Goodbye 2012

I can hardly believe that it is December 31, 2012. The end of one crazy year!
It has been 170 days since Our Adventure began. It has flown by and crawled at the pace of a snail all at once, if that even makes sense.
A more beautiful day could not have been offered for the beginning of our journey. We had breakfast together and then began focusing on our individual "priorities" for the day. Kirk had found a weight lifting set in the classifieds and had made the purchase and the pick up before 10:00 AM. He loaded "Inga" the dirt bike, on the trailer and went to pick up our favorite son-in-law Steven and nephew, Kenny, who would be joining him on his third ride of the week.

Third ride of the week?!?! Has this man no job? Responsibilities? A wife with a Honey-Do list?

Yes. Yes. And, yes.

This is the life of a Firefighter. When the opportunity for Kirk to transfer back to the Fire/Paramedic side at the Orem Department of Public Safety, it almost seemed like an answer to prayers for this motorcycle riding man. Firefighters work a grueling 48 hours on duty and then enjoy 96 hours off duty. It is not a schedule for the normal man. ;)  The Brethren refer to each 48 hours on as a "Tour of Duty". Kirk had just transferred back at the end of June and had served three tours before Our Adventure began.

Back at home I was making preparations for an early birthday dinner for Steven including his favorite dessert, lemon meringue pie, which turned out pretty great, if I do say so myself. ;)



I had just tidied everything up when the phone rang. It was Steven. "Kirk has been in a motorcycle crash but he is okay." His voice was so calm that I thought he was just teasing. "You are so funny" I said, "What time will you guys be home for dinner?" He repeated what he had said the first time and added, "They life-flighted him to Utah Valley and he should be there by now." I told him I would head right over. I was trying to digest three key points from the phone call; crash, life-flight and he's okay.

I immediately knelt down and prayed with all of my heart, "Please Heavenly Father, please let him be okay." I felt an overwhelming sense of peace; everything would be fine. I held on to that moment with an ever tightening grip that almost became a strangle hold over the next few days. I even started to doubt the feeling. Did I just make this up in my head. Did I really get an answer to my prayer? I think this is human nature. We ask for Heavenly Father's help and then doubt the blessing we have been given. Why do we do this? Wouldn't our lives be so much easier if we just believed?

Over the next few days we were granted a miracle. Millions of miracles! The word "Miracle" became our new mantra. Again, doubt would creep in and make me question the blessings..... "Are we worthy of these miracles?" The answer? Heavenly Father thinks so.

Over the next 170 days we have watched our life become rich with blessings. We are even closer as husband and wife. Our girls, Bryn and Dani and her husband Steven, have given up so many of their own lives to be available at any moment.






We have enjoyed the support, love, prayers and service from family, friends, co-workers, neighbors and our ward family. They carried so much of the load for us that we almost felt weightless. I never realized what my actions, bringing a meal to a neighbor, running errands for another or praying for them during their time of need would do for them. It literally "lightens their load". Another revelation for us both was that we could "feel" the prayers that were offered for us. I don't even know if there are words to describe this. I do know that I will forever be grateful for those prayers.



We are optimistically looking forward to our January 22nd meeting with Starlene Clayson NP at Dr. Gardner's office. We anticipate a clean bill of health and a 100% clearance to return to work with the Brethren at the Fire Station. It will be a celebration of epic proportions!




We leave you at the end of 2012 with this:

The memories of our Adventure filled year
Are full of miracles we'll always hold dear.
Millions of lessons and blessings galore
With all of this, who could ask for more?
But more we were given, much more we received
Our greatest lesson was just to Believe.
Believe in miracles, great and small,
Believe in the love God gives us all.
Believe in the goodness of family and friends
Whose service and prayers seem to have no end.
Believe in this truth, that God has a plan
And He'll help you through if you'll just take His hand.
He'll love you and guide you and help you to grow
He'll be right beside you, of this we know.
So through this Season, with all you receive,
We hope that you will always Believe.

May 2013 bring you copious amounts of happiness and blessings! You are worth it!

Love to you all!
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How Firm a Foundation

48 days since Our Adventure began.

We were able to go to sacrament meeting today and it was wonderful to see our ward family, in person, and be uplifted with music and their testimonies.



