#givethanks - day 5

 Today I am thankful for covenants.  A covenant is a 2-way promise with our Heavenly Father.  We promise certain things to him, and receive His blessings in return.  I am very grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who sent His Son to be our Savior.  "For God so loved the world that He sent His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."  (John 3:16)

The first covenant most of us make is baptism, where we covenant with the Lord that we will follow Him, and He promises to be our Savior, as long as we are faithful to that covenant.  He took upon Himself our sins, so we would not have to pay the price.  My favorite scripture about His Atonement is 

"For behold, I, God, suffered these things for all that they would not suffer if they would repent; but if they would not repent, they must suffer even as I, which suffering caused myself, even God, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit - and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink - Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men."  D&C 19:16-19

As part of the blessing of Confirmation, we are promised that if we are faithful, we will have the Holy Ghost as our constant Companion, to guide us and reveal to us many things, according to our needs and our faithfulness.

Then there are the covenants we make in the temple; covenants of service and sacrifice, which have enriched my life and helped me to become the person I am.

And last and most wonderful of all, the marriage covenant, where we are bound or sealed to our families forever, both our ancestors and our descendants, so  that we can be with those we love most forever.  It was for this reason that Jesus gave Peter the keys of the kingdom. (Matthew 16:19)

I am so very grateful for these promises and the joy and the structure they give my life.  I cannot imagine where I would be (or who I would be) without them. 

#givethanks - day 4

Today, I express my gratitude for this beautiful, amazing Earth that our Heavenly Father created for us to enjoy.  I am awed by its beauty, glory, and infinite variety.  I have had the opportunity to travel a bit, and I am always amazed at how every place I have visited has its own unique beauty.

I am blessed to live near one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.  It is temperate here most of the year, although sometimes it is downright hot.  I am not a beachgoer, but you can't look at this scene and not think, "Isn't this glorious?"

And there are so many other lovely places for us to enjoy.  And different seasons to add to the variety.

Last Christmas we made a brief stop for a plane change in Vail, Colorado. 

And in Utah it snowed last Thanksgiving.  It's so beautiful and clean, but so cold.

Our Heavenly Father has created masterpieces, both large...

and small...

And beauty that changes in the course of just a few moments, that will never be exactly the same again.

I remember a hymn from my childhood:

For the beauty of the Earth,

For the beauty of the skies,

For the love, which from our birth,

Over and around us lies.

Lord of all, to thee we raise,

This, our hymn of grateful praise.

And a scripture that reminds us that the Lord created the earth and its beauty to show not only His power and grandeur, but also His love for His children:

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the firmament sheweth his handiwork.  (Psalms 19:1)

I am so very grateful for this constant reminder of His love for me.  

#givethanks

#givethanks - day 3

Today, I am so very thankful for these two.  They were the best parents a girl could have asked for.  They were always so supportive of anything I ever wanted to do.  They always encouraged me to do my best, and provided a guiding hand without being overbearing.  As an adult, I marvel at the endless hours they spent driving me places, sitting through meetings and events, waiting in the car (or somewhere) while I spent hours at the library, in the days before cell phones and instant communication.  They made me believe that there was nothing I couldn't accomplish if I put my mind to it.

 Education was very important to them, perhaps because their dreams of education had been interrupted by a war.  I don't remember ever really discussing going to college.  I always knew that college was in my future, and that they would move heaven and earth to help it along.   

They taught me to be thrifty, to work hard, and to use my time productively.  They were the children of the Depression, and waste was never tolerated.  They taught me skills, homemaking of course, but also buidling things, and naturally, how to sew, knit, crochet, and create.

And they were very kind people.  I believe my dad was the kindest person I've ever met.  He seldom raised his voice (but when he did, you had better pay attention!)  

They have been gone decades now, but I still miss them every day and long for their advice.  I hear their words in my head sometimes, and know that the things they taught are still helping me along the way.

#givethanks

#givethanks - day 2

Today I'm thankful for this guy who spent yesterday out in our hot garage trying to resurrect our 20+-year old dryer. (It should be noted that this is honestly a sacrifice, as heat and household tasks are two of his least favorite things.)   

 When we first met, he promised me that life with him would never be dull, and I can honestly say he has fulfilled that promise.  Here are some scenes from a few of our more recent adventures.

