"Katie's Day"

I remember as I went to church for many years by my self with my kids before Tom was a member of our church! I always wondered if I would ever go through the Temple! Tom always told me he loved our church but had been baptized so he did not feel like he needed to be baptized again! I never pushed Tom to join the church I am a member of! Tom loved the Mormon Church....Mainly because our church main focus is around the family unit and our Savior Jesus Christ! After 14 years of marriage and a few stray paths off the narrow road and lots of studying.... Tom realized he was not baptized by the proper authority and wanted to be baptized just as his Savior was baptized! By complete immersion of his whole body under water. This was a forever changing day of Tom's life!

A few years before Tom was baptized My Bishop had counseled me to go through the Temple! I always wondered why I would do that when Tom was not even a member of my faith! My Bishop kept telling me if I go through the Temple my family would be blessed! Some of the hardest times and years of my life were... Right after I went through the Temple! "I thought I would be BLESSED if I went through the Temple.... But yet these few years were hard! Little did I know that these few years were part of Tom and mine journey to get us to where we are now and where we need to be! I will say I am truly thankful for Tom and mine ups and downs! I have truly come to embrace these difficulty times! In those hard years I felt some what forsaken but.... I never was... HE ALWAYS knew my needs and Tom's needs!

I am so thankful that my Bishop was inspired to council me to go through the Temple for my self! I remember the day so well! I had had my recommend for several months and still had not gone! One morning I woke up and called my girlfriend, Brenda Sanders and said I would be by in a few minutes to pick her up so we could go to the Temple! She explained to me I needed to make an appointment and I.... Explained to her that I did not have to make an appointment that the Lord would not turn me away due to the fact I did not have an appointment!

So off we went! I told no one I was going and so it was just Brenda and I one morning! It was a beautiful wonderful spiritual morning..... One I will never forget!

I was so blessed for attending the Temple! This next few years is when Tom and I grew so much! Through all of his trials he became closer to the Lord and with much studying and prayer he was baptized! One year from the day he was baptized Tom and I were sealed for Eternity and our children were sealed to us that day as well for ETERNITY!!

I will never forget our five kids dressed in white as they entered into the sealing room with Tom and I! They all looks so beautiful! As we all knelt at the alter and were sealed together as an Eternal Family.... I will never forget the feelings I had! I can see Rhett's as a little tiny toddler looking into Tom and my eyes! I remember Posey in a beautiful white dress my mother had made for her! I too was in a white dress my mom made for me! Rhett look like an Angel in a beautiful white European style outfit that my mom had made him too! There were a few people there but not many!

This is a day I will never forget the visual part or the spiritual part of this day for EVER! I felt like the most blessed person in the world! A day I thought would never come but yet.... Heavenly Father had answered my prayers at the right time.... HIS time..... And for this I am Eternally Thankful to HIM for the biggest blessing in my life which is.... An Eternal Family!

So March 26, 11 was Katie Koutz DAY!!!

Katie is a young girl who lived with us as she was facing a out of wedlock pregnancies! With Katie's permission I would tell you that this was Katie's second unplanned pregnancies and she had struggled since the age of 13 or so with alcohol and chemical addictions! Katie also struggled with choices of friends and boy friends as well! Katie came from a wonderful family who had done all they could to help her in every way! The drugs and bad choices sent her on paths that her family was not sure she would come back from!

I know these difficult paths that Katie took over the past several years was part of her journey as well! I know she said she would takes these paths that were hard so the family she placed her last two babies with could have the blessings of an Eternal Family! They are an amazing family as well and Katie will be forever their Earthly Angel that gave them two beautiful kids for eternity!

I know these last several years have been so hard for Katie's parents and her sisters but through the struggles and pain they have ALL endured.... Katie has come full circle and has done all she needed to do to pay restitution to her Heavenly Father and prepared her self to enter the House of the LORD!!

As we all gathered in the Celestial Room of the Temple with Katie I could not help but to feel the spirit that was there as I looked into Katie's eyes! The thought came to me who would of thought a year or more ago we would be in the Temple with Katie! I know her father said to me.... if you would of asked him a year ago if this day would of ever came he say .... He would of bet his life it would not of come!

The joy and happiness I saw in her sisters, father and brother-in-laws eyes was just the pure love of Christ! It was a tender moment as they all embraced and ALL the hard bad feelings that they all might of had were gone in that moment!

