Christmas Time - A Time to Celebrate

Merry Christmas Everyone!

We hope you have a wonderful time with family and friends.
May all your troubles be little ones and may you always remember
the 'true meaning of Christmas'

Click Here for a Merry Christmas Card

Thanksgiving

(I thought the fireworks were appropriate for this family)
Thanksgiving was wonderful. We went to Eldon and Candy's home in Tumwater and celebrated with their three boys; Dalton, Devlen and Dayton. We had a great time. The dinner was marvelous - Eldon and Candy worked on it together and wouldn't let me in the kitchen. I (had) to play games with the boys! Of course, that's my favorite thing to do anyway.
After a luscious meal, we played more games. This time the mom and dad played with us also.
I thought I took more pictures than I did but if so, they disappeared.
Anyway, we had a grand time and boy were we stuffed!

Largest Family Tree Online

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Shop at Amazon.com, and then click on 'Todays Deals' on the top line.

Memorial for Sharon (Bunny) Mcclellan Hodge Taylor

Yesterday was quite a day. Mother and I attended a funeral for a good friend at our church in Elma. It was a great service with lots of input from his family.
We returned from there about 11:45 or so and picked up the items we needed (food and gas) and then headed directly for Tacoma - 6th avenue - where we attended a memorial for my first cousin, Bunny, as we always called her. It was years before I found out her actual first name was Sharon.
The gathering room at her mother, Adeline's place seemed small with more than 50 people gathered in it - probably closer to 100. Many people paid great respect to her with their childhood tales and also the tales of her adult years. She always loved a good story and loved to play pranks on other people.
I remember one time we were visiting her family when I was around 14 years of age. She was just 5 months younger than I so we were really of an age although I was a year ahead of her in school so thought I was much older. We were visiting them in a small town - not sure which one as they lived in several. There was a horse on their property; he was as wild as a march hare. Bunny dared me to ride it and so I did. I knew nothing about riding horses, the horse had no saddle, no reins no nothing except a mane of hair for me to hang on to. I climbed up on a very large rock and somehow got on top of that horse. He took off at what seemed like 100 miles an hour. I hung on for dear life but when he decided to make a very sharp turn to the right I made a very sharp turn to the left, or so it seemed. Needless to say I was a little sore for a few days and didn't ride another horse for a long time and never again without a saddle and reins. In the meantime Bunny and some of her siblings were having a very good laugh at my expense. I did not see the funny side of it at that time and can just barely laugh about it now.
Bunny had a sense of humor to the day she passed away.
It was so great to see her mother and siblings and two of her children, Ken and Don Hodge. Both live back East and work in different capacities for the Government.
The moment I saw them I knew they were hurting but had their emotions well under control.
Their demeanor and soft spoken ways showed what wonderful men they had grown to be.
They have worked hard in their family, employment and in their Church and I, for one, am very proud of them. Even more though, I am proud of Bunny for obviously doing such a great job as their mother. I will post some pictures tomorrow.

Neil's Birthday

Maddy and Elisa celebrating their dad's birthday. They are pretty strong girls.
More pictures in slide show below.

Write to a Service Man or Woman

GREAT IDEA!! When doing your Christmas cards this year, take one card (or More) and send it to this address. If everyone sends one card,think of how many cards these wonderful special people who have sacrificed so much would get.
When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol
Heights, MD 20791-5456

Must be postmarked no later than Wednesday, December 10, 2008

We can also write to Recovering American Soldiers at this address:
(They also need our mail)

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington,D.C. 20307-5001

(You can change Soldier to Marine, Sailor, Airman, Army or Coast Guard

I just printed out two sheets of address labels and plan to send them some Christmas Cards with a little note inside thanking them for their service.
http://www1.va.gov/directory/guide/home.asp?isFlash=0

Canning Season is about Over

I really got behind. Canning season is slowing down now and will soon come to a halt.
We finished the apples and I am canning some potatoes for soups and stews and then I will be done for a while until I decide to make more soup; that will be later this winter.
I am now trying to play catch-up on the quilts for several great grandchildren that I need to finish and send to them and others.
Nothing fancy - just warm.

We gained a new G-Granddaughter, Brekia Lloyd. I believe that makes 17 G-Grandchildren
Congratulations to you Amanda and to Grant and Rhonda, the proud Grandparents.

Grandkids - A Parent's Reward

Another Wedding

Brent (Grant's Son) is getting married the 2nd of Nov. to Leah Kristen from Kennewick Wa. They have planned a small wedding at the Red Lion in Kennewick, WA On Nov the 2nd at 5:00 PM. All Family Members are invited. Brent and Leah will then be moving to Korea where Brent has been stationed - first orders in the army.

