Wow, has it really been that long???

That's what happens when you leave town for a week. There is so much to catch up on when you get back that simply doing the laundry becomes the most important thing in your day!

We did have a super-fun time at my parent's home(s) for Thanksgiving. The pictures at the top are of my parent's new 'vacation' home. It was built in the 1880's by my Great-great Grandfather, Jens Nielson. He was from Denmark and joined the Church there. He and his wife and son were in the ill-fated Willie Handcart Company which was stranded in an early blizzard in Wyoming in 1856. Their 6 year old son, Jens, died at Rock Creek, as did many other people. Jens's feet froze and his little wife, Elsie, put him in the handcart and pulled him until they got help. He had difficulty walking after that and used canes the rest of his life. In 1879, he was living in the Iron County area with his 3 wives and children and was called to be part of the group that settled in South-eastern Utah. They left in Oct 1879 for what they thought was going to be a six-week trip, but it ended up being a 6 month trip, arriving in the place where the little town of Bluff, UT now stands in April 1880. This wasn't quite the destination they had been aiming for, but they were worn out and decided to make their settlement there. He was called to be the bishop of Bluff that year and served in that calling for 26 years, being released in 1906 just before he passed away. I am descended through Jens' third wife, Ane Katrine, who never came to Bluff, but stayed in Cedar City. She had ill health and couldn't make the trip. Following her death, her three children were brought to Bluff and Jens' first wife Elsie raised them.

This home was the home he built for his 2nd wife, Kirsten. It has been added onto and modified over the years. It has been a home, a restaurant and a bed & breakfast. We feel so incredibly blessed that it has now come into our family. A very interesting series of events has led to it, but it has been a blessing and we can see the Lord's hand in it. My parents are involved with the Hole-In-The-Rock Foundation, which is a restoration group, seeking to restore the old Bluff Fort and some of the homes and keep the incredible story of these pioneers alive. Their having a home in Bluff, kitty-corner to the old Fort, is so convenient for them. They often have guests to show around and they can use this home as a 'home base'. Mom has also taken it upon herself to make sure the windows in the Old Meetinghouse stay clean!

It was such a peaceful feeling to be in this home for the Thanksgiving holiday, to think of the history of the little valley and the amazing people who settled there, who we have the privilege of being related to. I was even more thankful than ever for them this year.

I was also really thankful to have even gotten there at all. I think all of our cars have curses on them at the present time. Two of them are down for the count right now, and we are borrowing C's grandparent's truck. I headed off early because the kids had dental appointments. It's a 250 mile drive and 7 miles outside of Monticello, in the middle of Peter's hill, I had a blowout. It was dark and cold and a very busy highway. I was able to call my brother-in-law and he came to help me out. While we were waiting (30 min) not one single person stopped to see if we needed help. I'm thankful that the blowout didn't make us go off the road and down to the bottom of the hill, to have been that close to home, for a cell phone that only let me call that one number (no other calls would go through and I couldn't answer any), and for a kind brother-in-law and dad who came to our rescue.

This was truly a year to be thankful.