Grant's News
Grant has had a quiet week with work. He is looking forward to some changes at work that will allow him to cook, and hopefully add some more excitement to the normal routine. Lately Grant has been collecting seeds for the garden. It is still very much winter and the cabin fever of it all has Grant anxious to get back outside and work in the yard. He is excited for even slightly warmer whether so that the daffodils and crocus flowers will return.
News from Julie, Jeff and Alex
Happy birthday,Henry!
This week for the Lanes was packed with trying to once again
get the house to look like a model home, even though it is requiring everything
to be put into boxes and then shoved
into every closet. We are hopeing to get
this all finished before the end of February.
Monday, we spent in Marshfield going to a discount store and
taking a well needed date without the baby. We went to Chips, the one by the
BBQ store. We also took Alex to Festival
foods so that he could push one of the child size carts around. He really loved
that until it was nap time and then nothing would make him happy.
I cannot remember what I mentioned about Jeff’s interview.
But here is his recount:
Jeff traveled down to Milwaukee to interview to become an
officer for the Air Force. He had a
series of three interviews while he was there, two unexpected. The first one was with a Captain that was
the longest. They asked him quite a bit
of questions about his background, at the end, when he asked to get a feel for how the interview went, the Captain said
he believes he can put together a competitive package. He then had a short interview with the
Colonel: Jeff believes he did well because the Colonel gave him advice of how
to improve his entrance essay. Then he
had the third and last one with the Tech Sergeant that he has been working with;
which he expected. He was mainly filling
out paper work with her. Over all he
thinks he has a good chance to have the opportunity to commission as an officer. Unfortunately, he probably won't find out
till late May or early June. Which is a little frustrating since we are
desperately looking for a job and would love to know what will be our
future—who doesn't want to know their future.
Alex is saying more and more words. He personality is coming
out and it is seeming to be filled with a bit of sass. He has become a huge fan
of music as he sleeps; in fact, yesterday, he began to wake up when a song had
an abnormally long introduction.
News from the Alaska Haws Family
I feel like I have been slacking on sending the family newsletter. During this past month Haley had lost her tooth, Kayla was able to join Pete the Cat Shoe Tying Club because she learned how to tie her shoes and last week we celebrated Kayla's 6th birthday! I felt really bad because we didn't have any matches or a lighter to light her candles so I told her to pretend it was lit and to blow it out...it seemed to work and she didn't mind. We still have about 18 inches of snow in the back yard with no melting in sight even though we have had the sun coming up by 8:15 and not going down until 6:00 every day. It is so nice to have the extra light during the day and very exciting to know summer will be here soon (well in four more months). I took the girls to the doctors for a check-up and Kayla officially weighs more than Haley and is a hair taller than her also. It looks like Haley will be getting the clothes handed down to her from Kayla now. Work is going good for Andy and he still thinks he wants to extend for three more years. I enjoy my tutoring job at the school. I love working with the students and most of all being able to see Haley and Kayla throughout the day.
News from Home
It has been a busy and wonderful time. Logan has been very active in basketball this winter. It is fun to watch him play. He scored several baskets in the tournament last Saturday. Logan has also decided to switch back to the Marshfield School System next year. Mom and Dad think that is a good idea. The high school offers an excellent academic background. Logan continues to raise his chickens. Now his is also snow shoveling a walk way in for a family in our area. He is trying out for a play at his school. We hope it he gets a great role.
Lanette has been enjoying friends. She has been with a group of girls two weeks ago. She had a great time. Last weekend she went to a new friend's home. Her name is Callie and she is wonderful, kind friend to Lanette. Lanette will be going to look at job opportunities this week.
Mom and I had a wonderful trip to the temple about ten days ago. We were able to do initiatories and endowments for a number of our ancestors. We enjoyed visiting Trent and Emily several weeks ago. and . They had a great time and enjoyed a meal at a great restaurant. We have started painting the house but have not made a terribly lot of progress but it will be finished soon enough.
I am including a email that I sent to Aunt Patsy about a potential family reunion. Please take a moment. We would like to have the reunion in 2014.