Because I Have Been Given Much was the first hymn of the meeting. After the earthquakes in Haiti, Kirk was able to serve the amazing people there with the Utah Hospital Task Force for 3 weeks. This hymn was one the group sang on the flight to Haiti. As soon as I realized what hymn we were singing, I looked at Kirk, knowing that it holds so much meaning for him. I opened the hymn book and Kirk, very emotionally, said, "I can't sing it." Only a moment passed before I heard him say, "Yes I can."

"Yes I Can" seems to represent Our Adventure perfectly.

At the end of the meeting was another powerful hymn, How Firm A Foundation. I found myself recognizing the last 48 days in the words of the hymn especially, very literally, the third line of the third verse.

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?

In every condition, in sickness, in health;
In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth;
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As thy days may demand, shall thy strength ever be.

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

How grateful we are for the small and simple things that bless us each day. I hope you take the time to recognize the lessons that are so freely given. Our Adventure has made us much more aware of these things that used to pass us by.

Love to you all!

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Sharing

It is day 32 and I would first like to apologize for no post yesterday. I asked Kirk last night what he would like to talk about on the blog and he said he felt like it was "a non-blog worthy day." So I put the Ipad away and we enjoyed a quiet evening together. It was a nice break after a long day.




Interestingly enough, both Dani and Bryn were here tonight for dinner and I asked them and Kirk what we should talk about on the blog tonight. They each rattled off some thoughts but followed them up with "We've talked about all of those things before. Life is getting back to normal and people aren't going to keep reading the blog."
I disagree.
And....in our family.....whatever Mom says, goes. Okay, maybe not, but it was worth a try;)
Just for the record.....I still disagree.
We have received countless comments, through email, facebook, the blog and personal conversations, about our Adventure and the positive way we are facing it. While we believe there is no other way to handle this situation, we are finding that this attitude is unique in society. I hope we can help others see a better way through sharing our experience.




We have some wonderful friends at the Payson Senior Center and love listening to their stories about life and learning. Through my work with Freedom Home Health and Hospice and other healthcare companies, I have been hanging out with these wonderful people for more than seven lucky years and have brought Kirk along with me to some of the activities I've attended. Not surprisingly, everyone loved him the moment they met him. He just has a gift for getting along with anyone. We have enjoyed going to different restaurants, cooking dutch oven dinners for them and even taking pictures of them at the annual Christmas party. Our lives have truly been blessed by our association and friendship with them.
Tammy Evans is the Assistant Director of the center and I will never forget a lesson she taught me one day. She had me hold a cup of water in my hand, arm stretched out, and she asked me how much I thought it weighed. I told her eight ounces. She asked me to continue to hold it there while she kept talking to me. After about 30 seconds she asked me again how much I thought it weighed. I told her I thought it still weighed eight ounces. She continued to talk for a couple of minutes while I held the cup out. She asked again, "How much does that weigh?" It actually felt heavier. I knew it hadn't changed, but my arm was getting tired and that made it feel heavier.
The lesson here? Holding that cup of water out seemed pretty easy at first but not ever having a break, either setting the cup down or even drinking some of the water, tired out my arm. This can be applied to any difficulties in life. If you don't set the burden, the worry, the stress down for a while, it will wear you out. It will seem to be much more than it actually is and much harder to deal with.
Having someone to share the Adventure with, Kirk, the girls, Our family and friends has helped lighten the load. Whether it is a phone call from Cheryl, a meal from the neighbors, a visit from a friend, Steven mowing the lawn, Dani bringing our granddog Hank up to visit or Bryn running our errands.....this list could go on and on..... Each and every effort helps lighten the load, gives a break to Kirk or me and brings so many blessings to our life.
I don't know if I ever realized how important these things can be for those on the receiving end. It is always easier to give than to receive and I'll bet that everyone reading this would be the first person volunteering to help someone in need. But, just as Karen Murray, Relief Society president in our marvelous Mapleton 21st ward told me, "Don't take the blessing of giving away from others."
Thank you to every one who has joined us on the Adventure. We will continue to share, maybe not everyday, but as often as we can, and we hope it can help someone in their life. We love you!!
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Choices

We have been blessed with two thoughtful, compassionate, giving daughters and, as a bonus, we have also acquired one amazing son-in-law. As many in the family have said, Dani sure set the bar high when she agreed to marry Steven. Some day, we fully expect to have another son-in-law that will challenge Steven's "favorite Son-In-Law" status;).







