Daniel Ross Jr.

Aaron was looking around on familysearch.org today and found this ancestor of his. The name drew his attention, because we have been putting together a list of potential baby names. We always use a family name as the middle, and we have been considering Ross, which is my dad's middle name. So as Aaron was looking around in family search and came across a surname Ross in his family line, it caught his eye. We looked at Nephi Ross first, but there wasn't much about him, so we went back to his father, Daniel, who had a picture and a biography. We started reading his biography, and it was pretty incredible! This is what I posted on Instagram about it:

This is Daniel Ross Jr. He is Aaron's triple-great grandpa. Daniel and his brother were Scottish sailors and traveled all over the world. They were captured by pirates and spent 2 years as pirate slaves until they were rescued by a US ship. They returned to Scotland and their family. But soon heard about the gold rush in CA, and headed out again, promising to bring home enough gold to move the entire family to the US. They sailed to Panama, walked across it, then on to CA. They panned $20,000 worth of gold  out of a lake and used it to bring their family to UT. Daniel and his wife helped settle Iron County, but the heat didn't agree with him, so they headed north to settle Muskrat Springs......which later became Hooper, the tiny farm town I grew up in. Daniel (Aaron's ancestor, not mine) is buried in the same cemetery as my dad. You guys, family history is COOL. And the "random" connections blow my mind sometimes. 

So ya, that was the Instagram version.....I had to paraphrase and cut a TON out of the story to make it fit. But if I peaked your interest, the whole five pages worth is below. But I just can't get over how cool this connection is. Aaron and I are the only two people in the whole world who connect to this ancestor in this way, but that's amazing to me! Aaron's family never thought twice about Daniel being buried in Hooper to them it was just some random podunk town. And my family never would have cared about Daniel being buried in the same cemetery as my dad, because to them Daniel is just some other guy buried in the cemetery among hundreds of others. But when you put Aaron's family history and my family history together, suddenly there is this super cool connection. And that connection will be there for our kids too. Which, in my mind, solidifies the need to use Ross somehow as part of this new baby's name. 

I don't know how yet, because Ross Swan sounds awful. Like Raw Swan. There's too much "S" going on. But I can't ignore how awesome this family discovery is, nor the timing of it. So I think we'll make Ross work as a name one way or another. That's the plan right now, anyway. 

February: The Party Animal Month

 February is always a freaktastically action packed month for us. We cram a lot into those mere 28 days. Kick-off was Valentines Day. I make cards for the kids every year, to set beside their plates at breakfast. They make cards for each other as well, and we set those out beside the breakfast plates. And if they were successful in memorizing their poem for the homeschool group poetry recital, they earn a chocolate heart, which they can also find alongside their breakfast plate. I thought the cards turned out so cute this year, even if they were a little out-there. (A rat valentine, really? Yup.)

Valentines was on a Wednesday, which is our co-op and music lessons day. So by the time we get back home I am beat. And I was out of ideas for V-day dinner. But Aaron came to my rescue. He brought home all the fixins for steak, steak fries, salad, and sparkling cider. And it was perfection.

Luckily, our homeschool group decided to do the poetry recital on the Friday after V-day, instead of actual V-day. Life-saver. I volunteered to host at my house so we wouldn't have to rent a space at the library. A lot of people came, but I thought we all fit just fine. All the kids did such a fabulous job with their poems and Valentine boxes. This is one of my most favorite activities every year.

Most but not all of the kids. PC: Arianne

We also hosted 2 family parties in February. One for Aaron's side of the family, a ping-pong tournament and finger food event to celebrate all the February birthdays, which I did not get any pictures of. And one for my side of the family, a joint birthday celebration for Ollie and I. None of my sibling had ever been to my house before. So it was fun to have them up and show them around. I got this one darling pic of Gramma Tam and Papa Kerry with some of the kids.

