#10

Noah Arthur Graf

October 14, 2010

9lbs, 8oz

Ingrid Elaine

On August 18th, another little girl joined Janae, Cora, Lilon and I (Daniel). She was really already a part of our family, but at 9:51 AM we finally got to meet this little spirit in the flesh. Labor went well and Lilon is recovering.

Ingrid Elaine
Height: 23 in.
Weight: 11 lbs. 3 oz.

In spite of the large dimensions, this baby was not born Ceasarian. Lilon birthed this baby without surgery. The weight surprised everyone. The nurses didn't believe the scales until Ingrid had been weighed a few times.

Janae and Cora are excited to have a new sister to play with, though they are impatient for Ingrid to get big enough.

Another engagement

I have known Freja Cross for over two and a half years and dated for quite a chunk of that as well.  On Saturday night, we went out for dinner, went to an amusement park, took to the sky and the rest is history.  She said yes!!!  We are both excited for eternity and love each other heaps.  She is beautiful in so many different ways.  Very driven, musically talented, bright and laughs at me, just name a few things.

It's still early days, as we haven't picked a date or a place, but we'll get round to more planning when Freja gets home from London and Rome in three weeks.  I'm sure the rest of the year will be a fun and busy time as we prepare for the big day.  Freja will be moving to Adelaide at the end of July and let the good times roll.

GREAT GRAND DAUGHTER BAPTIZED

Lizzy the oldest daughter of Rachel and Jeff was baptized on Saturday May 15, 2010. When her Granny Dinah arrived on Friday, Rachel had cut out the dress and wanted to keep it a surprise for Lizzy. So, she sewed and her granny sewed and between us we kept the thing pretty much a secret until Lizzy had to try the dress on. She looked like an angel and had it to wear on Sunday as she stood beside the Bishop in front of the congregation and was welcomed into her Huber Heights ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The Merrill Branch

In 1975, Dinah Smylie married Kenneth Talmage Merrill and begat five children in the ensuing years: 3 daughters and 2 sons. In the fullness of time, those children married and begat many sons and daughters. Here is a recent picture of the Merrill branch of the Smylie clan.
From left to right everyone is,
Back row: Derick, Jeff holding Oliver, Sariah, Benjamin, Daniel
Center row: Ariana holding Ian, Rachel, Isabella, Kenneth, Dinah, Julie, Lilon
Front row: Elizabeth, Cora, Annalise, Elijah, Janae

This picture was taken just after Lizzy's baptism yesterday (Saturday). At the time of taking this photo, both Ariana and Lilon are pregnant, so there are more children yet to be gat.

Happy Mother's Day

She was 15 when she met this handsome friend of her brother's named Dave Smylie when he stopped by to show Uncle Jim his new bike. They played cards and got to know each other and Dave fancied her. Dave was 21, it was his birthday! They began dating and then Dave realized she was only 15 and nearly died, but he went on seeing her and eventually they married when she was just short of her 18th birthday and the rest is history as they say!!!!!

Here are some of my fond thoughts on this Mother's Day...

• 24 years old she meets the missionaries, cannot stop smoking and has a special blessing just prior to going into the waters of baptism and never felt the urge to smoke again, some faith that!
• 29 year old, she is the mother of 5 children and with her Dave takes off on an adventure to Australia that turned into a life time of generous living. Nothing doubting huh?
• 30 years of age, is a good story... She is living with Dave in one room of another family home, (The dear Patrick family from Whyalla) but wanted a home for her kids and Dave so she sees an old home on Darling Terrace. Says she to the Housing Trust man, "Sir, can I rent that house on Darling Terrace?" Says he, "No it is condemed!" Says She "If we clean it up and keep the yard up can we live there just until you get the houses on Norrie Avenue finished"... Now you notice she did not put a date on that, just when he had the houses "finished". Smart woman...It was another 2 years before he had the houses on Norrie Avenue ready for migrant families and so we lived at 5 Darling Terrace for 2 years. The Whyalla Hotel was across the road and because there was no hot water in the house. An outside toilet we had, but no shower or bath inside the house. The hotel owner allowed us to go across the street to the hotel for a bath every Saturday night so that on Sunday we could all look good for Church, Dad was Branch President. We washed on other days in a large galvanized tub in the kitchen. But we were a family, together, living and learning the principles of the gospel.
• And the stories continued... until in 1964 she gave birth to the last of her biological children, (Mrs Sharon (Smylie) Scarlet to be) and helped Dave take her and the family and all the other Whyalla branch members who would travel with them to the Temple in New Zealand where she was sealed to her David and 7 children for time and all eternity.

Well says you..."Is that the end of the story?".... "No", says I, but we do not have time to go into all the things that make up her life. But suffice to say that if there was one word that describes your Granny, it is the word

GENEROUS...

She had no sooner come home from the Temple with "all those children" when she opened her home to a wee five year old David Zajkovic Smylie and I might add, continued to open her home to those in need until she was in her 68th year when she was still fostering children who had no homes to go to.

She is your original pioneer, a lover of books and good learning, clean living and generous giving. She will fight you when she thinks she is right but will be the first one there if you should need her help, and she still dances each morning and talks to her David in the quiet of the morning.

Happy Mother's Day Mum and thank you for all the love, I only hope I am half as well thought of in my lifetime. God bless you so many miles away! Love and kisses xoxoxx Dinah