Christmas in New Mexico

It was the first time the kids came to New Mexico for Christmas and only one son didn't make it. I have traveled to Phoenix each year but Terry wanted us to have the kids here for Christmas. There were nine of us enjoying the cool weather and just spending time with each other. I wished my husband Terry would have been able to see his family in Texas but maybe next year. Terry made brisket for our Christmas dinner and we also had sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and a vegetable and of course dessert.

Eileen had never been to our home and could see where we live and work. It had snowed a little and that was just enough to take our grandson out to play. Terry rigged up a sled with a plastic lid and ropes which they pulled behind the fence where just enough snow could give the little guy a ride.

Daniel had been able to come up on a bus and got a ride back to Phoenix with his brother. I am happy he's doing so much better and finally is working at a 40 hour a week job. It may not be what he wanted, that is welding, but it is a job.

My son Matt and his wife spent a couple of nights in our guest room, pretty small, being that it is only a 10 x 10 room. The heater kept them pretty warm and we had to figure out a way to turn the heat down at night. We usually close the back of the house so the rest of the house gets warm but that only made their room like a sauna.



Fishing at Ganado

Ganado Lake has catfish and bass. We had never seen so many bass and a place so easy to catch fish. One year we found a nice hole in the weeds where we caught several large catfish.

Free photo slideshow created with Smilebox

Six Years Ago

Over six years ago, after seeing my husband's picture in the paper when he passed, I felt the need to have a nice photo taken so my kids would use it when I pass. I haven't had a portrait picture done since the kids were little. Now they're grown and are starting their own family portraits.

Now that Terry and I are married, I would like to get a portrait done of us. We've been married now over two years. He may not think it's important but I do and I want my kids to have a picture of us and not some candid shot. Photos have been important in our family. It's like doing a story and having pictures to go with it. I have over 17 albums now and still counting. I'm a little behind in getting the photos developed.

Everyone I talk to seem more interested in keeping photos on their computers. But there's nothing like having them in front of you and seeing little details written down. I have an album that my dad received from his cousin and I don't recognize very many people in it. It goes back to the early part of the 20th century. I guess I'm more of an historian than my other sisters.

One time when I was a new mom, I made a scrapbook using art paper bound in a ring. It allowed me to glue pictures cut out from a magazine and make more of a story. I want to do that again.

My family means a great deal to me. When their dad Richard died, I had the idea to scan photos of him and make a book for them on Blurb. That's my next project. I hope I can get this ready for Christmas. If any of my sons read this, they'll know what I'm up to.

My husband takes tons of pictures in his line of work, being a field representative. He uses Picassa to download over forty pictures at a time. I'm just fortunate to be able to get my photos developed. Like I said before, I'm behind by about five years. I have to get caught up.

Check my AVON Website

Summertime with Wyatt

Well, Wyatt is now a year and 4 months and I can't be down in Phoenix to watch him grow. The funny thing about him was his hair. His hair was growing like it had steroids and instead of all over his head it grew just on top. I thought he looked cool though. His dad recently had his hair cut and he said the razor tickled.

Wyatt has such a sweet temperament and his parents have been so good raising him with their gentle touch and loving ways. He's also very photogenic. I told my son that he should enter him in some baby photo contest.

Wyatt loves to eat and when he had his birthday he got to taste sweet cake, I think, for the first time. Anyway, he has such a great personality. Just looking at all the pictures I receive from my son and his mother-in-law I can tell he has a good nature.

I should be visiting him this coming August and hope to spend some time there. It's really difficult being so far away from him and his family. All my sons are in Phoenix.

With my husband being sick right now, it hasn't been easy here either. He wishes he was back in Texas and keeps saying that he'd be packing up and leaving. He just doesn't like it here in Gallup.

My son Daniel and Wyatt taking a walk

        Taking a drink at a nearby park.

During the week, his other grandma watches him a few times and then goes to Day Care the rest ot the time. His dad will have him one time a week since he has to paint in his studio and teach at a community college. During the summer though, I don't think he teaches.

                                    

To Eileen "Happy Mother's Day"

Make your own picture slideshow

This was made for my daughter-i-law Eileen for Mother's Day

To Lesli for "Mother's Day"

This photo album created with Smilebox

I made two cards on Smilebox for Mother's Day for my daughters -i-law...both are beautiful young women.

In Memory - Amy Little 6/23/2010

I made this not too long ago in memory and tribute to Amy Little, my former husband's mother who passed last year June 23, 2010. I had several pictures in my picture albums but non could really express the kind and thoughtful woman Amy was. I wanted her kids and grandkids to see this but so far I've only been able to post it on Facebook.

