Twenty-eight Years

Twenty-eight years, and what a wonderful 28 years they have been. I have really been so blessed to be surrounded by the greatest people my whole life. And even more blessed to have them show so much love to me.

I remember Robin telling stories about the Christmas I was born. Since I had a bad case of jaundice, Mom was still in the hospital with me and it was Dad's job to get the Christmas presents set out for everybody. Only he didn't get everything right, and Robin had to suffer in silence as she watched Kellee open the presents meant for her. Thanks, Robin, for not holding that against me.

I think some of my earliest memories are spending time with Dad during my preschool years. I didn't go to preschool. I stayed home and painted with Dad, and he took me to the bakery every morning to get a huge chocolate chip cookie while he got a coffee and doughnut. I remember being scared of his driving even then.

And of course I remember running after JW and Kellee. I think my most often used phrase in childhood must have been, "Wait for me!" I don't know how they put up with me. I can't believe now how we used to run through the fields around our house. I remember the fort that was in the canal behind the greenhouses. I would be terrified to let my children run through there. It seems like it was a long way from the house. Didn't Mom and Dad ever think about snakes?

I look at Jay and Brenna and I think of JW and me. She copies everything he does and she's tough enough to take whatever he dishes out to her. I always would follow along with anything JW suggested, no matter how often I ended up hurt at the end of it. So maybe I wasn't quite as tough as Brenna!

My brothers and sisters have always been such a big part of my life. I took piano lessons because Robin and Kellee did. I played the flute because we had one (I really wanted to play the trumpet), but I wanted to be in the band because Mike and Kellee had done it. I wanted to go to BYU because Mike went there. They even have played a major role in my spirituality. When Mike was on his mission, I read the Book of Mormon all the way through because of the experiences and testimony he shared in his letters home. I remember walking by JW's room and seeing him read his scriptures before he started his homework. They also taught me not to do homework on Sunday, even if there was a test on Monday, and I did always feel blessed in my schoolwork for doing that. When they came home from EFY or Girls Camp or a temple trip, I would just soak up everything that they said about it. I remember my first year of Girls Camp was so great because Kellee was there, and I felt like she liked having me there. I really do wish I could take back all the fighting that she and I did. I think we started getting along a few months before she left for college, and now she lives so far away.

And of course there was the whole greenhouse experience. Some of the research I was just reading for my last class was about the importance of family work. Well, our family sure did work! For all of the hot, dirty, tired, sore feet complaining, I think everyone agrees that it really was a great experience. Not one that I would care to do again, but I'm so glad that I was a part of that.

Which brings me to the Littles. I really don't think there are better people on this earth, and I love that they still treat me like I'm part of their family. Grandma Bass was so upset that I chose to live with them after the accident, but it really was the best place for me. If only for the reason that Chuck and Eileen both had lost a parent while they were still growing up. At the time I felt like I was going through something nobody else goes through, but they were proof that I wasn't alone. I can't imagine what it must have been like for them to take in a 16-year-old like me, but they just showered me with love. They made me feel like a part of the family from day 1. Chuck and Eileen have been such fabulous models of a successful marriage. Anyone who knows them can tell that they really love each other. I love how the whole family enjoys spending time together, talking to each other, and serving one another. They can spend hours around the dinner table just because they enjoy each other's company so much that they don't want to stop talking. They truly show what a family is supposed to be like.

When I think of the accident, I usually don't think about the actual car wreck because the details of that time period are pretty fuzzy in my mind. I think what stands out to me is the incredible amount of love I was surrounded by. Aunt Ruth was so wonderful that morning, there were countless friends, all of the family, just so many people were there with me it seems like at all times. During a time when I could have felt alone, I felt protected. And when I think about the outcome of the accidents that year, the really only negative result is that I miss Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Granddaddy. I know the hand of the Lord was so involved in our lives during those events. I know He was taking care of me then and still is taking care of me today.

Well, as I think about other parts of my life, I think of Nate and our family now. I couldn't be blessed with a greater husband or children. Even this morning Nate woke up feeling so sick, but before he left for work he made the bed. If I had felt that way, I probably would have still been laying in the bed. And what can I say about Hannah and Nikki? They are so precious and bring me so much joy. I truly love being mother.

Anyway, this is a long post and doesn't even do justice to all I've seen and learned and experienced during my 28 years. I have a wonderful life!!