Gramma Tam, Papa Kerry, Adelia, Nolan, Abi, Ollie, Logan, Graham, Ivan, Lincoln, Sophia, and Ruby

Party on, Dude! Cal is all about the parties.

 Next major event was my birthday! Yay, happy 32 to me. The day before my birthday, Aaron's sister Lisa watched our kids so we could go see The Greatest Showman. And OH MY! The soundtrack alone is perfection itself. And the movie was great too. Clean, funny, well-acted, happy. Also, those luxury lounger seats at the Spanish Fork Movie Theater are a-mazing! The whole theater actually, I've never been to a theater that nice.

 So, day of my birthday we had BIG plans. Aaron had some overtime and needed to take a day off. Aaron's mom was available to watch our kids for the entire day......so we planned an epic snowshoeing adventure. We were going to snow shoe up Stewart Falls. We got as far as renting the snowshoes from BYU and grabbing a quick lunch at Cubby's on the way out, when we got a phone call from Aaron's mom saying that Ollie had a 102 degree fever and we needed to come get him. Poor Ollie! Poor ruined birthday trip! Why does that always happen when you're a mom? I would be lying if I pretended that I wasn't really devastated. Of course I obviously knew I needed to come home and take care of Ollie. But, man! We were so close! Aaron and I RARELY get out to do anything. The stars have to perfectly align and we have to jump through a million hoops and swear a blood-oath, just to make baby-sitting arrangements. Let alone for Aaron to have to take time off, and for none of our kids to have any events on the same day. *SIGH* Not meant to be I guess. I was so bummed. We picked up the kids, and Aaron spent the afternoon doing math with them. I may have cried and had a chocolate eating pity party in my bedroom closet. In the late afternoon, Aaron took all the kids but Ollie to Home Depot to buy supplies for my birthday present, and snuck in a quick stop to Costco to buy my favorite chocolate cake as a surprise. Then we spent the evening remodeling our kitchen island, which is what I had asked for for my birthday present.

BEFORE:

He had to slide it over in order to run the wiring through the floor, so that he could put an electrical outlet on each side of the island. But you can see how plain looking and white it is. 

We added beadboard, trim, and brought the ends out a little ways to give dimension, and added legs. 

Here it is partially finished. It still needs another coat of paint. And I'm still working on sanding down the cabinet doors to paint them. I also need new hardware. Then we are going to sand down and stain the butcher block and seal it. 

Good hair day. Love those.

 Five days after my birthday is Ollie's birthday! This kid is FIVE! I can't even believe it. He wanted a snorkel more than anything else in the whole wide world. He's been talking about it for months and months. Planning it all out. So, of course I couldn't resist. Cutest little snorkeler I ever did see.

We went to the Bean Life Science Museum on BYU campus to celebrate Ollie's day. Right now they have a Titan Boa exhibit on display that did not disappoint. Giant prehistoric, crocodile-eating snakes. What could be better?

Ruby was ALL over the nature journaling today. Isn't she precious? <3 td="">

Other cool things that happened in February:

I got my 23andMe DNA results. Yep, I'm about as European as you can get. Haha! I also don't have any markers for any of the diseases the tested for. I'm excited to spend a little more time digging through all the stuff. I'll keep you posted if I find anything interesting.

It snowed a lot. In one of the storms we got 14 inches! They canceled church, which is a first for me as a life-long Utah resident.

And because it's been snowy and cold, we've been creatively trying to let out some of our energy. We discovered Cosmic Kids Yoga Stories on youtube. Super fun. And poetry tea-time is always a hit, especially when a fire and hot chocolate are involved. And we dug out our At Home Art Studio DVDs for the first time this year and made a mixed media fish in a bowl project.

Although we've been fasting and praying for snow, and I know we need it, and we felt really blessed to get it, I have to admit that I was thrilled to walk outside today and see a small clump of daffodils emerging from the melting snow. I was so inspired I pulled out my nature journal, something I haven't done all winter. It was just a happy little spot of brightness welcoming us into March and promising warmer weather, and more outside time just around the corner.

