Mommy's Piggy Tales - The Beginning

Earlier this year I came across a blog that I found quite intriguing - Mommy's Piggy Tales. Recording your youth sounds like a wonderful project! Unfortunately, at the time there was no way I'd be able to participate. (If you recall, we had kind of a busy summer.) There's another session starting today, and I thought I'd be able to participate this time around. Maybe I'm still trying to do too much, but I'm going to give it a try. I've wanted to organize the box of momentos in my closet for a long time, and this should provide the motivation. Feel free to join me!

The first assignment is to share your birth story and how you got your name. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? So, we'll start with the pictures. Here's the one taken in the hospital.I wasn't there to know how my name was chosen. I do know that before I was born, I was called "Knut" with a hard "K". (Maybe that's where my middle name came from.) "Rebecca" came from my great-grandmother, Florence Rebecca Wilson.

And I know I have a gorgeous mother. This is the official "I have a one-week old baby" picture.

Here I am at 4 months old. (You know, maybe there is a family resemblance between me and the newest member of our family.)

My first Christmas.

Sometime in my first year. Looks like I found the toilet paper and was having a lot of fun!

For the story part, this week I'm just going to share parts from the letter my dad wrote my grandparents. They were serving a mission in Australia at the time.

4 July 1962
San Jose, Calif.

Dear Mother and Father:

This morning at 8:55 AM, Judi gave birth to our first child and your first granddaughter. She is 20" long, weighs 7 pound 10 ounces. She has golden hair and very fair skin - not at all red. A really beautiful little girl.

Judi's folks are really elated. Mom saw her this afternoon. She and I are the only ones allowed to see Judi, so she'll go in the afternoons and I'll go in the evening. Mother White offered to pay for a phone call to you, but I had already sent the telegram and you should have had the news by then, so we decided not to. It was a very generous offer.

We will name her Rebecca Kay Beckstrand. I feel very confident that she will honor your name. It thrills and humbles me to know she is your grandchild and will enjoy the privileges and responsibility of carrying the Beckstrand name.

If she is to gain eternal life, it will be with a bearer of the priesthood who has magnified his calling. My task becomes to prepare her for such an association. I pray that God will make me equal to this responsibility, and that Judi and I will be worthy of the trust which our Heavenly Father has given us.

What a glorious day!
Love, Shelley

I also have copies of a couple letters my mom wrote, but I think I'll save those for another time. This is enough for now. Have a wonderful, glorious day!