Throughout Dani and Bryn's lives we have tried to instill the very simple fact that "Attitude is Everything". It is really that easy.

25 days since the adventure began and almost every visitor to our home, on the phone, in comments on the blog and facebook, talks about how positive we have been through this whole journey. What we hope everyone realizes is that it is a choice, a very conscious effort, to make the best of everything.

It can be so easy to be consumed by the negativity in everyday life. How many times have you checked facebook to see what was going on with your friends to find a bunch of comments relaying to the world how bad their day was, how unhappy they are or how much they hate their job? It is not only consuming, it is contagious!!

In EVERY situation in life, you have two choices: You can make the best of it or you can make the worst of it. It's your choice.

This philosophy is the core of our beliefs and guides the actions in our lives. It also gives great comfort to control freaks, such as myself. No matter what the situation, no matter what someone else says or does to hurt you, you can CHOOSE to make the best of it by controlling YOUR thoughts, words and actions and only sharing the positive ones.

Just so you know, our adventure is no cake walk. It is probably more emotionally draining than anything else. Kirk made the comment to one of our neighbors today that he used to think it would be great if all he had to do was lay in bed and watch TV. After 25 days in bed and only 20 minutes of standing/sitting/walking at a time, he has changed his mind. He has been in pain, achy, frustrated, tired and even helpless at times. Would you know it if you stopped by or called? Probably not. Why? He has chosen to make the best of it and that is what he will share.

We both want to thank you for the continued prayers for Kirk, his healing and our family. Thank you for the service you continue to give and the thoughtful words you share. This all helps us to persevere, to make the best of the adventure and to learn the most that we can so that some day we can help lighten someone else's load.
Love to you all!!


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The Other Side

How many times have you heard the scripture from Matthew 25:30 that states, "Verily I say unto you, that inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."? In the last 18 days I believe I have a much better understanding of the love our Savior has for us and how important it is for us to share that love through our service to others.

In responding to an email from the Relief Society President, Karen Murray, tonight this scripture kept coming to the forefront of my mind. She was asking how things were going and letting me know of meals she had scheduled for us and if there was anything else we needed.

Yes, there is one thing we still need....a way to thank everyone for the blessings they have brought to our family through their service.

Through our amazing Mapleton 21st Ward family, our immediate and extended family, our friends and co-workers/brethren/employers (Orem City Fire and Police, Freedom Home Health and Hospice), we have been the recipients of delicious meals, desserts, snacks, walking buddies, companionship, cleaning, visiting, medical equipment, phone calls, emails of encouragement and most importantly, prayers on our behalf.

When Kirk first came home I was confident I could handle everything. Karen and her husband Brian were one of our first visitors and she asked if the ward could provide meals. I was going to tell her we would be fine but she quickly insisted that I let the sisters have the opportunity to serve. I can tell you from personal experience that I ALWAYS receive more blessings when serving someone. I never imagined the blessings on the other side of that service.

Kirk and I were talking about what we are learning through our adventure and one of the first things he said was, "I am not going to avoid going to visit someone who has had surgery or an injury anymore. I always thought I would be bothering them." I can't tell you how many times I have thought the same thing. Being on the other side of this situation has helped us understand how important this can be for the healing person and their family.

I want to challenge everyone reading this to think about their family, friends and neighbors. Have any of them been ill, had surgery, been homebound for one reason or another? I want you to call them, stop by, send a card or take something to them in the next 24 hours. One person. One act of service. See how it changes YOUR life. Then we would like to have a little R&R, Return and Report. Let us know in your blog comments how this made you feel. Tell us how you feel to be on the giving side of service. When you are on the other side (the receiving end) you will have a better understanding of how important it is to let someone be on the giving side.

It is always so much easier to give than to receive but don't ever cheat someone out of their blessings when it is your turn to receive. It sounds so simple....and it really is. Try it!



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