Visiting Teaching message

I found this visual online and used it for the message this month for visiting teaching.  I love this concept and wished I had one hanging around when my kids were little.  I loved them to pieces but sometimes the problems might have been too much of the focus.  Being older really helps the focus improve.  This is certainly how our Heavenly Father operates.

Ancestry DNA Results

are in!

These are mine on top with my Dad's on the bottom line.
 Great Britain Scandinavia Ireland includes Scotland/Wales Western Europe   Other
ME      40        28                 20                                     9               3  
Dad     45        26                 23                                      --              6

My other is 2% Italy and 1% Iberian Peninsula (Spain area). I believe those are also part of my dad's 6% other.

Of course, the reason they aren't an exact match is because 50% of my DNA comes from my mom. Even siblings will not be the same although very similar because of the mixing of the DNA which occurs with each child.  The good news is that my dad showed up as my dad on the DNA and the first person under cousin was my known cousin Margaret Gibson Bell.  There were many familiar connections as many of my Owen family and the Morgan family have been involved in research and have done the DNA as well.  Of course, the DNA stuff is very new and we are likely to learn a lot more in the next 50 years but it is fun.

I can't remember Gary's much but I do know that he is more British than most current British people are.

We have not yet found anyone on our family tree from Scandinavia.  As my dad was adopted and there are some unknowns about his biological father it is possible that they might be that branch of the family.  His biological mother is where at least some of the Irish comes from as Morgans were from Ireland.  My dad has the red hair to prove it.  It will be interesting to see if we can make some headway in finding more about my dad's biological father.  

In the connections of possible cousins lists on Ancestry there are some who appear not to be connected to the Morgan side of the family but can't figure out where the connection might be. Mysteries--I love them but don't have too much time to investigate at the moment.

x

Jena's BIG 20th BIRTHDAY!

It was a good thing that Jena wanted to go swimming with us for her birthday and that only worked on Monday night because Saturday, her actual birthday was packed and mostly with things others planned.

It started early with a trip down to Provo to share donuts with Ben to celebrate a part of her day with him (we got there around 10:15 but he was still very sedated and fell asleep during the visit. But he did manage to eat a donut before that happened.)

We then headed to BYU to attend a family concert with Emily Ehlen and her mom.  It was preformed by the symphony and was called "Musical Zoo."  They played music which had been based on animals like "Flight of the Bumble Bee" and "The Swan".  They also taught a bit about the pieces and the different instruments.  It was very enjoyable.  And it is always great to be back on the campus at BYU.  It is so beautiful in the fall and always brings back so many memories.

Jena with Emily Ehlen

Of course I had to take some pictures AND of course, it has changed.  Finally Felt Hall is gone, replaced by the new red brink dorms which have transformed the whole Heritage Hall area.  Last time I looked there were three remaining dorms right next to campus still there but now even the road between the campus and the dorms is gone.  Changes everywhere---

This was Felt Hall about three years ago.  I lived here during my freshman and sophomore years at BYU.  We started off in Felt #38 which is on the top back part of the building and then moved to #39 on the top front.  It would be the apartment on the right size which you really can't see in this picture.

Here is what is there now:

The grey building under construction sits where Felt and Fox Hall were when I was a student.  I guess my freshman roommates and I won't be able to come and visit the dorm like people did our freshmen year.  I believe they had been the first occupants of Felt Hall. Memories!!!!

 Fall at BYU is always so beautiful---

 This used to be a main road through campus but now it is being replaced by gardens and walkways.  It makes sense with the large number of dorms to the east and north, but it removes another roadway which is great for those walking to campus but driving must be increasingly tough.

This part of the road must have been replaced a couple of years ago as the grounds look fairly established and include a little pond and stream.  I am sure removing the road has made the whole area safer.

One last picture of the "Y" on the mountain.  It was a rainy morning and big white clouds were sitting low on the mountain.  I am sure they left rain as up in our area the peaks were snow covered yesterday too as we were heading back north.

We dropped Gary off at his truck and Jena and I headed up to Ogden.  Jessica had invited Jena to go painting with her and Elessia (Happy birthday to Elessia, too.  They share a birthday day.).  Only proble was that downtown Ogden was celebrating the Harvest Moon Festival and the parking lots and the streets were packed.  Not the best day to be in downtown Ogden.  I got Liam and spent the afternoon playing with him while they all painted ceramics.

