Today Kristen gave a talk in sacrament meeting about Family! Although several people in the congregation were disappointed that Kristen didn't have enough "dirt" on us...haha... I think she did a stellar job! I asked if I could post this to the blog and she said yes!!
What Family Means to Me.
This year has been really different from all the others for one reason, family. It has always just been Jansen, Cralie, Will, and I. But these past few years were way different. It started with Jansen going to college, then going on a mission. Next, Carlie leaves then Will. Now it’s just me, my dad and my mom. Let’s just say it’s been really quiet and lonely. Yes, there are occasional breakdowns when we miss them, but we eventually get over it. Our family has never been perfect either. Trust me on that one. We’ve definitely have had our ups and downs, but they’ll still continue.
We always look forward to the calls from Jansen, Carlie and Will about their life and how it’s going at Utah State. And don’t forget the Jansen moments. Those are the best. But this all ties into family. What does family mean to me. Family to me means having siblings to to rant to about a bad days, drama at school, and just life in general. It means having parents to look after you and protect you, make you laugh, and of course embarrass you at all costs. Sure, I may get annoyed or frustrated at them but at the of the day we come together as a FAMILY. Having siblings is probably the best thing ever. Especially older siblings, cause now I know what to do and not what to do. The downfall of that is all the teasing. I was teased all the time, and I did care at the time, but looking back on it it was ok cause it was my family. Now, I miss those day where I get teased because I miss them. I miss the days of coming home to a full house and the occasional, “Hey kiddo” said by will, or carlie saying, “hey babe how was school”, and of course coming home to Jansen eating applesauce from the jar and him stubbing his same toe over and over again. I miss seeing Will shooting hoops outside on summer days and him asking if I’d like to join. Usually I would’ve said no. But today I would have said Heck ya. Because it would’ve meant spending more time with him.
Over this year I’ve learned that we take a whole lot of things for granted and you don’t realize that till they’re gone. A few examples could be, having siblings leave for college or a mission, or leaving the bitterroot for a while and realizing you took the mountains for granted so many times. Carlie once told me that I should never take these beautiful mountains for granted. I told her how could I ever do that. She told me, “because I did.” That’s fair enough.
Family is prolly the most important thing to me. Family doesn’t have to be people who your related to. It could be friends, and for us that is the Gwyn's and Morgan Kellar. The gwyns are the closest friends we have. They’re like family. They’ve been with us since day one. From nights of games and movies till 4am to nights to 8 and just talking. They’ve been through the thick and thin with us. This summer Morgan was like another big sister to me. We watched so many movies with her. One time we started innerstellar at 11:30 and it ended around 3. Possibly the longest movie in history. Just kidding but it was very very long. And throughout the movie Jansen had to make a comment throughout probably the most important scene of the movie. His comment was“ Hey guys look at my hand, it’s like the latches on the space thing.” He was eating popcorn and of course had to say that. Then we look back at the TV and it had just exploded. I’ll never forget that night.
Yesterday when I was driving up with the Hawke's to Lost Trail, I received a text. It was from will. Usually he doesn't text me so this was unexpected. The text read, “ I saw this girl today on campus who was walking with her whole bright pink bed comforter wrapped around her because she was so cold haha. It made me think of you! Just thinking of you a little extra today. Love ya kiddo.” In my head I thought it’s so cool that we can do this as a family. We can text each other and tell them how much we miss and care about them. This happens with Jansen occasionally too. It makes me think of how many happy memories we have together.
I’m so grateful for my wonderful family, and sharing these memories with them, And the nights that we laugh and laugh till we’re basically peeing our pants. You can’t forget about the daily gallop around the kitchen that my dad does either. Yep you heard it right, GALLOP. I’m grateful for all of my wonderful siblings that are always there for me, and to make memories with. One that I’ll never forget is when we went to the zoo in Idaho. Some of you may get understand what I’m saying if you’ve heard the story.
I’m grateful for our eternal family too, cause I KNOW that they watch over all of us and that we are children of God. And when we return he will give us a big hug as if we have been gone forever. And it will be the most special moment. Brothers and sisters I’d like to share my testimony that I know the gospel is true because I have seen it throughout my life. I know that when I read the scriptures I can receive little tiny messages from Heaven. I know that we all are children of our Heavenly Father, and that we will return to him one day. And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment