A Wonderful Man

For those of you who didn't know my grandfather, he was a big man standing at 6'6". He had custom made size 16 shoes. He had a rough exterior and may have intimidated some.



His rough exterior was accompanied by a strong sense of humor. I once brought a date home when grandpa was around. My cheeks flushed when I heard him say "He's not as ugly as you said he was." This was not an uncommon scenario as many of his children and grandchildren have similar stories. He cracked jokes with old friends and strangers he would meet.



My grandpa was not afraid to be himself or to stand alone. My uncle shared a benedictory prayer he once gave in church. All he said was, "Help us to be as good as our parents think we are." My uncle also talked about a time when he alone stood to oppose a sustaining. Many in the congregation were taken aback by this, but it left a lasting impression on my uncle.



My dad spoke of his great faith. He said that my grandpa was comfortable with the life he had led and was not afraid to die. A few days before he passed away, the nurse entered his room and exclaimed that his oxygen level was very low. He replied, "Yes, and I hope it goes a lot lower here pretty soon." I hope I can be as comfortable with the life I have lived before I die.



I fondly remember all of the time he spent with his grandchildren. We spent many hours with him fishing and camping in Wyoming, hauling freshly chopped wood, singing around the campfire, getting a good dose of American folklore, and listening to the many poems he would recite. My favorite can be seen on my blog post on Oct. 10th entitled "I Don't."



He was a man of great valor who had a deep abiding faith in and love for our Savior Jesus Christ and for his Gospel. I am so grateful that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored and is on the earth again. I can't wait to see my grandpa again one day.



The legacy he left was purposeful. He knew who he was and what he wanted to teach his children and grandchildren.

Fun in October with family

We had a blast when my family came to visit. We went everywhere! I love it when family comes. I loved the street play they did at Colonial Williamsburg. My mom has wanted to go to Williamsburg for as long as I can remember. I'm glad I was able to be there when it finally happened. :) Isn't this such a great picture. We took a stroll around Salem Lake on Sunday. It is a beautiful tree lined lake. It may sound cliche, but I love fall on the east coast. I thought nothing could beat North Carolina, but Virgina was spectacular. The colors were so vibrant. Wow, I feel everyone should go to the east coast in the fall at least once in their lifetimes. The Biltmore home is on 8,000 acres! That is a lot of acreage. I love the grotesque gothic style architecture. It reminds me of Notre Dame. Do you like Chase's outfit? Funny story. Chase had a little accident at Williamsburg. It was raining and freezing. Chase needed some clothes and he needed them right then. We rushed to the nearest children's clothing boutique and almost died when we looked at the prices on the stickers. We bought this shirt and pants from the clearance rack. The combo is hideous, but I like the pieces separately. I'm sure every mother that saw him wanted to teach his mother a thing or two about how to dress a baby. Here we are at Jamestown. This is the oldest settlement in America. I loved the history! Here we are at Yorktown. This is where the British surrendered to the American Army. It felt like we were walking on very sacred ground. This is Chase and I at Williamsburg when his clothes still matched. This is what I call early indoctrination. Visiting Monticello was my favorite. I had just finished reading John Adams a couple of months before and had learned a lot about Thomas Jefferson. This solidified everything I had already learned. Beautiful trees at Old Salem Here we are at God's Acre, a Moravian cemetery. Everyone is buried in a chorus according to age.

Halloween Party

Why Steve is the best

I love Steve for a lot of reasons.



I spent all of Chase's naps and a lot of the day preparing for an FHE lesson night that I was hosting. I had five people sign up to come and nobody showed. I was a little let down. Everyone is pretty busy especially at this time of year, so I understand.



Steve came and did everything he could to cheer me up. He even offered to play a game with me because he knows how much I love games. I'm so grateful for Steve and for taking the time to show how much he cares.

Milk and Bookies

A friend, Ashley Kelley, hosted a service project here in Winston Salem. It's a national organization called Milk and Bookies. Kids come and choose a book they would like to donate. I was able to help with the service project and had a blast doing it. I really want to try this in NY. You can even do this for a birthday party. If anyone is interested in hosting one or finding out more information, here is the link: www.milkandbookies.org. I stole these pictures from Danielle's blog, oops. This is the real Disneyworld Belle! How cool is that. Belle is my favorite Disney princess. She arranged for local celebrities to come and read stories to the kids.

Grandparents Day

Grandparents day was on the 12th of September. We are almost exactly a month late in posting this; however, we feel it is never too late to thank those who have done so much for us. We love you all!

