Here is 16 year old son playing Hungarian Rhapsody by Franz Lizt. Steve thought he would record him while he practiced in our makeshift piano room! Just when we get this room the way we want it...Sean will be leaving. But hey, if I can get Matt or Erin or Mary to play... and they could if they wanted to. Maybe I'll try bribery, where is the chocolate....?
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Family History and miracles!
I have been contemplating lately the miracles I've received while doing my family history. I suppose part of my contemplation comes from the fact that I was just called as one of our Ward's family history consultants. Tonight I got to go to some training, using the new Family Search program. It isn't in our area yet, but the program is really something to look forward to! But boy, I have errors to correct in the work I have done for both my father's family and my mother's family.
Sigh. My dear mother's family, a place I have labored the last few years with much love. This labor has resulted in some beautiful blessings.
Just before my beautiful mother passed away several years ago, I had the privilege of helping her as she battled Laryngeal Cancer. During the daily trips to Lubbock Texas for her radiation treatment I would ask her what memories she had of her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and etc. I knew the answer, I just wanted to double check. Yep, I was right. She didn't have any memories of any family. She did say she had some vague memory when she was quite small of "an old house, with some older women there, and old furniture." But Grandpa Fontaine had quit work in the factory to work on the race tracks. As a consequence, Grandma and Grandpa Fontaine, my mother and her sister traveled throughout the United States, eventually settling in California. My mother's two brothers joined the family during these times too. They never returned to Massachusetts.
Mom passed away in 2004. I still miss her. But shortly after she left me for heaven, the miracles began.
I had a dream. In this dream I was walking through an old, empty home. From the house I entered what looked like an old, empty barn that had faucets or showers or something in it. And there was a cement wall that separated an area leading to a field. My Grandpa Fontaine entered through a door that lead to this grassy field, and sat on a table. He looked young, and he looked sad. I said, "Grandpa! Why are you sad?!" He said, "Two beautiful books." I said, "Grandpa, I will find your two beautiful books, I will! Please don't be sad!" He repeated the same words, while hanging his head in sadness, "Two beautiful books." I said again, "Grandpa I will find the books!" Then I woke up. I knew Grandpa had a brother named Ben, but the thought immediately crossed my mind that he had both a brother and a sister. I never knew this.
The following Saturday my dear friend Isabelle and I took a trip to the Salt Lake Family History Center. I spent the day looking up any records I could on the Fontaine family in Worcester Massachusetts. I found a lot! I found my Grandfather's father, and HIS father! I found my Grandfather's parents marriage record. And I found my Grandpa in two census records with his parents. Yep, there as big as day....he had a brother and a sister! The brother was Ben, the sister was Mable. But wait...the next census has her listed as Mary!
I spent much time studying this discrepancy. Finally I got on the Genealogy.com website, and clicked on to the message boards. I left a message about my Fontaine family there, then never gave it another thought. I did dig through my mother's boxes and found holiday cards that her mother had received. Some of those cards were signed "your sister May." Was May short for Mable?
I clicked on my E-mail one day and saw that "Bud and Diane" had written me. Was I reading that right? I was confused since my brother's name is Bud, but my husband's sister is Diane. Why on earth were they writing me together. I must not be seeing that correctly I thought. I looked again...yep, my brother was listed there with Steve's sister. Huh? I opened it. ( A truly daring thing to do! What prompted me?!) Diane explained who she was, the wife of....my mother's cousin! We didn't know each other but she had seen my post on Genealogy.com and they were doing some research and did we want to swap information! I yelled, I cried, and shouted for joy! These were the things that happened to everyone else...but me?! Over the course of time we exchanged pictures--she had more pictures of my Grandfather, and she sent me pictures of Ben, Fred and Agnes (their parents), her own family, and lots of information. I sent her only a few pictures since I didn't have any. And she solved the problem I had with Grandpa's sister. Her name was May!
