The Hope of the Resurrection

A post of a paper I wrote for a school - October 24, 2012

This may seem like a topic better suited for Easter, But the hope of the resurrection is a topic that permeates my life every day, not just something that I think about on Easter. It is a truth that I hold dear to my heart.... especially on this day - The year anniversary of my oldest sister, Rochelle, who passed away from Breast Cancer.  but honestly I'm not only thinking of Rochelle, this topic also makes me think of my Grandpa and Grandma S (my dad's parents), two dear friends who each lost a mother (one from breast Cancer, and the other from out of nowhere), a sweet girl in my ward who lost her husband, and my husband's uncle Mike. And anyone who has lost a loved one.

(Something I wrote for my class about family crisis and how they can become opportunities.) 

My oldest sister Rochelle was diagnosed with Breast cancer in October of 2007. She went through so many chemo rounds, two brain tumors, a hysterectomy, loss of hair many times, radiation and everything that goes. She passed away just over a year ago, October 24, 2011. My entire family (all six girls and my parents) were able to be there in my sisters room her last two weeks of life. Was it painful to watch such a vibrant feisty mother of three and beautiful wife waste away while she couldn’t hardly move and could hardly communicate? Absolutely. Was it one of the most spiritual and uniting experiences for my entire family? Absolutely. Why? Because of our faith in Jesus Christ and his resurrection. Because of the Word of God written in scripture that brings awareness of where she was going and what she would be feeling.

“Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. (Alma 40:11)”

 Our beliefs were no linger beliefs but knowing. We knew she would be whole and reunited with other family (namely my sweet grandfather). We had each other, all of us there to help support and lean on each other. There were tears and laughter, often together. When she finally left this world on the 24^th we did not stop ourselves from grieving but we also haven’t stopped knowing. Although it was such a huge loss for everyone, particularly my mother, Rochelle’s husband Ryan and her three young children, we will not deny how it brought us together as a family. 

The Hope of Resurrection. 

To truly understand the Resurrection we must search the scriptures and understand the Atonement as well. I have read these passages before and they are so wonderful, the absolute love that God has for his children! I have said before that I don't feel like much of a writer but I love videos and the impact they can have.

A Hopeless Dawn by Frank Bramley

 President Thomas S Monson admired this painting and his heart went out to the hopeless feelings the two women had in realizing that the mother’s son and the woman’s husband was lost at sea. When we lose a loved one it can be a hopeless and wrenching feeling. Feelings of mourning are natural and good and God does not tell us not to weep (think of the Savior weeping at the loss of Lazarus a dear friend). There have been many tears. Usually, they have been tears of missing my sister.

The Hope of the Resurrection is that we may see our loved ones again! All will be resurrected because Christ broke the bands of death. In the resurrection death has lost its sting. 

I so grateful for this truth. This is the happiest announcement in the history of life

“Why seek ye the living among the dead?

“He is not here, but is risen.” (Luke 24:5–6).

President Thomas S. Monson said

“The empty tomb that first Easter morning was the answer to Job’s question, “If a man die, shall he live again?” To all within the sound of my voice, I declare, If a man die, he shall live again.”

“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made live.” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)

Revelation chapter 21, verse 4: ‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’

We're Not Perfect Mothers

A Blog Post from October 27, 2012 - From a blog I had but have since deleted 

I recently reorganized our pictures on the computer (I LOVE organizing) and I was looking at old pictures and videos of the kids from when they were born up until now. I was kind of emotional, how could I forget them in those first months of their lives, when they are so innocent and helpless and beautiful, so quickly. And how much time we spent just looking at them! And it wasn't even that long ago for Ginger. Now it seems like I am just looking at the tops of their heads all day long and telling them 'no!' or 'stop!'. And then feeling awful when Tipo gets this defeated look in his eyes and says "oh, sorry mom" and turns and walks away. Or Ginger scrunches up her face and cries and puts her arms out to me for a hug. Breaks my heart every time. So why do I keep doing it?
How quickly we forget!
We will all fail our children in one way or another, no mother is perfect! I hope that doesn't sound negative, it's not meant to be. I just mean that we can't beat ourselves up for not doing everything perfectly. I know I struggle with feeling like a failure a lot of times because I am not acting like the mother I always thought I would be.
A current LDS leader and Apostle Elder M Russell Ballard said:

"There s no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family....What matters is that a mother lovers her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else." {Daughters of God}

Being a mother is being in a relationship with your child.
Being a mother is not a set of tasks to accomplish and we aren't graded on how well we do compared to other mothers. (Erickson, 135)  

Erickson, Janet J. "Mothers as Nurturers." Successful Marriages and Families: Proclamation Principles and Research Perspective. (2012): 128-139. Print.

The Little Things

A blog post from November 13, 2012 - on another blog I had but have since deleted. 

"We must look carefully, therefore, not only at life’s large defining moments but also at the seemingly small moments. Even small acts and brief conversations count, if only incrementally, in the constant shaping of souls." Neal A Maxwell

Yesterday I took the kids outside to the playground. Sometimes it's hard for me to just be out there watching them with not enough energy to get up and play and I couldn't seem to stop yawning either! But on that day my kids noticed a bug on the playground wall. On closer inspection it looked like a very old (and large!) ladybug with no spots at all. It even had a limp, or at least that's what it looked like. The kids were so enthralled by this one tiny little bug  Whenever the kids would get too close the ladybug would stop and pull it's legs in, and after awhile get up and start moving again. After awhile Joseph decided to give the ladybug some obstacles he grabbed sticks and put them in the ladybug's way. Sometimes she would climb over them and sometimes she would go down around the side of the wall and back up on top. After sometime you could see a string of sticks evenly placed on the wall and all of a sudden it looked like Bug Olympics and Joseph was the coach.
For some reason that very insignificant event seemed very not insignificant. It was a moment of just seeing the world as my kids do and finding joy in simple things, something I haven't done in a long time. I'm really grateful for my kids, and their unique perspective on life. I'm grateful for small moments of sharing an experience with them.

“Grand drama and ecstatic moments do not make a life good. Life is an everyday affair, and the sum total of unremarkable, daily happenings define its quality. In the prosaic novel, heroes and heroines who live for extreme moments misunderstand what life is... Many can perform heroic actions in the sight of all, but few posses the courage to do small things right without recognition” ~ Gary Saul Morson 

Time for another video!

I think it is about time to make a video for Rylee for her fourth birthday like I made one for Joseph! :) And the nice thing this time around..... I have a comupter with Final Cut Pro on it so I can edit it right here in my own home! No taking the kids to the school and trying to get them to sit still and watch a movie while I try and edit. :)

This is What Our Home Looks Like When We Are ALL Sick

Lots of sleeping, movie watching and non-cleaning. Okay... to be honest the mess can be pretty typical in our house at times. But definitely when everybody is sick. I had cleaned the living room Thursday and then that night I was throwing up. The next morning Cody was nauseous and by mid-day Rylee had a temperature. Joseph didn't get a temperature until this morning. Louise is the only one not sick right now. (although she was throwing up last Monday) We all still recovering.

Little Rylee was sick yesterday with the flu. So she spent the day laying on the couch watching Netflix or in her bed conked out. Thankfully she started to feel better later in the day and by dinner time she was running around and screaming with Joseph. She is the first to get sick this season. Who will be next? 

Messy Bun