Jax and Myla

Today was the annual birthday barbecue for Bert's birthday at Bert and Ruth's home. This year all of our children opted to go (yeah! progress!). Jenny and Tracy are in Boise. Heather was at work. But everyone else came.

In the group was Jeff and Jax, with their daughter, Myla, who is 9 months old. What a sweet, darling girl she is! When I first walked into the house, Jax was changing Myla's diaper. As soon as she had her dressed again, she handed Myla to me. What a treat! I got to hold and love on this sweet girl (who had no problem at all with all of us) for a long, long time. I got lots of love from Jax, too, which was a treat (as it always is).

The first time Spencer and I came to Utah together was in May of 1988. We were engaged, and it was a trip to meet his family. Jacqueline was 8 months old at that time. She was a loving little one, too, and she let me carry her all over the place. I later became a short-term mom for this beautiful young lady. And now I got to love on her daughter, who is about the same age she was when we first "met." That was a sweet circle-of-life moment for me.

A funny: Myla is pretty darned bald. Jax asked me when she finally got hair. I told her that she was pretty bald on that first visit, and then I didn't see her again till she was 2. She had hair then. She looked a bit dismayed. I had to remind her that Myla really was going to get hair. :)

It's been a happy day.

Myla Raelle Blackham

This is a four-generation shot that includes Myla Raelle; her parents, Jeff and Jacqueline Blackham; Jax's parents, Jeff and Gayle Hill; and Jeff Hill's parents, Bert and Ruth Hill. Bert and Ruth are my parents-in-law; Jeff Hill is Spencer's brother.

When Jax was in entering 4th grade--and still using the name "Jacqui"--she lived with us during the summer. She then stayed with us during the school week and went to school at Copper Hills Elementary. She was a huge help at our house, especially with Lando, who was a baby, and I mostly just thought of her as another daughter.

Now Jax is married and has a baby of her own. And you can tell that she loves it all. She and Jeff live in Wyoming. They were able to get their own house, and she takes care of Myla and their home. She's definitely a first-time mom (they put a sign-up on the whiteboard for anyone who wanted a chance to hold the baby), but she obviously loves her. I was even more tickled by how much her Jeff (Blackham) loves both her and their baby.

Jax's dad, Jeff, who has not always been the ideal dad, gave Myla a name and blessing in their ward in Price yesterday. Jeff was not able to do this for his own children, so this was a first for him. And he did a BEAUTIFUL job. If I'm going to be completely honest, I should tell you that I often refer to Jeff as "the one who is keeping me out of the Celestial Kingdom." But this weekend he was on very good behavior, and he honored his priesthood beautifully in naming this lovely little one.

It's amazing how much I love this little girl because I love her mom so much. Now Jax has a beautiful mother (it's not me) who is an example of honored motherhood. But I can't help it--I still think of Jax as my own. And I love her daughter, even though Myla probably won't really know me at all.

But all this love reminds me that I want to be with all of these people FOREVER.

And maybe--after this weekend--I can!