 

In the spring of 2017, I heard a news report that said that United Airlines was going to retire the last 747 before the end of summer.  I casually mentioned that I had always wanted to fly on a 747, and I had apparently missed my chance.  Doug spent weeks researching various options, and we ended up flying Global First Class to Beijing in the summer of 2017.  It.  Was.  Amazing.  We had a blast.  Along with Beijing and the Great Wall, we visited Hong Kong and Hawaii on that trip (with a brief stop at the Tokyo Airport, which doesn't really count.)  Also on that trip we got to spend about 10 days with our Utah grands.  

In the summer of 2018, we went to Australia - one of the places he promised he would take me "someday."  We had an absolutely wonderful time.  

This is Doug with a Baobab Tree in a park in downtown Sydney.

And we went to the Taronga Zoo and saw kangaroos and koalas.  

 

Flying Global First class is the best way to travel.

In the fall of 2018, we went to New Zealand and visited Hobbiton, which was the actual movie set for the making of The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. It's actually a working farm, except for the movie set, so you have to go as part of a tour.  It was great fun!

In the summer of 2019, we visited Germany and had some great times.  This was taken at Schoenberg Castle, which is possibly the ugliest castle in the world.  It is however, apparently the castle nearest the place where the first Shonkwiler immigrants to America hailed from in 1757.  And despite the castle's rather hideous appearance, we had possibly the most pleasant meal we had on this particular trip sitting on a balcony overlooking the river valley on a cool July day.  One thing we learned about Europe is that they are very particular about their meal times.  Lunch was 11-1:30.  We arrived at 1:40 and had to make do with the "snack" menu.  Honestly though, it was delicious!

It's clear that we’ve had quite the adventure these last 44 years, with 9-ish moves, raising 3 kids, 5 grands. and a fair bit of travel I really never dreamed of.  He’s my best friend, and I’m so grateful that we are making this journey together.

#givethanks day 1

 

We all know that 2020 has been a wild ride.  So.  Many.  Things.  are out there to bother us, make us anxious and afraid, drain our energy, and leave us feeling weak and alone.  Yesterday, the prophet of our church, who in his professional life was a renowned cardio-thoracic surgeon, said that the prescription for this spiritual illness was to cultivate a grateful heart, and flood social media with gratitude for the next seven days.  

 

I don't have much time to blog during the school week, so I love that this week we are out of school.  I very much need the break, and I want (and need) to embark on this journey to spiritual healing.  This year has been so, so HARD in so many ways, for everyone.  Being a teacher just ratchets that up a notch.

In 2017, my family asked me what I wanted for Christmas.  I said I wanted family pictures.  For the first time in several years, we were able to get together for Thanksgiving.  My daughter took on the task of organizing us all, planning the photo, and making it happen.  Her amazing husband acted as the photographer.  I am so very thankful to them for their efforts.  To me, these photos are priceless.

 

Normally, we're like this photo above - scattered across the country and each doing our own thing, but for this one 5-day period in 2017 we got to be together, and memorialize it with these pictures.  

In fact, I think this photo is my favorite of all.  My grandson apparently decided we were done and ran off to play.  We urged him to come back and he made it back into the photo, but not quite the way we planned.  This pic makes me laugh.  I <3 <3 <3 the expressions on everyone's faces as we all watch him run back into the frame.  Just like this pic, despite our efforts to be "normal", we're a pretty crazy bunch.  

 

And now we have another sweet little spirit to bless our family, who is just a month old today.  What a little sweetheart this one is.   How I loved the time I got to spend with her family last week.

Oh, how very grateful I am for this amazing (but slightly crazy) family of mine!  They fill my life with joy and make it worth getting out of bed every day.  Each of them has a special place in my heart.  I thank my Heavenly Father every day for every one of them.

 

***If you'd like to join in, take a minute to ponder something you are grateful for, and then, if you wish, publish it on social media to create a 7-day gratitude journal you can revisit again and again.  (I find that these journaling efforts are very therapeutic to review from time to time, especially when I'm going through a rough patch.)  Use the hashtag #givethanks .  I pray it helps your spirit heal, as well as mine.

Family History Challenge - Day 10

 

This one is another ancestry dot com success story. My mother-in-law is the young woman seated here by her adoptive parents. As the family story goes, she was adopted by her maternal aunt and her husband after she was removed from her parents' home due to domestic violence. She had a pretty happy childhood, but she always had one regret -- she had a younger brother that she never heard from again.

I posted this story on ancestry dot com, and sometime later, someone responded with "the rest of the story," as Paul Harvey used to say. 