Customize your own free digital scrapbooking design

My Son is having a Birthday...today

This free digital slideshow customized with Smilebox

"He's Alive"

I made this slide show for our Easter morning service. We will be singing "He's alive" by Don Francisco. We couldn't do our Easter Cantata this year but next year for sure.

This free slideshow made with Smilebox

Havin' a Good Time

Havin' a Good Time

This video was made on Animoto...Recently, Wyatt, my grandson, has been taking swimming lessons and his dad sent me some pics. I love making videos. I have a cool Vivitar video camera that does really well making videos.

Terry will be in Texas the rest of the week and he has my camera. I hope he brings back some good pictures of the family.

FAVORITE PHOTOS OVER 10 YEARS

'Baby Growing in Mommy's Womb' Life is a Miracle !!!

HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY TO ALL MY FRIENDS ON BLOGGER

Personalize a free ecard

Nothing So Beautiful as Family

Happy Birthday Wyatt

For my Grandson Wyatt. He will be One Years Old tomorrow. I can't make the birthday party but I know he'll have a big piece of cake and ice cream. He's such an adorable and lovable little boy with great parents that have been so good in raising him, teaching him, spending their time helping to see this beautiful world we live in.

Make a free digital slideshow

My Grandson Wyatt

My new grandson, Wyatt, now eight months old has such a great personality and smile. Everytime my son and daughter-in-law sends me pictures, I have to laugh. They have taken him on hikes...

He's been swimming a lot in his dad and mom's pool...

He's been to Albuquerque, Santa Fe, the zoo and the aquarium.He will be one of the most traveled babies I've known. I'm so glad he gets the opportunity to stay with his other grandma who watches him while mommy works.

And recently, went to the Pumpkin Patch somewhere in Arizona...

Looks pretty cute in orange...They had a great time.

TODAY

Terry has been working on our mobile home, the manager's home for a week now and has managed to paint the railings dark sherwood green. He was hoping to paint the house the same color as the clubhouse, a cream color. He's been really tired lately and his body is aching.



Found out that someone in my family has glaucoma and may have to have surgery. We will be praying for him that he would be healed and wouldn't need the surgery. He has been on my heart lately.


The holidays are coming and Terry said he didn't want to have another Christmas like last year. I don't mind going from house to house. He has only one son and his family would usually get together at one house. I have four sons and have to work around that. I may just go down after Christmas and spend a week there.


Terry and I never had our honeymoon and maybe we can take a week somewhere that we both can enjoy. Having the money is usually the problem. We are always just running out before pay day. Terry wants to find a job somewhere else. He doesn't like Gallup. I will have to follow him. I hope he doesn't moved too far from my sons. They mean a lot to me.


As for church, I'm still the worship leader and two people have left the team and the church. It may be the fault of one of the members. I'm still not sure. We are down to two besides myself. I play the keyboard/piano and pastor plays drums and one lady plays guitar but not that well.


I have to start some teachings on worship soon because the church is looking to me to stir them up. They need to spend more time with the Lord. I've been faithful these past six years now and have hardly taken a break. Wednesday and Sunday are the days I lead. I'm constantly finding new songs and the Lord has inspired me to write more songs.

IT'S BEEN A YEAR NOW

Last year, I made a book of our wedding day, July 22, 2009. Terry came here from Texas and doesn't really miss the heat. He's had to get used to the heat of complaining tenants, water leaks, painting jobs, maintenance of all types and now painting the house. I don't know why he doesn't like the mint green that's been there since we moved. He wants it to match the clubhouse. How conservative.

Anyway, I wanted to share the book again so that if you missed seeing it last year, you can see how simple it was. There was little cost involved and we bought only rings at a trading post and a bouquet of flowers for me to hold. We found inexpensive decorations and set up the tables and provided a simple to make punch.

Little did we know then that the reception to follow a month later would be more involved and slightly moin expense. I will be posting our reception book soon on blurb.

http://www.blurb.com/books/883699

Trip to Santa Fe, NM

Recently, Terry and I made a trip to Santa Fe, NM during the Indian Market. Thousands thronged the streets in the heat to look, to buy and browse the many galleries and studios and stands on the street. It was estimated that over 50,000 people attended.

Customize a free picture slideshow

Fishin' in 2010

Personalize your own free picture slideshow

The book I wrote

Our Wedding -July 22, 2009 by Kathryn Tyler King

Make Your Own Book

Will You Stand By Me ?? ©2010 - Pastor Rick's MySpace Blog |

Will You Stand By Me ?? ©2010 - Pastor Rick's MySpace Blog

Nothing else needs to be said. We all need someone to stand by us...

Fishing Near Zuni, NM

Terry was anxious to go fishing so he heard about a fold up boat that was for sale. We bought it for just $300.00. We split the cost and the following weekend took our boat out to Ojo Caliente, thirteen miles Southwest of Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico. I caught a good size trout and Terry caught most of the others.

