A Mayor in the Family

On December 2nd we gathered in the Sanger City Council Room to witness the swearing in of Josh to the Sanger City Council. He and another man from our church were elected to serve as two of the three newly-elected city council members on November 2nd.

The first order of business of the new city council was to elect a new mayor. Sanger's mayor is currently elected by the city council members. In 2012 this procedure will change as the city recently passed a measure in November which will give the residents of Sanger the opportunity to elect their mayor. The current mayor and Josh were nominated. By a 3-2 vote Josh was elected to serve as the new mayor of Sanger. Many of the residents of Sanger are Hispanic and because he is bilingual he will be able to communicate with those residents who are Spanish speaking only. He has great ideas for the City of Sanger and he and the city council members are ready to go to work as a team to help move the city in a positive direction.

Josh now sitting in the mayor's chair next to the newly-elected mayor pro tem, who is also a newly elected member of the city council.

The New Little Brother!

Tyson Abinadi Mitchell was born on Saturday, June 6, 2009, at Saint Agnes Hospital in Fresno. He weighed 6 lbs. 10 oz. and was 19-3/4" long. Proud parents are Josh and Bethany and big brothers are Brett and Luke.



Proud papa Josh in the hospital with Tyson!



Middle brother Luke trying to give Tyson his pacifier.



Oldest brother Brett trying to help out with Tyson.



Home in my own bed at last!

What's Growing in My Garden?

The first pick of the garden goes to the Zucchini on May 25th


The tallest plant in the garden is the Yellow Pear Tomato


The longest plant in the garden is the pumpkin with a span of about 10-12'. There are 3 plants in the picture.


Here is the first baby pumpkin "Cinderella".


The watermelon are quite a bit behind the pumpkins, but they were planted later, so I have to give them a break!


The first yellow squash growing.


Bush cucumbers, by the way, not as in George Bush :)


The first cucumber (can you see it?)


Last, but not least, the strawberry patch. We were given these blocks for free and I think using them for the strawberry bed gives it kind of a rustic country look.

In case you are wondering about the beige color on the ground in some of the pictures, that is for weed control. I decided I did not want to weed between the pumpkin vines or around tomato plants - both make me itch.

The New Little Sister!

This is the new little sister - Aubrey Lynn Mitchell - with big sister Maddie in the hospital. Aubrey was born on Monday, March 11, 2009, at around 4:25 p.m. She weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz. and was 19-1/2" long. Grandmas Peggi and Pam along with dad Ben were present for the delivery.

Grandma Peggi with Aubrey. Aubrey is just about 1 week old.

Not another picture!

I apologize for the lack of pictures right now. Wouldn't you know that my camera had a dead battery in the hospital. Of all the times for that to happen. Yes, I did check the battery before I left the house and the recharger indicated it was charged. Always have a back-up battery!

Guess Who's 25 Today!

See how many pictures it takes before you guess who this is!

The mystery person is Katie's husband, Jeffrey!

~~HAPPY BIRTHDAY!~~

My Dad Would Have Been 80!

My dad would have been 80 on May 3rd. He was born in the small town of Herman, Arkansas. He passed away here in Fresno on April 15, 2004. My dad was 1 of 12 children, including 2 sets of twins. He was raised on a farm, where the kids were the hired hands! He had a hard time understanding raising kids in the city, where there was not too much for them to do. As far back as I can remember my dad planted tomatoes and bell peppers each year, no matter where we lived. Even at the end of his life when he was in the hospital he was concerned about planting his tomato plants. I would reassure him that we would see that it would be done and he would relax. Sounds as though you just couldn't take the country farm out of the man! He hitchhiked to California when he was 16 to live with his sister in Stockton. He eventually joined the Marines. He and my mother were married in Stockton and moved to Fresno. My dad worked as a chef. When he and my mother were newlyweds he worked at Bruce's Lodge. I always found this restaurant fascinating as there was an airplane which had been placed in the roof as though it had nose-dived into the roof. My parents owned a coffee shop in Fowler, CA when I was very young. They said during the busy lunch hour they would sit me in the corner of the kitchen with a plate of french fries and Roquefort dressing to dip them in. Kind of a strange thing to eat! He worked/owned restaurants throughout my life. We lived in Fresno, Bakersfield, and Lake Elsinore. When I was 14, we lived in Lake Elsinore where my dad owned a restaurant. When the regular employees who worked in the kitchen did not come in for work, my dad would have my mom bring me in to work either washing dishes or making sandwiches. Hmm, I wonder if that was left over from his days on the farm where the kids were the hired help as I was never paid for working! Even after he "retired" he worked part-time at the Moose's Lodge and Elks' Lodge of which he was a member of each. He continued to work as a chef until he absolutely became too ill to work. He was always in charge of the family Christmas dinner each year, even when it was painful for him due to his cancer. Christmas of 2003 was the last meal he prepared for us. His strength to endure cancer treatments amazed me. He was always willing to try the next treatment - he was not giving up without a fight. He passed away at the VA Nursing Home with all of his kids and grandson Jeffrey by his side. I don't have too many family pictures of which I am in possession, but I will share a couple which I found.

My dad about the time he met my mom - about 1948?

Mom & Dad on their wedding day in 1949.

The famous "Egg Parties". Each Saturday night when my dad returned home from work around 2 a.m., we would wake up and he would fix us breakfast, even though he had spent hours working in a very busy restaurant that often served over 1,000 people on a Saturday night. That's me watching. I was about 5-1/2.

Cinco De Mayo - Look Who's 4 Today!

Maddie's Party Invitation

The Giant Mrs. Field's Chocolate Chip Cookie!

Blowing out all 4 candles on the cookie

Group shot of all the wranglers!

In the bounce house with

cousins Brett (2-1/2) & Luke (14 months)

Too much bounce house for this little wrangler!

Happy Birthday Maddie - we love you too!