I hope I turn 60 in Hawaii.

My mom is turning 60 today (December 5th). I would feel bad about not being with her to celebrate but she is in Hawaii with my dad so I think she's doing ok. My mother, Marilyn Lee was the first child of George Elton McVay and Mary Adel Warriner (my namesake).

My grandmother met my grandfather when he was in the Navy during WWII.














Grandma's family was from Richmond, Virginia.

My grandma is on the far left in the back row, holding my mom. (Correction: My mom is the fourth from the left in the front row. My grandma is holding my Aunt Sandy.)


Grandpa's family were farmers in Missouri.















After my mom came Caroline, Sandy and Shirley.








My Uncle David says that when my grandparents called for him, sometimes they would call all of the girls' names and even the dog's name before coming up with his.




My mom married my dad shortly before he left for Vietnam.














She sent him pictures like this one.















This one looks like it was taken in their home after he had returned but I'm not sure.



Who knew my mom married a rebel?








Her family affectionately called my dad the "bearded hippie freak."

My mom has always been there for me. She stayed home with us. I don't think I appreciated all that entails until I started spending more time at home myself. Thank you for doing the thankless work, mom.

My mom loves us with all her heart and all her soul. This, I have never doubted. If you asked her what she wanted for her 60th birthday, she would say, "For my kids to be happy."

To enhance our happiness, there were slumber parties, season passes to the swimming pool, Easter eggs to color and hunt, pumpkins to carve, snowmen to build, swings in the backyard, trees to climb, crawfish to catch, music lessons, bikes to ride, cameras, kittens, puppies, turtles, frogs, fish.









My mom fully embraced the role of Grandmother.

She kept Sam while I worked from the time he was seven weeks old until we moved to St. Louis when he was three.

They are close. I used to say that while I missed him when I worked, I didn't worry about him when he was with my mother.

My mom loves spending time with her brothers and sisters and their families.


And her mother.

Happy birthday, Mom.

We love and appreciate you.

Note: Corrections to this post can be found here.

Happy Birthday, Ariel

November 3rd is my cousin, Ariel's birthday. I hope she will have a fabulous day.

She is on the left in this picture of us and our cousin, Amy. Ariel and I met only days before this picture was taken. Her mom, my Aunt Cathy (my dad's youngest sister) died of an aneurysm when Ariel was a baby and I was eight years old.

Our families lost touch. Ariel and I didn't know each other while we were growing up. However, she took the initiative to seek out her mom's side of the family a few years ago. I'm so thankful that she did.

She is a remarkable person. Her adventurous spirit and kind heart have brightened my life.

Hey, Lady. You are so brave and capable.









Here's wishing you a lifetime of love, laughter and happiness.

Cocoa Stand - Welcome Declan

Today is the first day of rain Cam, Sam and I have experienced in Northern California. We did have a misty day one day and rain one night after dark. But today, we woke up to the sound of it; got wet walking in it and it is still coming down.

It is a nice, steady rain. There is nearly no wind so you can see it coming down gently. It reminds me of snow. And if it were below freezing, we'd have lots.

Some other day, I'll share sledding pictures with you but today, I wanted to talk about the day we had a cocoa stand. Our friend, Eileen had met us at Chipotle. We were going to go sledding after lunch but the people we were planning to meet went at a different time and it was so cold we decided to skip it.

Sam had the idea of having a cocoa stand. Eileen and I embraced it. Most people walked past us without making eye contact. But some people were really nice. I love this picture of Sam with Eileen.

Eileen worked with Cam and me. She and her husband, Matt are so thoughtful and fun. One time, on my birthday, after bringing the perfect present (a cherry picker) and celebrating with us during dinner, they insisted on staying with Sam so Cam & I could go out with the rest of the group to one of Melissa's shows.

While they kept him, they decided to speak in French accents just for fun. Sam was right there with them. They also had races up and down the hall and taught him a new card game. Another time, they invited us to a Scary Movie party at their place. They made sure the first movie was Sam-friendly so he could come. He was the only kid there but everyone went out of there way to include him in the fun. We all had a ball. They also joined us in surprising Cam with a small party on his 30th birthday. Even though we didn't see them often, they are dear to us.

Recently, we received word that their first child, Declan James Tibble was born. I wanted to congratulate them, share some memories and express how much they mean to us.

Welcome, Declan. You are a lucky boy to have been born to such wonderful people. I'm sure they will be amazing parents.