Pioneer

{Ida Frances Hunt Udall~my great-great grandmother}

I love music.  All kinds of music.  But rarely has a song touched my heart like one of the newest country songs by The Band Perry—“Pioneer”.

Those of you who’ve visited me over the years know that I love the people who came before me.  All of them. 

Many of them truly were pioneers…the ones that crossed the prairies of this land—climbed the mountains, carved out the roads, fought the fights, lost their lives…and I love them and their stories.  

Which is why this song spoke to me the way it did…

{a stretched 12x24” black canvas was the perfect background for this chalkboard-style “ode” to my pioneers}

Just in case you can’t read my writing, I’ll share the lyrics with you here—and call upon a few of my own pioneers to illustrate…

{Mary Ann Bates Ellsworth.  My husband’s 4th great-grandmother}

Oh Pioneer,
I sing your song…
It's the hymn of those who've gone before and those who carry on

{Jesse Nathaniel Smith.  My 2nd great-grandfather}

 Pioneer
Your work is hard.
But the future of us all rests on the shoulders of your heart--

{Mary Jane Robinson West.  My 3rd great-grandmother} 

Where are we going?
Oh, I don't know
But still I've got to go.
What will become of us?
Oh, I don't care
All I know is I'll go anywhere
Pioneer.

{Edmund Lovell Ellsworth.  My husband’s 4th great-grandfather}

Oh Pioneer
So young and brave--
Be careful of the careful souls who doubt you along the way--

{Louisa Barnes Pratt.  My 4th great-grandmother} 

Pioneer,
You orphaned child--
Your mother is adventure and your father is the wild…

{Jonas Ostlund.  My great-great-grandfather} 

Where are we going?
Oh I don't know--
But still I've got to go
What will become of us?
Oh I don't care--
All I know is I'll go anywhere
Pioneer

{Lois Pratt Hunt.  My 3rd great-grandmother}

Let your heart not be troubled…

{Hans Heinrich Braendli.  My 3rd great-grandfather}

I won't run when bullets chase me.
I won't rest where arms embrace me.
I will love when people hate me.
I won't hush, no you can't make me.

{Augusta Maria Outzen Smith.  My great-great grandmother}

Send the dark but it won't break me.
You can try but you can't change me.
Take my life, they will replace me.
I won't hush, no you can't make me--

{Almon Whiting Babbitt.  My 4th great-grandfather}

Where are we going?
Oh, I don't know--
But still I've got to go
What will become of us?
Oh, I don't care--
All I know is I'll go anywhere--
Pioneer.

Let your heart not be troubled…..

{Margaret Cooper West.  My 3rd great-grandmother}

My heart is filled with gratitude for my pioneers—for all they sacrificed and suffered so that I could raise my children in a free and beautiful place…

…and to The Band Perry for their beautiful words—their tribute to those who’ve gone before that struck such a chord in my heart…

Julie

“Let your heart not be troubled…”

LiveJournal Tags: Pioneers,The Band Perry,ancestors

Living Well

We all want to be better people, I think.

Better wives, better mothers, better daughters, better sisters, better friends…

{pretty floral scallop found in Crafty Secrets’ digital sewing set}

…just better people.

Could seem daunting, if we try to change and become that person all at once—but I don’t think we have to do that…

I think, maybe, it’s just changing in little ways….bit by bit.  Day by day, thought by thought, word by word, action by action…

A little bit better every day, until we finally become the person we know we should be.

Maybe it’s not so very hard after all…

Julie

LiveJournal Tags: art journal,thoughts,improvement

My Girl

You’re just going to have to forgive me today for being a very, very proud momma…

My beautiful middle daughter graduates from high school this week…

{I love the beautiful capturing of my sweet photographer child who doesn’t like to be photographed herself!}

…and I couldn’t be more pleased with the young lady she’s turned out to be…

{these photographs capture so beautifully her love of photography and reading…and orange sneakers!}

…for the good choices she makes, the friends that she keeps, the talents she has…

…the love that she shares…

{with my youngest daughter, who was along for the photo shoot at the beautiful, old San Juan Bautista Mission}

…the future she’s planning, the values she believes in, her faith, her hope…

…her beauty, her smile…just her. Every little bit of her.

I love you, my Rosie.

Mommy

{And I’m so grateful to our wonderful photographer friend (my “adopted daughter”) who captured her so beautifully & so naturally—Thank-you, Elizabeth.}

LiveJournal Tags: Rosie,graduation,photography,Elizabeth Newby