Love and Family

This has been a strange year. Everything is different. One thing that is a comfort to me is love and family. For a while when all the stay at home started, we were only being around the family in our house.  We would go to the Ainas house and stay on the porch or in the yard, maintaining at least six feet distance. It was hard. We finally all decided that we could just as a family, loosen our restrictions. So now, we will go in their home and they will come in our home. Best of all is Hugs!

I haven't written about this yet. The Ainas were going to have a baby. Sarah told us in March.  We were all so excited. Then the day before Sarah's birthday, she went for her first ob appointment and found out the baby had stopped growing. I couldn't hug her. All I could do was love and pray from a distance.  It was hard, but we made it through. Sarah went back to the doctor a few days later to get her blood level checked to determine for sure that the pregnancy wasn't viable. She had several options and decided to let nature take its course. She had planned to announce her pregnancy on Mother's Day, read her blog post here. 

It was three and a half weeks after she found out that the miscarriage started.  Read Sarah's account of the day here.

Sarah's miscarriage started on Monday May 18.  On Wednesday May 20, she started bleeding heavily, and passing clots.  We went over and picked up the girls to take to our house for the day.  

Tony took Sarah to the Emergency Room.  But, because of COVID-19, he couldn't go in with her.  It was scary. We were all praying. Sarah ended up having an emergency D&C and was released that evening. We took the girls home after dinner so they could hug their mommy. 

We got home with the girls and the first thing Isla wanted was the toys. The other girls headed downstairs to see Auntie Liz and Izzy. 

So she got some toys out and got herself settled.  

Then it was time for a silly picture. 

We did puzzles, read books, and played games. 

Snuggles 

Back in her spot with Papa! 

After lunch the cousins all watched Big Hero 6

Then it was playtime outside. 

Gary was working in the garden

Abby was exploring 

Swinging is fun!

Look Grandma, no hands!

Checking out flowers. 

Check out Isla, fake sleeping while Papa naps. 

Ellie had a church activity

They made Scripture cookies. 

They looked up the mystery ingredients in the Bible and then mixed up their cookies. 

Ellie had fun. 

Here is the cookie batter in progress. Ellie said, "It looks like peanut butter!" It was actually Oatmeal Raisin cookies. We put the dough in the refrigerator when we took her home and planned to bake them another day.  

I've been able to go over and help Sarah with the girls so she could get some rest. I would do my online early morning meetings and collect student data from the previous day at home, then pack up my laptop and head over to Sarah's. I helped the girls get their school work done, helped with lunch, and got to read books, play games, and get snuggles too.  Each day Sarah got a little stronger. Love and family it is what it is all about. 

Sisters from church brought over meals for Sarah's family, Michelle picked up lunches for the girls when she picked up lunches for her girls. Sarah continued to get stronger. I am glad we live close by and I could help out. 

Just Surviving

Abby and Izzy had fun watching a webinar about Neuroscience.  

Do you recognize the presenter? She was on The Big Bang and Blossom. She is also a neuroscientist.

Abby entered a contest by taking a selfie with Mayim Bailik

I made an apple crisp

Tony and Gary finished the first part of the swingset at the Aina's.  Tony also got a sweet deal on the pool now in their backyard. 

This bearded iris is beautiful. 

We spend lots of time in the garden. 

More blooms

The garden is constantly changing as different plants bud and bloom. 

Gary needs to have some work done on the riding lawn mower, so he washed it and then he and Clay dropped it off at the Amish, small engine repair shop. They have worked on our mowers in the past and always do a great job.  

Check out my cherry tomatoes! 

It is fun to watch the garden grow. 

We have tomatoes and peppers in the large planter boxes

Herbs in these smaller planters

Lettuce is doing well. I go out and grab some lettuce to add to my sandwich at lunch. 

Where Our Story Begins

Back in June of 1978, I needed a summer job to pay my student loans. 

My Aunt Carol told me that Willard Library had some jobs available in their genealogy department. The jobs were just for the summer, which was perfect for me, because I wanted to teach in the fall. 