I am thankful for the love and patience Katie's Family has given her! I know it has not been easy for them to watch Katie make bad choices as they have all done all they could to help her! The power of forgiveness is an amazing feeling as well!

I hope Katie will never forget the love, charity, prayers and forgiveness her family and friends have shown her!! This is all part of the Temple ordinances and covenants she made that day in the Temple!

I have to tell Katie how much I love her! I want her to know that this day will always be the most important day of her life! The covenants she made in the Temple are life changing! This day is the crowning covenants that she needed to have to return one day to live with her Heavenly Father!

Katie do not take this day lightly or forget the feelings you felt this day ever! Go to the Temple as often as you can! I know Kade is so very proud of you as well! It is wonderful you can now share the Temple with Kade! I know because of your desire to go to the Temple Kade will have a desire as well to go! Kade will be blessed as well for your worthiness and desire to go to to the Temple! Talk to him about your experience as often as you can!

This day will be a day I will never forget! I was thankful to be able to be there with Katie as she made sacred covenants with her Heavenly Father in the Temple! I am also thankful that Katie had the opportunity to live with us as she placing her baby in the arms of his Eternal Mother and Father! Katie showed us such strength! I loved seeing her change each day as she progressed toward her Heavenly Father! With ALL that Katie has overcome.... I am so thankful to know that she has turned the pages of her life that were bad choices and turned them all into good productive situations! Through these trials she has been blessed and so has many others!

Katie never forget how much I love you and how proud I am of you!

You have now made real life changing covenants and promises that you will for ever be so thankful for them in the Eternities!

Again My Sweet Girl..... I love you and I am so happy for you! Thank you for sharing this special day with me!!

I will ALWAYS treasure "MY DAY" that I went through the Temple and....I hope you will always remember and treasure your day that you went through the Temple! Always remember it is not about NOW.... BUT..... ETERNITY!!!

I LOVE YOU!!!!!

The Beautiful Flowers at the Temple

Why WORRY If You Have FAITH!!!

Nate, the miracle worker has never given up! He too has much FAITH that Genell will walk!

WORRY!!! Sometimes worry has become such a habit...(worry is one of my bad habits) that we can't shake it off even when our minds are convinced that it serves no purpose! We think about what happened yesterday and we are sure it is a clue to the awful things that are sure to happen tomorrow! We can , if we work at it, free ourselves from yesterday and tomorrow. Today is only one little set of 24 hours, a reasonably manageable bit of time that we can concentrate on using well! I will not allow myself to be swamped by thoughts of things that are past. I will not concern myself about tomorrow until it becomes my today. The better I use today the more likely it is that tomorrow will be bright!

I read this quote this morning and I loved it!

My mind went to a few people for different reasons but.... One person my mind went to was Genell Bridges, a dear friend for many years!!

Why Genell you ask??? My thought was Genell has been in a hospital or nursing home now for over four years! I have written about her before! Genell went from a full time wife, mom, she worked as well outside her home, served in the Stake Relief Society Presidency, as well as being a Temple worker! In a week or so she went from this life as she knew it.... to a hospital bed with strokes and seizers for the last four years. She has not walked and can do very little for her self for over four years!

Last week when I went to visit her I made sure I got there doing her "Gym" time as she calls it! (she always use to work out at the gym before she got sick) It is actually physical therapy! She has been so excited because she has been walking in her words, and she wanted me to see her progress! She will call me during the week and tell me how many steps she took that day! She is now up to 42 which takes about 45 minutes to do! She takes about 8 to 10 steps with the help of TWO physical therapist... with on of them actually trying to hold her foot in a forward position and with him picking her leg up to move it for her!! She also has two braces one on each leg! The other leg she can kind of shuffle it a little! She has to rest in between each 8 to 10 steps for about ten minutes!

Genell ALWAYS tells me she was promised a full recovery in many blessings she has had.... and knows she will walk out of the nursing home!

In the time she has been sick she has had her first two grand children born, her bother-in-law passed away, and recently her husband passed away and there have been much more happen that she was not able to be part of! Genell was not even able to go to her husbands funeral!

