The Healing Power of Jesus Christ - Sculptures by Angela Johnson

Little updates

I can't believe that I have neglected my blog for so long!  It's not that we haven't done anything it is just that I haven't mustered up the time to write.
Three saturday's ago we went to New Market Battlefield for another dose of the civil war.  We have been meaning to go ever since we came here and we pass it every time we go to DC.We even went there one time for a Cross Country race but just haven't gone as "tourists".  It was a gorgeous,  warm (almost 90) fall day and so we ventured on up the road.  For those of you who don't know, the battle of New Market occurred when the Southern Troops were trying to keep the Yankees out of the Shanandoah Valley.  The south didn't have enough troops to hold off against the ones that were coming and so they requested that the 257 Cadets from VMI come to fight with them.  The Cadets marched from Lexington (6 miles from where we live) to New Market about 80 miles away in  4 days.  These young cadets, half of whom were freshman,  were used to marching and studying war but had never had to fight.  The intention was not to use them if at all possible but it became clear they needed them.  The battle took place around the family farm of the Bushong's who took cover in their basement.  There was a hole in the middle of the line and the cadets were used to plug the hole and served valiantly.  There had been a lot of rain and the field they crossed is now called the field of lost shoes because as they ran across it, it sucked the shoes right off of their feet! Five of the cadets were killed and five later died as a result of the battle but the battle itself was won because of the cadets.  In the chapel at VMI there is a large mural of the battle and every year they have a ceremony honoring those who died.  Also, every May there is a reenactment of the battle at New Market.
 As a result of this battle ten days later the Yankees came and burned VMI down while the cadets were in Richmond helping train other troops. Feelings still run very high here over this battle. One of the cadets later became a famous sculpture and his statue Virginia Mourning Her Dead stands on the grounds of VMI.
  My greatest feeling while at the battlefield was of sadness that this country ever had to go through this terrible war with itself.  How grateful we should all be that this nation survived!

John and a "Cadet"

Kitchen of the Bushong Farm

Edge of the" field of lost shoes" and the Blue Ridge Mountains

shanandoah River

This week we had the dedication and renaming of the student union.  It is now the J Golden Kimball Student Center.  J Golden Kimball was one of the missionaries that first brought the gospel to this part of the country and it was one of the most difficult missions he ever served.  The local people even tried to drown him the the Maury river which runs through town! 
The school held a dedicatory service on Friday and they did a tribute to him and you can't talk about him without telling some great stories and hearing some colorful language!  I think he would be amazed to see what has happened here and to know that there are now 7 wards in this tiny town! (5 of those are student wards) along with an entire stake.
This week was homecoming week and Dad is in charge of Alumni relations so he was a busy guy.  We recently had a donor give us money to fix up one of the old houses on campus to make it an Alumni house and so it had to be cleaned up so alumni could actually go through it.  He also had the first SVU candy bar introduced.  It is being made by a chocolate store over in Lexington and it has a raised relief of Main Hall on it!  It looks really neat and tastes great!

Alumni House

Our New Chocolate Bar (Emilie made the sign)

Tonight we went over to celebrate Tommy's 3rd birthday so here are some pictures of him with his cake.

Notice Buz and Woody right next to him!

It is so hard to believe that he is 3, that JJ left on his mission 3 years ago (and has now been back 1!) and that I have been back in Virginia for 3 years!!!

Fun site!

I found this site through Mormon Times and it has some really great ideas.

http://preparednotscared.blogspot.com/2010/09/soup-mix-recipe-book.html

A Small Ramble with some good luck

Dad and I decided to go get peaches again on Saturday since we are down to the last few types that are available at Saunders.  They have already started harvesting apples but our taste buds just wanted a few more peaches!  As we were passing through Lowesville (tiny town) they were having a town yard sale.  It was great fun and we got a great, new chandelier for the new Alumni house that the school is fixing up and a brand new old table for us!  It is a great table and after we pick it up I'll post some pictures.  We also had Brunswick stew made in a large kettle and amazing baked goods.  While at the baked goods stand they mentioned that the rest of their group was over at Nellie's Ford because they too were having a town yard sale.  Woohoo!  So, after going to Saunders we headed for Nellies's Ford but we took a wrong turn and ended up....way up...on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We stopped at the visitor center to see how to get down to Nellies Ford and discovered that it was the 75th anniversary of the Parkway and there were interpreters on the "typical Blue Ridge Farm" circa 1890. We had a great time exploring and learning.  Here is the cabin and our "homeowner" with me.  9 people lived in this cabin and it is an originial cabin (moved to this spot but put on the old homes foundation).  There was a loft for the kids and Mom and Dad and baby slept downstairs.