How Easily Things Go Untold

Stewart Ross Lemmon

Stew Lemmon, I'd love to know why this picture was taken, and why my dad is all dressed up like an indian chief.

Tami Lemmon, Stew Lemmon, Kyle Lemmon

Krystal riding Roxie with Dad in the Hooper backyard. 

Stew and Krystal and Reuben the dog.

A Sunday afternoon, Krystal and Stew Lemmon

Many things have collided to inspire this post.

1- My Uncle Scott, my dad's older brother, died earlier this week. I didn't know Scott very well, he liked always to keep pretty much to himself. But he would email back and forth, and he always sent me a Christmas card, every year, even since I've been married. When I was in high school he used to come to all my softball games drinking his coffee, smoking a cigarette and wearing neon shorts so short that his cheeks hung out in the back. My teammates would always point and whisper and wonder who "that guy" was. But I was always so proud that he wanted to come watch me play. I knew he was there partially because he liked baseball, but mostly because he knew my dad never missed a game when he was alive, and coming in his place was Scott's way of doing what he could to support our family, to make sure I had someone at the games cheering me on. Scott didn't want a funeral, and he asked to be cremated. And while I respect his wishes for no one to "make a fuss", I would have liked the opportunity to celebrate his life, and get to know him a bit better. 

And it all just makes me think about how my dad's family is all silently slipping away, one by one, first Papa Lemmon, then my dad, then my Grandma Lemmon. Lee, my dad's oldest brother died a few years ago, now Scott....and let's be honest my dad's sisters aren't far behind. The oldest one is in her 80s.

This branch of the family tree has a complex and colorful history. And because of that it seems like the people who know the stories that are living are keeping them half covered up. Like they don't want to expose them because the younger generation might some how think less of them for being human.

I don't think anything I learned about my Grandma Lemmon could make me think less of her. She was one of my most favorite people on this planet. I know she had a hard life. I admire her for doing as well as she did, and for the love she showed to everyone around her along the way.

But I think knowing would help with understanding. Maybe we could finally understand why my three aunts dislike each other so much they won't even talk to each other. Maybe we'd understand why Grandma Lemmon asked not to be sealed to any of her 4 husbands. (And maybe some day we'll be able to figure out how it is that she ended up sealed to ALL four of them?) Maybe if I understood more of how my dad was raised, I could understand why he raised us the way he did.

2- My sister-in-law asked me for a sample of my dad's handwriting. So I've been leafing through his missionary journal, and that lead me to leafing through the binder  where I keep a printed copy of all the talks he gave when he was a high councilman. He shares a lot of his personal history and life experiences in his talks, so when he died, I printed out copies and made binders for me and my mom and my three brothers.

And as I'm reading the things that my dad wrote, again, I am struck by all the stories and things I barely know. The people he talks about are real people who I've met, and who mean something to me. But to my kids....their Papa Stew is just a story, and his parents and siblings are just a shadow of a story. They aren't real for my kids. And it makes me so sad. No matter what kind of stories I tell, or how many times I try to explain things....my step-dad is their "real" (real as in the one thy know in real life) grandpa. And my dad is just this person that they sometimes hear about, and know is my dad, but that knowledge is sort of hazy because they have a hard time wrapping their heads around death and remarriage and step-families.

I don't know how to make it be any different. But I do know that I don't want things to get lost. So, today I feel to put down some of the words of my father. I don't know all the answers about what kind of details fill in the gaping holes. I have so many questions. But I want what I do know to stay alive. And maybe somebody who has been looking at a bare family genealogy chart that isn't anything but names, will someday will read this and find pieces of answers at least, about real people who lived their lives the best they could and had stories to tell.

