Grandpa Norris, the best dirty old man around!

John R. Norris, 83, of Nashport, died Monday, March 24, 2008, in Kissimmee, Fla.

He was born June 23, 1924, in Zanesville, a son of the late Basil and Nellie Mae Simmons Norris. He was a graduate of Lash High School. He joined the Army during World War II and served in North Africa, Italy, France and England, during which he was awarded three Bronze Stars. He was a member of American Legion Post 29, Masonic Lodge of Amity 5 for more than 60 years and the Grand Chapter of the Royal Arch Masons of Ohio. His employment career included work at Sears, Roebuck & Co., Detroit Harvester, Shellman Plastics, Racine Hydraulics and Dana Corporation, from which he retired in 1986. John was a member of the Muskingum United Presbyterian Church.

John leaves his wife, Maxine Roberts Norris, to whom he was married for more than 60 years. John will be missed by his children, Dan and his wife, Alecia, of Zanesville, Karen and her husband, David, of Lancaster, Patrick and his wife, Holly, of Zanesville and Rex of Winslow, Maine. He will also be missed by his grandchildren, Daniel Norris II, Michelle Norris, Sabrina Norris, Kari (Davis) Kern and her husband, Jarrod, Kenzi (Davis) Tainow and her husband, Mat, Jeremy Norris and Jessie Norris Roberts and her husband, Levi. His great-grandchildren, Danielle Norris, Jonathan Back, Tyler Norris, Chloe Kern, Courtney Kern and Parker Roberts will miss their great-grandpa as well. Baby Tainow will hear of her loving great-grandpa when she arrives in July. Surviving are brothers, Fred Norris of Zanesville, James Norris of Arizona and Richard Norris of Florida. He also is survived by many nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by three brothers, Basil Jr., Zane and William; a sister, Beatrice Norris Mattey; and a great-grandson, Davis Kern.

Calling hours will be held from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 27, at the Bolin-Dierkes Funeral Home, 1271 Blue Ave., where Masonic Lodge services will be held at 5:45 p.m.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, March 28, 2008, at the funeral home, with the Rev. Charles Norris officiating. Burial will follow in Rose Hill Cemetery in Roseville. VFW George Selsam Post 1058 will hold full military rites at the graveside.

To send a note of condolence to the family: www.bolin-dierkesfuneralhome.com.

Weblink: http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080326/OBITUARIES/803260319/1023

Kenzi's Personal thoughts...
He was a fabulous grandpa with endless dirty jokes and funny boxer shorts. He loved for you to "pull his finger" and would find many, many tresures laying along any street he past. The streets will be a little less clean without Grandpa around.
I miss him already!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Stripe is done!

The stripe is completed so we are just working on finding a rug or some sort of flooring.

23 weeks!

Picture Jubilee

Courtney turns one!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=19tjkeux.4gsjquzh&x=0&y=8wzvxt

Atlanta Tornado pics
Katie's Pics: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=dxpwbzl.9kiomnn1&x=0&y=xyda42

My Pics: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=ye4x3se.c683ao0m&x=0&y=1pyx55

Gene's Pics: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=d0yzdzr.ceya7c4j&x=0&y=-2srfct

Stripe is nearly complete!

Holy Crizap!! Things are okay here. We had some roof damage and Mat went up during a storm break to fix it and thank goodness he did. It started hailing ginormous hail. I was on my way home from a baby shower and went into an underground Target parking deck. Then it stopped and I drove the last mile home only to get caught in another hail storm in my driveway. So I sat in my car for while.

ANYWAY, last night was crazy! Thank goodness I wasn't working but all my co-workers are okay. There was lots of leakage inside CNN and near my desk in the newsroom. And the hotel that attached to CNN (the omni) is really destroyed. I am sure you have all seen pictures. We went downtown this morning to check out Sidebar downtown and its is miraculously okay. Downtown is a mess, as I am sure you have seen. So scary!

Thank you for thinking of us!!
To see all my pictures, click here http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=ye4x3se
.c683ao0m&x=0&y=1pyx55

The stripe is taped!

21 and 22 week pictures

Due to some additional visitors that we might now have to our little blog here, I am keep my belly pictures to a minimum. But here are week 21 and 22.

I wasn't feeling 100% yesterday but I am better today. Guess I will have good days and bad days. I am still not feeling any movement which is concerning me but apparently I shouldn't worry. I should be feeling it annnnny day now. We go back for another ultrasound at the end of the month. That will be another relief to see the little booger moving around. The baby's room is coming along and I will be really happy when that is done. Then we can get some furniture! The stripe is taped off so hopefully painting will resume this weekend.

Baby Mat in Baby Bedding

We got a fabulous gift from Grandma Terri and Captian Jon! Here is all the bedding that we received yesterday. Kari is still using the crib so we don't have anything to put it in so I made Mat a make-shift crib. Hopefully Baby Girl T won't be that hairy!

Don't you love when you have dinner and are like "okay, what's next". I can't believe I am still hungry!!