Grandma and Grandpa Porter

I have so many memories of my Grandpa and Grandpa Porter. I remember sleeping over at their house with cousins and playing hide-n-seek. That was my favorite. I always hid in the same spot, and so did grandpa, but we still had fun. I also remember going camping and fishing with them. Yes, Wyoming was the spot. I love Wyoming and everything that goes with it: the Snake River, the swimming,the fishing, the canoeing, eating the fish and you get the point. In fact, I already wrote about this a few weeks ago. I will always remember my grandma's contagious laugh and the stories as well as the memorized poems that my grandpa told around the campfire.

One of grandpa's poems

I don't

My parents say I must not smoke,

I don't

Nor listen to a naughty joke.

I don't

They make it clear that I must not think about intoxicating drink.

I don't

To dance and flirt is even wrong. I don't

Some chase women, wine, and song. I don't

I kiss no girls, not even one. I don't even know how it is done. You wouldn't think I had much fun.

I don't

Grandma and Grandpa Cottrell

I spent a lot of time with my Grandma and Grandpa Cottrell. So even though they have both been gone for a few years now, I have very poignant memories of my time with them. I remember playing jewelry store with my grandma and listening to records. I also remember all of the delicious food, especially the soups, that she would make. Some of it was for us, but most of it was for the neighbors. That's how my grandma was, always looking for someone she could serve. I love her for it. My grandpa would have us work in the garden with him and pick the fruit from the abundance of fruit trees. My grandpa also took time to help me learn how to draw. I still love to draw and I think my grandpa helped me to realize that talent of love for art. Before my grandpa died he wrote a three page little booklet for his grandkids.

Here are some suggestions from it.

Be kind. Remember that those around us suffer from loneliness, experience failure, struggle to pay bills, worry about health problems and are often weighted with trouble. I ask you--be kind. It is the greatest gift you can give and it costs you nothing.

Pray not for things, but for wisdom and courage.

Learn to listen. Opportunity sometimes knocks very softly.

Love, Elyse

Memory with Grandma Pessetto

When I was about 15 I remember having a family reunion in Wyoming. We rented four wheelers and rode all over the place. Every time we came back to the cabin, Grandma was happy to hear about our adventures and to make sure we had enough food to eat. We also played games around a camp fire and had a lot of fun being together as a family.

Memory with Nana and Poppy

One of the many little-kid memories I have is of sleeping over at Nana and Poppy’s house in a tent! Nate, Devin, and I were the first to use it. After a hard day of playing in the yard and jumping on the neighbor’s trampoline, Poppy set up a red tent that looked large enough to sleep ten. I brought in my sleeping bag and was all ready to crawl in when, to my surprise, Poppy brought in a cot. I had never seen a cot inside a tent and wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. Poppy explained that you sleep on it and I, after some hesitation, repositioned and crawled into my sleeping bag.

The next morning Nana and Poppy made waffles and let us put as much syrup as we wanted on them. I purposefully made a waffle island in a sea of syrup and ate every last drop. It was a great weekend.

Love, Steve

A welcome addition

I may get a bit sentimental here. If you start feeling queasy...well, I warned you. I had to post these because I just received them. This is my brother Royce and my sister-in-law Rachel. They are a great couple and so perfect for each other. They both love sports, doing puzzles, the outdoors, and reading. Don't worry, they also have enough differences for a healthy, well-rounded relationship. She looks like a princess in this picture, and Royce looks like her knight in shining armor. I feel so grateful that Rachel is a part of our family. She and I have some commonalities and she is someone I would've been very good friends with had we roomed together or served together in the mission field. Don't worry Rachel, we will have plenty of opportunities to get to know each other. I'm sorry to inform you, but you are going to be seeing a lot of me around. I looked at this picture for a couple minutes and felt overwhelmed by all of the people that I love. Looking at the people I love in this picture makes me so grateful that family is eternal: no empty seats! Look at the man in the bottom right hand corner. That is my grandpa. Don't you love the face he is pulling?! Click on the picture for a better view. My family

Wake Forest vs. Duke

Wake Forrest won! I must say that is all I know about the game because I didn't any (I almost wrote much, but had to cross that out)of it. I guess that's what happens when you go to a football game with good friends. Why watch the game? Having a good time is 100% about the people you are with. Oh, and it rained most of the game. We were drenched. We made ourselves look like die-hard season ticket holders because we stuck it to almost the end of the game. Great stuff. I can't wait for the next one.

