February 26, 2023 - March 26, 2023
"I keep myself busy by the things I do. But every time I pause, I still think of you." anonymous online
Snow, Snow, and more Snow!!!
The snow we have received this year has been relentless and record breaking. Not only have we received large amounts of snow, it has not been drying out between storms. I have not been able to use my North driveway in months, my solar panels are no longer receiving sun, and it is the end of March and I still have 2 1/2 feet of snow on my front lawn! This was quite the winter to have to survive without Larry. I am very grateful for Dallin & Alyssa's help and also good neighbors. One of the huge concerns everyone has now is flooding. When it finally does warm up and start to melt there is just so much of it with not enough places to go. I have sand bagged around my window wells, at the bottom of my basement stairs, and down at my shop. Sadly, the sand bags are now all frozen and will do us no good unless they thaw out.🙄 Of coarse we are grateful for the moisture, but it doesn't do any good in regards to planting crops if you have no dry ground to plant in. This is a winter for the books and one that I will be grateful to have come to an end.
One of my widow friends says that since her husband passed away she takes a picture of the sun everyday. I have spent a lot of time contemplating this, especially with the long winter that we have endured. It has made me realize that no matter how stormy it may be outside, as long as there is light the sun is there, even if it is hiding or hard to find. I think this practice is very symbolic of our need to keep focused on the Savior (the source of all light and the "Son" of God) even if he seems hard to find behind all of the storm clouds in our lives because he is always there. We will see and find what we are looking for and focusing on.
Nate Plays Basketball
Nate started out the month by half-heartedly finishing his wrestling season. He has really struggled with a desire to wrestle for the past couple of years and he has decided that he no longer wants to wrestle and would like to play basketball. This makes me really sad because all of our boys have wrestled and they have been good at it. Nate has a very tender heart and says that he does not like hurting people. We tend to be vertically challenged and are not really built for basketball, but he is very determined to play. As most of the boys on the basketball team have been playing for several years, Nate has a huge learning curve but he has enjoyed his time on the team and I am proud of him for venturing out and trying new things.
LDS Widow/Widowers Conference
March 9-11 I had the opportunity to attend the LDS widow/widowers conference in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah Institute building. I stayed with and attended the conference with my Uncle Roger (he is Larry's blood uncle, but I claim him as my own) who lives in Bountiful, UT. He lost his wife to pancreatic cancer last spring. He is a really fun person to spend time with and I especially love that even though he lives in University of Utah territory he proudly displays his BYU light in his front window for the neighborhood to see. Larry would be so proud!
On my way to Bountiful I was able to meet up with one of my old friends from Malad, Terri Russell (sadly, I forgot to get a picture), whom has also become a widow since the last time that we met up. I was also able to meet up with some of my widow friends at the conference and I came away once again with so much valuable information and insights. I am creating a separate post going into more detail about the conference.
Ben Gets Set Apart
The Sunday after returning from the conference Ben had FINALLY received his "official" mission call and was set apart as a missionary! He was given a beautiful blessing by President Smellie and I know that Larry would be so proud of the fine young man he is growing into. His current assignments include working three days a week at the MTC cafeteria, attending the temple once a week, and he is still trying to get on with the BYU family history library.
ACE Convention
The Monday after Ben's setting apart, I boarded an airplane and flew out to San Antonio, TX for the ACE Convention. It didn't really hit me that this was the first time in the 16 years that Larry and I had been doing business together that I would be attending my first convention without him until I walked into the cold, lonely hotel room by myself and shut the door. I cried and didn't sleep much the first night. It was really scary to come to the stark reality that our latest business venture largely rested on my shoulders. I felt much gratitude for Enoch's willingness to step in and help shoulder that responsibility.
After going to the show I gained a lot more confidence about the new store opening largely because I was able to meet with some of the ACE staff and also have detailed discussions with some of our team from Utah. These are other people that our business partner has partnered with to build ACE stores. After visiting with them, I have a clearer understanding of what Enoch and I's roles will be and the other employees we will need to run the store. Enoch's title will be "Store Manager" and mine will be "Office Manager". Enoch will be full-time and I will be part-time. It was also really amazing to see the order that goes into setting up an ACE store. Even though Enoch and I still have a lot of paperwork and ground work get things off of the ground, I am feeling more confident just knowing what needs to be done.
Update on ACE Building Project
I think it is amazing that Enoch has been hands on with the construction process of the store from the ground up. This is something that Larry would have LOVED to be part of and I like to think that he has been largely involved with the process. The store is scheduled to be finished the end of May and open towards the end of June for a soft opening. The grand opening will take place later in the summer.
