B+C+B+C+B+C: Brianna's Most Special Aunt

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Brianna's Most Special Aunt

Mid-April 2010. I forgot to post this along with the other Spokane-trip pictures. But it deserves it's own post anyways.

Just now as I was putting this on the screen, Brianna walked by and said, "I see Sammy at Merryglen!" I was really surprised she remembered. I hope Brianna gets to spend more time with her Aunt Samantha in the future. It's going to be really difficult to see her, since she can't travel far, and the thought of driving or flying 900 miles with a toddler and infant twins is logistically and financially difficult. I'm really grateful Samantha has a place like Merryglen to live, where she has 24 hr care and a home-like atmosphere with other residents. But I miss the days when I got to go see Sam everyday and take her on walks around the neighborhood. Though I never appreciated it growing up, I'm now very grateful that I had the unique experience of having a severely developmentally disabled sibling (though sometimes I think I actually grew up with SEVEN of them :) I had to learn a lot of patience, tolerance, and not to be embarrassed or worry what others think. I remember going with Meredith and Sammy to a day camp every summer with other handicapped kids - several eating lunch through tubes into their abdomens, or drooling constantly, or making wild body spasms sporadically... definitely an eye-opening experience for me at a very young age (Sammy has Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, in case you're curious).
Thinking of Sam now makes me want to be a better person and be more appreciative of having healthy body - though in the long run, she's the lucky one because she's innocent and protected from the temptations of this world, just like a small child. Last Sunday we had a lesson in church on the life of Christ, and it made me remember that someday He will make her whole again. I love and miss my Sammy.

5 comments:

BBS said...: Thanks for sharing this beautifully written post. I may have known this about you but forgotten...anyway, it is such a wonderful reminder to all of us of what this life is really about.; June 15, 2010 at 8:42 AM
Becky said...: Very touching. Thank you for sharing your personal feelings and your sister. I really need to appreciate my healthy body more often.; June 15, 2010 at 7:24 PM
Melissa said...: What a sweet picture! I love what you said about Sam...I feel the same way about Michael. He has been such a blessing to our family and has taught us so much!; June 16, 2010 at 2:02 PM
Megan Smith said...: Would you like Sammy to come hang out with you for awhile?; June 17, 2010 at 9:31 AM
Jordan and Crystal said...: Precious picture! she has such a sweet spirit!; June 21, 2010 at 9:52 AM

Quotes I want to remember

"The Lord knows our bearing capacity, both as to coping and to comprehending, and He will not give us more to bear than we can manage at the moment, though to us it may seem otherwise. Just as no temptations will come to us from which we cannot escape or which we cannot bear, we will not be given more trials than we can sustain."
- Neal A. Maxwell

"It is a fundamental truth that the responsibilities of motherhood cannot be successfully delegated. No, not to day-care centers, not to schools, not to nurseries, not to babysitters. We become enamored with men's theories such as the idea of preschool training outside the home for young children. Not only does this put added pressure on the budget, but it places young children in an environment away from mother's influence."
-Ezra Taft Benson

“Perhaps there has never been a time when we had greater need to pray and to teach our family members to pray. Prayer is a defense against temptation. It is through earnest and heartfelt prayer that we can receive the needed blessings and the support required to make our way in this sometimes difficult and challenging journey we call mortality.”
-Thomas S. Monson

“Live the gospel as conspicuously as you can. Keep the covenants your children know you have made. And bear your testimony! Don’t just assume your children will somehow get the drift of your beliefs on their own.
-Jeffrey R. Holland

"We hold in our arms the rising generation. They come to this earth with important responsibilities and great spiritual capacities. We cannot be casual in how we prepare them. Our challenge as parents and teachers is not to create a spiritual core in their souls but rather to fan the flame of their spiritual core already aglow with the fire of their premortal faith."
-Neil L. Andersen

"Certainly there are times when getting the family together to read the scriptures does not stack up as a spiritual experience worthy of a journal entry. But we must not be deterred. There are special times when the spirit of a son or daughter is just right and the power of these great scriptures goes down into their heart like fire. As we honor our Heavenly Father in our homes, He will honor our efforts."
-Neil L. Andersen

President Hinckley admonished both men and women to be nurturers. He said, ‘How much more beautiful would be the society in which we live if every father . . . and . . . mother regarded [their] children . . . as gifts from the God of heaven . . . and brought them up with true affection in the wisdom and admonition of the Lord.’ ”
-Susan W. Tanner

"Children are like trees. When they are young, their lives can be shaped and directed, usually with ever so little effort. Said the writer of Proverbs, 'Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it' (22:6). That training finds its roots in the home. There will be little of help from other sources. Do not depend on government to help in this darkening situation. Barbara Bush, wife of former U.S. president George Bush, spoke wisely: 'Your success as a family, our success as society, depends not on what happens at the White House, but on what happens inside your house.' "
-Gordon B. Hinckley

“I give counsel to husbands and wives. Pray for the love which allows you to see the good in your companion. Pray for the love that makes weaknesses and mistakes seem small. Pray for the love to make your companion’s joy your own. Pray for the love to want to lessen the load and soften the sorrows of your companion.”
-Henry B. Eyring

“Reverent behavior is not a natural tendency for most children. It is a quality that is taught by parents and leaders through example and training. But remember, if reverence is rooted in love, so is the teaching of it. Harshness in our training begets resentment, not reverence.”
-Margaret S. Lifferth

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else."
- M. Russell Ballard

“As parents, we should remember that our lives may be the book from the family library which the children most treasure. Are our examples worthy of emulation? Do we live in such a way that a son or a daughter may say, ‘I want to follow my dad,’ or ‘I want to be like my mother’?”
-Thomas S. Monson

“Security for our families comes from learning self-control, avoiding the excesses of this world, and being temperate in all things.”
-Kent D. Watson

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Brianna's Most Special Aunt

5 comments:

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