AnnMarie and Summer in a Photo

I babysat Summer after Melanie went back to school in the fall. Melanie had taken care of her during the summer. This was in 1978 through 1979. I really enjoyed her but then I got pregnant with David and had to quit. I kept it up for a time until I got larger and was having so much trouble with my back and hip. I was sad to see her go and felt sorry that I could not care for her. Her mother was the county extension agent. There was just Summer at the time. Summer had a rough time adjusting to a new babysitter and I really did feel terrible about not being able to keep up. I started for the newspaper after that and would have had a difficult time watching her at any rate. 

Melanie wrote: Brenda and Dale Bradford were the parents. Summer and Colin were the children at that time.

Myrna wrote: Melanie, you did babysit them both after that at times, did you not? I don't really remember Colin.


Melanie wrote: Yes, by about two years. You watched Summer, then you became pregnant just after she had Colin. You felt horrible, because your back was bothering you so much, that you couldn't keep watching her children, because they wanted to be held all the time and you couldn't do it.
Mel


Myrna wrote: I don't know that I watched Colin. I think I only watched Summer. Now that I think about it, I think Colin was born around the same time as David. I do remember that I hated to stop watching Summer but I just could not lift her. I really did love her. I could get down easier than I could lift up and I would change her diapers while she laid on the floor. I had to boost her up onto the sofa so she could nap. Then I would sit by her and sing to her. I really did think I was being unfair to her because I could not hold her as she liked to be held. Her mom had Annette Lovell watch her for a month but she did not think that Annette was clean enough. That surprised me. I didn't ever think I managed to be particularly tidy though I did try and so did you older kids. She told me that she found an older lady in her ward who watched Summer and just doted on her. So that was good.

I wanted to tell all of you about my newest adventure so am sending this to each of you

Eva wrote: I wanted to tell all of you about my newest adventure so am sending this to each of you who I have email addresses.

When I was on my mission, one of the couples was from Liberty, Missouri ( Harvey and Laura Evans). I have stayed in touch with many of the missionaries including these  two.  Unfortunately, Harvey passed away suddenly  not quite two years ago.

Sometime ago, the Church awarded a contract to my son, David, an architect to design a new Stake Center  building. It is built on the same property as the new  Kansas Area Temple that was announced a couple years ago in General Conference.

Until I received a letter from Laura several months ago that their  Temple in Liberty was coming right along,  I had no idea that was where it was. A couple weeks ago, she called me on a Thursday morning and said she had talked to their Stake President and he said the dedication of their new Stake Center would be on the 6th of November and that I needed to come and be there for it.

I talked to David and he and Eulale (his wife) will be going one the 3rd for meetings
he has on Friday and Saturday. I also called Richard and he got me a first class ticket so I could be more comfortable and a wheel chair so I won't have to walk far. He has lots  of flying miles which he used for me. I am really excited to be there and to also see the Temple exterior at least.  

Laura called me back and asked me to stay a few more days, but I could not change my ticket so she said I have to come back again so she can take me to all of the things and places there are to see back there.
 
Well, that is a synopsis of my plans. I am excited but a bit anxious; I have not been on a flying trip for a very long time.  It should be a great experience.
 
I hope all is all with you and yours. God bless you all.

Love, you,
     Grandma and Eva

Myrna wrote: Three cheers for you!!!!! I am so happy for you and I know that you will have a wonderful time. It will be great to be at a stake center dedication for a building that David designed. Congratulations to him, as well. And how wonderful it is of Richard to make certain that you get to travel in comfort (and style). You certainly deserve all of the great treatment. Have fun. We will be thinking about you and your great adventure.

Golden Wedding Anniversary Flowers Are Lasting Well

Myrna wrote: Melanie, the flowers you arranged, and paid for, are still blooming, fresh-looking and beautiful. The water today is looking a bit murky so, in the a.m., I will change it again. Other than that, they are still gorgeous. Thank you!!!! The roses are about had, however. I treated them the same as the sunflowers but they must not be as sturdy because the blooms are starting to look dry.

