Time Travel Tuesdays~ Ida Lee Part 10, A Baby Boy!

After the last part of my Grandma Hamblin's story, not only did I take a break, she took a break as well. As happens with all of us, she began her story and then life got in the way. She left off in about 1916 and Ida was expecting another baby. This is where she picks up writing years later: 

"This part of my story I recorded years ago and remember well, but now I will have to continue on and my memory is not as keen as it was thirty or forty years ago, so be patient with me. (of course!)

Nothing of interest happened in Eagar that winter. I had a picture made of my five little girls, which I have always cherished. (The one from the previous post.)

On moving back to Nutrioso we bought the house which Mother's brother, John W. Clark built when he came to Nutrioso, the same spring that Mother and Dad came. They (Uncle John) sold the house and went back to Utah. It was like coming home, for my parents owned this home when I was a child. It was just across the street from the school house. It was a pretty little frame, four room building. Mother and Dad lived there when I was younger and it was where some of Mother's children were born. We liked this location close to school and church and Relief Society. I was expecting another baby. As we had six girls it never occurred to us that we would be blessed with a son. Yet, every night when Klea said her prayers, she asked God to send her a little brother, and He did. How happy we all were when it turned out to be a boy! On July 1, 1916, out first son was born and how happy and proud we were. I was especially happy for Carl. I think he was more thrilled than I was. I have never seen a sweeter baby, beautiful and dark haired. We all idolized him, especially his father. He was blessed and named for his father, Don Carlos, Jr. We were too happy for it to last. God saw fit to take him.I could never stand to let him sleep except on my arm. It seemed that if I did,he would be gone and I wanted to love him every minute. In September Carl and some of my brothers decided to go to Clifton to find work for the winter. After they were gone, the baby became very ill. Carl, heeding the spirit of the Lord as usual, was prompted to return home. How happy I was when he drove into the yard.While he (the baby) was so sick I just could not reconcile myself to the fact of his being taken, so I pleaded with the Lord to spare my little son. One evening my father came in the room where I was grieving and said, "Daughter, why don't you release him to the Lord? You are only prolonging his suffering." And then I knew how selfish I was and although  it broke my heart to say the words, "Thy will be done", I did, and Father administered to him and told the Lord he was in His hands and in just a little while that sweet spirit had gone to his Maker. That taught me to not question God's will. I know that little spirit just came here to take a body and return to his Father in Heaven. My arms felt very empty and it seemed as I went about my work that I could hear him crying for me. To this day I can hardly bear to think of him without crying. Afterwards, Carl's mother, Sarah Priscilla Leavitt Hamblin said she had felt that we would never raise him. We buried him the next day beside his little sister. It was very lonely around our home and as often as we could, we went with Carl for wood and other work he was doing.

I could not have typed that story last Tuesday. It was a bad day and I was questioning the Lord's will in many of my loved ones lives. I came to realize (as I knew all along) that the Lord allows us to go through trials which He could easily stop, but then there would be no personal growth. We are also often subject to the wrong choices of others around us. This life is all about faith and learning to be gracious in our lives as trial and good times come. Be mad or sad for awhile...an hour or a day, but then get on your knees and pray for strength and understanding. Then get up...rise up...and take on life. I have never lost one of my babies. My grandmother  lost two, as did my own mother. I may have other trials, but I am grateful I have never had to endure that one.

Next time we will hear about adventures in the wilderness, another move, another baby, and seeing their first motorized vehicle!

Oh, the Dimples!!

There is nothing sweeter than a brand new baby and last weekend we got to meet 

a little guy who has the cuteness market cornered!

Meet Nathan Anthony Faria. 

He is the son of my nephew Michael and his wife Sarah.

 Sunday was the day he was given a name and a blessing at church.

 Nathan was born 2 months ago in Texas where his father has been serving in the Army at Fort Hood. Michael did cool things like pilot drone aircraft. Someday Nathan will think that's pretty awesome!

Now that Michael is out of the military, he and Sarah decided to come to Utah so that he could finish his schooling. I couldn't be happier about that because it means we get to see them and get to know their little guy! It also means that his Grandparents, my baby sister Georgena and her husband Steve will be coming over from Denver to visit. Win/win!!

Here is Gena with her first little Grandson, Nathan. They look pretty good together, don't they?

I couldn't resist a slobbery kiss for my pesky little sis!