Anniversary Celebration

We spent a wonderful 3 days in Port Angeles. The trip along the Canal was great and we had a nice motel room at a very reasonable price.
The best part though was visiting with Family - our Nephew Ken (Curran) Doerge and his wife Leola and our Neice, Barbara (Curran-Doerge) Hannify and her Husband, Larry.
They treated us Royally. When we arrived Barbara and Larry picked us up at the motel & took us to Ken and Leola's home where they had a magnificent feast prepared. We ate and ate and ate. It was too good to resist. After a nice long visit we back to the motel. The next morning Barbie (as her family calls her) and Larry picked us up again and we went back to Ken and Leola's for a great breakfast. He cooked omelets on the barbecue out on the patio. She had made many delicious items to go along with that. We walked around and viewed their yard and gardens; then we climbed in their vehicle and he took us on the grand tour. We visited her original family home which now belongs to her sister and brother. Quite a huge piece of land. We visited some of their parks and of course saw the Straits of Juan De Fuca - one beach was full of surfers - there were some great waves there. We also saw the bunkers where the soldiers were after the attack on Pearl Harbor. There was great concern that the next attack would occur there.
We later went back to the hotel for a little rest and then Ken and Leola picked us up and took us to Barb and Larry's place for an outstanding Turkey Dinner. They had everything you would want to eat.
Barbara wrote down all of our children's names - trying to keep them straight. They were so kind to me and accepted me into their family as they would a blood relative.
Barbara and Larry gave us a beautiful boquet of Yellow Roses - about four dozen. I hope to show you the pictures but haven't been able to download them as yet. I will try another method.
It was good to arrive back home safely; Ells had to drive most of the way as I had a bad attack of road hypnotism and could not stay awake. I couldn't find my can of energy drink I thought I had in the trunk, which usually keeps me going. The weather was beatiful the whole 3 days and the company was superb.

Family in Sweden

Here are Bo and Yvonne Brunzell from Sweden
We Share Great-Grandparents and it has been a delight to communicate back and forth with them sharing Family History and learning about our current families.

Here are their Children: Sara, Peter, and Charlotte
What a Beautiful Family

Children

Taken at the VFW 5 yrs ago

Taken in our campground 14 yrs ago


















This is a picture of 3 generations - my mother and I sandwiched in between 3 beautiful daughters.

Events

We have 55 qts of applesauce canned now and 35 qts of vegetable beef soup.
All our pumpkins & squash are in the greenhouse 'curing' and the green tomatoes are there also, hopefully getting ripe without rotting. It has been freezing the last few nights so had to get them in before they were ruined. All our potatoes are dug and put away also. I planted quite a few seeds in pots in the greenhouse. I hope they grow.
Ellsworth is very busy now, constantly loading the woodstove and bringing wood to the front porch. It is a huge job. Arlin and Neil and Cindy and Maddy and her friend helped take down the Canopy in the campground today for the winter. It is a relief to have that done.
We are doing ok and hope all of you are also.
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Last night and today, Ellsworth and I canned 34 quarts of apple sauce. A lot of work.
We still have about ten boxes to go. I picked them from our trees - it is definitely a good apple year.
What a good feeling to have food put away for emergencies.

Monday Arlin showed up at our house and when Cindy arrived home from work, she came over also. Up onto the roof they went and started painting again. Yes, the roof needed a second coat of a little different kind of material. I didn't get any pictures this time but I can tell you we appreciate them so much for the kind things they do - not just for us but for everyone within their reach. Today is their 29th anniversary. Wow! May they be blessed with 29 more (at least).

Garth has been gone to Mississippi for 2.5 weeks. He is training other soldiers.
Their 15th Anniversary is on the 16th! They hope to go away for a few days.

The kids are all back in school and things are going well for them.

Wedding

This picture turned out pretty good of the three of us (except for someone's thumb)! We gained a wonderful daughter in law!
She is sweet and smart and special!







Even though the weather wasn't perfect, the wedding was very nice.
We felt bad that some family members who really wanted to attend weren't able to make it for various reasons.
It was so great to see everyone, especially our family members who live so far away. Rohn and Marylyn and Christopher were there from Idaho Falls, which was wonderful and Aaron and Emmylou and Garrett and Gracie from Spokane. Eldon looked so handsome all dressed up as the best man and of course the stars of the show, Grant and Ronda, were wonderful. Their children and grandchildren were there also. We just gained 3 grandchildren and almost 3 great-grandchildren. Wow!
Bill Duncan and his wife Cathy, were there from Tacoma; Bill was Grant's best friend growing up.
Also, Paul Rushton and his wife were there - he is a friend of the family from long ago.
I will post some pictures here sometime today. It is a little time consuming so must wait for that block of time to do it.
Cindy did a good job getting the meal together. We had plenty to eat and then some.
Seven of the 12 siblings were there (Cindy, Grant, Rohn, Eldon, Gordon, Garth, & Aaron); that was wonderful in itself.
Arlin, as always, did a wonderful job performing the ceremony - it was really special.

