A timeless instrument or two... a musical heritage

Yesterday I had one of those "moments" watching Grace sit at the organ, playing her own "song".  I just happened to glance up from my spot across the room, and suddenly I was remembering  pictures I have of that same instrument, from many years ago.

This picture is from 1976, just after Ken's dad purchased that organ.  I love that you can see a dulcimer hanging on the wall behind the organ in BOTH pictures!  Doug actually asked for the organ when Ken's dad was moving to Florida.  It has been in Doug and Susie's house, ever since. And the dulcimer hanging in Doug's house is one of the dulcimers that his Grandpa built.  

And then I was remembering this picture.  We actually have similar pictures over the years, of Doug sitting at that organ...

It is easy to see why that organ brings back so many memories for me.  Both of my kids looked forward to playing it when we visited Ken's mom and dad. 

Of course thinking about these pictures also took me down another thought path.  April is one of those months for me, that almost every day seems to hold a memory of the death of a special person.  My mom and dad and Ken's mom and dad, all died in April.  My sister died in April.  Two of my four grandparents died in April.  But today I was thinking about the wonderful heritage all of those people have sown into my family tree.  Ken's dad loved music and I know that he would be so pleased to see Grace enjoying his organ.  In his later years, he often told Ken and I how much he loved that both of our kids were involved in music.  My dad was also a musician and he would love that Gwen and Doug both play instruments and sing.  Some of my best memories of my dad are the (few) times that I witnessed him sitting at a piano playing and singing or playing some other instrument.  It is interesting that I am the only one of my siblings that did NOT ever play an instrument or sing in the choir.  I am very thankful that my kids from an early age, had musical talents.  I love that I am seeing that passed along with my grandkids.  Lia and Ellie are both playing the piano.  Zeke has expressed how much he wants to learn guitar (and drums).  Anna loves music and so does Grace.  Even though this "musical heritage" seemed to pass me by, I am thankful that it didn't stop with me!

For the rest of this month, I plan to find the wonderful heritage that each of these special people have left for me and for future generations.  I love that there is so much we can learn from our ancestors when we find their connections to our present life.  Sometimes you just have to stop and look for those ties that bring generations together. 

Suddenly April doesn't seem so dark and gloomy for me.  Even though it is the month of rain and more rain along with the reminder of lost loved ones.  I am going to use this time to find even more wonderful connections to my ancestors that will bring new revelations for our family..  I am very thankful that Grace decided she just had to play the organ.  I guess I needed that memory jog to start on this new adventure.  I can't wait to see what new things Jesus shows me as this month goes on. 

Jesus, thank you for opening my eyes to this connection between Grace, Doug and Ken's dad.  I love that Holy Spirit brings this reminders to us so that we can understand your plans for us that began with our ancestors.  Thank you for music and the joy and peace that settles our spirits as we play and listen and dance.   Amen

A Father's Day weekend....according to us

Ken and I spent the entire weekend working on the house.  Or at least one part of the house....Ken's Camera Room.  He has been in the process of preparing the room by painting the walls and ceiling.  We had cleaned out the closet and decided exactly what he was going to have in the room, we just needed to actually do it.  So this weekend we actually completed this project.  We started with the flooring.  Ken and I decided on carpet tiles.

The project was actually quicker and easier than I expected.  We love the finished project.  From there we moved on to furniture.  Now IKEA stuff is usually not so bad to assemble.   But as we were almost in the home stretch of desk assembly, we noticed that the top of the desk had a dimple right in the middle.  So, a second trip to IKEA was required.  So, needless to say, it was a long day and a late night last night.  Today we had to hang the wall cabinet that we had previously purchased. We made a couple of trips to the store to actually get all of the screws, anchors, etc that were necessary to complete this process.  This morning we purchased a desk chair, which was the last thing assembled, just a few minutes ago.  Here is the finished project.....

Ken is very pleased with the room and that is the most important thing. I am so thankful that Ken is willing to take on all of these projects and complete them.    The next project is my scrapbook room.  I have already selected the paint, but we have lots of cleaning to do before we can even think about painting.  Seems like there will be many weekends ahead filled with projects!

All day today, I could think about was how very similar Ken is to my dad.  I can't list the number of times that my dad spent weekend, after weekend doing some project or other around the house.  It seemed that no project was outside of what my dad could accomplish.  There was never a time without a project at Lake Maud.   And when I was thinking about my dad, I was remembering when he put central air conditioning into our house in 1969.  And he did it all by himself.  Yes, he never met a project that he didn't love.  My dad has been dead since 1985.  But on a day like today, I wish that he could see our finished project.  My dad really loved Ken.  I know that he felt that Ken was a kindred spirit.  I remember that at my wedding, dad told me that he was sure that I had picked a good one.  He was right.  So, on this Father's day, I am celebrating who my dad was, and who Ken is and also the great fathers my grandchildren have.   

