family

mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, cousin, brother, sister, etc.

Christian with his brood!

i've been thinking a lot about families this weekend.
might have something to do with teaching a lesson on this General Conference Talk in Relief Society on Sunday

we often say: we are knit together.
i would like to say: families are woven together.G.P. (in the hawaiian shirt) and one of my crazy uncles.

if you think about it knits are 1 thread knotted together, quite stretchy, and will unravel with 1 cut.
wovens are many threads, overlapping, strong and will endure holes without falling to pieces, and is easy to mend.
each member of the family is a thread in the fabric. each person touches a multitude of others and strengthens them, holds them in place.Grandma Tootsie and Mom, and a baby Ivy eating her favorite butterfly.

we're in these families to teach us how to live, how to become more Christ-like, and ultimately return to Heavenly Father.Christian helping Archer cut his birthday cake.

here's an example of knitting:

when Archer was born we lived in Las Vegas.
i didn't have very many friends and no close friends. i had had a horrible birth experience and nursing was very hard for me. i cried and cried when my mother and mother in law had to leave.
Moomie and Archer

one very vivid memory of that time was when Christian had left for a weekend with Thunderstruck Dance Competition (he MC'd) and all of our furniture was gone because we were moving to UT, and i was lying on our mattress in the middle of our bare bedroom freaking out that Archer wasn't getting enough to eat. i called my mother in the middle of the night and asked her for advice. it just wasn't the same as calling her and having her run up to my house to help, like she can now.
Mom and Archer on his 1st birthday. (see he survived!)

i had to figure everything out for myself, from changing diapers to feeding schedules to how i was going to feed myself! i was tying myself into knots and stretching out of shape. needless to say i slipped into depression.
one of Christian's crazy uncles and a brother...(gem mine, family vacation 2008)

now a woven story:

when Ivy was born with EHK there was a lot of time spent in the hospital with her. meanwhile grandmas and grandpas looked after Archer. G.P. and Archer with the hardware store's race car!

and even after she was out of the hospital, we had a lot to do to maintain her skin at home everyday, so either a friend from church or a family member would come to help us with the bath or watch Archer. meals were brought nightly for a few weeks. family members would take loads of laundry to wash. my mother disinfected my house before Ivy came home from the hospital so she wouldn't run the risk of infection at home. Christian's job hours were flexible because he worked at the family hardware store. he was able to stay home and help me with dressing changes in the morning.
Boopie and Archer

it was through that experience that we realized we couldn't live without our tribe.
all of our family members rallied around us to support us physically, emotionally and financially.

when i compare those two experiences i realize how lucky i am to live near my parents, my husband's parents and almost every member of my extended family. not to mention a very loving church family. (they brought dinners for me for 2 weeks after Jet was born. amazing)
i get to do laundry at my mom's house.
i get to take my grandmother out shopping for her 81st birthday.my 81 year old grandmother, and mom

i get the joy of seeing my children grow up knowing their grandparents and spending time with them.
i feel so blessed to have so much family around me, woven into my life like a beautiful cloth.