HAPPY BIRTHDAY - JUSTIN CHARLES

This is our second son...Justin Charles Mooney on the day he was born.
I would apologize for the quality of that photo...but I didn't take it.

This is a better look at him on the day he was born...

even better...here is the new Mr. Mooney with his eyes open.

This is Justin in his personally knit green sleeper that Judy took to the hospital to bring him home in...of course it was a gender neutral colour.

Here he is when we got home. Looks mighty content doesn'g he?

This is a typical picture of Justin...sleeping on the couch.

Oh...Oh...taboo!! Justin sleeping on his front...we were so naive..but then Judy and I were only kids ourselves.

Here's Justin's first real posed photo by a professional photographer...(the first picture in this blog was obvioulsy not done by a professional). I expect the gash between his eyes was a battle wound inflicted by his big brother.

This little boy was a smiler...still is...and so are his kids...wonder where he got that big smile?

Looks like Justin's first Christmas.

Maybe his big smile came from the hot mama bringing him his first birthday cake...ya think?

Justin had big brown eyes...we always said they looked like two pee holes in a snowbank...and a little button nose...

Oops...we let our boys play with dolls...but we tried to offset that with building blocks

This is Jusin at two years old with his brother James who is 11 months older than him.

Here's the second birthday cake...you can see that we cut someone out of the picture.

The boys were only 11 months apart and we usually took the easy way out by having them celebrate together. Never really thought much about it but we sure heard about it as the boys got older...and we still do...sorry boys...

Our neighbour worked at Eaton's and quite often brought home treats for the boys. She did this on the bus...neighbours were, and are special people. Justin just ran out of gas here...and again...Justin sleeping on the couch. Notice the heavy duty shoes on his feet...wouldn't catch kids these days wearing ankle high leather shoes like that...would ya?

This looks like birthday number 3.

Poor kids couldn't even get their picture taken by themselves...but that will soon change with the start of annual school pictures...

This was our little family in about 1977.

This is Justin's fourth birthday. For those of you who know them the little girl is Jennie Cox and the little boy beside her is her brother Brian Cox.

This is the way I remember Justin...

He always had a glint of mischief in his eyes...

Aaahhhhh...the start of school pictures...parents love 'em...

This would be ECS at St. Margaret's School in Calgary.

Christmas was always a fun time around our house. Notice the size of the boys stockings hung by the chimney with care. They still want to use them.

Justin in grade 1 at Collingwood Elementary in Calgary.

He was such a dresser...you saw a sequel to this photo on Josh's birthday blog....

Here's Justin in his first year in hockey with the Triwood Tykes. We had no intention of putting our kids in hockey but this coach talked us into it...the guy giving Justin his first hockey trophy is none other than our long time friend Wayne Holmgren.

Justin is second from the left on the front row. His brother James is just behind him at the end of the back row. Jeffrey Holmgren, a life long friend of the boys is in the centre of the back row right behind the goaltender.

Somehow I found the time to coach Justin in baseball. I actually think it was T-ball but it's so long ago that I really can't remember.

I'm the funny looking guy with the blue shirt. Looks like I didn't shave much back then.

The other coach lived up our back lane and our kids played together. His name, if my memory serves me correctly, was Eric Courtney.

Here's grade two at Collingwood Elementary. Justin seems to be missing a tooth or two.

Judy was always talented at sewing. She made these costumes for the boys to wear out on Halloween. James was a clown...and I think Justin was a mouse.

This is Justin's second and last year playing with the Triwood Hockey team.

Gotta love those big glasses...and that big smile!

This is Justin in grade 3 at Elsie Dorsey school in Regina. We moved there so I could go back to finish my education at the U of R. Justin now lives within a block of his old elementary school in Regina.

Justin played one year of Novice hockey in Regina with the Canadians.

Another Christmas...this time in Regina...I used to call Justin by many nicknames...one of them was "Bones". He was such a skinny kid....my how times have changed.

Justin played one year of Atom hockey in Regina with the Sabres. He is the goaltender on the right end of the front row. He was a pretty good goaltender...even won a trophy...still has it on his dresser in his bedroom.

Grade 4 in Regina.

Justin was always active in sports...

Here's Justin at the Laverne Tetreau farm. We were at the farm for Horse Creek Bible School and Laverne had his horses in a fenced pasture close to the farm yard. Justin would take some long stems of grass and go out to the pasture to try to catch a horse. Laverne told him that if he could catch a horse he would let him ride it. Needless to say no one expected the horse to be dumb enough to let a kid catch it. But he did...he worked and he worked...perseverence paid off and he did get to ride the horse...ten gallon hat and all.

Grade 5 in Estevan.

Grade 6 in Estevan

Grade 7 in Estevan at Estevan Junior High.

Grade 8 in Estevan at Estevan Junior High. Coincidentally this is the time when Justin met his future wife...how can you blame her for chasing him down...I mean...just look at that smile!!!

This should be grade 9 back in Calgary at David Thompson Jr. High.

And then she caught him...or at least it seemed like it was that quick.

After they were married Justin spent about 10 years growing up...