 

Samuel Wells Samuels: I am writing this assuming that you are related somehow to Sue Sanford. I believe (and have yet to research) that Samuel Sanford was adopted by Archibald Ellsworth, whom Harriet Coglizer got together with after she probably left her husband. I am making this assumption because my fiance is the grandson of Samuel Wells Ellsworth, who's mother was Harriet Coglizer and who's father was Archie Ellsworth. I hope this helps! I'm glad you posted this story, it cleared things up for my search as well.

 

It's so amazing how we can collaborate with people we've never even met to solve these family history mysteries.

 

Family History Challenge - Day 9

 

 

My great grandfather, John Young Smith - the one who made the same trip to Texas twice, first to witness a wedding and later to get married himself - was a building contractor, and apparently a fine one. When Park County, Wyoming was established in 1911, one of the first orders of business was to build a courthouse. John Young Smith was the contractor on that building, shown below. It took about a year to build and cost $45,000. The clock tower was added later. Isn't this a fine example of early 20th century design and construction?

 

Photo Credit: Richie Diesterheft from Chicago, IL, USA - Park County Court House Cody, WY via Wikipedia

Family History Challenge - Day 7

 

 

 

 

So a couple of days ago I told you about my grandmother who moved west on the train in 1900 and eloped with her friend's brother. Yesterday I told you about Howard Shonkwiler, who dropped dead in front of the Post Office. This is his family (parents and siblings) in 1893. I had seen the photo in my grandmother's collection but I don't have a copy. But thanks to ancestry dot com, now I do. Ancestry has made the search for my ancestors so much easier.

 

And just BTW - I love these old timey photographs. I love how they brought all the dining room chairs into the front yard for the photo... And how someone decided that sitting on his horse was the appropriate pose (or did he just happen to be riding by?) A mystery for certain. And then there's how everyone in the photo is looking a different direction, like they weren't ready or didn't know where the photographer was. Odd, isn't it?

 

 

 

 

Family History Challenge - Day 6

 

 

 

 

 Today's story is about the headlines. In scanning some photos recently, I found this picture of my great grandfather's obituary. I'll let it speak for itself, but I will say that as I read it, I wondered about the feelings of the recently bereaved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family History Challenge - Day 5

 

This couple are my grandparents. I've told a bit of their story before, but this one is a love story.

My grandmother was 3 years old and living with her parents in a house on the family homestead in Ohio. One cold morning, her father got up to stoke the fire and went back to bed. Perhaps he was a bit careless. A rug near the fire caught fire and though the family was safe, the house burned to the ground.

Apparently the farm wasn't really adequate to support all the families now living on the homestead, or perhaps my great grandfather was just tired of farming, but he decided to move west to look for a better life. The family moved west by train, and my grandmother remembered the trip as both exciting and a bit scary.

 

In their new home, my grandfather was able to give all of his girls (there were several) a college education. My grandmother studied and became a teacher at what was then Cheney Normal School. One summer, she was invited to visit one of her classmates and met the girl's handsome brother. Soon, a romance blossomed between them. However, her father refused to permit their marriage because he said that he didn't educate his daughters for them to become farm wives - he didn't want any of them to have to work that hard.

 

Unwilling to accept that answer, the couple eloped and was married by the Justice of the Peace in a neighboring county. This is the couple on their wedding day, as you can see from the caption, which is in my grandmother's handwriting.

Family History Challenge - Day 4

 

 

This was my paternal grandmother's family (she is the youngest, in the center between her parents.). This couple met on the wagon train moving west. Their friends fell in love and decided to get married - except that they were in Oklahoma, which was then officially Indian Territory - and no Americans could get married there. My great grandparents went along on the 7-day wagon ride as chaperones and witnesses. Apparently, they fell in love on the trip, because a week later, the same 4 people made the same 7-day trip for another wedding.

Family History Challenge - Day 3

 

 

 

 

The girl standing in the center of this photo was my mom. I think this picture was taken about 1941 or 42, but there isn't a date on my copy, so I'm not sure. My mom was the most hard-working person I ever knew. When she was eight, her mom found out she was expecting. Again. Of at least 4 previous pregnancies, my mom was the only baby that survived. When she found out she was expecting, the doctor immediately put her on bed rest. There was just one problem: It was harvest season and there were 50 or more farm hands to feed three times a day. No worries. Grandad simply moved Grandma's bed into the kitchen so she could supervise my 8-year old mother doing the cooking.... Yup, three meals a day for 50 men for several months. 

