…by family!

Wednesday night our daughter and son-in-law came in from Oklahoma City, bringing their son Ephraim with them, of course. My mother-in-law came out from Bentonville to stay with us, so we have much more than our normal quiet household of two aging baby boomers.

We baby-sat Ephraim last night while the kids went off to Eureka Springs for a belated anniversary celebration and time away. They’ll just be gone a night, coming back late today. Sara has high school class reunion over the weekend. So they will stay till Sunday or Monday.

Ephraim was a delight last night. Now a year and two weeks old, he’s not quite walking yet but does an amazingly fast crawl. We had baby-proofed the house somewhat, and got a bunch of toys out to keep him busy. It worked, and he didn’t spend too much time trying to get where he shouldn’t. He is a little too interested in the lap-top computer, but understands “no” and stops when you tell him to. He was kind of fussy when we put him to bed, and Lynda got him up for a late night snack. After that he was fine and we didn’t hear a peep out of him. Well, at 4:00 AM he let out a single cry, but we left him alone and he went back to sleep.

I got some great pictures of him last night. I’ll try to get them downloaded tonight and added to this post, and make another out of them.

I’m afraid I didn’t get much writing done over the last two days.

Last Wednesday one of Lynda’s elderly cousins, Howard Cheney, died at age 97 in El Dorado Kansas. Before 2006, Howard was a name on my many genealogy pages. An older cousin of Lynda’s dad, I assumed he was dead (being age 85 when I began genealogy pursuits), and didn’t make any attempt to learn more about him.

In May 2006 he celebrated his 95th birthday, his granddaughter, Ronda, sat with him over old family photos and asked him to identify them. One he said was “Grandma Cheney”, but he couldn’t give any more info than that. Ronda’s interest was piqued; she began doing some genealogy research; found my posts on-line about the family; and contacted me in August 2006.

Events happened quickly. We were going to New Mexico in October for a writing conference. Another elderly cousin, Cecil Cheney, 91, lived outside Albuquerque. When Howard learned Cecil was alive, he wanted to go see him, and a mini-reunion was planned and happened. Howard and Cecil had last seen each other in 1918, when Howard was 8 and Cecil 4. Cecil’s dad Will Cheney had been murdered in 1916, and his widow and their three children moved in with Howard’s family, the Clarence Cheney family. The widow re-married in 1917 or 1918, they moved to Colorado, and lost track of the Cheney family.

That was quite a moment, when Howard and Cecil saw each other for the first time in 88 years. Howard remembered some of those times, but Cecil not at all. Still, it was a good day, and I was glad for the part I had in making it happen. Genealogy does have some positives.

We drove to El Dorado on Sunday, after Life Group, for the afternoon visitation hours. The weather deteriorated during the four hour drive, the temp. dropping from 69 to 21. We saw Ronda and her brother and sister, their mom and uncle, Howard’s widow (a late in life remarriage for him), some spouses, and other relatives. Most of these we had not met before. It was a great time, including looking at some photos we hadn’t seen before. The trip back was through some sleet (not too bad and not enough to slow down a whole lot) and temps. around 17. We were back about 9 PM, glad we made the effort, happy to have met relatives, sorry at Howard’s passing, and worn out.

I have barely visited the blog since last Tuesday. On that day our daughter, son-in-law, and grand baby arrived from Oklahoma City for a several days visit. I left work early to come home and help with final clean-up and prep. Then on Wednesday morning, about 7:30 AM, our son and his roommate arrived, having driven all night from Chicago. With my mother-in-law still with us, recovering from our shoulder injury, we had a full house and a great time. The blog didn’t seem so important; neither did writing.

We had a good Thanksgiving day, and the days on either side of it were great as well. The kids went off to visit friends during the day on Friday; otherwise they were at home. Good meals on all days. We cut back a little on how much we prepared for Thanksgiving dinner, yet there seemed to be plenty. We still have turkey, mashed potatoes, and some other things left, even with putting up four lunches for me. We put puzzles together and watched videos and just talked.

And of course played with Ephraim. This was grandson’s first time to be at our house. He and his mother are still here. We talked her into staying through today so that some of the people at church could see him (and Sara too). Everything was a delight this long weekend.

Yet, we were saddened by the tragedy in Mumbai, where terrorists decided to try to wreak havoc in that city; and by the Wal-Mart employee who was trampled to death in a mad rush at the beginning of Black Friday. I do not understand the mentality that has given rise to this most base of all Thanksgiving traditions. People have told me of the adrenalin rush they receive when they rush into the store to find the bargains they want, but I just can’t see it, and will have no part of it.

Today I try to get back to the routine of writing. I’m still not ready to re-enter the world of publishing, so still won’t seek that; but writing I will continue. I should be back before the end of the day with the results of meeting my November goals.

Yesterday, at 5:17 PM, my first grandchild was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Ephraim Todd Schneberger first breathed on earth weighing 6 pounds 15 ounces, 19.75 inches long. Our daughter is doing fine, the baby is fine; son-in-law Richard seems to be doing okay, thought I haven’t spoken with him since the birth. In fact all this news come from my wife, who drove to KC yesterday and arrived shortly after the birth.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.

Back to other subjects soon.