CD Vs Other Methods of Transferring Thousands of Photos

CDs are the preferred method of transferring photos from my hands to yours, at least, of the majority of you. Most of you have no trouble accepting emailed photos but you do get tired of having to deal with email when you have had a long day working. I guess you can look at CDs on the computer when you feel like it.

The concern with the site is that you all have to have a password and that never works with our family. I don't know why, it just doesn't. Tell me how many of you visited MyFamily.com? How many of you visit "I Heard It Trough the Trauntvein" our family blog site? Once again, I am betting, it is because you can't remember your password. You need to make it something simple, that you can remember.

You are all worried about the expense of burning CDs. That is the least of my concerns. I certainly can afford $20 once a month for a container of 20 CDs. My concern was the time and Dad's complaints about how much time I spent doing it. Getting a CD ready to print takes some time and then 5-7 minutes per CD (about an hour) to burn them takes a bit more. I usually start them burning and then work on other projects in the office because, just as sure as I leave, the stupid CD will decide that it is unprintable and I have to eject it, throw it away, and insert a new CD. That never happens if I stick around. (And don't tell me it is because of the brand of CDs I use. I have tried several brands.) Dad said he will be content with the time issue because it is evident that you all want the CDs.

Burning CDs is like doing dishes. You think you are done and things are looking nice and then you have to start over again. In the kitchen, someone gets a drink and there is a glass to wash and at CD burning time, someone sends a great photo. Oh well. At least I am not dealing with bees like Dad and Jim.

However, Kirsten, I liked the site that you started and, if we want to post a few photos there from our ancient pasts and see how well the family uses it, it might be worth a gamble. AnnMarie doesn't want any of her kids' names attached to any of the photos. Neither does Julie. It is great being loved in small town America. That means that everyone will need a password.

     

Additions to the Golden Wedding Guest Book

Myrna wrote: Amy, while you are still working to finish the booklet you made for us for the guest to sign at the open house, could you print these off and put them in the book, please? They are the emails. Or I could.

Amy wrote: SURE THING :)

Myrna wrote: That's just one of the reasons I love you. You are just so thoughtful. Thanks.

Nanci Done wrote: "I Love this!!!!! Happy Anniversary! Awwwww!

Maxine Gordon wrote: "Congratulations! Thanks for the invitation. It is nice to be remembered. I have really enjoyed my associations with you."

Ella Dean Hunter wrote: "I want to congratulate you. You are two of my favorite people. And I want to send my congratulations. I will not be able to come but you both have my very best. Love you and my very best go to you. I so much loved working in the temple with you, and I have missed you."

Kathee Terry Zenger wrote: "Congratulations to two very wonderful people! Your family touched and helped me growing up and I still am influenced by them today. Have the knowledge to know that your marriage has influenced and affected more than just your own children.

Lisa Blackett wrote: "Congratulations to an awesome couple that has touched my life :)"

Emily McCabe Allison wrote: "Wow! "Congratulations Myrna and Leonard!!! That’s what my Juab Teacher looks like now!!!"

Sharon Stanworth Jarrett wrote: "Happy Anniversary"

Tami Talbot Day wrote: "Congrats to one of my favorite couples!"

Sheralyn Jones Brown wrote: "Congratulations, Brother and Sister Trauntvein! What a wonderful couple you are and what a great family you have raised! Thank you for the great example!"

Caren Wilcox wrote: "Congratulations Cousin Myrna! I loved the announcement in the post. All the best for the future with your family."

Charlotte Ann Smith Freeman wrote: "Congrats, sis!!! You are two very good people and I'm happy we've known each other even longer than your 50 years together!"

Cynthia Mikesell wrote: "CONGRATULATIONS!!!"

Janeen Howick B wrote: "Congratulations Myrna and Leonard!!!! WOW!!!!"

