A Trip to the Zoo

2012

2011

     This year and last the kids earned tickets to the Kansas City Zoo for our library's summer reading program.  Last year we were only able to take Grandma, and this year just Ducky - and we had a blast both times! :)
      No trip would be complete without "Map Boy".  Bubby insists on being our tour guide each time.  Map in hand, he leads us through where ever we are going.

Bubby aka Map Boy

     Highlights included the train ride, and the tram ride which took us up in the air to view some of the animals.

     It even featured growing moments where Bubby actually fed a sheep!

     We were even able to take in the sea lion show which we all loved.

     Shorty's favorite part was the kangaroos.  He was fascinated by them.  He would just stare and then hop like a kangaroo!

Hop, hop, hop

      Shorty did an amazing job through the day.  He walked, he rode, he got carried.  Eventually he melted down, but we had made it thru the entire zoo by then.

Shorty in the huge climbing tree

It was a wonderful and wonderfully exhausting day and they already have plans to make a trip next year too!

Mookie and Shorty zoo explorers!

Everyone needs to take a break

While hubby was out of town, the kiddos and I took a break from school and went off to visit my folks at some property they own on a gravel bar.  First stop was a local nursery to pick up some pumpkins.  On the way in, Mookie was bemoaning the fact we were not at a "real" pumpkin patch and this was not going to be any fun.  Wrong!  First thing we saw was their grass maze, to which I lost them right away...

On the other side of the grass maze was a huge checkerboard which they loved because they've been chess fanatics over the past weeks (you can't move a muscle with out a query of  "do you want to play chess?" ).

Playing checkers and climbing a mountain

There was also a "mountain" to climb, where we found some swallowtail caterpillars.  Then on we went to our gravel bar where we explored nature with our family and even enjoyed some time with my aunt and uncle who came down too. What a wonderful way to spend a beautiful fall day in Kansas!

Shorty exploring at the gravel bar

A New Scout Experience

  A couple of years ago, Mookie was a part of an American Heritage Girls troop in Topeka but the cost was a little more than our limited budget could handle, not to mention the gas & time it took for the hour round trip.  So, we sat out a year and prayed that we would find something similar that was more of a fit for us as a family.  Well, we found it!  A homeschooling friend of ours turned us on to a Christian based scouting program that can be done independently or as a group - what a blessing!  It's through Keepers of the Faith with their Keepers at Home program.  Several other homeschooling families were also interested so we created our own group that is going to meet once a month.

  We had our first meeting Friday and had a blast!  The subject was tree identification.  We met at a friend's house who has several acres and an ample amount of trees and gathered examples of 10 specimens as we hiked around her lake. 
  The girls (and moms) had a blast!  The weather was a perfect fall day and the fall colors were just beautiful!  Mookie and her friend pretended that they were Indian princesses on the trip, "you can be Pocahontas, and I'll be Sacagawea".  Of course it wasn't all work, the girls took time out to pet the local "wildlife"...
We then retired back to the house for some excellent hot cocoa and trail mix provided by our leaders for the day.
  It is such an answer to prayer to have this opportunity to do scouting with our friends!  Next month, I'm helping lead the meeting and we're going to have tea parties as our topic!

A Love For The Lost

Having previously read published accounts of David Brainerd's life, including that edited by Jonathan Edwards, I was familiar with Brainerd's compelling life story. The chance to review this Kindle formatted work made availble courtesy of Christian Focus 4 Kids and Brian H. Cosby's rendition, published as part of their tremendous Trailblazer Series of Christian biographies, provided the opportunity to share his life story with our children (ages 8 and 9). Both are avid readers and enjoyed the digital format of this publication. While our oldest was certainly able to dig into the book on his own, both he and his younger sister preferred to sit down in the quiet time before bed and have Dad read a portion to them. Supplementing our discussions were topics for further thinking provided at the back of the book, broken down by chapter in a topical format. These offered points of discussion during devotional time or as starters for discussing a chapter we were either reading or had just finished.

