I first knew Garth as Bishop Abbott. He was my bishop during a very crucial time in my life. I knew he was more than a bishop - he was my friend. He went out of his way to ask about my life and how I was doing... on a weekly basis! He would pull me into his office for a few minutes to ask how my date went the previous night, and ask me if the guy tried to kiss me. He would give me all sorts of pointers and advice, most of which I don't remember. What I do remember is that he genuinely loved me.
He exuded greatness, and had a personality that was larger than life. He was wise, funny, blunt, and never hesitated to stand up for what he thought or believed. He was bold. You never wanted to disappoint the man, not because you were afraid of him, but because you respected him so much and knew that he believed in you. At the time that he was my bishop, I always thought I was sort of special. Why else would he devote so much time and energy to little me? There were 500 young adults in that ward! As it turns out, every single person felt that he or she was special to him. And they were.
There was not a false bone in that man's body. He loved everyone that he served, and he had a magnificent, incredible capacity to reach each person individually. He was charming, and you just couldn't help but love him! Garth, whether in his capacity as bishop or friend, had an infectious quality that drew you to him. He could get away with saying almost anything because of his charm, but also because you knew he loved you. I'll never forget one time seeing him at a wedding reception where I had brought a young man that I was dating at the time. He kind of gave that dude the evil eye and then told him that if he ever did anything to hurt me he would break his leg!
I kept in touch with Garth even after he was no longer my bishop, as did many others. One of my nearest and dearest friends, Rachelle, married his oldest son (Jonathan), so I had the good fortune of running into him more frequently. What a blessing and honor it has been to know the Abbott family!
Garth died of cancer last week. My heart was heavy, and I just couldn't shake the sadness. As the opening hymn began at his funeral on Saturday, I started to cry. If I hadn't been in public, I probably would have bawled like a baby. Since there were many people around me, however, I attempted to control myself! As the memories and testimonies were shared, I felt the heaviness begin to lift and instead felt grateful. Grateful to have rubbed shoulders with this man. Grateful for all that he inspired in me. Grateful to recognize the tremendous impact that one great man can have on so very many people. Jason, one of Garth's sons, read the following quote:
"I believe that the first test of a truly great man is his humility. I don't mean by humility, doubt of his power. But really great men have a curious feeling that the greatness is not of them, but through them. And they see something divine in every other man and are endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful." ~John Ruskin
I'm convinced that the idea expressed in this quote is what made him such an effective leader. That and his incredible knowledge of the scriptures. And his boldness in speaking the truth, along with at least 50 other things!
If I were to describe Garth Abbott to a total stranger, I might say that he was fun, full of life, with a dash of crazy. Obviously that would only give half the story. The legacy Garth left is a living testimony to the truthfulness of the gospel he loved.
I left that funeral feeling grateful, inspired, and still a little sad. I was also reminded of a vital truth: no matter where we are in our life, Jesus Christ offers solace, peace and hope. I realized as I left that my heavy heart had been filled with hope, and it was the kind of hope that is found only in and through the Savior of the world! I hope to live the kind of life that leads others to Christ, that makes them want to be better. I hope for the day that I will see my dear friend again. The best part about the kind of hope that the Savior offers is that it is based in the truth. The hope I have is a sure hope! I also hope to live the kind of life that would make Garth proud.
The older I get, the more I understand how important our connections with others are. What a tragedy it would be for those connections to end at the conclusion of our mortal life... and what a glorious blessing to know that they extend into eternity!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
The Fourth
In the morning me and the kids went swimming at Jolee's pool... well, I can't say that it is her pool per se... but it is in her apartment complex, and it's lots of fun. Correction, it WAS lots of fun going swimming with her at that pool, but I wouldn't know if it's fun anymore, because she moved to Utah a couple weeks ago (a real tragedy, I must admit). Then we rushed off to Weston's first swim lesson of the Summer! Super fun. He did so great this year with his swim lessons. Every day he would dread going and tell me how much he hated it, but then he would have a complete blast and be grinning from ear to ear the entire time he was in the water. As soon as we left each day, he would go back to telling me how much he disliked it. What a funny kid! I'm really proud of him, though... his swimming skills have improved a lot.