I want to start with my dad's own testimony. This comes off the first page in his mission journal:

"All of my life I have been a Rebel. I was born in the church but rebelled against it at an early age. I was never active and I just didn't believe it. I had the same questions that most boys have about life but I sought the answers in science not religion. In spite of my beliefs at that time I had a deep sense of destiny which drove me to find out who I was etc. It was not until my senior year in high school. I was put into Mike Steoger's seminary class. At first I tried to contend with him on points of doctrine but he, knowing my impassioned mind, would give me books to read and scriptures to study. Gradually I gained an intellectual testimony but not spiritual. He told me that until I prayed I would just stagnate where I was and couldn't progress. Praying was hard for me, I was "embarrassed". What finally motivated me was when Mike gave me the responsibility to teach the class the next day. I prayed for help so I wouldn't teach this class that I loved so much the wrong things. The help came and it was a start to a long, hard, road to gaining a testimony." -Stewart Ross Lemmon

Now, I want to continue with a little bit more of his life story. These pieces might be all over the place, but it's the best I can do with what I have.

"Perfect Love Castest Out Fear. Brothers and Sisters, I ask for your indulgence as I broach an uncomfortable subject. Fear. I am not speaking in the context of being "God-fearing". I'm talking about what makes us afraid. The fears that alter our behavior......My earliest memories of real fear are perhaps familiar to some of you too. I remember lying awake in my bed at night as a little boy and hearing a drunken father threaten my mother. I remember being abandoned by that father and fearing that my mother would abandon me too. We learn real fear real early.......1 John 4:18 says "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear.".....What happens to our fear when love enters in? Along with the fearful times in my childhood, I also remember the times my mother visited my bedroom to assure me that, no matter what happened, she would always love me and never leave me. Because of that love, a frightened little boy was able to go back to sleep and find peace in a troubled world." 

This next one is long, so I scanned it instead of trying to retype all of it. Also, since it was several pages long, and I'm only wanting to focus on the family history part here, I took out all the bits where he was sharing other stories that aren't his, or where he was quoting scriptures or apostles. I know. That's all good stuff too, but right now I'm just wanting the family history portions.  This is my dad talking about my Grandma Lemmon's life.

This is from the same talk about covenants as the pieces above, but I skipped a big chunk, sorry if it doesn't flow.

The next part I'm going to share is a blip from a talk  on patriotism my dad gave in July as a high councilman. It's just a small story, some other day I'll post the whole talk, because it's really good. In this blip, my dad mentions his dad. I just wanted to make a note here that the "Dad" he is referring to is his adoptive father Earl Lemmon. Not his birth father Grover Thompson, the abusive drunk mentioned in the stories above. The "two sons" mentioned are Scott Lemmon and Tex Lemmon.

Maxine Harrison was her maiden name, but I knew her as Grandma Lemmon. 

Earl Scott Lemmon married Maxine when my dad was 4 and officially adopted my dad when my dad was around twelve. I know this man as Papa Lemmon. 

Krystal (me), Grandma Lemmon, Papa Lemmon, Jackson, and Stew Lemmon. I think this is at Jackson Hole, WY

Grandma Lemmon, Krystal, Kyle, and Papa Lemmon

Krystal and Papa Lemmon planting pine trees in the Hooper backyard 1988ish

One more from my dad's mission journal, and then I'm done for today. This is towards the end of his journal as he's getting ready to come home.

"I've been reflecting back on my mission trying to get some ammo for my report to the pres and home coming talk. It's funny, I feel more like a war corespondent than a warrior. The true "growth" I've experienced on my mission had been through analyzing the things that I experienced.  A simple 2 minute experience can lead to hours of contemplation and volumes of insights and lessons learned. In that sense then, the most valuable experiences of my mission have taken place in my head, enlightening my mind. I guess that's what a true spiritual experience is: spiritual/intellectual enlightenment rather than physical chills running up and down your back. Mission are important because they give experiences that act as a physical catalyst for spiritual enlightenment. Or maybe my mission just taught me how to use physical experiences to gain spiritual enlightenment. 

When we see something we don't really see it, we see light waves bouncing off of it."