Over the last several years I have grown to love Bud and Diane. We have never met. We have e-mailed each other, and we have spoken on the phone sometimes. They are such beautiful, wonderful people. My mother would have absolutely loved them. I get to know them for her, though. This family has a farm, and they are family oriented people. These are the things my mother loved, and she passed this love of family on to me. (I am to much of a weakling to farm! I do grow a garden though!)
Recently, I have come in contact with one of May's grandson's. He has shared with me the little bit of information on Agnes, Grandpa's mother, that he has. A true miracle I think.
How blessed I am to have felt the love of my Heavenly Father, and the closeness of my mother, her father, and other family members as I have done this work. Words can't express the feelings I have had doing this research. In Malachi we read, "For He will turn the hearts of the father's to the children, and the hearts of the children to the father's, else I will smite the earth with a curse". I have felt my heart turn to my forefathers, and have felt deeply sacred spiritual emotions in the process. It is truly the work of God.
Sigh. My dear mother's family, a place I have labored the last few years with much love. This labor has resulted in some beautiful blessings.
Just before my beautiful mother passed away several years ago, I had the privilege of helping her as she battled Laryngeal Cancer. During the daily trips to Lubbock Texas for her radiation treatment I would ask her what memories she had of her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and etc. I knew the answer, I just wanted to double check. Yep, I was right. She didn't have any memories of any family. She did say she had some vague memory when she was quite small of "an old house, with some older women there, and old furniture." But Grandpa Fontaine had quit work in the factory to work on the race tracks. As a consequence, Grandma and Grandpa Fontaine, my mother and her sister traveled throughout the United States, eventually settling in California. My mother's two brothers joined the family during these times too. They never returned to Massachusetts.
Mom passed away in 2004. I still miss her. But shortly after she left me for heaven, the miracles began.
I had a dream. In this dream I was walking through an old, empty home. From the house I entered what looked like an old, empty barn that had faucets or showers or something in it. And there was a cement wall that separated an area leading to a field. My Grandpa Fontaine entered through a door that lead to this grassy field, and sat on a table. He looked young, and he looked sad. I said, "Grandpa! Why are you sad?!" He said, "Two beautiful books." I said, "Grandpa, I will find your two beautiful books, I will! Please don't be sad!" He repeated the same words, while hanging his head in sadness, "Two beautiful books." I said again, "Grandpa I will find the books!" Then I woke up. I knew Grandpa had a brother named Ben, but the thought immediately crossed my mind that he had both a brother and a sister. I never knew this.
The following Saturday my dear friend Isabelle and I took a trip to the Salt Lake Family History Center. I spent the day looking up any records I could on the Fontaine family in Worcester Massachusetts. I found a lot! I found my Grandfather's father, and HIS father! I found my Grandfather's parents marriage record. And I found my Grandpa in two census records with his parents. Yep, there as big as day....he had a brother and a sister! The brother was Ben, the sister was Mable. But wait...the next census has her listed as Mary!
I spent much time studying this discrepancy. Finally I got on the Genealogy.com website, and clicked on to the message boards. I left a message about my Fontaine family there, then never gave it another thought. I did dig through my mother's boxes and found holiday cards that her mother had received. Some of those cards were signed "your sister May." Was May short for Mable?
I clicked on my E-mail one day and saw that "Bud and Diane" had written me. Was I reading that right? I was confused since my brother's name is Bud, but my husband's sister is Diane. Why on earth were they writing me together. I must not be seeing that correctly I thought. I looked again...yep, my brother was listed there with Steve's sister. Huh? I opened it. ( A truly daring thing to do! What prompted me?!) Diane explained who she was, the wife of....my mother's cousin! We didn't know each other but she had seen my post on Genealogy.com and they were doing some research and did we want to swap information! I yelled, I cried, and shouted for joy! These were the things that happened to everyone else...but me?! Over the course of time we exchanged pictures--she had more pictures of my Grandfather, and she sent me pictures of Ben, Fred and Agnes (their parents), her own family, and lots of information. I sent her only a few pictures since I didn't have any. And she solved the problem I had with Grandpa's sister. Her name was May!
