Thoughts on my Mother-In-Law

Greg with his Mom

I can see the love in his eyes and expressions.

I only wish I had a picture of them when he was rubbing her feet and the sweet expression on her face!

Dorothy Jean Evans Rose...a truly elect lady.  I am her daughter-in-law but I can truly say she has always treated me like a daughter and has taught me the importance of making my own wonderful daughter-in-law feel that same love. I hope you do,  Sara, because you truly are "one of ours!"  Though Mom Rose is now in a care center due to dementia, she will always be a sterling example to me of everything that is good. Greg and I lived about 1 mile from his parents in the little ranching community of Park Valley, UT from the time we were married until our oldest son was 16.  I could hardly believe how quickly Mom Rose and I bonded and how many things she taught me how to do! She is such a multi-talented woman excelling in everything she ever attempts! She is a great cook, a seamstress, a gardener and preserver, a quilter, a crocheter, a wall-paperer and most importantly, a tireless sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother! All that really matters to her are her family and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Even now, you never have to wonder how Mom feels about the Savior and the Gospel for she shares it openly.  And even with this mind-altering disease, she gives us a continued legacy of faith in the things that remain important to her. In her confusion, she still worries about her children being cared for, about her Dad and three of her brothers who were not active in the church, about my father-in-law, Gary, being cared for, and if she has taught us all we need to know so that we will never stray from what we know in our hearts to be true. All of her children have been married in the temple and are active in the church, 16 of her 20 grandchildren are happily married and in the temple (the other four are not old enough), and 30 great-grandchildren are also being raised in the gospel and are having their testimonies fostered by loving parents. Truly, what a remarkable thing this is and attests to her goodness and diligence in continually teaching us to meet our potential as children of Heavenly Father. She has always been the hardest worker I have ever known. Her hands were never idle! She worked from early morning until late evening to insure her home and yard were immaculate! I can remember feeling the pressure to be sure OUR home, yard, and outyards were as clean and tidy as hers. And I am sure they never were! But she didn't judge and instead, would come down on occasion and help me when she could see I was very busy with my four little ones. I have been so blessed to have two very wonderful mothers in my life and how grateful I am that my own mother is doing so well after having been very sick herself the first two months of the summer. I need to go back and blog about that period of time and I will do that.

Right now, it is very important for me to jot down some things that Mom talked to Greg and me about a few weeks ago. I believe it was Saturday, Sept. 24, (2011) after a mentally tormented Friday that Mom began telling Dad that she was going to die that day. Though her physical condition didn't seem bad enough, we knew that the door of reality was closing on her. She has had so many physical ailments in her life-time and has been oxygen-deprived on so many occasions that I don't know why we were not prepared for the dementia. As I think about it, I believe it is because she always bounced back from even the most severe illnesses, including the need for a permanent trach, breast cancer and double mastectomy , heart attacks and a pace-maker...to name only a few. We always joked that she had long since used up her 9 lives! Anyway, Brent called me and said that he didn't want to alarm us but Mom was very aware and speaking clearly this particular Saturday, that there was a little different spirit about her and that we might want to consider driving out to Park Valley. Greg was moving cattle that day and I headed up the canyon to find him. We dressed and packed quickly and upon arriving at the ranch, found Mom to be very lucid and wanting to talk to all of us. She spoke to us about staying active in the Church and voiced her concern that she had taught us all she needed to to insure this would happen. She asked us to take care of Dad and expressed her love for him and her appreciation for his unselfish care of her for so long. Greg and Brent gave both of them blessings. I felt the spirit present and was so very grateful we had followed the prompting and Brent's suggestion. Not knowing exactly what would happen and knowing that if all was well in the morning we would be taking her to Christie's to give Brent and Janet and Dad a break, Greg and I decided to stay for the weekend at Christie's to help with the move. Greg and I talked on the drive and he expressed the feeling that he didn't think she was going to physically die but that mentally, her mind was closing. We felt that we had been given a tender mercy that evening of having Mom cognizant and able to share her feelings with us...something we had not experienced for months. The next day, Brent, Janet and Dad brought her to Tremonton to Greg's sister, Christie's home. Greg visited with her in the morning for quite awhile and she told him all about "heaven". She seemed so happy and so relieved that she had been able to visit with her Dad who was not active. She said he was separated from her mother but told her he was trying very hard to be good and was happy. She was also joyful about being able to visit with her Grandma and Grandpa Butler. Greg told me about his conversation with her and commented that perhaps she had had the opportunity to pass through the veil briefly during the night. I was intrigued and sat down to visit with her myself. I just asked her what heaven was like. She was so happy to be able to tell me about it and painted the sweetest picture for me as she spoke. She told me that everyone was so happy there and willing to serve and help everyone else. She said that instead of this: (and she frowned at me), it was this: (and she smiled ear to ear!) It was so precious I will never forget it! She described it as a place much like this earth only much more beautiful! I felt the spirit as we visited and I have to wonder if she wasn't allowed that glimpse to put her mind at ease about her Dad. So perhaps what she told Dad that Saturday was true...she was going to die, if only but a short time. I believe Heavenly Father sent her back to earth until we all learned some very important lessons about loving and caring for one another and staying close as a family. I certainly cannot say for certain that all this actually occurred, but  I choose to believe it did. Her countenance was so beautiful and serene! I will always treasure that time with her. By that evening, Mom was back in her confused state of mind and she had no recollection of what we had discussed. 

