Anna's arm

Anna Strunz Ott with her sons, Louis and Frank

Anna Marie Ott Spohr and her mother, Anna Strunz Ott

So, the other night we were having a family night, but since he had a mandatory work meeting come up, Michael wasn’t home. I had to think of something to do with the boys after we read scriptures together, so I decided to show them some of the photos I have of their ancestors, and tell them a few little stories about them. They looked at the pictures and listened as I told them a few short stories about the people, and they all laughed and thought it was hilarious when I showed them the picture of their great, great, great grandpa and said, “This is Courtland” (because their baby brother is named Courtland). Kolby and Eli asked several questions when I told them about their great, great, great grandmother on a different family line, Anna Strunz Ott, who only had one hand, so in all the photographs of her, the end of her left arm is either behind her back or covered by her right hand so it is hidden. They wanted to know why she was that way, and I told them she was probably just born like that. And we went on and looked at a few more photos before it was time to get ready for bed. Then, when we were walking upstairs, Kolby turned around and asked me, “So, the person without the hand, was there blood dripping out of her arm every day of her life?” (And I assured him that there wasn’t). So that whole time he was picturing blood and gore – I didn’t know I was telling the kids horror stories. :)