Over the last several years I have grown to love Bud and Diane. We have never met. We have e-mailed each other, and we have spoken on the phone sometimes. They are such beautiful, wonderful people. My mother would have absolutely loved them. I get to know them for her, though. This family has a farm, and they are family oriented people. These are the things my mother loved, and she passed this love of family on to me. (I am to much of a weakling to farm! I do grow a garden though!)
Recently, I have come in contact with one of May's grandson's. He has shared with me the little bit of information on Agnes, Grandpa's mother, that he has. A true miracle I think.
How blessed I am to have felt the love of my Heavenly Father, and the closeness of my mother, her father, and other family members as I have done this work. Words can't express the feelings I have had doing this research. In Malachi we read, "For He will turn the hearts of the father's to the children, and the hearts of the children to the father's, else I will smite the earth with a curse". I have felt my heart turn to my forefathers, and have felt deeply sacred spiritual emotions in the process. It is truly the work of God.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Letting Go.
I cried tonight! Yep, like a baby. Out of my 5 living children, only 3 may be home this time next year! Kim, my oldest, is a student at the University only 20 miles from home. She can come home anytime she wants! She just hops a bus and we pick her up at our local bus stop. So seeing her leave for college this fall wasn't so hard. Well, yes it was, but it has been a good experience for her. I think she has learned there are many things she can do, that she never realized she could. The bonus of this has been that I'm frequently in that area, so I can drop off anything she needs like frozen chicken and homemade cocoa mix, or take her out to lunch so we can talk. Naturally, I assumed my 2nd oldest, Sean, would do the same next year. But he just announced he may go to a college that is an hour and a half away from home in the fall. He is busy applying to different University's now, and he could get some good scholarships. But I am not ready!
Sean and I have always been able to talk. Through all the stages teenagers have gone through, he has always been able to come to me and talk about whatever it is he needs to chat about. Something happening at school? We would go out and buy a five dollar pizza, sit in the car, and talk about it for a couple of hours. Or maybe it was something he did that needed talking about--we would go buy a breakfast meal at the "One Man Band" down the street and talk. We also share a huge love for music. When he was young we would listen to classical music together, or Yanni or whatever. Then he turned 12, and heavy metal was his thing! I didn't ban the music though, we sat down and listened to it together. I taught him to be careful of the lyrics and the message of the song, but I learned so much during this time too. I realized that teenage boys really like power music. I also learned how incredibly talented he is. He can hear things in music I never realized was there, music techniques I never heard of. He would say, "Mom, don't you hear that 3rd there? It is SO COOL how that sounds with..." He would go on and on. I learned about all the Rock Bands out there...and even learned to like some of them. It's tapered to reasonable now. But his love for Rock music reminded me how much I loved it too, and we began the battle of "Who's rock is cooler, my 70's stuff or his?" We would compare Van Halen with Dragonforce. Who has the better guitar!? Music blared in the house! But rock music gives way to classical music once he sits at the piano. I never heard the Hungarian Rhapsody until he learned to play it. And his music teacher thinks he has a great interpretation of Beethovan.
Our piano was literally a gift from heaven I believe. Years ago I began my genealogy research on my father's side. Apparently my father's father Merrill Boyer could play piano by ear. He acquired this gift from his own mother, Allie. Allie could play by ear, and HER mother was a piano teacher. I used to love singing, but always wanted to play the piano but that opportunity was never mine. I was touched by this new information, and prayed that someday music could be in my home too. My husband said he would love a piano, but he wanted an upright grand with heavy wood, and ornate decor. I looked in the classifieds, and there was an old upright grand for sale for only $200. I took a look at it, it needed quite a bit of work like repainting, cleaning, and new keys...and we bought it anyway. Hubby is talented, he put in the work and fixed it up!
Then Sean came along. He was singing perfect pitch by 18 months of age. I would play his xylophone and he would follow me up and down the scales. I'd like to think my singing to him as a baby helped...but I am tone deaf I think! By 8 he was playing very well, by 9 he was playing piano in Primary and Church. Today, he is our Ward (Church) organist. Maybe Heavenly Father gave him the gift of music to bless his family, both his family now and in the future. Who knows? It sure has been fun though.