My son, Matthew, asked me to preserve all this for posterity so that is what I am doing. I am grateful for the challenge he gave me to do this so that some day we can all look back over this difficult period of time and thank Heavenly Father for his tender mercies in our lives every day, and for the powerful testimony of the gospel and faith in Jesus Christ that Mom Rose always possessed and shared so freely. I love this wonderful woman and will forever be grateful for the opportunity of helping in some small way to care for her during this very challenging time in her life. She has always been and continues to be one of my greatest blessings. I love you, Mom Rose!

180 Calves Branded at the Highlands!

I'm so happy I captured this precious moment! Aren't they beautiful?

Dad roping on Smokey!

Craig filling up the vaccine gunGreg doing what he loves!
Aurora and Lenora watching the action
Grandpa Gary - the Cow Boss with Craig and Greg in background
My hubby!
Bill and Amber
Shalee, Aurora and Aubrey - fast friends in a matter of minutes!

Some of the men!Sweet grandpa with Lenora and Aurora

After stopping in Burley to do ranch business and helping Brent and Janet grocery shop for the hired men and for branding, we headed right to Park Valley for the branding to be done at the Highlands. They did about 180 head that day and it was cold and windy! My brother, Craig, came out again and brought his wife, Lenora, and their little granddaughter, Aurora, who is Faune's little one. She was a sweetie and so good all day! She wasn't a bit afraid of the branding process, either which amazed me! Greg and Brent brought the horses up from the winter range and he saddled up and rode Baxter for the first time since last summer. He brought the cows riding Baxter, but roped on Grandpa's horse, Smokey. When they turned the horses out that afternoon, Baxter was lame again so it is sadly inevitable now. He will never get well. Grandpa, out of the blue, asked Dad if he would trade Bert for Smokey. They need another young horse on the ranch and Dad really needs a well-broke horse ready to ride and do anything on! Grandpa doesn't ride much anymore and really wanted to make the trade. So without hesitation, Dad said "SOLD"! We are now proud owners of Smokey! I think he will work well for Dad and he is pretty well "bullet proof". The grandkids can ride Smokey! That was another plus in the deal! Thanks, Grandpa Rose!

A Three-Day Whirlwind Tour!

Friday, March 20th, Greg had business in the Downy/Preston area. He needed to meet with a new customer and count his cattle which were in three or four different spots from Downy to Preston. We decided as long as we were going to be that close to Montpelier and Logan and inasmuch as we were planning to go to Park Valley on Saturday for the weekend, we would make a three-day weekend of it! We had been working on our years supply of food and had put together an order for Walton Feed just the day before. So this was a perfect opportunity to go to Montpelier and see this place that I have heard so many people talk about! We were able to pick up our order as well as some things for Sister Cook, Lori and Cindy. That place is amazing! They have about anything you could possibly want to order and more! Check it out if you have not already been on their site.http://www.waltonfeed.com/. We were impressed how orderly and accurately they processed our orders, especially considering that Mary and I called and changed/added to our orders about three times...every business's nightmare! But they were courteous and let us add and subtract even after we arrived! Since Greg has a wheat allergy, I have been experimenting with and learning about other nutritious grains to cook with, one of them being quinoa (a grain that is a complete protein!). I had been trying to find a place to purchase it, but it is SO expensive! Waltons had it for about 2/3 the cost of anywhere else I had researched. Anyway, it was a very successful and fun food storage trip and we came back with the back of the truck loaded! Now I am actually USING the items we purchased and will rotate accordingly! Yes, I am becoming connected to my food storage! I do not want to find myself in a time of need staring at my #10 cans and wondering what I am going to cook with all of it! This has been very fun! I completed my three-month supply of meals Greg and I eat using the wonderful food storage calculator Lori posted a few weeks ago. It is very user friendly and makes you think "yes, I can do this!" 3-month supply calculator.

