Way too long...!

It's been far too long since I have posted anything. Lots has happened, more than I can record without getting really stiff from sitting here. We had a wonderful, amazing trip to Texas. Hueston is growing and learning so much! He had his first birthday in June and if you look at him Mommy's blog Pastiche you can see many examples. She's such a good documentarian of his little life. She says she does it (taking all the pictures and posting all of them and writing the blog) because she knows she will forget. I know it is also because she would be interested to have this resource about her own ancestors. Sad to say, her plea for 'Parker' or 'Elsea' history produced only two examples, one from each family, so it's not just we who are negligent--or unimaginative--or whatever foible led others of us not to contribute. I'm glad for Hueston's Great Aunt Becky and Great Uncle Jerry, and I really do plan to send my contribution and encourage others from the Parker side to do the same. To get back to my story, we also were thrilled to have Hueston and his Mommy and Daddy (often referred to as "Da-Da") join us at Turtle Reef, the time share condo we have enjoyed for many years. It was a perfect week with only one day of rain. To see Hueston's absolute fearless joy at his first encounter with the ocean was priceless. It could only have been improved upon if cousin Emmett and his Mom and Dad had been there. Hopefully that can happen another year! To Uncle Matt, yes, Turtle Reef does have lowered rates for family and friends of owners, this year $100 per night (or "7 for $700") which is definitely better than the $1225 I think was advertised. We'll see about that next time. Remember: It's week #31 on your calendar! We have not seen as much of Emmett and his family as we would have liked. We've heard, though, that they are thinking of a trip down this way sometime in the not too distant future, and we have tentative plans to go up to babysit for an event Matt and Sara want to attend. That is a real treat! We had so much fun the last time; I know it will be even more fun since Emmett has grown and learned so much since we've last been there. We need to do better in the future. Emmett did send his Papa(razzi) and Nana a painting he had done. It was made with brilliant colors and we could see his little fingers in red and royal blue mingled with the swirls of color. What innovative stationery! Well, I really need to accomplish something today and have a long list from which to choose. I'll try not to allow such a gap of time to elapse before I return to this. Meanwhile, God is so good to us! We love all our children and grands! Nana