Jena then brought Jena back at 5 so that we could eat a bit of dinner and get to the Women's Broadcast at 6.  It was great and one of my friends (Katie Graham) designed and posted this visual from Pres. Uchtdorf's talk:

Isn't that awesome?  She said I could share and print it.

We enjoyed cake afterwards with our Stake although very few people from our ward were there.  I guess now that it is on TV it is easier to stay home.

Finally we get home to stay and Jena gets to opening her presents around 10  (I wanted to clean the house and wrap her gifts which took a bit of time.)

And that is how Jena celebrated her 20th birthday...and the final installment is on Monday night. (Don't feel bad for Gary as he and I are heading down to Provo on Friday night for a BYU game and fun as part of his birthday present!)

LOVE-LOVE- LOVE these two people and everyone else in my family.  We are so lucky!

Happy Birthday to Gary, Happy birthday to Jena.....

Friday night we celebrated Gary's birthday with a quiet evening of KFC and game playing with Mom Hall.  It was actually a perfect way to end a busy week and celebrate Gary.  Our kids are all gather tomorrow night for a swim party to celebrate the birthdays because that is what Jena wanted and that is the day that would work.

I did make him this "cupcake with a candle" pancake for breakfast!

As Jena's birthday was on Saturday, she wanted donuts for her class on Friday.  Krispy Kreme gave me a hat for the birthday girl.  She said that the donuts were a big hit with her classmates AND the staff. And they sang happy birthday to her which she liked but it was embarrassing.

Tornado Thursday ...and no, I am not in Texas!

The past Thursday we had two confirmed tornadoes in Utah---one in Ogden and one in southern Utah.  And I was totally out of the loop on the whole weather situation as I sat inside at my desk in Salt Lake.  We had light rain off and on during the day.  However apparently no one in the office keeps in touch with the outside world as there was no hint of the weather chaos happening in Davis and Weber counties to the north of the Salt Lake Valley.

I had looked at my phone during my short lunch break and noticed that I didn't have any type of messages as all which is unusual.  However I was too busy to think about it too much.  I worked until about 5:45 as I was meeting someone in Park City for dinner.  I grabbed my phone and headed out to my car and then tried to type the address where I was going into my phone and discovered my phone was not working...no internet.  I decided to head up the Canyon and get directions in Park City.  I did try to send an message to Gary but that didn't work either.  I was still clueless.......

As I was driving through the city, all of sudden my phone started beeping like crazy as emails, messages, and missed calls started coming in.  Shortly after that Gary called me and he was the one that first told me about the tornado and the crazy weather up in our area.  Tree limbs, green leaves, etc, were all over our neighborhood due to the high winds and rain.  There were some patches of minor flooding and fences broken everywhere.  It was much worse in other areas including Ogden where the tornado touched down. Over 35000 people were without power for several hours, some for a day or two.

I took these pictures today.  We just had one branch break and several sunflowers downed...plus leaves everywhere.  Our basketball goal was also tipped over but luckily it didn't break the backboard. (The rim was already bent from being tipped over a few years ago.  Maybe we will get it fixed now as Jena liked to shoot baskets in the fall.)

This is a picture taken in Clearfield at the beginning of the JV game that was posted on Facebook. (The game was called shortly after this shot was taken.)  Gary's mom happened to notice some horses in a field across the street from her house as they were running around in circles and then all bunched up together.  She saw the dark clouds and actually watched the approach of the storm from Antelope Island until it passed over her house.

The storm brought wind, rains, and some hail in our area and some snow in the higher mountains. The winds calmed down by that night but the rain continued until Saturday morning.

While all of this was going on, I was still heading up to Park City for dinner.  I had gotten a message for the person I was meeting that the weather was okay in Park City although they were expecting storms later that night.

Unfortuanately, later that night happened to be the moment we left the restaurant and started ending to our homes.  I had decided it would be safer to travel down Parley's Canyon back to the Salt Lake area and then north to Syracuse rather than taking the back freeways which would take me through East Canyon and down I-84 to Ogden and then Syracuse.  About 5 minutes into Parley's Canyon they had a traffic report starting with "Parley's Canyon has very slow driving as it is getting hit the hardest at the moment due to rain and standing water on the road."  Great, it was too late to turn around so I got to have about 20 minutes of some of the scariest driving I have done in years.  The roads were very wet, lots of slow traffic and standing water in spots.  The rain was so heavy that it was beyond the ability of the windshield wipers to keep it clear.  I was one happy person when I enter the Valley and started driving on the more familiar and well lit freeways.  It was striking as I finally drove down Gordon Ave. to our neighborhood to see the amount of trees and debris all over the yards and roads. It was scary to me that I didn't even know it was happening.

