I was walking around the streets of San Francisco today and suddenly I started humming "There was a little goat that jumped in a boat..." and "beautiful beautiful brown eyes..." I started thinking about how many songs grandma had and how many I just don't remember. So I came up with an idea. For anyone willing to participate, I think it would be great to post the songs -but being sung by you, or me. This way we can all contribute and make sure we have the most comprehensive recording of her songs. If you are interested, post away and we can all laugh and probably cry a little as we take a musical trek down memory lane.
I hope you are all doing well and loving life.
Much love,
Kara
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
In the stars...
So, I was looking through a fun book of mine called, The Secret Language of Birthdays. This book gives a description of the type of person born on each day of the year. Each day includes a title for the individual born that day as well as a more detailed description of their personality, a list of other well known people born on that day, possible health issues, advice, a meditation, etc.
It's just a fun book to thumb through and read about friends' and familys' birth dates....what sounds right or wrong. When I was looking through it, I stopped on Grandma's birthday, December 2. First, the title of the day is, "The Day of Larger-than-Life." That immediately caught my attention because if we all know anything, it's that grandma was truely larger than life. Some of the highlights from the description are: "Those born on December 2 are possessed of tremendous spirit. No matter how small their physical frame, they will exert an influence on their surroundings far beyond what one might expect on first meeting them. It is only when seen in action that they really shine. So magical is their effect that those involved with them may sometimes feel as if they've been hit with a bolo punch. Those born on this day are keen evaluators , true judges of honesty and integrity. December 2 people not only display a strong character but also practically worship it in those they respect. December 2 people are not ones to follow like sheep but nonetheless can be swept along by a powerful personality or a cause which appeals to their ideals. A basic faith in humankind is characteristic of those born on this day. Often, December 2 people see life as a struggle in which they must emerge the victor. However, what they are fighting for is not necessarily their personal welfare but the survival of certain basic human values, as they see it. Along with character and faith, integrity also rates high with them." Finally, the mediation for this day reads: "True greatness may be found in the humblest of places."
I am not saying it means anything, but I do find it interesting that so much of it rang true, at least from my perspective.
Grandma was definitely a woman of character, honesty and integrity.
Love to you all,
Polly
It's just a fun book to thumb through and read about friends' and familys' birth dates....what sounds right or wrong. When I was looking through it, I stopped on Grandma's birthday, December 2. First, the title of the day is, "The Day of Larger-than-Life." That immediately caught my attention because if we all know anything, it's that grandma was truely larger than life. Some of the highlights from the description are: "Those born on December 2 are possessed of tremendous spirit. No matter how small their physical frame, they will exert an influence on their surroundings far beyond what one might expect on first meeting them. It is only when seen in action that they really shine. So magical is their effect that those involved with them may sometimes feel as if they've been hit with a bolo punch. Those born on this day are keen evaluators , true judges of honesty and integrity. December 2 people not only display a strong character but also practically worship it in those they respect. December 2 people are not ones to follow like sheep but nonetheless can be swept along by a powerful personality or a cause which appeals to their ideals. A basic faith in humankind is characteristic of those born on this day. Often, December 2 people see life as a struggle in which they must emerge the victor. However, what they are fighting for is not necessarily their personal welfare but the survival of certain basic human values, as they see it. Along with character and faith, integrity also rates high with them." Finally, the mediation for this day reads: "True greatness may be found in the humblest of places."
I am not saying it means anything, but I do find it interesting that so much of it rang true, at least from my perspective.
Grandma was definitely a woman of character, honesty and integrity.
Love to you all,
Polly
The gingerbread man is missing!
I was having breakfast this morning with my kids and because we were doing dot to dots with our grits, sausage and eggs, I was thinking of Grandma and kicking myself because I haven't done this post. I have been meaning to do this for weeks now.
Several weeks back, Audrey and I were reading books we had checked out from the library...easy readers for practice. One of them was the story of the gingerbread man. We read through the book and afterwards I told Audrey a story that my mom has told me many times. I am not sure if you all have heard it or not, but it's typical Grandma fare.
When my mom, Linda, was a young girl, Grandma was baking and had made a gingerbread man. When she pulled the gingerbread man from the oven to cool, Grandma asked my mom to watch the gingerbread man to make sure he didn't run away. After watching the gingerbread man for several minutes, my mom became bored and distracted and wandered away. When she returned, the gingerbread man was gone!! Upon telling Grandma the gingerbread man was missing, Grandma immediately started a search for him. My mom clearly remembers searching all over the fields for that gingerbread man with Grandma right by her side helping to look for the lost boy.
I love this story and thought you all might get a kick out of it too!
