My Mother’s Day is wrapped in Angels

It certainly has been a while since I have written a blog post.  Mother’s Day is perhaps just the right day to share a few feelings with the blogging world.  Of late, I have given a great amount of thought about angels.  I believe that there are angels who have passed on watching over me, watching over my family, and even watching over each of you who read this blog.  I also believe that I have many angels who surround me everyday here on this beautiful Earth.  For my Mother’s Day blog, it is a few of these angels I wish to tell you about.

Last year, I became friends with Julie Roos.  We had never met prior to me sending her a message via Facebook on the Jackson Roos Memorial page.  I became aware of Julie through a woman named Wendy, who happens to be the mother to one of my daughter Rachel’s former roommates, Stephanie.  (This is almost like following genealogy lines ha!)  At any rate, Wendy (not to be confused with me) has been following my blog and sent the sweetest message suggesting that I contact the Roos family in regards to the loss of their son Jackson.  And, so I did. 

Julie asked if she could call me~and, so she did.  The night she first called, I believe we talked for one and a half hours.  We shared.  We cried.  We embraced a friendship forged through the passing of our sons.  Her final question to me that night was, “when are we going to meet?”  Since our initial conversation, we have texted or called often.  But…when could we meet?

I received an email from her husband Bryan on January 14^th.  He wanted to surprise Julie for Valentine’s Day by buying her a ticket to St. George to meet me!!!!  I said, “OF COURSE!”  And, on April 18^th, Julie arrived in St. George at around 4pm.  Was it awkward?  NOT AT ALL!!  As a matter of fact, we talked, we cried, we laughed, we shared, we hiked, and we both understood one another’s heartache.  This was a privilege and a blessing to be able to spend time with someone who has felt the sting of losing a child.  It was wonderful to be able to share our faith, especially in regards to the eternal nature of the family.

Does our Father in Heaven help to surround us with angels?  Yes…yes He does!  Stephanie-thank you.  Wendy-thank you.  Bryan-thank you for buying Julie a ticket to come to St. George!  Julie-thank you for your incredibly kind heart and beautiful friendship.  And so, you can see, our Father in Heaven will ensure us to be surrounded by angels who will inspire us and lift us in times of need.

I would be remiss if I did not mention my angel mother.  I wrote a blog post last year about her.  She is definitely an angel in my life.  Her strength, love, and courage to be the kind of woman, a daughter of God, she needs to be is inspiring.  Thank you Mom for your unconditional love and letting me just be me…hilarious (after all—I had to take Dad’s spot as being the funniest person in our family!)

And to my angel children (most of you anyway ;) ), I love you!  You are my light and my heart.  

(Keep reading past the pics!)

After a session at the St. George Temple

At the top of Observation Point in Zion's National Park

4 miles up...I survived!

Overlooking Angel's Landing

Last but not least, when Julie and I were at the top of Observation Point, I had a thought…a picture in my mind—if you will—of Jackson and Zach with their arms draped over each other’s shoulders, looking at Julie and me, and smiling.  I could almost hear Zach say, “Dude, look—they have finally met!!!”  And, that thought...makes me smile.

I wish ALL of you a VERY Happy Mother's Day!  Alabama sings it best :)