At least that's what his wife would have you believe....I think he spent about 10 years goofing around...

And then came our first grandchild...Caden John...

Christmas as a family...

Here's Justin Charles with my first grandson Caden John on his second birthday. Justin looks about as excited about the sparklers as Caden...

And then...BAM...Dylan Michael....Evan Timothy....Liam David...TRIPLETS...my second, third and fourth grandsons...

This is Justin proving to the nurse in the hospital nursery that he is in fact their father...this is only about an hour after they were born.

Here's my son, in his STAMPEDER jersey...(GO STAMPS GO) with his four sons...three in the crib...all wearing STAMPEDER shirts...on Grey Cup Sunday...2008.

And here he is now...Mr. Mom...I have never seen a man who takes such pride and displays such love and patience for his children...well done my son. Yo' mama and yo' papa are incredibly proud of you.

Have an incredible birthday.

Oh crap...I forgot the picture of Justin in his birthday suit....

....next year...ya'll come back now...ya' hear!

Stay Tuned

I feel a blog brewing. There's a couple of birthdays coming up in our family in just two more sleeps...and one of them is HUGE!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY - JACQUIE

OK...OK...the family has just gone home from the party and now we can have a look at those birthday pictures I promised you.

It's June 5th and that means its our baby girl's birthday. Well, I suppose I should clarify. Jacqueline Michelle Mooney was born on this day in a previous century...actually in a previous millenium. She was our last child, and our only daughter, so she will always be daddy's little girl...gotta grab a hanky and catch that tear...gimme a minute...

This is Jacqueline on the day we brought her home from the hospital.

Notice the dresses.

This is the first time Judy took a dress to the hospital to bring a baby home.

You may wonder why that is significant. In the old days we didn't get weekly ultra sounds and we had no idea going in to the hospital if we would be bringing a boy or a girl out of the delivery room with us. We had gone in to the hospital four times, prepared each time with a new colourful hand knit sleeper. Each time we came home with a new son. This time was different. Judy was aching for a daughter and she was determined to bring this baby home in a dress. Not only did the baby have a new dress to come home in. Judy had made a matching dress for herself to come home in.

I still have this little doll in my top dresser drawer.


Our little girl grew up quickly with three big brothers to try to keep up with.



She didn't have much hair though.



Here's Jacqueline's first birthday cake. What a lovely combination of green and pink.

This is Jacqueline, Joshua (sucking his thumb) and their cousin Matthew Stanley Tucker.

I had to throw in this picture just to show you the tongue. Jacqueline had more tongue than an RCMP boot when she was a baby. She could barely get the whole thing in her mouth.

She was always a sweet child. But never more sweet than when she powered out and fell asleep.

This is Jacqueline on her second birthday.

She always loved pink and frills...didn't she?

Here's Jacquie and Josh feeding the geese in Wascana Park in Regina.

Later that fall I came home from goose hunting and Josh and Jacquie were really upset. When we finally got to the bottom of their trauma Josh explained through his tears that he had fed that goose...

Jacquie was a whirlwind of activity. She went hard and fast all day long...but when she powered out she just tucked in and went to sleep.

This is Jacquie sleeping on the mat just inside the front door...and it's winter...in Saskatchewan and not a very warm place to sleep. I like to tell people she loved her dad so much that she was just waiting at the door for Daddy to come home...but I took the picture...so the truth is she just ran out of gas and crashed.

This is the four kids on Jacquie's fourth birthday. Don't you just love those huge glasses...and party hats?

Here's a better look at the princess.

Outa gas again.

This looks like number six.

Here's one of Jacquie's school pictures. Every kid loves their school pictures...don't they?

Maybe there was a spider on the ground.

This is without a doubt my all time favourite picture of my little girl.

She was a flower girl for her cousin Bradley's wedding.

Oh, he was a lot older than she was...

Another school picture...with her teeth grown back in.

I think this is about nine years old.

This is Josh and Jacquie on our deck in Calgary. She sure looks serious....like she is just about ready to punch somebody out...

Good thing schools take pictures...

...cause parents just love to drag those pictures out...

...and show them to people...

...to embarass their kids....

...and get a little revenge....

...for all of the grey hair....or no hair that they have caused them over the years!

I know this look well...

I don't know...looks like Judy conned Jacquie into something...maybe Judy is going after a little revenge of her own.

High School graduation.

Gotta say I was proud of the way this girl stepped up in High School.

Student body president.

It took a wheelbarrow to haul her awards home at the end of the year.

Brains...and an athlete too!

Oh...I couldn't resist the 23rd birthday picture!

University of Calgary Graduation...with a degree...

And today on her birthday, just before she went off to work...saving lives.

Happy Birthday darli'n. Your dad is very proud of you.

One More Sleep

It's June 4th. Yesterday was Justin and Jennifer's 14th anniversary. It was also big sister Sheila's big birthday...can't give a number cause that would be revealing a secret that all women want to keep...but next year it will be a really big number....retirement range number if you get my drift.

And tomorrow...after one more sleep...it will be baby daughter Jacqueline Michelle's birthday. I feel a photo frenzy coming on....stay tuned...