The difficulties young Brainerd faced offered opportunities to talk as a family about God's sovereign plans for each person and the fact that as Christians we are not to expect a life of ease and comfort, but rather a life of faithfulness and obedience that will ultimately glorify our Creator, even through times of trial and suffering. The life and ministry of David Brainerd was short and often filled with physical pain and self-doubt about his own worth and abilities. Despite this however, in his short life David exhibited the fullness of God's grace, mercy, and a Spirit-filled life that accomplished much for the kingdom of God through sharing the Word with the natives living in mid-18th century colonial America. Pillars of the Christian faith such as John Wesley, William Carey, Robert Murray McCheyne, and Jim Elliot all acknowledge the personal effect David Brainerd's life story had on them, and it's doubtless that countless others have likewise been drawn to his life witness.

The chance to review this work is timely. Some 265 years ago this week, David Brainerd passed into eternity (October 9, 1747) at the age of 29. His witness however is as strong today as it ever has been, calling on this generation, as those who came before and those to come, to remain faithful to God's call and persevere through any circumstance in the service of our King.

Our Summer Project

This summer our family along with some of our buds embarked on an adventure to document Civil War vets across our county.  It is part of a larger project being led by the State Historical Society called the Sleeping Heroes Project.  Bubby and I started in April with some prep work by doing our own town cemetery.  In May we had our first group project where we tackled a local country cemetery.  We had a huge turn out from our homeschool group, a majority of them showed up which was awesome! We documented 25 soldiers, most having served with Kansas regiments.

Bubby and his friends taking notes at Ridgeway (notice the GAR star on the left)

  Our next project was a huge one, Burlingame Cemetery.  Burlingame was pre-statehood settlement started by abolitionists, so I was expecting to find a bunch of vets there.  It did not disappoint!  Even though we had a much smaller crew once summer kicked into full swing, they were a super dedicated group who faithfully showed up each month, even in the hottest part of summer to honor these guys!  
  We did our last day of documenting this week, and ended up with a total of 150 vets.  There were two Confederate veterans, one of which was given a military burial by his Union vet buddies:)  There were 6 (2 black, 4 white) who served with different regiments of the Colored Troops (just a side note, the white soldiers, serving as officers in the Colored Troops, all came from the 11th Kansas, Co. I, which is going to require further research as to why that was).  One of the things that stands out with what we have found out so far is that a large amount of the soldiers at Burlingame who served with Kansas units served with 11th Kansas, a fair number of which were either wounded or killed at Prairie Grove, Arkansas. One of the soldiers from Burlingame that was killed at Prairie Grove had Rooks County, Kansas named after him in memorial. 

an oddity for Kansas, an 1812 vet!

  Our family also stopped on the way home from a family gathering this summer to walk a very small cemetery.  We found 6 vets there, one of which may have participated in the Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado.
   I must say, prior to this project, the Civil War was just a bunch of battles and dates to me, I never got too excited about it.  Now, however, give me half a chance, and I may talk your leg off! :)

The Civil War Monument at Burlingame

What is a Princess?

Mookie, my little princess

  Living with a girly girl, we're all about princesses in our household.  When Mookie was smaller we had a Disney easy reader called What is a Princess? It asked the question over and over and answered with "a princess is kind...gentle...smart", etc...   Well, the book I received from Christian Focus 4 Kids to review, How to Be a Bible Princess by Catherine Mackenzie, takes the basic qualities of a good princess to a different level.  Ms. Mackenzie takes major or minor women (some I had to look up and read the story again) from the Bible & highlights the characteristics that God used for his purposes, using both good and bad princesses as examples.  For each chapter she lays out the story of that particular character, uses some humorous quizzing to see how the reader may react to the situation, and discusses the character trait displayed in the story and how girls can find that within themselves.  The really cool thing that the author does though, is at the end of each chapter she turns it back to Jesus and how he showed those valuable traits.  Throughout the chapter she is constantly citing scripture to back up what she is laying out there for the reader.

