Preparing Her to Meet Him

I had a neat experience this week with my Grandma. As I previously shared her health has been steadily declining and we are two months past what we thought for sure were her last days. She continues to surprise us by being a fighter and persevering. I think she is frustrated and she told me recently on the phone that her mother used to say "I'm not afraid to die I just don't know how to do it," and that she can relate to that so perfectly right now. It has been a strange transitionary period. I feel bad I am not there to support my own mom through this caregiving and waiting period. But as I read a thought from Come Follow Me Daily and felt impressed to send it to my Grandma the thought came to my mind "you are helping prepare her to meet Him." What a beautiful way to look at these sunset years. As hard as it is to wake up each day wondering if that is the day you'll get "the call" that Grandma has passed we are lucky that she isn't suffering and isn't in pain. She is still hanging in and able to talk, visit, and read although she gets tired more easily and is often emotionally exhausted. Me and my family feel blessed that we can all assist in preparing Grandma to go home. I get teary eyed thinking about the joyful reunion that awaits her: her parents, brother, husband, friends and many other family members are going to be so excited to see her and most importantly our Savior. It takes my breath away thinking about seeing our Savior again. A new Book of Mormon video came out last Fall about the Savior visiting the Nephites and blessing the children and it is one of my favorite depictions of the Savior. I know He is near and ministers to us. One of my favorite quotes is by Spencer W. Kimball, "God does notice us, and He watches over us. But it is usually through another person that He meets our needs." How honored I feel when I get to be that person assisting God in His work.

The rest of the week was filled with work, school and homework. Some especially bright spots among the gloomy rainy days were a Young Women's year kickoff activity with talks by two of the Reyes girls that blew me away. I loved the thoughtful way they spoke to the new girl coming into Young Women's and their positive feedback that they loved coming to church on Sunday and that both Sunday lessons and weekly Wednesday activities are so fun. Joanna said that she feels very close to all of the leaders and that she knows she could tell us anything and trusts us. No sweeter words could be said. I sure love being in Young Women's both the girls and other adult leaders have softened and expanded my heart in ways I'll never forget! It was also really awesome to again see the growth in the girls as they planned decorations and an overall theme for the meeting. They did a great job and I am so proud of the things they have accomplished in the past few short months. The girls have also attempted to teach us how to hit the griddy which gave them lots of laughs. Sometimes I can't believe I'm the old adult teenagers make fun of.

Simone one of my favorite new friends in our ward recommended a restaurant downtown called Bae Bae's Kitchen and it is one of our new favorite eats. It is a Koreain barbeque joint and is so yummy. We took Zach and Jenna there this weekend and they also loved the fried chicken and Bulgogi beef. Drooling just thinking about it.

Another highlight this week was having the missionaries over for dinner and a message. The Elders challenged us to take a picture with them and make a post and invite others to hear an inspiring message and meet with the missionaries. The lighting was bad but the message was good. It is always a good reminder to be a good example and share the blessings of the gospel wherever you go in simple, natural ways. 

Finally probably the best way to finish the week was Krew's baby blessing. It's times like these when I just feel overcome with gratitude for the family we have built out here. We feel especially close to the Jones/Huntzinger families because of their Kaysville roots and Alaskan adventures. We are so grateful for Kate and Dustin Huntzinger who have welcomed us right into their family inviting us to Thanksgiving dinners and concerts and checking in with us. We will forever be glad to be Jim and Debra (Dustin's nicknames for us). Tanner gave a sweet blessing to Krew man. We love our sweet guy.

Later that night was the Super Bowl so we all met up at Taylor and Keile's to watch the game together. The boys did an impressive job choosing and distributing out finger foods and it was another fun mashup of family food traditions. I also finally felt comfortable enough to wear my Jaden hand me down Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt outside and not be ridiculed by Steelers fans. Even though the Eagles lost it was still a great game and fun evening spent with our PA fam. 

Peaches

• Got our annual Mardi Gras King Cake from my boss and his wife who are live and are from Louisiana. Despite Jaden's mumblings about how wild it would be it's on my bucket list to go to Louisiana during Mardi Gras. I think if we were down in Lafayette where my boss lives it would be very family friendly and fun. I'm not removing it from my bucket list 

• I've got my last week of school to do list mapped out. This paired with the In-Focus cognitive enhancer from one of my clients is going to be my recipe for success in finishing strong. Can't believe I'm one week away from finishing my program. HALLELUJAH!!!!

• Young Women's activity and the Reyes girls talks
• Bae Bae's Kitchen with Zach and Jenna
• Krew's baby blessing
• Lesson with missionaries
• Texts and calls with grandma
• SuperBowl food and festivities