How did time pass so quickly? Yesterday Kiana turned 16. It has been a rollercoaster type of month. Not everything she dreamed for came to pass, but at least she tried. The important thing in life is that we try. I wish for her that she knew the extent of her greatness, and yet, if she did she might not have the simple humility that makes her so compassionate. I keep thinking of that song, "I Hope You Dance". I hope that every heartbreak turns into determination.
So today, for Kiana:
I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Only one teen left....
Yesterday was Kade's 20th birthday. I miss that kid! Yes, I thought of him all day long.
I remember 20 years ago when he was in the NICU, a big 9 lb baby amongst the preemies. He developed a respiratory infection sometime during his birth. It took 4 days for them to figure out what was wrong and for him to finally be well enough to come home. Holding him was difficult. He had tubes and wires attached to his body and would rip the IV out of his arm, so they had to put it in his head. Looking at him then, I never dreamed that 20 years later he would be a strong 6 ft 2 or 3 missionary.
Happy birthday Kade!!!
I remember 20 years ago when he was in the NICU, a big 9 lb baby amongst the preemies. He developed a respiratory infection sometime during his birth. It took 4 days for them to figure out what was wrong and for him to finally be well enough to come home. Holding him was difficult. He had tubes and wires attached to his body and would rip the IV out of his arm, so they had to put it in his head. Looking at him then, I never dreamed that 20 years later he would be a strong 6 ft 2 or 3 missionary.
Happy birthday Kade!!!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
2 days until hump day for Destinee
I can't believe it has actually been almost 9 months since my kids left their missions. That means one thing--HUMP DAY for Destinee. It will be Saturday. Now the countdown begins. I miss those kids, but I am so blessed to have one at home to keep me smiling. I know it is where they should be, where I want them to be, and I sometimes wonder what life would have been like if they hadn't gone. We would have progressed as far? Would Destinee be heading towards marriage? Would Kade be on the wrong path? Thank goodness we will never know.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Getting closer to the Savior
In reading missionary blogs, I came across an account of Elder speaking at a Stake conference. He spoke of his handicapped son asking if he and his wife knew Jesus. He focused his talk on that subject. He said there are4 ways to get closer to the Savior, to come to know Him, and base our life on Him. They are:
1. Seek the companionship of the Holy Ghost
2. Nurture testimony of Christ by daily scripture study and meaningful prayer.
3. Keep the commandments
4. Follow the Prophet.
The missionary went on to say that 'he said something very interesting about following the prophet that I'm still trying to fathom. he said, "When we follow the prophet, we learn what is expected of us.'
1. Seek the companionship of the Holy Ghost
2. Nurture testimony of Christ by daily scripture study and meaningful prayer.
3. Keep the commandments
4. Follow the Prophet.
The missionary went on to say that 'he said something very interesting about following the prophet that I'm still trying to fathom. he said, "When we follow the prophet, we learn what is expected of us.'
Thursday, January 20, 2011
BYU's Chris Collinsworth had angels on his left and right sides
Six months into his mission in Australia, Elder Chris Collinsworth was headed home with his companion, Elder David Ferguson, out about 18 months, after their last appointment of the day. The two were on what is called “splits” or "exchanges," working with someone who is not your regular companion.
It was about 8:45 p.m., and they thought nothing of the two men who approached. They even stepped off the sidewalk to let the men pass. As they did so, without provocation, one of the men reared back and landed a punch to Chris’ head that sent him reeling. When he struck a second blow, Chris, no slouch and currently a 6-foot-9 power forward on the BYU basketball team, fought back. The second stranger attacked Elder Ferguson. He used both his fists and a knife but fled in the face of Ferguson’s ferocious defense. Several other men quickly joined the attack on Chris, pulling his shirt over his head, driving him to the ground, and kicking and punching him.
The man with the knife returned to join the fray. Elder Ferguson sprang to pull attackers off Chris, taking his share of blows. One car approached, but the driver simply swerved to the other side of the road and drove on. A second car did the same. A third driver, a Sudanese refugee, pulled up, began to honk his horn, flash his lights and yell. The attackers finally fled.