We also tried Eustace Lake, right outside the town of Zuni. No luck. When we would go ashore, the boat wasn't very stable and a couple of times Terry fell out. It was made of styrofoam, covered with heavy duty thick plastic.  It was after these mishaps that he decided to sell it. 

On one occasion though, I was climbing out of the boat onto shore and had been trolling for several minutes. Once my feet hit the ground, a little trout practically jumped up and grabbedthe bagrabbed it, a small earthworm.  

After selling the folding boat, Terry kept looking in the local classified listings and found an eight foot Bass Boat he'd been wanting for sale. After taking another trip to pick it up we immediately, of course on the weekend, headed for the closest lake, that being Nutria Lake, one of a series of three lakes. We didn't catch anything but had a good day on the lake. We went all over trolling from one end to the other. I took lots of pictures.

Before we took our latest fishing trip to Ojo Caliente, our truck's brakes went out. We were heading out of town and we heard some weird noises. We headed back and could easily have broken down out in the sticks. That set us back a while. We found a good mechanic close by here and I had to take all the funds that were in my checking account out to pay for the repairs.

Terry didn't want to fish at Nutria because of the grass and seaweed growing all over the lake. At Ojo we went early, which we usually do, and caught 19 fish and all were catfish except for one trout. We used earthworms and trout worms. Terry had shown me how to tie the hooks and make double hooks that work well with trout. You stretch the worm from one hook to the other. Usually, fish like to bite out the middle but sometimes a fish will get caught.

Terry really wants to go fly fishing. He enjoys that. Next weekend, we will be taking our used camper to Page, Arizona. We found an overhead camper for $200.00. The lady dropped the price from $300.00. He's working on it now, trying to fix the wiring and I'm going to make curtains this weekend and try to find a foam mattress somewhere. Our maintenance guy said he had a full size air mattress that we could use.

We will be celebrating our 1st Anniversary on the 22nd. Can't believe it has been a year already. Going to Lake Powell was my idea but I think Terry wants to see how the fishing is there too. We will stow our sleeping bags, ice chest and plenty of sun lotion for the trip. He didn't want us to stay in a motel and spend all that money and find a place to cook the fish we catch. I know it will be hot there and I'll have to take my fishing hat and long sleeve shirts and a bathing suit.  So the money we would have spent on a motel went into the camper.

I hope it turns out well, meaning our trip. Next week I'll be buying Terry two new tires for the back. He said his tires look like they're wearing down.

WYATT - MY NEW GRANDSON

The following is a new video I put together of pics I received from my son regarding Wyatt, my new grandson. Hope you enjoy it. I'll be making another slide show of him soon but longer.

Wyatt

SUMMIT TRAINING POST

Bishop Hutchinson and Pastor Lois started a place where Navajos could get ministerial training and training in areas like job readiness, trades in jewelry making, rug making and sharing the Gospel during the summertime at Camp Native America.



Camp Native America is a family camp usually held in June or July or both and invite the entire family to experience a Christian camp at St Michaels. Dads, moms and kids can set up tents and have free meals. At night a service is held with a special speaker. Many groups from Canada, Florida, Virginia and New Jersey came to help as interns, teachers and helpers.

My sons' Grandpa Lemuel

Lemuel Bahe Yazzie, my son's Steven and Matt's grandpa, died recently at 91. The first time I met him he was attending a Christian retreat at El Nathan Conference grounds with his wife Dorothy. I remember how he and Dorothy worked with their Navajo people and I watched their lives together with their large family.

I was only married into the family for five years but I have always been treated like a daughter and sister to this date. They asked if I would play at his funeral and I agreed. I also played at Dorothy's funeral near Laguna, NM at the Acoma Baptist Mission, near Budville, NM.

Years before he had been a Navajo Code Talker in the Marine Corp. There aren't many Code Talkers left. He had been a fighter or boxer for several years and had won most of his matches. There was one man, at the funeral, who mentioned his fighting abilities and techniques and brought some to laughter.

When he and Dorothy first started their church at Tse Bi Otseel Bible church, they lived in a small trailer. Most of the kids had gone on to college or careers and had gotten married. Only Grace and Walter were still living with them at the time. Both were hard workers and Dorothy was always teaching the children using flannelgraphs and using simple songs to teach the story of Jesus.

I learned a great deal from her. She loved the children and her own children also followed her example as they later raised their own kids. I discovered many ways to teach children God's way of living.

Lemuel also spent time as the Chapter President at White Cone but his devotion to the Lord was of primary importance. For several years he taught and preached to his people and the church grew. Another man later took over the ministry when he no longer could do the work because of his age and his health.

His children were committed to helping him and taking care of him when he was ill and later died. His family is close knit and his grandchildren and great grandchildren adored their grandpa and they spoke gratefully and tearfully about him and what he meant to them.