Pat Fullmer Howard wrote: "How wonderfu lMyrna & Leonard, Happy Anniversary....."

DeAnn Sperry Baxter wrote: "This is soooo awesome!!! Love you both!!!"

J Ross Christensen wrote: "Congratulations! Here's to another 50. And THEN on to eternity."

Patsy Ragle wrote: "Happy Anniversary to you both!! I hope that you have an eternity of love and happieness!! I think the world of both of you!! all my love!

Patsy"

Suzie Talbot Applegate wrote: "Wow! 50 years ~ what a great accomplishment! Wishing you many, many more!!!"

Deborah Knight Wilson wrote: "Congratulations! Doesn't time go fast???"

Susie Fairbanks wrote: “Myrna, you're so cute! I figured it was something like that. Love your picture on your 50th anniversary announcement! You make such a cute couple! It's neat to see how you both looked on your wedding day! 50 years is such an incredible milestone! My parents will be married 50 years next May 29 so you were married a few months before they were. I'm hoping we can make it down to Nephi for your golden anniversary celebration. That would be so much fun! Rich is nervous about driving back to Orangeville that night. He doesn't like night driving, especially with it being deer season. We'll have to see how things work out. Would love to see you!! Thank you so much for the invite! I consider you a close friend, too! :)”

Becky Leavitt Christensen wrote: "Jared wonders if he could bring a few swords and have a sword fight. :) that is awesome, you guys are great and we miss you."

Kyle Ashworth wrote: "Congrats you two."

About Photo Sharing: I Just Don't Know

Photo sharing is becoming extremely popular on the Internet, especially with the increased participation in social networking websites. While there are specific photo swapping sites available for those who want to share their photographs, what if you want to pick and choose who is allowed to view them? Most websites have little or no way of setting limitations on the photographs you share, as far as who can view, share or distribute them. When there are privacy settings available, they are often difficult to set up or there are loops around them that allow strangers to view your precious memories.

Thankfully there are ways of protecting these memories, and the best way is throughsecure photo sharing by digitally locking up the photos you share. You can choose the privacy level you desire and exactly who can and cannot view your photographs. Why would you need such a service?

Below are three important reasons you might want to consider locking up your photographs. Which is important to you?

1. Copyright Infringement

Whether you take photographs of your family for fun, or are an avid nature photographer who likes to sell your photos online, it’s important to protect the rights of your photos. If you allow the public to view your photographs, it’s very hard to protect them from being downloaded and used in various ways. Others may even take your beautiful pictures and sell them as your own. Keep the copyrights to your work safe by securing them. Websites such as Keep and Share make it possible to not only digitally lock up your photos, but still share them with other parties or family members as needed.

2. Privacy Issues

If you are an avid user of social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace, you know how important online privacy is. Though sites such as those allow privacy options for your photos, often the settings are difficult to figure out by the average person. This allows your private photographs to be visible to anyone who can find your profile. Considering that most of us take pictures of what is most priceless to us, it is understandable that you would want to protect the privacy of those photographs. Securing pictures digitally keeps strangers from glancing into your life, and can even protect your possessions from theft.

3. Safety and Protection

One of the biggest reasons to secure your photographs digitally is to protect the health and safety of your family, especially children. If you want to share pictures of your family as they grow and change, you can do so without sacrificing their innocence as they are exposed to strangers’ wandering eyes. Though we would all like to think nothing bad will ever happen to our children, the sad fact is that children are at the greatest risk for abuse. Secure photo sharing allows you to pick and choose exactly who can see your children, which gives you as the parent the greatest control over their safety.

Questions from Myrna

Do you want to receive photos?

Do you want to receive photos via email?

Do you want me to post to a site?

The problem, as I see it, is that we have to password protect a photo site and no one ever uses such sites because they don't remember the password.

