People Say We Look Alike

We are really missing that big doofy blonde kid this summer.  We've missed him since February, but we seem to notice his lack of presence even more lately because it's summer.  We lack the extra person to bum lunch off of us and tell us goofy stories about the people he encounters.  Today my mom got to talk to a Sister who just came home last week and was serving in Willie's district (a district of 5) in Siauliai.  (I was a little bit jealous and thought of the day he called me from the airport and I missed the stinkin' call.)  The Sister called my mom, at the request of my big doofy brother, to tell her that he loved her.  Awww . . . what a good mamma's boy he is.

I worry about him a lot.  (I worry about lots of things.)  If we say our dinner or nightly prayers in any manner that might seem like we are deviating from "bless Willie," the kids remember and speak up in the middle of the prayer, "don't forget Willie, mom."  We won't.  We don't.  (The same thing happens if we forget to "bless Great Grandpa" or "bless Stetson."  They may not always be reverent during the prayer, but usually they are listening.)  I worry about Willie because he has to act all grown up in a land far away.  He's always been pretty grown up on the outside, but a nervous wreck little kid on the inside.  My mom and I talked on Monday night (after his weekly e-mail) that he must be scared to death about getting a new companion and how much pepto bismol has he had.  Alas, he will survive and it's probably pretty darn good for him.

He isn't dead (or dying of cancer - I just finished "The Fault in Our Stars" - which didn't make me cry until I started writing this), and is doing something really great, but I miss him.

We got to hang out with Parker all day today and we got to spend some time with Meranda last week, we see Natalie at swimming lessons and we love them, too!  I'm so fortunate to have a close relationship with them and I am so proud of them and the great kids they are.  We survived hanging out with Willie and Parker while Meranda was serving a mission.  I guess we'll survive hanging out with Parker and Meranda while Willie's gone and maybe even survive hanging out with Willie and Meranda when Parker's gone (unless, of course, Meranda has gone on to bigger and better summer adventures by then).

This post is leading somewhere else.  I've had a lot of thoughts and frustrations lately of a spiritual nature . . .

In short . . .

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I believe that it is THE religion of our Heavenly Father and that each of us has a purpose and meaning in this world.  Though our paths may take on many shapes and forms, what we all share as human beings (and specifically as members of this Church) is the obligation and responsibility to be kind, Christ-like people, follow the commandments, and live the best life we possibly can.  The promise of following this particular faith is that if we DO live the best life that we can and we pass this test with a score acceptable to the powers that be, we will live on forever with our families and in the presence of our Heavenly Father where we will be able to continue doing great and wonderful things with the people we love.

In long . . .

I don't mean to sound self-righteous or conceited, but I've been really frustrated lately about the decisions made by people I care about, people who would otherwise be in the big picture of my "live on forever" family, but have made choices that put them currently out of that loop.  It sucks.  How can people drift from something that is so true to me and to most other members of our family?  How do people get themselves on a path contrary to what they know is right?

I am far from perfect and I have things to work on every day (starting tomorrow with trying to have more patience for my own kids) and though I have doubts about the strength of my testimony, I have never doubted that I had one, however weak it may have been at times.  Bad things happen to everyone, but I cannot imaging living without the blessings I receive from trying to do my best.  Our Heavenly Father knows what we need and sometimes I think I just struggle with having adequate faith. As a teacher, you never understand anything as well as when you have to actually teach it.  As a testimony holder, you never know the full capacity of what you know until you state it or act on it.

Two things have happened lately that have helped my strengthen my testimony.  First, we were sitting at Joesy's baby blessing in the Garland 4th Ward and I had a pounding in my chest that I needed to say something.  I tried to ignore it until I couldn't any more and so I walked to the pulpit (thinking that I knew my mother would not approve of my pink athletic-type flip-flops in church, but that I wore them anyway because I knew it was going to be hot).  I don't know exactly what I said, but it had something to do with families being important, and temples, and families forever.  Maybe I needed to say that to myself out loud or maybe the message was for someone else in the congregation, but whatever I said, someone needed it said.

