When I first came to America in 1967, one of my dreams was to locate my O'Dell relatives from my grandfather's side. My Dad and my aunt Nancy always extoll their Dad with such affection that I always wish I have known him. The first few years in the US was a struggle of daily living, raising 4 children and working full time that my dreams of ever connecting with them faded into oblivion. In 2012, a premed student from the Santo Tomas University [UST] connected with everyone through facebook with an O'Dell surname with his research into the O'Dell family through Wikepedia, the free encyclopedia en.Wikepedia.org. Charles Wallace O'Dell is a 6th generation O'Dell and it took another Wallace in the family to uncover the family history. O'dell family...........originally owned by an Anglo-Saxon king; according to Wikepedia in Bedfordshire: O'dell is a village and civil parish in the North of the county of Bedfordshire in England. Originally owned by an Anglo-Saxon king, the barony of Woadhyll was transferred to the Norman Count of Flanders after the Norman invasion.He later changed his last name to Woadhyll, which means, a hill full of Woads, and as time went on the barony was changed to O'dell which was ruled by Barons bearing the name of O'dell. By the 1600's the family had a quarrel and was split into two, leaving the barony without a legal male heir. The quarrel stemmed from religion. The family was divided into the Protestants and the Catholics. The Protestants moved to Newfoundland in Virginia, bearing the name odell while the Catholics moved to Ireland changing their name to O'Dell to evade Irish reprisals against the British.Eventually, the Catholics moved to Nebraska and that was the start of the family's story. Our great grandfather, Wallace Scott O'Dell [1852-1915] married Cora Davis. Wallace Scott died in 1915 and was survived by 8 children and his wife.His brother could not attend his funeral, and also his son named Thomas Leroy O'Dell nicknamed Roy was in the Philippine Islands at the time of his death in Nebraska. Our great grand mother, on the left, see picture, and a woman standing is daughter Zoe, the sister of Leroy, and her grand daughter on the right Wallace Scott O'Dell was for many years connected actively with agricultural interests in Chapman precinct but spent his last years in honorable retirement at Weston. A native of Venango County, Pennsylvania, he was born on the 4th of Feb.1852 and was a son of Alfred and Julia [Van Geisen] O'Dell, native respectively of New York and New Jersey. They were married in Pennsylvania and continued to reside there until Wallace was 17 years old, when the family moved to Saunders County in Nebraska. His father homesteading land 2 and a half miles east of Weston. At that time, the County was in the main, a frontier district and the town of Weston had not been founded yet. Mr O'Dell proved up to his claim and remained there on until his demise in 1909 at the age of 86. His wife died in 1911 at 84 years old.They became parents of 7 children. Wallace Scott is the third child. Wallace Scott attended School in Pennsylvania and remained at home for sometime after the family left the County. At 25 years of age, he was married and began farming in Chapman precinct, buying railroad land which he improved. He was a successful Agriculturist, being energetic and progressive, and accumulated competence as the years went by which enabled him to retire from active life in 1910. He sold his farm that year and moved to Weston. On July of 1877, Mr O'Dell married Miss Cora Davis, a daughter of Captain William and Nancy [Whiting] Davis. They had 8 children namely; Maud, wife of Henry White of Wahoo, Roy, who was connected with the civil service in the Philippines, Zoe, the wife of Joseph Kriz, Alta at home, Dawn, the wife of Joseph Porter of Wahoo, Wilma, married to George Jackson of Wahoo, Nannie and Alfred, at home. Mr O'Dell was a republican who changed part

No Small Miracles By: Stanley Andrews Every birth holds importance. Every being means something, a worth. Each person must go through a wellspring of life to realize their self-worth. Each moment may introduce you to your own self. Each person has their own story, and their own road to travel. Join author Stanley O'Neal Andrews in his telling of his story, and how God moved throughout Andrews' life, to bring Andrews to the discovery of himself.

When we come across a happy narrative, we love imagining ourselves living out that story as the main character, yet, when faced with tales of human pain or suffering, we often awkwardly shy away, offer quick condolences, and say “I Can’t Imagine”. Human nature is to relish success, whimsy, and tales of happy endings. But, by avoiding those “other” stories, the painful and uncomfortable ones, we often miss out on some of life’s most important lessons. I Can’t Imagine is one of those “other” stories that will take readers through a powerful journey about a micro-preemie named Emilia Quinn Sears, who was born during a pandemic, at only 22-weeks-old, weighing just over 1 pound, with the odds of survival stacked against her. Inspired by her parents’ personal journals, passionately written to Baby Emilia, this book will take you on an epic journey of loss, love, and resilience. By the end, you will be able to imagine what it is like to fight for your child’s survival in the NICU, ultimately losing your battle and subsequently watching your world get destroyed. You will also experience the beautiful lessons and raw power of purpose that can arise from some of the worst things anyone can imagine.

