Aguymond

Babies - Do they look alike??

Little Pup

Our Turkish neighbors!

Warming up here

It seems as though the cold and ice are a thing of the past.  We have enjoyed several days now of warming weather.  It is nice to see the lawn again and to have the drive way completely cleared of snow!  The girls played outside yesterday and stayed out for hours riding their bikes.  Where do they hide all that energy?  Whats nice is our deck which is very large and also having a big, flat driveway for them to play on.

Work has been very busy for me.  It is hard to keep up on all the assignments that I have been given.  Every time I feel like I am on top of my work, a new one is given.  It is nice to be busy though.  The latest assignment is to find a competitor of some very unique pipe in order to get it bid out and bought.

My original assignment of documenting the procedures and processes of Supply Chain is in full force.  We just had our 3rd and 4th class this week. It is a stressful few days of classes, but well worth the compliments after its done.  These classes/trainings are scheduled to go throughout the year, so I get to look forward to several days each month of the same stress. YAY!

The turkeys have been hanging out in our yard.  The kids tried to feed them bread yesterday, but it scared the birds and they took off flying.  Erin said they flew over the house again today.

GOBBLE GOBBLE

Baby is Home Now.

Thanks to Nana for coming out to visit and helping us get our house in order, watch the girls, and cook some yummy meals.  Grandma and Grandpa Webb will be here on Wednesday.  The girls are very excited for that.

We have forgotten what it is like to have a newborn in our home. Zealand was up the first part of the night crying. He finally settled in for the night around 2:30am.  That is when I went to bed.  Luckily, Lils and Kena slept in.

On the day of our checkout from the hospital, camera crews from the local news stations were in the hospital taking pictures of the babies all dressed up in Steeler gear for an article titled, "We indoctrinate 'em young."  At least we got a free terrible towel and Steelers beanie out of it.

Thanks for all your prayers.

Popcorn, pillow pets, and a movie.

Kena's pet named Oggie

Lils pet named Raffie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Raffie, Oggie, Lils and Keeks watching Strawberry Shortcake

Did You Know?

In September 1837, Michael Peter Graybill sold his farm in Ohio and moved his family west to join with the saints in Far West, MO in order to help build the New Jerusalem.  Levi and Simeon were 21 and 23 years old respectively, while the youngest at the time was Sydney Ridgdon Graybill, age 17 months.  It was difficult enough for Erin and I to move our family out to Pittsburgh with the conveniences of transportation and movers. I can't imagine the difficulty and struggles they had in moving their belongings and family 700+ miles.

Once in MO, the Graybills suffered along with their neighbors.  They lost plows, wagons, horses, hogs, and even their crops to robbers/mobbers, Levi and Simeon were forced to find work to help provide for the family.  They took up work cutting railroad ties in Hannibal, MO.

Here is a list of Michael's "Charge for Damage against the state of Missouri":

*"Illenois adams county May 11th 1839 the following is my charge for Damage a gainst the State of missauri Viz in 1838 and 1839

-house taken sevnty five Dollars, $75.00
-one waggon and harness Sixty Dollars, 60.00
-five months time Lost my self and three boys three hundred and sixt Dolls, 360.00
-in Land fifty Dollars, 50.00
-vegitables five Dollars, 5.00
-hogs twenty Dollars, 20.00
-five hundred and seventy Doll. total sum, $570.00
Michael Graybill. [Sworn to before W. Oglesby, J.P., Adams Co., IL, 11 May 1839]."

* Individual Affidavits from the LDS Historical Department" from the book "Mormon Redress Petitions, Documents of the 1833-1838 Missouri Conflict", editor Clark V. Johnson, p. 220, Michael Graybill

FHE Bowling

We went bowling last night for FHE and got some video of the girls bowling.  It was a fun night for us to get out of the house.  The girls really enjoyed the first 7 frames and then fizzled out for the last three.

Did you know?

This is a section where I want to post interesting tidbits as I learn them.

John D Rockefeller was the first American billionaire.  If his total earnings were adjusted for inflation, he would be the richest person in American history.   Rockefeller always paid tithing on his income, he was a stout Baptist.  He was the father of modern day philanthropy giving hundreds of millions away for medical research, education, and science.  His business practices were often seen as cutthroat.  Rockefeller once controlled the Consolidation Coal Company (later named CONSOL Energy) where I work today.

Christmas Traditions

Tia wrote about some of the Christmas traditions that they do so I wanted to write a couple that we do.

