People From the Past

For several years Jim and I have been involved in the church's FREP (now called Family Research Indexing) program. We view documents like census records on the Family Research website, then type a transcription of the record and send it back to the Family History department so that it can be made available for people researching their genealogy. We have found it to be interesting, enjoyable, and also another way of consecrating our time for the building of the kingdom. Some of the records have affected me profoundly, such as slave census records where the only name that appears is the name of the owner. The slaves would be listed as a black male, 24 years old, for example. It showed me how truly dehumanizing slavery is. Though I have always known that slavery was wrong, I still was thoughtful for a long while after I typed those. Death records often have a similar affect on me. Today we had the opportunity to go to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building to teach the youth of our ward how to index as part of their youth conference. Most of them took it seriously and some even completed the record they downloaded before the time was up. Maybe it will spark an interest in one or two and they'll continue to participate in this important work. Anyone reading this post who desires to, can become involved by checking out the site www.familysearch.org . The pictures are of a few of the 44 youth participating today.

Happy Holidays 2008

Happy Holidays 2008 from

Back, L to R: Valerie, Jeremy, Adam, Emily, Samantha, Emily, Nate, Joel, Jennifer, Stephanie, Melissa

Front, L to R: James, Jim, Cassidy, Sue, Bonnie, Brandon

As Good As New

Every year around Thanksgiving Jim tries to avoid me because he knows it's indoor project time and I always have one in mind. However, this year he thought up his own project and decided to refinish our wood floors. He rented a large floor sander to do the majority of the sanding and then went around the edges with a little palm sander. I truly have never seen so much dust in my life! My scriptures, which were sitting on the dining table upstairs, looked like they hadn't been touched in seven years. One afternoon, during the middle of the sanding, we left to go get some lunch and to do a little shopping. When we returned home we could hear a strange noise, so Jim ran upstairs to find that the little sander had turned itself on and had sanded a perfect circle about 1/4" deep, destroying four of the parquet squares. We are lucky we didn't have a fire and we are lucky that we had kept some of the leftover tiles from when we built the house. How the sander turned on is still a mystery, but we did consider consulting an exorcist for a time. The Christmas tree got put up a little later this year, but the wait was worth it--the floor is beautiful. Great job Jim, but don't think this lets you off the hook for a project I have in mind. Anyone have any suggestions for a new paint color in the upstairs family bathroom?

After and Before

Floor squares destroyed by maniacal sander

Our beautiful, shining floor

December 7th

On December 7, 1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, a day that changed the lives of my parents' generation forever. On another December 7th, twenty-one years earlier, my mother was born. So today I wish her the happiest of birthdays. I'm so glad for her gentle, quiet ways and spirit and her example of enduring to the end. I'm thankful for the things she has taught me. How fortunate we are to still have her with us and in good health. Happy birthday Mom!

Mom and Me, Autumn 1952

We Gather Together

For family and friends near and far,
We give thanks today wherever you are.
We missed all those who are too far away,
But having LeFevres here made the day.

Fire!

While Jim and I were getting ready for church today, our lights started to act weird--brown outs, no power, and so on, then we couldn't get the garage door opener to work, then it worked but the motor wouldn't shut off. I left for church with an uncomfortable feeling and it wasn't just because we were running late. I almost asked Jim to drop me off so that I could get in to play the prelude and return home to check things out, but I didn't. I just kept a silent prayer in my heart that we (our home) would be blessed because we were being faithful and attending church. Halfway through the last talk we heard the fire truck go by and I knew that it was headed for our house. I looked at Jim ( I was on the stand--he was in the congregation) and mouthed the word "GO!" He looked at me, I said it again, and he got up and left. Halfway to the door a ward member came in and told him that there was a fire truck at our house. Another member came and got our next door neighbors and for one brief moment I thought, maybe it's their house and not ours. I cannot begin to describe the feelings I had inside and I don't think I heard another word that the speaker said. I'm sure I played the closing hymn and postlude in record time. I saw that Jim had not returned and I was just sick. Jenny came up to the organ and told me that word had already spread around the ward and that it was the power box in front of our house that was on fire. She took me home and I was so thankful to see our home still standing, although we didn't have power again until the evening. We are grateful that the neighbor who drove by and reported the fire wasn't in church for whatever reason and called the fire department who arrived before the flames reached our trees. I was so relieved that I almost burst into tears when I stood on the sidewalk and thanked those men who serve our community so well. Jim tells me that two of the cables leading to our home had burned through and the dirt had turned to glass. Thanks to Jenny for letting me take our dinner over to her house to cook and thanks to my parents for allowing us to move our dinner upstairs when the rest of the family arrived. Jim was also grateful that he got out of Sunday School.

Fabric Magic

My mother sewed a lot as I was growing up. When I was about 10 years old she began to teach me. I fell in love with the magical process of turning pieces of fabric into an article of clothing or craft item. In those days, sewing your own clothes saved lots of money. I discovered that I could have a much bigger wardrobe by making my own. When I had children, I sewed for them (sometimes Joel, too) and every once in awhile I experienced temporary insanity and made them all Halloween costumes or pajamas for Christmas. As fabric became more expensive, it was less economical to sew for them, and it also became so overwhelming to make Easter and Christmas dresses for six girls. By the time most of them were teenagers my sewing really slacked off with only an occasional craft project, costume for a show, or just mending to keep my sewing machine busy. In recent years I've picked it up again, but this time my passion is quilts. It is so satisfying to have that magical experience with fabric, turning many pieces into one quilt. I give most of the quilts I make away and realize I should have been taking photos all along to remember them, so from now on I'll be making that pictorial record. This picture is the fall quilt I made for myself this year, pieced by me, machine quilted by Sew'n'Save, and bound by Melissa. (Click on the picture for a close-up of the darling quilted oak leaves and pumpkins.)

Leaves Are Falling All Around

Last Saturday Melissa's kids helped their grandpa with the annual leaf round-up. They helped herd them into a big pile, then jumped on them until the leaves were sufficiently subdued to put in the bags. Even little Cassidy got in on the fun, putting a couple of leaves in the bag at a time and saying "thank you" each time she did. All had a good time. Unfortunately, after we turned our backs the leaves stampeded, covering the yard again.

Our Favorite "Spooks"

Halloween Fun 2008

At our ward "Trunk-or-Treat" party

Visiting the Kirkham great-grandparents

Two of my nieces

Yes, I Know It's November

Yes, I know it's November, but I'm a little behind on my October blogging. There were just so many things going on--but one more post after this one and I'll be caught up. Last Monday night for family home evening, Melissa and her kids, Sam, Nate, and kids, Valerie and Jeremy, Jenny, Stephanie, Jim, and I got together for the annual carving of the pumpkins. This tradition started a few years back when Sam and Nate had grown enough pumpkins in their garden to share. This year we had to buy our pumpkins, but it didn't make it any less fun.

Pumpkin Walk

The city of Syracuse sponsors a pumpkin walk just before Halloween each year and this was our second time to attend. Besides being able to see the many creatively carved pumpkins there is a mini-trick-or-treat for the children. It was warmer this year than last, thank goodness, and we got there earlier so that we didn't have to stand in line as long. Afterward we went to Sam and Nate's house for dessert. Everyone had a good time.

Scrapbook Fun

I started scrapbooking about 14 years ago and although I don't keep up with it as well as some of my daughters, it's a hobby that I enjoy. It has expanded to include cardmaking as well. Every once in awhile our friend Jill Thomason, who works for Close to My Heart, comes and teaches us something new and fun to do. These photos are from the party we had in October where we made a Halloween card and one page layout.