Second, James and I went to the temple the other night to work on some of the names I've mentioned in my boring family history posts.  While waiting in the temple I happened to flip open the Book of Mormon to Alma 32.  Lo and behold, what does that section talk about?  Faith!  Verse 17 and 18 say, "Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall believe.  Now I ask, is this faith?  Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it."  Verse 21 continues, " . . . faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true."

So first, I learned (or re-learned) that faith is not knowing about things you already know, but faith is having confidence in the things you don't really know for sure.  Believe in something that you DON'T know everything about.  That's faith.  Then I learned that my lack of faith might just be because I am trying to explain things to myself assuming that I have control over them or that I have perfect knowledge of them.  I only have control over a few things in my little sphere and there is really nothing that I have perfect knowledge of.

I KNOW that things will always work out for the best if I am living my life the best I can.  Sometimes I forget that I know that.  That's when I need a little more faith.  I just wish that when others start to lack that faith that instead of continuing to deviate, they somehow buoy themselves up instead.  It's sometimes hard, but following the gospel and the principles laid out for us is the only way to getting what I think most people deep down really want . . . happiness and like I said earlier, live on forever with our families and in the presence of our Heavenly Father where we will be able to continue doing great and wonderful things with the people we love.

I am sad that other people who once saw it that way (or were at least taught to see it that way), don't see it that way anymore.

We don't always need faith in specific things or specific events, we just have need to have faith that things will work out.  When we have that faith and then do what's right, things will work out for the best!

This is what I know.

The end.

Delayed 4th of July

The 4th of July was great! All of James' family was going to be in town for Joesy's baby blessing during the holiday weekend so we invited everyone to our house for an Independece Fest!

Unfortunately, I went to plug in my phone after everyone had left and it wouldn't hold a charge. Two weeks later (and a new plugin port in my phone), we are back in business and have some 4th of July pictures.

The Anderson Story

Remember my cemetery story?  Well, I kept investigating.  I started back with Miranda Ericksen and Carl Ephraim Petersen.  Here is what I found out:

• In 1900, Carl was still single and living with his parents in Ephraim.
• In 1910, he had married Miranda, was living in Salt Lake (on 700 South), working as a day laborer, and had 7 children (3 of his own and 4 Miranda had previously).
• They moved around a lot.  I thought they lived in Magna forever, but there are a couple of Salt Lake addresses before Magna and then again on Carl Ephraim's death certificate. His obituary says he resided in Magna for 27 years and was employed by Kennecott.  My dad says he remembers his grandpa, Van, saying that his parents moved around a lot to keep ahead of creditors or for whatever reason.  On more than one occasion, he came home from school in the afternoon and found a note saying that the family had moved and for him to wait there for them to come pick him up.   

• In 1918, he had to register for the draft for World War I and listed his address as "General Delivery, Magna."
• When he died in 1949, he had retired from Kennecott and was back living in Salt Lake City on James Court.  He died of a "cerebral vascular accident" and cardiovascular disease.  His daughter, Ruth Coon, not his wife, was the informant. 
• Miranda died in 1957.  Of course, I can't find a death certificate or any other information for her as a widower as so much of her story remains a mystery.  When did she come to the U.S.?  How many children did she have and how did she lose the ones she had?  What happened to her first husband?  How did she die?

When I ran out of information for those two, I decided to move on to Miranda's children.  Instead of starting with Thomas (the guy we found at the cemetery), I started with her oldest son Kristian Rudolf Andresen (also known as Chris Anderson).  His story was interesting and is full of military records.  Here is what I found out about him:

