Tuesday, May 27, 2008

More Pictures!!


April and Matteo are happy to be out of the hospital with their little Tommy!



Uncle Evan gently holding Thomas.



Yawn. Thomas is like most newborns, he has confused the night and day!!



I was surprised about the security device they put on babies now a days.




JUST FOR KATIE

The following pictures I took just for Katie, because she loves pigs! These are from a little shopping center where we went to have lunch on Saturday!! The fountain made me laugh!!




Sunday, May 25, 2008

52 Blessing Project - Week Twenty-one

BABIES


Babies are so precious. There is nothing like a sweet little baby straight from Heavenly Father! It's such a miracle! I love babies!


Friday, May 23, 2008

Fabulous Friday's Forever Family Featuring...

the newest addition to our family, little Thomas. Thomas was born late last night. He is tiny at 5lbs 2 oz and 18 inches long. April and Matteo say that he is cute, with dark eyes and hair!! His birth day was May 22nd and the time 22:22!! How cool is that?? We are hopefully headed up to see the little family this weekend. Then I'm sure I will have lots of pictures to post!!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

What Were They Thinking??

It's always fun to be around Katie and Brad!! Here are some funny snapshots. Any idea what is going on in their heads??



Evan and Katie




Katie and Brad





Katie at the dinner table.


Katie and Brad in public at Tiffany's party!!

Now Katie is sticking out her tongue, what is with that???


I'm not sure what is going on here????



Katie and Tiffany, wow, Katie grew!!!


Evan, John and Katie. Is this type of behavior acceptable at a graduation party???

Monday, May 19, 2008

Why Did We Leave the Coast

We spent a very hot weekend down in Southern California to attend the graduation of my niece Tiffany from college! She graduated cum laude with a bachelors degree in Heath Science!! In August she will start on a Masters!! Way to Go Tiff!!!



Saturday we helped my brother-in-law Steve decorate for the party. Then we spent the evening with Katie and Brad. They made the best Pizza!! The recipes are from the Pizza Deck. We had barbeque chicken pizza and meatball pizza. Very, very yummmy!!!




Then we play a little bit of Ono! You start with seven cards and are suppose to be getting rid of your cards. Someone didn't tell Mike that, seems like he was collecting cards. Then he tried to blame someone else!!





I wanted to show off some of the lovely woodcraft that Katie and Brad have been spending their weekends working on. We were so impressed with the workmanship of the little children furniture.


This is a little dry sink. The lever really works.



Here is the little stove!



Here is the table and chairs.



Half of my children were there on Sunday to celebrate with their cousin! So that is always fun!! Unfortunately is was just a quick weekend trip, but we had fun.



This Tiffany and two of her friends right before the ceremony.


We took the whole wheelchair section. I was glad to see they rented wheelchairs for Grandma and Grandpa so they didn't have to walk so fair.

This was my view of the graduation, until......


someone sat in front of me with a umbrella!! By the way it was in the high nineties, not good for a coastal girl!!

A happy graduate!!



A happy family!! Steve was so proud of his daughter!!


Isn't my nephew Ryan cute? I wish you could see his freckles!!


Tiff and her Dad, enjoying some goodies with Grandma and Grandpa!!


This is Tiffany and her boy friend Ricky. I wish I would have spent more time getting to know him!! Seems like a nice guy!!


John even drove up from San Diego for the day!! It was great to see you John!! He even color coordinated his shirt color with Ricky!!




And last but not least Brad corrupting Caitlyn!! But they had fun!!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

52 Blessing Project - Week Twenty


My Testimony
Several years ago, every morning at 6 am I would meet a friend at the beach and we would walk for one hour. One morning my friend didn't show up and I ventured out on my own. It was much harder to walk without a friend to chat with and make the time fly. The beach was virtually empty that morning of other human beings. Two miles up to the rocks where the beach ended and then I turned around like normal. This one particular morning when I turned around the most glorious sunrise ever greeted me!! I just was taken away with the beauty. I thought how amazing!! There is no way that "man" could ever make anything as amazing as a sunrise! I wondered how people could not believe in God. Since I was the only person I could see, I felt like that particular sunrise was a gift just for me. I felt a tangible love overcome me. It was like Heavenly Father wrapped me in his arms with a Fatherly hug and said "this is for you, I love you"!

I have no doubt that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me. I can feel that love when I look at the beauties of the earth and felt it very strong on that morning alone on the beach. I have felt it in times of my life when I didn't think I could feel peace, but I did!!

A few weeks ago during a babies blessings something touched my heart. The Elder giving the blessing said something like "your parents will be a blessing in your life, just as you are a blessing in theirs". It made me think of my relationship with my Heavenly Father. While I can definitely feel Heavenly Father's blessings in my life, I try to be a blessing in His life also. I know there have been times when maybe I felt like a burden, when I wasn't doing the things I know I should be doing. But, He is always there to love me and lift me no matter what.