And this is just a baby storm compared to what happens in Texas!!!

"Wednesday is a special day......

"It is the day I got to play with my grandchildren......"  Well, two out of three of them!

Wednesday morning I went with Jessica and Elessia to their 3D ultrasound appointment so we got to see Zander moving around.  When Liam got bored with that, he and I snuck out to Wheeler Farm which was nearby and enjoyed walking around and seeing the animals.  Jessica and Elessia joined us for a little bit before I had to head off for a UDSF meeting.

Then that evening I got to watch Scarlett while Scott and Chantel went on a quick dinner date to CAfe Rio.  Scarlett and I were eating some plums which Chantel had picked from a nearby tree.  I usually don't like plums, but these were great.  I might have to revise my opinion of plums....or have Chantel pick them out for me.

 Cheezy Grin Time!

Of course, seeing two grandchildren means I am missing the third-Niki.  So I facetimed for the second day in a row and Tosha sent me this picture of Niki.  I love his shoes.

And here is one of the pictures from the 3D Ultrasound--little Zander!

Expected arrival around Dec. 8th.

A Peek at my Office

This is actually the back side of  The Children's Center where the parking lot is.  The front is the same except it has some green grass and a pretty iron rod gate at the bottom of the stairs which is locked at night.  It was build in the late 1800s.

This is the Salt Lake office. There is also one in Kearns.

Here are some pictures from my office:

I probably should take pictures at the end of the year to compare.  I saw my first clients on Thursday and I already feel behind as there is paperwork which goes with client appointments.  And my first little client was a whirlwind of activity so I think she touched, dumped, or climbed on everything in my office.  Welcome to my world on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

So far, I still love it!  (Glad I saved toys all of these years!)

Cute views of the grandchildren----

I hope my grandchildren will like looking at the blog books and seeing pictures of themselves as they grew.  We love them (and their parents) so much and they will be able to see that through the years and long after we are gone.  I am grateful to my children who share and post pictures as well.

I also have a photo album called "Refrigerator Pictures".  I display pictures on the refrigerator and when I switch them out, I put the old ones in that album.  Here is a current look at the refrigerator:

Family shots of the Hall/Page/Bird, and Kerr-McKinney families

Jena with the Falcon at the Buddy Walk last week

Scott/Chantel and Scarlett with their blue cupcake announcing grandson number 4

Austen and Niki working on a model car

Liam clapping for his new little brother, grandson number 3

GRANDCHILDREN PHOTO UPDATE

Scarlett and Chantel joined some friends and went hiking up Waterfall Canyon one day recently. She loved it:

Niki is modeling his family reunion hat which finally made it to Okinawa. We missed them at the reunion but sent some hats and pictures to share some of it with them. Tosha says that he likes wearing this hat better than most hats.

Niki is also trying out one of the family sports-bowling.  It was fun for the first few frames but then he was ready for something else.

Liam had his first pony ride and totally loved it.  They weren't sure he would like it and the ride operator assured them she would refund their money if he didn't.  No problem, Jessica said he giggled the whole time he was on the horse.  That boy loves animals.....a lot like his mom Jessica.

 A sweet picture Jessica sent of Liam at the park.

Hard to imagine that 2 more little grandsons are on their way to our family---we are so lucky because look how awesome the first three are!

665 miles......

Last Sunday morning when Gary started the car to head to Church he happened to look at the odometer:

190,000 MI

That doesn't happen very often!

I just checked the odometer this morning and I have gone 665 miles this week.  I could have made it to my sister Valerie's house for a visit.  Instead, I:

• Went to my internship in Salt Lake three times
• Made three trips to Provo--twice to visit Ben and once to spend the afternoon with Eileen Bradford and Sandy Lai, dear friends from Hong Kong.
• Went to school in Kaysville
• Drove Jena to Woods Cross for Wonderwood, her reading and math class.
• and the assorted collection of errands--getting gas (a few times), groceries, getting stuff for my office, etc.