Kirsten's idea:

Kirsten sent an example of one place you can do it that is very secure. Only those we send a link to can access the photos and we have to enter their email addresses and we can also select to let only those we share the link with (the siblings and me) to contribute photos. It is called picasaweb.

I did download some of the photos on the site Kirsten recommended. Go and see what you think.


Kirsten wrote: I still think we can upload a majority of photos using a secure site.  We could leave those with ams and Julie's kids off.  Most of the photos I think the majority of us want are the younger years of our family and genealogy type photos.  What does everyone else think?

Melanie wrote: For the same reason that others can only receive a few photo emails. There is a quota and a size for each file, to protect the user from receiving junk mail or viruses. The one system that we use with Braden is photobucket. You can invite only family if you want and anyone can upload photos or download photos, as long as they have access to the site. Melanie

Myrna wrote: Thanks. Who is going to decide what we do? Kirsten also had an idea. Why don't you work  it out together and let me know. 

AnnMarie: I know that you are trying to stay out of the latest family "discussion" though I have tossed your name about. However, I would like to know your thoughts on the photos and putting them on a site vs emailing them. I suppose you want this kept private between us. But I value your knowledge and would like to know what you think about the safety of sites. I suppose that the only safe way is to save them to CDs but Dad thinks that takes too much time and he may be right. It is not a question of expense. But there are a lot of photos and it takes hours to scan them--about 15 minutes per scan. Then, on top of that, it take five minutes to burn a CD. I have to stay with it because, one out of 10 or so, will not burn properly. Is there a safe way to post them to a site which takes about 5 minutes per photo (as opposed to the 5 minutes per CD burn times 10)? Is there a safe site? Kirsten and Todd think all the sites can be protected. Eric likes either CDs or email. David likes a site or CDs. Julie does not like sites. Kimberly has also stayed silent. Melanie thinks that a site would be a solution though she has lots of capacity on her computer. What do YOU think? You work with sickos and have training in ways to protect yourself and, therefore, I value your opinion.

Talk over all your ideas with AnnMarie and Julie. They both have concerns with sites. I didn't used to but, last week, I typed my name into google because I was looking for an article I had written a number of years ago. I found it, no surprise. I also found, on public access, three e-mails I had sent to others from my sisna account way back then. They were word for word--my reply to one and the email they had sent me--and I started to think that once something is on the web it is on the web. I don't know if I am just worried of ghosts and goblins but it did make me think.

Of course, that being said, I have sent the photos via email.

AnnMarie wrote: I like the pictures.  I don't care how they are delivered.  If you do it on a site, don't include names of my kids.

Shawn wrote: I have appreciated receiving the CD’s in the past, but that is more costly for you. Online takes time to download, especially if you can’t do a whole folder at a time, and I don’t spend an a lot of time on computers once I leave work. Also, it seemed some of the sites charged you annually. Email might overwhelm size limits sometimes. I wonder if a server or a computer with remote access turned on would be a good way to do it, of course we would want a password again.


Melanie wrote: There were so many emails to read, I thought I would start at the bottom (the newest comes first) and read to the top. I responded before I had read all 52 emails. I like the photobucket idea and I also like Kirsten's idea.

With a family as large as ours, there will be different needs for different folks. Many of us go to Utah yearly. You said that the cds were costing time and money and not everyone wanted them. Therefore, send out a mass email and tell people what photos you are copying and ask them how they want them stored/sent.When they want a cd, have them supply the cds and then give them the option of paying for postage or picking up the cd when they see you. Or let them know that you have them stored on your hard drive and are willing to send out the photos that day.

I like Kirsten, have downloaded most of the photos to my "Trauntvein Family Photo History" storage folder, but not everyone has the capacity to store that amount of files, especially if they have children who use the computer and store their files.

There is a solution. It can be worked out. We just need to not overthink it. Some sites are very protected, but all forts have holes and eventually someone can get through and find pictures. They can even take them off of school websites and out of yearbooks, which can be scanned. Not even emails are safe anymore. I know mine has been hacked before (as was my credit card and checking account).