I know that Jesus Christ is Heavenly Father's son and that He came and lived on this earth. He showed a depth of love that is at times difficult for me to comprehend. He sacrificed for me so that I could have the opportunity to live again with Him and my Heavenly Father. Because of Him I can be with my earthly family for eternity.

My testimony of the gospel encompasses much than that and is an incredible blessing in my life. Knowing that I'm a daughter of Heavenly Father helps everything else to fit into place. It makes me want to pray and read my scriptures and be the best wife and mother I can be and be of service to others and just follow the example of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I think my testimony is the most important blessing of all.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Fabulous Friday's Forever Family Featuring...

Jeremiah Crowley, my mystery great grandfather. I already wrote about Jeremiah here. Since that time he has become more of a mystery man. Recently I found a wonderful resource the Dyer Memorial Library in Abington, Massachusetts. I have been searching for more information on my Crowley line especially the women in the line. So, I thought if I found a death notice or obituary that it might mention something like, "Jeremiah was preceded in death by his wife who died on such and such a date, in such and such a place. So, I wrote to this library and asked if they could find a death notice and if there were any articles in the newspapers about Jeremiah's death, since he died by a house fire. They graciously sent me three newspaper articles, one death notice and a fire engineers report for the year 1911. Didn't mention anything about his wife. But I found everything to be rather intriguing.


This is from the Daily Enterprise Nov 9, 1911. Strange thing is on his official death notice he is listed as 61 years old. I don't know how he all of a sudden became 80 years old. Did he look older than he really was, or did he lie about his age?? He supposedly came to the US at age 6 in 1851. Hmmm, the math does not match!!


This was the front page article on the Brockton Enterprise Nov. 8, 1911. This lists him as Patrick and age 68 years old.

This article in Times from Nov. 8, 1911 lists him as John Crowley which really was his son whom he lived with.


This is the death notice. I like the part about him having a "genial nature and kindly manners". It also had some more information about his Civil War service. I would love to find his military record. It is sad that he died in such a horrific manner. My father was just a little over one year old when this happened. I am grateful the rest of the family survived the fire. I'm grateful for the archives that allow us to find such interesting information about ancestors!!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Today's Youth

If you are worried about the youth of today, this video should warm your heart!!






Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Catching Up

Well, I just realized I have lots of catching up to do. I had photo's from our vacation I wanted to share. So here goes!!

First off is little Leah. Now, be honest, isn't she totally adorable!! When we first got there and I picked her up and started to play with her she just wailed!!! I felt so bad!! But it take didn't very long for her to get used to her Grandma and "Papa". We were getting darling smiles in no time!!


Here is David with a shirt he received that suits him perfectly!!

David with his very happy proud parents!!




David with his masters hood.



I love Temple Square in the spring time. The flowers are just incredible!!





We headed for home on Interstate 50, across the salt flats. This was a new adventure for us. It was a very windy, kind of stormy day and we got some beautiful pictures. It was fun to see the hail up ahead!!





The Salt Flats kind of looked like, or maybe water. I was surprised when I touched it it was hard and stuck together. Very weird, indeed.


We spent some time driving around Lake Tahoe! The water there is the most incredible blue you have ever seen!! Very beautiful.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

52 BLESSING PROJECT Week Three - Week Nineteen


Womenhood

Heavenly Father has given us the wonderful blessing of womenhood.
I found a wonderful talk by, Margaret D. Nadauld, former Young Women President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Here is a quote from that talk that touched me.

"You can recognize women who are grateful to be a daughter of God by their attitude. They know that the errand of angels is given to women, and they desire to be on God’s errand to love His children and minister to them, to teach them the doctrines of salvation, to call them to repentance, to save them in perilous circumstances, to guide them in the performance of His work, to deliver His messages. They understand that they can bless their Father’s children in their homes and neighborhoods and beyond. Women who are grateful to be daughters of God bring glory to His name."

I'm grateful for the wonderful women who have influenced my life. This includes my own wonderful mother, mother-in-law, my daughters, friends, teachers and others. They have helped show wonderful examples that have sculpted me to who I am today. I'm grateful to be a women and a daughter of God.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Fabulous Friday's Forever Family Featuring...


my wonderful sister-in-law, Laurel!! Today is Laurel's birthday, so hopefully this will be a nice surprise for her. While she is not on my direct ancestor line (Laurel and I married brothers), she is like the sister I never had! We are part of the same wonderful eternal family!! Sometimes it is scary to us how much alike those two brothers can be, especially with their weird sense of humor. Laurel was the one who invited me to learn about the Gospel. I have no idea where I would be now without the Gospel in my life. How can you ever thank someone for something like that?? Laurel has a very kind heart and is very creative. She is a wonderful Grandma and always visits her grandkids with a suitcase full of surprises. I miss the times that we lived close, but we have done a great job of keeping in touch and helping our children stay in touch!!
Laurel, I love you and I hope you have a wonderful day! Happy Birthday!!!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Two Tags in One

I took upon myself the challenge of Catherine's tag from the "The Five of Us". So here it is.

