Extra Granny Smith apples

Craig told me there are lots of green apples and he is only going to be home for two days.

I got the message.

Family History Surprise

We were visiting with Dawn. We had just had dinner at Chuck-A-Rama and were visiting at her home.

She pulled out some pictures that she had gotten of her ancestors. I got a bit excited and told her she could scan them and put them online on the Family Search website. I had recently done that with Aunt Grace.

To show her I logged in and went looking for Aunt Grace's photo.

There are 122 other family members with pictures linked into my line. Aunt Grace makes 123.

We just started scrolling through the pictures, and she saw Sarah A. Dowell and started telling me her story. I was way confused and thought that Craig's family pictures were mixed in with my family pictures.

It took us a few minutes, but we got the story straight, as far as we know it.

My great grandmother's, Annie Lovina Allen, older brother, James Alexander Allen married Sarah A. Dowell. They were only married for a short time. She left him or he left her and she found herself a young, single mother.

She later married Thomas Ball and had a large family. Sarah Ball is Dawn's grandmother.

So, just to be clear, the woman my relation jilted - later remarried my husband's great grandfather. The poor, jilted woman is Craig's great grandmother.

How crazy is that?

Here are the pictures that set the story in motion.

Dawn recognized her grandmother Ball.

We looked on her line, and the same pictures were attached to her grandmother. 

I am now trying to figure out the story. According to her Aunt Rose, James Allen was a polygamist, but Sarah didn't know it. He didn't support her and the baby. The baby became sick and Sarah had to give her up. Aunt Rose later met little Dora, who was grown and married with kids of her own.

Dawn found Sarah's history, and Sarah said that James wasn't ready for married life. "Life with her parents was hard, but life with Jim was intolerable." She couldn't go back with her parents because she had married a Mormon. She left with the help of a neighbor and had little Dora. But Dora became sick and she had to give her up.

I am now very interested in looking up James Allen and seeing if he did indeed have other wives, or if the story got embellished over the years. James died Christmas Day in 1940. He is buried in Jackson, Wyoming. Next week, I am headed to the Family History Library here in town and digging through Ancestry to see if I can find any answers.

Family party

The Oswalds got together  and partied today.

I didn't take ant pictures. What is up with that?

But Thea had this picture snapped.

Cute family after an hour of jumping and an hour of eating.

Josh got the Star Scout

Today Josh had a court of honor.  He was awarded his star scout. He also received eleven merit badges.

So fun.

A few pictures.

Shaking the hand of his scout master.

Notice the handful of blue cards.

I got pined by my son. :)

A bid hug for me.

A hug for Craig.

Next is Life and then Eagle.

I am determined that he is going to get the Eagle. 

He just finished his Communication merit badge. We are also half way through the Fitness MB. We are working on Family Life. Next is Personal Management. Then only two more required, I think.

We are on our way.

Christmas cats

Mayo had her turn wearing the Christmas collar.

She was not amused.

Cinco wanted in on the action.

On the perch thinking about what mischief they could get into.

Merry Christmas

Craig came in from North Dakota Monday and we were all together for Christmas.

This sis the first time we have had Thea all day. It has been great. She has been so cute. We have been playing games and watching Christmas movies. 

We set our Christmas morning starting at 7 this morning. 

Just a few pictures of our morning.

The boys excited to see the presents.

A smile with hot chocolate - Mormon Joe.

Driving truck is not really conducive to shaving.  

The tree with the presents.

Christmas socks.

We love Lindor chocolate. Boaz saw the empty bags in the garbage and wondered were all the Lindors were. He notices too much. Funny boy.

The apron I made yesterday for Thea. She said it will help her cook. I love the bright, happy colors.

Christmas miracle

Boaz found a kitten on the road as he wS coming home from school. He dashed home and got Thea.  Thea called me, I was still at work, but it was almost time to come home. 

I hurried home and found them standing guard over what looked like a lifeless kitten. They had an old towel over it. 

I scoped it up and we went home.  I got the portable heater and set up a little warming area.  The cat was cold and stiff. He was so skinny I thought he might have been run over by a car.

I felt along his bones and tried to see if I could feel anything broken. To my inexperienced fingers he felt intact.

I remembered we had an old heat pad and went looking for it. I turned it on low and put it in between the layers of the towel.

I heated up a bit of milk and found a small medicine syringe.  I squitrred warm milk into the un responding mouth.