The attack was well-covered in the media when it happened back in 2008. Chris sat in my office in December and related information about the attack that few have heard. When Chris was set apart and given a blessing, as all missionaries are, his stake president stated there would be a point in his mission when there would be “angels on your right hand and angels on your left hand protecting you.” A big, strong 19-year-old, Chris thought little of the promise at that time.
In Australia, once before with his regular companion, they were surrounded by a group of Middle Eastern emigrants who began pushing and shoving them. When one of them punched Chris, an older Middle Eastern man, observing from a bench, yelled at the young men to leave the missionaries alone, and they managed to escape harm. Afterward Chris asked his companion what he would do if attacked. He said he would run.
However, on this occasion, Chris was with Elder Ferguson who jumped to his defense. After the attackers fled, Chris described “blood everywhere.” Elder Ferguson’s hands were severely cut trying to fend off the knife attack. Chris explained, “It looked like the Blue Man Group only red everywhere.” Chris wrapped his tie around Elder Ferguson’s hand to help stop the bleeding, and when the ambulance arrived, he directed help to Elder Ferguson. He only rode in the ambulance so the two could stay together. However, at the hospital, trying to exit the ambulance, Chris collapsed, unable to walk. Taken inside in a wheelchair, he asked to use the phone to call the mission president. The nurses strangely refused. Then a “code red” went out over the loudspeaker, calling emergency room personnel to respond to a stab wound to the kidneys, a dangerous, life-threatening injury. Doctors and nurses left Elder Ferguson’s room and descended on Chris.
At some point in the melee he was stabbed in the back. In shock, with adrenalin flowing, his muscles tightened. Only after Chris had a shot of morphine did blood begin to flow from the puncture. When checked, miraculously, the knife missed his kidney by less than a centimeter. Chris was also able to make that call to his mission president. One of the paramedics was an LDS Church member who lent his cell phone, and when the mission president arrived blessings were administered. Chris estimated that for about 20 seconds his attackers were kicking him full force in the face and head. He stayed in the hospital overnight for observation, but left the next day with no bruises, no concussion, no lasting pain or injuries.
Meanwhile, a specialist was called to attend to Elder Ferguson’s wounds. Anticipating extensive damage to ligaments and tendons in his hands the doctor scheduled surgery the next day. In surgery he was amazed. There was no real damage to the ligaments or tendons, and Elder Ferguson was sewn up and able to recover on his own, although, as Chris explained, “He’s got way better scars. You can barely see mine.”
When the mission president returned, some days later, with the missionaries to the scene of the attack, he recounted to Chris the spiritual intuitions that accompanied the visit. He testified that during the attack “angels were on your left hand and on your right hand, watching over you.” Chris had never recounted to his mission president the blessing pronounced upon him when he was set apart.
So now you have, “the rest of the story.” Author: Kristine Frederickson : LDS World
It was about 8:45 p.m., and they thought nothing of the two men who approached. They even stepped off the sidewalk to let the men pass. As they did so, without provocation, one of the men reared back and landed a punch to Chris’ head that sent him reeling. When he struck a second blow, Chris, no slouch and currently a 6-foot-9 power forward on the BYU basketball team, fought back. The second stranger attacked Elder Ferguson. He used both his fists and a knife but fled in the face of Ferguson’s ferocious defense. Several other men quickly joined the attack on Chris, pulling his shirt over his head, driving him to the ground, and kicking and punching him.
The man with the knife returned to join the fray. Elder Ferguson sprang to pull attackers off Chris, taking his share of blows. One car approached, but the driver simply swerved to the other side of the road and drove on. A second car did the same. A third driver, a Sudanese refugee, pulled up, began to honk his horn, flash his lights and yell. The attackers finally fled.
The attack was well-covered in the media when it happened back in 2008. Chris sat in my office in December and related information about the attack that few have heard. When Chris was set apart and given a blessing, as all missionaries are, his stake president stated there would be a point in his mission when there would be “angels on your right hand and angels on your left hand protecting you.” A big, strong 19-year-old, Chris thought little of the promise at that time.
