Lots of Fun Weekend

Garth and I are still recovering from a weekend of so much fun!  We were so excited to have our family together (minus a few now-and-then).  We used the Fall Break from school to spend this time with family.  It was one of only a few years when we didn't attend any UEA activity.  We had arranged to stay at one of our favorite places, the Staybridge hotel in West Valley City, which has the Grins and Fins swimming pool.  Barrett and his family also stayed there so we had enough swimming passes for everyone.  All of our grandchildren in the same pool at the same time!  So fun!  We then ordered pizza and bread sticks for the whole family and with permission from the hotel manager, we had the dining area for our dinner.  The grandkids were so good and well behaved.  Maybe it was because they were so tired from all their swimming!  They watched the TV while they ate and played together.

Lexi loved playing with the two babies.  Here she is with Isaac.  He is such a fun little guy!

Koy and Kayden watching TV in the hotel dining room while waiting for pizza.

Maxwell, Morgan, and Tyler were anxiously waiting for the food as well.

Grayson was happy with Daddy Dallas holding him. 

Aren't these kids so cute!

The next day my children appeased their mother and went to This Is The Place Heritage Park.  I've wanted to go here ever since my Great-Great-Grandfather's little cabin in Emery was moved to the park.  This turned out to be the perfect time to go.  Because it was just before Halloween, the park was ready with Halloween activities.  Children were encouraged to wear their costumes and given treats at several of the places in the park.

The kids were excited to get their Halloween costumes on!

We got to the park at the perfect time, about 10:00 am.  It was beautiful weather and there weren't many people there yet.  It was a wonderful day!

Lexi kept Grayson entertained while others were off playing games.

Spiderman (aka Maxwell) likes to play the games for candy.  Tyler just like the candy!

Tyler would walk everywhere as long as Grandpa was holding his hand.  Kayden just kept going, encouraging everyone to follow him.

Morgan showed Tyler how to toss into the pumpkins.  Tyler had such fun playing with his cousins.

Everyone was waiting to listen to the old witch tell her stories.  Nicky loved to play with that little duck.......Isaac.

Listening to the witch tell the story.

It must have been a great story!

We finally found our way to the Emery County Cabin.  This cabin was moved from Emery to the park a few years ago. My great-great Grandfather Casper Christensen lived with his family in this cabin.  He was called to be a postman in Emery. Casper was the grandfather of my Grandma Olsen. 

Here I am with my husband and our 8 grandchildren, descendants of Casper Christensen.  This children are six generations away from Casper Christensen.  How time changes what we view as 'acceptable.'  Casper lived in this small cabin with eight children, just as my eight grandchildren.  I can't imagine what that must have been like, but I am sure the family was very thankful for what they had.  When the kids started running back to the street to go to the next place, I was a bit overcome with thankfulness for the sacrifice that Casper Christensen and his wife, Maren, for coming to this country from Denmark, living in Minnesota where 4 of his children were born, then moving to Spring City in San Pete County, later to move to Emery County and establish his home here.  His daughter, Annie married and lived in Emery, welcoming a daughter, Melva to their family.  Melva married Neldon Olsen and moved to Rochester, or 'out on the flat' or the 'blue hill'.  Melva and Meldon had a daughter named Nellie Ann, who is my mother.  These people shaped my live and are a part of who I am today. 

It's Tough

Yes, that's how this whole day has been. Tough. How many times did I hear my dad say that? Now, after one year, it is still tough. I thought if I waited until later in the day the tears would be gone, but they aren't. In fact, they are more than ever. I haven't done much today, just don't have the ambition or desire. It's just been a tough day. I knew that Julie and Kent had gone shopping, and noticed that Ruanne and Larry were gone. I felt Garth and I were here alone. Just like we were last year on this day. But it did snow today, just last last year. I will be curious to see if it always snows on December 18th.

I am so thankful for parents who raised me to appreciate the little things in life. I don't need a lot of "things" to make me happy. Material things are far down on my list. But I love the little things like memories, talking with kids, hugs from grandchildren, pictures, messages, all those little things that really end up to be the big things. I am thankful for sisters who I can call at any time. I am thankful that we had family experiences that we shared, that bind us together.

I am thankful that I know my parents live on, that they are together, and that they are waiting for us to join them in the far, far distant future. As I stood there in Dad's bedroom just a few minutes after he passed away, I hoped that he was standing with Mom and watching me as I looked at him. I felt that they were both there in the room, but for just a fleeting moment. I wished I could have been there alone so I could have felt their presence better, but there were lots of people there, and lots of confusion, so it didn't last long. But I know they are together, and that makes me happy.

I'm sure Dad would say "It's not tough here! So just get busy and do what you have to be doing there." So that is what I'll do. I'll just keep on doing what I have to do. And I hope he can be proud of all of us.

My Mom

Tomorrow is my mother's birthday. She would be 74 years old. I can't imagine my mother at that age. She will always be 45 to me. She had just turned 45 years old when she was diagnosed with cancer. She died on September 29, 1979. But in her short life she taught me so many things.
She loved her daughters and her grandchildren so much. Yes, daughters because she didn't have any sons of her own, but the two sons-in-law she also loved. She was blessed to see two granddaughters and one special grandson come into her family. I remember so well the day she put those little booties on Barrett's tiny feet. The booties that had waited 25 years to be worn by the first boy born in the family. I cried when I saw little Maxwell wearing those same booties and hat on his blessing day. It was so thoughtful of Chantel and Barrett to have them saved in a beautiful frame so we can always remember Grandma Nell's love for her children.

