Happy Birthday to my sweet nieces--Alissa last month and Anna this month. I'm so lame (late) in getting wishes to everyone. I did think about you--does that count for anything at all? Well, I have something for you. I had wanted to get these posted in time for the big days, but that obviously didn't happen. Do you recognize anyone?
Check out Alissa's expression in this picture--what did you just eat? What a bunch of cuties! I love these pictures.








Does that picture of Chad look like George or what? All my brothers look like their dad, but Chad is totally the spittin' image of him. I guess it all depends on the age, but hey, it's there.



I want to know what happened to this hammock? I'm ready to live this life again. Does anyone remember the overalls? I loved them and lived in them. My mother was totally appalled when I came home with overalls. But there was this cute farmer boy who wore them, so of course I had to try them out. I was in love--with the overalls, not the boy. He was kind of a doofus, and not a member either, so there you go. I finally asked my mom why she hated them (she'd actually look at me with disgust--well the overalls, not me (I hope)) and she said it was because that's what she had to wear when she worked on the farm. She didn't have any brothers, so she had a lot of work to do, and she couldn't wait to get out of the overalls. Nope not me, I had way too easy of a life. Feeding chickens was about the extent of my "farm life." I always thought I was a country girl, until I went to Ricks College and had roommates from Driggs, Idaho who really lived on farms. They had to get up at 4 in the morning and milk cows. I quickly learned that living outside the city limits, having a large yard and garden, feeding a few chickens for a couple of years did not a country girl make. There were fields all around us and my neighbor (Tad Haney) and I would hunt the ditch banks for asparagus. That was cool. Okay, still not really a country girl, I got it!

Mom looks like she's happy, still wearing the apron though. Can't ever totally get away from work, can those mothers?


All right cute girl, do you recognize yourself? I love this picture! So how is life?















Can you believe how much this family has grown? Not just in height, but in sheer numbers--how many strong are we now? I swear we counted in the 40s when Grandma sewed pillowcases last year.


I am feeling overwhelmed at what a wonderful family I have. I am so grateful for each of you. And this is only half--there are this many and more on Corky's side of the family. It is so cool to be part of group of very wonderful people. Thank you all! I love you.

This week in Primary we started learning "Truth from Elijah." It starts out with "The hearts of the children have turned to their fathers." I always thought that was so goofy, because I didn't understand it. Even when it was explained, it never really clicked with me. But this year I have been doing temple work for family members. I love the new program from the Church so you can check to see if the work has been done. A couple of years ago Corky's mom had a genealogist do a ton of work on his dad's side. Since he was the only member, there was a whole passel full of people who needed work done. I've had cards and have been slowly (I emphasize the word slowly) getting things done. I kept thinking I wanted to do all the work for the women by myself, but once I started checking the names on newfamilysearch.com (https://new.familysearch.org/en/action/unsec/welcome), I found many more names, probably more than I had originally, I realized it was okay to leave some at the temple for other people to do. I couldn't do it by myself. But I have loved taking those cards to the temple and doing temple work. I love picking up the cards at the end and seeing the date stamped. My kids have been able to do a lot of baptisms. Before Taylor left, he got to baptise his brother and sister for others. There were enough names that the kids in our ward got to go--they went on the night of Grandad's funeral.

When Taylor was getting ready to leave for Brazil, one of the things on his packing list was "family histories." I thought that was strange--I guess just because it wasn't on my packing list so many years ago. But I have typed up histories for him (kind of a mini-version since some are very long), and he recently asked for more. So, as I started to teach this song, I told the kids about some of my ancestors and showed them pictures. I think I have finally learned what it means to turn my heart to my fathers. I know we did a lot of non-singing for singing time this week, but I really want the kids to understand the song. None of them knew what that phrase meant, but I think they do now.

They all wanted to pass around the pictures--the boys in Sr. Primary just died if there was one they didn't get to see. They were very funny. But I really liked telling them about my family. I passed out pedigree charts to each child and told them that as they filled it out (with help of course) to not only read the names, but ask their parents to tell them a story about the people. I think a lot of parents may have to ask their parents, but that's okay. It's all part of turning your heart. As we learn about these people, we can't help but love them. And then the song says "preserving their names and their memory"--doesn't it help us to remember? Remember who they are, remember who we are.

The next part is "the truth they have learned from Elijah." Next week I get to do sharing time and singing time (5 Sundays in this month), so I'm going to talk about this prophet Elijah. I thought I knew about him, but as I've been reading, there is so much more than what I remembered. I'm going to tell his story, then show the DVD version. I love it. He's the one who went to the city, found the widow who was starving because of the famine, told her to feed him first and she would not run out of food (oil and meal) until the rains came. It is beautifully done (the DVD) and I think the kids need to understand this. There is much more to Elijah--the part about him in this song is that he restored the sealing keys. He was very busy. There's more, too. So maybe we'll have another "not much singing for singing time" but I think that's okay. We sing a lot and I really think it is important to understand the words to this song.

My heart is full. I am feeling love for my fathers, for my parents, my nieces and nephews, my husband, my children, and my friends. It's great to know that we really are all one big family. So you each of you--thanks. Thanks for teaching me how important loved ones are. I love you.