 

Sometime around 1936 my grandparents lost the farm when the banks failed (which is a whole different story.) They moved to "town" and grandad got a job with the county road crew driving big machinery. Grandma, with two toddlers by this time, took in boarders (I know one of the school teachers lived with them, along with my great grandmother from Sunday's post.) One day, grandad was working in the railroad right of way when he and his tractor were struck by a train. He was out of work for more than a year as the county and the railroad fought over who was going to pay his medical bills and rehabilitation. There was no unemployment or disability insurance in those days. The family was already in financial straits because of the depression and the loss of the farm. so this was a heavy blow. 

 

Enter my mom. Thirteen years old at the time, she worked three jobs - delivering newspapers before school, cleaning the local hotel after school, and another job on weekends. The hotel paid her in cash, so on the way home, she would stop at the grocer and get whatever was going to be on the table that evening for dinner. Their meals tended to be largely potatoes,I was told, because they were both cheap and filling.

When she graduated from high school in 1943, mom immediately moved to Bremerton and got a job with the Bremerton Navy Yard to help with the war effort.. As a kid, she was one of the few moms who worked outside the home, and she spent more than 35 years with Seattle First National Bank, rising to Assistant Vice President, quite an accomplishment for a woman in those early days of women in the work force. Since Seattle First National was also my first job, I remember her as a resource for branches near and far who wanted to know how to do things right.

 

These habits of hard work and industry were deeply ingrained throughout her life. My cousin used to say he would rather eat off my mom's floors than his own mom's plates. He said it in jest, of course, (his mom was a fine housekeeper), but it was pretty true nonetheless, and as a kid, I hated it. But mom, I've always been proud of you.

 

 

Family History Challenge - Day 2

 

 As a young mom, this woman was my inspiration! On those difficult days with my 3 kids, her story inspired me. My grandmother told me her story when I was newly married and it became ever more important as I had children of my own. 

 This lady is my great-great grandmother. The photo is her wedding picture. She was 32 years old with 5 living children (2 died before they were a year old - life was hard back then) when her husband died. A few months later, her neighbor, a widower with 9 children approached her about combining their households. They married and together had 7 more children. According to my grandmother, she raised three more children, although she didn’t say what their circumstances were or how they came into the household. I always figured, if this woman could raise 23 children, I could probably hang in there to raise my 3 kids.

Family History Challenge Day 1

 

 

 

 

 I was challenged by a friend to a Family History Challenge on Facebook - a photo a day for 10 days.  But since I went to all the work to write them and things on FB tend to get lost, I thought I'd record these 10 family history stories here on my blog. If family history interests you, you might enjoy these stories.

I spent years looking for this man - my father’s grandfather. They shared a first name, although I didn’t know that until just before my father died. I searched microfilm and all the records I could find with no luck. His was always the first name I looked for. The search went on for years. Then, for Mother’s Day one year, my husband and my daughter bought me an ancestry dot com membership and I typed in his name... and there he was, with a picture and everything! He even looks a lot like my dad. And so I embarked on a wild 2-month online journey that revealed some 6000 names in my family tree. Thanks Ancestry.

It's Great to Be Eight!

Photo credit:  Cherri Woodruff

For the last several years, husband and I have spent most of July traveling, but due to Covid, we aren't able to do that this year.  But one event I would not miss was B's baptism. We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and we baptize children at eight years old, once they're old enough to understand what they are doing.  B turned eight in April, but unfortunately, due to Covid he wasn't able to be baptised then.  Luckily, restrictions were lifted enough that he was able to be baptised on July 4th.

One of the other things that was delayed by the Covid quarantine/lockdown was a double birthday celebration for B and his grandad.  Their birthdays are just one day apart, and they had planned a picnic (mostly so that B could try out his Boy Scout cook kits that Grandad had given him.)  So while we were waiting for the other family members to arrive, we headed to the park to have our picnic.  B chose a menu of Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee spaghetti and hot dogs, 😂😂😂 (again so he could get maximum use of his cook kit.)  We all ate spaghetti and hot dogs from the cook kit "dishes" and cleaned up with the few paper towels we remembered to bring. 

And lest you think B was unsupervised, that is far from the truth.  His Uncle Sean (being an Eagle Scout himself) was Johnny-on-the-spot in the supervision department.  Naturally, Grandad supervised as well, so B was well looked after.

Photo credit:  Cherri Woodruff

Finally, the time arrived, we all got ready and headed to the church.  B was very excited.  Granny and Papa provided the lovely towel.  Grandad and I made sure he had a new shirt and tie for the event.

