Sunday Spotlight

-Jeremiah Willey-

1804-1868

Jeremiah Willey is my Great Great Great Great Grandfather. Up until a week ago, I pretty much didn't even know he existed (I only knew his name but nothing about him). Bryan & I read his history, (which he actually wrote himself) for the first time last Sunday! I am completely in awe! He was the most amazing pioneer ancestor!!! I will attempt to sum up his life according to his record...

Jeremiah was born in Northfield, New Hampshire on November 6, 1804. When Jeremiah was but 4 years old, his Father indentured him to a wealthy farmer who had no children of his own. His Father did this in hopes that Jeremiah would get a portion of his property when he should leave it. Years flew by, and this man's wife died. The man sold the farm, and Jeremiah got nothing.

In 1827, Jeremiah married Bashabe Stevens. She was a Methodist and desired that Jeremiah join the Methodist church also. In his own words, "I soon found that their teachings did not agree with the gospel taught in the New Testament by Jesus and his disciples. I now begun to hear the preachers of the day, from Catholics to the last denomination in the place, but I found none whose teachings agreed with the gospel taught in the days of Jesus and the apostles".

In the year 1832, Jeremiah's wife went to Lowel were she heard about the Mormon church by Orson Hyde. She was soon baptized by him. She returned and told Jeremiah that the true church was again on the Earth. He studied the Book of Mormon from cover to cover. Jeremiah states, "Although the religious sects of the day were against this book and Joseph Smith, still I believed it". He was baptized in 1834, and ordained a priest by the twelve not long after. In 1836, Jeremiah and his wife, met with the prophet Joseph Smith and were blessed to be able to hear him speak.

The following year 1837, Jeremiah started on a mission to Michigan and Canada. While in Canada, Jeremiah and his companion were preaching to a vast congregation of people, when an officer came and took them prisoners. They were then brought to court and accused as spies and for preaching false doctrine. Jeremiah pleaded their case for about an hour and preached to them the principles contained in the scriptures. Since the judge could find nothing against them-he let them go, and placed them back on the American side.
Jeremiah then returned to Kirtand where he met in the temple with Joseph and Hyrum Smith. The prophet addressed the people there and bore testimony! Jeremiah Willey was then chosen and called as a member of the first quorum of the seventies by the prophet Joseph Smith. Jeremiah then served a mission through Ohio, where he visited many branches and received much persecution.

In the Summer of 1838, Jeremiah and his wife made plans to leave for Far West. He was obliged to leave his house and lot unsold. They also left behind clothing, bedding, and other furniture. They traveled to Sugar Creek where Jeremiah's wife died!

When Joseph Smith was in Carthage Jail, Jeremiah went to his house to see and comfort his wife (Emma Smith) in her distress. Emma gave Jeremiah a letter to take to Joseph Smith. Jeremiah then traveled to Carthage Jail, in the midst of mobs and murders. When he went in to the prison, the keeper wouldn't let Jeremiah see those who were in the prison.

On April 29th, 1839, Jeremiah married Samantha Call. They had 9 children throughout the next several years.

Jeremiah served yet another mission for the church in New Hampshire and Maine. While in Maine, Jeremiah found a few of his first wife's friends and relatives who invited him to preach to a group of people in their schoolhouse. He states, "The house was filled and I preached to them the first principles of the gospel which many of the people received, and I baptized seventeen and organized a branch in this place!"

Jeremiah continued his mission, and then returned to his family in Warsaw and Green Plains. The people here, greatly opposed Jeremiah. They had much hatred towards him because he continued to preach to them that Joseph Smith was a prophet. Some of the men in the town, came and put a horse in Jeremiah's yard (so that they might accuse him of stealing their horse). When Jeremiah woke up and found the horse, he was wise enough to leave it right there. At sunrise, a band of men came in great haste to his house. The men shouted, "Damn you old Willey. I have got you". They stayed at his house for some time, but did not touch him. One of the men went to obtain a writ, but couldn't get a sheriff to serve it. They eventually left. News spread of this event, and the brethren advised Jeremiah to leave the town and travel to Nauvoo.