Yes, this was perfect way to celebrate this "hallmark" holiday.  Amid the really hard work, I remembered all that my dad sowed into my birth family.  And then I also saw that same spirit at work in Ken.  Even when not everything was "perfect" in my family growing up, Jesus is reminding me to see from His perspective. When I do that, I remember my hardworking dad.  And I feel very thankful for my hardworking husband.   And just like my last blog, there are so many things that we just seem to overlook. Today I also took a bit of time to do some yard work.  I pulled a bunch of weeds and then planted some flowers.  So now our house has a "pop" of color!  It's funny that looking at those flowers, I don't remember all of the weeds.  And that is just about what happens when we see from Jesus' perspective.  The weeds are gone and we are able to see the flowers in our life.  I highly recommend it!  

Jesus, thank you for my father and his hard work.  Thank you for the reminder to see the bright and good things.  Holy Spirit, help us to keep our eyes focused on your working in our lives.  Jesus, you have an amazing plan for each of us that begins with our birth families.  Help us to appreciate the heritage that you designed for us.   Pour out your blessings on all fathers.  Amen

Preserving the past........

It's amazing to think of how things change - how different the landscape becomes with the passage of time.  Today I happened upon this photo.  I know EXACTLY where this picture was taken and the approximate year it was taken - about 1880.  This photo is of 165 W. Arch St. in St. Paul, Minnesota.  If you look at Google Maps for this address (by the way, what did we do before Google Earth satellite pictures?), you will see that address is now a railroad roundhouse! (Thanks to Chuggington - a kids program, I can recognize a railroad roundhouse, otherwise I would have simply said some kind of railroad station!)  This cute little house was built by my Great Grandfather, Ernst Toensing, when he arrived from Germany.  Quite an amazing house, complete with a picket fence, landscaping and part of the family in the picture.  The women holding the baby is my Great Grandmother, Clara Toensing.  She died in 1889.  The baby in the picture is my great aunt Lydia, who was born in 1880.  I have very clear memories of Aunt Lyd, as she was called.  When I was in first and second grade, after we had moved to St. Paul, we went to visit her in her "apartment".  That apartment was an "old age home".  She was in her early 80's and she loved when we visited.  She had a special place in her heart for my mom. Her daughter Jeanette, was my mom's favorite and closest cousin and they spent lots of time together. For me she was the closest thing I had to a grandmother, and I loved visiting her. She died in 1962 when I was 8 years old.  I am so glad that I got to know her.

Back to the house.  This house is very close to the Minnesota State Capitol.  As a matter of fact, you can see the capitol from this location.  One of the best things I did during the last years of my mom's life, was to take her on a road trip to this very location.  We found this spot and then we also went to see the church that her family attended, Zion Lutheran Church. (More about the church in a later blog)  We visited the cemetery, which is right across the road from the church, Oakland Cemetery.  My mom's family are all buried there, including her mom and dad as well as Clara Toensing from this picture.  At first this seemed like a really odd thing to do.  But now I am so glad that I visited this exact place with my mom and heard her memories of these places.  I would have lost much of this part of the family history if we had not taken that drive.  My mom told me that my Grandfather had carried my grandmother down that street several blocks to church for years because she was not well enough to walk.  She remembered her dad telling her about playing on that road and walking down to the church to go to school.  And then she talked of being at the funerals of her aunts and uncles buried in that family plot and remembering the funerals of Aunt Anna and also her dad.  As a matter of fact, the way we actually found the family plot was by driving around the very large cemetery until my mom recognized the view of the church.  She remembered standing looking at the church during the services.  And sure enough, when we got out to look, there was the plot.

So, why am I sharing this now?  Well, once again, I want to encourage you to share your family history with your children and grandchildren.  There is something powerful about knowing your roots.  And about understanding what makes your family unique.  I loved being able to share stories with Lia and Ellie and Zeke this weekend.  Just things from when their mom was little.  And also things from my life.  Lia and Ellie both remember my mom and this weekend, Lia asked me about my dad.  I don't think she has ever asked before.  It gave me a chance to tell her a little bit about my dad and Gwen.  I will be purposeful about telling them all more stories, as time goes on.  I loved being able to tell Lia and Ellie and Zeke that going to church on Sunday was something that had always been done in our family.  There is a connection in that fact that is super important.  It is about being a part of that Covenant family and seeing your Spiritual Heritage.  Today I am feeling blessed, once again, to have photo's from 1880 preserved for the generations.  I am feeling blessed that the Holy Spirit provided the way for me to gain information from my mom that I might never have had.  And I am so thankful for this blog, that is giving me a chance to share parts of my life, in the hope that it will encourage you to share with your own families. And as a further encouragement, if you can't tell the stories to your children and grandchildren......WRITE THEM DOWN!  It is never to late to start this. 

