George William Lewis

My husband, George Walter Lewis, was named for his father Walter Malin Lewis, grandfather Walter Harvey Moore, and grandfather George William Lewis -- 3 interesting, rather remarkable men.

George William was born in Paris, Idaho on October 29, 1864, 99 years before the birth of his youngest grandchild, George's sister Tammy.  George's Dad was the youngest of  7 children.  Since he didn't get married until he was 33 and Tammy was the youngest of her siblings by 9 years the 99 year spread in a generation is understandable.   George William was the son of pioneers sent to settle the Bear Lake region of Idaho.  He was a pioneer in his own right as he was sent to homestead in Mesa, Arizona in 1879.  Dedicated to the gospel, he served missions in the Southern States, Canada, Eastern States and on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  He met his wife while serving a stake mission organizing Mutual (the youth organization) in her stake of St. John's Arizona.

George William died tragically at his home in Salt Lake City on October 24, 1933.  My George was lucky to be given his grandfather's pocket watch. As you can see from the watch fob coming from his pocket, he is wearing the watch in this photo.   For Christmas I had it repaired, polished and put in this great stand.  A treasure to remember our ancestor George William Lewis and his life of dedication to family and the gospel!

Travel Bug

"If we were meant to stay in one place, we'd have roots instead of feet." - Rachel Wolchin

Cancer Update

It's time for a cancer update from this 'Meddie'...that is what people with Medullary Thyroid Cancer call themselves.  About 3.4 % of all cancers are thyroid cancer and only 3% of those are Medullary so we are a pretty exclusive club!  Like I've said before it is the club no one hopes to join!

Once again the phrase, "No news is good news' applies. I met with my doctor in November and had blood work, neck ultrasound and a CT scan all of which were in his words 'unremarkable'.  My calcitonin numbers have never gone down to 0 so they never will but they are still low enough to keep both my doctor and me -  HAPPY!

I have almost complete range of motion from my right shoulder again -  16 months post surgery.   There are still numb areas on that side of my neck and shoulder and I understand  that the feeling probably will never return but that isn't a big deal to me.  I feel absolutely fine and have my normal energy.  Truthfully I've never had any symptoms from the cancer itself, only from the after effects of the surgery.

I know that there are no good cancers but so far this one isn't too bad.  It is mostly the word CANCER that is scary but I don't dwell on it and just try to live each day with joy!

President Thomas S. Monson

The news of President Monson's death did not come as a surprise to anyone.  He has been in poor health for quite awhile and he is 90 years old!  I really didn't feel too sad since I could immediately picture a happy reunion with his beloved wife Frances.

President Monson radiated joy.  He definitely practiced what he preached.  An eternal optimist, his life was dedicated to making the lives of others joyful.  There are endless stories of his years of service.  Each person that he met, no matter what their station in life, was meant to be loved.

From wiggling his ears during a conference talk to singing in the hallways of the church office building, he was a great example of finding JOY!

All day I've been reading stories about President Monson.  I am lucky to also have one to share.  When George's Uncle Ben Lewis died, three members of the Quorum of the Twelve came to the funeral.  Elder Oaks, Elder Holland and President Monson, who was then a counselor in the First Presidency, came into the room just as we were about to have the family prayer.  Naturally everyone in the room wanted to talk to them.  When my turn came, he shook my hand warmly and said, "You have the bluest eyes.  Are you Scandanavian?"  I said, "No Irish" and he laughingly said, "Well can you sing?  All the Irish can sing!"  Then he moved on to the next person.  I will always treasure the sweet, loving way that he spoke to me, that he took a few seconds to say something kind and personal.  He extended his 'loving heart' to me....and to every person in that crowded room.

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Thomas S. Monson lived the 'very essence of the gospel' with 'Jesus Christ' as his exemplar

I want to share a few of my favorite quotes from the talks he has given at General Conference over the last 50 years!  

This one was a favorite of my seminary class.

I find comfort in this assurance from a Prophet of God.

And I feel a lot of peace from this one.

This one also makes me feel so happy and loved. 

These next two quotes help me have the courage to do my best to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.

President Monson has blessed my life.  President Russell Nelson will be the first prophet who was called into the Quorum of the Twelve during my time as a member of the LDS church.  I have absolute faith that Heavenly Father is in perfect charge of the timing of these changes and that all will be well.

The Stockings Were Hung.....

The beautiful handmade stockings were hung by the chimney with care! 

When George and I got married my mother made these beautiful stockings for George and me. 

When Mary arrived she made another.  Unfortunately that one is in a box in Mary's basement in West Virginia so I don't have a photo of it but trust me it is a cute one! And when each of the boys joined our family another new stocking found its place on the mantel. 

I made a stocking for Grandma that I redid for daughter-in-law Monica. 

This year I made one for Isabella and gained a new appreciation for my mother and the time it took to deal with thousands of little pieces of felt and a million sequins! 

These stockings are most definitely treasured family heirlooms because of the memories of Christmas past and the dreams of future great times together.

Transmigration Woodworking

I had to show off the gifts we got from Matt. Would you ever guess the origins of these?  I wouldn't!  They are made from recycled skateboards.  He's quite the artist as well as a skilled woodworker.

A new gear shift knob for George's car 

Serving spoons for me 

2017 Christmas Favorites

First of all a trip to Boise! 

And that meant we got to spend a lot of time with some of my favorite people and favorite dog.  We did miss Mary and Mark but they were spending Christmas at home with almost all of Mark's family. 

Craft time....maybe not 'favorite activity' but they are all good sports! 

Isabella loved this...well she loved playing with the popsicle sticks and pompoms! 

 These ornaments were definitely favorites! 

 Of course we did a puzzle...this year a Star Wars theme! 

My Spode Christmas dishes are a favorite of mine... 

 Scott's funny faces are another favorite Christmas tradition! 

I made a couple of improvements to our traditional Christmas dinner and breakfast favorites.  Cinnamon rolls proved to be very popular with our breakfast pizza.

And as an appetizer - penguins made of olives, mozzarella balls and carrots!  Yummy and fun! 

Gift giving is always a favorite...I love my warm shirt for walking on frigid Portland mornings. 

 George inherited his Grandfather, George William Lewis's pocket watch.  I got it repaired and cleaned.  Another favorite... 

 And Isabella's favorite had to be the red and green tissue paper.  Who really needs toys? 

We didn't just dream of a white Christmas, we had one!  For this Arkansas girl, that is always a favorite.  

And we ended Christmas with a family trip to see Star Wars - The Last Jedi!  Maybe not my favorite Star Wars movie but definitely a fun one!
 I love holidays full of 'favorites'!

Christmas With Isabella

Warning - this is a total Grandma post.  Christmas with a little two year old is wonderful! 

Gift unwrapping was fun...for a few minutes!   

Playing with the tissue paper was much more entertaining.... 

Making people laugh was great fun! 

And an empty box provided hours of amusement! 

Reading a story with Daddy by the fire was cozy 

Feeding Aunt Mary's old dolls showed me just how grown up our little girl has gotten! 

She ate her dinner out of the antique bunny dish that I had used as a baby.  My mother had saved it for all these years just so my grandchildren could someday use it too. 

Washing dishes with Grandma proved to be the hit of the day....who worries about wet clothes and floor????  

If I want to be 100% truthful, then the snow was the most fun of all!  

Isabella loved it! 

Going fast with Daddy was the BEST! 

Until they took a tumble into the snow!  Poor little girl.  She even had snow in her ears. 

She did recover enough to take one more ride with her daredevil Uncle Matt and was all smiles again.
 It was the merriest of Christmases!