Mom taught me to enjoy doing handwork. She passed on her love of crocheting and embroidery work. I didn't get her housekeeping genes that Ruanne received, but I do love to create beautiful afghans and keep my hands busy. I don't think I have her patience, either, but people say I have her looks. She woke up early every morning, something I do now as well. She loved to bake Christmas cookies and Linda inherited that talent with the raisin-filled cookies. She loved to do things with her husband, my dad, and enjoyed spending time with him. I follow her example in this, even riding to the dump with my husband just to spend time with him. Mom wrote poetry for special occasions and passed that talent on to Julie. She listened to my problems and tried to give me advice, some of which I took and some I later wished I had paid more attention to.

When I got married times were very difficult for all of us. There was a gasoline shortage and inflation was very high. The money just wasn't going very far. I was finishing up my last quarter of college at Weber State and not at home in EC for wedding plans. We decided that she would make my wedding dress using a pattern for a dress that I was currently wearing as I accompanied the Men's and Women's Choir at Ogden Institute. She knew how to fit the pattern for me so I didn't need to come for fittings myself. We met in Salt Lake and picked out the fabric. The rest was up to her. Because of the hard economic times, I couldn't see spending money on a dress that I wouldn't be able to wear again afterward. I wanted a dress that could be special for my wedding day, but that I would still be able to wear later to the temple. So we decided on the dress with an overlaid apron. She did a beautiful job and my dress was very beautiful. I wore it the next year every time we went to the temple. A great rememberance of my wedding day. (Then I was pregnant and it didn't fit any more!)

I am so humbled that I was able to have her sitting beside me at the Ogden Temple when I was married to my husband. That was so special to me. It was something I had always dreamed of, and I know she enjoyed every minute of that day.

I wished I could have spent more time with Mom the last few weeks of her life. But with a new baby and a one-year-old, I was only able to visit her once in the few weeks she was in the hospital. During that visit she was very sick, had just had surgery. But she wanted so much to hold Barrett. She stroked his head and kept saying "What a beautiful boy." Her passing was such a shock to everyone, so fast and sudden. We didn't have time to prepare but how do you prepare for something like that?
I don't know if my sisters ever knew, but that same day Garth was in a farm accident.
He had come home at noon with plans to take Tammy on the farm truck with him. He was hauling corn from the field to the barn and thought he would give me a break and take her along for the ride. She happened to be asleep when he came home, so we decided to let her sleep. He went to the farm and continued hauling corn. I got a phone call a few hours later saying to come to the farm, that Garth was alright but the truck had rolled. I still thank the Lord that Tammy had been asleep. She would have been with him at that time. We didn't drive with car seats for our children back then. She could have been standing up beside him when the truck went off the road. I think the Lord was protecting us so that I wouldn't have to go through the loss of my Mom and the possible loss of my little girl and husband.

I have lived longer without my mom than I did with her in this life. But I know she lives on and still loves me, watches and protects me, strengthens me when I need strength and comforts me. Many times I feel her presence when I wonder what direction I should take. I know she lives and I will see her again.

Please leave a memory if you would like.

Family Funeral

Attending a funeral isn't the way most of us would choose to spend an afternoon, but what a nice funeral it was. The nephews and neices who spoke did such a wonderful job of recalling experiences they had with their favorite aunt. Everyone recalled her infectious laugh and big smile, the hardships she has gone through and her love for her family. The song that was sung is one I found many years ago and tucked into my piano bench with instructions for my high school friend to sing at my own funeral. She sang it yesterday and it was beautiful. The family plot just inside the gate of the cemetery brought back thoughts of grandparents and family members who would be so happy to be able to greet her in heaven. Although funerals are a celebration of life, and mark the end of a mortal existence, it is also a time for family to gather. It was so nice to see so many family members. There were only a few cousins who weren't able to travel to attend, and it felt so good to see the rest of us there. All in all, it was a very nice day.

I was so touched seeing how difficult a time one family member was having. Although I haven't seen him for a very long time, over 34 years at least (did I really graduate from high school that many years ago?), it was so good to be able to hug him and have him cry on my shoulder. At the cemetery he was having such a difficult time and I felt impressed to speak to him again. I went up to him and hugged him and told him that I know his sister is free from her pain, and that she wants him to know that the things they were taught about the spirit world were true. That she is with Grandpa and Grandma, free and happy, and to just know that it is true. He sobbed and sobbed and said "How did you know I needed to know that? Boy, did I need a kicker to get me thinking about all this. How did you know I needed that?" I silently prayed and told the Lord, "See, I am working on following those little impessions. Thanks for helping me along."

One of the nephews who spoke was an "employee" in our little family business, a very special boy to us, one my own children admired for his athletic abilities and his brains. He did such a good job and looked so nice in his suit. I jokingly asked him, "Just how often do you speak in church like this?" And we laughed togethering knowing that his family wasn't active while he was living here. I then found out that he is now the Executive Secretary in his ward! Yes, as he would say, miracles happen! He and his beautiful wife have gone to the temple and he sees how important the gospel is in his life.

Perhaps that is one reason understanding death affects how we react in the situation. Death isn't an ending. Although it is sad that we will not have the person here to engage in conversation or to be a part of our mortal life, I know that life exists after this. That all those family members who have passed on will be there when we experience death. We will see them, associate with them, continue on our lives in a different sphere than here. That is so comforting to me. Not something I wish to experience for a while, but something that brings me comfort.

I am so thankful for my testimony of eternal families. Knowing we can be with our families forever makes death a lot easier to endure. The death of a family member is difficult enough, but without the truth of eternal famiies, it would be almost impossible to handle. Life does go on, and we will be together again.