San Antonio Holds Special Place In Our Hearts
A really cool aspect of our trip to San Antonio is that is where Enoch served the last half of his mission. Shortly after Enoch returned from his mission, we were planning on taking the whole family to visit San Antonio and visit Enoch's mission. Sadly, this trip became one of many that we had to cancel because Larry's health was not good enough to allow him to travel.
While in San Antonio we had the opportunity to do some site seeing and have dinner with one of Enoch's favorite families from his mission, The Holm Family, and a group of missionaries. As Enoch served in San Antonio during covid, they were still doing a lot of service. I was able to see a storage shelf that Enoch and Elder Potter had built for the Holm's family in their garage.
The follow are pictures that I took while on a boat tour going down the San Antonio River that goes right through the middle of the city. It is very beautiful.
Temples
Because I was in San Antonio at the ACE Conference, I missed our ward temple night. Bekah was the representative for our family at that activity. I had the privilege of attending the Bountiful, Utah temple that week while I was staying with Uncle Roger for the widow/widowers conference. I also had the opportunity to attend the Provo City temple while in Provo attending the "Life After Loss" conference at BYU. Dallin and Alyssa were able to attend the temple the Saturday after I got home. Rachel also went and did baptisms at the temple with her youth group and Ben is now assigned to attend the temple once a week. I love that so many of my family are attending the temple on a regular basis and I know that Larry loves this also. The temple is truly where we can go to find heaven on earth and rest from the cares of the world. I am so grateful for this time in my life that I have been able to attend the temple on a weekly basis. It is truly one of my greatest lifelines as I grieve the lost of my husband and best friend and adjust to life without him here.
Night Out With Ben & Life After Loss Conference
The Life After Loss conference was phenomenal and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to go. Again I was able to meet some amazing people and I learned so much about grieving from an even broader perspective than just that of being a widow. During one of the presentations I attended I kept looking at the presenter and thinking I know him. It finally dawned on me that it was Bishop Allen Hansen. He was the Bishop while I was Relief Society President in Provo. I have a lot of information to share from the conference so I will be creating a separate post to share some of the highlights from this incredible conference.
Enoch Wins Tennis Tournament
Enoch has always been like Larry as far as his love for athletics and his competitive nature. In high school Enoch excelled in football, wrestling, and track. The last few years he has taken up competitive tennis and I finally had the opportunity to go to one of his major competitions down at the indoor tennis courts at the Eccles Tennis Center at the University of Utah. Enoch ended up winning the tournament by winning the guy who had won the tournament last year! We went to "Hires Big H" afterward to celebrate.
Three Plays!!!
I had the opportunity to attend three amazing plays this month-- starting with "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" in Malad (this was an excellent production that I had the opportunity to attend twice). There were several of my nieces and nephews in this play which made it extra fun!
I also had the opportunity to attend the play Bye Bye Birdie put on by the Westside high school at the Dahle theater in Dayton. Our play director left the school last year so one of the other staff stepped up and directed the play. She did an amazing job and it too was an incredible play!
Lastly, I had the opportunity to attend "Beauty and the Beast" at the Old Barn Theater in Fielding, Utah. This is an old barn that was made into a play house that I have enjoyed going to for years. As usual, they did not disappoint with this production! I went the night before closing night so the theater was pretty packed. Surprisingly, the seat next to me was empty and it was almost as if I could sense Larry sitting there with me.
Church Activity
Our activity in the church keeps us plenty busy and gives us lots of support. This month a member from the Stake Presidency Elders quorum came by to visit and see how we were doing and ask if there was anything that they could do. I really appreciated having them in our home and their thoughtfulness to our family.
Rachel had the opportunity to participate in missionary week this month which she thoroughly enjoyed. This was something that Larry had been heavily involved in with Ben and Bekah for the past couple of years as a member of the Bishopric so it felt strange and sad not having him there.
One of my new callings is to visit each of the sisters in the ward and drop off a note and a little treat to each sister in the ward for their birthday. This has been a blessing for me to get to know some of the sisters in the ward better. I also had the opportunity to bring dinner to a member of our ward who has several young children and has just been diagnosed with MS.😢
Our month ended with Fast Sunday on March 26th. Normally it is the first Sunday of the month, but because that will be general conference we had it a week early. Our ward did a "Linger Longer" after Sacrament meeting where we all brought something to share and had dinner together. It was super fun to be together as a ward and it made it extra special for us because we had the privilege of sitting and visiting with our wonderful Stake President, President Smellie. I am really looking forward to general conference next weekend and hearing counsel from our prophets and apostles. It is something that I look forward to every six months as a source of peace and inspiration as we learn more about Jesus Christ and his gospel.
Totally enjoyed reading about all your adventures and the pictures you shared! 💕
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