Snowed In

Mom was supposed to leave today for Minot for Christmas.  So far, she's still at the airport.  Darn those snowstorms in the midwest!!  She is still supposed to get out by 3pm today; which will put her into Minneapolis by 6pm......then she won't leave Minneapolis until 9:40pm (if she gets to leave at all!!) and gets to Minot at 11:30pm.  Yikes!!  Being the loving daughter, I told her "Ya know, if you'd driven, you'd already be there by now!"  Of course, that's not true - the roads are closed in North Dakota and the plows aren't even coming out.  I do pray for safe flights and that she gets there tonight - this is the first time she's been able to spend Christmas with all of her brothers and sisters (7 total!) in about 30 years.

In other news, I'm just ready for vacation.  Two more days and then I'm off for 11 fun-filled days of sleeping in, reading, watching old movies, and doing genealogy.  That's it.  That's all I have planned - and I cannot wait!

Oh! If you could, please say a quick prayer for Morgan and her family.  She had surgery this morning and I'm really hoping they were able to get most (if not all, preferably!) of the tumors from her lungs.

Miracles 4 Morgan

I promise I'll get back to regular posting soon.  My pinky is still a bit wonky, so it's difficult to type up a long post.  On the bright side, the splint is off now!! 

Anyway, if you could please spread the word to keep prayers going for my cousin's daughter, Morgan, I would appreciate it.  She is a 15-year-old girl and is battling a couple of very aggressive cancers.  You can read up on her story here. (You will need to have a caringbridge logon in order to view her page)

Also, if you could please spread the word amongst your friends and families to keep Morgan in their prayers, we would appreciate it. 

A Beautiful Summer (Fall) Day

I was quite elated this morning when my sister called to let me know that her ex-husband called in sick for his visitation today.  (Long story on this one, and not sure it's a story I should tell in this format).  So, I got an unexpected fun day with Baby-J ( who is 3 and I really should quit calling her a baby.  It was supposed to be a beautiful day outside today so J and I decided to go to the zoo with a picnic and then play at the playground before ending our day with frozen yogurt.

I should have gone to Subway for our picnic - they have fresh fruit options and your sandwiches can be made to order.  Unfortunately I went with Wheat Montana instead.  Chips instead of fresh veggies & fruits (I didn't eat them).  Didn't really like my sandwich, so I ended up tossing out at least half of it. Half of the zoo was closed for refurbishments (which begs the question, why wasn't the price to get in 1/2 off then???). 

The animals were pretty scarce - I think it was just too hot for them (it was upwards of 90 degrees today).  Boris the Grizzly Bear was out putting on a show - she was essentially just sitting in front of the fence and checking out all the people that were checking her out.  Right across from her, the wolverines were enjoying mealtime, so they were out putting on a bit of a show.  Other than that, the animals weren't out at all.  J just wasn't interested though - she just wanted to play on the playground.  So, I think next time we'll just go to the park.  But, at least at the zoo, I get to walk the trails so I can get some exercise in at the same time.

The sensory gardens were beautiful and there were quite a few trees whose leaves were changing to a glorious red color.  Not to be missed.  That's one of the reasons I love Fall (even in 90 degree weather).

After 2 1/2 hours at the zoo, I was ready for something cold and refreshing so we headed to town for frozen yogurt. I'm now officially in love with Red Velvet Cake froyo.  And I don't even like Red Velvet Cake.

I'm so glad we went out to enjoy the day - there won't be many more beautiful ones like this left before Winter rears her ugly head.

Genealogy Mystery #1: Julia Fluur

Today's Genealogy Mystery:

My grandmother was born in 1917.  She and her twin sister Adeline were adopted and of course, it was right at the time that Minnesota started sealing adoption records.  If an adoption record is sealed, you have to wait 100 years from the date of the adoption before the record is available. 

I know bits and pieces.  Grandma thought her birth mother's name was Julia Fluur.  I've later discovered that it could also be Fluhr, Flohr, Fleur, or Fleury. I don't think she was from Minnesota because I can't find records on her anywhere.  Then again, we could be way off on the name. Who knows how much information was shared with Grandma growing up?  I know she always knew she was adopted, so it's possible Bill and Elsie (her adoptive parents), shared the information they knew.  Unfortunately, Grandma's gone now.  She passed away in 2005.

So, what does an amateur genealogist that doesn't want to wait 7 years for access to the information do?  She petitions the courts, of course.  I did that last month.  Well, Kandiyohi County anyway.  I could also petition Hennepin County since that's where Grandma and her family were living in 1920. It could make sense that the adoption took place there, although Grandma was raised in (and her adoptive family are all from) Kanidyohi County.  Spicer, to be exact.  Or Wilmar. Both, really.

So far I haven't heard anything back.  Which could mean that the adoption didn't take place in Kandiyohi County....and I may have to proceed with petitioning Hennepin County.  Which is okay - I've got the necessary paperwork already notarized.  I was just........waiting, for whatever reason.

Now as far as Grandma's adoptive family goes, I've gotten lots of information.  At least on her adoptive mother's side.  Unfortunately, her adoptive father Bill Stevens (also known as Charles Stevens, William Stevens, Charles William Stevens, William Charles Stevens) seems to be as big of a mystery as her birth family.  I think he was a preacher.  Or a businessman.  I've heard both.  Maybe he was both.

Grandma's adoptive mother, Elsie Masters, was a direct descendent of Silas Foot.  The Foot family were the first settlers in Wilmar, MN.  Several lakes in that area are named after them. Silas was also involved in the Sioux Uprising of 1862.  More information on that family can be found here.