Blowing bubbles:
His little swim class:
Weston loved his cute teacher:
In the evening, after rushing home from swim lessons, we got ourselves looking decent (read: I got myself looking decent, because let's face it, the kids are ALWAYS adorable) and headed over to President Shields' house (with Jolee, who was many miles apart from her hubby that day) where we sort of awkwardly hung out while Jason got all the fireworks set up for our show. President Shields was having a bbq at his house with some friends and graciously invited us over too... which was actually really nice. As we sat around eating, I realized that I should have brought swim suits for the kids, or at least for Weston, because all the other kids were swimming! Finally I just stripped him down to his undies and let him swim like that!
When we were finally ready for the festivities, we headed out to the street where Jason and his friend, Will, had been setting up fireworks for at least an hour. We had invited a few friends and family so Weston found his buddy Owen to sit with...
Sophie enjoyed the pretty lights but wasn't so fond of the loud noise...
It's virtually impossible to capture the fireworks well, but here is my attempt! What was especially awesome about this year is that there were like 5 aerial displays going on simultaneously all surrounding our own little show. It was nice!
I was actually in a couple of pictures, but I looked pretty gross by the end of the night, so instead I'm sharing a picture of two of my cute friends, Katie and Jolee!
And of course the kids were loving on their Auntie...
All in all, it was a successful, busy 4th.
Blowing bubbles:
His little swim class:
Weston loved his cute teacher:
In the evening, after rushing home from swim lessons, we got ourselves looking decent (read: I got myself looking decent, because let's face it, the kids are ALWAYS adorable) and headed over to President Shields' house (with Jolee, who was many miles apart from her hubby that day) where we sort of awkwardly hung out while Jason got all the fireworks set up for our show. President Shields was having a bbq at his house with some friends and graciously invited us over too... which was actually really nice. As we sat around eating, I realized that I should have brought swim suits for the kids, or at least for Weston, because all the other kids were swimming! Finally I just stripped him down to his undies and let him swim like that!
When we were finally ready for the festivities, we headed out to the street where Jason and his friend, Will, had been setting up fireworks for at least an hour. We had invited a few friends and family so Weston found his buddy Owen to sit with...
Sophie enjoyed the pretty lights but wasn't so fond of the loud noise...
It's virtually impossible to capture the fireworks well, but here is my attempt! What was especially awesome about this year is that there were like 5 aerial displays going on simultaneously all surrounding our own little show. It was nice!
I was actually in a couple of pictures, but I looked pretty gross by the end of the night, so instead I'm sharing a picture of two of my cute friends, Katie and Jolee!
And of course the kids were loving on their Auntie...
All in all, it was a successful, busy 4th.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Powerful
If you were to ask Weston what his favorite word is right now, it just might be "powerful." He describes many things as powerful, such as a baby lizard that is able to crawl under a rock without getting smashed, or his bones and muscles, the power of which truly impresses him on a regular basis!
The other night after getting out of the tub, I reached for the towel he used to use as a baby. I thought it would be fun for a change, and I love the little hoodie part. I told him that in that towel he kind of looked like a Pharaoh. Of course he wanted to know what a pharaoh is, so I said it was a powerful ruler. This was his response:
"You mean powerful like he can drink his apple juice straight, without any water in it!?"
Powerful means different things to different people, and apparently to my four year old it means drinking un-diluted fruit juice. Ha ha ha ha ha!!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Knott's Berry Farm
This post was written on June 12, but I just now got around to adding pictures and publishing it:
Last Monday I was asked if Jason and I would be able to help chaperon a group of graduating seniors from our Stake to Knott's Berry Farm for a day. I shrugged it off because I figured we were just to busy, but then mentioned it to Jason who said, "why not?" I felt a little bit of trepidation thinking about girls camp and the fireworks season coming upon us the very next week, but got excited when I realized it would be our first time spending a night and an ENTIRE day together without kids. And, it would be our first time ever going to an amusement park together... seriously, how had we not done this sooner?
