Category Archives: Brothers

Mans best friends!

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This is my big brother Brad. These are his dogs, Grizz, Chloe, Paris, and Nicole.Grizz is the one licking Brad. They are all so cute. When we get together at Brad & Cindy’s house, everyone wants to hold them, and love them. They seem to put up with us quite well. Brad had a birthday yesterday. I am so glad he’s my big brother. He is a hard worker. He is someone you can count on. He doesn’t really like it when others try to do things for him, but we still try. We like to say that he is crusty on the outside, soft on the inside. He is such a good guy! Happy Birthday Bradley James! I love you!

Sunday Best! For Keith.

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Doctrine and Covenants 122:7-9
7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness,  and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, an shall be for thy good. 
8 The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he? 
9 Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.
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Should we be protected always from hardship, pain, suffering, sacrifice or labor? Should the Lord protect the righteous? Should He immediately punish the wicked? If growth come from fun and ease and aimless irresponsibility, then why should we ever exert ourselves to work or learn or overcome? If success is measured by the years we live, then early death is failure and tragedy. If earth life is the ultimate, how can we justify death ever, even in old age? If we look at mortality as a complete existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life could be a calamity. But if we look upon the whole life as an eternal thing stretching far into the pre-mortal past and into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be in proper perspective and may fall into proper place. 
-Spencer W. Kimball 
I love you, my brother!
Hope your Sunday was the Best!

Happy Birthday and Miracles!

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Today is my brother Keith’s birthday. He is here because of miracles. I called him today to tell him Happy B-day, and asked his permission to tell a little about him. He said, “Of course.” So here goes. 
My brother Keith is only about a year and a half older than me. Sometime in the process of growing up Keith lost his way. I say that, because the way he was going, was not the way our parents had taught him. He became involved with drugs. He used many drugs, Nicotine, Alcohol, and others. The drug that caused the most damage to Keith’s body is Cocaine. When using Cocaine he injected it into his body and became infected with Hepatitis C. Hepatitis C attacks the Liver and destroys it. After years of drug abuse, Keith ended up in big trouble. He ended up in jail, awaiting what might be the biggest possible change, time in prison. I’m sure he was very upset and felt like he didn’t deserve this. Or at least he didn’t want what was happening to him, to happen. He spent 6 months in jail waiting to find out, what the judge would decide about his future. It was a very difficult time for him, no drugs and all day long, day after day to think about life and what might happen. Even that was a miracle. To go from being under the influence of drugs, and not seeing clearly or caring only about the next fix. To having the opportunity to really see, or think about his life. After this period of time in jail, Keith was allowed to go home to my parents instead of prison. That was another miracle. He was 34 years old and had been given a second chance. There was so much prayer and fasting going on during this time. So he was home and was really ready to start a new life. He was aware of the way his life was and he knew what he needed and wanted to do, to make his life better. But what about the Hepatitis C? Well, it was still there, doing damage. Keith had been given a second chance but might not be able to be around very long to enjoy it. He married a wonderful and caring woman, and they started building their life together. But as time went by, we all realized that we would need, another big miracle for Keith. By 2007 he was in really bad shape. He would have to spend time off and on, in the hospital to help him survive his illness. He was on the -transplant waiting list- waiting for a new liver, but you don’t always get one. Sometimes you die while you’re waiting. Then on July 7th 2007, Keith received a call. They had a liver and could he be down to the hospital within a few hours. Keith and his wife Teresa went as fast as they could, down to the hospital. We all gathered in the waiting room to wait and pray. We felt very positive, everything would be ok. Sure enough, after hours in the operating room the surgery was finished and our Keith was alive. We went to visit him the next day and could not believe the difference. He was ready to really live his life. We had received another miracle. We are all so thankful to the donor family for their great sacrifice. Their decision blessed Keith, and gave us a miracle in the middle of their sadness. It has been almost 4 years since Keith received his new liver and he is doing great. I am so glad he is here to have another birthday! I love you, brother!

Lessons!

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On July 25th, it was the seventh anniversary of my oldest brother’s passing. He was just 46 years old. Losing him was quite a surprise. We have always been a close family. We had Sunday dinner together for years and years, even after we were all adults, and living away from our parent’s home. We spent time together, hiking and picnicking. He had been divorced and was living on his own. His three kids, lived with their mom. He was always content and happy to be in the mountains. It wasn’t uncommon at all for him to go fishing with his dog, Gordon, at least once a week. He was a happy person most of the time, and mostly fun to be around unless he was teasing me. Yes, he still teased me. He was always ready with a joke or funny story. 
While hiking with several family members, including one of his sons, he just fell on the trail. The family gathered around. Everyone filled with the shock of what had just happened. My nephew, his son, ran down the trail hoping to get a signal on his cell phone. My brothers and dad took turns giving him CPR and carrying him. They made their way down the trail. After the paramedics arrived, everyone realized that what they were hoping didn’t happen, did happen. My brother was gone. His short life was over. My parents were amazingly strong. But as my mom says, “Parents just shouldn’t have to bury their kids.” In the hours after his death, our family started noticing small miracles, tender mercies that the Lord had seen fit to give us during this hard time. The lesson I learned is this. God is always there. Even in the hardest times. We just need to notice Him! When my brother died, he was in the mountains. He was not at home alone, he was with our family doing what he loved, being outside. He was gone in a moment, not after years of pain and sickness. We knew he loved us, and he knew we loved him. He is buried where my mom and dad will be buried, in the same grave with them and not alone. I believe he is with others on the other side. Family who have passed on before him, and love him too. We miss him, but we are thankful that we had 46 years with him. Look for God, He is all around us. He loves us and even let’s us have sad times. These times help us to be better people. 
In memory of my big brother, Brian. Love you!

