Wahoo!!!

Yesterday was a big day. We finally closed on our house. I feel like we've been looking at houses for months and months and months. There have been endless emails and a constant scrambling for paperwork. There were countless conversations about interest rates and profit margins and how-can-we-avoid-a-rehab-loan???!!!! (the answer ended up being to just back out of the situation). And of course there was that interval where we totally changed our minds about what we felt we wanted . . . and the stars aligned and this happened:

Our realtor is really a rockstar, and of course she gave us a bottle of wine to celebrate . . . oh well. We were so excited to be done!

Here's a link to a google maps sight of the house (it's the brick one). We have not had an official photo shoot yet.

Neither of us had really eaten anything all day so we went to a Japanese steak house! I had never been and it was so awesome. The restaurant was mostly empty so we just got to sit and soak in what had happened.

Later in the night we went to the house with Joe, Alana, Cindy (Alana's mom), Jens and Casey (Alana's brother-in-law) and ate ice cream on the front porch. It was fun to have other people in the house other than us, our realtor, the plumber and the inspector! Our ward is helping us move tomorrow because we have to be out of our apartment before June! I'll post lots more pictures in a day or two.

In other news, as it happens, all my grades are in as of yesterday and I am officially a college graduate. Yes!

Joseph Cornwall

Cornwall Line

Joseph Cornwall

Joseph and Charlotte Cornwall

Father of Joseph Alexander Cornwall, Grandfather of J. Spencer Cornwall, Great Grandfather of J. Shirl Cornwall.  Here are a few excepts from the history of Joseph Cornwall written by one of his children in 1932.  It is beautifully written and describes his love for and sacrifice for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

One hundred years ago, (August 27, 1832) a youngster was born of a poor family in the way off country of Ireland.  He was named Joseph Cornwall.  The parents were of humble rank and were not favored with fortune.  The conditions then existing in Ireland were such that families of their cast could enjoy but few comforts and limited educational advantages.  The family consisted of father, mother and six children - two girls and four boys.

It has been said that he had a desire for the ministry.  This denied, he occupied most of his spare time in the interest of self improvement.  But he was born under a lucky star.  Five months before his spirit was permitted to leave its birth place, the architects had hewn the small stone and given it momentum.  A sentence had saluted the startled ear.  They had broken their long silence.  April 6, 1830 had rolled around.  The worthy forerunner whose voice had been stilled for 1900 years had reappeared.  The groves were still God’s temples.  The prayer for light and knowledge had ascended and the petition granted.  Earth kissed heaven in a grand salute.  Light and knowledge had come forth. Once more earth’s inhabitants could hear a prophet’s voice.  The remnants of lost and scattered Israel had their ears to the ground. 

This family in Ireland was awaiting the tidings.  They were to hear the story from the new world.  A few short years of waiting and it burst upon them.  Men clothed with the long-lost authority knocked at their door.  Their language was simple but their testimony was unimpeached.  Their ears heard and their hearts were touched. One by one the members of the family were converted to this absorbing story until all but three joined.  The desire to leave their native land and gather with this “peculiar people” became contagious.  It was now apparent that this hitherto happy family were now to be gathered or scattered.

Records have it that father was baptized August 22, 1851, being then about nineteen years old.  Some time after, he was ordained an elder and enjoyed the privilege of presiding in his native land.

Ten years passed between his joining the church and leaving for America.  This period was marked with such serious consequences that it required more than ordinary courage and determination for its accomplishment.  The regret that his mother could not see the truth as it had impressed him; the hardships attending his church activities in the little branch; the constant dream of his leaving the land of his birth and gathering with the people of his accepted faith; the leaving behind of his beloved mother with only a stone to mark her resting place; the privations and hardships that he knew would attend his emigration weighed heavily upon his mind.  His force of will power and more than human determination to accomplish this desire will excite the admiration of all future generations. 

 Oh that last line - His force of will power and more than human determination to accomplish this desire will excite the admiration of all future generations - that is us.  I have typed up his complete history and will be sharing more in the future - but it did excite my admiration.  Thanks be to Joseph Cornwall who recognized the truth and did something about it.

Memories of Memorial Day

This year was the first year that we didn't go to 1213 for a Memorial Day - Open the Pool Party. I guess dad and I will just have to get used to that. Thought you would enjoy some pics from past years. Grandma and Grandpa Hodgkinson even got in one of the yearly festivities when we celebrated Jason's birthday out at the Cornwalls. Enjoy!!!

I'm surrounded by pretty super people!!

Click on above image for Sister Cornwall's latest letter

Memorial Day!

We just have a few pictures from our comings and goings yesterday in Columbus. It was a gorgeous day and probably our last free day before the house takes up all our time. So of course, I begged spencer to let me get a slushy . . . which he kindly allowed.

