and the many surgeries I have had on my eyes, I could tell her curiosity was peaked and she had questions for me.

"How old were you when you were diagnosed with Glaucoma?"

"I was 21," I informed her.

"Oh, you were so young to have to deal with this disease." She kindly responded.

"Yes, but I have seen many miracles and even my doctors at Emory University have acknowledged the Lord's hand in my life." It was important for me to share that with her.

She did not respond but I could tell she was processing what I said as she continued to refract my left eye and had me look through different lenses to improve my vision. She then said it was time to look at my right eye.

" Oh, I need to tell you that I had a vein occlusion (mini-stroke) in this eye back in 1993 and my central vision has been affected by it." I had forgotten to tell her this earlier.

"What was your vision in this eye after that happened?" She asked.

"20/2200 but it has improved over the years." I responded.

When the eye examination was complete. She took a minute to talk to me.

"We were able to refract your left eye to 20/30 and your right eye to 20/50. I am amazed by this. I would like to tell you based on your history and my experience as a doctor, you should be seeing about 20/2200 out of both eyes. Your vision should not be this good. I can tell you that you have had the Lord's hand in your life."

I cried most of the way home as I thought about how different my life would be if I did not have my vision and how grateful I am that it has been preserved.

Watering my Vinca today reminded me of what my Heavenly Father has done for me.

Happy Birthday Nikki and Bon Voyage

♫ You've had a birthday shout hooray! I'd like to sing to you today. You're one year older and wiser too...

Happy Birthday to you!

I hope you have the most wonderful trip to London. I will be missing you and thinking about you. I hope you will think about me just a little bit...especially when you are in Harrods. :)

Love you my true little friend!

The Kayleigh and Everett Show

Introducing the amazing Kayleigh and Everett.

Whenever we have company, Kayleigh and Everett like to perform. Naturally, after our birthday dinner with Mommom, Papa, and Nikki, it was showtime! Their creativity amazes me:

They sing.

They dance.

They tell jokes.

They attempt acrobats.

They perform skits.

And Everett is famous for his magic tricks.

I have to admit they are really funny.


They remind me of my sister and I growing up. We had big plans for the "Michelle and Jeannie Show." She was going to play the piano and I was going to sing. She was the brains behind it, I was just following her lead. Those were the good old days.

These happy moments will become the good old days for my children.

The human pyramid with a little cherry on top.

Captain Cheetah and a famous singer (who is really a spy).

Cozette was giving kisses to Mommom for the grand finale.

Lucky Mommom!

What is a Mommom?

Happy Birthday Mom!

For the record, I think it is necessary to tell how Mommom got her name. When Kayleigh was born, we couldn't decide on what name she would be called by her grandchildren. Every name we thought of didn't seem to fit her. So, we decided on nothing.

Little Kayleigh was the person who decided the name for us. We were visiting Mom one day. Kayleigh was just starting to talk and tried to say, "Grandma" but it came out,"Mommom."

Mom and I looked at each other with wide eyed wonder.

I think Kayleigh at the age of 2 was inspired.

We have been calling her Mommom ever since.

I stopped buying Birthday and Mother's Day cards for Mom years ago. I am "famous" in my family for my stick figured cards. Kayleigh and Everett also create cards for her. She has saved them all.

Our most favorite card asks the following:

What do you call an upside down Mommom?
A Wowwow.

That one was a real hit. .

One year I listed the top ten lessons I have learned from her. I can't remember what numbers two through nine were but for a surety, I remember the #1 lesson:

NEVER leave the house without your lipstick on. You never know who you might run into.

I still faithfully follow her wise words and, trust me, there have been many times I have been grateful that I had it on!

What is a Mommom? She is a person who loves her family. She is the perfect Grandmother. She always has time for you. She cleans your base boards. She lets you call her 10 times a day just to tell her things like:

There is another hurricane forming in the gulf.
Guess what Cozette just did?
Oh yeah, This happened at church yesterday.
Can Dad come over tonight to help us?
You have got to turn FOX news on right now!
I just fell down my stairs.

The list goes on.

That is what a Mommom is.

Jack

Thank you, Jack, for still smiling after all these years even though your neck is hurt.

