My new friend, Lewie

As you know I have started a new career.  I am having the most wonderful time of my life in this new career.  One of the greatest aspects of going back to school is to feel young again.  I get to spend most of my days with younger people.  This is why I changed the title to my blog.  It's not that I want to be 30 again.  It isn't that I think I am 30 again.  It isn't that I behave 30 again.  It is that I don't feel old.  I don't feel tired.  I don't feel sick.

Anyway...this week I am at training for my new job down in Oakland.  I have a co-resident.  His name is Lewie.  He is young.  I don't know his age, but he is about the age of everyone else in the room except me.  He could be one of my children.  In our training, we sit in a large room with all the other residents from Northern California.  We also do lots of interaction with each other.  I get that I am older, so I am very careful to make sure that I do not force myself upon anyone.  I sit down first so that if people don't want to sit next to me, they can steer clear.  What I have found to be the most Christ-like genuine friendship, is that Lewie has always sat next to me, always picked me to be his partner, always talked to me, and always made sure I was invited into conversations or out to dinner, etc.  I couldn't have even dreamed that I would be treated so nicely.  Don't get me wrong, I didn't think I would be treated poorly.  I just figured I would be on my own.  I am not.  I have a new friend, my co-resident, Lewie.  And, I thank my Heavenly Father for someone so kind.

21 Day Challenge - Day 21: A simple miscalculation

Today is the last day of my challenge.  But weird, I am in Oakland doing training for my new residency.  I don't have my family history folder here to work on anything.  So I feel like I am kind of dangling here.  And, man....I hate dangling.  What is a girl to do?! So I have decided that I will continue to work on family history.  But not tonight.  I am going to commit to continue my efforts.  Years ago when I worked on this before, I worked every Sunday and when time permitted.  Now that school is over, I believe that I will be able to work into that same pattern again.  These 21 days have been a blessing to remind me the beauties and joys of working with our ancestors.  The miracle of it all is the awakening of a spirit of belonging to my ancestors.  I surging of fire in my blood to be a part of something with them.  I hope to pass that on.  Thanks for following =)

21 Day Challenge - Day 20: New Discoveries

Today I was finishing up my lesson on Patriotism for Relief Society.  When I was finished, I set it aside and decided to read a history of my great-great grandfather, George Washington Taggart.  I found some of the most amazing stories.  I had no idea that he played the fife for the procession as the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum were brought back from Carthage jail.  But something that really struck me as I was thinking about patriotism was this statement in a letter to his wife Fanny as he prepared to join the Mormon Battalion:  "I feel, Fanny, as though I had made as great a sacrifice as I could wel make, in that I have forsaken for the time being My possessions My Family and at the risk of life start for Mexico as a United States Soldier with 500 of My Brethren in order to show that the Blood of my Grandfathers, who fought and bled in the revolutionary war and the spirit of liberty and freedom still courses in the veins of some of their posterity that are called Mormons, I go forward on this expedition with ful faith and confidence that I shal have your prayers and blessings and that My life wil be preserved and that I shall again have a joyful meeting with you and Eliza Ann and enjoy a long and happy life here uppon the Earth." (I left the misspellings).  When I read that, I felt the full force of patriotism flow through my veins.  I was able to teach a lesson on patriotism from the bottom of my soul.

In his patriarchal blessing, which was given to him through Hyrum Smith, it was stated that his name would be "commemorated unto the latest generation."  I have never felt to be a more proud citizen of this country than I feel today.  God Bless America!

21 Day Challenge - Day 19: Home Stretch

I am getting to the end of the challenge.  Frankly, it has been very long and quite difficult to maintain. As any excuse will do, I won't even begin to enumerate them.  I am a little saddened by the fact that it was difficult.  I wanted the experience to be completely uplifting and easy.  However, I am realistic enough to know that nothing is easy.  It takes work and dedication. I am not giving up.

Today is the 4th of July.  In looking at both my ancestors and Paul's ancestors, I notice that we both have grandparents with the name of George Washington as a first and middle name.  Paul's Great-great grandfather George Washington Wiggins was born in 1822 and died in 1923.  My Great-great grandfather George Washing Taggart (Pvt) was born in 1816 and died in 1893.  The little that I know about my relative is that he fought in the Mormon Battalion.  His father's name was Washington Taggart, and his father's name was Lieutinenant James Taggart.  This makes me think, maybe he fought in the revolutionary war.

I actually stepped aside and found some interesting history about this Taggart line.  James Taggart (Lieutenant) fought in the Revolutionary War as did two of George's great-grandfathers, John Taggart (Captain) and William McNee.⁽¹⁾John Taggart also fought in the French and Indian War.  I ended up actually printing up an entire history of George Washington Taggart.  It will be interesting family history reading tonight while I go to bed.

Happy 4th of July!  May you all remain patriotic! 

21 Day Challenge - Day 18: A great Example

Yesterday, on my 18th day of the challenge, I got a pretty interesting email from my brother.  It was a handwritten mission report from my grandparents that described their feelings about their mission to Florida.  They finished their mission in 1974.  As I read through their mission report I thought about how great and brave they were to leave their home in the small town of Lewiston, Utah to go to the large mission that covered approximately 6,000,000 people.  I hope someday to be able to serve a mission when I retire.

Here is the picture of the document.  I don't know what the blacked out stuff is all about.  AND, I am not sure why it ended mid sentence...(?)

My Grandmother died in 1987 and my grandfather died in 2003.  It seems like much longer than that.  Knowing what I know now, I wish I would have spent more time with both of them, actually of my grandparents.  I think I need to spend more time with my grandkids.

21 Day Challenge - Day 17: Sad, I missed a day

Yes, it is true, I was unable to keep the 21 day solid run.  And it stressed me out.  I ended the day so sad and frustrated.  I laid in bed and nearly cried myself to sleep.  But I woke up this morning resolved to continue to move forward.  When I got home from my work today I was trying to clean up a little. As I picked up something to organize on my shelf in the bedroom, I opened up a plastic envelope.  I found 8 men who have been sitting in the envelope since December 2011.  Their baptisms and confirmations were done, but they are waiting for their initiatories, endowments, and sealing to parents to be done.  One of them happened to be someone that I had reprinted a few days before.  Four of them are brothers along with their father.  Tonight I will be looking at all the work to make sure that everyone is still ready and waiting to move forward.

Everything seems to be a miracle to me at this time.  I can't believe I live in this great nation.  I can't believe I live in such a wonderful home.  I can't believe I get to be married to such a wonderful man.  I can't believe I get to do this residency.  I can't believe I get to be relief society president.  The list goes on and on.  My life is so blessed.  Everywhere I turn, it is beautiful.

This is one of my favorite pictures.  It is of my beautiful daughters. From the back/left...Amber, Christina, Ashley, Melanie, Emily, Sydney, Whitney.  The picture was taken at Sydney's wedding.  I love these women!