We dropped the kids off with grandma on Friday night. As soon as we walked out her door, Jason announced that he felt FREE!! I had mixed feelings, as it was the first time either of the kids has EVER spent the night away from both of us. Saturday morning at 4:00 (when we woke up) came quickly. We all loaded a bus and headed to Cali. The bus ride was loads of fun! Three of my laurels went on this trip - Emily, Shawna, and Alyssa. They all sat near Jason and me in the front of the bus. Let me tell you - the back of the bus may be where the cool people usually sit (and where all the fun goes down), but we had a blast in the front! We played Scatergories, Madlibs,and MASH.
After 5 full hours of driving, we finally arrived and were a little shocked to be chilly! We headed towards the Silver Bullet, because that is the ride that everyone instinctively flocked too... I guess those who have been to Knott's Berry Farm in recent years knew this was one of the "best" rides in the park, and everyone else just kind of followed along. (By the way, when did Knott's turn into a crazy ride place? Last time I was there, I only remember seeing a short video of some kind, walking through a street that looked like it came out of a Western, and buying some delicious syrup. Of course, that was over 20 years ago when I was just a little kid... but I digress!) Let me just tell you that I am pretty much terrified of heights. But I didn't want to be the lame scardie-cat that stayed behind. The other two couples who were chaperoning with us kept talking about how excited they were for this rollercoaster... meanwhile, while everyone is laughing and joking in line, I am just giving myself a mental pep talk. The funny thing is that you can only see a small portion of the ride from line. So what I was mentally preparing myself for turned out to be much more insidious than I had imagined or perceived! Okay, maybe insidious isn't really the right word...
We finally get on the ride, and though I am privately scared silly - heart pounding out of my chest and all - I have built up enough courage to go. I'm getting that stomach-churning anxiety again just writing about how I felt! But I am an adult, and I should face my fears, right? Well, turns out that sometimes it is better just to cop out, because half way through the Silver Bullet experience, I realized that I was going to be very ill. Not only was the ride full of loops (which I can handle), it twists around and around the ENTIRE time! And I swear that was the longest rollercoaster ride I have ever been on in my entire life! It was almost a full minute! (I know, because I looked it up on the internet when we got home the next day.)
So, when we exited the 60 second nightmare, I immediately began looking for a place to throw up. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly because the first spot I picked was from way up high and probably would have hit someone. After puking a couple of times, Jason started asking me if I was ready to keep going. Um, no. They ended up having to summon a nice man from the first aid station to collect me with a wheelchair! And then I spent the rest of the day laying on a pretend bed in the musty smelling first aid clinic. Just what I had always hoped and dreamed of! Fortunately, I was feeling much better by the time we had to leave. And the bus ride home was pretty fun... so I basically had an awesome 10 hours of bus riding to and from Knott's, and a terrible time at the actual theme park.
The moral of the story? If you are terrified of heights, you tend to get nauseated easily, and you have had almost no sleep the night before, avoid twisty rollercoasters! Even if it means getting a little heckled by your friends.
Here are some pictures from the good parts of our adventure:
On the bus:
Arriving at the park:
Shawna and Emily... L O V E these two girls ridiculously much!
Awww, aren't we cute?
Sometimes we're just a couple of wieners, I guess.
I took this picture for Weston. He LOVES old cars!
Jason tried to win some prizes for the kids... he ended up winning a couple of inflatable baseball bats, which they enjoyed immensely for about two days until they broke them both. Shocking, I know.
I wish I had one of those things to pound every time I got angry... what a great release that would be!
Last Monday I was asked if Jason and I would be able to help chaperon a group of graduating seniors from our Stake to Knott's Berry Farm for a day. I shrugged it off because I figured we were just to busy, but then mentioned it to Jason who said, "why not?" I felt a little bit of trepidation thinking about girls camp and the fireworks season coming upon us the very next week, but got excited when I realized it would be our first time spending a night and an ENTIRE day together without kids. And, it would be our first time ever going to an amusement park together... seriously, how had we not done this sooner?
