that picture was my mother's, she's the little singer sitting on the piano bench. isn't she the sweetest? she looks a lot like my ava, i think. especially the older she gets (of course in this picture you can't really see her face).
my granddad had wild curly hair and sweet, twinkling eyes and a warm smile. he had a great laugh and he used to tease my grandma. he gave me my patriarchal blessing, sealed my youngest three brothers to our family when their adoptions were finalized and then, when ryan and i were married, he sealed us. so he managed to be a big part of a lot of big spiritual days for me. i always think of him when i'm in the temple, wondering if what he's doing now has anything to do with the temple. i suppose so. he certainly knows the drill, don't you think?
he was the patriarch of his family. he had nine daughters, seven who lived to adulthood, and not many sons-in-law (currently there is only one, my dad). half of his family has left the church and half have stayed close and every family reunion included lots of card games, lots of sitting around talking and always, a family home evening where grandpa bore his testimony and told us how much he loved us. i loved those family home evenings, i believed him when he said he loved me. it was a hard thing to accept when he died, to think of this family without him, but i've heard several family members talk about how they feel like he is still here, helping us from the other side. i love that idea, that he is still part of our family, still present at our important moments, just like before.
my granddad had wild curly hair and sweet, twinkling eyes and a warm smile. he had a great laugh and he used to tease my grandma. he gave me my patriarchal blessing, sealed my youngest three brothers to our family when their adoptions were finalized and then, when ryan and i were married, he sealed us. so he managed to be a big part of a lot of big spiritual days for me. i always think of him when i'm in the temple, wondering if what he's doing now has anything to do with the temple. i suppose so. he certainly knows the drill, don't you think?
he was the patriarch of his family. he had nine daughters, seven who lived to adulthood, and not many sons-in-law (currently there is only one, my dad). half of his family has left the church and half have stayed close and every family reunion included lots of card games, lots of sitting around talking and always, a family home evening where grandpa bore his testimony and told us how much he loved us. i loved those family home evenings, i believed him when he said he loved me. it was a hard thing to accept when he died, to think of this family without him, but i've heard several family members talk about how they feel like he is still here, helping us from the other side. i love that idea, that he is still part of our family, still present at our important moments, just like before.
I love this idea to do a personal history one blog post at a time! And I really enjoy reading about yours so far. Great idea! Maybe when I get my life a little more in order I can start following along with my own.
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