So, I applied and was called for an interview.

I walked up the steps and through the beautiful wooden doors.  

I headed up this beautiful staircase to meet Joan, the head of the genealogy department for my interview. 

I had no idea that someone followed me up the stairs and started doing some translation work on a project for the library.  The interview went well and I got the job.  I would be indexing local newspapers from the 1860s.  Indexing records in 1978 was very different than indexing today.  I used microfilm to read the papers. I had file boxes for index cards. Whenever I saw a person's name, I made an index card for them. I recorded the date of the paper, the page number, and the column in which the person's name appeared. Then I filled the card in the file boxes in alphabetical order.  I did this job for three months. These records have since been compiled in book form and then put into the computer system so people tracing their family records can read about their ancestors.  It was an interesting job.  

I started work the next week and a few days later, I met Gary. He had followed me up the stairs when I came in for my interview. After I left, he asked Joan who I was and did I get the job.  We talked occasionally and in August he asked me out on a date. He had just graduated from college and was waiting to start active duty for the Air Force.  He was translating church records (birth, baptism, marriage, death) from German to English. These records were compiled into book form and now can be searched electronically too.  

He would leave in October to go to tech school in San Angelo, Texas and then his first Air Force assignment was to Crete Greece. 

We dated for about six weeks before he left for tech school.  We wrote letters and he called me once a week to chat.  He asked me to marry him before he went to tech school, I said no. He asked me to marry him at Thanksgiving, I said no. He proposed in person, on the phone, and in letters, still I said no every time. He asked right before Christmas and again I said no. This time, he was a bit upset, because he knew we were supposed to get married and I kept saying no. He invited me to come to Texas for his tech school graduation and I said no. 

We were young, 22 years old. Gary was the first guy I was ever serious about.  It was scary to think about getting married and moving to an island in the Mediterranean for 2 years (the assignment was 18 month for a single person and two years if the family came too). So we decided to keep the letters and phone calls (once a month when he was in Crete) going and just see how we felt when he came home after his 18 months in Crete. 

He was home for three weeks the end of January - February 13, 1979. We decided not to talk about marriage during that time. Right before he left to go to Crete, he gave me a valentine gift.  He gave me a huge heart shaped box of  chocolates from our local candy store and there was a small box that looked like a ring box. I was sure he wouldn't give me an engagement ring in front of my family the night before he left to go overseas for 18 months. Or would he???? 

It was a ring but not an engagement ring. It was a beautiful star sapphire ring. 

Then he left to drive to New York, drop off his car to be shipped, and then boarded a plane to Greece. 

And that is how our story began.  

Love Languages

We had a Relief Society discussion about The 5 Love Languages. I've read it before, but it was fun to revisit it and think about the love languages of those in my life. 

My number 1 was physical touch this time. My top three changed order this time.  

I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that with the COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Order. We are limiting our contact with those who don't live in our home and that has been hard for me! I am a people person and a hugger. 

Physical Touch, Acts of Service, and Quality Time are always my top three. Gary knows my love languages. 

Liz, Sarah, and I compared our results. 

Gary's #1 Love Language is Quality Time (not a surprise to me)

It is interesting that for Liz, Sarah, Gary, and I gifts is our lowest.  I wonder if we influenced the girls as they were growing up. 

If you haven't taken the quiz, you should try it. 

Mothers Day

My Mom, Barbara Ruth Snyder Winslow

Mom and me

Liz on her first day home from the hospital

Five generations: Liz, Me, my mom, Barbara, my grandma, Marie, and my great grandma, Edith. 

Sarah just a few hours old. 

Bath time chat with Sarah

First professional photo taken at Yokota Air Base, Fussa, Tokyo, Japan. 

Cherry blossom time in Japan

Love these girls

Family photo December 1996

Liz, Clay, and Izzy

Sarah, Tony, Abby, Ellie, Adeline, and Isla

To my daughters 

A fun photo during the Covid-19 quarantine

The girls FaceTimed me for Mothers Day.