Worldwide Commotion

from "The Day Dawn is Breaking" Hymn 52

The worldwide commotion, from ocean to ocean
Now heralds the time of the beautiful day.





This is what popped into my mind as I was exploring new features on FamilySearch Labs, which showcases new family history technologies that aren't ready for prime time. Basically, it's the sneak peek at what they are working on for the new FamilySearch website which many of you (NC folks) just got access to.

Anyway, as I was exploring the options to look at the progress on names I had submitted to the temple I gained a greater appreciation for the worldwide nature of this great work we are a part of. Take a peek with me, at just a couple of ancestors to illustrate the concept.

Alexander Liddle was born 12 Dec 1822 to John Thomas Liddle and Nancy Robinson in Schenectady County, New York. He was the younger brother of my 5th great grandfather, John Guilbert Liddle.

A few months ago I was in new FamilySearch and saw that his temple work had not been done. I felt moved to submit his name to the general temple file. A few clicks of the mouse and it was done. At least, my part was done. The worldwide commotion was just beginning!

On 25 Apr 2008 his baptism was performed in the Boston Massachusetts Temple.
On 3 May 2008 his confirmation was performed in the Reno Nevada Temple.
On 23 May 2008 his initiatory was performed in the Mesa Arizona Temple.
On 11 Jun 2008 his endowment was performed in the Manhattan New York Temple.
On 25 Jun 2008 he was sealed to his wife in the Lubbock Texas Temple.

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Thomas Milton Teegardin is an even more distant relative. His wife, Cora B. Keirns is my 1st cousin 4 times removed. Her grandparents, John E. Deffenbaugh and Anna Parshall are my 4th great grandparents. Anyway, he's another one that I submitted to general temple file. He was born in Putman County, Ohio on 6 Sep 1874.

On 14 Jun 2008 his baptism was performed in the Campinas Brazil Temple.
On 18 Jul 2008 his confirmation was performed in the Porto Alegre Brazil Temple.
On 21 Aug 2008 his initiatory was performed in the Lubbock Texas Temple.


His endowment card has been printed and is at some temple, somewhere in the world. How exciting to watch and see if it will be the temple next door (Lubbock) or halfway across the world!

And all because of a few clicks of the mouse in Pyote, Texas. (Ok, maybe there was a little bit of research over the years as well) What a great time to be alive!

New nursery manual

Behold your little Ones is the new manual for nursery classes and also serves as a great resource to help parents teach basic gospel doctrines to young children at home.

Went to the website for something different and saw this.

Free photo book w/free shipping

slickdeals thread

It's a new site where you can use pics from your Photobucket account...too bad not everyone has uploaded their reunion pics to our Photobucket group album.

Loved it

Now I can go back to being a good Mommy and not staying up late and ignoring my children ;)

A successful healthy dinner

So, last night I made something that was actually healthy that both girls actually loved (and I think James was ok with it, too). That's not very easy to do, so I thought I'd share the idea.

First, I browned a roll of ground turkey (I guess it was a pound) in a high-sided skillet. Then I added 1.5 cups of brown rice and mixed it in (coating it in what little grease there was from the turkey, which makes the rice not clump). Then I added 3 cups water, 2 chicken bullion cubes, and abt 1 tsp curry powder, and abt 1 cup spinach (thawed enough to separate). I stirred it all up while bringing to a boil. Then I covered and let it simmer for close to an hour.

Would you believe even my veggie-hating 2.5 year old didn't pick the spinach out?!

The race

Eclipse and Breaking Dawn just got here. I love when Amazon ships from Dallas and I get it the next business day. So much for getting housework done.


My sister Katie just went into the hospital to be induced. Let's see how much I can read before the baby is born!

The monkey says "meow"

Interrupting my reading of New Moon to report that the Fisher Price Amazing Animal Monkey is actually a CAT and it says "meow." Elizabeth insists on it, therefore it must be.

Starting chapter 10

Right after the trip to Port Angeles. Yeah, I'm hooked. It's taken me a little over 3 hours to read 195 pages, though. Can't a 13 month old and a 2.5 year old fend for themselves for a while?!

Family History newbies needed

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is developing a new version of the FamilySearch.org Web site. This new Web site will help individuals identify ancestors and link them to families, and it will help Church members perform temple ordinances for their ancestors.

Can you volunteer an hour of time to help evaluate this new Web site? Do you know someone else who might be interested? We are looking for feedback to help make the Web site as easy and enjoyable to use as possible. We are especially interested in feedback from individuals who are new to family history. Anyone over age 18 interested in participating in this evaluation is invited to go to the following Internet address to sign-up:

http://labs.familysearch.org/temple/static/signup.htm

Thank you for your interest and enthusiasm. We greatly value your time and opinion.

