Happy New Year!

2014 is almost over and 2015 looms on the Horizon, in just three more days it will be New Year's Day.  New Year's will be here before we know it and a new year will be beginning.  What a wonderful time of year.  I love the start of the new year.  January is the month I like to take time to reorganize things around me.  I enjoy my Christmas Decorations and usually leave them up for a week or two more.  My move to East Tennessee has brought a wonder about all things Tennessee.  I am really enjoying my New Home.  I enjoy meeting new friends and getting to know what this area has to offer me.  At this time of the year I do miss my family back in Wisconsin and Minnesota and across the country, I sent them my Love.  I am so glad for Social Media such as Facebook because it gives me a way to enjoy seeing my family as they grow and do special things with each other.  I just recently discovered Skype.. Oh' what a Joy.  I was able to talk with my family face to face in real time on Christmas Day.  I was so excited Christmas Morn to talk to my Daughter Nancy, she and I had set it up to use Skype on Christmas Day.  Oh' what a great gift I felt I had given myself by putting it on my computer and phone.  It was wonderful.  I felt like a delighted child opening my bestest Christmas Present.  I could not contain my Joy! I have to laugh at myself but that's OK, at my age of 72 a bit of Joy is welcome.  lol

Merry Christmas 2014

Merry Christmas December 2014 

To all my Family Merry Christmas from my home to yours.  It is Christmas Eve Day and a warm 60 degrees outside, a bit overcast with a slight drizzle most of the day but Warm, gotta love it.  I spent the past week and a half celebrating the Christmas season with my new friends down here in East Tennessee.
This is my 1st Christmas Season I will be away from all my Children having moved away from the Minnesota/Wisconsin area in May of this year to East Tennessee to a small town of Newport TN.  It has been an interesting and exciting time for me getting to meet and make new friends and neighbors, A lot of new experiences.

Yesterday Eve I sent at my church helping with the House of Prayer Christmas Party.  I helped to give out gifts to the girls and boys and goodie bags to the adults.  there was a band singing Christmas carols and bags of food for holiday meals were handed out to each family that was able to attend, they were so appreciative.  One Grandmother had tears in her eyes as she told us about her granddaughter opening up her present of a doll and with delighted glee held it to her bosom.

 I felt so blessed to be able to do such a little thing & pay it forward,remembering myself as a child receiving the gift of love and food from a group carolers from a church that had adopted us as their holiday family and each year at Thanksgiving and Christmas they would bring us a gift of food and a present for my brothers and I to put under our tree.

Above is my Christmas Tree this year with all the memories of christmases past unwrapped with each ornament as I placed it on my tree.  Yes my tree is full, full of memories that come with each ornament that I place on my tree...

This Filigree Star is the Oldest Ornament on my tree. My husband and I bought as a set of 3 or 4 Filigree ornaments containing the star, a box, an elongated 4 sided star and one other the year we went to Gimble's Store in downtown New York City to buy our first Artificial Tree.  That tree lasted over twenty years and many memories were placed on it year to year.  I'll have to search in my box of photos for a picture of it.  I'm sure you children remember it well.

This little felt hat is one of my 1st gifts from my children.  Raymond Jr.  It was made at school and attached to a baby food jar that had a Santa face painted on it with a cotton and beard.  The jar broke long ago but the hat is still in good condition, but the cotton it is a little brownish from wear so I will refresh it this year before putting it away.










This  Ornament is my newest one, given to me this year
 by my daughter Elizabeth so I can remember what a REAL winter looks like.. Very apt since it is in the 60's here today with no snow on the ground and no cold chilly wind in sight. it has an opening in the back for a Christmas light.  I like the effect the blue light has on it don't you.


I think I need to blog about those ornaments and their special memories.  I will make it a challenge for myself for the year of 2015

I'm going to share The Story of My life

Yesterday I attended an FCE group that I belong to -, It's a women's group and we have fun.  a presentation of one of the ladies and her husband was given.  it was Chapter 3 of their life together.  Wow was it great to hear.  Tomorrow is my 72nd birthday and it gives me pause to think that I have so many stories to tell, things I've seen and experienced, things I want to share with my children and grand children.  Stories that I don't want lost thru the ages as my time here is fleeting.  Things I would have loved to know about my grand parents. How they met. why they choose to come her to america and settle.  what was life like for them growing up.  what difficulties did they face and how did they overcome them.  Wow, it would be so nice to know these things so I am going to share a bit of my life here for all of you.  

Chapter 1

my younger years and what I remember of them. 

I was born at 6am on August 21st 1942 as i recall from what my father has told me.  I was a cute, chubby baby, my daughter Nancy has a photo of me at the baby stage and I will post one when I find it.  I remember a little about my growing up.  I lived in White Plains NY with my mom and dad.  Mom's parents came from Italy and Dad's father from Germany, his mom lived in Pennsylvania.  I remember visiting both of my grandparents.  they both spoke in their native languages of Italian and German.  and I grew very comfortable listening to them talk although only English was spoken at home.  I lived in Elmsford NY on Taxter Rd.  in a secluded area about a mile from town.  my brothers, Eddie and Bobbie and I would play Cowboys and Indians a lot, we loved to play in the surrounding forest and they loved to tease me about snakes and such.  We also loved to play hooky from school at times and in my day they had truant officers that would come to your house to let your parents know that you had been absent.  Ohhh ouch! those spankings hurt... we had to pick own switches from the hedges outside.  Dad tried to be as gentle as he could.  He was a gentle soul and i'm sure reprimanding us was not something he cherished.  I remember my 13th year the most.  That Summer I spent reading books that we had discovered in the attic of the old farm house we rented.  There were books that told about the Greek Gods, and the stories took me on wondrous adventures with mythical Gods and marvelous places.  It was a very delightful year for me and I enjoyed reading these old books.  I graduated from high school in 1960 from Alexander Hamilton High School in a class of 60 students.  My memories of my high school years are sweet.  friends, football, boys, and most of all Art.  Mrs Christensen was my Art teacher and I loved that class.  I received a scholarship to go to Columbia Bible College in North Carolina and I did for a semester.  

