Mom

I don't feel like I want to make this a tribute to my mom. I feel like my tribute to Mom was done at the funeral. I would just like to share a few of the things that I learned throughout the process.

The greatest lesson is that nothing in our earthly experience is as important as how we treat others. "Relationships are more important than any task at hand". This does not mean that we over look or ignore our feelings. Quite to the contrary. We owe it to ourselves and others to express those feelings in an appropriate way. There is nothing so over as death. We don't get a second chance. Easy to say. I know it gets said all of the time. I believe that until you experience losing someone close to you, it is hard to have a clue what it means.

I knew that Mom was getting close to leaving us. I knew that we would all be comforted. What I had NO CLUE about is how much I would need that comfort. I had no idea that it would be so hard. Comfort comes from believing that she is so pleased with the funeral and all of the arrangements. I have never felt such approval for anything as I have felt from that. The greatest comfort comes from knowing how happy she is now. She learned and she taught whatever it was that was necessary for her to pass to that better place.

I am grateful, more than I can express, that I got to be there at the end. I am grateful because she was not alone and it was peaceful. The Spirit that I felt that night was so strong. I will never understand the blessing that was mine, but truly, I will never forget it. Heavenly Father loves us, even when we don't feel we deserve it, and he answers our prayers. Love you all.

June 2009 The month I will never forget.

I have had a hard time facing a new post. I have learned so many lessons and had so many incredible spiritual experiences. I have struggled figuring out how to incorporate it all into a post that does justice to all that I have felt. I finally figured it out. It will take more than one post. I have a lot to cover, and I don't want any of it to get shortchanged. More to come......

I love to see the Temple

Congrats to Liz on her beautiful wedding day! Mom, you throw a great party and it was so fun to be together in the temple! (Maybe we should do this one time when no one is getting married- that'd be a good idea!)

Just a sample of the pictures to come! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

THANKS FOR THE TRIP!

Mom & Pop,

Thank you for the wonderful trip. So many fun memories were made!!!

Loveyoutons

j&fam

Our Ida

The past week or so has been quite a roller coaster. Ida's passing, while a blessing to her, has been hard on so many of us. What a relief and comfort to know that she is not suffering any more, that she is free from her pains and discomforts.
I know all my sisters miss her like I miss her, miss the Ida that would get down on the floor to play with her great-grandkids, the Ida that greeted you with a plate full of food, the Ida that scratched our backs until we fell asleep.
The few days before the passing of Ida, when we were all praying for her peaceful departure, I wrote down some of the great memories I have of her to help me get through what has been one of the hardest times of my life. I hope that they bring back memories to you, as well. They are definitely not in any particular order and I didn't elaborate, for obvious reasons.
-Sleepovers with Chip n' Dale, bedtime at 6, back scratches in bed, and Special K with toast and jam for breakfast
-Broccoli soup and spaghetti sauce frozen in a pitcher in the freezer in their garage
-Hot Jello (sometimes during the summer), fruit salads, jello salads, rolls, cinnamon rolls, beans with pine nuts, and yummy roasts
-Angel food cake with coconuts for every one of my birthdays
-fridge full of diet cokes (usually flat)
-Hawaiian Tropic and baby oil
-Refusing to be called grandma:)
-Trips in to visit every Halloween to show off our costumes
-Marriott Buffets
-Bringing food down to the pool for everyone (and later sending it with Ole when it was too hard for her to walk down)
-Peeing in a cup on roadtrips, on the floor of the passenger side of the Mazda
-Zundel's garbage bags in their car
-ZCMI bakery trips
-Nordstrom
-Odd jobs around the house for money
-Her play room and costume jewelry
-Many off-track days spent eating and gossiping in the kitchen
-Always attending our piano recitals
-TURTLES (even drying in the tub)
-Caramel corn
-LAY'S potato chips
-Always commenting on which friends of mine she liked or disliked
-Hard marshmallows
-Otter pops
-Girls trip to Nauvoo
-Taking her to the hospital after Ole's stroke, witnessing first hand the love she had for him. My words are too inadequate to express the tender moments they shared together in that hospital room.
-Stories about her cutting the dogs hair...
-Always telling me how good I looked (mostly in the later years...)
-picking raspberries for her delicious raspberry jam
-Hearing her tell about the birth of my mom
-Trips to Hawaii, California, Mesquite, St. George, and Sun Valley
-getting out of her wheelchair to play with my Max on the floor, chasing him around the room to try and get his attention
-Holding my baby London in January and saying how sweet she was. This is especially tender for me and one I like to recall often.
I'm so grateful for the opportunity I had to be close to her and have her in my life.
Ida, we miss you and are grateful for knowing we will all be together again one day. Until then, we'll take good care of Ole for you. Love you, beautiful lady.