My Newest Find

This is my mother's passport when she came to America.

The passport is hard covered.

Of course being from Canada, it's in French and English.

Funny the picture in the passport is sideways!!

Luckily, I know how to flip it.  That is really her signature.

The markings on the bottom of the page on the right I found interesting.  The passport was issued in 1948 and there are notations from 1978.  They apparently have something to do with her Permanent Resident Status.  I'm not sure what was happening in 1978 or why a  change was made, or why it was necessary to make notations in a passport form 1948.  The paperwork has been sent in and I'm waiting to receive her immigration papers.  They should be very interesting.  I need to be patient though, I have heard it can take several months. 

Thanksgiving 2010

This Thanksgiving as in the past, my cup runneth over with blessings.  They are just too numerous to list.  So, I will share what I believe are my top two blessings this year.  

Number one, The Spirit of Elijah. 

In the Old Testament we read the following:

 "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."  Malachi 4:5-6.

This Spirit of Elijah causes people to learn about those who came before and preserve their memories. Sometimes the Spirit of Elijah can help us get closer to those who are living.  I'm grateful for the opportunities I have had to search my family history and also to help others.  I'm especially grateful the Spirit of Elijah touched my brother Ron to search for information about his father.  That searching allowed me to be able to find family that was lost.  That is a priceless blessing.  

The second blessing is the The Holy Ghost.
  

This year as I needed comfort, guidance and direction, I felt the tender touch of the Holy Ghost in my life.  The Spirit helped me to know when to visit my mom , before her passing.  I was also given guidance with I was released from my Church service mission.  I just seem to feel closer to the Spirit this year, and it has been a wonderful blessing in my life.  I can feel the love of my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ all around me. 

Even though Thanksgiving is over, I am going to strive to have a attitude of gratitude for my blessings through out the whole year. I hope you do too!!

Communications

This week for Slice of Life, we are to share how communication has change in our life time.  That got my mind to thinking about this box:

I pulled it down off the top self in my closet and have been going through it off and on through this week.  It is filled with letters.  Mostly letters that Mike and I wrote to each other while we were dating and in the first few years of our marriage.  He was serving in the Navy at the time. We have hundreds of letters.(My children are forbidden to read them until we are both passed and gone, as it could prove to be embarrassing)  Letter writing was the best way and many times the only way for us to communicate in those early years of our relationship.  The box also has letters from family and close friends.  I thought I would share just a few examples.  If you click on them you can read them better if you are interested. 

  
 This letter is from my Aunt Gertie, my Dad's sister.  She is missing her husband Ray, but also expresses gratitude for her blessings.  That is a great example to me.

This letter is from my mother.  Whenever she bought a pineapple she would cut off the top and try to get it to grew in a pot.  I had forgotten about that, until I read the letter.  I also love how at the end, she says, she is "just trying to be a mother."  Our jobs as mothers don't end just because our children are grown and married.

This letter is from my brother Mike.  He wrote this soon after I was married. I'm not sure why I needed to R.S.V.P!!  If you want confusion in communication marry someone with the same name as your brother.  I would always have to clarify with my mom, which Mike I was talking about. 

This letter is from Mike's (my husband's) Grandma Pearl.  I had forgotten I even had a letter from her, so this was an extra sweet find.  I love having the signatures of Grandmas and Grandpas!!

This Thank You came from the sweet Elders who baptized us.  I loved the stamp with the Mission name.  We were able to meet up with Elder Barth a few winters ago and had a great reunion.  I had forgotten about this letter too.  I also found a wedding invitation from Elder Barth.   Oh, and if you are wondering who Niki is, that was our dog. 

Here is one of Mike's many, many letters to me!  This one seemed safe to post. It is so fun to go back and read these.  Hopefully, you are listening to "If", I added it to my playlist. 

And, of course a letter that I wrote to Mike.  Sometimes we would get silly and write backwards, or in circles or in many different colors like this letter.

In spending time this week looking over this treasure box of memories, I couldn't help but wonder about the next generation.  How do you save text messages, or Facebook posts?  It is sad that we are losing the art of communicating with letters.  I realize that I need to write more letters to my children and grandchildren so they can have something tangible to remember me by. 