We dropped the kids off with grandma on Friday night. As soon as we walked out her door, Jason announced that he felt FREE!! I had mixed feelings, as it was the first time either of the kids has EVER spent the night away from both of us. Saturday morning at 4:00 (when we woke up) came quickly. We all loaded a bus and headed to Cali. The bus ride was loads of fun! Three of my laurels went on this trip - Emily, Shawna, and Alyssa. They all sat near Jason and me in the front of the bus. Let me tell you - the back of the bus may be where the cool people usually sit (and where all the fun goes down), but we had a blast in the front! We played Scatergories, Madlibs,and MASH.
After 5 full hours of driving, we finally arrived and were a little shocked to be chilly! We headed towards the Silver Bullet, because that is the ride that everyone instinctively flocked too... I guess those who have been to Knott's Berry Farm in recent years knew this was one of the "best" rides in the park, and everyone else just kind of followed along. (By the way, when did Knott's turn into a crazy ride place? Last time I was there, I only remember seeing a short video of some kind, walking through a street that looked like it came out of a Western, and buying some delicious syrup. Of course, that was over 20 years ago when I was just a little kid... but I digress!) Let me just tell you that I am pretty much terrified of heights. But I didn't want to be the lame scardie-cat that stayed behind. The other two couples who were chaperoning with us kept talking about how excited they were for this rollercoaster... meanwhile, while everyone is laughing and joking in line, I am just giving myself a mental pep talk. The funny thing is that you can only see a small portion of the ride from line. So what I was mentally preparing myself for turned out to be much more insidious than I had imagined or perceived! Okay, maybe insidious isn't really the right word...
We finally get on the ride, and though I am privately scared silly - heart pounding out of my chest and all - I have built up enough courage to go. I'm getting that stomach-churning anxiety again just writing about how I felt! But I am an adult, and I should face my fears, right? Well, turns out that sometimes it is better just to cop out, because half way through the Silver Bullet experience, I realized that I was going to be very ill. Not only was the ride full of loops (which I can handle), it twists around and around the ENTIRE time! And I swear that was the longest rollercoaster ride I have ever been on in my entire life! It was almost a full minute! (I know, because I looked it up on the internet when we got home the next day.)
So, when we exited the 60 second nightmare, I immediately began looking for a place to throw up. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly because the first spot I picked was from way up high and probably would have hit someone. After puking a couple of times, Jason started asking me if I was ready to keep going. Um, no. They ended up having to summon a nice man from the first aid station to collect me with a wheelchair! And then I spent the rest of the day laying on a pretend bed in the musty smelling first aid clinic. Just what I had always hoped and dreamed of! Fortunately, I was feeling much better by the time we had to leave. And the bus ride home was pretty fun... so I basically had an awesome 10 hours of bus riding to and from Knott's, and a terrible time at the actual theme park.
The moral of the story? If you are terrified of heights, you tend to get nauseated easily, and you have had almost no sleep the night before, avoid twisty rollercoasters! Even if it means getting a little heckled by your friends.
Here are some pictures from the good parts of our adventure:
On the bus:
Arriving at the park:
Shawna and Emily... L O V E these two girls ridiculously much!
Awww, aren't we cute?
Sometimes we're just a couple of wieners, I guess.
I took this picture for Weston. He LOVES old cars!
Jason tried to win some prizes for the kids... he ended up winning a couple of inflatable baseball bats, which they enjoyed immensely for about two days until they broke them both. Shocking, I know.
I wish I had one of those things to pound every time I got angry... what a great release that would be!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
My favorite little boy
Weston is so stinkin' funny! Every day he says at least 10 hillarious things that I just know I will remember... but then I forget! My favorite thing that he has said so far this morning is: "I love my armpits!" So unpredictable. I realize that Weston isn't the only cute little 4 year old that says amusing things, but he also asks a lot of deep questions, like "Why does Jesus love bad people?" I must admit that I wasn't sure at first how to answer that, but after considering it for a few moments I told him that Jesus is perfect, and that is why he loves everyone. I love simple answers, and I think he actually understood it.