So last night, I guess I had a sweet tooth cause I drug Mat to the grocery with me after dinner and we purchase $15 worth of assorted ice cream products! I don't think Ben & Jerry's Oatmeal cookie ice cream ever tasted that good!

When finishing up the room, I wanted to make sure I had the colors right. So I ordered this pillow off my registry. It's so cute! The monkey's belly is fuzzy.




And we finally finished painting the room. 2 coats, 1 gallon of paint. Woohoo! I love the color.

We are painting the nursery!

The cutest card ever!

This is going to be a great addition to a baby journal that I don't have yet. Amy and her mom KC made this card for Mat and I over the weekend. These pictures don't do it justice, it's just as cute as a button!

I just have to share...

I just have to share...the ultrasound went great on Friday.

So Quickie has been wavering all week about finding out the gender on Friday. Yes I want to know. No I don't want to know. Back and forth, back and forth. So we are sitting in the doctors office on Friday and he just breaks down. The doctor told us previously that we had to look away. Quickie wasn't really into doing that. He couldn't believe that we could find out and just weren't. He was bothered by someone else knowing what we were having and he didn't know. Drama! Anyway, he gives a pretty convincing argument in the doctors waiting room. His point being that when the baby is born and is happy and healthy, the fact that it's a boy or a girl is going to be lost. Pretty good point and I hadn't thought about it like that. But he left the decision up to me. So we get called back to the doctors office and we get in room number 8 (which is my favorite number).

The craziness of the day, my niece Courtney's surgery, the fear that something is wrong with the baby, it all over comes me and immediately when I lay on the table and see the baby. I start crying. I think I cried the whole time. It was just amazing to see the little booger squirming all over the place. Note: Pictures are posted on the blog.

So we start at the head and work our way down. Everything looks great which is a great relief. The technician didn't really talk last time so we thought there was something wrong. But she was really great this time telling us everything. So Quickie sat there as we held hands and she asked me the dreaded question...do you want to know the gender? Quickie looked at me with such excitement in his eyes and said--it's totally up to you...so I said...YES! Holy cow! I couldn't believe that I just agreed to do something I hadn't wanted to since day one! Sooooo, the tech flashed us a quick shot and when in for a closer look. From that first flash we both knew right away. She focused in and had us guess and we both knew 100% that it was a GIRL! Holy cow! The tech left and as we waiting for the doctor we both just hugged and cried. Okay, I cried but I think he shed a tear or two. I just couldn't believe it. It was so surreal. So the doctor came in and all looked great. She was being stubborn at this point and wouldn't flip. So we couldn't see the "goods" again and she wouldn't flip so the doctor could see the back of the heart. So we get to come back in 4 weeks for another ultrasound which is great news. I can't wait! It's going to be huge at that point so we can probably see a ton more.

ANYWAY, so after the appointment, we were just in total shock. So we went to Babies-r-us to start our registry. We walked around in a daze. Man that store is HUGE! My list was super ultra helpful and I think Quickie was very impressed with my knowledge of exactly what we wanted/needed. Big-ups to you ladies who helped me with that.

After that we went to our typical post-baby-appointment dinner at Cheesecake Factory and talked about the days events. There was so much happiness and shock. We just couldn't get over it. Finding out the gender totally put an identity on little baby T. It's actually a She now. We already have a name picked out (it's a secret). We decided on a girl name a long long time ago so it's just perfect. We just kept looking at each other and flipping out! You couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces :-)

After that Quickie wanted to get some books on Fatherhood so we headed to Barnes & Noble but not before we call all the parents to let them in on the big surprise. My Mom was for sure it was a boy so she was shocked! Everyone was shocked! Kari, my sister was very happy for us and will keep Baby girl T well clothed through her early teens. She has two little girls as well.

Anyway, Quickie picked up a couple books and is blowing through them like Baby girl T is coming out tomorrow. He is very excited.

I can not possibly keep this a secret for much longer! I just had to share!! So everyone knows now!! Woohoo! I am sure by the end of the week, the Pope might know that we are having a girl!

Courtney in her pretty pink cast!

New car for Baby T to legally drive in!

So we got a new car! 2004 Honda Pilot EX-L. We picked it up on Saturday and I am almost 100% scared to drive it! I am so glad that Mat is home and now he can drive it. So we are a Honda family and I love it! At least we know it's going to last a long time. It fits 8 peeps, had a DVD player and is big enough to fit all my friends :-) Oh yeah, and the baby T too!

Courtney's surgery was a success! Great news for everyone! It was a very long day so everyone seems to re-cooping today. Courtney is in her cast now for 12 weeks. Then braces. She is resting at home today. Kari and Jarrod are hanging in there. Their strength gives me strength...
Please keep them in your thoughts!

Mat and I are off to buy a new car! Well, a new-to-us car! Then he is off to Boston for the weekend. So I get to play with the new car. I'll post pics of the new car asap!