Jeremiah was asked by Brigham Young to travel with him, and was appointed Captain of Train No. 1. He traveled for about a month, and then returned to Nauvoo for his family. Jeremiah traveled for some time with his family, and soon after was called to serve in the Mormon Battalion. These are Jeremiah's words of the experience... "This to me, was a trying time after being driven from my home and leaving all, both land and house in the hands of the enemy, and now to leave my wife and children with nothing but a blanket over them to keep them from the hot sun, But leaving them in the hands of the Lord". Jeremiah suffered much during this time, and came close to losing his life, but his faith was VERY stong! He was gone from his family for one year and two months. While in Winter Quarters, Jeremiah drove a team for the government and was able to make enough money to help them continue their trip to the Salt Lake Valley. When they arrived in Salt Lake, Jeremiah was able to purchase 25 acres of land for $750.00. He built a house and farmed wheat. On May 21, 1868, while crossing a foot bridge spanning a creek near his home, Jeremiah fell into the stream and was drowned!

I seriously have the BEST ancestors! Wow!! I can hardly believe all the hardships that he and his family suffered-and all for the church! How grateful I am for wonderful ancestors and all of their sacrifices!

Dad & Tate

Yesterday was Father's and Sons Outing. Tate's been looking forward to this for a long time now. He was VERY excited about the whole thing! Bryan and Tate slept in the back of the truck. Supposedly there were a ton of bugs, so it was a little hard to sleep. But, they still enjoyed themselves. They had a fire, went for a hike, and helped make breakfast.

Funny Story: Everyone was standing around getting ready for breakfast. Bryan was making the eggs, he looked away to find Tate, and there he was peeing by a tree in front of everyone!

My FAVORITE Things

Salt & Vinegar Chips

I've always loved these. The flavor is indescribably yummy! Bryan bought some the other day, and I couldn't stop eating them.

Superman Returns
I love this movie, it's my ALL-TIME favorite!

defordmusic.com

Who doesn't like free downloadable & printable sabbath songs? She's written some really pretty music!

Finished Product!

This is a peek at Christina & Joseph's wedding video!

It's been really fun making it, however I'm very glad it's done.

They are such a darling couple!

Am I Crazy?

I think that I'm officially ADDICTED to Family History Work! Ever since I was just a little girl, I've loved doing geneology stuff (reading family histories, figuring out who's who, etc). When I was eight years old, my grandparents made me my first "Family History Book". It included pedigrees, pictures, histories, and all kinds of interesting things. From that moment on, I have loved learning about and studying my ancestors lives.

Tuesday night, I had this urge to do some work. I seriously stayed up till 1 AM and woke up at 5 AM to do more. Then, I continued working on it on Wednesday. There's still a TON to do!

What's happening to me?

Practice Makes Perfect

I've been trying to do "Mommy School" with Tate. Right now, we're working on the letter T. I think that he is doing pretty good for a 2 1/2 year old! If you look closely you might be able to make out some letters. He did this by himself, with no help!

Favorite Children's Books

Tate absolutely loves books. He will seriously sit there for hours listening to story after story! I've been thinking about some of my all time favorite books as a child... Growing up-my family didn't actually own this book. But, I remember that every time we visited my Grandma & Grandpa Manning's cabin, we would ALWAYS read it. This is my #1 Children's Book! Tate loves it as well! He can say the whole name "Tikki Tikki Tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo!"

This is just an adorable classic! I love the message.
The Empty Pot is a wonderful book about the importance of being honest. The pictures in this book are incredible!
This book is a beautiful Valentine's story about a man that learned that he was loved-after all!