What I was doing ten years ago?

Okay, let's see that would be 1998. I was being a Mom, like always!!

Five things on my to do list today.

Help out at the Christian's Women's Food Ministry by sorting food. A fun job I have missed for the past two weeks!!
Read my scriptures and write in my journal.
Make about a gazillion phone calls, ok, well not a gazillion but several.
Send my mom some flowers for Mother's Day.
Get ready for the Young Women Youth Camp Leader retreat on Friday night. (just in case you were wondering, I'm no longer considered a youth, but they let me go anyway as a 2nd year level leader, kind of like a counselor.)
Go for a walk to get some exercise.

Things I would do if I was a billionnaire.

Well, I need to say, I actually have no desire to be a millionaire or billionaire for that matter. But given that's the question here is what I would do.
First and foremost pay my tithing.
Donate money to some of my favorite Charities, which include but are not limited too:
1. The Make a Wish Foundation
This is my all time most favorite charity of all!! I love Make a Wish Foundation!!
2. Ronald McDonald House
Our wonderful home away from home when Evan is in the hospital!!
3. Boy Scouts of America
This group helps to build strong young men!!
4. The Perpetual Education Fund
This program helps to provide an education for LDS return missionaries in developing countries so they can rise above poverty.

Buy a big house, and maybe help my kids to buy houses.
I would also help to pay off my children's student loans and get education for those who wanted it.


Three of my bad habits/qualities :

I like to bite my nails, but I'm much better than I used to be.
I am a procrastinator
I'm disorganized


5 places I lived.

Rochester, New York
Laconia, New Hampshire
Englewood, California
Pocatello, Idaho
Rio Dell, California

Five jobs I 've had!!!!

Baby sitter
Nurses Aid
Licensed Vocational Nurse
School Playground Attendant
Instructional Assistant for Special Education Students


5 books I've read (recently)

I'm consistently reading my scriptures, The Holy Bible and Book of Mormon
Wednesday Letters
The Holy Temple
The History of Joseph Smith by his Mother
21 Days Closer to Christ


Now, on too Aprilyn's tag. It's the book tag, which I did a few weeks ago, but I'm such a good sport, I'm willing to do it again. Here are the directions.

1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages)

2. Turn to page 123

3. Find the 5th sentence

4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog

5. Tag 5 people

Ok, well, I had to cheat a little because the closest book was "Italian Genealogical Records" by Trafford R. Cole, a very wonderful resource I might add. Page 123 has copies of Parish records in Italian, there is no punctuation so I don't know which is the fifth sentence, but here is what is says on that complete page.

1737
Mile settecentotrentasette adi quatro Marzo Cattarina Milana moglie di Franco.co Specio Betiano d'anni trenta sette in circa munita de SS.mi sagramenti Penitenza, ed estrema uncione passo da questa a miglior vita, fu spepolta in questa notrsa pa.ceh di S. Ambrogio di lonate pozzolo.

1656 die p.a otobris
Caterina Tapella d'eta di quaranta anni succeptis eccl.a sa.mis morta adi 30 setembre il p.o d'ottobre fu sepolta mella porochiale.

Just for your information the spell check just had a heart attack!!

Would you like the English translation? I'm so glad you said yes.

1737
Seventeen hundred and thirty-seven, on the fourth of March, Cattarina Milana, wife of Francesco Specio Betiano, age thirty-seven approximately, supplied with the Holy Sacraments of Repentance and Extreme Unction, passed from this to a better life and was buried in our parish of San Ambrogio of Lonate Pozzolo.

1656 First of October
Caterina Tapella, age forty, supplied with the ecclesiastic sacraments, died on 30 september and on the first of October was buried in the parish cemetery.

Let's see who should I tag. How about Laurel, Liz, David, Rachel, SuperCool Mom and anyone else who would like to give it a try. Just pick the one you want to do! And if you don't want to do it, don't!! I'll still love ya!!



Sunday, May 4, 2008

52 Blessing Project - Week Eighteen

Mable King in a wonderful blessing in the life of my daughter.

This week I'm especially grateful for this sweet little "Sister" in my daughter April's ward (LDS congregation). On Saturday for the first time in her 78 years she hosted a baby shower! I was so glad I was invited and able to attend. It just touched my heart to see all these wonderful "sisters" in their wisdom years pamper my daughter. It's hard when your children live far away and you can't always be there to help out. Just knowing these wonderful women love my daughter and reached out to her and her baby is very heartwarming. Hopefully I can do the same to others.



Mable is in the pink pants. I don't remember the name of the other women.

This is a beautiful quilt a sweet sister made and you can see another one on the port-a-crib, which was also a gift.



Here are some more of the women that attended the shower. Some of the them are great grandmas!!



This Winnie the Pooh is one the sweetest baby toys, I've seen. Winnie is holding Piglet who is holding a bumble bee. When you press on the pillow it lights up and Winnie and Piglet say goodnight to each and then soft music plays. I'm sure it will lure my little grandson to sleep.


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