   The book's cover automatically draws your little princess in, when we opened the package containing my copy, my little princess took one look at it's glittery cover and ran away with it to her room:) At 125 pages it is the perfect length for my soon to be 8 year old who is starting to read chapter books (there were a couple of longer chapters, but hey, one was Esther & Mookie loves Esther, so we let that pass).  However, I think it would be best read as a read-aloud devotional to do with your daughter.  Ms. Mackenzie puts forth some really thought provoking ideas and I think that it would be best served as a discussion tool. 
  With all the secular princess media out there, some with questionable subplots, it is so refreshing to find a book that draws a girl's interest to the Biblical princesses and does it in a fun and engaging way.  I loved the quote at the end that says, "a woman who loves God and his Word is to be praised.  She is worth more than rubies and she is worth more than princesses that wear rubies.  She is worth this because of her great God - and He is worthy!"

Thank you to Christian Focus 4 Kids for providing me with a free copy to review, it was a pleasure.  The opinions were my own:) 

The John Stott: The Humble Leader

This past year John R. W. Stott, "old and full of days", entered his final rest and eternal reward. His lifelong ministry and personal relationships with folks young and old alike promises to continue to yield good fruit, ushering future generations into the Kingdom by taking people to the foot of the Cross.

Over the past couple of weeks I've had the chance to learn more about this great man of God while reading the book, John Stott- The Humble Leader, with our young ones (ages 7 & 9). Affectionately known as "Uncle John" to his friends, John Stott is known world-wide for his ministry and written works such as The Cross of Christ and Basic Christianity among over 50 others.

This offering from the Trailblazers series at Christian Focus Publications weaves a brilliant tapestry depicting John's life from his early years as a perfect little heathen while attending All Souls church with his family where he was banned from Sunday School, to his turning point at university where he encountered the Living God and eventually answered his calling that led him back to All Souls as curate and rector among other Godly endeavors over a long and fruitful life. Each chapter ends with "Fact Files", short side-bar commentaries about topics or events mentioned in the chapter. We found these particularly good for focusing in on specific events of Uncle John's life and ministry. Sections titled "Thinking Further" and "Ideas For Things To Do" at the end of the book can help parents engage their young ones in Parts of Stott's life, preaching, and places he worked and visited and ultimately to better know, as I think Uncle John would want, "Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Thank you to Christian Focus 4 Kids for sending me a free copy of this book to review:)

Remembering the Titanic

 I was totally excited to get the chance to review another book for Christian Focus 4 Kids, this one Titanic: the Ship of Dreams- John Harper by Robert Plant.  My oldest, Bubby (9 years old), is totally into seafaring and shipwrecks, so I was looking forward to digging into another historical fiction with him.  He devoured the book in just a little more than a day, and then I got a chance at it:)  The book is based on an actual passenger of the Titanic, John Harper.  I had not heard of Rev. Harper prior to reading this book so I did a little research on him and it made me all the more eager to see what was in store with the fictionalization of his story.  Rev. Harper was a widower from England and traveling with his daughter, Nana to the USA to the Moody Church in Chicago via the Titanic.  The author portrays Rev. Harper just as I would imagine him myself, a person eager to share Jesus with everyone he met.  For example, his home church grew from a mere 25 to over 500 under his time as it's pastor, a sure sign of a thriving church.  While Rev. Harper is the primary character, most of the plot is seen through the eyes of Nana, and it's through her that we get to meet famous people such as the Astors who give her a tour of the ill-fated ship.
  I loved this story for bringing attention to a person who is such a light to the Titanic story.  Even as the ship was going down, Harper was fighting for souls - "women, and children and the unsaved into the lifeboats!".  With his last breath he was leading people to the Lord (that part of the story is very true & his last convert lived to tell the tale!).  The author did a fantastic job not just showing how Harper tried to win souls, but laid out the plan of salvation so plainly that even someone reading the book who is not a Christian could tell what it's all about.
  The book included historical notes on Rev. Harper as well as a timeline of his life & study questions.  I absolutely loved this book!  We will definitely be reading it again, hopefully as a read-aloud (if I can keep from tearing up!).  Thank you Christian Focus 4 Kids for sending me a copy to review!

