today you left me; you left our family. this morning i missed a call from my dad. i was at work when i found out what happened. immediately i left work, picked up zac, and drove straight to your house to spend time with the family, and to try to cheer grandma up. i cooked food and made cookies for everyone. then my siblings and i raked your front lawn, because grandma can't do that stuff. it was the least i could do, and i wish i could've done more.
the whole entire day, memories of you flooded into my mind, and i was surprised by how many i had. you are such a loving, selfless, and wise man. whenever i gave you a hug goodbye, you would always look me straight in the eye, and say, "we sure love you." whenever you were over, you would always put your arm around me and give me good advice, or tell me something that made me feel loved and special.
when i was little, i remember going to your house with my mom and little sisters at least once a week. there, it would be your job to pick up a papa john's pizza and bake it for us. i loved that. i remember playing in your basement for hours: riding pillows across the treadmill, playing the piano, and watching cartoons. today i went down there, and everything looked exactly the same. i wanted to lay on the couch and have another sleep over.
i remember, in the summers, going out to your garden and helping you pick blackberries and raspberries to eat. i remember playing in your backyard, and swinging on the swing under your back deck. i remember picking apples from the tree. i remember collecting nuts from off the ground under the tree, and going into the garage and cracking them with that huge, red nutcracker.
i remember when you and grandma would come over when we lived in our old house, and you would always call everyone "murtle." we thought that was so funny. and when you would give us a "squeeze," and not miss one birthday.
a couple months ago, in early october, when mom, grandma, steph and i were dropping grandma off after going to the general relief society meeting, i asked you if i could have a few tomatoes from your garden. you got me my tomatoes, but you also loaded me up with a bunch of other things, like extra tomatoes (i think i got about 10), a bag full of hazelnuts, and a head of cabbage.
on thanksgiving, we played bezzerwizzer, and you could hardly figure out how to play it. that made me laugh. you are such a funny old coot, and you always found the time to laugh at yourself, too. you were constantly looking for the happiness in life.
on christmas every year, you would make breakfast for everyone. you loved that; you loved serving. you are always doing something, whether it was helping a neighbor build something, or giving your garden vegetables away, or serving in the temple. you loved giving of yourself, your time, and your talents (and you have many!), which is why it doesn't surprise me that you died on your way to the temple.
grandpa, thank you for being an example to me. thank you for being my grandpa. thank you for being so strong in the church. thank you for supporting me, and loving me. thank you for raising my mom so she could raise me. i know i will see you again one day. i can just see you up there, doing exactly what you did here: being a missionary and serving people with all your heart. how does it feel to see your son, parents, and other family and friends again? how does it feel to meet the people you helped down here in the temple? i bet you're pretty famous up there. i can just imagine you laughing at us down here for being so sad.
i love you, grandpa. i'll see you soon, okay? :)
love, megan
Showing posts with label testimony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label testimony. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
We hit an elk.
A couple of days ago, on Sunday, Zac and I drove up to Fairview to spend time with his family in their cabin they built up there. We arrived there in the afternoon, and spent our time shooting guns at a plastic cup, taking naps (two, to be exact), and riding the fourwheeler around the mountains. It was a perfect day!
We left just as the sun was setting. It was dark by the time we got onto the freeway that leads back to Spanish Fork. As we were driving, an elk walked right in front of us. We didn't see it until our headlights were shining on it, and by that time, it was too late to do anything. We were going about 65 MPH, and the moment we hit the elk, it had completely stopped our car.
The airbags went off, and Zac and I just looked at each other and screamed bloody murder for a few seconds. We both jumped out of the car, and I called 911 while Zac was looking for his phone that had fallen underneath the dashboard when we wrecked. The operator on the other line asked where we were, and I had no idea, because we were in the middle of nowhere in Spanish Fork Canyon. By thar time, a family had pulled over and gotten out to see if we were okay. I handed my phone to the man helping us, and he told the operator where we were.
By that time, my stomach was hurting pretty bad from the impact of the seat belt. I didn't know what to do. I just stood there, grabbing my stomach and crying while Zac put his arm around me. I told Zac that I needed to call my dad (who was in California with the rest of my family), and so Zac let me use his phone. I called my dad and told him what happened, and let him know that we were alright.