Jesus, thank you for family.  It is your great plan to bless us through our family.  Thank you for my family and the many ways you provided for my generations over the years.   Thank you for allowing me to share this with my mom and now sharing this with my children and grandchildren.  Holy Spirit would you encourage us all to be more purposeful in storytelling - the little things about our past that will bless and encourage and grow the faith of our children and grandchildren.  Thank you for reminding me of your provision to my generations.  Yahweh, thank you that you ARE my provision!  Amen

Life changing pictures....

Today I've been thinking about my "hobbies".  I have always been a reader and have said that books are my hobby.  But about 13 years ago my daughter got me started scrapbooking.  I LOVE SCRAPBOOKING!  There, I said it.  I am a true scrap lover  I find myself thinking about the scrapbook pages I will create as I am taking the pictures.  I now have a room in my house dedicated to this hobby.  And I can pretty much tell you where to purchase supplies for scrapbooking at the best price.  That is because I am a bargain shopper in all things - even this.  Currently I am more than a year behind in my "hobby".  There are pages for April of 2012 sitting on my table right now. But this is a "timeless" thing.  As a matter of fact, I am also working on a Heritage album of some very old family photos.   I love the fact that this hobby has given me a chance to fellowship with my daughter and my daughter-in-law as well as some other wonderful young gals in quarterly "scrapping weekends".  I have even been able to actually get a good friend of mine started in this addicting hobby. 

One interesting thing has been how much and how often Jesus has spoken to me through scrapbooking.  I have had times when I have chosen a specific picture for a page because there was a "hidden" meaning behind it.  And there have been times when I have "seen" a scrapbook page in a prophetic word.  I have never felt particularly gifted in the arts.  I am not a "crafty" person.  But there is something about creating these pages that speaks to me.

Pictures have always been extremely important to me.  I remember when I was very young, going through boxes of pictures.  I would quiz my mom over and over to tell me about the people and the events.  As child number 5 in the family there were fewer pictures of me than my siblings.  But I had a dad that also loved taking pictures. When I had my own kids I was determined to put all the pictures in albums - no boxes.  Unfortunately the 18 albums of pictures were "magnetic" pages that damage the pictures.  So now, my pictures have been taken out of albums and returned to boxes - acid free photo storage.  But boxes none the less.  Isn't it funny how sometimes the things we never want, actually end up being what we need? 

One of my favorite pictures is a very small, very old photo.  It was taken in the summer of 1916.  It is a black and white picture of a family sitting on the grass next to a  house.   Here it is...........

I will never forget when I found this picture - in the bottom of a box, actually stuck under one of the bottom flaps.  My mom was moving into a smaller apartment and we were helping her move.  It was in 2009 - and my mom was 94 years old.  I watched her face when I brought her this picture.  I will never forgot the emotion I saw there.  This is a picture of my mom as a 1 year old.  She is sitting in front of her dad.  Her mom (in the black dress) is looking at her.  The women with the other baby is my mom's Aunt Lydia and the other baby is her cousin Jeanette.  (My mom and Jeanette were really best friends as well as cousins).  The boy in the back, is Jeanette's brother Delwin.  The girls are my mothers sisters, Beatrice, Phyllis, and Eunice.  My mom did not remember this picture at all.  As a matter of fact, she said she had never even seen it.  You see, this is the ONLY picture anyone has of my mother with her mother.  My grandmother, Nora Toensing, died in April of 1917 - about 9 months after this picture and before my mom turned 2.  My mom had never seen herself with her mom.  I couldn't imagine that.  We actually only have a few pictures of my grandmother.  But this was a found picture that brought something amazing to my mom.  And to me.  We noticed that Nora is clearly looking at my mom - not the camera.  Her eyes are on her baby.  And my Grandpa seems so proud.  All my mom kept saying was "I can't wait to get to heaven to meet my mom".  For the next 2 years a restored enlargement of that photo sat where my mom looked at it everyday. 

I am so thankful for pictures.  And I am thankful for scrapbooking and photo storage and digital photos and scanned pictures that will preserve these for generations.   How wonderful that my grandchildren can hold on to these amazing bits of our heritage.  And I am so grateful that Yahweh planned for my mom to have and enjoy this picture at the end of her life.  It was not an accident that this picture was found.  It was part of God's amazing plan for me and my mom.  So I will go back into my scrapbook room and carry on.  Because there is importance and value to this hobby.

Thank you Yahweh for connecting us to our generations.  Your plan for us includes our family - past present and future.  Thank you for speaking to me through photos and for providing scrapbooking as a way to preserve pictures for my generations.  Thank you for this picture and for my wonderful mother.  What a blessing to know that she is celebrating with YOU right now.  Amen.