A picture commonly accepted as being John Harper & his daughter Nana

Starting Young

A young me at a cemetery in Texas

  Genealogy has always been a part of my life.  I can't remember a time when my Mom didn't research; I caught the bug when I was just 18 (read about that here), and my kiddos started going to courthouses & cemeteries when we still had to lug them around in their carriers. 
  Recently one of my buds encouraged me to teach a genealogy class to our homeschool group. Of course I was excited at the chance.  To me, genealogy can teach so much beyond just family relations, it's history, research techniques, problem solving, even math:)  While planning what to do for my fall class, my Mom brought to my attention a really cool program that our State Historical Society is doing called the Sleeping Heroes Project where students research Civil War Veterans buried in Kansas, and then upload the information into a database.  I picked out a handful of local cemeteries we can work on documenting, which was easy since our county has hardly been done yet.  In order to capture the kids' interest (and ok, I admit it, I couldn't wait!) I researched one vet from each of the cemeteries I chose.  I was really surprised at what I found: a spy, one who marched with Sherman through Georgia, a Confederate, one who fought at the first major battle west of the Mississippi, and even one of my own kiddo's ancestors who was captured at Chancellorsville. 
  My enthusiasm for the project rubbed off on Bubby who begged and begged for me to let him start transcribing the ones in our city cemetery.  I finally relented, making the justification that I could see how the whole transcription/research thing would go for a 3rd grader.  It actually went pretty well, he's been accurate with writing down exact spellings, etc... & actually helped me tweak my spreadsheet too.  My plan is to let the older kids do the research and transcription and the younger ones do the bulk of searching out where the G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) stars are that mark the vets' graves.
  The plan is to meet once a month and work as a group and if the kiddos and their families have further interest they can work on a smaller cemetery on their own.   I'm excited to see what else we uncover with this project and maybe get some young ones interested in some history!
 

It Never Hurts to Ask

Recently, while prepping for a research trip to Atchison, my mom e-mailed the Depot museum there where our distant cousin William "Deafy" Boular's special boots have been on display too see if they were still as such.  She received a reply that they were not, but if she would ask for the curator upon her arrival, they would bring the boots out for her to see.  Awesome!  This led not only to an actual viewing of the boots, but a one on one with the curator where she could ask some questions of him as well.  She found out that if he had still had his legs, he would have been over 6 foot tall.  The museum is gearing up for another exhibit on Deafy as soon as funding allows, so I'll have to revive my research on him I suppose:)

Deafy's boots

Papa's Girl

Today we lost all of our menfolk (except Baby Boy) to the pursuit of the wild morel mushroom, so we needed an adventure for just us girls, which included Grandma.  Mookie has been dying to take some flowers to her great-grandpa's grave, so we took advantage of the beautiful day and headed out.  After a few side trips, and Mookie questioning whether or not we'd actually get there, we arrived to Cummings Cemetery.  Cummings is just a spot in the road nowadays, but it's the town where three generations of my family lived and are buried.  Mookie took the ultimate care to make sure the flowers were laid carefully for the Papa she loved so much:) 
  I wasn't as close to Papa at her age as I was in my grown up years, but I sure enjoyed the time spent visiting and just being together later on.  I tried to make sure we got in to visit him as often as we could because he absolutely adored his great-grandkids, and they him.  In fact, they got away with so much more than I ever could when I was their age.  The glass figurines in the front window my sister & I couldn't touch, Papa would set out for my kiddos to play with on the floor.  They loved to lay down on the floor as he grabbed their feet securely and said "now what are you going to do?", which would be followed by laughter and wiggles to get free. 
  Some of the pictures that are most dear to me are some we found when we were breaking up my grandparents' house after they had both passed away.  They were ones my Papa took one Halloween and epitomize the love that the kiddos and he shared.  He must have seen us coming and quickly grabbed his camera and opened the door and snapped pics as they were yelling "trick or treat!".  I keep these in their original photo develop packet in a drawer, every time I pull them out I tear up as I flip through the series that starts with us exiting the car to pics outside by the bush before we left.  I sure do miss going to his house, the door swinging open and a hug with a "how you doing girl?".  We miss you Papa, and hope to see you again one day!

ding dong!