Sincerely,
The FamilySearch User Experience Evaluation Team
Family History Department
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

My 2 year old has a Palm Pilot and a Visa

Spoiled rotten, you say?! Don't you know that in this day and age we need to provide our kids with all of the latest technology and resources?! Haven't you seen the Wal-Mart Back to School ads that try to guilt parents into buying their (apparently) upper elementary age children laptops?

Seriously, I did get a Palm Pilot in the mail for Elizabeth today. It's a special one for tracking information for a survey. And it came with a $10 Visa gift card and we'll get another $50 when we complete the survey. She was quite interested in the Visa and wouldn't give it up for a while...uh oh!

Amazon Video Unbox Beta

Thought some of you (that don't get your movies illegally) might be interested in this. You get a $5 credit to use.

Sign up for the Unbox Beta Program
The Amazon Unbox team is conducting this Beta Program to gather feedback on new enhancements to the Amazon Unbox Service. The results of this Beta Program will be used to guide Amazon's efforts in improving the Amazon Unbox experience. This Beta is open to a limited number of participants. Every participant will have a $5 promotion for Unbox videos added to their Amazon account.

"Spring Cleaning"

Anyone want to take a guess as to why I have taken down my living room curtains and am washing them today? It's also the reason I am going to scrub down the wall behind the recliner as soon as I post this. I'll give you a hint: It has to do with my 2.5 year old.
That still leaves the possibilities wide open. Anyone want to take a guess?

Happy First Birthday, Lily!

Hope you are having a better day than in this picture!

More about Garrett

A Swearingen cousin named John Bennett wrote a fictional children's book about a character named Barnaby Lee; the book has Garrett and Barbara (his wife) as significant characters. This book was published in 1902 and made into a silent movie in 1917. The book can be found on Google Books here and can be purchased here. IMDB has a bit of information about the movie here.

Our immigrant Van Swearingen ancestor

Grandpa Parkins' maternal grandmother was Carrie Elizabeth Swearingen. This is a picture of her I obtained from someone who found it at a flea market and then searched family history message boards for a descendant.

Her 4-great grandfather was Garrett Van Sweringen. (8th great-grandfather for my generation)

I just found this really neat biography of him. He was a prominent figure in the early history of St. Mary's City, Maryland and the site of his Inn was the subject of an archeological excavation a couple years back by the St. Mary's Historical Commission. They opened an exhibit on him in April of this year. If I ever get to do a family history roadtrip again I'll definitely be headed to St. Mary's! Read the biography; it's got a lot of neat details from the excavations.

More can be found here, including illustrations created for the exhibit. Click on the link under the Van Sweringen Suite pictures for lots more information.

Found the weak point in our food storage

FLOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a well-stocked pantry (though we still need to get organized with a real food storage plan) and that's a good thing because I can't just run to the store very easily.

There's something about summer that inspires me to bake. Last night I made homemade rolls with white bean soup. I also started a new sourdough starter, wanting bread to go with a white bean puree recipe I was going to try. Well, guess what I discover today as I go to do the next step with the starter?

We are 100% out of flour!

And last night Amelia was struggling with a cold so I slept the first part of the night in the recliner and 15 lbs 9 oz is a lot when it's right on your chest, so we then tossed and turned the rest of the night in bed and I woke up with a TERRIBLE crick in my neck and can't turn my head, so there's no way I'm driving to Monahans. Usually James can get off work if I'm sick or hurt, but for three weeks the caseworkers are taking over the school because they fired all the teachers and that started today.

And, yes, I would make bread even in pain...I had sourdough started when I ended up having Amelia.

Why, oh, why do I have a canister full of sugar, 2 five pound bags of sugar, and no stinkin' flour! Probably because the GV packaging in so similar for flour and sugar. Grrrr!

Sorry, just had to vent a bit...I think my pain meds are wearing off.

Dancing is Brilliant!

In case you don't know, that's a quote from Bob the Builder. Last night Elizabeth was not at all interested in going to sleep, hence the dark living room with the only light coming from the kitchen. After a bit I noticed that her bathtub toys were having quite the animated conversation and I tried to capture it on video without her noticing. Well, I missed most of the talking, but what I did get was even more precious!

My tiny little one year old

Here's a picture of Amelia yesterday. She had her 1 year appointment and weighes a whopping 15 lbs 9 oz and is 26.5 inches long.

Still, it's a lot bigger than in this picture 2 days out of the NICU (2 months old)