I have asked her many time do you worry about different things like, walking, learning how to transfer from her bed to a wheel chair with out being hoisted out, her TTP coming out of remission , her children and the list goes on! Genell"s answer is always the same NO!!!! Why would I WORRY when I know Heavenly Father knows me and LOVES me and is aware of my needs! HE has made promises to me! I need not WORRY because of my FAITH in HIM!

Genell always tells me why WORRY if you have FAITH!! She always goes on to tell me if you have FAITH in your Heavenly Father you should have no WORRIES!!

I am so THANKFUL for the example Genell is to me! Seldom do I witness such STRENGTH and FAITH in my life! Not only does she have FAITH but.... She has JOY beyond words!

I will do all I can to surrender my WORRIES to my Heavenly Father and work on my FAITH in HIM and in my SELF!!

Genell I love you so much! You are amazing! I will continue to borrow from your flame! You strengthen my FAITH and I will continue to work on my WORRYING!!!! Thank you for sharing your FAITH with me!

Again, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH PRECIOUS GIRL!!

Happy Father's Day!!!

President and Sorella Wolfgramm!
Anziano Scheurn and his compagno, Anziano Anderson!
He made it to "Italia Milano"!

The Gangster "M" for Milano!

Tom and I received our first package from Rhett on Saturday!!!!

We were so excited AND.... Yes there was a cd of pictures! Also in the package was a tie and a letter!

On the outside of the letter it said "Happy Father's Day"!

My thought UUUMMMMMHHHHH isn't Mother's Day before Father's Day????

Well come to find out in Italy Father's Day is March 19th! So Happy Father's Day Tom!

Rhett said in his letter.... "I bet you thought I forgot Father's Day but how could I forget with such an amazing father like you, impossible to forget"! "Words can not explain how much I love you dad"! "Literally you are my hero"! " Just wanted you to know how much you mean to me and how much I love you"! "It is tough some days but I know the Lord gives us trials to test us". But we need to stay strong"! "I can't imagine if we gave up on something that was difficult and then in the after life, Moroni comes up to us and calls us a sissy for giving up, when he was the last righteous Nephi"!

I loved this paragraph of Rhett's letter to his dad!

It was a beautiful letter and I know Tom will treasure it for ever along with all the other letters Rhett has sent AND..... THE PICTURES!

Patience is a virtue AND... Something I need to work on!

"Mercoledi"!!!

Lo amo il Mercoledi!!! ( I love Wednesdays!)

I guess I should say I love Wednesdays BUT.... It is a bitter sweet thing as well!

This is why I love Wednesdays!!

Mercledi, Wednesday is the day Tom and I get an email from Rhett!!! So about at 10:00 pm Tuesday night is when I start thinking about Rhett a lot!! Because I know that is the time he is getting up and having personal scripture study and getting ready for the day which is P-DAY!!! YAYYYYY!!!

So P-day also means Rhett gets 30 minutes on the computer to write Tom and I! Rhett is not allowed to write anyone but parents and siblings but we are thankful for the 30 minutes he gets!

So I love to get up and do a few chores and wash my face and brush my teeth and then take a quiet few minutes to read Rhett's letters alone! This is truly a mothers "Paradise"!

The first few letters Tom and I received... we read together before Tom would leave for work BUT... We quickly figured out this was not working because we would both end up in tears! So now once I have read Rhett's letter I send it on to Tom! This works much better! When we are together reading we both just sit there and say over and over how happy we are he is doing so well and then we both cry harder together! So this is much better to read on our own!

The bitter part of the Wednesday is when I think to my self.... Now I have to wait a WHOLE WEEK FOR ANOTHER LETTER!

So now I have to ask for forgiveness for my bad attitude about having to wait another whole week!

I am so thankful to be able to hear from Rhett once a week! I know there are missions that do not even have email and they have to use "SNAIL MAIL"!!!

So from now on I am so thankful for the one SWEET email we get every Wednesday and.... I will be more patient in waiting for pictures!

Ciao

"Top Citizenship Award"

IT is time for the book fair!!! Do you know what that means???

All you have to do to find out what that means is ask my SWEET Gavin!!

He will tell you that this is the day Granny goes to his school and we buy a new book!

Gavin told me Monday night while we were out for dinner that he would be receiving TWO awards at school and....THE BOOK FAIR IS AT HIS SCHOOL! He also told me this would be the last day of the book fair and asked me if I would come to his assembly to see him get his awards and then by the way we could hit the book fair! I told him right in that moment...."It is a date"!

I could not ask for a sweeter date!

So early this morning before his award assembly at 9:15 we met at school and found some new books and then from them I visited in Gavin's class and then we were off to see Gavin get his two pins for his award!!

I was so proud of Gavin he received an award for no absents and for citizenship!

Gavin was so cute after he received his award he asked his teacher....Mrs. Horst if he could sit by me in the bleachers! She gave the go ahead and I have to say I loved every minute Gavin had his head on my shoulder the whole time! I will take every minute of this because.... I am sure the day will come when he might not be so loving to me in front of the whole school!

Gavin... Granny is so proud of you! Always stay the sweet, kind, loving, caring, tender, young boy you are!

Gavin, Granny loves you more than you know and I am so proud of you!

"Paths"!

In the past few weeks or so I have thought a lot about the Priesthood in our home and what an honor it is to have in our home! I have also thought a lot about the priesthood and the healing powers that come with a honest worthy Priesthood holder! I have also witnessed the FAITH in those who are struggling with life and death situations who have relied on the priesthood to heal them through our Heavenly Father!

It has been a very very heart warming, faith building and many tears of happiness to see the Priesthood powers at work through Rhett as he serves his Heavenly Father full time!

As Tom and I took a quiet moment this morning to read Rhett's email for this week we both just wept as we read! What a special tender few minutes we had together as the spirit testified to us that Rhett was an honest worthy priesthood holder! Rhett's faith is tangible! I could see his face in this email! It was the face he had every time he made a great play on the football field or when he pinned someone in a wrestling match! It is a face that says "I can do anything"!! Tom said their is nothing in this world that could give him more joy and happiness than to hear Rhett's amazing testimony of the people he loves in Italy and the love he has for the gospel!

I did post parts of Rhett's letter on his blog but certain parts that were more personal I kept for Tom and I!

I had an email this week from someone in my family that made me feel mad, sad, and several emotions at the time! Basically the the email said that if you are not working outside your home with several degrees you were not worth much! (in a nut shell) I responded to the email but it took several hours to write an email that I could send and not be ashamed to send if the Savior read it before the person I sent it to could read it! The first few that I wrote I would not want the Savior to read! I tried in this email to explain the important role, of a mother and what her priorities should be! I also explained the role of the father! I went on to say there are situations where the mother has to work outside of the home but.... her most important calling in the world is to be a nurturing loving mother!

I would give anything to go back and do things different! People say this life is a test but... I feel like it is more of a journey trying to find our way back to our Father in Heaven! HE has provided a way but also has given us our agency to choose what paths we take! NO ONE is on a straight perfect path!!! We all have to found our way on our OWN paths! We each have different paths but we all want them to end up back with our Heavenly Father! HE LOVES US SO MUCH that HE also sent his SON to help us through the hard times! HIS SON plays a HUGE role in our path back to our Heavenly Father!

Unfortunately I have had to rely on the Savior to many times to count on to help me! I know HE sent his SON for this purpose, But.... I struggle knowing how imperfect I am! I will be an Eternal work in progress!

I was so blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom and not have to work outside my home! Then when Rhett was in school and I went back to school and started to work out of the home..... I realized it was easier to work outside the home than it is to be a stay at home full time mom!

Tom was not thrilled when I was working outside the home but supported me with my decision! Do to health reason I no longer work out side of my home but... with the calling I have had for eight years! I seem to be more busy now then when I worked in the operating room! I am sure my calling was part of his plan to help me in my life path!!

I know we need to gain all the knowledge we can while here on earth but.... that does not mean for it all to come from a University! I am thankful for that knowledge but what I am most thankful for is the knowledge I receive through the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I am so thankful for the chance I have been given to be a mother even though I am still trying to figure that out after almost 33 years!

I could not be more thankful for Tom and the way he exercises his priesthood and the example he is to his boys!

I am so thankful that Rhett has surrendered his self to his Heavenly Father's will and is in tuned to hear the spirit to guide him on his mission path! I know Anziano N. Rhett Scheurn will make miracles happen on his mission through the priesthood he holds! I know he will rely on his Priesthood the Savior and his Heavenly Father as he serves the people of Italy!!

What more could a mother and father want for their child!