  She is looking gorgeous and I kind of look five years older than her.

After the blessing at church we gathered at Sarah's brother's house in Lehi for some photos and visiting.

Michael is the cutest Daddy. 

He couldn't love this little boy more and it shows!

There's my husband the Master, the Cutest Coach...forever answereing Email and texts.

This is the group of good men that stood in the circle of Priesthood brethren. 

Nathan is lucky to have good uncles, cousins, and Grandpas to love him!

Here are Michael's family who were able to come. 

We missed Emily's twin sister Allison, who had to stay behind in Colorado and work.

 Also, their brother Chris and his wife Christina and their darling little Emma who is aobut 6 months older than cousin Nathan.

 Cannot wait to meet her someday. Maryland is a far away place...

 Front: Sarah, Michael & Nathan, Auntie Emily, Cousins Brittany & Rachel.

Back: Grandpops Steve, Grandma Gena, Great-Auntie Marianne, Great-Uncle Dee, & Cousin Richard.

 Sarah has given Steve & Gena their grandparent names. They are going to be Lolly & Pop...Cute!

"Lolly" fits Georgena nicely!

Nathan is the smiley-est baby I've ever known.

 He has literally been smiling (really smiling) since he was just weeks old.

 He can melt a roomful of adults with those dimples!

There was plenty of doting on this little man. You cannot help yourself!

This photo was a popular one from the night.

Someone said it was very much like a Norman Rockwell.

I agree!

I hope Lolly & Pop can come over often! 

Miss Emily is still at BYU and now this little grand baby is in the neighborhood. 

Next visist please!!

Meanwhile, I am enjoying cool, early summer evenings snuggling on our patio, The girls gave me these lights for Mother's Day and the guys put them up for me. Nothing nicer! (except for baby dimples!)

Time Travel Tuesday~California Dreamin'

It snowed again last night. Not a lot. Certainly not as much as we need. We have been asked by our Stake leaders to pray for more because our water situation up in the reservoirs is pretty grim. Can I pray that we get maybe ten feet of new snow up in the mountains and have spring down here in the valley? No? It doesn't work that way?

So I dream of sunnier days and definitely warmer times! I mean, what good is a fireplace in this cold if I can't even light a fire because of the bad air quality?

I went searching for beach pictures today. We have plenty of more recent trips, but if we are going to time travel...let's go back to 1991!

Dee and I loaded up our four little girls in August of '91 and drove from Salt Lake City to visit my sister Gena and her family in SoCal. Steve and Gena lived in Torrance and took us to their favorite nearby beach...Redondo.

We had a lot of coastal fog on our days at the beach but it was still warm and wonderful.

Here are Brittany and Sarah checking out the ocean for the very first time. That was fun!

 They are discovering here that their Uncle Steve is a wild man!

Yeah, that's Steve's head out there in the wave!

If you look closely behind Diana and Cousin Chris you can see my Sweetie in his 90's

 Shorty McShort Shorts! Socks and shoes at the beach?? Must be from Northern Cal!

I love this view of the coast and secretly dream of living there. What a life (if it was cheaper!)

Diana & Chris were all to willing to please me! See the early version of the Pack-n-Play back them? That was for my 8 month old baby Rachel. She was crawling and I tried to keep her from eating sand!

Here we see Diana trying to smile for me but there is so much going on in the background. Cousin Michael is obviously being coerced by Brittany into the water!
There's Steve and his boogie board heading back in,
 and in the middle is "Legs Loose" as Grandpa called Sarah.

This is by far my most favorite photo of the group.
 My beautiful baby girl Rachel in her beach dress and hat!
 She had her 23rd birthday last week. Holy cow! 

That means these photos were, like...23 years ago!

 Had to keep that girl fed!

I was eight months post pregnancy here and how I wish I had that body back! It's here somewhere. Maybe I can find it again!
 In the meantime I'll sigh and dream of beaches and sunny, warm days, and plan our trip in May to visit this little girl who is now our California Girl,
when her husband graduates from USC with his Master's degree. 

There is snow outside of my door, 

but a beach is in my future!

Projects completed & A Happy Birthday!

I have projects up to my ears, all of the time every day offers me, and somehow they are all half done or not even started! I am proud to say I have finished two of them last week that have been bugging me forEVER!

Project number one: Ugly Mauve wing chair.