This year, being the first away from home, we are going to Red Lobster for our Christmas Eve dinner.  Typically, we would have gone over to Randy and Diana's house for a candle lit crab leg dinner or as I like to call it, crabs in the dark. (due to the candle light not being bright enough to actually see anyone else)  One funny story to come out of this tradition was once Bracken's wife tasted paint thinner in her crab.  As a result, 15 lbs of crab of Alaskan King crab was thrown out ($$$).  Glad that wasn't my bill to cover.  So we will carry on the tradition minus the dishes and cleaning and smell in the house.

Another Christmas tradition is to write a letter to others in the family and hang it on the tree.  On Christmas day we each read our personal letters which give us warm fuzzies to know how much we are appreciated and loved by that person.  It is nice and easy for a person like me to type my feelings up instead of having to express them out loud.

Anyway, hope you all have a great Christmas!!  Love you guys!!!

 

Birthday Girl

We celebrated Keeks birthday on Sunday.  She turned 2 years old today.  It is hard to imagine how fast these girls are growing.  It seems like yesterday that we brought both of them home from the hospital.  Now they just want to do everything themselves without our help.  Erin and I look forward to the times when the girls want to cuddle…unfortunately those times only happen when they are sick or so early in the morning that they are still half asleep.

Kena is so cute; she can instantly bring a smile to our faces with her moody facial expressions.  We love you bubs! Here are some pictures of Keeks.

The story behind Dink C (Part 3 – the end)

Initially, every p-day, all three Elders would razz Lane while in the grocery store about him purchasing Dink and not shelling out a dime for something better.  But even our constant badgering wouldn’t sway his decision to make the switch.  One week Lane ran out of his packets before p-day and since we didn’t typically go to the grocery store any other day of the week, I gladly gave him one of my packets to drink.  He was amazed by the taste.  He could not believe that the water and granules had actually mixed together.  I guess he thought that Dink was just one of the cultural differences he would have to live with for two years.  That was all it took, finally Lane had crossed over.

Time went by and soon I was transferred down South on an 8hr plane ride to Tierra del Fuego.  I would spend the next 7 months on the island.  At about the 5^th month in, my companion and I had completely knocked each door in our area.  It was extremely difficult to get excited about re-knocking doors where you knew the people who would answer and what you would hear. (“Didn’t I tell you to never come back here again?”)  It was a daily struggle to find people to teach and we had to resort to creative methods to do so.  About this same time of discouragement and constant struggle, Lane was called as one of the 4 Assistants to the President and I received a no return address, unmarked letter in the pouch that had an empty Dink C packet in it with a smiley face on the inside of the letter.  This little letter and the Dink C did wonders to brighten my spirits.  It helped me to continue on in the area and to still find success for another two months.  The packet of Dink got passed back and forth for the rest of my mission.  The funny thing was it always seemed to come back to me at a time when I needed a pick-me-up. 

The final month or so of my mission was the most difficult time I had to date in my life.  My health was declining; I was losing weight, was in constant pain, and had basically stopped eating to quell the pain.  As a result of the culmination of all of these things, I wound up in a hospital.  (My path to the hospital is is a miracle story of its own, for another time.)  This time in my mission was very defeating to me, I even started questioning what little faith I had after reading that Brigham Young was able to rise from his death bed to serve a mission.  When the final decision came to send me home, I was a mess.  As I packed my things, I found in my journal the packet a Dink.  Lane had somehow placed it in there before I had left.  It once again picked up my spirits and continues to do so every time I think about our history with Dink.  

The story behind Dink C (Part 2)

Months passed and there really wasn’t a way to keep in contact with each other.  Sending letters through the pouch was not allowed and the distance between us made it so we never saw each other at conferences.

After several months I was moved to Plaza Huincul, another ten hours on the bus.  Plaza Huincul is the city where Lane and I were reunited.  He received his transfer to our zone and lived in a nearby city.  It was great to catch up on the adventures and experiences we had up to this point of our missions.  (It was also nice to be able to speak to each other in Spanish and not English)  After a few weeks, and due to the a large group of missionaries going home, my companion and I were forced to close down our apartment in Plaza Huincul and move into Lane’s apartment in order to work two both areas and save on costs I suspect.  This is where Dink C comes into the picture.

Because of the funky tasting water, most missionaries would buy flavor packets, like crystal light, in order to mask the taste.   Just like in the US, consumers had the choice of different brands at the store.  Dink C was always the cheapest and only a nickel per packet if I remember correctly.  The next closest drink mix in price was about $.15 cents.  So like all poor missionaries did, I started out buying Dink C early in my mission but soon realized after taking the first swig that the granules of Dink did not dissolve in the water.  It was horrible.  First, you got the nasty tasting water in your mouth and then the flavored sand would slide down slowly till it hit your taste buds.  Was it really worth saving a dime is what I had to ask myself.  It was a no brainer for me; I switched and paid a dime more. Every missionary realized that mistake and switched...well, everyone but Lane.