"trick or treat!"

The kids with the glass figurines in the front window.

Operation Surprise Birthday

  Nine years ago we were blessed with the arrival of our first baby.  Bubby loves celebrations, but since the arrival of our Baby Boy I thought I would lay low on organizing festivities this year.  The only problem is how do you argue with this sweet boy who comes up to you a mere 2 weeks prior to his birthday and says "Mom, I wouldn't mind if you threw me a surprise party for my birthday".  Drat!  It took me a while to figure something out, but he's been dying to go to the Combat Air Museum in the Capitol, so I organized an impromptu field trip for our homeschooling buddies which included touring the museum & then eating a sack lunch on the State Historical Society grounds followed by cake & walking the trails.  Simple, but it would do the trick.  One of Bubby's best buds came with us to the museum and we met some of our other buddies and Ducky and Grandma there. Bubby didn't know our destination until we arrived - he was so excited!

overlooking the museum

The kids loved the planes, and even though we didn't spend much time at each display, they enjoyed every minute.

sitting in one of the helicopters

In fact, most our time looked like this...

we adults just tried to keep up.  In fact, in the second hangar there were so many planes the kids tried to keep away from the parents and all we could hear was the sound of their flip flops:)
  One of the highlights of the museum this time was a really nice display of Daniel Forbes who is from our hometown (you can read about our adventure with him here).
   Our buddies who joined us at the museum had to leave, but some other buddies were able to join us at the Historical Society instead so the fun continued!  At first we were worried about our plans for eating outdoors...

burning the prairie grass at the Historical Society

but the wind was blowing away from us and it was finished rather quickly so it didn't change our plans one bit!  We played on their wonderful playground, ate, opened presents, and ate cake and then went on a walk to two of the highlights of the trails out there on the grounds - the bridges!  One is a historical bridge that has been transplanted there, the other is a suspension bridge.  It was under the suspension bridge that the kids explored the creek and built little "wells", caught nightcrawlers and threw rocks into the deeper water.  Fun stuff!

We were so blessed to spend such a wonderful day with our good buddies!  Bubby dubbed it the best birthday ever!

The Prince of Preachers

   

  As a homeschooling momma with a history background I am always looking for new resources to give my kiddos a desire to learn more about history.  So, when recently I was given an opportunity to review a historical fiction on Charles H. Spurgeon I jumped at the chance! 

  The book is Charles Spurgeon: The Prince of Preachers by Christian Timothy George in the Trailblazers series.  When our family went to Texas last year we took the Trailblazers book on George Mueller & did it as a read aloud & the kids couldn’t get enough of it, so I was ready to try another! 

  I have long enjoyed reading Spurgeon quotes and used them frequently on my Facebook page, but never found the time to read about the man himself.  While this was a historical fiction for youth, it was inspiring to read about a man who was so gifted in the way he proclaimed God to the masses.  The writer showed a man who was able to personalize the Gospel for the everyday man & rattle the old school & “traditional” Anglican church. Spurgeon’s love for telling people about Jesus was even illustrated with having him leave his bride waiting at the altar while he evangelized :).  The book did not focus on all the sunshiny parts of Spurgeon’s life though, it also included his bouts with depression,  & his troubles with gout.

  The book was all tied up neatly with the story beginning and ending with Queen Victoria disguising herself to go out and see this great preacher.  Now while that is surely part of the fiction of the book, I found it a wonderful way to show what a draw this man had on all walks of life, from the elite to the poorest orphan who charged a bench tax, to the maid desperate to learn. 