Love Dad
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Patsy and Steve,
Several years ago, Kellie and I went to a small town in central Pennsylvania called Freeburg. In the town is a dilapidated cemetery where a number of our Boyer ancestors are buried. It was fascinating to see the grave stones of Francis Augustus Boyer (1790-1876) and Anna Barbara Sell Boyer (1785-1865), who are our fourth great-grandparents. It was a joy to clean the headstones and to remove some of the grass around the burial sites: That experience has left a great impression on both of us. Recently Dona found an interested and wonderful article from a 1999 general conference by Elder Neuenschwander (April 1999) that references Mariah Catherine Boyer (granddaughter of Francis and Anna). Here is the excerpt that Dona sent, it is a wonderful talk emphasizing the importance of family heritage,
"In 1892 sisters of the Kolob Stake in Springville, Utah, wrote letters to their children and sealed them in a time capsule to be opened March 17, 1942, the centennial anniversary of the Relief Society. After recording a brief genealogy of her family reaching back to those who first joined the Church, Mariah Catherine Boyer wrote the following to her two children: “Dear children, when you read this, parents and grandparents will be sleeping in the silent tomb. Those hands that toiled so hard in love for you will toil no more, and those eyes that gazed in love and approbation on your innocent brows will see you no more, until we meet in heaven. Dear children, … may the bands of a sister and a brother’s love entwine your hearts. … Do right by your fellowmen, follow the dictates of your conscience, ask God to give you power to resist all temptations to do evil, and let it be said of you, ‘that the world is better for you having lived in it.’ Keep the commandments of God. May your paths in life be strewn with flowers, and may you at all times do right. May you never taste adversity. May the Spirit and blessings of God attend you at all times is the prayer of your mother. I will enclose the photographs of our family. Goodbye my dear children, until we meet.”2 These tender and beautiful words have now bridged six generations of a faithful family."
If you have time today consider reading the whole talk. It emphasizes the importance of family heritage and uniting the generations of a family together.
Here is a story from our family history about Augustus Sell Boyer and Catherine Houtz Boyer. Catherine is the first direct ancestor in our Boyer line to join the Church.
"The pain was unbearable and Augustus Sell Boyer took a large cleaver and clamped it on his aching tooth and pulled. He succeeded in breaking his jaw which became infected quickly and he realized he was going to die. He called his three brothers and asked them to each take one of his sons and keep and educate them until they were 21 years of age"
"He spoke to his wife telling her she had a good farm and could make a fair living for herself and three daughters [actually there were four]. After much pain and suffering and suffering he was laid to rest.
"Catherine Houtz Boyer, six [seven] children and a widow- with the loss of her husband and loneliness was horrible and hard to her to bear. She and her husband had not been satisfied with their religion and had been reading material regarding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jacob Houtz, brother of Catherine, had joined the Church and gone west. He came to visit his sister and she decided she and her family would go to Utah with him."
"Collecting her sons was a problem- they wanted to go with their mother but their uncles remembered their promise to their brother refused to release them to go with their mother. Finally the boys, Phillip age 12, John age 10 [our direct ancestor] and Frank age 8 persuaded them that they would run away and join their mother so they let them leave."
"The long trip was accomplished by covered wagon and team of horses. They had many terrifying experiences with the Indians but always were kind and gave them food. Catherine and her sons were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints one evening at a beautiful quiet spot on a river. They arrived in Utah on September 18 and stayed in Salt Lake City one winter."
"Coming to Springville the following spring, Catherine and her sons built a small cabin which she quickly made into a home for them and which was they loved and each one of the boys and girls appreciated. Catherine never was sorry for moving to the west. She never re-married. She loved the gospel and her children and reared each of them to be proud of their name, their church and their parents. She was honored and respected for her courage, her faith, and her constant humor and love of life"
(I am not sure of the author or the reason for the discrepancy in family number)
Freeburg is only about two hours or so from Steve and Dona's home. I would like to propose a family reunion in the summer of 2014 where we spend several days restoring the cemetery. I would, of course, contact the church to make sure that they are willing to permit us to do this service. Additionally, we could have fun together such as attending the Hershey Pennsylvania Amusement Park ( www.hersheypark.com).
The link below shows a church in the foreground. I believe that church owns the cemetery. You can see a few headstones. In the background is a second church.
http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc14930.php
Kellie and I did not find Augustus Sell Boyer's grave site. At the cemetery there is a large pile of headstones that may contain his headstone. It would be wonderful to restore it to the proper location. We would love to have a memorable family reunion fixing the headstones of those who went before us, as well as a fun-filled trip to Hershey Amusement Park.
Please let me know your thoughts and questions.
Love,
Robert