Driving up the hill one Saturday I saw a yard sale winding down and spotted this chair sitting unwanted and alone.

As I got closer to the chair I realized why nobody had taken it home. It was covered in cat hair! Honestly. If you have a fairly nice piece of furniture you want to sell, clean it people!!
I snatched it up for $20. I should have tried to talk them down but I was tired. I took it home and put it on the patio where I \proceeded to vacuum, and vacuum it. Then I got out the old Bissel Steam cleaner and guess what? Other than it's ugly color, it wasn't a bad chair at all!

Then it sat in my house for three years.

I bought some great fabric last year and it sat in my closet waiting and waiting.

Then one day a few weeks ago I got busy. I don't know what changed in me. Maybe it was the sunshine or the fact that I hate the color mauve and had put up with it for three years.  I tackled the cushion first. I had some nice firm foam from the making of our window seat so I put it to use. I also sanded and spray painted the legs a glossy black.

 Next I took the chair outside and pulled that sucker apart! I carefully documented on a note pad and with my iPhone camera the order that things came apart so I could put it back together in reverse order. It really saved me a few times when I couldn't recall what when when or where...confused? So was I!

 It was a bit tiring and took a long time to make everything look right. I'll admit I took a few shortcuts and improvised here and there. I'm not selling it so it's not nearly perfect!

I am so happy with the results! It makes the living room feel light and more cheery.

Will I be recovering another chair anytime soon? NO. It was not easy and not for the faint-of-heart!

One project DONE.

The next thing I tackled wasn't nearly so hard. The trim on my lower stairs needed to be painted since last September. We finally got rid of the carpet on the steps. I have been so happy! It is so much easier to clean oak steps than it is to try and keep that carpet clean. This is the main path from the garage up to the kitchen so it was always dirty. See where the old carpet came up against the white wood molding? Yes, it was that simple. All I had to do was sand and paint.

Nine months later...

 I feel so accomplished! I took the paint up and around the corner Once you get started with fresh, white trim it's hard to stop!

Third on my list is my pantry. It's a mess. I have involved a couple of drawers and my spice cupboard in this one. I'll let you know how it comes out!

Today is a special day around here too. My baby. My only boy turns 18! Here we are, Dee & myself when we first met our son. Richard was 9 lbs. 4 oz. and hungry when he was born!

Tears in his eyes. Sweet!

 I'd literally been awake all night...OK?!

 Here is our boy all snuggled up at home in the same bassinette that I slept in as a baby. Those pajamas he is wearing were make by my sweet sister Sharon when I was expecting Sarah, the first of four girls. She had embroidered "Dee's Boy" on them. We finally got to use them! I love the peaceful look on his face here. He has been a blessingto me from day one.

 Memorial Day 2013 at the Orem Ciyt Cemetery. Richard by the cross for his great grandfather Deward Holden, a WWI vet.

 Food in mouth, hair standing straight up. Typical morning look!

I'll write more about this guy a little later. Right now I have to go clean up a garage.

 Fun.

Generations

So...I typed this post last Saturday but did not finish it until today. Running to catch up with life, as usual!

The Little House on the Corner has been bursting with people and love lately. Diana and Lucas have flown home to their sunny beaches and Nick. My mother is here. She came to visit me but also to meet Lucas for the first time, It was sweet! As I type this post I am expecting the arrival of two of my nieces, my oldest sister Sharon's daughters, & their children. One of these nieces, Jalyn, is just four years younger than me and is the mother of nine, yes, NINE sweet children who are mostly grown now. She is bringing her two youngest sons. Annie is Sharon's youngest child and she is coming with her five little ones and her fun husband Cory. They are coming to see Grandma Helen and in the case of the kids, Great-Grandma Helen! Later on today another niece Emily will arrive from Provo with her father Steve. Em is my youngest sister Georgena's daughter and she is a BYU student. Steve is currently living and working in Ogden, far from his Colorado home and his sweet wife. We get to see them frequently on weekends but they are coming today especially to see that Grandma-Great! Hots and burgers will be on the grill this evening and thankfully the weather is finally behaving. It is a glorious 75 right now and I am in heaven. The only thing missing are my usual Mother's Day flowers that the Master and I go pick out the Saturday before. He buys me my hanging basket for the summer and I choose some pretties to put in my pots. Sadly, he is on a recruiting trip for BYU today but will be home tomorrow. I won't do the flowers without him so they will just have to wait. It's tradition, you know!

There will be five generations in the Little House today. Wow. Pictures will be taken and I am excited! Here are a few generational pictures I  insisted on before I took Diana & Lucas to the airport.

 This one cracks me up. My mother didn't want her picture taken because she was still in her robe although she had showered and put on her make-up. Rachel thought she would be sneaky and get her in anyway, A sneak attack Four Generation shot!

Lucas and I getting in a few extra hugs.                                                         We crack each other up!

 

We finally got Grandma Helen in one. Not bad either!

Lucas, his mother Diana, her mother Marianne (me!), and my mother Helen.

Four generations.

Done!

Here are the pictures we took on Saturday night. We had an extra surprise because the girls called their brother Norman, who lives in Logan and he came too with his darling wife Svetlana. It was so good to have them all here. Grandma loved seeing them!

 Back: Norman Black, Jalyn Black Bertagnolli, & Thomas Bertagnolli, Middle: Sveta Black, Helen Ellsworth, Annie Black Hadley & Cory Hadley. Front: Mason, Trace, Kennadee, Jaxon, & Olivia Hadley.

Emily Faria, Sveta & Norman Black, Thomas Bertagnolli, Helen Ellsworth, Steven Faria, Jalyn Bertagnolli, & Marianne (me!).

 In the photo below just add Annie on the end!

Helen Ellsworth with Great-grandson Thomas Bertagnolli who will leave in early July to serve a mission for our church to Ohio. His mom is Jalyn and in the second photo she and Grandma are sharing memories about my sister Sharon who we lost to cancer in 2007.

I have been wanting this picture for awhile too. This is my mother with her oldest and youngest grandchildren, my son Richard who is nearly 18 and my niece Jalyn who is...ahem! (four years younger than me!)

 

Here is our BYU student Emily hugging Grandma goodbye before she heads back to Provo. She is my younger sister Gena's daughter.

 

We had a wonderful visit, good barbecue, and fabulous desserts including cheese cake and a yummy Russian cake that Sveta brought! I put on a few pounds but may have lost them again playing Farkle with everyone.

 I won!!

Surprise!!!!

Where have I been? What have I been doing for the last two weeks? Click HERE.  (Well, yes, there's nothing more awful that having your flabby body video recorded from that angle! But oh, the joy!)

It was a glorious two weeks! I have been in heaven and I can never thank Brittany and Diana enough for coming up with this gift for me! We'll thank Nick too, for having finals and papers to write so that Diana wanted to escape the madness for awhile!
 We surprised The Master later that morning when he called to ask if we could have lunch together. He was so happy!

There will more to come on this subject, rest assured! I have to get the pictures out of my new phone, which is smarter than I am, for sure! Give me a day, OK?

It's "Plane", I Adore You!

 

A little while ago I ran across the cutest free pattern on www.amigurumipatterns.net 

by a cute gal named Marika.

It was a little airplane with the cutest face!

I decided that I knew a little boy who would love one. 

(Or perhaps it was that I knew a Gramma who really wanted to make one!)

I took it one step further and made the little airplane into a rattle by inserting a Kinder Egg with popcorn kernels inside, into the plane's body. I like Kinder Eggs because they snap shut so nicely.

The popcorn makes a wonderful sound too!

I put the airplane into a Valentine's Day box headed for San Diego and only four days later I got a text message with a darling photo of my little grandson and his new plane.

According to his mother he loves it!

So I thought, "Why not make a few more? Heck, Why not make a whole fleet?"

 

While I was at it I made a girly pink one because who says that airplanes are just for boys?

The more I thought of little girls, the more I wanted to branch out in my rattle production.

Here is what I came up with!

The same person had made a pattern for flowers, but I did not want to pay for a pattern. I like a challenge when it comes to my hobby so I looked at the picture and made up my own. Not bad huh?

Not to take anything away from the original pattern maker. Hers are very different from mine. Only the stem is similar. She sells a lot of them and she deserves credit!

 I just like to know I can do something on my own!

 If you crochet and you would like to try out these cute patterns click on this link.

These will make darling gifts at baby showers 

and they brighten my day whenever I look at their smiling faces! 

Speaking of smiling faces...

This is the photo that Diana sent to me. Look at the smile in those eyes.

It's enough to make me ship my whole little air force squadron to him! 

I am giving you a link to some very creative bloggers this week!

Click below!