BETWEEN ISLANDS

On the same day Olivia was blessed, Seth returned home from his third semester (plus one half term) at BYU-H on the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian islands.  Having graduated from high school a semester early, he will be almost a junior when he returns to college, but he will not be returning soon.  While he was there, Seth received a call to serve for two years in the Tahiti Papeete Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Seth has a special feeling for serving the Lord as a missionary and a strong belief in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ being on the earth in these latter days and led by a prophet of God.  He also has a special feeling for island peoples and had a great desire to be a missionary in island lands, but was very willing to serve wherever he was called, knowing that was probably a remote possibility..  He was thrilled when he opened his call and found it was to the islands of French Polynesia!  About 119 islands are in the mission! Seth made good friends during his time at BYU-H, and enjoyed the delights of island living.  Now he has the promise of seeing more beautiful tropical island scenery, but he will not be surfing!  We do not have any pictures of him studying at school, but now he will be learning two new languages:  French and Tahitian (he took Latin in high school).  A whole new world of learning is waiting for Seth, and as soon as got home from BYU-H he was launching into that! 

  

Great! Grandad Frank goes to SAT and SAS!

One thing my Dad asked to do when we visited San Antonio was to go to the SAS Shoe Factory so he could buy a couple of pairs of his favorite shoes. (I did not know that SAS shoes stood for San Antonio Shoes, you learn something new every day.)  When we found the Shoe Factory, we discovered a fun retro world!  We could watch how shoes were made, munch on penny candy and nickel peanuts, shop for all kinds of trinkets and memorabilia, hang out in an old fashioned ice cream and malt shop, and examine  old hot rods!  First thing Dad wanted to do was have a picture under the "McDonald" sign he saw as we drove up (some placards from an old hair commercial about Old McDonald "that needed charm"  We had a lot of fun lingering in this fun place for quite awhile, and Dad got his two year supply of SAS Shoes, saving about 75 dollars from the price in the regular SAS store!  Quite a worthwhile trip!

Great Grandpa Goes Pinkalicious!

When I was a girl my sisters and I used to corral our Dad and style his hair. (Brylcream was a popular TV ad back then, I'm not sure what we put in his hair, but we styled it).  Having had four daughters of his own, Dad has a soft spot for little girls.  He told us "Mr Magillicutty" stories and brought presents when he traveled.
Now, as a GREAT and GRAND Pa, he is surrounded by pink when we go see his oldest grandson's daughters, Olivia and Belle.    Belle is crazy about dogs, so when I saw a cute one, Great Grandpa wanted to buy it for her.  Belle's favorite dogs she plays with constantly are named Jack Russell and Houston, so when Great Grandpa Frank presented her with a new puppy, he named it Austin.  Now Belle has several fun stuffed dog friends to play with:  Jack Russell, Houston, Austin . . . and Lulu (who often stays back at the doghouse looking after her little puppy ) And  Great Grandpa Frank is a hit with the pinkalicious crowd!

Blessed Olivia

On Sunday, April 11, 2010 Olivia Cosby was blessed by her father Benjamin.  The Christensen and Cosby families gathered together to witness this special event and celebrate Olivia's arrival.  Katrina and Gordon and Great Grandpa Frank were able to join with us and Amy's sister Allie and her husband Nick came with Grandpa Lee and Grammy Jeanine, our counterparts. We love the Christensens!  (Van and Lee have the same birthday)   We had a wonderful time together.   Olivia was a beautiful star of the show, along with her sister Isabelle, who was delighted to have a houseful of playmates!

Levi Makes a Grand Entrance

On March 25, 2010 Levi Samuel Cosby made his "grand" entrance into the world, a month early. Because of his early arrival, he stayed in the NICU for awhile getting everything checked out, but look how healthy and beautiful he is! They just made sure all systems were stabilized. I drove down  and was able to hang out with the newest Cosby-- here I am with my son and grandson. Great Fun! Heather is a super Mom, Sam is a great Dad, and big sister Anna is excited and happy to have a new little brother! And now we have Levi and Livvy (Olivia), born exactly one month apart (same day of the month, that makes it easy to remember!). Both Livvy and Levi have photo albums on my facebook. Little Levi is going to bring us joy! Welcome to our family, Levi!!

Baby Olivia makes 3 . . . Granddaughters!

On February 25, 2010 our sweet Olivia was born to Ben, Amy, and big sister Isabelle Cosby, giving Van and I three grandsons and three beautiful granddaughters! What a special event! Everything went smoothly and little Olivia was quickly looking around at this new world. Ben and Amy are great parents and we are very proud of them and happy for them. What a joy our little Livvy will be to us! The first two months of 2010 couldn't have been better! We are definitely counting our blessings. And Olivia is at the top of our blessings this year! Makes us smile just looking at that adorable little face. Cherish the moments . . . they pass so quickly! But more keep coming, especially with grandbabies!

January 2010 Katrina Weds Gordon

 On January 30, 2010 Katrina married Gordon Meldrum in the Houston Texas Temple. We had a happy time with the preparations and the event. Both Katrina and I agreed that we truly enjoyed the details of the wedding more than we anticipated. Katrina was a joy to work with as a future bride. We love Gordon and are excited to have him be a part of our world and our family. We know he and Katrina can bless each others lives and build a beautiful family together and are so happy for them. All the family were such a tremendous help and added so much to the wedding with their ideas, creativity, and support. Amy's parents, sister and husband also did so much for us, we appreciate their generous aid, and that of many other dear friends and family members. Photo albums with some story lines in the captions are in the photo section of my facebook page for details of this exciting event! All of our sons and their wives (those who have wives) were at the Houston Temple with Katrina and Gordon. What a great way to start 2010!