MM: Lessons from my Grandparents

Yesterday at church, we had one of the funnest lessons that I have had in a while. I don't know if I've ever laughed that hard during a lesson.

The lesson was about the elderly and how valuable they are. The older sisters in the ward I was in were a hoot. They teased the sister in charge and in general were quite witty.

The teacher, who is a friend of mine, asked me to share something I had learned from my grandparents. I missed the cue, so I didn't end up sharing my thoughts.

I wanted to share my thoughts here, because I felt they were worth saying.

Each of my grandparents have taught me valuable lessons.

My paternal grandmother has taught me to be respectful and kind to everyone. I have very seldom seen her get upset with someone. She is really great at making all of her grandchildren think they are her favorite. She listens carefully and really cares about what we think and what we are going through. She is a great listener, and I want to be more like that.

My paternal grandfather has helped teach me how to work. Though he is nearly 80, he knows more about computers than I do, and he still is running his own business. Since I was 11, he has given me the opportunity to work at his apartments every summer. He has taught me to be a good worker and how to maintain and repair my own home. I have learned a lot from him.

Kevin and his paternal grandparents

My maternal grandmother has taught me the value of service and homemaking. She has been teaching me how to do my own canning. She takes time our of her busy schedule to help me whenever I need it. She is constantly looking for ways to help other people, and whenever anyone comes into town, she is always ready to feed and let them stay at her home. I want to be more like that.

My paternal grandfather has taught me the importance of saving and managing money. Though he has never been rich, he has saved up his whole life and now is able to go on trips with his wife to different parts of the world. He has also served three missions with his wife. I have also learned how to fish from my grandfather. It is something that I enjoy doing with him and with my husband.

This picture was taken at their 50th wedding anniversary. The cupcakes each represent one of their posterity.

Possibly the most important thing I have learned from my grandparents is how important family is. Everything they do is because they loves their children and grandchildren. They helped me stay debt-free throughout college, and I can never repay them for that. They sacrifice to have a family reunion frequently so we can stay in touch with our family. It's not always easy (because they have so many grandchildren and great-grandchildren), but they keep doing it.

I have also learned about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Each of my grandparents have shared their testimonies to me about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Often, they haven't done it in words, but through their actions. I love and respect each of them.

As they get older, I am grateful for the time I get to spend with them. They know so many things that I have yet to learn. I hope they continue to stay around for a long time.

I am blessed to live in a church where God has called older men to lead it. The elderly have vast reserves of experience and examples to draw upon, as well as strong testimonies that have endured many trials. We can learn something from everyone, and I hope to continue to learn from those that are older than me.

Why I've Been Gone

It's nearly been two weeks since I last blogged. For those of you who eagerly look forward to my blogs every day (if there is anyone like that out there), I sincerely apologize.

My mother-in-law drove clear across the country to drop my sister-in-law off at our home. My sister-in-law, who has yet to pick her pseudonym will be living with us for the next while. My mother-in-law also was able to stay with us for a week and a half, and we had a great time while she was here.

However, we also had a very busy time, and with all the commotion and fun, I haven't really had a chance to blog much.

We really enjoyed having Grig's mother come and visit us. We did a lot of fun things with her, and we were sad to see her leave this morning.

We did some pretty fun activities while she was in town.

It snowed last week, and for the first time, Kevin was able to build a real snowman (with some help, of course).

Awesome snowman.

The dogs were wanting to help too.

One of the nicest things that happened for Grig and I occurred last Thursday through Friday. Grig's mom was very kind and stayed with Kevin overnight while Grig and I went to a place called Anniversary Inn. It is a themed hotel, and we were able to stay at the Swiss Family Robinson room. We are especially grateful that she allowed us to celebrate our anniversary and Valentine's Day while she was here.

Here's some pictures of our room.

Grig loved this plecostomus. 

We had a great time here, and we really loved the two person Jacuzzi. It was very relaxing.

The next day, we went to Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City. It was really fun to spend some one on one time with my husband, though we missed Kevin. We were sure that he would have loved the zoo, but it was nice to have time alone with Grig.

 We also got a chance to test our our new camera and it took some extraordinary closeups of some of the animals.

 At one point, we were looking for the tiger, and we couldn't find it. So, we turned around to leave and found the tiger ten feet over our heads staring down at us. It was so close we could smell it, and it kind of scared me a little. They had a catwalk built over the trail and signs telling people not to climb on it.

Here he is scenting the air.

Here's my favorite!

I liked this picture I took.

We got back home late Friday night.

We also gotten a lot of projects done while Grig's mother was here. She's been very kind and helped us out with quite a few things.

Kevin was pretty sad to have his grandma leave. They really enjoyed each other's company. Tonight he was asking after Grandma. He loves her very much.

Thanks for everything, Grandma! We love you!

Living Far from Grandparents

This weekend, we are visiting my family. Grig is back to an almost normal work week, so he now works four days, and then gets three days off. We decided it was a good opportunity to go and visit my family since we haven't seen them in almost two months (except via skype).

Grig's family lives on the east coast. We are in the western United States. It is very hard to go and visit Kevin's paternal grandparents very often because we don't have much money or time. They have a similar problem, and though we try to skype at least once a week, it isn't the same.

I wonder sometimes if grandchildren who frequently skype think their grandparents think their grandparents live in the computer. It would be interesting to know what babies really think.

Anyway, we drove the three hours to visit my parents, and when we got there, we weren't sure how Kevin would react. It's been a while since he's seen them in person, after all. He's also a little sick, so that coupled with stranger-danger might make his wary of his extended family.

Our fears were unfounded. With typical Kevin-type acceptance, he quickly became comfortable with the real versions of one of his skype grandparents. He let them hold him and snuggle him.

We wish we could go visit the other grandparents on the east coast more, and we're trying to plan a trip there this summer. We had a great time last year, and Kevin should be even more interactive this year. Grig is excited to take him out into the woods.

We are so blessed to have wonderful grandparents for our son. We are sad that we can't visit more often, but we are grateful for modern technology that allows us to visit with them even when we are far away. I don't know if I'll post a video tomorrow.  We're kind of on vacation, so we'll see!

We love you all!