Sunday Spotlight

-Ora Mae Wilson Parkinson- This is my Great Grandma Ora. She was born in Taylorsville, Utah on March 11, 1892. She was raised as an only child (her older brother died as a young toddler). Ora was raised by her grandparents so that she wouldn't hear about the LDS church. Her Mother was an inactive member, and her Father wanted to make sure she didn't join the church, so he had his parents raise her. She attended the Presbyterian church.

Ora attended Parochial schools and studied to become a teacher. One time after she began teaching, her students played a trick on her and put a pig in the classroom! She was scared to death. The kids were all hiding in the attic, which was in the classroom. She returned the favor by whipping each one as they came down. (Things were sure different back then).

Ora met Stuart Parkinson as she was working in a print shop as a typesetter. They became friendly and she accepted dates from him. As they became better aquainted, he told her about the church that he belonged to, which was the Mormon church. She read and studied about it and knew that it was true.

She joined the church, and Ora and Stuart were married in the Salt Lake Temple on April 30th, 1913.

They had 5 children, 4 of which lived to adulthood. Ora and Stuart raised their family in Idaho, Utah, and then California.

Top: Ada, Donald, Helen

Bottom:Ora, Stuart, Marjorie

Ora was a woman of many talents. She was a great cook, and won many prizes at the fair. She was also very intelligent and enjoyed reading.

A story that I remember hearing about her since I was a kid is:

Ora had beautiful dark brown hair that was down to her waist. She often complained about taking care of it, and talked about cutting it short and bobbing it. One day, her husband Stuart was so tired of hearing her complain about her long hair, he snuck up behind her when she was in the kitchen, and cut her ponytail right off! Ora was very upset, but soon got over it.

In 1962, my aunt Mary Nielson tape recorded Grandma Ora Parkinson sharing her testimony. Click on the play button below to hear her special testimony.

Little Singer

Today at church, the choir sang "I am a Child of God." Tate was sitting there listening intently, when all of a sudden he burst out singing, "lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way, teach me all that I must do to live with him someday". The choir director commented later that he did a GOOD job.

My FAVORITE Things

Pretty Ribbons

(One of my favorite ribbon stores is Rufflers Roost Ribbons and Lace in Mesa. They have every ribbon imaginable!)

Swiffer Wet Jet

(I just got one of these mops, and I'm loving it so much! It sure makes clean-up easy.)

The Color Pink

(If it's pink, chances are that I'll like it! Pink reminds me of cotton candy, pink lemonade & bubble gum)

Emergency Notebook

This is my FAMILY ORGANIZATION BOOK. My cousin makes these books to give away for bridal showers. I thought it was such a good idea, I just had to make one of my own! Basically, it's a three ring binder with tabs that include the following categories:

1. Marriage-certificate, liscense, proclamation to the world on the fmaily
2. Birth Records-birth certificates, social security cards, shot records
3. Auto Info-titles, insurance information, significant repair receipts
4. House Info-renters agreement/lease, mortgage info, deeds of trust, HOA info, major repair receipts
5. Financial Info-credit cards (Account numbers & photo copies of cards), inventory (All items in your home-year purchased and value), etc.
6. School Info-transcripts, graduation certificates, student loan info
7. Medical Info-copy of insurance cards, Dr.'s names and numbers, known allergies, regular medicines, etc.
8. Emergency Info-emergency contact numbers (family, doctor, hospital), life insurance policy info, organ donor permission, power of attorney, funeral outline, will
   

I made photo copies of the information above and placed them in my book under the correct category.

I love having EVERYTHING in one place!

Like Father Like Son

Tate is consistently sticking clips and such in his hair! He is always telling me that he wants long hair like Mommy. Sometimes I start to wonder about him... But then I REMEMBER I've been told, his Daddy did the same thing!

Toilet Tales

Tate's still learning this whole toilet thing.

He does pretty good on his own little toilet, things are a bit different though when we're out of the house.

