Cruzin'

Courts old boss Royce came to town and treated us to a snorkel cruise. It was a total blast! It was our first time out in a boat and it was really neat to see the island from a completely different perspective. We got a sitter for baby E and I am so glad we did, she would have been miserable and we would not have had as much fun with the bigger kids if we were chasing a toddler around the boat.

J-man wasn't the biggest fan of snorkeling but that is ok because truth be told I don't love snorkeling. I love to see all the cool fish but my claustrophobia and those snorkel masks do not mix well together. J and I had fun staying close to the boat, going off the slide, and doing a little snorkeling here and there. The girls, Court, and Royce had a blast swimming all over to see the fish. I took a turn swimming with the girls for awhile and Lex and I saw a giant sea turtle. You can be fined $1,000 for touching sea turtle, well Lex was swimming away with her head down to see the fish and didn't see the turtle swimming right towards her, luckily another person snorkeling with us pulled Lex back before her and the sea turtle could go crashing into each other. It was pretty funny! When Lex popped her head up to see what was going on, her face was about 3 inches away from the turtles, ahhhh, it was so funny, talk about a shocker! The sea turtle was HUGE, but not scary thank heavens.

On the snorkel cruise they feed us a yummy lunch and we learned lots of fun facts about the island and sea life. We got to see tons of spinner dolphins and chased whales for about an hour. It was pretty exciting! I have never seen a Whale in the wild before, IT.WAS.SO.NEAT. Now that it is Whale season in Hawaii we see them all the time right from shore, the kids love to spot them from the beach!

We had such a great time having Royce stay with us. He is our kids "extra" grandpa and is such a great friend. I know the Lord placed him in our life for a reason and I am very grateful for all he taught Court and for the three years they got to work with each other, he was a wonderful mentor!

Gammie & Bompa

Courts parents came to Hawaii to visit in December. We had so much fun having them here and showing them around our island. This was their first time ever in Hawaii so we tried to squeeze in every once of fun we could into their visit. The kids had no idea that they were coming, it was SO fun to surprise them with their grandparents. The kids have missed them so much and there were LOTS of tears from the girls when they saw their grandparents at our doorstep, it was priceless! We did everything from decorating the Christmas Tree, to hiking the Bamboo Forest, to kickin' it at the beach! Court and I even snuck away to Honolulu for a night and a day to do some Christmas Shopping and go to the Laie Temple. It was a quick trip but we sure had a good time going to another island, being alone, eating some great food, attending the BEAUTIFUL Temple, and shopping for our Kieki (kids). It was my first time leaving baby E. overnight, she did great and was in great hands!

 

 

 

 

 

YAY FOR WONDERFUL GRANDPARENTS!

we heart the beach

Living by the beach, well... IT ROCKS!!! We are feeling so blessed to live so close to the water, there is nothing quite like it. I LOVE looking out our windows at the Ocean. There is something so calming, beautiful, peaceful, and magical about the ocean. I am sure to some people I sound corny, but really, truly, looking out my windows at home or as I go about my day running errands and seeing the beautiful beaches and the ocean just brings peace to my soul. Living here in Hawaii has really been so wonderful, I don't know how we are ever going to leave. It is going to be a sad, sad day when we have to say our goodbyes!!! For now we are livin' it up and lovin' it. Last Sunday I wanted to get some pictures of the kids on the beach, I have looked around for photographers and like everything else in Hawaii they are EXPENSIVE. I am no photographer, but I do have a good camera and edit pictures in picasa, so I decided to give the pictures a shot on my own. The kids were a little crazy, especially baby E. I did get a few great pictures, so I am HAPPY! By the end all of the kids were soaked, so I decided to jump in with them and have some fun. The ride home was wet and sandy! The kids stripped down and rode home in their undies. It was so much fun and an experience I will never forget. I am one lucky mama!!!