 

I met my husband Raymond the day of my Graduation and that begins the next chapter of my life.  

  

My Newest Great Granddaughter!

My Newest Great Granddaughter Miss Caylee Mae, born August 5th 2014 to my granddaughter Brianna Blucher weighing in at 7lbs 2oz and 20" long.  Happy Birth Day Caylee, Welcome to the Family!  Grandma Marie is ecstatic - this is her 6th Grandbaby, Big Sister Rosie is excited and so am I. 

 

This has been an exciting year for me.  Two new Great Grand Babies Born to Date and Another Due soon.  Whoo Whoo!  I've got to count again but I think this is # 22 or #23 :)  I am in awe and amazed at how Blessed I am to have such a large Family.  

On May 23rd 2014 my little Great Grandson Noah was born to my Granddaughter Jan and Hubby Tyler.  Big Brother Cylus is excited too.  My Daughter Marie became a grandparent again for the 5th time.  How Blessed are we.  

 

The Love in our family flows strong and deep

I was Talking with my Husbands Cousin's Alice and Barbara Yesterday!

I have been posting more pictures of my Husbands Family and this has sparked a conversation between his cousins Alice and Barbara and I.  I love these conversations, memories and pictures.  It is a reminder of the Great Family we belong to... It Brings back Memories of the excitement my husband and I felt discovering his family.  He did not remember his Grandfathers Name except he called him Pop-pop. Strange I thought and a bit sad so in a conversation one day with his Brother Chris we asked and Chris gave us some information about a Cousin he would visit Myrtle Bowman. and also Mark W Swett who he also visited... inspired I looked up Mark Swett's Phone # and decided to make a call.using our new cell phones with free long distance.. wow! The woman I spoke to was Bibi Swett, she was so sweet, listened to me as I told her who I was and did not hang up.. a bonus because I was a stranger.  She Said at that time that her Husband Mark was in the nursing home dying from cancer and that his sister Myrtle had died the year before of cancer... So sad to hear this.  She said that Myrtle had done some Ancestory on the Swett Family and her daughter Barbara might be able to share some info and gave me her phone #.  I handed over my cell phone to my husband to talk with his cousins wife and I called Barbara in California. Barbara answered the phone and listened to my story and I told her about Ray's brother Chris that used to visit her mom and the I had just spoke to Bibi - Her Uncle Mark's wife - she was so sweet.  she looked in her mother's phone book and found my Brother-in-laws name and address there.  Wow it gave me goose bump's - two calls on the spur of the moment and we had connected with my hubby's family.  Ray and I were giddy and so delighted.  He learned his Grandfather's Name.. Not just Pop-Pop but Fredrick Irving Swett.  Barbara connected us with another cousin Niel who we called later - it was about 10pm here in Minnesota where we lived when we called and Niel did not hang up but listened, talked with Ray, Remembered playing as children and the Family connection was Made.  Amazing! How excited we were.. in 3 calls that evening we had connected my hubby to his family history.  Nels and others sent us photo's. and we got to share this piece of history with our 8 children.  Ray and I even went the the History Center in St Paul MN and were able to get a copy of the Mark Sweat Family History book... We paid for a zerox copy of the book... What a treasure.

The Swett Family - On the Right is Lillie Marie Ward Swett Purington with her 2nd Husband Mr Purington and her Children. Starting on the Left Fredrick Irving Swett, Louie E Swett, Lillian G Swett, Herbert Swett and in front is her youngest son Horatio Purington.  Her Eldest son Mark W Swett is not in this Photo. 

Picture of the Day.

The Swett - Hess Family PICTURES OF THE DAY! 

On my Swett Family FB Group page I have been uploading a picture of the Day and encoraging others to upload some too.  The top 2 pictures are of my eldest son Raymond jr as an infant, the picture alongside it is of his eldest daughter Jessica and her Family.  On the right is my father Edward Hess Sr.. in the middle row is a picture of Ray Jr., Ann, Michael & Nancy taken on Ann's 6th Birthday May 19, 1971, in the middle is my Wedding Picture.  The bottom Picture is of Ray Sr & Paul working on our home in St Paul.  Then Kirsten uploaded a picture of me & Heather at the Amdot Apple Farm and a Picture of my Son Mike an Nick there too.  The picture bottom right is a picture of my Mother, Frances (Cuccia) Hess with her siblings and her Mom and Dad, (Beatrice & Salvatore Cuccia.) you can check out the facebook group page here.

I have been enjoying the posts and memories shared. I do hope that all of you will enjoy those pictures.  I want everyone feel free to post their memories surrounding those pictures.