I needed a reminder, I thought you might too!

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It has been quite stormy and gray here. I’m not very fond of gray.
 I NEED THE SUN!!!!! It seems like this time of year, every year,
I’m wanting spring.
I have to remind myself to choose joy. I know that when we have stormy gray days, it helps us enjoy the sunny days. I do love the seasons, but I start to not love the winter so much at the end of it. So here is a post I wrote about choosing joy:

I grew up with 5 brothers. My parents say that after having the first three boys, it was such a “joy” to get a girl, they named me Joy. Really, I know that they tell me that, because they want me to feel special. That’s just the way they are. They want all of their children to feel special and they always let us know how much we are loved. I used to wonder a lot about the name Joy and always felt a certain amount of pressure to be joyful. Like it was an assignment or calling. Something required, if you were named Joy. I have since changed my view. After struggling through a difficult time in my life years ago, I came upon a concept that I had heard many times in my life, but hadn’t quite grasped it. We all go through tough times, things we don’t want to deal with in life. That is part of the earthly experience. What I learned is this, no one (except God) can stop us from being hurt or from struggling. And we would never choose to have the hard things happen to us. But we can choose how long we continue thinking about the pain or struggle after it is over. We attain Joy by choosing it!!! We are in charge of our happiness. I know it’s sad that it took me this long to realize this. But more importantly for me is, that I know now that my parents named me Joy, because God knew that I would need a reminder through out my life to be happy. I choose joy! And I am grateful that my parents were so inspired to give me such a special name.

Here comes the sun,
I can feel it now!!

A little motivation is a good thing.

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Have you ever noticed that sometimes the best motivation for a needed change in our lives is rarely fun or pleasant. When I was tiny (yes, I remember being tiny), about the time I was potty trained, I would go potty in the middle of the night and was either too scared or too tired to go back to bed, so I developed a habit of falling asleep on the rug in front of the sink. Sometimes I slept there the rest of the night. Sometimes I got cold and went back to bed.
When I was five, we moved to a very small farm house in the country while my Daddy was building our new home. Before we could even move into the farm house, a lot of cleaning up had to take place. In fact, the home had basically been abandoned and left empty for quite some time before we moved in. Mom and Dad had 5 kids at the time, and there was only one bedroom in the house. All of us kids slept in the one room. My three older brothers slept in a full bed, and I slept on an old army cot next to the crib where my baby brother slept. Mom and Dad slept on a hide-a-bed in the living room. Sometime in the moving process it was mentioned that there “sure were a lot of mice around”. This, of course, was a concern to me, because I thought they were scary. In the back part of the house was a small wash/storage room. Mom would keep her canning jars there, along with the washer and dryer. The first time I walked back in that room to get something I heard many of the canning jars shaking and rattling. I realized that the mice (not mouse) were running through the jars to escape. Ok, so now we are at the motivation part of the story. I don’t think I ever fell asleep on the rug in front of the sink ever again. I avoided the trip to the bathroom in the night time, all together. I was so good at going potty before bed and staying in bed. I became a parents dream.
I know, I know -he’s darling!!!
Just not in my house!

Family History Friday: Heirlooms!

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Most people have special things that they have accumulated in their lives. They’re usually calledfamily heirlooms. My parents and their parents are no exception. One thing that my parents did that I will always be grateful for, is this; they divided almost all the heirlooms up about six years ago. After moving from an almost 4500 square foot home to a two bedroom apartment, they didn’t have room for all the stuff, and felt like it was a great time to share with their children, all six of us. Dad opened up the garage and let all my brothers and my husband take a turn picking a tool to keep, till all the tools were gone. Mom, gave us our choice of what we wanted. If I wanted something the most, and no one else cared as much about that item as I did, it was mine. There were things that I wanted, that were not on the top of my list, but they were on the top of one of my brothers list, it became theirs. And guess what? I’m OK with it. Some things, like special pieces, my parents chose who they wanted it to go to. When they’re standing in front of all of you, telling you who they want it to go to, there most definitely won’t be a quarrel. I have heard of families becoming enemies over “things”. My parents are still living six years later, and if you were to talk to them about it, they would say how much they have enjoyed watching us enjoying our heirlooms. If you think of “the grand scheme”, things are not the most important anyway. We can’t take them with us, and they can be lost in the blink of an eye, but the bond of family and the love will last forever, if nurtured. I love my family. Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy

Mom

Dad

Choosing Joy!

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I grew up with 5 brothers. My parents say that after having the first three boys, it was such a “joy” to get a girl, they named me Joy. Really, I know that they tell me that, because they want me to feel special. That’s just the way they are. They want all of their children to feel special and they always let us know how much we are loved. I used to wonder a lot about the name Joy and always felt a certain amount of pressure to be joyful. Like it was an assignment or calling. Something required, if you were named Joy. I have since changed my view. After struggling through a difficult time in my life years ago, I came upon a concept that I had heard many times in my life, but hadn’t quite grasped it. We all go through tough times, things we don’t want to deal with in life. That is part of the earthly experience. What I learned is this, no one (except God) can stop us from being hurt. And we would never choose to have the hard things happen to us. But we can choose how long we continue thinking about the pain after it is over. We attain Joy by choosing it!!! We are in charge of our happiness. I know it’s sad that it took me this long to realize this. But more importantly for me is, that I know now that my parents named me Joy, because God knew that I would need a reminder through out my life to be happy. I choose Joy! And I am grateful that my parents were so inspired to give me such a special name.