I know the family is not saying they don't appreciate your work, they just have a limit to the size of files and the capacity on their computers for the files sent. Mel

Myrna wrote: Meanwhile, back at the ranch. It is not the cost. A few CDs will not put me in the poorhouse today or tomorrow. I don't need money. I need time.

Make a decision, after talking to Ams and Juls, then let me know. 


Kirsten wrote: I'd say go with whichever one offers most free storage.  Either way, we'll have to do what Todd suggested and leave them up for a certain amount of time, then give everyone notice before we have to delete and upload the next set.  We're talking hundreds of pics though.

It's a Grumpy Day!

There goes that Pitts/Pritchett temper again. I will make three CDs. I will keep them here. If anyone wants to borrow them, I will send them one. They can copy as they choose. If any of you would still like to get the photos, as Kirsten does, let me know and I will send them. Jim and Karma have said they want the one with all the family. You must now say either yes or no. I cannot compress the files because I do not know how. I just figured out how to copy slides. I do not want to learn how to compress files the same day. Dad says he thinks I spend too much time doing all of this. He says I would be better off going for a walk. He says that when we (he and I) die, you will just send them all to the dump anyway. That is his take.

As for facebook, I don't post photos except for my own. I do have all the protections set. However, I know that they do not always work. That is why facebook is trying to make the site more secure.

We have the Trauntvein blog site and I have lots and lots of stuff on that. It is so protected, however, that I am the only one who ever visits it. You have to be invited to view it and I have invited you all. However, I don't think anyone but Melanie has ever gone there. I know, because she thanked me for my posts. I also maintain the "Grammy's Gleanings" blog and I put on there what I want about myself and Dad and I do not protect it. I actually hope that someone reads it. I don't have any followers, it has small audience appeal, so I will never become rich nor famous but I do have the beginnings of my history on there.

I began taking all these photos, as did my dad, because there were only a dozen photos of my mother when she died. That is so few that in a blink you could forget she ever lived. I wanted a photo history of each of you. I have one. It doesn't matter to me whether anyone else cares. I care. I took them for me and for my dad. He appreciated them as well. No one else from my past lived long enough to enjoy them.

Amy J wrote: Eric and I really appreciate the photos and all the work that you have done to have them available for us.  As for other comments, I guess that you can't please everyone.  Amy

Myrna wrote: Thank you!!!!!!

I Think I Have a Temper

Myrna wrote: Have I offended AGAIN by being me?


Kirsten wrote: I think some family members think they have offended you.  Don't stress.  In two days we'll each be talking to someone about how awesome all these photos are that our mom has taken and sent to us.  Some of the family do use the photos a lot.

Todd  is actually one who does use the CDs, just not frequently.  Did you hear David and Todd talking about the downloads they had been doing and compiling?

Love you!  We all do.  :)

Kirsten

Myrna wrote: Well, I didn't let anyone offend me but I did let myself become angry.

Kirsten wrote: It's called being a family.  Dang it! :)

Myrna wrote: I hope that eternal families don't still have tempers. I've worked all of my life to master mine and it still gets the upper hand on some occasions. I guess I will just have to start over and work harder. Goodness Gracious! I am running out of years.

Bees

Merilyn: Hey—hope that semi-load of bees wasn’t your sons!  Is everything OK over there? Merilyn

Myrna wrote: So far! They are extracting this week. That did happen to us, however, a few years ago. It takes a couple of years to recover from that. It isn't just the loss of the bees it is also the fact that the hive numbers have to be built back up. All those hives take time and money to build and then, instead of allowing your bees (who are dead) to make new queens for new hives you have to buy the pricey queens from some place legal that sells them (often Hawaii). It was a pain! The biggest income to a beekeeper isn't the honey it is the pollination which begins in California and Florida right after the new year. There is no way to build up the number of hives to be considered for that at this time of year.