Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Unto Us a Child is Born

Early this morning I got a call from Matt Jones, the husband of the family I am staying with. They had gone to the hospital about 5:AM and by 6:30 they had a bouncing baby girl, Anastasia Rose.Living with a woman who was very pregnant during the Advent made thinking of the birth of Christ more realistic this season. It will be a joy to get to know Annie Rose a bit. I'm sure that living with a newborn won't be the same as it would have been living with the newborn Jesus.

However, I am glad to have Christ living in my heart all the time.

Monday, December 22, 2008

They Shall Call Him Immanuel, God with Us

May the God who came to be one of us, with us, be near to you this season.




God's richest blessings to you and yours, Jan

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

A Walk Down My Own Memory Lane - Part 9

This is the other 'glamor shot' of my mom. It's my favorite one. She was 21 on this photo. That would have been 1947. I remember that I used to have a wallet size copy of this in a little frame on my desk when I was 21. Most of my memories are just remembering looking at these photos when I was younger.

I think this will conclude my little walk - at least for now. Thanks for joining me.

(I'll have to start posting in the present.)

A Walk Down My Own Memory Lane - Part 8


My mom as a baby. She was born in May of 1926.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

A Walk Down My Own Memory Lane - Part 7

This photo was probably taken around the same time as the snowball photo. It's not a setting I recognize. But maybe one of my siblings can say where it was taken. Still, Mom is looking a little more lady-like.

Friday, December 12, 2008

A Walk Down My Own Memory Lane - Part 6

One of the most fascinating things we found when searching Mom's things was a whole stack of "love letters" my mom wrote while engaged to my dad from a cross country trip to her sister's wedding in LA.

It sounded like she was traveling with her mom, younger sister and brother. My mom wrote a note daily to dad as they took the train to Cody, Wyoming. There they were picked up by her father and traveled by car the rest of the way.

In one of the letters Mom said she was enclosing photos. But those weren't with the letters when me found them (sixty years later). However, I think this photo may have been take in Cody on that trip.

I wish I could scan and post all the letters. Mom wrote on scrap paper and diner menus. Several of the envelopes were decorated with my mom's sketches. She was not too mushy in her words - but you can tell she was in love.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

A Walk Down My Own Memory Lane - Part 5


Okay, granted - most of these photos are not really from my memory. But I have really enjoyed thinking about what life was like in the yester-year photos from my parents memorabilia. Here are a couple from when my shy mom was a little girl.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

A Walk Down My Own Memory Lane - Part 4


My parents were dancers. You might know that in the past ten years I have taken up swing dancing and have enjoyed it very much. This photo was some kind of couples outing shortly after my parents were married - probably in the winter of 1949-50. There were some other portrait shots with two other couples taken around the fireplace of my parents home. And some snapshots of several couples at a large table together, presumably in a dance hall somewhere. They included my dad's two siblings and their spouses.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

A Walk Down My Own Memory Lane - Part 3

I think my mom was the original "Glamor Shots" girl. Before she was married she worked in the dark room of a portrait studio in Hopkins. While I was growing up whenever this job was mentioned someone what always make some crack about Mom working in a dark room with Mr. Daniels and "seeing what developed."

My mom had several shots of this type. I am a bit biased but I think she was quite a beauty in her day. (This was is not the best of the series.)


Saturday, December 6, 2008

A Walk Down My Own Memory Lane - Part 2

When I imagine the life of my parents as young people, it's dreamy - like a movie. My father was the son of a brick layer. It was the trade he was trained in. But as he dated my mom, her father thought it would be better for my dad to have an office job. So he hired him to work for his electrical contracting company.

My dad spent his entire career as the purchasing agent for Industrial Electric Co. He retired in the early 90's after 30-some years of service in the same little office on Portland and Eighth downtown.

I imagine this photo was taken early on in that job to show off the the blue collar relatives his prestigious desk job.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

A Walk Down My Own Memory Lane

Dan, Lee and I have spent days sorting old photos and memorabilia from when my mom passed away about 3 and a half years ago. We have found many a wondrous thing. And some we wished we hadn't unearthed.

Since I just posted a current photo of my siblings, I thought you might like to see what we looked like 30 years back. This photo includes my parents in the back row. Lots of seventies fashion going on here!