That doesn't even include the miles put on Gary's truck as he took Jena to Salt Lake for her mission and then to Layton the next day, taking her to work and Institute, running errands himself (including getting milk when we needed it during the middle of the week), taking Allan to dinner and back and heading up to Nordic Valley to work on our Little Library with our brother-in-law Gary Kerr.

Thank heavens for reliable vehicles which make our lives doable and for safety and good roads to travel on!

My friend, Kathy (Nelson) Corbally, is currently serving a mission in Sierra Leone, This is how she described the roads in their new area in this week's letter: "We are grateful for a truck that hasn't bottomed out so far.  Also we have had to use the 4 wheel drive to get out a steep dip.  But it is an adventure.  The main road in town sometimes feels like we are on a ride at Disneyland only much more jarring.  But we are gradually learning our way around the town and finding church buildings, Elder's apartments, grocery stores, the open market, and Airtell. Scott (her husband) has a love/hate relationship with the driving here.  He is doing a lot more driving here because it is much more simple and slow.  Also the roads make it an adventure which he loved at first but is getting very tired of as time goes on.  When we finally return to the States it will be so boring.  In Kenema there isn't the traffic that there is in Freetown but there are lots of motorcycles who act as taxis and called Acotas."  

I have been places like that but sometimes I forget to remember how lucky we are to live in America with some of these basic advantages.  We do have potholes to complain about and constant road construction but we are certainly blessed.  Sometimes boring can be good.

(Historical note:  I call Kathy my oldest friend--which makes her laugh and complain that she surely isn't my oldest friend as she is only 6 months older than me.  However she is the first person I have a vivid memory of as a little child.  We were playing under a quilt our mothers were sewing on at a Relief Society meeting.  I was about 3 years old.  She still lives in the area where we grew up in the Tri-Cities, Washington.)

Yesterday was Ben's birthday, so we grabbed some Panda Express Chinese food and Gary, Jena and I went and ate dinner with him. He was sightly less tense and actually talked a bit more than he has for the past three months.  He even thanked us for bringing food and eating with him and let me hug him and wish him happy birthday.  Tiny things but nice for his birthday.  We took a few cards to him which he seemed pleased with as well and he was able to take them back to his room.  I had included pictures of Scarlett, Niki and Liam and he seemed to like that, too.

And one more picture and note (because if I don't, Gary will accuse me of hiding historical events :) )

I had just grabbed some shoes and driven barefoot down to Provo yesterday.  When we stopped to get the Panda Express food, I realized that my shoes were different colors and also they were both right shoes.  As you know;- "No shoes, no services" so I had to wear them into the Mall where the store was located.  Jena was laughing the whole time. 

Where did your cars take you this week?  I hope they were all happy places.

We will be hopping in our car to attend Stake Conference at the Ogden Tabernacle (we have the 3-5 time slot) which is about 25 minutes north east of us. So the miles will just keep rolling...........

2016 UDSF Statewide Buddy Walk

We were up at 5:15 a.m. to get ready and head out to West Jordan Veteran's Memorial Park by 6:30 to begin setting up for the event and then we were just off running ---Gary and Jena along with a couple of other volunteers helped do rocket launching all morning long.  I helped with the t-shirts and volunteers, the walk and the lunch.  At around 8:35 a.m. my phone pinged indicating I had got my required steps for the day.  I didn't check what the final total was by 2:30 when we left the park or later after unpacking our car and trailer and getting things put away.

We didn't even get a chance to do the walk because of being all over the place helping other things get done.  It was a gorgeous day for an outdoor event with bright blue skies and temps in the 75-83 degree range. We had about 1000 people.

Here are few pictures:

Last year Jena had helped Jessica, Elessia, Jolynn and I with the t-shirts.  However as soon as I started talking about the Buddy Walk, she was firm that she was helping with the rockets and she did a great job.  She is a hard worker.  It was a great event.

Glad to have that done.  I really didn't do much except serve on the committee and handle some assignments but I still was exhausted by the time everything was done. Thanks to Steve, Liz, and all of our volunteers who helped.

Now to our Conference on October 8, another big event and this time I am in charge of it!  After that I will truly scale back my involvement as I will be into the serious work of my internship by then and school and that have to be my focus for the next 9 months.