About Taisley: she is bright . . . happy . . . loves to sing . . . and is usually willing to do her chores without an argument! On General Conference weekend, she and I were rolling the coin in my piggy bank while listening to conference on TV. I thought I was the only one paying attention to the speakers until she suddenly looked up wide-eyed and said, "Oh, Grandma . . . I know that story. I heard it in Primary!" Then she preceded to tell me Lehi's dream from the Book of Mormon, almost verbatim. I was also touched by her sweet little voice humming along with the choir when she didn’t know the words to the songs . . . and singing all the verses to those songs she recognized. As a 2nd grader, she loves math and is doing addition and subtraction of 10's and 100's, reads well and comprehends what she is reading! She has lots of friends and seems content and well adjusted at home. I know there will come a day when her mother will move on and take her two daughters with her. That’s as it should be, but I will have a difficult time saying goodbye to Kendi and Taisley when that day comes!
About Lilly: at 2 ½, this child is absolutely amazing with a vocabulary which nearly surpasses mine! She responds appropriately to questions and can carry on an adult conversation with ease. She knows most of her colors and can sing the chorus to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" - imagine a teeny, tiny voice shouting out "glory, glory, hallelujah" on key and with gusto! She sings "I Am A Child of God"with very little help from anyone . . . and can sing at least two verses of "There Is A Green Hill Faraway" while most adults need a songbook. She’s still a lightweight physically, but mentally and socially, this child is an adorable strawberry-blond giant!!!
About Adyn: at 15 months old, our 12th grandchild has absolutely and completely captured my heart. I’ve always thought she looked just like her daddy, but she has her momma’s sweet personality. She is a quiet baby who entertains herself and is completely at ease with Braddock and Tubby, who outweigh her many times over. She comes for a visit only occasionally but jumps right into my arms each time, as if she just left our house. She has learned to download music to her mother’s cellphone - which Kaytee wishes she had not figured out - and can also push the right button to speed dial her grandpa Ed. She, too, is a lightweight, but has her Grandma wrapped right around her finger.
Of course, I love all my grandchildren and wish I could see them all more often - particularly Tylre and EJ who are both growing up so quickly and so far away. It is always fun to talk to Kaler, Kole and Kyle on the phone . . . to IM with Whitney . . . and, to see what a surprisingly good mother Allysa is with baby Daxton. We loved infrequent visits from Zachary whenever he came to St. George with Adam and Taj . . . and we miss those surprises now that he has moved back to live with his mother. Being a grandmother is truly a joy I would not trade for anything in the world!
