Updatng the Update

The end of Conference weekend found Jared and I kneeling down for couple prayer on Sunday night, both with the same question brooding in our minds.   "How do we keep our kids protected...spiritually speaking...in such a nasty world?"  That night, I felt a great unrest.
The next morning I found myself searching my conference notes and finding, at least one thing, that gave me great hope....someone quoting Elder Bednar...

"As you respond in faith to this invitation, your hearts shall turn to the fathers. The promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be implanted in your hearts...Your love and gratitude for your ancestors will increase. Your testimony of and conversion to the Savior will become deep and abiding. And I promise you will be protected against the intensifying influence of the adversary. As you participate in and love this holy work, you will be safeguarded in your youth and throughout your lives."

So my prayers quickly turned to "How can I integrate Family History into our busy lives?"  I was surprised to immediatley have an answer..."start telling them stories."  So the next morning  at breakfast I started telling them about my Grandma Grover.  The next answer came, "find more stories to tell them."  So I opened a Book of Rememberance that my Grandma Grover had made, that had been sitting on my shelf.  On the back of the front page, I found this message in Grandma Grover's handwriting:

"To an Ancestor
Dear One, my spirit knows this to be true:  
You are a part of me and I of you."

It was a nice message, but when coupled with the experience that I had had two nights earlier, it MEANT something to me.  The following is from my previous blog :


"Joey, I love you!  Do you know I have two Joes?"
No...Who?
"You are my first Joey, and my second Joe is my Dad!"
Really?
"Do you remember what his name is?"
And we said together, "JOSEPH DELANEY FOSTER!"
Then he got a huge grin on his face and said, "AND I AM A PART OF HIM!"

I think I will stick with Elder Bednar's promise....I think he is onto something :)

TRUDGING on :)

I just had to share my tender moment!  All of my kids are named after someone (with the exception of Ally....Jared named Ally, I named the rest!  Ally will have to make a name of her own, which I am quite confident she is capable of :)  My fourth is named Joseph Curtis. Curtis after his uncle, who we have enormous respect for, and Joseph after my dad.

For some reason, every night when I tuck Joseph in, I am reminded quite strongly of the connection, and I often remind him about his Grandpa.  Last night's conversation made my heart melt.  It went like this:

"Joey, I love you!  Do you know I have two Joes?"
No...Who?
"You are my first Joey, and my second Joe is my Dad!"
Really?
"Do you remember what his name is?"
And we said together, "JOSEPH DELANEY FOSTER!"
Then he got a huge grin on his face and said, "AND I AM A PART OF HIM!"

To which I promptly kissed him goodnight, exited the room, because I could no longer talk!
Joey was 2 when Grandpa died.  And yet I am quite certain, he still influences his life!  I am so GRATEFUL for eternities to come when death, disabillity, and disease, hamper our ability to see the positive impact we have on each other!
For now we will trudge on, with ETERNITY in our sights!