The family who pulled over let us sit in their car until the police officer came about half an hour later. He took down our information and let us sit in his car. Zac's dad had come down by this time, and we looked at the elk we had hit. It was huge! But I already knew that, because I saw it a couple of seconds before I hit it. The police officer called a tow truck and an ambulence--just to check up on us. When the ambulence got there about 45 minuutes later, they had us go inside and they took our vitals there. Everything was normal, and by this time, my stomach had stopped hurting.
The tow truck came a little while later, and found out that our car wouldn't start when they tried to get it up onto the truck, so they had to chain it up and drag it. The police officer gave us a ride home to our apartment, and when we got home, we just sat on our bed and cried.
It's amazing how much Heavenly Father protected us that night. Even though hitting an elk wasn't really what we wanted to do that night, Heavenly Father protected us so much. We walked away from that with no scratches, just a few sore body parts. And the whole time we were stranded there on that road, I felt at peace, like everything was going to be okay. And it is. Yes, my car is totalled, and I'm going to have to get a new one, and my insurance rate might go up, but I have my husband, and he has me. That's all that matters to me. I don't care about my car. I'm glad the car was the one who took the hit instead of me or Zac. You cannot tell me that Heavenly Father does not protect his children. He was there that entire night.
This has been such a testimony builder to me. I've felt nothing but love these last couple of days. Love for Zac, love for our family who helped us, love for the family who pulled over, love for the police officer, love for Heavenly Father. It's amazing. I've learned so much from this.
We left just as the sun was setting. It was dark by the time we got onto the freeway that leads back to Spanish Fork. As we were driving, an elk walked right in front of us. We didn't see it until our headlights were shining on it, and by that time, it was too late to do anything. We were going about 65 MPH, and the moment we hit the elk, it had completely stopped our car.
The airbags went off, and Zac and I just looked at each other and screamed bloody murder for a few seconds. We both jumped out of the car, and I called 911 while Zac was looking for his phone that had fallen underneath the dashboard when we wrecked. The operator on the other line asked where we were, and I had no idea, because we were in the middle of nowhere in Spanish Fork Canyon. By thar time, a family had pulled over and gotten out to see if we were okay. I handed my phone to the man helping us, and he told the operator where we were.
By that time, my stomach was hurting pretty bad from the impact of the seat belt. I didn't know what to do. I just stood there, grabbing my stomach and crying while Zac put his arm around me. I told Zac that I needed to call my dad (who was in California with the rest of my family), and so Zac let me use his phone. I called my dad and told him what happened, and let him know that we were alright.
The family who pulled over let us sit in their car until the police officer came about half an hour later. He took down our information and let us sit in his car. Zac's dad had come down by this time, and we looked at the elk we had hit. It was huge! But I already knew that, because I saw it a couple of seconds before I hit it. The police officer called a tow truck and an ambulence--just to check up on us. When the ambulence got there about 45 minuutes later, they had us go inside and they took our vitals there. Everything was normal, and by this time, my stomach had stopped hurting.
The tow truck came a little while later, and found out that our car wouldn't start when they tried to get it up onto the truck, so they had to chain it up and drag it. The police officer gave us a ride home to our apartment, and when we got home, we just sat on our bed and cried.
It's amazing how much Heavenly Father protected us that night. Even though hitting an elk wasn't really what we wanted to do that night, Heavenly Father protected us so much. We walked away from that with no scratches, just a few sore body parts. And the whole time we were stranded there on that road, I felt at peace, like everything was going to be okay. And it is. Yes, my car is totalled, and I'm going to have to get a new one, and my insurance rate might go up, but I have my husband, and he has me. That's all that matters to me. I don't care about my car. I'm glad the car was the one who took the hit instead of me or Zac. You cannot tell me that Heavenly Father does not protect his children. He was there that entire night.
This has been such a testimony builder to me. I've felt nothing but love these last couple of days. Love for Zac, love for our family who helped us, love for the family who pulled over, love for the police officer, love for Heavenly Father. It's amazing. I've learned so much from this.
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