The Year that was 2007



Emily in her jazz costume: Dance recital May 2007

Waimea Canyon: The grand canyon of the Pacific, Kauai, HI

The kids swimming at Ke Iki Beach, North Shore, HI

Thanksgiving at the Outer Banks, NC

Luke cleans up well doesn't he? Prom 2007

Beautiful Meghan, Prom 2007

What an elegant lady!! Kati - Prom 2007

Kati & Timmy

Proud parents at Kati's graduation.

Kati's birthday 2007

Meghan's birthday 2007

Christmas Day 2006

Luke's birthday lunch: fish fry and lobster

Easter morning: it was about 25 degrees out!

Luke with really short hair: All the men that went on the Mexico Mission trip shaved their heads!

Kati's cap and gown picture

Kati and Timmy in Hawaii

Bopa's and Emily's birthday in Oct. 2007

Emily swimming in November at the Outer Banks, NC

I never seem to have time to send Christmas cards or do the big "letter" so this year I decided to do a recap of the past year on my blog and send out "New Year" cards and direct everyone to my blog. This accomplished 2 things, the annual update as well as letting people check out the Jones Family happenings during the year. As everyone says "I can't believe the year has come to an end." This has been quite an eventful year. Beginning last January my 94 year old grandmother (who had until this time lived by herself) was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and her congestive heart failure got worse. My parents stayed with her until April when she died. We made a trip to see her in February. It was a sweet time. She has left a wonderful legacy behind. I attribute my "Christmas Cookie Mania" to her. My youngest daughter Emily has also developed an interest in baking and cake decorating and makes Choclate Chip Cookies just like Grammy J did!

See former posts to view our new addition Fred - a big,goofy German Shepherd that we got the end of March. I must be crazy!!!

May brought about the graduation of my oldest daughter Katherine Elizabeth (Kati). What a proud day May 12, 2007 was. It seems like just yesterday she made us parents and now she is all grown up. What a delight and a blessing she has been. It has been an honor and a joy to parent and educate her. I began homeschooling her in 5th grade and she has excelled all the way to the end. Children are a gift and a wonderful blessing from God and I will be ever grateful that He has allowed me to stay at home and raise my children. I would not trade one second of the time I have had with them, especially when I see how fast they grow.

In June we took a vacation/Kati graduation trip to one of our favorite places: Hawaii!! One of the perks of not having your husband around much during the week is that we get to enjoy the frequent flyer miles, and we all flew for free!!! A few weeks later the 3 oldest kids went to Mexico on a mission trip and had a wonderful time despite the hard work and hot weather. It was very quiet and boring around the Jones house that week. As much as I long for moments of peace and quiet every now and then I don't seem to know what to do with myself when they are all gone. The rest of the summer was relatively quiet. I gor to travel with Richard to Colorado in August. What a beautiful part of the country. We did not take our annual trip to the Outer Banks for Labor Day this year. It seems to be getting harder to get everyones schedules to work together any more. In October we went to Virginia to celebrate my Dad's 70th birthday. All the kids and grandkids were there - what a loud and crazy bunch. We had a great weekend.

In October I also got to go to Montreal to the Best Western Convention. What a great place to visit. It is nice to be able to leave the kids for several day and not worry. Kati takes great charge and keeps everyone in line. Luke also takes over as the "man of the family." What a blessing to reap the rewards of many years of training and raising children, it makes me feel as though we must have done something right. I must brag, that even though they drive me crazy at times (and I know I do the same to them), that they are AWESOME!!!

In November we celebrated Thanksgiving at the Outer Banks with my parents, brother & sister and their families. It was unseasonably warm and most of the kids played in the water. What a great time!! Christmas day was quiet, we stayed home and went to Virginia to see our parents, and Richards sister and her family a few days after. Now its back to running here, there and everywhere. Luke is playing bball and Emily will start soon. Luke has guitar lessons, Emily, dance and piano, Meghan is taking violin, she drives herself - YEAH!! We are looking forward to a fresh new year. I pray that we will love one another well and grow closer to Christ; may we be shining lights to a lost and dying world.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Thanksgiving at the Outer Banks of NC

We spent Thanksgiving at the Outer Banks, NC. What beautiful weather we had as you can see from the pictures. That is until Thurs. night when a cold front come roaring through. Friday was beautiful also but windy and cold. That didn't stop some of the older kids from rolling down the great sand dunes at Jockeys Ridge. Luke is still trying to get the sand out of his cell phone. We had a great time, visiting with family. We are a large, loud group!!! I think I am still full from all that we ate! We are a blessed family, no doubt. Thanks Dad & Mom for the wonderful accomodations.














Emily "braving" the ice cold water. She enjoyed her late
November swim. What a beautiful day - low '70's for air temps.
All the younger kids braved the water. I put my toes in, for a few seconds.






Kati "almost" gettting thrown in the water by her Dad.

All the nieces and nephews crammed in Richard's truck.

Guitar Man

Meghan and my niece Lauren.

Luke enjoying his new guitar. He mowed alot of grass for this.

New guitar on display.

Emily with Fred in one of his favorite spots, standing on the table between the recliners.

This has been a busy week at the Jones house. Fall is finally here, the trees are beautiful!! I wish the leaves would stay on all winter. We are slowly dragging out hoodies, sweaters, extra blankets and tonight I had to pull out the space heater for the girls room. Never mind that I had on the air conditioner just a short 2 weeks ago!! Whatever happened to the days where the month of Oct. and maybe even some of November was heat & air free!!

Spaghetti Cake - YUMMY!!

Emily is a decorating wiz. Her second masterpiece. It actually sort of looks like a plate of spaghetti. Major sugar high for whoever eats it, it is loaded with frosting. She made it for a cake walk at our fall festival at church. Making the frosting was a messy endeavor. She put all the ingredients in the mixer and turned it on. Powedered sugar was everywhere. I'm thinking she needs a cleaner hobby!!

Cute Fred, check out those ears!!

Emily's first decorated cake!

The whole gang, what a party crowd we are!!

Luke - showing his "good side" for the camera

Emily and Bopa (my dad)

Emily opening presents




Emily got a cake decorating kit for her 11th birthday. She has been dying to try it out. Here is her first attempt. She was trying out all the different tips. It tastes as good as it looks. Here are a few more birthday photos. My dads birthday is the day after Emily's (Oct. 6). He turned 70 this year and we had a big family celebration.

Rain Finally - Wahoo!!

Kati in her scrubs

Big Fred

It finally rained today and we are expecting more the next few days. This is good news, although it puts a crimp in outdoor plans. Our little puppy has grown into a very big, very active dog, who has of late been very bad. He loves to chase tennis balls outside, he needs to chase tennis balls outside to release his pent up energy. I told Richard tonight I feel like I have another baby, I thought I was almost done raising kids and now I feel like I have started again (even though he is supposed to be Luke's & Emily's dog).

Our newest "baby"

In March we added Fred to our family. He was 7 weeks old and had and still has HUGE paws.

Here are some pics tracking his growth.

Pictures of the pups

Naptime after playtime.


Getting comfortable, "aren' t we cute!



Fred and Almond when they were still close in size.



Big Dog!!



Fred is growing bigger by the day!!






Baby Fred, trying hard to raise one ear.




"What the heck!!", thinks Zoe

First time blogger

Hello from the Jones house. I am trying my hand at blogging. I thought it would be a great way to keep friends and family updated on what's new with us since we live away from all of our family. You may have to excuse my corniness (?), I am not a writer by any means. I will probably do mostly pictures.