   One of the things I enjoy about the Trailblazer books is that they all end with a brief historical summary of the subject of the book & a timeline of their life, and discussion questions.  So these books are perfect for incorporating into your homeschool curriculum!  I was very blessed to have the opportunity to review this book & learn more about this great man in the process and look forward to finding out more about him!

 Thank you Christian Focus Publications for giving me the chance to review this by giving me a free Kindle copy to use!  This is my first time participating in the blog tour & I’m excited!

Hometown Hero

Last week we went on a field trip with our homeschool buds to the National Guard Museum at Forbes Field in Topeka.  They had artifacts from the Civil War to present, everything from bayonets to a recreated M.A.S.H. unit.  Our guide even let the kids try on some uniforms at the end, which of course inspired some pretend play of world war III after lunch:)

One super cool thing we learned is that Forbes Field is named for Daniel Forbes who is buried in our hometown of Overbrook!  Major Forbes is known for being one of the pioneers of strategic photo-reconnaissance flying combat missions & died in 1948 while piloting a "Flying Wing".  Of course, when Bubby found out that he was buried in our town's cemetery, we had to pay a visit to Maj. Forbes!

Happy Accidents

Today I had planned to do other people's research.  In an attempt to do a little "cemetery stomping" (as my mom and I like to call it), my mom & I took Mookie & Baby to the Burlingame cemetery to take some pictures that were requested on www.findagrave.com - one of my favorite sites.  I picked Burlingame for 3 reasons: 1) it had the highest # of unanswered photo requests from that site 2) I wanted to scout out the Civil War veterans there and check on the possibilities for going there for an adventure I'm planning with our homeschool coop this summer (more on that later) & 3) a bunch of my husband's family was there and even if the photo requests didn't pan out, I could take digital pics of the family stones and post those on Find A Grave.
  It was way too cold to walk the cemetery with the little ones, so we mostly did a drive by and found a few of the requests, and looked at a few Civil War vets along the way.  We ended by taking the family pics.  As I surveyed the familiar stones, I noticed something I had forgotten, that grandpa John Wagner was a G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) vet.  That family has perplexed me for years.  I started with sketchy info on them, and since they moved around from NY, to Canada, to PA, finally settling in KS I didn't know where to start to find their state of origin so I gave up on extending further into the past for a while.  However, this summer I am planning on leading a bunch of our homeschoolers to help in something the Kansas State Historical Society is calling it's Sleeping Heroes project, where they document where Civil War veterans throughout the state are buried.  I have picked out a few cemeteries I would like to work on and selected a veteran from each that I will have researched to give some fun background to the kids so they can see what history can lie beneath the Company, Regiment & State and dates we'll be gathering.  I have already had success with finding that one marched with Sherman through Georgia, and another fought at the Battle of Wilson's Creek (the 1st major battle west of the Mississippi). So, when I saw grandpa Wagner, I knew I needed to revisit my efforts and make him my man for that cemetery!  I had no idea where that would lead me!
  When I attacked Ancestry.com at home, I found a pension record for him, narrowed down by the fact that he filed in Kansas, was from Pennsylvania, and applied for it himself, since he died not too long before his wife.

Ok, I had a starting place.  Then I Googled the 84th Pennsylvania Infantry and found a John Wagoner listed.  Now, the 84th Co. F was from Lycoming County but I was still in the dark as to being for sure that was him.  I was missing Grandpa John in the 1860 census so I looked him up there in that year and BINGO!  There he was with Grandma Susan and their 3 kids, so this was the correct John Wagoner!  The cool thing was that the info the Google search came up with was that he was captured at the battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863 - so much more yet to learn!!
  But wait!  There's more!  After he returned from his own expedition with Grandpa Duck & Daddy, I was sharing with Bubby what we had found.  He was anxious to find more (I love that my almost 9 year old loves this stuff!).  So, I did another Ancestry search and found the marriage record for Grandpa John and Grandma Susan!  But apparently Lycoming County, Pennsylvania records during this period are wonderfully detailed because it listed both of their parents!

