Itchy All Over

This is only a small example of his reaction

We think Kian has an allergy to some type of food. We are not sure what, but you can see what kind of reaction he had. He has never had such a reaction to food before, so we are wondering what it could have been. We know what foods he ate for dinner (that's when he said he started getting itchy), and so we can begin to pinpoint from there. He ate  a hamburger with ketchup, bbq chips (the cheap kind), corn, mint choc. chip ice cream (cheap kind), choc. syrup (cheap kind). Since he has had bbq chips, corn, ketchup, and choc. syrup before, we are thinking that it might be either the kind of hamburger or ice cream flavor (since he has had other flavors of ice cream made by the same company and no reaction).  Whatever it is, this is a first for us and only with Kian.

A New Found Desire

Before I begin, I have to give credit to my Dad and all his hard genealogical work for our family.

Before moving to Missouri, I was complacent that my Dad did as much of the family genealogy as he could. Ever since moving, I have been asked over a dozen times if I am related to so-and-so Musser. My response has always been, "I don't know, but I would like to find out." I even had a past student of mine hand me some names of Musser's that they are related to. However, the same response was all I could give. As of late, I have been in contact, as was my Dad while alive, with a Charles Musser that lives in Las Vegas. He is a distant cousin and has done extensive research on our family.

Ever since getting a hold of Charles, I have had an inner desire to find our family history for myself. He emailed me information about this Musser and that Musser and it was all very intriguing. They were lawyers, fought and died in the Civil War, were editors of newspapers, and more importantly lived and died in and around the area of where I currently live. MY ANCESTORS LIVED IN THIS AREA!?!?! Too cool. Furthermore, this desire really heated up after a trip to the Family History Center in our local church. I was able to possibly find information beyond what my Dad had found. I have been emailing Charles back and forth trying to verify information I found. He send me a stack of information he collected during his research one day, and at this point in time it is a gold mine. I was able to spend an entire morning at the FHC researching and found great information. I found out that my early Musser ancestors were Mennonite and driven from Switzerland in the late 1600's. I discovered that they came to America in 1727 and 1747. I possibly discovered the connection to a long held family legend (that one of my distant cousins, Amos Milton Musser, were friends with the Prophet Joseph Smith). Many more things I discovered and look forward to discover as I continue researching.

After discovering this, I had to call my mom and tell her. After the conversation was over, she mentioned that Dad was stirring the pot and was helping the effort. I don't discount this at all. Now all I want to do is go visit the places where these ancestors are laid to rest and pay my respects. I am grateful for what they have done and went through. My desire is to finally be able to respond to people when asked if I am related to this Musser or that by saying YES, I am.

A Hundred Thousand Years

Tonight as Ella, Abby, and Felicity climbed into their beds and as normal bedtime procedures for the girls, they gather things into their beds. Books are OK, but toys are not. Abby wanted a book Ella had. I told Abby that she would have to wait for her turn. Abby wasn't satisfied with that and so she demanded that Ella give her the piece of fabric being used as  a bookmark. I tell Abby to get into bed and she comments, "Ella, you can't touch my things for a hundred thousand years." The comment Ella made ended this conversation. "Abby, you are going to be dead in a hundred thousand years." Ella knows that she will be able to play with Abby's things well before a hundred thousand years.

I think a diving board is in order

Sunday night into Monday morning, we were hit with severe thunderstorms with wind and lots, and lots, and lots of lightning and rain. It started around 11:00 Sunday and lasted until 3:30 Monday morning and actually beyond. So as with other times when it rained, I checked the hole to see how much water was in it and how long it would set me back from continuing to dig. What I found amazed me.

Anyone for a swim?

Yes, it is completely filled with water. To be exact, that's 144 cubic feet of water sitting in where my storm shelter is supposed to be. Amazing that this amount of rain actually fell in one night!

To say the least, I don't think that I will be digging for a couple weeks , Eh? Looks like I get to focus on other things around the house/land, like cutting/chopping wood for winter.

Our Title of Liberty

Tonight for FHE, I had the opportunity of giving the lesson. I decided to talk about peoples names and why are they important. Abby and Rhyetta mentioned that they identify us, so others know what to call you, and to what family you belong to. I then talked about Captain Moroni and what he did to identify to others what he believed. Captain Moroni, being the righteous military leader that he was, rallied the people behind him using the Title of Liberty declaring to all he fought for freedom, religion, his God, and family.

We decided to follow in his footsteps and we made our own Musser Family "Title of Liberty" or in other words a mission statement.

It reads:

"The Musser Family stands for and defends truth, righteousness, agency, charity, service, healthy living, love, and peace. By living the gospel of Jesus Christ and following the prophet, having fun together, and being kind to each other, our family will be forever happy and safe."

Like Captain Moroni, we plan to post this in our home as a constant reminder of what we believe.

A little setback

Well, I have encountered something that I hope will resolve itself rather quickly, so I can get back digging. A few days ago, my right elbow has started to really hurt when under strain. Yesterday, instead of digging I continued to cut up a fallen tree so our wood supply for the winter will grow. Well, when I was done, I commented to Rhyetta about the pain and she said it sounds like tennis elbow. With that being said I looked it up on WebMd and some of the symptoms listed I am experiencing. Today, I took it easy and just did some light cutting of wood. Picking up branches to cut, and even picking up a cup of water was discomforting.

Now, I am not one to carry on and waaa. I am more likely to work through pain to get a job finished. However, I think it wise to let my elbow rest from the rigor of digging for a bit so it can heal. Unfortunately, there are a myriad of other tasks around the house and yard that need to be tended to. I know my mom would tell me, "Take it easy," and so I am.

And the thunder rolled on day 4 of digging

On digging day 4, the hot weather has broken and there was a cool breeze to work in. After helping dig in the garden for Rhyetta, I decided to get working in "The Hole." I have started to get to just clay now, and let me tell you the fun has just begun.

As Rhyetta worked in the garden and I worked in "The Hole", the thunder started to roll. The clouds were moving in. There were a few sprinkles, but gratefully and thankfully that was it. It is kind of a catch 22. We want it to rain to water the garden and flowers Rhyetta has planted, but I don't so I don't have a big pool in our back yard.


After finishing today, Kian and the other kiddos came out to play. Kian posed for some pictures to show how deep it is getting.

I am so glad that I can provide some fun and excitement for my kids while I dig a hole (3 feet down, 3 to go).