{Thankful}

The Jones family had a great Thanks Giving. It's been a little strange to think about it being the Holiday's with the warm weather and no family around, but it's also very fun to get to spend the Holiday's "island style". We had a teriffic Thanks Giving. We went to the west side of the Island and eat a delicious feast at a resort and then stayed the night. When the kids saw the resort they were giddy with excitment, they REALLY freaked out when they saw the amazing pool and water slides.

Court puts in a lot of hours at work these days and I put in a lot of hours at home, so we decided that we needed a break and that neither one of us wanted to cook. It was a great decsion because the buffet at the resort was awesome!! It was so nice to sit back and relax this Thanks Giving.

We had soooo much fun playing in the pool, going on the water slides, walking the boardwalk, and relaxing in hammocks. It was a fun, low stress Thanks Giving (just my style). We skipped out on black friday shopping and just enjoyed the resort for the day before we had to head home. There isn't much shopping in Maui anyway!

Here are just a FEW of the things we are Thankful for...

Court-

Is most Thankful for the health of our family, a great job, a promising future, and for a loving hot wife willing to love and support him along the way.    {his words, not mine}

Me-

I am feeling especially Thankful for our abundance of blessings both spiritual and temporal. I feel so Thankful for the beautiful life I have been given {family.husband.children.gospel.job.etc...}. I am also very Thankful for the trials I have been allowed to face that have strengthened my testimony and have taught me some very important life lessons.

Mac-

Is so Thankful for her family and to have the awesome experience to live in Hawaii.   {her words}

Lex-
Is Thankful for her family and is so thankful she can be on earth to celebrate all of the Holiday's. She is also thankful for Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and Heavenly Fathers, Father.   {her words}

J-man-

Is Thankful for his sisters, his cousin Bex, mom and dad, for his dads strong muscles, and for our camera.   {his words}

Baby E.- If she could talk I am positive she would say how thankful she is for her AWESOME family and for all of the LOVE and ATTENTION they give her!

road to Hana

On election day the kids were out of school and Court took the day off. We have a "Hawaii bucket list" and doing the Road to Hana was on the TOP of our list, so we decided to go on election day. We got up early, packed up some things for the day, VOTED, and then started our journey to Hana. The drive was BEAUTIFUL. We had so much fun stopping to hike and explore along the way. Once we got there we went to Black Sand Beach and the Seven Sacred Pools. We had a great day having fun as a family and exploring Hana. We saw so many beautiful water falls and it was really cool to see the rain forest side of the island. It was definitely a day that will go down in the Jones family history books as one of our greatest adventures!

All things lately...

I have not been very good about blogging lately. I really want to be better since this is my family history for my kids. I really don't have a good excuse as to why I haven't been blogging, 3 of my 4 kids are in school and baby E. is a great napper. Really I think my problem for not getting around to blogging (among other things I want to get done that I'm not) is that Court is working crazy hours and when I do have a little time to myself I really DON'T, ha! When I do have a second or two then I think about all that I could be getting done, laundry-bills-cooking-cleaning, etc... Well there will ALWAYS be something to "get done" so I am going to make an effort to blog more because I know in twenty years I wont care to remember if the laundry was done, but I WILL want to go back and read things I have written about our life.

I made some memory books for my kids for Christmas this past week. It was so fun to go through pictures of my kids when they were tiny. I loved going back and reading old blog posts about what was going on in our lives during those times. I am really grateful I started a blog all those years ago, I am terrible at journal and if it weren't for my family blog then I would not have written down all those memories. As I was reading what I had written I noticed that I use to be much better about recording little, everyday details, like funny things the kids said or things we did. I was reminded that life isn't about the big things, it's about the little things, it's in the details, it's in our day to day lives that eventually become a life time of memories. So I am going to work on recording the details, because it was a pure joy to go back and read about all of the funny things my kids did and said. The funny thing is, looking back I know in many ways those years were stressful with little toddlers and I KNOW there were days I felt like pulling my hair out, but what stands out the VERY most are all of the HAPPY times.

For the record, here are a few things we have been up to lately..

Court: he has been working so hard, he loves his new job and is really good at it. I miss our family time, but I am grateful when we do have family time that we are here in Hawaii and get to have these awesome experiences. Last week Courts boss was in town, he got to go golfing at one of the best golf courses in Hawaii, he got to go spear fishing (he saw several sea turtles and even got to see a whale breach in the water), and he/we got treated to some yummy meals.

Me: the kids keep me busy, busy, busy! I love being a mom, I really, really do, even if I don't always show it. I am trying to loosen up and have more fun with the kids. We love walking to the beach, swimming at the pool, watching movies on the weekend, etc... I have taken up "hot yoga", I LOVE it. It's a great workout and de-stresser for me. I can feel myself getting stronger and more flexible.

Mac: is growing up way to fast. I just bought her, her first sports bra (HOLY freak me out!!!). She is loving the fourth grade and has lots of cute friends. They have a little club at recess and write a newspaper together (it's pretty cute). She went on a awesome field trip today today, her class is learning about rain forests and got to visit an ACTUAL rain forest, how awesome is that! Court took her down to the abc store last night to pick out some special things for her,field trip lunch.

Lex: this girl is still spunky as ever! She is rockin' it in school, almost always getting 100% on her spelling tests and A's in all subjects. She spends her recesses jumping rope and running. She has several "crushes" but wont tell who. She has a kit of spunk, but also has a very fun side. She is so loving, always giving hugs and kissses. She is so cute with her baby sister and loves to play with her.

J-man: is doing so great in pre-k, I was so worried that going everyday would be hard on him. He is such a cute little man. Tonight we walked to the beach to play volley ball, as we were walking he asked me if he could go on a mission (for our church) right now, I told him he has to be grown up and asked him why he wanted to go right now, he said, "because I am so excited to be a missionary!!!" It was pretty cute.

Baby E: this girl is so much fun, one is such a cute age, but man she is BUSY, she is like a little tornado where ever she goes. I forgot how busy one year olds are. She is really starting to jibber jabber, it is so cute when she "talks" her baby language!! She is also a little MONKEY!! She climbs on the table, tv stand, end tables, etc... She's one crazy little girl!

Take. Deep. Breaths

 I have been feeling stressed lately. My kids seem to be fighting more then normal and I have been less then patient. I do not want to be the kind of mom who has to always raise my voice to get my kids attention. I posted on facebook this frustration of mine and asked my friends for some parenting book suggestions. They gave me some great ideas (btw, I have mixed feelings about facebook, but it definitley can be a positive way to connect and share with friends/family if you use it for that purpose). Anyway, I loved that I got so many great ideas from my friends/family and they reminded me that I have great kids and that I need to just take deep breaths sometimes and that everything WILL be ok.

I take my job as a mother very seriously. This can be a good thing in many ways because it means that I am fiercly devoted to my children and their well being, but it also often times means that I compare other mothers "best" to my "worst". I know I am a good mom, but like lots of other moms, I feel like a failure often. This job of raising children is such a huge responsibility and I really, truly want to do my very best, but man it is SO HARD.

Lately there has been a feeling of contention in our home and it has taken a toll on all of us. We are all still adjusting to our big move and Courts new work schedule. Court is gone A TON at night, which makes family life pretty hard. I start off each week ready and willing to take on the challenges of raising four kids, then by Wednesday or Thursday I am FRIED!!! My kids know this, they sense it, and they use it to their advantage (those sneaky little things). I DO NOT want our home to be filled with the spirit of contention, I want it to be a place where my children can always feel the Spirit, feel peaceful, and feel loved.

I realized that in order to get our home and family going in the direction I wanted it to, that it had to start with Court and I. We have taken a step back these last couple weeks, evaluated where we can do better, really thought about how WE can make changes to help our family, and we have taken a more calm but firm approach to our parenting. Well, things still get pretty nuts around here, but over all the last two weeks have been so much better and slowly we can see our efforts making an improvement. Before reading any of the great parenting books my friends suggested on facebook we decided to go back and re-read a "Love and Logic" book we read years ago. We have been reading a chapter a night once the kids are in bed and it has really been helping us. It's been nice at the end of the day to read this book together, evaluate how we did in our parenting that day, and discuss how we can do better.

I love my children so much. They mean everything to me. They also at times drive me a little crazy. Craziness and all, I am so lucky to be their mom and I hope that I can do everything in my power to be the best mom I can possibly be. I know that to do this I MUST rely heavily on Heavenly Father, I must pray to him {every.single.day} and ask him to give him the strength I need to be a great mom. After all I am raising his children, he knows them best, he knows me best, and he needs to always be the first place I turn for direction.

An. Eternal. Perspective.

Yesterday Court and I were in Sunday school and something's the teacher talked about really stuck out to me. He was talking about the use of our time and how much time we devote to the Lord and how much time we devote to the World. It really got me thinking about how I spend my time and how our family spends time.

While we do not spend our time doing bad things, we also do not spend enough of our time giving of our time to the Lord. Life is so busy and there are so many distractions, but it got me thinking about how this life is "The time for us to prepare to meet God." I have a very personal and sacred relationship with my Heavenly Father, but I am not spending the appropriate amount of time strengthening that relationship, I am not DILIGENTLY studying the scriptures, and I am not always praying with a sincere heart. I am a busy mother of 4 children and I am squeezing the Lord in when I can, a quick morning prayer, a chapter, maybe 2 of the scriptures each day, Church on Sunday. All of these things are good, but they aren't enough.

In Relief Socitey (Sunday school class for women in our church) yesterday the subject was on staying on the Lords side of the line. With the things spoken about in Sunday school and then Relief Society yesterday it was clear to me that the Lord aw sending me a message... I need to ALWAYS be on his side of the line, I need to increase my spirituality, and I need to devote more time to him. The thought keeps coming to my mind, " Where much is given, much is required". I feel so incredibly blessed in my life... I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints, I have a knowledge and testimony of the Savior and his plan for us, I have a wonderful family, I am married to my best friend, I have four beautiful, amazing children, and we have a wonderful life. I feel so grateful for all of these things in my life, so why is it that I have such a hard time showing it?

I have decided that it is time to STEP-IT-UP, it is time to take my spirituality to a higher level, it is 
time to really dive into the scriptures and not just read them, but learn and grow from them. We have tried this rule before as a family, and still try to but often forget... 

Jones Family Rule....
No tv, Internet, books, etc.... Until we have Read our Scriptures and said our Prayers!!!

The days go by quickly and we sometimes forget to put Heavenly Father first with Prayer and Scripture study, but I know if we will keep this simple rule of not doing any of these worldly things before we turn to the Lord in prayer and study from his powerful scriptures that we will be so blessed and will grow spiritually.

I want to take my spirituality to the next level and this means that I need to devote more time and energy to things of an Eternal Nature, this life is my time to prepare to meet the Lord, not my time to 
Facebook, blog, etc... While none of those things are bad, they an be if they are coming before more important things. I am going to start out with having a goal this week to always put the Lord first 
each day, to read my scriptures more, to pray more fervently, and to open the Ensign (our churches magazine) each time I am tempted to waste time on something that has little significance to keeping an eternal perspective.   

 At night once the kids are in bed Court and I like to sit down and watch a tv 
show together, it is relaxing and requires little thought, I don't think this is bad but when we are so tired afterwards that we forget to kneel down and pray together, then we are waisting valueable time where we could be connecting with each other and growing closer to the Lord.  This week I am also 
going to not watch any tv at night unless first my personal nightly prayers have been said and second Court and I have taken the time to pray together, study something spiritual together, and have taken the time to have a real conversation with each other about our day.

