We were so glad to see you. We love you so much, we even came outside in our pajamas for hugs. We are sorry your car got wrecked in Phoenix. That’s the #1 place for traffic and all things awful for travel.
Thanks for wrestling the boys during all the rehearsals and providing a sugar wonderland in our lives. We are thinking you must have fed Sparky something good, too. He doesn’t try to stow away in just anyone’s car.
We are so glad you came.
Love,
The Richard Rosses
Friday I offered a prayer at our annual homeschool club Christmas party. One prayer request came from a friend who simply wanted us to pray as a group for an undisclosed need. And we did.
I’ve been thinking about that request. We all have private struggles and challenges, and many try to face them alone. One thing I have learned (and love) about my Christian friends is that they openly express needs and pray for one another. I find my own troubles tiresome and my mind wanders when I pray only for myself. This year, I have seen friends and family struggle with illnesses, death, and other challenges. I have felt powerless and worried, but when I prayed, I felt like THIS act was the best service I could give for problems that were just too big for me. Learning to transform my useless worry into meaningful prayer has been a common theme in 2009.
I’m grateful for the love that naturally grows as I pray for someone and the miracles of healing and comfort that have come this year from a loving Father in Heaven.
I gave Paige and Daniel the assignment to read about our Mayflower ancestors last week. We’re descendants of Mary Chilton and Richard Warren, who were passengers on the Mayflower. Mary was orphaned at age 13 when her parents died within a week of each other after landing at Plymouth. She later married Mr. Warren John Winslow who arrived in Plymouth in 1621.
I have been thinking about those ancestors all day. The Chiltons were Separatists who had fled from persecution in England to live in Holland. Although they were financially better off in Holland and were able to exercise their religion in peace, they were troubled by the worldly influences around them, such as a lax sabbath day observance and also some cultural differences. These parents were concerned about their children. They were concerned that the principles for which they had left their homeland were being watered down in the environment in which they now lived.
Mary’s parents died in what I believe to be a heroic struggle to maintain purity in the next generation.
Paige is writing a report about this young girl, Mary Chilton, who was orphaned in the new land. Will Paige be able to see a pattern in conviction and courage carried through the generations to her own family? I want so much for her and the boys to drink in this heritage of strength and fearlessness. I have seen it in my parents and grandparents: Strength to be different; Strength to stand alone and follow through with what they feel inspired to do. Our ancestors were fearless in being counted with the Separatists, driven from England, and later the Mormons, driven from the eastern United States. I see the same fearless strength today in my parents who are missionaries; and I’ve seen it in my grandparents who have made a difference by their service and faith.
I hope we’re doing enough to see that this courageous pattern is carried on in the next generation. Learning about these ancestors makes my decisions seem easy and my burdens light in comparison. However, this doesn’t mean I believe the battle is of lesser importance. The same enemy fights against good and it’s still the children for whom we struggle to preserve. And the enemy is insidious and permeates our culture so blatantly that I find myself shocked all the time at what I have just seen or heard.
I’m feeling a little more empowered by this new knowledge of our roots. As I said before, I hope Paige feels the same through her study of these ancestors.
Sarah and Bryan came and we ate Thanksgiving Day leftovers. I was helping sample/make the sandwiches.
The boys entertained Bryan with a 6 hour session of Lego Show and Tell.
And then there was Set. Paige and Timothy love that game.
Thanks for coming to visit us. It was so nice to see you!
Lovely. Thank you!
We love Grandma Ruth.
First memory of her: walking toward the hospital with her when my brother Joe was sick (I was 5).
Favorite dish she makes: tamale pie
Favorite Grandma Ruth object: her sketches from her childhood
Happy memories: Curling her hair one day, trip to Hearst Castle, faithful letters and cards all my life, sorting out boxes of the past, dressing up in heirloom clothing in her living room, working on recipes, special talks about important things.
Favorite decorations in her home: pictures of grandchildren and soft watercolors.
Today Timothy, Mark and I played math games. We pulled out the flash cards, dominoes, matching games, geoshapes, dice, and of course,
Whenever I pull out my collection of buttons, I smile because they were given to me by my mother-in-law during my first month teaching Paige at home.
My mother-in-law sorted buttons of all shapes and colors and put them in little containers with color-coordinated lids; some lids were hand-painted to match the buttons inside. “They will be helpful in Math,” she said. She bundled everything up in a package and mailed them to me.
That package meant so much to me because it said without words, “I support you in your decision.”
Since that time, we have had many generous donations to our school from family and friends. But these buttons were the first.
And 9 year later, the buttons and that quiet support are still treasured.
Dear Family,
I’d like to share some of the research I have been doing about an ancestor. I’ve written this post as if I were her. See if you can guess who she is. -A.R.
This is a picture of me when I was a baby in San Francisco. My parents were Wilhelmina and Emil. People called my mom, “Mina,” which rhymes with “Tina.” Papa worked as the first officer for the Southern Pacific Ferry. I was born in America after my parents left Sweden. I was their second child. Their first child passed away. These were my shoes:
We survived the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906. Here is a silver pitcher which was partially burned.
This is a picture of me and my mother, Mina. My dad passed away in his early fifties. My mother worked hard to support the family. She was a wonderful cook.
I trained as a nurse. I kept detailed journals and photo albums, newspapers, magazines, and letters. I always lived a frugal life and enjoyed the benefits of saving money. I married a widower and raised his daughter. Her mother had died of consumption. Here is a picture of me during the 1920’s.
Here are the war ration books from WWII that I saved. The two stars on my pin represent my brother and cousin who went to war. My cousin Harvey died suddenly after coming home from the war from some shrapnel in his body. My brother, Lloyd served in the Philippines. I spent time making USO scrapbooks.
I wrote notes to Presidents, including Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy and kept each reply. I wrote to Jackie Kennedy when her husband died and she sent a thank you note. I wrote to J. Edgar Hoover and had a letter signed by him, as well.
I loved animals and kept birds and cats. I took very good care of my husband and daughter. We lived in Berkeley. My husband worked in the hardwood flooring business. When they built the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), they tore down our home to make a path for it. This was heartbreaking to me.
Here is a picture of me in 1975, near the end of my life.
Do you know who I am?
I am Cerie, the wife of Axel, mother to Ruth.
Daniel received this package in the mail this week. Inside was a newspaper from his birth date, almost 10 years ago. Our friends, the Espersens have been saving it for us in Austin all these years. Dave is quite the philatelist. (I’ve always wanted to use that word.) I have been staring at this package for a long time, enjoying the beautiful stamps and missing these dear friends.
Daniel has been lonely lately. His best friend moved away last month. I think that our Heavenly Father knows this little boy’s needs and has inspired so many good people to reach out to him. If you think about it, this kind act was put in motion 10 years ago and the timing is perfect. I sit back in wonder, and I’m reminded of the importance and power of love and small gestures of kindness and listening to those little ideas that come to our minds to do good. Who knows what a difference our small acts of kindness will make?
The Espersens
We’re not sure why Richard was quoted in this newspaper article, and why the author of the article omitted the line about the members of our church fasting (in addition to praying) for the Hess family. Richard had been in contact with this reporter about some other church business in the news and he had submitted photographs to be used by the paper. However, this is all the evidence of his work with this reporter. But I guess when all is said and done, if you’re going to be quoted in the paper, you’d better be saying something worthwhile, and I think he did just fine.
Looking for a worthwhile cause? Visit Team Ryan Hess or this blog post to find out how to help.