A Very Merry Christmas: Jen and Lowell's Family

Jen & Lowell

Jen and Lowell are still living in Utah. They have blessed us with four beautiful granddaughters. They have a great home on the mountainside near BYU and hope to be there for a long time. Lowell is designing computer software and Jen is a full time wife and mommy to the girls. Here are a few photos of their family. They are just finding their way to normal again and are beyond amazing for all they have been through the past year and a half. You'll see why when you read about their little Hazel Jo. You can enlarge the photos by double clicking on them.

Piper 9 1/2

At this age Piper is becoming a young lady and it has happened so quickly. Just one day she wasn't a little girl anymore. She is bright and fun and very sweet. She loves to do anything artistic and she also is a budding young author. She sings in a choir and loves riding her bike with Grampa. She really loves reading with Daddy every night before bedtime. Piper is a good friend and has had Mitrian House as her best friend forever. Piper values obedience and is a good, tenderhearted girl. She also enjoys Activities Day with her age group at church.

One day when Hazel was having a particularly hard day in the hospital, Piper and I were the only ones there and Gramma kind of lost it. I was having a little boo-hoo fest and Piper was so precious. She just kept patting me and reassuring me that the baby would be fine. She was a great comfort to me and she was right. Hazel did get better. The faith of a child can move mountians sometimes! Piper is the best kind of oldest child. She sets a wonderful example for her sisters.

Julia 8

Miss Julia reminds me of a little girl playing Mary in a children's reenactment of the nativity in this photo. Julia is a wonderful little girl with a funny wit and a generous heart. She and Piper are a great help to their parents entertaining the little sisters and doing chores. Julia loves music, school and computer time. She is pretty caught up in High School Musical and enjoyed visiting East High this last summer where the movie was filmed in Salt Lake City. Julia loves being a girl. She like sparkly things and giving dynamite pedicures. She is funny as you will see if you watch their family video below. She is doing very well in school and reads so well. Julia Mae loves doing make-up and snuggling with Gramma. She was so excited to be baptized this year and has the gift of faith in her life. She loves it when I call her "My Beautiful Chocolate Eyes." She loves the computer and really really wants mom to let her start her own blog. And you should see this girl dance to "Isn't She Lovely!" She truly is a jewel!

Chloe 3 1/2

Chloe Jane is always moving and talking. She is our spicy granddaughter. It is hard to get a photo of Chloe that isn't blurry these days. She has the cutest personality and she definitely knows who and what she likes. She views herself as one of the big sisters and is very independent. Her best friend is Shelby House, Mitrian's sister, and she just recently told me that Shelby 'lubs' her! She is so cute with her baby sister albeit that she has stolen Hazie's binky consistently and very skillfully until Hazel gave it up a few month ago. She loves her baby and likes helping mommy take care of her. Chloe loves milk and could live on it. She has had a close relationship with her ba-ba! Chloe can be found standing on a stool, waiting for her scambled eggs she cooked herself to be done, scaling a mountain, or hanging out with her kitty on any given day. And she is oh so fond of watching videos!

Hazel ~now 15 months

Hazel is our special little granddaughter. For those of you who do not know, Hazel was born with spina bifada on Sept 24, 2007. Life is just now beginning to feel normal to Jen and Lowell. The baby was sick a lot her first year of life and during that time spent at least 60 days in the hospital being treated and tested for fevers of unknown origin. She has had 3 major surgeries in her short little life and been poked by more needles than most of us will ever see in our life time. Here is a poem I wrote about facing such trials in our lives and the blessings that come. Hazel.

I call Hazel the Crown Jewel of our family. She has blessed us in ways you cannot imagine. We all adore her and could not fathom our family being complete without her. She is the most happy, sweet little girl, she is so smiley and has always been the most popular girl on the pediatric floor when in the hospital. People come from other floors just to see how she is doing. She has many physical challenges but her mind and heart are just fine. She is learning to talk and is just adorable. She has the most incredible parents too. You never know what your own children are capable of until a challenge like this temporarily turns their lives upside down and inside out.