Sarah and Bryan came and we ate Thanksgiving Day leftovers. I was helping sample/make the sandwiches.
The boys entertained Bryan with a 6 hour session of Lego Show and Tell.
And then there was Set. Paige and Timothy love that game.
Thanks for coming to visit us. It was so nice to see you!
Lovely. Thank you!
We love Grandma Ruth.
First memory of her: walking toward the hospital with her when my brother Joe was sick (I was 5).
Favorite dish she makes: tamale pie
Favorite Grandma Ruth object: her sketches from her childhood
Happy memories: Curling her hair one day, trip to Hearst Castle, faithful letters and cards all my life, sorting out boxes of the past, dressing up in heirloom clothing in her living room, working on recipes, special talks about important things.
Favorite decorations in her home: pictures of grandchildren and soft watercolors.
Today Timothy, Mark and I played math games. We pulled out the flash cards, dominoes, matching games, geoshapes, dice, and of course,
Whenever I pull out my collection of buttons, I smile because they were given to me by my mother-in-law during my first month teaching Paige at home.
My mother-in-law sorted buttons of all shapes and colors and put them in little containers with color-coordinated lids; some lids were hand-painted to match the buttons inside. “They will be helpful in Math,” she said. She bundled everything up in a package and mailed them to me.
That package meant so much to me because it said without words, “I support you in your decision.”
Since that time, we have had many generous donations to our school from family and friends. But these buttons were the first.
And 9 year later, the buttons and that quiet support are still treasured.
Dear Family,
I’d like to share some of the research I have been doing about an ancestor. I’ve written this post as if I were her. See if you can guess who she is. -A.R.
This is a picture of me when I was a baby in San Francisco. My parents were Wilhelmina and Emil. People called my mom, “Mina,” which rhymes with “Tina.” Papa worked as the first officer for the Southern Pacific Ferry. I was born in America after my parents left Sweden. I was their second child. Their first child passed away. These were my shoes:
We survived the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906. Here is a silver pitcher which was partially burned.
This is a picture of me and my mother, Mina. My dad passed away in his early fifties. My mother worked hard to support the family. She was a wonderful cook.
I trained as a nurse. I kept detailed journals and photo albums, newspapers, magazines, and letters. I always lived a frugal life and enjoyed the benefits of saving money. I married a widower and raised his daughter. Her mother had died of consumption. Here is a picture of me during the 1920’s.
Here are the war ration books from WWII that I saved. The two stars on my pin represent my brother and cousin who went to war. My cousin Harvey died suddenly after coming home from the war from some shrapnel in his body. My brother, Lloyd served in the Philippines. I spent time making USO scrapbooks.
I wrote notes to Presidents, including Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy and kept each reply. I wrote to Jackie Kennedy when her husband died and she sent a thank you note. I wrote to J. Edgar Hoover and had a letter signed by him, as well.
I loved animals and kept birds and cats. I took very good care of my husband and daughter. We lived in Berkeley. My husband worked in the hardwood flooring business. When they built the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), they tore down our home to make a path for it. This was heartbreaking to me.
Here is a picture of me in 1975, near the end of my life.
Do you know who I am?
I am Cerie, the wife of Axel, mother to Ruth.
Daniel received this package in the mail this week. Inside was a newspaper from his birth date, almost 10 years ago. Our friends, the Espersens have been saving it for us in Austin all these years. Dave is quite the philatelist. (I’ve always wanted to use that word.) I have been staring at this package for a long time, enjoying the beautiful stamps and missing these dear friends.
Daniel has been lonely lately. His best friend moved away last month. I think that our Heavenly Father knows this little boy’s needs and has inspired so many good people to reach out to him. If you think about it, this kind act was put in motion 10 years ago and the timing is perfect. I sit back in wonder, and I’m reminded of the importance and power of love and small gestures of kindness and listening to those little ideas that come to our minds to do good. Who knows what a difference our small acts of kindness will make?
The Espersens
We’re not sure why Richard was quoted in this newspaper article, and why the author of the article omitted the line about the members of our church fasting (in addition to praying) for the Hess family. Richard had been in contact with this reporter about some other church business in the news and he had submitted photographs to be used by the paper. However, this is all the evidence of his work with this reporter. But I guess when all is said and done, if you’re going to be quoted in the paper, you’d better be saying something worthwhile, and I think he did just fine.
Looking for a worthwhile cause? Visit Team Ryan Hess or this blog post to find out how to help.
Grandpa had lots of hugs and smiles.
Grandma made us lunch and told us all the news from Susan, who is now able to have chemotherapy and has been moved to a care facility.
Grandma took us to Scheels and we rode their indoor Ferris wheel. I’m clinging to Timothy for dear life in the yellow seat at the top. Daniel and Paige are in the red seat.
Jeanne entertained us with ping pong, croquet, and blackberry picking.
We waved our dish towels and said good-bye to two of the greatest grandparents ever. We would have taken Grandpa with us, but Mark was worried that Grandma would be lonely.
We visited Grandma Ruth on the next stop on our trip. She made us a strawberry pie and served us rainbow sherbet. We sorted out 6 boxes of history during the day spent together. I came home with a journal from my Great-grandmother Cerie and many priceless pictures. Grandma Ruth is a cancer survivor! She looks great and has a beautiful new wardrobe in a smaller size.
The classic Fisher Price Toys, books, puzzles, and back yard entertained the boys. Paige sat with Grandma and me all day. Richard buried his head in some of Grandma Ruth’s books while watching Mark.
And of course we ate out. Uncle Jay and Aunt Nora and Christine joined us.
It’s been 5 years since the kids and Richard visited Grandma’s home (and a year and a half since I was there). I was so happy we were able to visit.
Dale and Lorraine Ross and all of their posterity. Beaches are great magnets for attracting people to a family reunion. And even the in-laws have a good time. I did.
The 9 and 10 year old cousins were inseparable.
Timothy made a sand castle. He helped collect 157 sand crabs in one day.
More of Mark’s Wave Revelry. Look at my arms getting toned trying to keep him from getting swept away.
Sushi tonight, anyone? We found so many critters in this washed up bunch of seaweed. It was really fascinating.
A secret club with its own language and code names was formed by the cousins. Timothy approached me one afternoon and said, “Mom, I’m in a secret club. Do you want to know my code name? It’s Tiki! And Daniel’s code name is Big D and…” His cousin Lizzie, passing by added, “And my secret name is Abba!” So much for keeping it secret… I later found this paper plate with the minutes of one of their top secret meetings written on it.
We brought a nice tent to shade Grandma and Grandpa and the babies. The tent is Richard’s pride and joy. That and its accompanying sand bags to keep it stationary. I like this picture a lot.
Richard with all of his siblings minus one out in the ocean.
Ladies, that guy is All Mine.