Reminders

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about my mom. (Bless her heart, she passed away in July.)   The reminders are every where. From my favorite spot to read in the whole house, her blue recliner that sits in my bedroom,

to the spreader I use to butter toast, 

to the silly plastic frog the chirps when you walk by, 

 to the cactus that she had on her patio, that is amazingly still alive, I love how she was very creative in her plant containers,

To birds of all types, 

to the beautiful white china in my cupboard,

Even looking at my feet reminds me of my mom.  My big toe seems to be a little too cozy to the second toe.  My mom had really bad feet for as long as I could remember.  She had a pretty severe looking bunion, and always had problems with corns. She said it was because she wore pointed toe shoes when she was younger.  I have always been a very practical shoe wearer. So, guess what now I have a bunion too  It's mild for now.  So, I put on my shoes and I'm reminded of Mom.

I remember going for walks with Mom and she would complain if the sun was bright.  Being born with cataracts, the glare really bothered her eyes.  She loved walking in the fog.  I loved walking in the sun, it feels so good.  But, guess what?  I'm developing a cataract  and the glare of the sun now bothers me, and I know exactly how she feels.  Another reminder.

When mom walked she always carried tons of facial tissue for her very drippy nose.  Heaven forbid she forgot her "Kleenex".  Now I have to do that same thing.  Before I go out the door for my morning walk, I make sure I have plenty of tissue.  

There are many more, I could go on and on.  I'm grateful for all these reminders.  I never want to forget my mom. 

What reminds you of your mother? 

Fabulous Friday's Forever Family Featuring...

my grandmother Virginia Mary Giannetti!! Grandma was the only grandparent alive when I was born. She lived in Canada so I didn't get to see her often. I remember visiting her home once when I was about five. She had a cute little home with a garden in the back. I remember eating her peas fresh from the plant. There was a great little corner store down the street and she would give us money to go buy a treat. Grandma was born in Terracina Italy to Silviano Giannetti and Rosario Morlani, one of at least three children.
I was so happy to find her birth record on mircofilm. I love it that her given name was actually Virginia Felice, not Mary. Felice is happy in Italian, so her name is more like Merry than Mary!

She married Pio Celestino in Terracina in 1912! It's rumored in family stories that her marriage was arranged by her older brother, Giovanni. She immigrated through Ellis Island and on into Canada to reunite with her husband in 1914. He however deserted her for another woman. So she had to raise two little girls on her own. Life was hard and difficult to live up to her name of Felice.
This is my Grandma with my mom (the youngest daughter) and my Aunt Eva.

A sweet memory I have of my Grandma is every Christmas she would send us Sees Candy. We would get a little sleigh filled with chocolates!! Yummy!! When I was a teenager my grandma and Aunt came to live with us in California. I was so excited to finally have a grandma close to me. However, Grandma was a quiet women. I wanted to hear stories of her life in Italy, but she didn't want to share. Such a disappointment to me. There was much family contention between my mom and her sister and they moved out. We didn't hear from them much. Very sad indeed. Years later when I started family research I had a feeling that my Grandmother had died, because I knew she had been ill. Unfortunately I found her death record in the California index. It is sad to me that she passed away and my own mom didn't even know about it!!

I wonder if my shyness comes from Grandma. I'm sad that her stories of life growing up in Italy never were shared. So, I need to remember to share my stories with my grandchildren!!

Goodly Parents

We took time this weekend to visit with my in-laws. They are getting up in years and both having health issues. We keep hearing that Grandpa Gayle might have to go on kidney dialysis. He looked great and more important, he says he is doing "Fantasic!". I really appreciate his attitude. He is just happy with each new day he gets!! He looks forward to sharing in more events with his grandkids, like Tiffany's graduation next year! I'm so grateful they raised such good children and I was smart enough to marry one of them!!!

Peas in a Pod

Growing vegetables is such great experience! Is so fun to watch the little seeds sprout and produce food you can actually eat. This year I have been growing tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, cilantro, beans and these of some of my peas!!
It brings back memories of visiting my Grandma in Canada. I remember being about 5 years old on one visit. She had a great backyard garden and I loved picking those peas, snaping them open and popping those yummy round green peas in my mouth. Forget about cooking them. I can't wait for my grandson's to come and try some of my yummy home grown peas.