There are other websites where he is mentioned, not only for his service to the Lord but to his country that he loved.


http://navajocodetalkers.org/news_and_events/?p=55


http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/pueblos_tribes/navajo-code-talker-commemorated


http://m14tfl.com/upload/showthread.php?p=575960


I know his children and grandchildren have so many funny and happy memories that will continually remind them that they had a good leader in the family. He was blessed to have so many children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. I was blessed to know him.

New Venture - January 25, 2010

Since my marriage, Terry and I started working at a Mobile Home Community, Western Skies, in Gallup, NM. We got the job a week before Thanksgiving. Probably many of you thought I disappeard. Not so. I just have been very busy with over a hundred tenants, taking payments, recording water meter reads, etc... We have a lovely clubhouse, very large, with a kitchen and tables and chairs for birthdays, anniversaries...no alcohol allowed though. We seem to have many that want to rent it.

It has been very cold here and this morning it was one degree above 0. Brrrrrh!!! Just cold enough to freeze our pipes and it took a long time before we could get hot water.

Terry works on maintenance and we have another young man that helps us out, passing out the bills, doing errands, fixing things around the community.

It is the nicest mobile home community in this area and we live and work here. Moving from Vanderwagen was a chore. It took me almost a month to get everything packed after Terry only arrived here in July. He had to pack all over again. Yuck. Anyway, we moved everything to Gallup and some things are still in storage.

I had to give up my precious animals and before we moved, I lost both my cats, one to old age, 18 and the other to diabetes and kidney failure.. I miss them both.

This is just an update. I'll have more pictures to download soon. Hope everyone has a wonderful new year.

After Five Months of Marriage

Soon after meeting Terry, a year ago, he moved here from near San Antonio, Texas and we were married a fews days later. Now it has been five months since making our vows. He had found work with a couple of companies doing field service. He has been disappointed in the way the city does its business and found that just doing independent work from home can be costly.

I was hired by the McKinley County Schools as a teacher's aide and began right along with the teacher I was assigned to, Mrs Crask-Stone. I found the work enjoyable but sometimes stressful because the kids were always disruptive and there were few days when they were ever quiet. I would take them to breakfast, lunch and escort them to the gym for their exercise.

My husband and I were referred by friends from church for a position as managers of a mobile home community. We both discussed the situation of my low income I received at school and his irregular jobs with the field service. He wasn't very happy going to the far reaches of the Navajo and Zuni reservations. At times the directions the companies gave him were incorrect and he would be wasting a lot of gas.

We decided to try for the interview. Once we finished going over our duties with the people interviewing us, we waited to hear their decision. We got the job. Terry went ahead of me and started staying at the mobile home provided for us a week or so before I actually was able to. I had a lot of packing to do in Vanderwagen. Terry had just moved here and found himself moving again. It was almost an impossible task. I had to quit my job at the school and gave them notice.

Thanksgiving came and we headed for Phoenix to enjoy a meal at my daughter-in-law's parents and then returned so I could pack and Terry could be on hand at the office until I arrived each morning. Almost every night, I would go to Vanderwagen, find some boxes and resume packing. It took almost a month to finish.

A few days before Christmas, I drove around Gallup looking for a closet because there was hardly any storage in the new place. I found a closet at furniture store and it was delivered just in time for me to empty the car. I had carried my clothes around for two days.

I had to set up satellite for the t.v. and for the internet because no DSL was available in the area. That was discouraging to find a city about 30,000 people and not have access to the internet. I had used Wildblue in Vanderwagen and so I gave them a call. Now we have two dishes, one on the house and one in the yard on a pole.

Terry and I finally got most of our things put away but we have several boxes in the storage room off the clubhouse. The clubhouse is huge and we moved the ping pong table in and a few games. He figured the clubhouse should be used more. We think the previous managers didn't want to be bothered with kids running through the place.

Tonight, New Year's Eve, Terry decided he wanted to make his seafood Portofino, with scallops, shrimp and fish in a butter sauce served over angel hair pasta...yum, yum..What a way to celebrate.. just the two of us. I hope he feels relaxed and energized after the weekend here. It has been miserably cold and snowed most of the night, just light flakes.

Our Reception

The following slide was assembled today with the pictures from the reception Terry and I had in Vanderwagen. My son Matt and wife Lesli stayed with us a week before the ceremoney. My pastor and wife were willing to do it all over again since we were actually married July 22, 2009.

After a terrible accident and a month resting and recuperating, Terry was able to cook 60 pounds of meat, including chicken, port and beef brisket. It was wonderful. The church helped bring side dishes and breads and also cleaned up afterwards. What a treat to have them there serving. They all have servant's hearts.

Make a Smilebox slideshow