In Australia, once before with his regular companion, they were surrounded by a group of Middle Eastern emigrants who began pushing and shoving them. When one of them punched Chris, an older Middle Eastern man, observing from a bench, yelled at the young men to leave the missionaries alone, and they managed to escape harm. Afterward Chris asked his companion what he would do if attacked. He said he would run.
However, on this occasion, Chris was with Elder Ferguson who jumped to his defense. After the attackers fled, Chris described “blood everywhere.” Elder Ferguson’s hands were severely cut trying to fend off the knife attack. Chris explained, “It looked like the Blue Man Group only red everywhere.” Chris wrapped his tie around Elder Ferguson’s hand to help stop the bleeding, and when the ambulance arrived, he directed help to Elder Ferguson. He only rode in the ambulance so the two could stay together. However, at the hospital, trying to exit the ambulance, Chris collapsed, unable to walk. Taken inside in a wheelchair, he asked to use the phone to call the mission president. The nurses strangely refused. Then a “code red” went out over the loudspeaker, calling emergency room personnel to respond to a stab wound to the kidneys, a dangerous, life-threatening injury. Doctors and nurses left Elder Ferguson’s room and descended on Chris.
At some point in the melee he was stabbed in the back. In shock, with adrenalin flowing, his muscles tightened. Only after Chris had a shot of morphine did blood begin to flow from the puncture. When checked, miraculously, the knife missed his kidney by less than a centimeter. Chris was also able to make that call to his mission president. One of the paramedics was an LDS Church member who lent his cell phone, and when the mission president arrived blessings were administered. Chris estimated that for about 20 seconds his attackers were kicking him full force in the face and head. He stayed in the hospital overnight for observation, but left the next day with no bruises, no concussion, no lasting pain or injuries.
Meanwhile, a specialist was called to attend to Elder Ferguson’s wounds. Anticipating extensive damage to ligaments and tendons in his hands the doctor scheduled surgery the next day. In surgery he was amazed. There was no real damage to the ligaments or tendons, and Elder Ferguson was sewn up and able to recover on his own, although, as Chris explained, “He’s got way better scars. You can barely see mine.”
When the mission president returned, some days later, with the missionaries to the scene of the attack, he recounted to Chris the spiritual intuitions that accompanied the visit. He testified that during the attack “angels were on your left hand and on your right hand, watching over you.” Chris had never recounted to his mission president the blessing pronounced upon him when he was set apart.
So now you have, “the rest of the story.” Author: Kristine Frederickson : LDS World
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Happy Birthday Hermana Park
There are a few days of a Missionary Mom's life that are hard to bear. First is the day we drop our kids off at the MTC. It is one of the hardest days of our lives. You think Kindergarten is hard? Try dropping off your baby for two whole years! The second day might be Christmas, but for me it is their birthdays. Tomorrow will be the first birthday Destinee has spent away from home, and the first birthday I have missed being with her.
I have to think a little about the past 22 years. Destinee was always preparing for a mission. I have always said that there is some guy out there who is very lucky because whomever she marries will have the wife it takes to become a General Authority. Behind every great man is an even greater woman. Destinee has always done what is right. She has always made good choices, and has always loved the Gospel. She has always been worthy. What a great example that young lady has been to me and others.
22 years ago I was in the hospital, urging her to come out and meet the world. Just after midnight, at 12:28 am, she entered this world, determined to make it a better world. What a glorious day that was!
I have to think a little about the past 22 years. Destinee was always preparing for a mission. I have always said that there is some guy out there who is very lucky because whomever she marries will have the wife it takes to become a General Authority. Behind every great man is an even greater woman. Destinee has always done what is right. She has always made good choices, and has always loved the Gospel. She has always been worthy. What a great example that young lady has been to me and others.
22 years ago I was in the hospital, urging her to come out and meet the world. Just after midnight, at 12:28 am, she entered this world, determined to make it a better world. What a glorious day that was!
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