Make It A Good One

This last month has been full and fast-paced. It has been full of beautiful moments, along with some very sacred experiences. Each day seems to bring new moments of adventure, along with new challenges; and that is as it should be. Sometimes life is lived in small simple moments, and other times the moments are more sweeping and life-changing. Life is just a series of miraculous moments tied together by the strands of time. So, as my Nan used to always say, "Make it a good one." 

One life-changing moment happened on Christmas Eve. My sweet grandma Nan died. She was 95 years young. She died gracefully at her home, her mortal heart began to fail her, but she was full of love and kindness, to the very end. She was such a perfect example of loving others, no matter what. I will love her forever and ever, and I will always remember her glowing example, as she set the foundation of love upon which I now stand. I hope to carry just a portion of her love with me, as I live my life to the fullest! I am sure she is happy with all of her loved ones on the other side of the veil. I am sure she and Charles have played at least a few games together. I can still hear her sweet melodic laugh. Oh Nan, how I love you SO MUCH! 

Christmas was a little different as we processed our feelings about Nan. It was also a bit rushed as we hurried to make it to Utah so we could be with family and enjoy her life celebration. It was still a beautiful Christmas time, full of love and light, and family. 

A sweet friend gave me this beautiful picture of Jesus.

Henry was so excited about Christmas. He is at the perfect age for excitement and magic. 

On Christmas morning, William woke up early and was very sick. It was pretty sad, but he recovered enough to enjoy Christmas for the most part. 

 Sammi was super excited about her Jane Austen books.

She also loves her "Comfy." She wears it a lot when she reads, and she also wears it to bed sometimes. 

 Daniel got a melodica... it makes a very interesting sound.

After Christmas, we traveled to Utah and stayed at my brother's house. All of my siblings were able to make it to celebrate Nan (we are all in the picture at the top of the Blog), and it was SO good to see all of them! It is rare that we can all be together, so it was a wonderful gift from Nan to bring us together for the holidays!

 A bunch of girls... Joy, Sammi, Beppy, Kary, Mari, Katie, Amy, Mindy.

I went running with my sister, Kary. It was cold, but refreshing to run with my sister. We started running together way back in the day, when I was 17, and we both still love it! 

A bunch of cute girls.

 Lots of love all around.

 We went to my Uncle's house for a big family gathering.

Gathering for the Funeral services.

Nan had a life celebration, it was short and sweet. She did not want a big fuss to be made over her, but we all wanted to celebrate her life and love. There were so many family and friends who came to show their love for her!

 Waiting together.

 Hugs from Katie-Lady

Kary and Mari 

My baby brother John 

I loved being surrounded by family!

 Nan was buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery

There is something special about being smooshed together as family.

The graveside service was short and sweet. It was very cold, and my Dad did a lovely job of dedicating the grave.

My children were processing a lot of emotions since they had never attended a funeral other than their dad's life celebration. But we never had a viewing for him, they did not want to attend his burial, and so they never saw Charles' casket. (Except for in pictures on my blog.) So, seeing Nan's casket caused some strong feelings for everyone. I felt a great peace, but I allowed my real and raw feelings to just flow freely through me. I am learning better how to do that with time. The more we hold our feelings back, the more pain it causes, so I try to embrace whatever I am feeling when I feel it. It seems to help, for the most part. Tears are very healing.

Wiping away tears.

LOVE!


Nan was SO loved!

We drove through downtown Salt Lake.

And saw the temple.

We had lots of time loving and hugging each other.

We had a family concert where everyone took a turn singing, because that is just what we do.

Sammi with Baby Joy

I love this quote...

We celebrated Charles' birthday on January 4th. 

Sammi spent a lot of time preparing for auditions for the musical Cinderella. 

 

I absolutely LOVE this quote... Who do you worship? God? Or the problem? Remember God is bigger than all of the problems in the world! 

Daniel (age 15) was ordained a Priest, and William (age 11) was ordained a deacon with the newly announced youth advancement changes. Now Daniel will be able to baptize William when they go to do baptisms at the temple, how awesome is that!? After Daniel was ordained by my dad, Daniel then ordained William, it was a very special moment for our family. I sure love all of the changes that are happening in the church, I love the hastening of the work! Bring it on! 

I went to the temple with my parents. I enjoyed our time together! It was nice to be able to have some time in the Celestial room where we could chat about everything openly. My parents have some profound insights when it comes to the temple, and I appreciate learning from their wisdom. 

Another good quote...

Just some random pictures from a high school dance night.

The inside of the Capitol Building.


Sammi got the part of Cinderella in the musical at her high school! The musical is going to be amazing! It is not the simple Disney story, it is much more in-depth, witty, and fun! She worked so hard to be ready for the part, and now she is working hard memorizing her lines and music. She is loving every minute of it! The show is going to be awesome! We are all so excited for you Sammi!

This is how we celebrated her getting the lead role -- with a pumpkin roll! He, he. Did I mention Sammi will be carrying a pumpkin on stage at one point? I mean, how awesome is that?! Sammi as a Princess, holding a pumpkin on stage! How does life get any better? I am sure I don't know!


This book. I love it. I love to read from it everyday, often, throughout the day. This book has changed my life, and I am so grateful!


Make it a good life!