Memory Jogger Monday - June 29

2006 Ohms Family Reunion

What are the names of your brothers and sisters? Describe traits and memories that stand out in your mind about each of your siblings.

Jenny (top row 2nd from the right)
The trait that stands out about Jenny is that she is very creative!
One of my favorite memories is watching Jenny, while we were younger, do cross-stitching. She could even use the smallest square fabric and make such detailed designs. And these creations decorate her home today.

Gabe (top row 1st on the right)
The trait that stands out about Gabe is that he is very generous!
One of my favorite memories was from two years ago when I was visiting Gabe's family. Gabe was in the process of testing flavors for his new ice cream store. It was fun to watch him test each flavor in each base and pour in the liquid nitrogen ... and then we got to eat the results. Yum!

Seth (top row 1st on the left)
The trait that stands out about Seth is that he is very resourceful!
One of my favorite memories was watching him design and build a feeding device for our family's chickens. He has since built many other things. He recently took scraps from a building project and built a chicken coop for his own birds.

Sarah (bottom row 1st on the left)
The trait that stands out about Sarah is that she is a wonderful peacekeeper!
One of my favorite memories was watching Sarah and her friends write and perform their own plays and stories. She is also a very creative person. She is kind and patient with her children and encourages me to be patient too.

See this post for more information about "Memory Jogger Monday": 

Writing a Personal History or Keeping a Journal

It Shall Leave Them Neither Root Nor Branch

"Our Father’s plan is about families. Several of our most poignant scriptures use the concept of the tree with its roots and branches as an analogy.

"In the closing chapter of the Old Testament, Malachi, in describing the Second Coming of the Savior, vividly uses this analogy. Speaking of the proud and wicked, he notes that they shall be burned as stubble and 'that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.' Malachi closes this chapter with the Lord’s reassuring promise:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”

"The essential doctrine of uniting families came forth line upon line and precept upon precept. Vicarious ordinances are at the heart of welding together eternal families, connecting roots to branches."

- Elder Quentin L. Cook, "Roots and Branches", LDS General Conference, April 2014.

My Family's Visit to the FamilySearch Discovery Center

Our family visited the FamilySearch Discovery Center in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City, Utah on June 15, 2015. I had previously visited by myself in February as part of a media visit during RootsTech. You can read about my visit and about how to navigate the various stations in the center at this link: 
FamilySearch Discovery Center

Today's post is about my family's visit and my observations with having my young family there.

In the FamilySearch area of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, you can get a free souvenir photo taken as though you are on the dock arriving in New York City. I especially love Matthew's closed eyes in the above photo. It must have been a long and tiring journey for him. Once the photo is taken, you enter your email address and it is immediately sent to you. Anyone visiting Temple Square should go get a free photo; it is separate from the Discovery Center experience.

In the Discovery Center, when you arrive you are given an iPad and you Sign In with your FamilySearch account and then take a picture of yourself for the adventure. FamilySearch accounts are available for anyone over the age of 8 years. My children are not yet that old; my daughter is getting close though.

Here is a picture of my husband for his Discovery adventure.

Children are then given these items: A hat and a bag containing a map, magnifying glass, binoculars, pencil, notebook, and according to my daughter "wooden circles about families". This is my 2nd visit and I still haven't figured out exactly what is in that bag and the activity that goes along with the map. I am too attached to the iPad stations. I know the map matches the iPad stations that the parents and older children are using. I just don't know what the entire activity is about. The next time we visit, I am going to figure this out.

At one of the iPad stations you learn about your name. Here is information about my husband's name. My information is in my February blog post as mentioned above. I was intrigued that it gave Scott information for both his first and middle name.






















Not only is his first, middle, and last name Scottish, his heritage is 28% Scottish and he chose this photo in the photo booth. I love the look on his face; I giggle all the time when I see it.

We had our children also take pictures in the photo booth using our logged in iPads. Here is Emma in a German outfit; though her heritage is less than 24% German (my login). It will be fun and interesting for her when she is 8 years old next year to visit the Discovery Center under her own login.

At the photo booth you can also switch to other heritages to see what you would look like. Emma really liked this outfit and had fun becoming "Ukrainian" for just a moment.

I call this photo "The One Eyed Ancient Roman"! It can be really hard for a young child to hold still while the computer takes the picture. In many of the images you have to tilt your head to match the picture and it is hard enough for an adult to do, let alone a young child. Still this photo makes me giggle.

I found this interesting thing when my iPad was docked at the map station. In February the program showed that my first chronological ancestor to convert to the LDS Church was Lucy Simmons on 8 March 1832. During this experience in June the program showed that my first convert ancestor was Elisha Hurd Groves and it shows the same date! Lucy and Elisha later marry on 14 January 1836 in Kirtland, Ohio.

Elisha was living in Indiana when he was baptized on 8 March 1832 by Elder Calvin Beebe. He had been taught about the Book of Mormon in September 1831 by Elder Samuel H. Smith (brother of Joseph) and Elder Reynolds Cahoon. The gospel also came to Lucy's home in the fall of 1831 in New York and she was baptized on 8 March 1832 by Elder Samuel H. Smith (brother of Joseph). It is amazing to me that they were both baptized on the very same day and that Elder Samuel H. Smith had influenced both of their lives and then later on 14 January 1836 they marry by the counsel of the Prophet Joseph.

Here are some photos of my children playing with some of the activities that are just outside the Discovery Center room. They enjoyed this area the most.

Again, I hope you are interested in visiting the FamilySearch Discovery Center on your next trip to Salt Lake City. We chose to schedule our visit with the Discovery Center to guarantee that we would be able to get in at the date and time that worked for us. While we were visiting the center, others were able to walk-in without an appointment as there were openings at the time they arrived. You cannot count on having walk-in time available. The center can accommodate larger groups up to 30 people. Follow this link to schedule your visit and learn more about the FamilySearch Discovery Center: https://familysearch.org/discoverycenter

#DiscoverMyStory     #FamilySearch

Grandma's Hug

When my grandma Leola Pierce Peterson passed away in 2012, I asked my mother to save my grandma's shirts and sheets for me. My grandmother was very athletic. She golfed, bowled, and pitched horseshoes in leagues, at the Utah Summer Games and in the Huntsman World Senior Games. She had a lot of sports t-shirts. I received a huge box of t-shirts and sheets. From those items I made 9 small wrap quilts which I call "Grandma's Hug". They are just big enough to wrap around an adult and a little bigger for a small child. I made one for each of my grandma's grandchildren - all 9 of us.

Even though I've washed all the t-shirts and sheets, to me they still smell like my grandma. One day when my children were fighting with each other, my daughter came running in the house crying and went into the living room and immediately became silent. I wondered what could possibly have made her stop crying. When I went to find out, I found her wrapped up in my "Grandma's Hug". I asked her how she was doing and she said, that she just needed a hug from grandma (her great-grandma). And the hug made the situation all better. She has since done this same thing multiple times; as has my son.

This is a great way to link the generations. My siblings and my cousins remember my grandma wearing these shirts and now they have a little part of that memory that they can wrap around themselves and their children in a nice warm hug from grandma.

Leola Pierce Peterson
Huntsman World Senior Games Medals