Sean and Katie come to Phoenix!

Okay, I'm going to start with the story of Sean and Katie's first trip with CD...I am paraphrasing so forgive any details that I may have skewed, but the general story is: the first time Sean and Katie traveled together as CD partners...well, Sean already was smitten, to say the least. So he decided to dress in a crazy bowling shirt (that has a huge HANSON on the back), plaid pants, and a wig to see if Katie could handle his madness. Apparently, it was a hit! Yes, that's our Sean...so...when he and Katie were scaling down to spend the summer in LA, he sent me the bowling shirt with a note: "Mama, check out the back of the shirt! I recommend finding a long pink skirt, a scarf, a bowling ball and a free Tuesday night!" I decided to save it for the first meeting with Katie. So the bowling shirt and the curlers were my take on Sean's Mama's outfit..it took a few takes for them to get it...why the h@#$ is my Mama wearing curlers???? But it was a wonderful "yes, that's my Mama" moment!

And you can see...the doggies loved them...especially Katie!

Welcome to our family, Katie. I couldn't have asked for a more loving and wonderful partner for Sean....

Family Resemblance

Do you see it?


I think Arya looks a little like me...wishful thinking?

Auntie Terry can't wait to meet her!

2008 In Review -- It was a very good year!

What a great year...here's my "year in review":
~Since it was a leap year, Torryn had his 3rd real birthday and Connor did too!
~Willy-Nilly joined our family.
~Kaitlin and Chivon turned 14 -- wow!
~Jean and Bill visited and were joined by Sean and Jan for Jean's 60th birthday. What fun!
~Ty, Carrie and Vance came to town for March madness...more fun!
~I joined the local Theatre Artists Studio and took acting and writing classes. It's a blast!
~Jake and Jill moved to Maricopa and have been terrific supporters of my Theatre! It's been great spending time with them.
~Jeni, Chivon and I went to CT to see the Rubinos, then we girls took the train to NYC. Lots of fun and drama with a huge thunder storm.
~Kaelin Paige Shurts was born on June 30th...a beautiful granddaughter.
~Sean turned 34 in July. Wow!
~I attended my 40th Class reunion in Arlington. What a great time and wonderful folks. I am really glad I did.
~John Johnson and I had a wonderful dinner at the farm. He loved Bill and Jean and the beauty of Bow. It was great. He was in awe of the silence of the country.
~Carrie and Zoie met me in Seattle for a Mariners game. Zoie wowed everyone around us, that's for sure.
~Barack Obama was elected President -- big WOW!
~Thanksgiving and Christmas were just terrific at Jackie's (Jake's sister). What a wonderful family...and it was really special seeing Drew too.
~Sean and Katie got married in Reno on November 15. They are beautiful and happy and I am very grateful...can't wait to meet my new "daughter"!
~Hayden Kathleen Porter turned 1 in November -- she's my fence baby!
~I played a crabby old lady in a production at the Theatre. It was a humbling but very fulfilling experience.
~My wonderful Universe conspired to get Sean assigned to lead two Challenge Days here in January...so he'll be able to spend time and again, I am very grateful.
~Torryn selected the Daytona 500 as his 13th birthday excursion...so we'll be headed there in February. What fun to look forward to!
~Thanks to all of my wonderful family and friends for a VERY good year. I am really looking forward to an even better 2009!