We said a little prayer and asked for what was best for the kitten. Boaz cried, but was brave and said the prayer.

Josh noticed it had some poop, so I cleaned it up.

We waited.

We continued to try and feed it.

We waited.

About three hours later I noticed it was pooping some more.  I thought that was a good sign.  It is always a good thing when the pluming works.

I cleaned him up again, got a new towel, and tried the milk again.

We noticed he was breathing better.

Boaz noticed first when he woke up. I fed him some milk. He was enthusiastic.  After a few squirts, he decided to get up and find the true source. The little bowl less than a foot away.

Our kittie, Cinco, was not happy about the new cat. The new little guy started to explore.

Boaz took a few pictures, once he stopped crying. He was so happy we were able to save him. He has such a tender heart, my boy. I was afraid to take a picture when we were not sure he would make it.

We think he is only about three months old or so.

Once he got moving he was wonderfully curious.  He wandered the hose for a bit. 

Then he decided to cuddle.

Josh took this picture.  The kitty likes people.

I was going to lock him in my bathroom for the night, but he was way to noisy. Boaz begged to sleep with him in the bathroom, so we changed plans and had them upstairs.  The boys switched out in the middle of the night.

After Thea saw him in the morning, we started canvasing the neighborhood. It didn't take too long for his home to be identified and a family claim him as their Christmas miracle.

Our cats are still a bit freaked out, but after the laundry  and a good vacuuming, I think they will settle down.  

I love miracles.

Single ward ugly sweater contest

Thea and her friend really got into the spirit of the party.

I think the cats are creepy.

They won the contest. David got first place, Thea got second and David's brother got third.

I went short

The wind lives in Idaho. 

In the summer the wind stirs the heavy, hot air. It is cool and refreshing.

In the winter the wind bites holes in your jackets and freezes your bones clear through to the marrow.

In both seasons the wind grabs at my hair and teases it into knots. I pull my hair behind my ears and the wind tugs it up and twirls it around into a dry swirlie.

I am tired of what the wind does to my hair.

So yesterday a friend came over and chopped it all off.

I looked online for ideas and decided to go shorter than I ever had before.

I am still learning how to style it, I have only had one day, but I am excited for the possibilities.

The back for my sisters.

Lunch with Craig

Craig sent me some texts today.

I have a hard time picturing things, so he sends me pictures.

He tells me about the long lines in the truck. 

That many trucks is crazy.  But at least he is on the clock.  That is some very flat landscape. 

He sent me this picture too.

He is living in dirt and mud.  I'm glad he has good boots. Really, this is not bad, but he likes things clean.  I'm sure this really bugs him.

Then he sent me a picture of his lunch.

Tomatoe basil wheat thins, cheese and jalapeño peppers. That looks yummy.

I had already started my lunch, but I took a picture anyway.  

A wheat bagel with Munster cheese, strawberry yogurt, an orange and peanut butter crackers.  Looking at my lunch and his, it is easy to see why he is loosing weight faster than I am. 

Anyway, this was my long distance lunch with my husband.

In a hurry

It is not a good idea to hurry down carpeted stairs while wearing socks.

I fell and banged my arm on the stair trying to save myself.

It still hurts one day later.

I'm a bit of a spaz.

Sunday discovery

I was talking to my son Josh.  

The boy who is 13. 

I became distracted by something on his chin.

I saw a dark, curly, hair on my boy's face.

He is of course delighted.  

Apparently his chin hair was the topic of some conversation at Church.

He has since learned how to stroke his single beard hair.

A lip caterpillar, and now this.

My boy is growing up.

Interesting perspective

In one of my conversations with Craig today he said, "I now know that the Terrestrial Kingdom is not an option."

How sweet is that?

Snow pictures

It is powder. 

It is beautiful. 

We will need it for the summer.

It is cold.

Looking out our front door.

Our little snowmen lights.

Silver linings or blessings seen in the read view mirror

We have been setting goals or making plans for our holiday season. The plan was that Craig would have left to go to North Dakota the Saturday beforeThanksgiving so he could get his two weeks of work in and then be home for our anniversary - 15 years - and then Christmas. Also he would be able to work before the cold snap that has frozen our country for the past week.

That was the plan.

What happened was a broken transmission in North Dakota and a blown engine in another truck. Hat and the mechanics, both of them, found themselves taking some medical time off. 