And now it's time for College. He's putting in application's, thinking of moving out for a bit. And I'm crying! I need to get a grip! This is what we train them for. We teach them to be responsible for themselves, to value education, to plan for their future. We teach that initiative is needed in life, and to have a work ethic. Now I need to be proud, sit back, and support whatever decisions he makes. And really, maybe an hour and a half isn't so far, I can bring him frozen chickens too, it is just a little farther. I won't be in his area near as often as I am his sister's. I'll try not to cry, TOO much if that's where he chooses to go!
Two kids now out of five...how did this happen so fast? And shouldn't I be proud of both of them? They are making good decisions, they are good people. When they were born, I learned to hold them close, to love them so deeply, to nurture and guide. Now, it is time to let them go and see them soar!
Here is a recording from my phone of his piano playing:
Sean and I have always been able to talk. Through all the stages teenagers have gone through, he has always been able to come to me and talk about whatever it is he needs to chat about. Something happening at school? We would go out and buy a five dollar pizza, sit in the car, and talk about it for a couple of hours. Or maybe it was something he did that needed talking about--we would go buy a breakfast meal at the "One Man Band" down the street and talk. We also share a huge love for music. When he was young we would listen to classical music together, or Yanni or whatever. Then he turned 12, and heavy metal was his thing! I didn't ban the music though, we sat down and listened to it together. I taught him to be careful of the lyrics and the message of the song, but I learned so much during this time too. I realized that teenage boys really like power music. I also learned how incredibly talented he is. He can hear things in music I never realized was there, music techniques I never heard of. He would say, "Mom, don't you hear that 3rd there? It is SO COOL how that sounds with..." He would go on and on. I learned about all the Rock Bands out there...and even learned to like some of them. It's tapered to reasonable now. But his love for Rock music reminded me how much I loved it too, and we began the battle of "Who's rock is cooler, my 70's stuff or his?" We would compare Van Halen with Dragonforce. Who has the better guitar!? Music blared in the house! But rock music gives way to classical music once he sits at the piano. I never heard the Hungarian Rhapsody until he learned to play it. And his music teacher thinks he has a great interpretation of Beethovan.
Our piano was literally a gift from heaven I believe. Years ago I began my genealogy research on my father's side. Apparently my father's father Merrill Boyer could play piano by ear. He acquired this gift from his own mother, Allie. Allie could play by ear, and HER mother was a piano teacher. I used to love singing, but always wanted to play the piano but that opportunity was never mine. I was touched by this new information, and prayed that someday music could be in my home too. My husband said he would love a piano, but he wanted an upright grand with heavy wood, and ornate decor. I looked in the classifieds, and there was an old upright grand for sale for only $200. I took a look at it, it needed quite a bit of work like repainting, cleaning, and new keys...and we bought it anyway. Hubby is talented, he put in the work and fixed it up!
Then Sean came along. He was singing perfect pitch by 18 months of age. I would play his xylophone and he would follow me up and down the scales. I'd like to think my singing to him as a baby helped...but I am tone deaf I think! By 8 he was playing very well, by 9 he was playing piano in Primary and Church. Today, he is our Ward (Church) organist. Maybe Heavenly Father gave him the gift of music to bless his family, both his family now and in the future. Who knows? It sure has been fun though.
And now it's time for College. He's putting in application's, thinking of moving out for a bit. And I'm crying! I need to get a grip! This is what we train them for. We teach them to be responsible for themselves, to value education, to plan for their future. We teach that initiative is needed in life, and to have a work ethic. Now I need to be proud, sit back, and support whatever decisions he makes. And really, maybe an hour and a half isn't so far, I can bring him frozen chickens too, it is just a little farther. I won't be in his area near as often as I am his sister's. I'll try not to cry, TOO much if that's where he chooses to go!
Two kids now out of five...how did this happen so fast? And shouldn't I be proud of both of them? They are making good decisions, they are good people. When they were born, I learned to hold them close, to love them so deeply, to nurture and guide. Now, it is time to let them go and see them soar!
Here is a recording from my phone of his piano playing:
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