Back. To. School.

Before school started I took each of the girls on back to school dates. I love when I get to spend one on one time with my kids! It is so fun to get to have time alone with them without the distractions of the other kids. Every time I do an alone date with each of my kids it reminds me of how important it is that I work on my individual relationships with them. With four kids and a husband who works weird hours it makes it hard for me to have alone time with them too often. This is something I am going to work on doing more.

Lex was a hoot on our date! She LOVED having me all to her self and had a blast going back to school shopping. We didn't buy a whole lot of clothes this year because first of all we are in Hawaii and well there is really only one season here, Summer, and the kids school requires uniforms. We had a lot of fun shopping and getting lunch at a cute diner at the mall.

For Mac and I's date we went shopping, ate dinner at panda express at the mall (one of her favorites) and then got a frozen yogurt. She was so sweet and so much fun to be around. We also went to Ross to look for some things for our house (it is one of the few places to shop for house stuff on our island). She was so cute and loved helping me find things to decorate with.

Where does the time go???

It has been quite awhile since I have posted. Really I can't believe how long it has been. I am seriously not even coming close to my new years resolution to blog more. Life has been SOOOOO busy lately and I really need to slow down, take a step back, and stop to notice all of the other things going on around me.

I am currently in California helping prep for the Mud-Run-4-Life that is taking place THIS SATURDAY. I really can't believe it is already here. I can't believe how huge it has gotten. I can't believe the outpouring of love and support we have received. I CAN'T BELIEVE I GOT MYSELF INTO THIS!!!!!!!!

I keep taking deep breaths and telling my self, "I can do this"! Just today alone I have answered at least 50 emails and have spent over 4 hours just on the computer for the mud-run. It is all completely worth it and I CAN NOT WAIT to see it all come together on Saturday. I can't wait to get all muddy in honor of my brother Jake. It is going to be an extremely emotional day. This idea, this crazy idea to put on a mud-run with my NON-RUNNING family, was my idea, I am diagnosing myself with stupidity (totally, absolutely worth it of course)! It has been SO MUCH WORK but it has been amazing to see all of this come together, to have the other 2 families who lost a son to suicide last summer in my parents town working with us endlessly with us to pull this off. Not only will Saturday be emotional because we will see all of our hard work come together, but sharing our stories of loss with over 400 people will be I believe both emotionally draining and healing all at the same time.

If only ONE person is touched by our event and chooses life over suicide then we have done our job. We want to reach out to those hurting and let them know that they are not alone and that there is help. I feel like this is my opportunity to give suicide a giant kick in the ass and I am going to take it :).

Aside from the Mud-Run taking over my life, our family has had some pretty huge life changes the past month. Court was offered a great opportunity with a new company. After LOTS of thought, tears, and prayer we have decided to take the job. We will be moving to Maui, Hawaii for a few years with this new company and then from there we are not sure where they will send us. I am both sad and very excited. I am so sad to have my kids switch schools again, it is killing me that we are doing this, but I feel like this will be an amazing opportunity for them to experience another culture. So much about this is so hard, but so much of it is so exciting. I still haven't wrapped my head around the whole idea.

Court has actually been in Hawaii for almost a month now. I am not going to lie, I am loosing my mind home alone with 4 kids, but I realize with blessings come sacrifices. I am trying to take it day by day, take deep breaths, and have been drinking an obscene amount of Cherry Coke. We would be there with him, but I had this little thing called the Mud-Run-4-Life and we already had a trip to Lake Powell booked for the first week of August, so I am single parenting it this summer while my husband works in Maui, SO-NOT-COOL! Our entire family MOVES to Hawaii right after our trip to Lake Powell. I am nervous and so excited all at the same time! It will most definitely be an adventure.

Spring is here!

It has been beautiful here in Utah the last few days! I dont know what it is about the warmth, but it sure does seem to liven my spirits. I love soaking up a little sunshine and enjoying the outdoors!

