Happy New Year! January 1, 2015

The littlest feet

make the biggest footprints

in our hearts.

Happy New Year to all of you and your loved ones! 2014 was an amazing year for us and for our entire family. Among the most important things that happened in our family in 2014 was the birth of 3 babies. Pictured below are Karver Bearden (parents Lyndsey Aquiningoc and Colton Bearden), Kellan Shepard (parents Rachel Shepard and Bryan Miller) and Mason Shepard (parents Pat and Nicole Shepard).

It's All About The Babies. In the last 5 years, 8 children have been born into the family of Maida and Eugene Shepard. That makes 8 births in 57 months, or about one birth every 7 months since 2010.

Consider that in that same period of time 3 other births occurred in my aunt Thelma Shepard Boyd's part of our family. That means that in the last 5 years, the descendants of William and Bura Davis Shepard have produced a total of 11 children, approximately one birth every 5 months. Clearly that is a rapid clip, and qualifies as a baby boom for our family. I do not know of another time when so many babies were born among us over such a short period of time. We celebrate these new members of our family and rejoice with the happy parents and grandparents. 

Here are the names, birthdates and hometowns of these 11 children:

Preslea Shepard (3/26/10) - San Diego
Logan A. Shepard (5/15/11) - San Diego
Isaac Ortiz (4/23/2012) - San Diego
Dominic Ortiz (4/23/2012) - San Diego
William Shepard (7/28/12) - San Diego
Carsyn Slaughter (1/5/13) - San Diego
Kambree Bowman (6/14/13) - Weatherford, Texas
Logan J. Shepard (7/21/13) - Bothell, Washington
Karver Bearden (9/23/14) - Weatherford, Texas
Kellan Shepard (10/01/14) - Kirkland, Washington
Mason Shepard (12/12/14) - Bothell, Washington

It is gratifying to know that the future of our family is assured and is in good hands.

Happy Birthday Chenda! 3 of the births mentioned above are children of our son Nathan and his wife Chenda Sou Shepard, whose 35th birthday is today! Best wishes and many happy returns of the day to Chenda, who lives with her family in San Diego. She stays busy with her 3 young ones and her job as child care attendant at our church. Chenda also loves gardening and tends a beautiful landscape around their house. The second picture, taken last month, shows Chenda with William, Preslea and Logan.

Happy 32nd to Darrell and Mary! Before leaving 2014 altogether, I want to wish happy anniversary to my brother Darrell and his wife Mary Medina Shepard of Kirkland, Washington. They were married in Abilene, Texas 32 years ago yesterday. Darrell and Mary are the proud grandparents (and I DO mean proud!) of three of the baby boomers mentioned above. Pictured below are Mary and Darrell with Darrell's mother Maida Shepard.

Mary gets the last word today with the following, which she posted on Facebook a few days ago: Wishing all of my family and friends and facebook peeps a very Happy New Year! This past year was a year of many changes and many blessings. I am thankful for all of the people in my life and thankful most of all for my 3 beautiful grandsons, Logan, Kellan and Mason. You boys give me the most joy of anything in this world! I am also thankful for my children who are doing so well and are all happy. My husband and I will celebrate 32 years of marriage on 12-31, and it has been a fun ride, bumpy at times, but mostly fun! I hope that each and every one of you that reads this knows how much you enrich my life and how much I love you and hope that you are doing well in your life! May 2015 bring many joys and much laughter and abundant love to you!
- - -
Steve Shepard