On the day she was born in 1950 as one of two identical twins, Patty O'Leary Emry's formidable challenges were only just beginning. The exhilaration of welcoming new life quickly gave way to desperation as doctors discovered that Patty had multiple congenital difficulties. With underdeveloped digestive, urinary tract, and reproductive systems, the prognosis was grim. When the hospital staff declared that the baby would die within a few days, her steadfast parents refused to give up hope, and they firmly insisted that Patty be given a fighting chance-after all, she deserved every chance at life. After ground breaking operations, doctors were able to reconstruct the tiny infant's digestive organs. It was a miracle that this premature baby survived such procedures, and before long, Patty's tenacious spirit quickened and flourished. But tragedy struck the family again when, Patty's twin sister, Catherine, died only three months after being born. Despite the pain of becoming a "twinless twin" and in the face of daily difficulties that many could consider discouraging, Patty rallied and cultivated a robust and outrageous approach to life that has seen her through over twenty-two surgeries in her lifetime. You, the reader, can also lay hold of the transformative power of laughter and positivity in every circumstance. So whether you're sixteen or ninety-nine, throw off those shackles of self-doubt and despair, put on your dancing shoes, and do the funky chicken on the nearest tabletop-because It Takes a Sense of Humour ...

A sense of mission for America . . . a heart for God. Senator Sam Brownback grew up in the heartland, in a family of hard-working Kansas farmers. Instilled from an early age with a strong work ethic and a fierce sense of independence, he continues to be guided by Christian values and beliefs: strength, courage, character, common sense, faith, and a keen sense of justice and moral responsibility. From Power to Purpose is the firsthand account of his remarkable journey: from farm boy to U.S. Senator?and in 2008 the Republican candidate for the White House. In honest, straightforward prose, he recounts his trials, struggles, and lessons learned on the way to becoming one of our leading voices for bleeding-heart conservatism. It's a proactive response to some of our country's most vexing problems. It's a message of hope and fresh ideas for a world that needs both.

The Billionaire’s Baby Billionaire Blane Andrews has come to win back his wife. He’d walked away from Cam, believing he wasn’t good enough, but now he wants the one thing money can’t buy: Cam and a baby!

From one of the founding executives of FedEx comes the first full inside story of how Fed Ex came to be one of the world's most successful, innovative, and admired companies. Frock reveals the details of how the company was conceived, launched, and kept afloat despite incredible obstacles.

An exploration of the difficult, but necessary lesson of life—letting go—as a means of healing, maturing, and getting closer to God and who and what is important Letting go isn’t just saying good-bye to people, places, and things, as important as they may be. It's also about letting go of attitudes and ideas, such as perfectionism, resentment, worry, and judgmentalism—that keep us from growing in our relationships with God and others. Letting go is crucial to our spiritual and emotional health. In How Can I Let Go If I Don't Know I’m Holding On?, Linda Douty examines a variety of letting-go struggles and offers ways to move on to a deeper spirituality. Weaving together her own experiences and the stories of others, she offers strategies for letting go of the things that keep us from a deeper relationship with the Divine. With practical suggestions and updated versions of spiritual classics such as lectio divina, plus questions for study and reflection, this book is a rich resource for personal spiritual growth as well as for group study. “Every major spiritual tradition endorses a key piece of wisdom: It is by giving up, letting go, and renouncing attachments that we achieve fulfillment and job in life. Linda Douty’s book is a wide guide to accomplish this vital lesson.”—Larry Dossey, MD, author of The Extraordinary Power of Ordinary Things, Reinventing Medicine, and Healing Words

With Southern sass and a comedic flare, Dr. Donna Grant Wilcox delivers a message of hope as she shares about a life once filled with pain due to a rare blood disease and cancer. Faith in God and a determination to survive brought healing, joy, and abundant blessings into her life. Unable to have children of her own, Donna fell into depression. As she struggled to make sense of it all, God showed up big time! Nothing is too hard for God. Donna and her husband, Bob, have been a mom and dad to over forty-nine young people. Today, they also enjoy the title of proud grandparents. Through Falling into Faith: A Journey to Freedom, Donna delivers encouragement, mental health awareness tools, and transformational life lessons on growing your faith in God and believing the impossible!