Life has been pretty busy lately and I am having a hard time remembering to slow down and enjoy it. I am looking forward to long summer days playing with my kiddos and taking a break from the hussle and bussle of life.

I have gotten way behind again with my blogging, so much for that New Years Resolution ;).

For my own family history... the last few months have been busy and stressful. Courts job has sometimes been a little rocky and it has gotten us thinking about long term goals and really thinking about where we want to be in many areas of our life. Financially speaking this bad economy sure makes it hard to raise 4 kids at times. But as usual, as trials arise in our marriage I am continually reminded that if we keep our covenants with the Lord he will bless us and provide away. I am reminded that money is JUST money, do we need it to live, yes, but does it make up who were are or bring true happiness, absolutly not. I am so grateful my husband has a job, that I have the privilege of being a stay-at-home mother, we have a roof over our head, food to eat, clothes to wear, cars to drive, and MOST importantly we have each other and the gospel. If you think of "riches" in terms of blessings, I am one of the richest people I know. I have wonderful friends and family, a loving husband, 4 darling kids, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the center and focus of my life... I am RICH in blessings!

Long time no blog

I really can't believe it is March already. The new year seems to be flying by. I would like time to slow down, but I am very anxious for Spring and Summer to get here.

Recently I haven't felt much like blogging. I seem to stop blogging when life gets stressful and trials arise. I need to work on this. My blogs are my journals and family history for my children. I want and need them to know that we have faced many trials in our marriage and each and every time the Lord pulls us through them.

I am grateful for my trials. They help me put my priorities into perspective, they remind me of how blessed I truly am, they help me to grow, and they teach me invaluable life lessons.

Trials are pretty crappy when you are going through them. But for me when I make it through something that seems impossible, I have this amazing sence of gratitude and accomplishment.

These past few weeks as we have had some pretty big challenges and I have really struggled with my emotions. In the past 8 months since my brother Jake's passing I have done everything possible to be a rock for my parents. These last few weeks it's like my walls have just come crashing down around me and I am finally 100% grieving personally for the loss of my brother. It has been painful, devestating, and healing all at the same time. I wish it didn't always take trials in my life for me to let my guard down and turn things over to the Lord, but often times it takes big, huge, difficult situations for me to humble myself and ask for help for myself.

This week I am going to put my trials in the Lords hands. Rather then take on life's challenges on my own, like I normally try to do, I am going to put all of my Faith in the Lords and turn these trials over to him.

Love my job!

This morning as I got the girlies off to school, feed the baby, and had a funny little conversation with J-man about how proud he was that he didn't wet the bed, I had a continuing feeling of gratitude for being a mother. Today has started out just like most days, but for some reason this morning the spirit has reminded me of what a blessing it is to be entrusted with these sweet little spirits! There are many times that I feel like a failure as a mom, but I know Heavenly Father knows I can do this with his help. I am so grateful to be a stay-at-home mom, last year around this time I went to school 40 hours a week for 4 1/2 months, MAN that was hard!! I hated not being home with my little man and kindergartener during the day and not being home when my sweet Mac got home from school. It killed me not being there! I am so glad that is OVER. That experience did teach me some very important lessons though. I learned how hard it is to work full time and be a mother, I learned that being able to stay home with my children is a huge blessing, and I learned that no matter how hard being a mom can be, being home with my children is exactly where I belong.

Goodbye Grandma...

Early this morning my moms mother, Juanita (Nita) passed away at the age of 87. She has had very poor health over the last several years, sever problems with her feet her entire life making it very painful and difficult to walk, and has spent the last 7 or 8 years in a wheel chair. Her passing is a blessing in the fact that she will no longer be in pain and for that we are grateful, although she will be missed dearly.