So we have been happy to have Craig home, but worried about the mortgage and the weather.

Because of the delay we had two Thanksgivings. I made one dinner - turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pies - the works for The Friday before Thanksgiving. We had Dawn for the day and Thea had invited friends.  It was lovely.

Then Craig got the word about the tranie in ND, and we found ourselves together for the real day. We had dinner up at Craig's sister's house.  Another fun, family day. Another day full of turkey, ham, pies, stuffing, etc.

And still, the following week Craig did not get the call that they were ready for him up north.  

We were enjoying being together, but aware of the weather forecast, the time crunch, the bills and that Christmas was looming.

Wednesday night he got the call. He was needed. By then, the weather had turned and it was frigid outside. No snow yet, but winter had arrived. Thursday morning we got him packed up and he took off knowing the drive would most likely be more than the standard 12 hours to get there. I went to work for half a day, glad to be working again. (I had had a dry spell as well.) I got a call after school that Craig had gotten two hours down the road and the suburban broke.  He got towed 25 miles to a small map-dot town that had a mechanic and was waiting for the diagnosis.  The gasket on the manifold had blown and it was at least an eight hour job.  He found a hotel for he night.  The mechanic worked a bit on it Thursday and all morning and into the afternoon on Friday.  Craig got back on the road around three for what was at least a ten hour drive.  He made it to Billings and found another hotel. He had driven and seen cars leaning precariously over e guard rail above him on the hill.  The west bound lanes were significantly higher than the east bound lanes.  The risk was great of having a car fall on top of him.

He got onto Williston Saturday night. He had kept in touch with his people and they knew the situation. I was glad he had arrived safe, even if it was around 48 hours later than he had planned.

Back at our house - Thea had planned to take the car to Boise - a three to four hour drive - to meet her mom for a fun weekend. I was worried about the weather, but I wanted her to be able to see her mom.  We woke up Saturday morning to an inch or more of snow on the ground. Thea has not had experience driving in the snow, having grown up in Oregon.  We scrambled to find a way to get her to Boise.  I called Deb to see if Delta flew into Boise. We spent an hour trying to find a way to get her there safely. Her mother postponed the trip. I took Thea driving a bit in the snow to teach her and give her time behind the wheel in the snow.  My tire pressure gage was dinging.  I had just taken it in to get air in the tires on Monday.  The cold air usually means you need more air. We just drove to Walmart and the post office. The tires looked fine.

Saturday night we had the adult session of Stake Conference.  My gage said the back tire had 4 pound od air I. It. I looked at it. I kicked it. I decided the gage was malfunctioning. I drove to the Church, checking to see if it pulled to one side. It drove straight.

This morning the tire pressure again was dinging. I had Josh look at the back tire. I drove two blocks and felt it pulling to the right. (Craig would have been able to tell in less than 10 yards.) I got out and looked at the rear tire, it looked fine. Then I glanced at the front tire and it was flatter than flat. I could tell it was already ruined and turned back to drive it home. My tire gage is specific to each tire. I relied on the gage more than myself to tell me which tire had the problem.

Our ward has taken care of us. We got a ride from our neighbor who turned around and came and got us and took us to Conference. I sat next to a sweet man who listened to my anxiety and came and put on my spare.  I am set to go to Les Schwab in the morning and get a new tire, because I really did ruin the old one. 

The silver lining? Thea did not drive it to Boise on the freeway at freeway speeds and get in trouble or get stuck.  She did not drive the Suburban and have the gasket blow on her. Craig was close enough to a town to get the Sub fixed before the temperature hit -32 degrees in the middle of nowhere. We are out some money, but do not have any injuries. Both cars were fixable and relatively undamaged. 

We feel that God is watching out for us and protecting us.

However, I am getting a serious complex about me and tires. 

Silly cat

Miss Mayo is our barn cat. She loves to be outside. In fact it is quite possible she is cheating on us and has found a second family.  I know that cats do that.

This morning we let her out. We looked out the door and a aw her sprawled out trying to catch the sun.

The concrete was not conducive to napping in the sun.  She saw us looking at her and decided she wanted to come back in.

Notice she lacks any sort of urgency.  Cinco would be frantic at the door if he wanted to come in.

She allowed us to let her in and then no doubt found a nice warm spot to nap.