 We spent a good part of the day looking at appliances for the house . . . we were hoping to cash in on some memorial day sales, but nothing was a smashing deal so we're going to wait.

And of course, another project for the house; on one of our many antique-shopping trips, we spotted this sturdy looking table. The only problem was that it had been made for a catholic pre-school and was about 5 inches too short. Since then we have sanded it down and made little legs for it (with a LOT of help from Spencer's brother, Joe) and it almost ready to move into our little house.

We also got to go swimming at Joe and Alana's, although their pool was very cold - so we missed having grandpa Cornwall heat it up for memorial day!

A couple of fun pictures and two cute Girls

MB and Emary are so cute. Here is a picture from the Saturday before mothers  day going out to eat for Breakfast.

In our town there is a section of the dump that is called "mall." It is a place where you can bring unwanted items and a place to find unwanted items. #anothermanstrash. We were there this week and spotted this purple bike. As you can see Emary loves it and the tire was flat. We bought a new intertube and there you go a free bike Emary can grow into. 

Saturday was a big outside day. Mowing the lawn was tops on the list. Emary found a nice place to rest. (Notice the black dress shoes that she loves b/c she can put on herself)

And an updated picture of our back yard after putting done grass seed a few weeks ago

NEWSIES

I know we usually don't share this kind of the thing on the blog - but this was just too much fun.  This is a one-take music video with all the Newsie songs.  The group is Vocal Point - an a capella group from BYU with dancers from all the BYU dance troupes.  Just thought it would make your Saturday morning.  If you have six more minutes check out the "making of" video - So amazing.

Wild Kratt Daniel turns 5

 Birthday Parade

Daniel and Seth really enjoy Wild Kratts so we had a Wild Kratts themed party for Daniel and a few of his buddies.  It was a lot of fun.  We ate lunch and played several creature power games

 cheetah jello

 ants on a log

 fruit butterfly

Eating Lunch

 Butterfly creature power: break out of a cocoon

 Snake creature power: slither like a snake

 Shark creature power: eat as many fish as you can

 Polar bear creature power: walk on ice path

 Cheetah creature power: cheetah tag

 Creature Power Suits

 Wild Anderson Kratts

Hawk and Cheetah cake

 We love our Daniel Boy.

Hawk Creature Power:  Dive after a marshmallow (instead of a real mouse)

Sarah Melsome Hughes Gardner

Gardiner/Hodgkinson

I have wanted to document the stories of how each of our ancestors joined the church.   This is the story of Sarah Melsome Hughes and her husband William Edward Gardiner.  They were the first ones to join the church on the Hodgkinson line.  She is the mother of Hepzibah Gardiner Hodgkinson, Grandmother of Lewis Martin Hodgkinson and Great Grandmother to Melvin J. Hodgkinson.  Her daughter Hepzibah recounts this story:

I was born 7 May 1854 at Chalford Hill, Gloucestershire, England.  My mother died when I was three years old.  She left eight children, the baby being only a few months old.  It died a few months after Mother died.

Mother died a martyr.  She wasn't very well at a time when there was going to be an outdoor meeting (to hear the LDS missionaries Orson Pratt and Charles W. Penrose), so Father asked her if she would go if he took a chair for her to sit on.  As soon as the meeting started, a mob came and broke up the meeting by throwing clods, rocks and rotten eggs at the people.  Mother got the worst of it and she died soon after.  Before her death she was blessed with the gift of tongues and declared until the last the Gospel was true.

When Mother realized she was dying she asked my brother, John, to call all her children to her bedside, then she said, "Now, children, listen to every word I say as I am about to leave you and I want you all to remember what I say.  Where ever you are, on land or on sea, be true to the Gospel, for the Gospel is true.  Yes, the Gospel is true."  Then she breathed her last.  Not one of us ever forgot our mother's plea.  We all immigrated to Utah and were all staunch members of the Church.  Charles W. Penrose, a Mormon missionary, conducted Mother's funeral.

Fathers and Sons and the Cornwall Hilton

Fathers and Sons has just come and gone for the Arcadia Stake.  It was held at Santa Fe Dam.  Dad made an appearance, but didn't spend the night.  No picking up IBC rootbeer or going through Church's Chicken (the one time a year that place was visited by the Cornwalls).  No packing up for hours and hours.  No cranky dirty boys arriving home a few short hours later.  I'm thankful that our dad loved to hang out with his boys. 

I think this was the year that dad tried to point out Jeffrey Road to Jeffrey and then stopped suddenly with traffic.  Jeff cracked the windshield with his head.  That is a tender mercy I need to be thankful for more often.

This picture always made me laugh - You needed a T.V. for spending one night?  That must have been a big operation in those days.  Now these great men - Roger Menlove, Meryl Keller and Clyde Miller aren't around for fathers and sons.