Here is me getting istructions on how to make a broom

You make it using broom corn that you comb the seeds out of.  There are different styles for tying them and we even saw a mop that was made from the heart of the hickory tree with the layers peeled back.  It gets soft when wet! Ingenious (necessity the mother of invention?)

Here is the garden:

It has tobacco, they would have raised enough for themselves and some to trade:

Sorghum from which they squeezed the sap out of the stalks and made molasses:

and broom corn from which they made the brooms:(Dad grew some of this in Oregon)

Here's the hen house,

Barn and Pig Stye.  The hogs ran wild in the woods with all the neighbors hogs and then they brought them in to let the fat harden so it was usable before they slaughtered them. The X contraption you see was a device to keep the bears out.

The spring house for keeping things cool.  An earthquake has moved the spring

There was a root cellar and a few other things to see but this last picture is dad eating an apple he took from the tree behind him!(don't ask how I felt about that!)
It turned out to be a very fun day and we capped it off at night by attending the university's production of "Songs for a New World" which has some great songs in it!
The weather has been amazing and we are beginning to see the leaves start to change.  Sorry about the rain in Oregon! (people here aren't too happy about our drought though).

Published

I just thought you would like to know that JJ is a published author...well, journalist.  He was asked to write an article on this Blue Grass Group and their festival so I thought I would show it to you.  I tried to zoom in on the byline but it got too fuzzy.  As an added bonus you can see who spoke at SVU last week.

As for reading it, you'll just have to take a mother's word for it that it was well done!

A Family Wedding

I didn't get to go the wedding of Dad's brother Lynn but here are the photos that he brought back to help me feel a part of things.  Lynn has been alone since the death of his wife Rae and so all are excited to see him happy.
Here is Dad with his brother Chris, Sunny and Lynn, and sister Shelley,

Here are some pictures of Seth and the girls:

Various other family members at the wedding:

Tara & Shelley

Mindy,Brett,Diedra,Paul

Sarah and Paul

Christy & Jacque

Lynn Waiting for the bride:

After the wedding the John Feinauer Family got together and so here is a picture of the Oregon siblings.

Hope took some other really great pictures of the family gathering.  It looks like it was a fun day!

Everlasting Friendship

In everyone's life there are people that you come in contact with that you know you knew before and that you already have a connection to.  One of those in my life is Barb Finch. When John and I decided to purchase Curves in Newberg Barb was a member and she had applied for a job with the previouse owner and was promised a job.  When she decided to sell, the owner stopped Barb's hiring but when Barb heard that we were buying it she was the first one to congratulate me.  She wasn't asking for a job she sincerely was excited for us.  She gave me a great big hug and I knew then that I wanted her working alongside me! Her vision and mine were the same and so along with Robin Boyles we set out to build our Curves.  While working side by side we became close friends and we often spoke of our religious views to each other.  We learned about each other's families and knew each other's pains and concerns.  One day I asked if she and Clay would like to attend the Messiah that was being put on at church.  She replied, "let me talk to Clay" and the next day she told me the answer to my question was yes.  I had forgotten what the question was...it turned out it was one of the most important questions I ever asked anyone! As they say, the rest is history.  She and Clay went on a fast track to joining the church and were baptized on Easter Sunday.  Clay was baptized first, given the Aaronic priesthood, and then he Baptized Barb.  What an amazing day! One year later they were sealed in the Portland  Oregon Temple and we were able to have a reception in our home.  Our lives are forever entwined.

Barb and Clay moved to El Paso Texas in July of 2007 and in October we sold Curves and then moved to Virginia. 
It has been three years since we have seen each other and last week we got together again!  We have one of those friendships that when you are together it is like no time has passed.
We went to DC and saw the sites and talked and talked and talked!
 Here we are at the Lincoln Memorial:

Abe & Us

We saw all the major monuments and then headed out to Maryland where we went to the DC Temple visitor center and watched the Joseph Smith movie together (and cried together!). We wandered all over looking for a hotel and finally ended up in Silver Spring at the same hotel Dad and I had recently stayed in.  In the morning we did some window shopping, ate at a great Irish cafe and then went to the Temple to do a session.  It was very special to both of us and we loved being in the celestial room together.(We cried there too!)  It was the first time Barb has been able to do a session since her beloved Clay passed away so we were glad we were together.

After Church on Sunday I took Barb on a little tour of the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway that is in the mountains just behind Buena Vista.

We promised each other that we won't let three years go by again!  How grateful I am to my Heavenly Father that he is so aware of each of us and our needs that he puts special friends in our lives to help us along our way!