Howe Home: 2019

2019 This year was a little tougher, with major life changes that have continued to affect us now 7 years later.

But before it got tough, Henry learned to dunk...

and play piano.

Joey is a little Star Wars cutie pie.

I don't remember making this pinewood derby car but we must have...

because here Isaac is getting it onto the track. Sooooo happy we never had to do one of these again as the Church ended their century long relationship with the BSA by the end of this year.

Love his smirk here. It's like he knows he will never have to do an Eagle project or something.

The boys just hanging out.

Nick with his hands full...ah, just wait til they are teenagers. :-P

We're getting closer every day with this one. Father and son at one of our favorite restaurants--Shaggy's.

Isaac was the tallest in school in pretty much every grade from the beginning.

I guess Henry also wanted to learn to play the tuba, or euphonium, or whatever that small one is called. :-)

Pokemon are real.

For some reason I got these two photos of my mom's mom this year--Ruth (Stoker) Gardener. She was so beautiful!

Spencer continued to serve his mission in the jungles of Peru. This year the church announced missionaries could call family once a week instead of twice a year and it changed everything! I love that they announced this change around Valentine's Day. This was a great blessing considering what was going to happen soon.

We went to Montgomery to visit my parents and sisters at the Woodhill Rd house I grew up in. Here is Isaac visiting the backyard.

Then we went to visit the Montgomery Zoo--the photo is a bit dark but from left to right is my dad, Rose, my mom, Isaac, Becky, and Jessie.

While we were at the zoo visiting animals in cages, Spencer was in Peru getting some hands-on experience. No thank you.

Back in Hunstville, our whole family went to the Botanical Gardens.

Jeremy buddies!

There was some kind of Chinese lantern festival going on there.

Millie looks concerned...but very cute too.

Henry's riding in style.

And being adorable.

Isaac continuing to stand head and shoulders above his peers.

And being such a good uncle still.

Joey and Isaac playing tug of war at a church activity.

Proof of those weekly video calls from Spencer in Peru that were so nice--I lived for Mondays!

Hannah gets asked to church prom by...

Ben Sandstrom...and here they are possibly making gang signs at me. But little did I know what was coming.

After I got home from dealing with being in charge of Prom (an exhausting multiple day project) on April 20th--and didn't it turn out nicely?--the theme was "A Starry Night"...

I barely got to sleep around midnight and maybe around 1am on April 21st which was Easter, Jer had his first grand mal seizure--completely out of the blue and without me even understanding what was happening at the time...he fell out of bed and was seriously convulsing....I thought he was literally dying...I called 911, they came and took him away in an ambulance and I followed in my car after waking up Hannah and telling her what happened and that everything was going to be fine and then drove to the ER and fell apart on the way and had to have Hannah talk to me on the phone, now her becoming the one to tell me everything was going to be fine...let's just say it was absolutely traumatic and even now I can't think of it without tearing up... so very much has happened with this, leading up to a brain surgery that happened in February of this year (2026). I know they are called tonic-clonic seizures now but it is weird to say so I am sticking with what I know. Jer has said that these seizures make him feel like someone has hit him with a truck.

We will see this setup many more times.

But life doesn't stop even when your world has been turned upside down and youth conference and YW Camp would soon follow. Youth conference was at Jacksonville State University east of Birmingham in Alabama.

While these events for the youth are always so much fun and awesome...they are also stressful and exhausting which is how I ended up like this one night in the dorms.

My second year of being in charge of Stake YW Camp included the 4th of July which ended up being awesome.

Here are two of my awesome YCLs (one of whom is my daughter) helping us get food prepped. Working with the YCLs was one of my favorite experiences over the many years I did this--we have some incredible youth (including my own)!

My wonderful friends and incredible counselors--Kim Mayfield and Quincy Sorensen. I love them both so much!

I laughed so hard when we walked into one of the girls' cabins to say goodnight and we found this glow stick creation.

The Howe great grandparents came to visit and got a great picture with these cuties.

My niece Leora, giving Sarah a run for her money. She is hilarious...but quite the handful.

Good luck Sarah! Good thing she is so stinking cute!

Talk about stinking cute!

Also, I had no idea there was a picture of Henry preparing to take over Jer's Oktoberfest gigs. Cuteness overload.

Hannah worked at Chick-fil-A during the late summer.

Joey liked their play area.

Then he got to start preschool--I think this was us at grandparents day looking way too young to be there!

Then Jer had another grand mal type seizure the day after this football game we went to in Knoxville, TN to see Tennessee play BYU. At least BYU won... and we were back home before he had the seizure.

Hannah is just about to head out to Idaho to go to BYU-I--look how much Rose and Isaac love her.

Rexburg here she comes! I flew out with her to help get her set up in her dorm...and maybe have an accident with the truck we were renting and stuff...

Although I flew with her, I still had to rent a car (truck, not my choice) and drive Hannah from Salt Lake City to Rexburg (plane tickets to Idaho Falls were too expensive) and had to return the same way but got to stop at some fun places on my way back, even one with dinosaurs, even if I was by myself...and having woman problems that made me wonder if I should go to the hospital or get on the plane back to Alabama. I chose to get on the plane but goodness gracious. Saying goodbye to your daughter, getting old--all not fun.. but I have clearly learned how to smile through it all.

Treasures I found while shopping in Utah--that Chala purse lasted for a really long time and I LOVED it--I chose the llama one in honor of Spencer being in Peru.

I don't know what this picture is from but that smile on Henry's face is too cute.

And this smile from Millie.

Isaac started Karate at Alexander's Martial Arts.

We blocked Millie from our stairs by moving this sofa in the way--the kids seemed to like it.

Hannah's living her best life and making new friends out in Rexburg.

A meet-up with the Young's and Bro. Tanatauli (sp?) near the Nashville TN temple.

Halloween must be near...here's the most handsome Harry Potter ever.

Joey looking awesome in his Paw patrol uniform.

I think Millie was a mouse...certainly the cutest one ever.

And Henry was a fierce dragon.

Spencer's missionary plaque finally gets put up at church but in the building we won't be attending anymore. This fall, there was a redrawing of ward boundaries, and since we moved from the Grantham house, we would no longer be in the Madison 3rd ward but in the Athens ward. For 6 years, we would end up driving nearly half an hour to attend church and activities-- but it was totally worth it.

Isn't she lovely? Rose in her hoop earring era.

The holidays are upon us.

Star Wars just finds Jer everywhere.

Uh-oh, I realized my parents are here watching the kids take apart their gingerbread houses which appear to NOT be homemade. I think I did "kits" this year which they were not happy about. Hopefully they have forgiven me. Spencer must have been the driving force behind us doing these and with him in Peru, I guess I just wasn't as motivated.