• He was born in Norway in 1890.  I think he probably immigrated to the U.S. with his mother around 1900.  
• In that 1910 Census mentioned above, he was a 20 year old single man living with his mother and step-father in Salt Lake City and was working as a grocery store driver.
• In 1920 he was living as a single man at a boarding house in Salt Lake and working for Kennecott, but a lot had actually happened during those last 10 years.  World War I happened and he was quite involved.  
• His draft registration card gives us a little glimpse of what he looked like - 5' 9", medium build, blue eyes and brown hair.  (I have to assume his dad - Theodore Anderson - was tall because the photographs of his mother make her appear very short.)  He registered for the draft in June 1917 and then enlisted in August.  He served "overseas" one year later, from August of 1918 until January 1919.  I have no idea if overseas means trenches in France or paperwork in England, but we could probably do some investigation into his unit - Battery E 145 FA (I assume FA means field artillery, but I'll leave the military history up to my dad).  He was honorably discharged that same January 1919 with the rank of Corporal. 
• In addition, he must have undergone some training at Camp Kearny, San Diego, because in May 1918 he petitioned for naturalization.  I thought that was interesting.  The United States says, "hey, please register for the draft and by the way, we'll let you become a citizen."
• One piece of information on the naturalization record that could prove important is that he says he came to the U.S. in 1900 through Boston.  This is the first clue I have found about he and his mother's immigration.  It could probably stand some more research.
• In 1930 he was still working for Kennecott, but by the time his step-dad died in 1949 he was living in Seattle, Washington.  He died in Seattle in 1965 and is buried at the Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park in Seattle.
• So what happened to Chris Anderson?  I don't really know.  What took him to Seattle?  Was he ever married?  I can't find any marriage records or death records.  There are lots of Chris Anderson's listed in Seattle in the 1950's and 1960's and I have nothing that positively identifies THE Kristian Rudolph Anderson we are looking for.

The rest of the family . . . .

Children of Miranda Louise Erickson & Theodore Andresen

1.  Kristian Rudolph Anderson - explained above


2.  Thomas Anderson - He's the guy we went to look for at the Magna Cemetery.  I was able to add in his wife and find the names of 5 children (including 1 son who is buried by his parents in Magna).  He lived most of his adult life in Magna, also working for Kennecott.  I assume his other children are likely alive and in their 80's and 90's (until I am able to find otherwise).  I'd like to find out if he also served in the military during WWI, but I haven't been able to find that.

3. Theodore Anderson - This one need some more work.  He's listed on Family Search with a wife and children, but there is a little bit of doubt in my mind that the sources are correct.  They say he lived in Idaho and worked as a mechanic which very well could be, but another source that this is based on is his WWI draft registration, which is also in Idaho.  I have a hard time coming up with an explanation as to why his older brother would have registered for the draft in Utah, while he did in Idaho and at a much younger age.  It's possible, I guess, but then he's buried at the Salt Lake City Cemetery.  Since all of these guys have such common names, I sometimes get hung up on whether the resource attached to them are actually them.

4. Frank Iner Anderson - Frank was born in Utah.  According to the 1910 Census he is the only one of these 4 brothers who wasn't born in Utah.  That gives us a little bit of a clue into when his mother immigrated to the U.S. and she may have very well been pregnant with Frank when she did.  I sort of lost steam and haven't done a lot of work for Frank.  In Family Search, he is listed with a wife and children.  There are no sources attached.  I'll work on that.

Children of Miranda Louise Erickson & Carl Ephraim Petersen

5. Ruth Genevieve Petersen Coon
6. Van Carl Petersen (my great grandpa)
7. Parley Knute Petersen (his son Ken, still lives in Hunter near my parents)
8. Judith Petersen (died as a baby)

That's the story.  As you can see, it's not complete, but it's something right?  I find this kind of stuff interesting.  I don't know if it really does anyone any good.  Throughout all the research I've done over the last week or so, I've only found 3 people who need temple work (and only partially) done, so I can't say that's my whole purpose.  I think I just like to know about people's lives.

Miranda Petersen died in 1957.  Are there any of her relatives still alive today who knew her and what could they tell me about her?  That's what I want to know next!

The Flood

On Monday night of June 2nd, we got a phone call from our renters to tell us that earlier in the day there had been a flood.  Finally, on Thursday, July 10th, I went to pick up a reimbursement check from Granger-Hunter Improvement District for the cost of our insurance deductible.  They agreed to pay us that much for being at fault turning on the wrong water main.  The bank owned property, our neighbor, hasn't done anything in the matter, even though they own the pipe that burst.  Oh well.  After over a month, I think I can safely say that this problem is finished.  Instead of re-writing it, I am just going to copy the e-mail I sent to Grangeer-Hunter.