1. The other day we were at Wal-mart when Tate said, "I need to go pee!" We made a mad dash for the bathrooms, sat him down, and just then the toilet automatically flushed. It was one of those really loud toilets. He jumped SO HIGH-and I couldn't get him to sit back down for anything!
   
2. Yesterday at church, I took Tate to the bathroom. He sat down and Squirt- All down my leg and onto my shoe!!! He was laughing hysterically!

Sunday Spotlight

-Marva Call Manning-This is my Grandma Manning. She was born in Burley Idaho on May 17, 1929-just three months before the GREAT DEPRESSION hit. When she was 12 years old, World War II began. This was a very difficult time for her and her family as they felt the effects of the war. Some of Marva's memories during this period of time include:

• Black-outs at night


• Canning fruits and vegetables to store in their dirt floor basement


• Allowed 2 pairs of shoes a year (she spent most of that time with card board in the soles of her shoes)


• Sewing her own clothes (she had only two dresses, a skirt, sweater, and coat as the material was rationed)


• Volunteering at the Red Cross (As all teenagers were required to do so)


• Walking most everywhere as gasoline was also rationed

Marva met her future husband Don Duane Manning while still a sophmore in High School. He was a Senior at the time. As soon as he graduated from High School, Don was drafted, and spent 1 1/2 years in the Signal Corp.

During this time, Marva found comfort in playing the flute, working at her father's grocery store, school, and hanging out with friends.

Don and Marva were married August 11, 1947 in the Salt Lake Temple.

Don attended Southern Idaho College and Marva worked as a Secretary there. They enjoyed this time of their lives living just 30 miles out of Burley Idaho where they had both been raised. During the next nine years-they had four children, and moved to Arizona where they raised their family.

Marva has served in many church callings throughout her life. She is big on FAMILY HISTORY WORK and has continued to keep her family close. She has suffered many health problems, but never complains. She has a strong testimony of the gospel, and is a wonderful example to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren!

Don & Marva with their children

I love Grandma Manning so much!!! She is the BEST GRANDMA ever, and is indeed a Marvelous person! She is always smiling and optimistic, cares SO MUCH about her family and loved ones, and is constantly doing things to serve others.

Don and Marva currently have 19 grandchildren, 30 great-grandkids and 4 more on the way!

Hangin' Out

Last night we had a FIRE in our fire-pit. We roasted marshmallows and Bryan told Tate some cowboy stories.

It was fun having family time and just hanging out.

My FAVORITE Things

Harry Potter Books-

I need not explain why I love these books. All I can say is the books are 95% better than the movies :)

Friday-

(It doesn't make much sense, but Friday's my favorite day of the week because the next day is Saturday. You may ask, if Saturday is the reason why you love Friday then why isn't Saturday your favorite day? My answer: I like Fridays better because then I have Saturday to look forward to. Are you all confused yet?)

Peach and Willowbark Deep Pore Scrub-

I know I've mentioned loving Burt's Bees before, but this facial scrub is BY FAR the most awesome one I've ever used! And... I've tried just about every expensive cleanser you can imagine.

First Time @ The Dentist

I took TATE to the Dentist for his 1st time today!He was a little nervous but that didn't last very long!

Tate enjoyed playing with all the fun toys before they called him back.

Dr. Welch was the best (totally good with Tate), and the office was awesome looking and completely kid friendly, Tate just had a grand ole time!

Tate got a token for being a great patient, and then chose a cool prize!

And now... He loves to brush his teeth!

Jammin' Again

I've been making strawberry jam all week, both freezer and cooked!

I bought two flats, and have been working endlessly to finish before they all ROT.

It's been FUN though.

Cutting and Smashing Strawberries Stirring together Strawberries, Pectin, Sugar, and Lemon JuiceSterilizing Jars and LidsPouring Jam mixture into JarsProcessing in Boiling Water Bath Canner

My jam partner Dayna and I stayed up way late last night finishing up.

AS MUCH AS I'VE ENJOYED IT, I'M SO GLAD TO BE DONE!