Thanks to Grandma Helen for her wonder imagination, which made us believe that anything is possible.
Polly
Several weeks back, Audrey and I were reading books we had checked out from the library...easy readers for practice. One of them was the story of the gingerbread man. We read through the book and afterwards I told Audrey a story that my mom has told me many times. I am not sure if you all have heard it or not, but it's typical Grandma fare.
When my mom, Linda, was a young girl, Grandma was baking and had made a gingerbread man. When she pulled the gingerbread man from the oven to cool, Grandma asked my mom to watch the gingerbread man to make sure he didn't run away. After watching the gingerbread man for several minutes, my mom became bored and distracted and wandered away. When she returned, the gingerbread man was gone!! Upon telling Grandma the gingerbread man was missing, Grandma immediately started a search for him. My mom clearly remembers searching all over the fields for that gingerbread man with Grandma right by her side helping to look for the lost boy.
I love this story and thought you all might get a kick out of it too!
Thanks to Grandma Helen for her wonder imagination, which made us believe that anything is possible.
Polly
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Oh How I love Hearing Mom
Well You've probably all gotten your new DVD's about mom's life. I can't tell you how many times I've watched them or just listened to them. I'll turn on the unedited DVD's and just hear her and my sisters in the background. It's just comforting. There are some things in the unedited footage that I wish could have been on the originals. One especially was mom's comment about feeling her mother's presence in the Salt Lake Temple. I did some ancestry names for the Flegals last week and I was brought to tears when some of the names were sealed to each other. There is such a link between the two worlds. We just need to be in the right place to feel it. Thanks Alecia for sharing your experience at the Draper Temple open house. I'm amazed at how randomly the tears come, today is particularly weepy morning. I love you all... Hope you can feel her presence in your lives.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
A touching memory for my kids
Hi everyone,
I hope everyone is doing well and getting settled back into life. I like Marisa, really like this forum for keeping in touch. I must admit however, that I am not great at contributing. I will try to be better.
I did however, have a really neat experience that I wanted to share with everyone. A few weeks ago, Romney and I took our four kids through the Draper Temple open house. This temple sits in the southeastern corner of the Salt Lake Valley and is an absolutely stunning building. Its architecture and interior design were probably the most striking of all the temples I have seen. It had beautiful dark African cherry wood and exquisite limestone from France throughout. It was truly breathtaking.
The tour itself was quite simple. There was not a tour guide or formal narration. We simply walked through the hallways and quietly visited each room. It was unbelievably crowded. As we quietly walked through the temple, at one point, I looked down and noticed that Lauren had tears streaming down her cheeks. I leaned down to ask her if everything was okay and she whispered back, "Mom, it feels like Grandma Helen is walking with us." I was so touched. I told Lauren that Grandma probably was there. I wanted to tell Romney, but he and the boys had fallen behind me in the line.
Once we caught up with each other and were walking out of the temple, I asked all of the kids what they thought about it. Thomas' reply was so sweet. He said, "Mom, I didn't want to leave that place. I really liked how I felt in there. Plus, it sort of felt like Grandma Helen was inside." I was so touched. I then shared Lauren's sweet experience from inside the temple. We were all very moved and grateful to have been in a place where they were allowed to feel our amazing Grandma's influence and love. I could not believe that both of my kids felt the same prompting and yet each was unaware of the other.
I am sure that it will be an experience that they will never forget. I guess that I am just a little envious that Grandma didn't visit me too. I would have loved to feel her loving presence. I keep waiting for her to come visit me in my sleep and say, "Give me back my golden leg..."
Marisa and I have been working on the photo book of Grandma's life. It has been such a treat and we can't wait to share it with everyone. I will keep you posted with the details when it is ready.
Anyway, I hope you are all doing well. I hope you don't mind me sharing this story. It was very comforting to me. Grandma was an incredible person. I can't believe how much I still miss her.
Take care and lots of love,
Alecia
I hope everyone is doing well and getting settled back into life. I like Marisa, really like this forum for keeping in touch. I must admit however, that I am not great at contributing. I will try to be better.
I did however, have a really neat experience that I wanted to share with everyone. A few weeks ago, Romney and I took our four kids through the Draper Temple open house. This temple sits in the southeastern corner of the Salt Lake Valley and is an absolutely stunning building. Its architecture and interior design were probably the most striking of all the temples I have seen. It had beautiful dark African cherry wood and exquisite limestone from France throughout. It was truly breathtaking.
