Photos at Lorraine and Randy's House

Last night as the kids were going to bed, I visited Randy and Lorraine who had had a very large family Thanksgiving dinner. They wanted me to take some family pictures, given that they were all together, some from out of town, and the kids were significantly older since they last had a large family picture. I got lots of great shots that I’ll be sharing with them all but shown below are a few.

Thanksgiving Dinner

We had a great day yesterday. We chilled out at home for a few hours as a family before spending the evening with Kaisa, Kevin and family who cooked a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks to you both for a wonderful afternoon and evening. As usual I got a few pictures of the children, I have pictures of this crew together since they were six months old and its so much fun seeing how much they grow each year.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everybody. Today we are all taking a little time to spend it with family and friends and to reflect a little on what we are most thankful for. I’m thankful for so many things but nothing really tops my family and their continued health. I hope you all enjoy the day, relax, don’t get too stress out and leave a little room for desert!

Lynne's Research Group

Shown below is a picture from an afternoon in September when we had most of Lynne’s research group over for dinner.  Most were able to come but a few could not make it. Connor missed not having Matt visit but Norbert really stepped up and literally entertained Connor all evening. It was a really fun evening, the kids absolutely loved playing and joking around with Mum’s “students”.  

Relaxing Sunday in a Very Cold West Lafayette

It’s cold here in West Lafayette, winter has emerged; it was 8F (-13C) this morning. Today will be a day for snuggling up at home, reading, hanging out with the kids and cooking this afternoon. Connor is really into helping in the kitchen at the moment. The only problem is that he insists on exclusivity, he does not like it when one of the girls also wants to help. Hope you all have a warm Sunday afternoon.

No Power for almost three days

There have been no updates since Sunday for good reason. We lost power on Sunday afternoon after the storm went through our area and it only returned early this morning. There was lots of damage in our area, but we escaped any serious injury. Many frustrated hours without electric and some perishable items was about the size of our pain. We’re happy to have come through unscathed. Thanks to all of you who help us, we needed that.

Keith, Jie and Jayden

We had a very relaxing evening yesterday with Keith and Jie who both work with Lynne at Purdue. The highlight of the evening however was Jayden, their three month baby boy. Our babies just did not seem that small anymore. How quickly one forgets how small and fragile newborns are. Lynne prepared a great dinner and a fun filled evening was had by all.

Thank You Brooke, We'll Miss You....

One of the most significant changes in the OwensTaylor world since I stopped updating is that Brooke is no longer or nanny.  Yes indeed, a huge change after four years. Brooke joined us before Connor was even born and over four years literally became part of our family.  She always will, just like we still hold so much love and affection for Michelle, Lindsay and Kristina before her.

It’s virtually impossible to adequately thank her for all that she did for each of our children and us over those four years. She did stuff for us before we even realized we needed her help. She loved, protected and cared for our children like they were her own. And she did so many things with them. We all thank you from the very bottom of our hearts, we already miss you dearly.

Over the last few years she completed a Masters program part-time in Human Resource Management and has now moved to Tennessee to lead the HR group of a Nestle facility. It’s never easy to move jobs or a new location, Brooke, we wish you the very best in this new role, you will do a fantastic job.