Life according to Angela – Page 16

Trembath

Thursday is when I try to spend an hour doing family history. This week, I read a personal history about the Trembaths, written by this grandfather, pictured above. The Trembaths are my dad’s ancestors, and they came from Cornwall, England. They were miners and farmers.

The first Trembath to arrive in America came in rebellion against his controlling father. One day, while farming the poor land, he decided he would not stay another day. He abruptly left home, found passage to America, and he continued mining here. Funny detail: the bossy dad and the rest of the family ended up following him to America. 😂 There was no shaking this father.

They mined in the Great Lakes area, then they made their way to California, where they mined for gold in the early 1850s. They found a good gold mine, and it is too bad that they were swindled out of that. So much for riches.

This week’s story reminded me that our Trembath ancestor had hopes for riches through mining, but his family found them in different ways, including growing almonds. What he didn’t know is that America’s greatest riches weren’t in mines or almond groves, but in the Restored Church of Jesus Christ, and the sealing keys. These blessings were possible because of the inspired religious liberty of the land, guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.

The gold that would sustain his posterity wasn’t in the seams of rocks, but in buried gold plates. It wasn’t a goldsmith who would work the gold, but a “Smith,” just the same, who translated the words found in the Book of Mormon. Their great-great-grandchildren would be the first to benefit spiritually from the Restored Church of Jesus Christ, founded in this land.

Our ancestors sought a better life in America, but Heavenly Father had bigger plans than riches or even religious liberty. He had plans to seal this family together through all generations, for eternity, through the atonement of Christ and temple covenants. He wants to give them all He has. It is a blessing to do temple work for these ancestors!

Update on our grown children

Child is a word that applies to any age when a person is linked to a parent. Even though they are independent and strong, I am glad that I am still allowed to think of Paige, Daniel, and Timothy as my children.

I haven’t written about our older kids in a long time because they are living their own lives, very independent from us. But in my journal of tender mercies, any day that I get to talk to one of them, it makes the list of blessings for the day.

Paige and I have a phone appointment each Wednesday morning. It is something I look forward to each week.

Paige and Mike bought a house in Alabama this spring.

They both work from home. Michael is an accountant, and Paige works as an illustrator, and she has done a lot of digital art for the online Investopedia magazine. She mostly illustrates financial concepts, but she has also done some medical illustrations and more. This summer, her work was featured in a printed version of Investopedia magazine. She also did an illustration for the January 2023 Friend magazine.

Paige and Michael serve in the Primary organization at church. We will visit them later this fall, and it will be our first trip to Alabama.

Daniel lives nearby, and he begins his senior year at BYU this week, studying electrical engineering. He did an internship at L3 Harris (Richard’s company) this summer, so Richard talked to him quite a bit during the past several months.

After graduation next spring, Daniel will pursue a masters degree, and L3 Harris has offered him a job. Daniel and McKenna are quick to serve wherever they are needed. Daniel plays the organ in sacrament meeting and piano for choir, plus he serves in the elders quorum as service coordinator. McKenna served as assistant girls camp director this summer. Both of them help their local grandparents with all their hearts.

Timothy, our missionary, is on a new island, Saipan, a Northern Mariana island. This is country #4 where he has served during his mission, so I bought a new flag to display in the yard. He is excited to be on Saipan, and he and his companion are very busy teaching people. He is happy, as you can see.

He alternates with other missionaries to fly to a small island called Tinian on weekends to support a tiny group of members for church services. Here is a picture of their sacrament meeting last Sunday on Tinian. Oh, my! ❤️

We have a video call with Elder Ross each Sunday in the late afternoon, which is Monday morning for him. I have a hug scheduled with him on November 1 when he arrives home.

Ask

Maybe it’s the waning influence that I have during a child’s 18th year, but it feels like I am welcomed into a pretty exclusive club when I am asked to help with a dance invitation.

Paints, brushes, adhesives, poster board, and markers covered our kitchen surfaces on Friday afternoon and late into the evening. It’s an “Up” themed invitation, and Mark painted a little birdhouse in all the pastels from the movie.

We delivered the invitation late at night, as one does. I have become a slick getaway driver.

Fresh and clean

Hooray for fresh and clean new carpet!

😀

Focus

I appreciated President Nelson’s words to new mission leaders, so I made this reminder to put in my kitchen.

This was the article if you want to do an Internet search for it:

Annual Presidents’ Luncheon

Each summer, my presidency hosts a luncheon for the ward Primary presidents. I told a new president that no one in the world understands what she is experiencing like the women in this room. They talked, and talked, and lingered. After hosting this luncheon for several years, I wasn’t surprised by the wisdom of the women. What surprised me was that they wanted to stay longer than usual this year.

Steady

I’m celebrating that I finished a goal to do a deep study of the Doctrine of Covenants. I dedicated one morning a week for about a year to watch videos, read, and write about these modern day revelations.

I chose the same morning each week for my study sessions because it is when I do our laundry and I am scheduled to be home. Study sessions looked like me sitting between baskets and piles of clothing with videos playing, scriptures open, and books stacked. I read and wrote in the gaps between folding and loading loads of laundry. In other words, accomplishing this goal looked like nothing special. In fact, it was messy.

But now I have a notebook full of new insights, several new reference books, and I no longer feel out of touch about the subject. That is a nice feeling.

Senior

The miracle of the sunflowers

I have written before about our sunflower miracle that began when we sent off our first missionary. The week that Daniel left, the first flower showed up. The flowers continue to arrive, year after year. A couple of times we have inadvertently pulled them out with the weeds, but the miracle continues.

I have gone through an anxious season, and several times over the past few weeks, I have retreated to our backyard to study these sunflowers. I realized a new level of meaning behind my miracle flowers. They remind me that if God can orchestrate flowers to bloom on particular days, He is has a plan to help my family, too. I can trust Him.

Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.
Matthew 6:25-34

New York City

I had never been to New York City, so Richard took me there this week. We stayed in an Airbnb not far from Times Square, but definitely on a quiet street. We could walk to our shows in about five minutes.

Vacations and major family events are tough to condense into blog posts. Trips planned by Richard are usually so full that it’s impossible to cover everything, and this trip was just the two of us, so it also feels more personal.

Still, I know that Paige will probably like to see her old stomping grounds, and the future me will like this place marker in time showing some of our adventures together, so here goes.