At the track

Today we played Settlers of Catan. Boaz won, but I was second.  I get irritated at the cut throat tactics and hate when my plans get interrupted. I perhaps do not have the best attitude when I play. That is my confession.

After the game, we all went to the high school for the track.  Craig rode his bicycle. That was impressive.

I was planning on going for two miles, but everybody stopped at one.  That is amazing to me. We all ran for one mile. Well, Boaz ran for a bit, but didn't go the mile. But Josh ran - he logged 6:48. He is working to get ready for track in the Spring. Thea came next, and then Craig passed me up. This is amazing - he had horrible varicose veins and got them taken care of. Now he can do so many things that he has not been able to do for a long time.  I came in last, but still, I was feeling good.

Josh is starting his Physical Fitness merit badge, for the third time.  This time I am determined that we will do it.  So he did push ups, sit ups and pull ups. He hates the stretching, but we are working at that one too.

It has been a fun day, full of family togetherness.

Shattered glass

Last night Josh was getting himself his pre-bed snack and dropped a bowl onto our tile floor. The resulting debris field was amazing.

The tile is beautiful, but unyielding when it comes to dropped glass. I swept and swept and swept some more. I tried to sweep twice and three times to make sure I had it all. I dragged out the vacuum and went over the carpet next to the kitchen. I bumped into Boaz and Thea, both were anxious to help clean up the mess. Josh came out with two bandages on his feet, but nothing major.

Today Josh was helping Craig empty the dish washer. I was watching the 49er game on Monday Night Football.  I looked up, startled by the sound of shattering glass.  This time two glasses were the casualties.  I grabbed the broom, but most of the glass shards were spread across the counter and in the cabinet itself. Boaz came to help. Craig took care of the counter with Josh. Josh came away with an impressive finger wound.  I hope the ointment and band-aid controls the blood.

He became mute during the process.  

It is hard enough to be thirteen with out breaking dishes two days in a row.

Craig joked that these things usually come in threes. We have hit our quota.  Hopefully our kitchenware survives the holidays.

Josh has escaped to the upstairs and the X-Box.

Tyson and Cindy

I didn't get any pictures of the cute couple, so I grabbed some from Facebook. Such a wonderful day for them and for the whole family.

Visit to SLC

We went to Salt Lake City yesterday

First on the agenda we met with Karly and her companion. We took them to lunch and then they visited Temple Square with us for a minute.

Thea had been waiting to see Karly ever since she got here.

It was so good to see her.

Thea, Karly and Sister Weber.

We ate at Chilis. yum.

The wind was blowing and the sun was in our eyes. But we wanted a picture of the Chilis sign.

At Temple Square we visited the Christus. I have always loved this room.

Karly and Thea.

Craig and Thea.

Karly and her Uncle Craig.

Karly and I at the model of the SLC Temple. So cool to see a cross section of the temple.

Karly and her companion returned to work and Craig and I went to the temple for Tysona nd Cindy's wedding. Thea and the boys went across the street to see the Cit Creek Mall.

A quick story about the wedding.  I transferred my wallet to my black purse from my brown purse. Notice my outfit.  In the process, I forgot my recommend.  I remembered on the road and Craig had me call Cyri, my sister-in-law, to see if they could pick it up. I told her how to get into the house and hopped for the best. If they couldn't find it, or if I was wrong as to were the recommend was, I would have to miss the sealing.

I am happy to report that they did find my brown purse where I told them it was and the recommend was in it where I thought it was.  I was able to attend the sealing. I really should know better by now.

It is always nice to attend a sealing with Craig. It was so sweet to see the happiness of the new couple.

I have a few pictures from the Joseph Smith Building where the reception was.

A great fountain on the tenth floor outside the Wasatch Room.

Our family looking out the window by The Roof restaurant.  Such a great view.

I love this temple. 

Denim on denim

Thea says this is not a good fashion choice, but I have always liked it.

I think this is a very cute man.

A new quilt

I'm finally done with my brother's quilt. I've owed it to him since last Christmas.  It's taken me so long, but it is done. It's a good thing Carl is patient.

A few pictures. 

I love this quilt.

The label.  

This is supposed to say family. Meg says it doesn't, but it was the intent and it is what the computer told me. Sometimes you just can't trust the computer.

This says eternity.

The back. It didn't all fit in the camera. But the rest of it is the same plus the label.