After a delicious lunch at the Butch Cassidy Restaurant in Montpelier, we headed to Logan to spend the balance of the day and over-night with Julie, Stanton and family! We didn't give them much warning, but they were kind and let us come anyway! It was fun to visit, to see Julie's wonderful craft room, and to play outside with the kids. I could tell they were so excited to be able to run and play outside once again. Such adorable children. We love all four so very much! Looking at the weather today...well, let's just say that we only caught a brief glimpse of nice spring weather! It is a blizzard outside right now! I will still not complain about receiving moisture, however. It is too precious and too needed! Anyway, Greg was also able to help Stanton and Jim hang a hoist in the garage to hold the Jeep top when not in use. That evening after the kids were in bed, we watched the movie Australia...a very good movie if you haven't yet seen it! Long but good! After a good night's sleep and some reading and snuggle time with the kids Saturday morning, we headed to Park Valley. Oh, by the way, I once again forgot my camera so I purchased a disposable one! What a waste...the few pictures I took were terrible! I will never do that again if it means I carry my camera in my purse all the time! This picture of Greg with Brigham is the only one that turned out at all! I am still kicking myself! Speaking of Brigham, Julie and Stanton have an appointment at Primary Children's Hospital for him this week. Little Brigs, you are in Grandma and Grandpa's prayers every day! We love you so much and can feel Heavenly Father's love for you as well! We await more information! Thanks, Julie and Stanton, for a fun visit!

We arrived in Park Valley in time for Greg to help Brent, Bill and Dad with some of the chores. Mom Rose was very sick during that week previous to our visit and though she was feeling somewhat better, she was far from well. Each time she gets sick, we wonder if she can possibly fight it off one more time. But she is a wonderful woman of faith and we are so grateful she is pulling through this once again. We stayed over with Brent and Janet so as not to wear her out and cause her any stress. We did go over and visit with her for a few hours and then got out of her hair so she could take a nap. Janet and I visited all afternoon reminiscing and catching up on our families, etc. How I love my dear sister-in-law. She is truly a sister to me in every sense of the word. We enjoyed fixing dinner together and were thrilled that Mom and Dad Rose came over to eat with us. While Janet and I were having a ball together, Brent and Greg were enjoying the same experience. Though the ideal is always when we can have our kids and grand kids with us, this was a weekend when none of our kids were able to be there. So I guess we just revelled in each other's company. We stayed up until 11:30 pm which is not usual for us old folks! The next morning as the guys were out doing morning chores, we prepared a pot roast and all the fixin's and put them in the oven before church. Mom wasn't feeling good enough to speak in church though she did go and stay to all the meetings. We were grateful to see her on the mend. Greg and I were glad we were there and had been asked to speak so that Dad did not have to worry. What a blessing it was to be to Church in Park Valley again. How we love these wonderful, faithful people! Part of my heart will always be in the valley! I am so thankful for the time we were able to live and raise our family there as I know that our wonderful children are partially a product of their time on the ranch. Park Valley...we love you!

I must mention what a fantastic Gospel Doctrine teacher Bill is! He is a perfect mix of humility, humor, and teacher of doctrine in a "bring the scriptures to a personal level" kind of way! We all learned so much and were uplifted by the teachings in Section 25 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Thank you, Bill, for your prayerful preparation...a lesson you had obviously thought and prayed about all week!

After church, we headed home to get a wonderful dinner on the table. I just have to ask, does anything smell better when you walk in the door after Church than pot roast and vegetables? I think not! Mom and Dad Rose came over and ate with us once again and we enjoyed some more wonderful time together. Janet and Brent, you are the most wonderful host and hostess! Thank you so very much for your time, friendship, love, hospitality and food! We had a great weekend. Our Park Valley family...we love you!!!!