Isla, as in Island.

Well, you know how I'm a really lucky girl, so last week I went on another "Welcome to the world. Grandma loves you" visit.  This trip found me flying to Provo, UT, home of the BYU cougars and Jacob and Alexa. Actually, it's home to a lot of other people I love, some of which I was able to see. Apparently it's noteworthy that the airplane that took me there had only been flying passengers for 1 week.  At least the pilot was pretty excited about this.  I liked the nice clean seats and the shiny new wings, but don't you think it would have been festive to offer free movies and a milkshake to celebrate the special occasion?

One thing I love about flying into the Salt Lake City airport is this scene:

A lot of Utah families are sending sons and daughters out into the world to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, so the odds are good that there will be families welcoming their children home too.  Such a happy sight to see.

And speaking of happy sights to see, how about this girl...

This is Isla Kerrie, Isla as in island. My dad's mom's name is Ila so I think she'll be pretty pleased to find out she has a namesake. The spelling's been modernized, but I learned that Isla is a popular name on the Isle of Man in England. This happens to be the place my mother's ancestors originated, so little Isla has a great heritage in her cute little name.

I'd like to take this time to applaud her mama.  Baby girl weighed in at 9' 13". Carrying and delivering a baby that size is a big accomplishment.  Thank you, Alexa, for your courage and fortitude, because now we have this sweet thing in our family.

Isla's Daddy read her a book in the hospital that pretty much sums up the way we feel. It's "Happy Birthday" by Dr. Suess:

If we didn't have birthdays, you wouldn't be you.
If you'd never been born, well then what would you do?
You might be a fish! Or a toad in a tree!...
Or worse than all that...Why you might be a WASN'T.
A wasn't has no fun at all. No he doesn't.
A wasn't just isn't. He just isn't present
But you...You are you! And, now isn't that pleasant?

Thank you, brave and faithful children for inviting these precious souls into our family.
It's always a treat to see children as parents. Alexa and Jacob read the recent Reader's Digest article about the difference between privileged and unprivileged children being the amount of words they hear.  In an effort to give Isla enough words we talk to  her a lot about how cute she is. Her mom tries to read her scriptures, although Isla fell asleep after a couple of minutes. It happens.  Her Daddy likes to tell her about things.  One of the things he told her about was the ceiling. He held her about 6 inches away and said, "That's the ceiling, kind of like the floor, but on the top." Little squishy is in good hands.

Saturday was a very special day. Aaron and Clarissa brought beautiful Lucy to meet beautiful Isla. I thought my heart would burst with happiness.

Then Sunday brought more excellent visitors: Andrew, who's vying for the title of "Best uncle." The word on the street is that he even got a flu shot and whooping cough booster to be more qualified.  It's a win/win, of course in the health department, but it definitely screams baby love.

And these lovely cousins, Polly Johnson (Susie's) and Kat Christensen (Melinda's)

I can see how Heavenly Father's plan for bonding with baby is effective. They are completely dependent on Mom and need attention around the clock.  It's not like you're not going to notice that you have a new baby.  There's also genius in the fact that babies sleep a lot the first few days, and then when Mom starts to feel better they wake up.  Sometimes they wake up crying and that crying can be considerable as baby's body gets used to functioning.  Everyone develops a lot of resilience, but the road to resilience can be tricky, so I have a lot of respect for new parents. I do have one question however, does anyone's new baby sleep in their crib?  I haven't seen much crib sleeping since the baby authorities started sleeping babies on their backs, but it could just be my family.  Anyway, new parents, sleep when you can. No seriously, sleep when you can.

I went to help, but I not only had fun with the baby, I had a little fun on the town, too.  Alexa was kind and said, "It's okay.  We need to get used to doing it alone." I got to spend a little time with this fun sister and her adorable little guy.

On Tuesday my college roommate came and took me to lunch. This girl is as young and beautiful as ever.  She treats everyone like an old friend, even waiters and receptionists, and is loved the world over.  Her grandchildren and nephews and nieces facetimed her while we were out to tell her important things. I could tell that happened a lot in her day, and I thought to myself, "That's what you get for loving everyone."

Wednesday was my day with my gorgeous mom and dad.  They were in Provo being trained on a home-dialysis machine so they don't have to travel an hour both ways, 3 times a week for my dad's kidney treatment.  He's been sick for a while. We've kept in touch by phone, but it felt good to see them and hug them and be "home."  They got to meet little Isla, and Dad was thrilled with her name. I gave my dad a quick haircut in the parking lot while he sat in the van.  (He's not up to taking the stairs to the 3rd floor apartment.) I was a little scared when he said, "I'm going to like this. It's short and won't get messed up when I'm in the hospital bed." I thought, "Uh oh, it's short? Mom's going to be mad if it's too short." But she said it was fine so I'll quit thinking about it, but what I will think about is that even though I'm 55, a girl likes to be with her mom and dad. It feels safe and right and I realize that I am very blessed indeed.

And then it was time for me to go.  No more watching the new little family love each other. No more Jacob running from the car up the stairs to see the people he loves most in the world.  No more baby baths and newborn snuggles.  No more Alexa giving her all to helping Isla grow strong and healthy. Well, it's all still happening, but I don't get to watch it, but it's nice to know it's still there.

My kind sister-in-law, Stephanie, drove me to the airport. She shared her positive outlook with me and then dropped me at the Delta terminal. I checked my bag. The agent saw that I was flying standby and where I was going and said, "Good luck." I should have known I was in trouble.  "Good Luck" as in "I say that to everyone?" "Good luck" as in "It will be close but you'll probably make it?" Or "Good Luck" as in "There is not a chance in the world that you are going to Portland (Brandon and Mallory's) or Atlanta or anywhere else today, for that matter." Well, it turned out to be the latter. But I have friends in Kaysville that are loyal and generous and that I love to be with. Tom and Kathy Gill took in a poor traveler and showed me a lovely time. Tom taught me some tricks for teaching seminary, although things are a little different in the heart of Mormon land, and Kathy showed me her mother's books that had been created for her family.  There were family history books, children's books, family story books. Mind blown.  I have so many projects that I want to do now. Thanks guys, And then the same dear friend got up at the crack of not yet dawn to get me back to the airport. And 3 flights later I was headed to Atlanta, and 1 day later, my suitcase that I had checked to Portland was headed to Atlanta also. The end. Wasn't that a great story?