Photo credit:  Cherri Woodruff

Several family members were able to be present to share B's special day.  (Utah allows groups of up to 25).

Photo credit:  Cherri Woodruff

Afterwards, the kids played with their cousins for hours!  (They have a lot of cousins - this was only 3 of the 5 families on SIL's side.  Our only other grandchild and her parents live in Canada and the border is closed, so they could not come.)

Photo credit:  Cherri Woodruff

We had some quieter moments too.  (I love this sweet pic of E and her little cousin just chatting.)  We had a lovely dinner of beef brisket and pot luck sides.  (I made gluten free banana pudding, and it was a huge hit!  It was cool, creamy, and so delicious.  My SIL said he hadn't had banana pudding in years.  I am always thrilled when I can make a gluten free dish that everyone enjoys!  I'll share the recipe below in case anyone is interested.  Please note that this recipe is only gluten free - it is NOT fat-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, or flavor-free.)

And then...  Fireworks!

Congratulations, B!  Happy Birthday, America!  And happy belated birthday to B and Grandad!  Needless to say, the kids (and adults) were exhausted by the end of the day, but it was truly wonderful.

Gluten-Free Banana Pudding

1 box GF graham crackers
1 box Jello vanilla pudding (it's GF - good to know, right?)
1 quart heavy cream
1-1/3 c. milk
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 bananas

Place 3 graham crackers in a zip lock bag and crush with a rolling pin.

Mix vanilla pudding with 1-1/3 c. milk, then add 2 c. heavy cream.  Set aside.

Whip 2 c. heavy cream until stiff.  Add sugar and vanilla.  Set aside.

Slice bananas. 

Line the bottom of 9 x 13 glass dish with the GF graham crackers.  Spoon half of the pudding in a layer on top of the graham crackers.  Place a layer of sliced bananas on the pudding to cover.  Repeat.  Top with whipped cream. Sprinkle crumbled graham crackers on top.

The Wedding Quilt

I haven't had a chance to do much quilting this summer, but I did manage to get a quilt made for Sean and Jessica as a wedding gift.  Sean suggested I use their wedding colors.  Even though it looks blue in the photo, the colors are really seafoam and gold, with some beige and champagne as the background.

Originally, I was going to use a pattern from an MSQ tutorial, but I cut the blocks wrong and decided that I wasn't going to waste them, so I decided to do something else.

So I got out the computer and spent a couple of hours playing on EQ7.  Good thing I did, too, because without a guide, I'm not sure I would have had any of these HSTs (there are 320 of them!) where I wanted them. 

As it was, I checked them off as I finished each row, so keeping it straight wasn't too bad.

I showed just a couple of sneak peeks on Instagram to keep it as much of a surprise as possible.  It was hard not to share it as I went.

Since I was in such a time crunch, my dear friend Marcy let me use her long arm.  This Greek Key design seemed perfect for the HST design since the square corners contrasted so nicely with the triangles of the HSTs.

I used pretty much all the scraps I had to bind the quilt.  It was the middle of the night on July 3 and there was no chance to run back to the store.

As it turned out, I finished it a good 2 hours before they pulled in the driveway.

And I think they liked it.

Yet Another Wedding Celebration!

I was home just about a week before it was time to celebrate again - this time was Sean and Jessica's open house here in Pensacola.  We decided to have it in the park nearby.

Sean and Jessica arrived about 2 pm after driving from Jessica's parents' home in Chattanooga where they held an open house for the newlyweds on Friday evening.  Because Sean took a new job this spring, we had to plan around the 3-day weekend for the 4th of July holiday.

I had exercised my floral skills for the event, and then realized with the wind blowing, the arrangements weren't heavy enough not to blow away.

For a non-skilled flower arranger, I thought they turned out OK.

Unfortunately, it seems that my social skills and my photography skills aren't compatible.  No photos of the folks who came at all.  But we had a great barbeque meal (not cooked by me) and the company of many friends who came out on this holiday to join with us in wishing the couple well.

I loved this little cake topper with the kilted groom.

And this time, I even got pictures of Jess and Sean cutting the cake...

And sharing with each other...

And it would have been a perfect night if - not long after this shot was taken - the sky hadn't opened up and drenched us all as only a Southern rainstorm can.  I headed for the car with the cake while everyone else tried to preserve the food and the gifts.  As it turned out, all of us were soaked to the skin, but we saved the important stuff. 

Overall, it was a pretty good evening.