  So a day of not planning to work on any genealogy of my own, turned into the biggest breakthrough I've had in a long time.  Wow!

Rules of Research

Always answer your phone!
The phone rings at 7:45 this morning, I'm in the middle of making breakfast before we head out to homeschool co-op at 8:45.  I almost don't answer, but the inclusion of an actual person's name on the caller id with the unknown area code intrigues me.  I answer.  The gal asks if she has the right person & then says she's trying to find out more about my ggg-grandfather Ebenezer Tanner's 2nd wife. Hold the phone!!

A picture of Ebenezer Tanner that always hung in our living room.

Never, ever give up on genealogy forum posts!
This gal had found a post I made on GenForum 13 years ago in 1998.  She was so excited to find a reference to her gr-grandma's maiden name, she took a shot in the dark, Googled my name & called the number she found.  People's e-mails change, but if someone has sheer determination,  they will track you down.  I don't use forums much anymore, some of that comes from lack of available time, but I am even more convinced of their usefulness after today:)
Always cite your references!
Early on in my research, it seemed like a mad dash to find all there was to find, after all there were a ton of blank spaces on that family tree!  In my rush, I was very lax in writing sources down.  So when this gal asked me today how I knew her gr-grandma's maiden name, I couldn't tell her for certain.  Hopefully I have it written in my notes somewhere.  Sourcing things is becoming increasingly important in this age of information.  People take a quick glance at a source & take it as their own without much thought as to the accuracy of the item.  I have seen many a family tree on-line clouded with mis-information.  It only helps you in the long run to keep track of where you got that nugget of info.  You never know when you'll be asked to prove something, even at 7:45 on a busy morning:)

Traditions

  At our church's Sunday evening services, people like to tease the elders, who lead the services, about their repetitive choices for hymns.  The good thing about this though is by now I can sing many of the verses by heart.  So on Sunday when my eyes were wandering while I was singing, they lingered on the large cross at the front of the sanctuary and I was reminded of my youth.  I grew up attending a Methodist church whose building was nearly 100 years old.  Before I was old enough to focus on the sermon (and even after I was), you could catch me staring at the huge stained glass windows wondering what went thru the minds of those Biblical characters, counting the water-stains on the ceiling, & pretty much memorizing every inch of that sanctuary:)  The building oozed history and tradition.  I miss the smallness of the congregation (average about 80), the doxology we sang every week, the pomp & circumstance, & those old hymns we sang.  I think that's why I enjoy the traditional evening service we attend now.

The church of my childhood

 As a contrast, our present church's morning service is contemporary, draws about 400 or more each Sunday, and is in a modern building.  The old me would never have thought to leave my traditions behind, but I love where we are now.   For instance, the music (a mix of current & old standards) is led by an amazing praise band, complete with guitars, piano, drums with the occasional trumpet, sax, & even harmonica.  I remember being a teenager and visiting a church like that and being at awe at the novelty of it.  The structure of the service, while mostly set involves no pomp & circumstance, but flows casually.  One of our kids' favorite part to observe is when the communion trays are brought out & they can watch the firefly-like reflections on the ceiling.  I have seen both worlds & have enjoyed both for different reasons.  I don't think I would choose one over the other, because really, the traditions aren't the important part:)

Lefty

Last year, my little girl announced, "Mom, Daddy and I are twins".  Of course my reply was "Why is that?".  She very matter-of-factly answered "We both use our left hands".  She is constantly looking for a connection for her left-handedness.  Late last year after finding out her great-grandma was left-handed, she asked "Mom, did she like vanilla ice cream?".  Not knowing exactly where she was going with that I answered "No, but your Great-Granddad Murray did", which was followed by her response of "what kind of ice cream did Grandma Doris like?" and Mommy's lightbulb went on in her head.  So we called up Aunt Karen and found out it was Butter Brickle, which didn't solve her ice cream problem, but satisfied it for the short term.  Every once in a while it will crop up and I'll explain to her how special she is because of it and who she shares that trait with and she'll smile that sweet smile and look at me with those big eyes and absolutely melt my heart:)