Weston is extremely interested in the concept of good and bad people. I keep telling him that people aren't really good or bad, they just make good or bad choices. And people can always begin to make good choices. So now every day when he prays, he says (exactly): "Snake you (thank you)that everybody become good guys." He knows he is supposed to thank Heavenly Father, and he also knows that he can ask for blessings... so in this one line he kind of combines the two, which I think is pretty great. I love that he wants everyone to be good. I also love that he gives thanks for the blessing before it is even given. I know he doesn't understand the deeper implications of that, but I still love it.
And then he continually wants to know how things are built. On several occasions he has asked me, "how is whole city built?" When I answer that it is a long, complicated process, he eagerly implores me to "tell [him] all about it!" Just about every day he asks me how something is built. Last night he asked how our house was built. I told him you start with a foundation, but I think that's as far as I got. Maybe he should have a little chat with Uncle Mike about how things are made!
So, this morning Weston starts bagging up ALL of his toys in plastic bags and dragging them out to the family room. When I ask what he is doing, he informs me that he is storing these toys for the Summer. I question him to verify that he really does want them to go away for awhile and then suggest we store them in the garage. Well, that does not fit his plans at all! Apparently he is planning on storing them right here in the family room, crowded all around the TV! I suggested that they didn't look good cluttering up the room, to which he retorted that to HIM, they looked very nice!! Very nice, indeed.
Still rather baffled by this little dude, and realizing that he is occupied so I should sneak out and use the computer while I have a moment, he comes running in with one important question, "where are all my Summer toys?" It then occurs to me that he is expecting a bunch of different toys to replace his regular toys for the Summer months! What a siiiiiiiiiiiiilly kid!What can I say? My days are never boring!
p.s. As he jumped out of the car today, Weston told me that he's not afraid of anything anymore... except for really terrible monsters.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Things my children say...
Weston, it turns out, is a little boy with a LOT to say! He is constantly asking questions, mostly that begin with "why." Sophie naturally copies whatever Weston says, and therefore asks "why" about a thousand times a day (or so it seems). This morning while eating breakfast, Weston announced that he was going to the bathroom, eliciting the ever constant question from Sophie: "Why!!?" Apparently Weston is getting really fed up with Sophie's questions, because he bluntly responded that he was no longer going to answer her. I shot him a look like, "are you for real!?" He just said, "mom, she says why too much!"
I had to supress the laughter! I wanted to say something to him about getting a taste of his own medicine, but I thought better of it. Anytime I say a phrase that he doesn't understand, he asks a million questions about it until he fully comprehends the meaning... which can take a while when you're only four! It's actually a pretty great quality. Anytime I say something that he doesn't understand, Weston enthusiastically says "tell me all about it!"
So, as we were sitting at the table, Weston said that if he could get me any present in the whole world for my birthday tomorrow it would be "another stove." Really!? I was hoping he'd say something like an airplane, but I guess he was just trying to be thoughtful... although I don't think I've ever complained about our stove! What a funny kid. With a little more prodding he told me he'd also like to get me some pretty clothes. Then he specifically suggested a shirt that "maybe had some flowers on it." What a sweetheart! I love hearing his ideas.
Then as we were getting ready to leave for the gym (and after asking why I wear my "pajamas" to workout), he told me that I have a cute bubble butt!
So, as we were sitting at the table, Weston said that if he could get me any present in the whole world for my birthday tomorrow it would be "another stove." Really!? I was hoping he'd say something like an airplane, but I guess he was just trying to be thoughtful... although I don't think I've ever complained about our stove! What a funny kid. With a little more prodding he told me he'd also like to get me some pretty clothes. Then he specifically suggested a shirt that "maybe had some flowers on it." What a sweetheart! I love hearing his ideas.
Then as we were getting ready to leave for the gym (and after asking why I wear my "pajamas" to workout), he told me that I have a cute bubble butt!
What!?
He is such a funny boy. I guess he doesn't really know what a bubble butt is yet, or that it's not super cool to tell your mom that her butt is cute at all. I wonder where he even heard that term? Who knows.
Sophie has a lot to say, too. She runs around repeating pretty much anything. This little video is from yesterday...
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