The tour itself was quite simple. There was not a tour guide or formal narration. We simply walked through the hallways and quietly visited each room. It was unbelievably crowded. As we quietly walked through the temple, at one point, I looked down and noticed that Lauren had tears streaming down her cheeks. I leaned down to ask her if everything was okay and she whispered back, "Mom, it feels like Grandma Helen is walking with us." I was so touched. I told Lauren that Grandma probably was there. I wanted to tell Romney, but he and the boys had fallen behind me in the line.
Once we caught up with each other and were walking out of the temple, I asked all of the kids what they thought about it. Thomas' reply was so sweet. He said, "Mom, I didn't want to leave that place. I really liked how I felt in there. Plus, it sort of felt like Grandma Helen was inside." I was so touched. I then shared Lauren's sweet experience from inside the temple. We were all very moved and grateful to have been in a place where they were allowed to feel our amazing Grandma's influence and love. I could not believe that both of my kids felt the same prompting and yet each was unaware of the other.
I am sure that it will be an experience that they will never forget. I guess that I am just a little envious that Grandma didn't visit me too. I would have loved to feel her loving presence. I keep waiting for her to come visit me in my sleep and say, "Give me back my golden leg..."
Marisa and I have been working on the photo book of Grandma's life. It has been such a treat and we can't wait to share it with everyone. I will keep you posted with the details when it is ready.
Anyway, I hope you are all doing well. I hope you don't mind me sharing this story. It was very comforting to me. Grandma was an incredible person. I can't believe how much I still miss her.
Take care and lots of love,
Alecia
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
I Am A Big Fat Liar
Hey everybody!!!
I really love this idea of all of us keeping in touch this way. Thanks to everyone who has posted and all the stories and obituaries. We have a great family.
So I lied to everyone, and I want to apologize. I said that we were related to Edward Rutledge (youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence and Paul Rubens). That is not true! There is a place on Ancestry.com where you can ask who your famous relatives are. So, we typed our info in and out came those famous relatives. Yesterday, I dug a little more, and Ancestry had it wrong. Here is the positive though - Rutledge wanted to stay part of England and loved slavery, and Rubens painted some very questionable paintings! We don't have to be embarrassed now.
On to some good news! I discovered that we are related to one of my all time favorite people in history. Her name is Catherine Swynford, and she married John of Gaunt - considered the "last knight" of England. There is an amazing book written about her titled, "Catherine" by Anya Seton. If you get a chance - read it. Basically through her we are related to big players in the War of the Roses and the Tudor line. It is really one of my favorite books, and one of the best things about it is that every single name and character is based on a true person. As a side note, her sister married Geoffrey Chaucer ... which is pretty cool if any of you have read the Canterbury Tales.
Anyway, we are also related to Mary Boleyn, Ann Boleyn's sister. I also discovered that we are related to a very famous Revolutionary War hero named General James Screven. There is a museum in Georgia based on him, war memorials built by congress to him and war markers talking about him all over Georgia ... I think its Georgia. He was killed on the battle field. Don't worry, we are still a really cool family - and these relatives are for real. The relatives mentioned above come from the Nettles line, which is Wickman's mother's maiden name - look it up if you get the chance.
I hope you are all doing well. It was great to see everybody. Lots of love, Marisa
I really love this idea of all of us keeping in touch this way. Thanks to everyone who has posted and all the stories and obituaries. We have a great family.
So I lied to everyone, and I want to apologize. I said that we were related to Edward Rutledge (youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence and Paul Rubens). That is not true! There is a place on Ancestry.com where you can ask who your famous relatives are. So, we typed our info in and out came those famous relatives. Yesterday, I dug a little more, and Ancestry had it wrong. Here is the positive though - Rutledge wanted to stay part of England and loved slavery, and Rubens painted some very questionable paintings! We don't have to be embarrassed now.
On to some good news! I discovered that we are related to one of my all time favorite people in history. Her name is Catherine Swynford, and she married John of Gaunt - considered the "last knight" of England. There is an amazing book written about her titled, "Catherine" by Anya Seton. If you get a chance - read it. Basically through her we are related to big players in the War of the Roses and the Tudor line. It is really one of my favorite books, and one of the best things about it is that every single name and character is based on a true person. As a side note, her sister married Geoffrey Chaucer ... which is pretty cool if any of you have read the Canterbury Tales.
Anyway, we are also related to Mary Boleyn, Ann Boleyn's sister. I also discovered that we are related to a very famous Revolutionary War hero named General James Screven. There is a museum in Georgia based on him, war memorials built by congress to him and war markers talking about him all over Georgia ... I think its Georgia. He was killed on the battle field. Don't worry, we are still a really cool family - and these relatives are for real. The relatives mentioned above come from the Nettles line, which is Wickman's mother's maiden name - look it up if you get the chance.
I hope you are all doing well. It was great to see everybody. Lots of love, Marisa
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