Naomi is growing bigger and stronger. I love to see her and hold her. I know that too soon she will be running around and teasing her brother.
Friday, October 27, 2017
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Cleaning out the house
I feel such deep satisfaction when I clean out the garage. Usually I treat it horribly. But when the winter is coming, I would prefer to park inside and unload groceries and quilts in a covered space. Who knows how long it will look like this, but it is up to me.
Friday, October 20, 2017
Naomi Arrives
We are delighted to announce the arrival of Naomi. Katie and Tyler are always tight-lipped with name choices so we were surprised by the announcement. When Katie was an infant we would go visit Paul's Aunt Naomi (1914-2000) in West Point, Utah. She was an incredible genealogist so had books and books of her research. When she was a young woman she served in the Northwestern States Mission.
Aspen Grove
In the summer between 5th and 6th grades, my parents took us to Aspen Grove. We enjoyed a week at the LDS camp in the mountains above Provo, Utah. During the day the children would be in programs with activities to wear us out. At night we ate in the cafeteria with everyone and slept in rustic A-frames. It was a dream to a pre-teen. I had the time of my life.
Sunday, October 15, 2017
One Last Grave
We drove down to Salt Lake so Jackson could visit with Grandma and Grandpa now that he has returned from his mission and he has recovered his English ability.
On the way out of town, we drove east to Clarkston, Utah to visit the last of the Three Witnesses, the only one to come West. It is a darling town, but I can't imagine how cold it is in the winter.
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
A Little Assistant
With all the remodeling going on, we need all the help we can get. Replacing a hot water tank, reworking the deck, and rebuilding stairs. It's all too much. So we enlisted Jim's help.
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Teaching Quilting
It's so fun to teach quilting to your friends. For years I taught at Cotton Pickins' in Stanwood. So I volunteered to start a group that would meet at the church and make blocks. Katie and Jim came joined us today so we had two sets of 3 generations. That's how fun quilting is!
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Trip to Nauvoo Day 7
We parked near the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge and walked around downtown. The Missouri River divides Nebraska from Iowa and has riverfront parks surrounding the area. We found a veteran's memorial, a Lewis & Clark Trail Exhibit, and a load of sculptures.
The Sculpture Parks stretch across six blocks
of downtown Omaha near the bank’s soaring headquarters, the state’s tallest
building. Beginning at 14th Street and Capitol Avenue, more than 100 bronzed pieces reflect the
city’s history as a gateway to the West. Four pioneer families set off in
covered wagons hitched to oxen, horses and mules at Pioneer Courage Park. Five
8-foot-tall bison stampede down 15th Street.
In a meeting of Apostles held at Hyde’s home on 5 Dec 1847,
the Quorum voted to call Brigham Young as President of the Church. Brigham
Young had directed Church affairs after the death of Joseph Smith in 1844. The
Quorum also ratified Brother Brigham’s choice of Apostles Heber C. Kimball and
Willard Richards to be his counselors in the First Presidency. But Brigham
Young insisted that the general membership have the opportunity to vote.
They decided to build a large log tabernacle in Kanesville (now Council Bluffs) immediately. Just three weeks later, the new First Presidency was sustained by a conference of the general membership held in the new tabernacle. Hyde Park retained its prominence for five years. As wagons moved west, Orson Hyde continued to preside over the Church in Iowa. He and a majority of the Saints still in the area finally moved to Utah in 1852.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Trip to Nauvoo Day 6
The sites of the Mormon Battalion Mustering Grounds are located near the intersection of U.S. 275 and state 92 in Council Bluffs. At that intersection, U.S. 275 turns west and U.S. 375 continues north and crosses Mosquito Creek.
Because I grew up in San Diego, I was often at the Mormon
Battalion Historic Site and Visitors' Center. My Strong ancestors participated
in the march west. So now I have been to both sides of the battalion.
The Kanesville Tabernacle, one of the first tabernacles
built by the Church, lasted a couple of years. It was rebuilt in the mid-1990s
and dedicated in 1996 by President Gordon B. Hinckley.
Across the street is the Winter Quarters Temple, the 104th
dedicated temple is the only one with a cemetery on the property. Dedicated by
President Hinckley in 2001, the groundbreaking ceremony was presided over by
Hugh W. Pinnock. He said the following at that event:
"It would be impossible to discuss the Winter Quarters
groundbreaking and the future temple to be located here without discussing
Council Bluffs [Iowa] just across the [Missouri] river, the Mormon Battalion
that was mustered there and that departed from that place. And yet, it's
difficult talking about Council Bluffs without acknowledging Mt. Pisgah and
Garden Grove, Iowa, which also provided temporary places of rest and
consolidation for the saints as they left Nauvoo, [Illinois] and as we focus momentarily
upon the many pathetic, painful problems the saints had encountered in Nauvoo
which led to their expulsion.