Oh how I love the water. My extended family started going to Wyoming every year long before I can remember. They now go over Labor Day weekend. We would run the Snake River, sometimes take the canoes and kayaks to a nearby lake, and swim at a pool in Astoria or Jackson Hole. My family also enjoyed going to Lake Powell once a year. I think that is where I would like to retire one day. The funny thing is we still went back every year after coming home more red than a ripe tomato. Steve also loves the water. Growing up, he enjoyed going to nearby beaches with his family and life-guarding at Walden pond. He also enjoyed going canoeing and sailing. He actually took me sailing on our honeymoon. I can't wait to go again. We were not able to go to Wyoming with the rest of the clan this year, but made our own fun filled water weekend. On Saturday we went to Bolton Pool and played in their spray ground. We thought this might be fun for Chase. Unfortunately, the water in the spray ground was a bit too cold for any child or grownup to enjoy. We smiled long enough to take the picture and then made a mad dash for the bigger, much more comfortable pool. Isn't this a great picture of Steve and Chase? On Monday we went to the beach with our friends, the Footes. This is Chase in the sand, his favorite part. Don't try to tell Chase that sand doesn't taste good. He didn't stop after one handful. If you can't read our sand art, it says Labor Day '10. Steve's shoulder is a little sore from attempting to surf. He did pretty well for his second or third time. Surfing is hard, just ask anyone who knows how to do it. He's looking forward to giving it another go. We also rented a boogie board, which was fun. I personally liked swimming the best. We enjoyed spending time with the Footes, and with each other, and look forward to another water filled Labor Day weekend.

We didn't see a bear

We went hiking in Pilot Mountain, which is the same Pilot Mountain referred to in the Andy Griffith show. Next time we go we'll have to get a pack for our big man Chase, who has grown out of his little man infant carrier. We are having so much fun seeing the sights unique to North Carolina.

8 months old!

Chase is 8 months old! As far as I can tell he is 28" and weighs 19 lbs. It can be hard to get his exact length when he tries to eat the tape measure.

Chase laughing

Family Pictures...what a good looking family!

Chase's first time at the ocean. This is my families favorite beach,Wingaersheek beach, there are lots of rocks to climb and when the tide goes out three tidal pools appear with size and depths similar to a clubhouse swimming pool.

Chase loved the ocean. He would sit at the edge of the water and splash and laugh when the waves rolled up to him. He also loved motoring through the water; i.e. dad holding him running him through the water. When a wave would come he would laugh, or sputter if his face went under. Surprisingly he never cried after a wave got him in the face, instead he would blink his little eyes and use his little tongue to lick up as much salt water as possible. He is a little fish! Once he got tired of swimming, I buried him up to his waist in sand. He thought sand was the most interesting thing in the world, until he ate a handful. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to watch both hands go for the sand. Of course, he didn't like eating sand as much as salt water and told me so with a bout of tears. Poor little guy!

Chase at the 4th of July parade. My mother took him to use as a shield so we would try to get her wet. Problem is, Chase loves the water!

I think I'm going to submit this picture to a contest of sorts. I can say, with no bias whatsoever, that he is the cutest baby I've ever seen.

The race!

Danielle and Chase.

We had a wonderful time with family in Boston and are looking forward to the next trip. I was fortunate that my boss was on vacation and I didn't have to work practically at all. Hopefully, the same thing happens every time we visit family.

Utah in June

I'm back from my short blogging hiatus. We've been spending quality-time with family. We went to Utah in June for Royce and Rachel's wedding. It was a nice getaway. Grandma Porter with Chase Chase took his first canoe ride and loved it. The little life jacket brings back many boating memories with Dayne bobbing in the water in that yellow jacket. The girls at youth conference are already batting their eyes at Chase. Maegan's mom made us a yummy salad for lunch. Maegan and I were best friends most of middle school and did everything together in high school. When we went to dances the boys we went with made certain we were in the same group. Having a picnic at Ledgemere Grandpa and Chase, two peas in a jacket Another dear friend who couldn't get enough of Chase Chalece's family moved into the neighborhood when I was in second grade, and she has been one of my best friends ever since. Our families have also enjoyed many trips to Lake Powell. We thought Chase might feel silly if he was the only one with his fist in his mouth. They blocked off the room that we were in at the restaurant, and so we decided it was the perfect time for a silent dance party. We had such a blast in Utah! Thank you all. I wish I had some pictures with Devin and my mission companion Kristen. It was fun spending time with both of them.