I am e-mailing you to request reimbursement for our $XXX insurance deductible paid for clean-up and repair of damages to our rental home at XXX, West Valley City.  On June 2nd, GHID came to turn on water to a nearby property.  Instead, the GHID employee turned on the water main for a vacant property which shares a wall with our unit.  The address of the vacant property is XXX.  This property has been vacant (a foreclosure and now bank owned) for quite some time and when the water main was turned on, a pipe inside the unit burst.  This pipe was between the walls of the vacant unit and our unit.  The result was a substantial flood ruining half of the floor and some of the wall in our living room.  

Our renters immediately cleaned up the water they could see and notified us later that evening.  We called GHID and talked to the on-call employee that night and were assured that the water had been turned off and no further damage would be caused.  We then contacted XXX at XXX Bank in Oklahoma (our contact for the vacant property) to pursue repairing the water damage since the broken pipe was clearly in the vacant unit.  Though she responded to us, there was no apparent attempt to fix the pipe or repair our damages, at least in a timely matter.

 Realizing that working with a bank ownership in Oklahoma was not going to be efficient, on June 4th, we contacted our own insurance company to begin the disaster clean-up process and then make the necessary repairs. The repairs and clean-up were done by XXX.  All work was completed and we paid them on July 1^st. 

 We have spent hours of time contacting different agencies and trying to arrange and repair our property.  Our renters have spent a month being inconvenienced by the damage.  The problem was caused by two other parties (GHID turning on the wrong water main and XXX neglecting to take care of their pipes), yet we have been the ones effected by the damage.  For that reason we are seeking reimbursement for our insurance deductible, so that at least our financial burden is minimized.

 Thanks for any response in this matter.  If you need further documentation (pictures of the damage or copy of insurance documents) let me know.

Magna Stroll

After our cemetery adventure the other day, the three of us (Molly, Jack, and I) meandered around old Magna.  No one was looking, so I decided to take photos of the three old houses that have significance to me.  There are other old houses in Magna that other old relatives lived in, I know, but I couldn't tell you where they were or what they looked like.  These houses have seen various stages of repair and decay through my lifetime, but right now they are all in pretty decent shape.  Here is the 2014 photo report on the three that I do know.

House #1 - The Petersen Home

This home belonged to my great grandma and great grandma - Myrtle N. and Van C. Petersen.  I grew up going to this house.  It was small and had one large living room across the whole front of the house.  The living room was very neat and very proper.  There were lots of doilies, small ceramic dolls and a TV.  There was a small kitchen, one small bedroom, and a bathroom along the back of the house.  There was also a narrow covered porch behind the kitchen.  The house had a basement.  If my memory is correct, my grandpa dug the basement himself to make bedrooms for he and my aunt Delores.  The stairs weren't level and it was scary.  I honestly only remember going down there once and it was after Myrtle died and my mom, Annie, and I went over briefly to talk to my dad and see what the progress on the clean up was.  That's it!

House #2 - The Chipman Home

This home belonged to my other great grandma and grandpa - Asenath Moyle and Clarke Chipman.  I have never been inside this house, but have driven past it on many occasions.  We used to stop by and visit a lady (Mrs. Mahlstrom?) on the 4th of July to see how she was doing.  She had rose bushes.  My parents knew her because they had actually lived in this house when they were first married and up through when Annie was born. (I know there are several baby pictures of my sister that show this inside of this house.  They are in photo albums in my mom's basement).  By the time I was born, they had moved into our Lake Ridge house.  My dad also spent much time here growing up because I think he was a brat and my grandma would ship him out to Asenath's on many occasions, especially during the summer (both grandpa Van Grandpa Clark and my Grandpa Petersen had passed away).  I think he also went there many times after school (Brockbank or Cyprus) and he worked with Asenath as an evening sweeper at one of the local schools.  This street is easy to remember because it is behind the football field and up from Bill's Lounge (now the Bear Den).

House #3 - The Other Petersen Home

This home belonged to my grandma and grandpa - Ardith and Dewaine Petersen.  My dad was born while his family lived in this home.  It is just up the street and on the other side of 3100 South from Grandma and Grandpa Chipman's House.  When my dad was around the age of 5, they built and moved out to the house on Hunter where my Grandma lived until the late 1990's (I think?).  I have one memory of going out to this house and doing some kind of clean up project.  I think my grandma may have rented it out.  I don't really know. (There are several photographs and home movies from Thanksgivings and Christmases inside this house)