My grandmother was (is) a HILARIOUS women. She was witty, spunky, and full of Irish-Catholic feistiness!! My grandma was tough as nails and faced some huge trials in her life. She said what was on her mind and taught me to stick up for myself. I always knew that my grandma loved me and I am so grateful to have had such a great relationship with her.

One of my most treasured memories of her was her coming with me to pick out my wedding dress and having her buy my veil for me. My mom had been in town shopping for wedding dresses and we just didn't have any luck finding the "perfect dress". My mom was pretty heart broken to not be there with me to buy my wedding dress. My mom suggested that my grandma go shopping with me, so that at least she could be there when I picked out my dress. I can vividly remember my grandmother picking me up at my Provo apartment to go shopping. She was so excited to get to do this with me. As soon as I got in the car she asked if I wanted to go to breakfast. We ate together at Village Inn in Provo and we talked about the wedding plans as we ate our breakfast. Afterwards we headed to Walker's bridal. I can picture my grandma right now parking the car and struggling to get out of the car, I remember having her hang onto my arm as she slowly walked into the bridal shop. It always made me so sad for her that she had such horrible problems with her feet and legs. Once we were inside we looked around for only a few minutes and then I spotted the dress I had to have. I told my grandma, "this is THE DRESS" and she kept asking me over and over again if I was sure. We picked out the veil and a pretty jeweled hair piece to go with it. We also found some pretty high heals as well. My grandma always wished she could wear high heals, but with her foot problems is wasn't possible. When we got ready to pay my grandma took the veil and hair piece from me and told me that she wanted to buy it for my wedding gift, I thought this was so sweet of her.

Just a few weeks ago when my parents were in town for my cousin Megan's sons funeral I had an overwhelming impression that we needed to stop by the care center to see my grandma on the way home. My grandma had come to the viewing the night before but my family wasn't in town yet. I am so grateful that I listened to this prompting from the Spirit, this was the last time my mom, dad, and siblings saw her. It was such a great visit, she was a hoot, cracking jokes, talking about when she stole my grandpa from her friend, and even calling my dad by name (this was rare). It was such a fun visit. She loved seeing the baby and especially loved when we reminded her that we had given the baby her middle name. She had us all laughing hysterically. Randomly in the middle of our visit, she whipped her head around and told my dad, "geese, you are so handsome, Ron". I will always cherish this precious time we had with her.
This past Thursday after I dropped J-man off at school I headed to her care center to spend sometime with her. When I first got there she was peacefully sleeping. I sat by her, talked to her, kissed her forehead, and told her how much I loved her. About an hour later I was in the other room feeding the baby and talking with my Aunts, Grandma started yelling out in pain and we all hurried into her room. The hospice nurse had turned her on her side and it was very uncomfortable and painful for her. My Aunts got her situated but she continued to try to talk, they couldn't hear what she was saying so they asked me to listen. As I put my ear close to her mouth I heard her whisper a few words, the things she said will forever be precious to me. I started to cry, I kissed her forehead one last time and then whispered in her ear to please hug my baby brother for me and tell him how much I love and miss him. The spirit filled her little room and I know angels were present. I could have stayed for hours longer talking to her and holding her hand, I didn't want to leave(but the kids were getting out of school.)

I love my grandmother so dearly, she has made a HUGE impact on my life and I am so grateful to have been blessed to be her granddaughter. I don't even know how to put into words how grateful I am to my grandmother for converting and becoming a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints. I can't imagine my life without the knowledge of the Gospel, the knowledge that families can be TOGETHER FOREVER through covenants in the Lords Holy Temples. Death does NOT part us, our family is Eternal and we will be together in the next life. My faith has sustained me through my biggest trials and my faith in the Savior Jesus is unshakable. I have my grandmother to thank for joining the Church and making it possible for me to have this knowledge. My faith makes up who I am, my purpose in life, it is the center of my life, family, and home. Grandma, you have given us the MOST priceless gift!!!

I love this quote... "When you save a girl, you save generations", this is most definitely the case for our family.