Congratulations

Congratulations are in order for Aaron and Emmylou - I am so excited!

Well, the wedding is about to take place. We are really excited for Grant and Ronda and especially excited that so many of 'the twelve' will be there. Who knows, maybe all of them. Wouldn't that be wonderful! I'm glad I have a new camera because I plan to take lots of pictures.

Quite a Day

Cindy's 50th BD celebration - We had a nice evening - with lots of chocolate cake - Delicious - I saved 15 points for the event. (weightwatchers.com).
I decided to add these pictures for now & a slideshow later.
Mom and I took moon pictures on our way home from the party. It was so full and beautiful. Click on it for a better view.
Sep 14th- Nice day at Church - Great speakers. We had a nice dinner at home - every meal consists of things from the garden. Then we both had a snooze. I have got to take the time soon to get my pictures and slide shows on this blog organized a little better.
Today I am planning on preserving some of the greens from the garden.
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Sep 13th - Well, I just returned from Josiah's Birthday Party. Julie made the best ice cream cake. Josiah was having a lot of fun with all his family and friends and gifts.
I didn't stay too long. I was a little worried about Ells as he was having a bad evening. I came home and finished the bulletin - barely enough ink to print it. I run out way too often.
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Sep 13th - Today I spent all morning re-arranging our 72 hour kits. I made sure each of our two cars had both a 72 hour pack including 3 days worth of food and an emergency first aid kit.
I also made an emergency kit for Ellsworth's old wood truck just in case he needs it.
Then I decided I better start one for both my mother and the sister I have on my visiting teaching route.
Then Garth called and asked if he and the boys could come over to help us for a while while Julie cleaned the house. Of course, we were more than happy about that. He helped us with the 'Wisteria project' which was to trim it way, way down to a size that we could handle. I couldn't believe he got it all done. Ells took the truck and loaded it up with all the bramble and took it out to the burn pile. The boys loved riding back in it.
We also trimmed down the Star Magnolias and Ells took down the huge shrub in front of the Den windows. That was a big job for him.
Also, Arlin helped me get the hoses reconnected so I could water the garden. I have to use his water as ours will not support the sprinkler for some strange reason. It always did before. We have tried 3 or 4 different ones and different hoses to no avail.
We haven't had to water very much as the rain has been time just right so the garden would get soaked and we could go quite a while before it needed it again.
We canned a couple of boxes of peaches this past week (that is, what I didn't eat-they only have 1 point on weight watchers so I pigged out on them).
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Sept 13th, 2008 - today is Cindy's birthday. Doesn't seem possible it has been 50 years since I brought that sweet little baby home from the hospital. She was two weeks late so I was pretty happy to finally deliver. She was busy all day so other than a phone call to tell her Happy Birthday at 6:45am, I haven't even seen her yet. Will see her tomorrow though.
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I guess I have been tagged and I don't really know what to do but will make a stab at it.

3 joys: Our Family, The Gospel of Jesus Christ and Our Place,

3 fears: As I approach old age (a lot of people think I reached it long ago) I fear not completing my family history, not seeing my family enough, not being completely financially solvent before I pass on to the next world.

3 current obsessions: Our Garden, Finding Financial Assistance for our Students, Completing Christmas Gifts

3 surprising facts: I don't know if there are any surprises left. I will try to think of some.
I had a large blood clot in my leg for the past two months - almost gone now.
I like puzzles but not sudoku or however you spell it.
I joined weightwatchers online also.

Daniel, Rohn, and Grant Arthur; you are tagged by your mother:
Same things as above

Great Weekend

Sunday afternoon our friends, Daniel and Erin Greenlee and their precious children, Corina, who is 4 and Liam, who is 10 months, came to visit us and share a meal.
We had a very nice visit and enjoyed their company immensely.
Dan obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree at Stanford University, then served as a Naval Officer for five years. He went on to receive a Doctorate of Chiropractic.
Erin is a licensed Acupuncturist but is taking a leave of absence while her children are small. They are very caring people and we love them.
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On Saturday Arlin informed us this was the day he was going to paint the roof (meaning our shop roof which was leaking in a dozen different places). Ellsworth bought the paint which is a special kind that you roll and brush on and it waterproofs the surface.


Garth came over to watch the Husky/BYU game and then helped Arlin with the roof. I know they had lots of other things to do that day but they took the time to give us some badly needed assistance.We are so grateful to them both for their help.

Joey got in on the project also. He is very good to help people when they ask.
Afterwards, we all had a little picnic in our campground.

Ralph Knee

My brother, Ralph had a total knee replacement last week. His first knee surgery after his car accident was not successful. He is now at the Good Samaritan Rehab Unit in Puyallup. I do not know when he will be going home.
He has certainly been through the mill and needs our thoughts and prayers for continued recovery.

Great News

We learned last night that Rohn and Marylynn and Christopher are coming for the Wedding! We are very excited to see them - it has been way too long.