Fun Among the Trees

While running errands, if it's a nice day I always try to indulge the kiddos with an outing to a playground, or something outdoors. Today we went to the arboretum in Lawrence.  The funny thing is the last time we went, it was pre-Spring too, so we have never walked it's lovely grounds when the trees are leaved out.  The kids don't mind though, and today was no exception:)
 There were water features to float leaf boats down,

 Cute statuaries,

And of course fighting over who would push baby brother around:)

A Tale of Two Ladies

Every child has a family member or hero they strive to emulate when they're growing up.  Mine was always two of my great-grandmothers.

Mary Elizabeth Clem Gentry

Mabel "June" Tanner Mauzey

 Both were, to me, very beautiful.  Not that appearance has ever been very important to me, but it would thrill me when my Mom would say "your Grandma June would have loved your long brown hair", or someone would tell me that I had nice blue eyes like my Dad (who got his eyes in part from Grandma Mary, because both his parents had brown). 
  Both were exceptional at handiwork and creating beautiful things.  Grandma Mary quilted, embroidered and created cutwork as well as being a great baker.  She even baked cakes for a living after my great-grandpa died.  Grandma June excelled in those areas too and entered her creations constantly in county fairs.

Grandma June and pictures she made out of postage stamps

Some of my family produces beautiful embroidery, cross-stitch and quilting too.  While I would love to be able to do that, I have neither the patience or desire to except to try my hand at it occasionally.  I do think back on the time my Grandma Murray taught me how to embroider my first tea towel and said that my stitches were small and even like her mom's, and that was good enough for me:)
  Neither of them was just a girly girl either.  Grandma June enjoyed fishing with her father and brothers, something I'm sure she picked up as a result of losing her mother at a young age.  Grandma Mary was a great shot with a gun.  My dad said that she could pick a snake out of a tree with just one shot!
  Both were also kind, gentle, and proper Christian women.  All attributes to strive for. 
Now Grandma Mary died long before I was even thought of and Grandma June died when I was just two years old, but they have both had profound influences on my life just by the tales I was told about them.  I am so thankful for their examples and hope to pass on their good influences to my own children.  So whenever we drive through LeRoy, KS I point out the house where Grandma Mary lived to the kids, or when they ask me where I got my wedding ring, I proudly tell them, "that belonged to your Great-Great-Grandma June, and she would have loved you very much" :).

In Pursuit of History

Today our family celebrated the life and passing of one of our own.  My great-aunt Elsie, almost 102, passed away this week.  She was a wonderful and kind woman.  I didn't really truly get to know her though until I started doing genealogy (which I think if you are doing true family history research, you should not only be finding out about your deceased ancestors you know nothing about, but also drawing close to those that are still alive).  Aunt Elsie and I would sit and talk at length about family both past and present.  She took my mom & I out to see cemeteries with long forgotten relatives.  She invited distant cousins over so we could chat about those same relatives and pour over pictures of the same.  She would also chat about her daughter and her family whom she loved dearly.  It was always a blessing to go and visit, or to receive a letter from her which she would send regularly and I would try so hard to answer even though I was (& still am awful at it).    Even though I hadn't seen her recently, I still missed her and loved her dearly. 
  After the graveside services, I had to look up some relatives...

   My gr-gr grandparents Schaede are buried just in the next row.  Aunt Elsie told me that when she was little she used to pretend that she had an earache just so Grandpa J.G. would blow pipe smoke in her ear to cure it:) 
  After eating lunch with my folks, we headed out for one more adventure.  My hubby likes to research the Civilian Conservation Corps in Kansas so we headed south to just outside of Yates Center to the Woodson Fishing Lake where Camp Fegan was around 1934-5.  It was a family adventure.  While my husband took pictures of the dam, the kids found shells on the shore...

and then helped Daddy try to find building foundations from the camp.  Bubby was totally excited to find, by himself, the CCC flagpole.

What a glorious day of good weather, reconnecting with family, and exploring:)