This is Jack. He has a story. And it is worth telling. Jack has been in the family now for almost 12 years. He came from humble beginnings: A little toy sitting on the shelf at Publix. Mom (a.k.a. Mommom) found the little jack-in-the-box and purchased him. Jack is the first official toy she bought for Kayleigh. Jack and Kayleigh became fast friends and he was her favorite toy at Mommom's house.

"Again...Again," I can still hear her say as we cranked Jack and shouted, "Pop goes the weasel" for the billionth time.

And then one day Kayleigh stopped playing with Jack. I remember asking her, "Where's your Jack-in-the-box, Kayleigh?" It had been several weeks since we had seen him. Mommom found Jack. Oh my goodness! Jack was absolutely foul smelling! No wonder Kayleigh did not want to play with him; Jack reeked! We could not figure out what the smell was, so Mommom opened Jack up and to our dismay found a moldy, rancid, rotten piece of cheese.

Kayleigh then confessed, "I thought he was hungry so I fed him some cheese."

We started laughing hysterically. Mommom cleaned Jack up and he was good as new.

Kayleigh out grew Jack but Everett came along and also loved to play with him when visiting Mommom's house. Sadly, as Kayleigh and Everett got bigger, we forgot about him.


Now it is about 5 years later and because of our little Cozette, we have rekindled our friendship with Jack. Mommom graciously lets us keep him at our house now. Cozette loves Jack. I crank him about 19 times a day. Cozette will literally bring Jack to me, drop him in my lap and say, "Uh!"

I interpret that as meaning, "Again...Again, Mommy!"

There have been times lately when I am sitting on the family room floor, talking to Brad on the phone and find myself whispering to him, "Oh no! Cozette just found Jack again." Brad starts to laugh really hard while I excuse myself for a few moments, so I can crank Jack and shout yet again, "Pop goes the weasel!"

I happily shout it.

Thanks Jack for all the memories!

Slipping and a Sliding!

Flying through the air!

We recently had the most excellent day with our good friends, the Baugh's. We enjoyed a delicious cookout and they created a water slide using the hill in their back yard, plastic tarp, hoses, and sprinklers. It was ingenious. I believe Kayleigh and Everett went down that slide about 100 plus a few, "one more time, please Mommy!" times. This was a definite memory maker for Kayleigh and Everett and a perfect way to end our summer!

Get ready, Get set, GO!

This water slide was serious business for Everett!

Cozette wasn't so sure about this slide, so she decided to cry!

Love Birds

Happy 50th Anniversary you cute love birds!

What is true love? Moroni describes it best: "And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoices in truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." (Moroni 7:45)

These simple yet poignant words come to mind when I think of Bill and Shirley's life together. It is a pleasure to witness the love they share. 50 years is only the beginning of eternity for them. What a wonderful and hopeful thought.

We love you!

That's Mine!

Cozette looks like E.T..

Several years ago, Everett and I went to a mother-son costume ball at his school. I remember that I purchased a piece of silky leopard print material to accent my costume. After the ball, I put the fabric in a basket in my closet and forgot about it. Yesterday, while making a mess in my closet, Cozette managed to find it. She instantly claimed it as her own and had me wrap it around her so she could walk around the house. I think she likes the silkiness of the fabric against her skin.

Later that afternoon, when Kayleigh arrived home from school, we were talking in our family room about her day. Kayleigh noticed the leopard print fabric, picked it up, and then wrapped it around herself. There must be something about that fabric because I had done the same thing earlier. Cozette had been happily playing around us then suddenly started to cry. We tried to give Cozette her pacifier but that did not work. I tried to hold Cozette but that did not console her either. She kept going up to Kayleigh crying. And then it hit me and I said to Kayleigh while laughing, "Cozette wants that fabric back!" Kayleigh immediately handed the fabric to Cozette. Voila! Cozette stopped crying. She just wanted her fabric back! We simply could not believe it. I am so happy that I saved that old piece of leopard print fabric. You never can tell what will become a treasure to your children.

The Welcoming Committee

Wouldn't it be nice to have such a cute decoration outside your house? I believe if I had a decoration this cute outside my front door all the time, I might be the most popular person on my block. Maybe even in my entire neighborhood! :) Nikki came over today and as always does the cutest things with Cozette. Thanks, Nikki, for such a clever pose!