Blessed Parting II

After the death of his father, Terry wrote a poem titled "Blessed Parting", and it was printed on a bookmark, given at the funeral. A few months later Terry found these words entering his mind, and he put to pen and paper to save them for the appropriate time. Now is that time, as we share it with you...In memory of the one we love.

Blessed Parting was dedicated to Terry's father,
Keith Auger Hebdon
17 December 1921 - 5 July 2011.

Blessed Parting II is dedicated to his mother,
Idris Egbert Hebdon
7 January 1921 - 17 January 2012.


Blessed Parting II

The linger longer method
Is also a plan divine.
It’s how grandma proved to all of us
That she would never whine.

Perhaps you can remember
When grandpa passed away;
It was grandma who lead the music
For the closing song that day.

Some would say she’s stoic.
Others would say she’s strong.
Even others would mention giving.
None of them would be wrong.

When you think of departed Grandma
Think of bread or a popcorn ball
And you will certainly realize
That she isn’t dead at all.

But she continues living
Just not in this particular place.
She’s with Keith and the other loved ones
Who have ascended to greater Grace.

Life Sketch of Idris Egbert Hebdon - given by Terry Wayne Hebdon

Idris Egbert Hebdon
A unique name, for a singular lady.
Many great people and pioneers of this area have passed away in the last several years. In timber terms “we’ve lost too many of our finest old growth trees” or in our desert we would say “sages”. Mom was one of these.

If we were to ask who has had some of moms home made bread or scones many would acknowledge. If we were to ask who has felt of her healing art many more would acknowledge. If we were to ask who has been treated as a special friend the response would be over whelming; or who has received a letter, note or word of kindness or uplifting phone call, or invitation, or visit or finally, if we were to ask who has received a lesson or been taught in any way by her and would you all stand, I’m confidant that our dearly deceased would receive a complete hearty unanimous resounding standing ovation.

If mom were beside me now she would use a bit of her dramatic flair and make sure I spoke up, stood straight, and made sure all could hear and understand. She’d say, “tell them all thanks so much for coming”. She’d say, “tell them I love them”, and sheepishly she would ask “why are there so many?” The response would be, “mom, it’s because we love you”. It’s like the scripture of Jesus. Why did the people love Him so? Because He first loved us. This would please her.

We’ve heard before of the stories of St. Peter meeting people at the Pearly Gates. The most common greeting Peter gets is “Hi Pete, I’m off to see my loved ones,” and hurriedly they would enter. When mom arrived she stopped and enjoyed the beauty of the scene. Then she greeted Peter shaking his had in both of hers and gently kissed the back of his hand as their grasp let go. She asked him how he was. She thanked him for the warm welcome when all along she had made the experience so inviting. Peter suggested she could proceed now so she slowly did. As she looked back upon leaving she was happy - Peter was there on a chair she insisted that he use. He had a glass of milk, some warm bread with peanut butter and raspberry jam. His shoes were off because she had rubbed his feet - He too was happy!

On a very bitter winter day January 7, 1921 mom challenged the -30 degree temperature and made her entrance as the first child of the Hollis Russ Egbert and Marie Antoinette Karren Egbert family, at the home of her paternal grandfather in Marysville Idaho. Cold winters and short summers instilled in mom a tenacious self reliance and determination to always be prepared. In their winter wonderland which is just south of the west entrance of Yellow Stone National Park, mom and her family were not alarmed at all to be snow bound for days / weeks at a time. During the summer they prepared and preserved food for the winter. They had sheep and cattle and pigs and chickens, and her father was a good butcher. The meat would be hung in the shed and cut off as needed. As you can imagine in these conditions there was no need for a freezer.

In mom’s younger years she was her mothers good helper, her fathers go-for girl, and a special big sister to her younger brothers and sisters. Numerous cousins, family, and friends made for many happy times growing up. They lived near the river, so between the garden, the farm, the livestock, the fish, the berry patches, their own industry, ingenuity, and fore thought, they seemed to do quite well.

Mom did very well in school. She was an excellent student and even helped others to learn. She received special assignments from some of her teachers which pleased her very much.

Once at recess a fellow male class mate tried to take the baseball bat from mom, as he almost always did when it was her turn. Somehow she got it from him and hit him over the head with it. He went down with a thud. She thought she had killed him. To her amazement and great relief he did regain consciousness before the bell rang for recess to end. Mom chose to be the last student to enter the building so she could receive her punishment somewhat by herself. The teacher said nothing. As school dismissed that day, once again she hung back just in case the teacher needed to speak with her. Nothing was ever said about this incident. As you can imagine recess was pretty smooth from then on.

Idris graduated from high school and received a guitar as a graduation present. She loved that guitar and used it to bring music and happiness to herself and others.

Mom was very pleased she could attend Ricks College in Rexburg Idaho. Once again she excelled in school. She participated in drama and music, as well as doing well in her studies. She graduated with an Associates degree in teaching and was considered at the top of her class. After college graduation she was the first one to be interviewed and offered her first teaching job $95.00 a month - things were going well. She taught 4th grade for two years. She held 5 boys back and taught them again the next year. One mother thanked her so much for taking the extra time to help so her boy could say “Now I can learn easier.”

Mom had a way with teaching music. She was often called upon to help other teachers teach their students the songs they were supposed to sing for the play they performed. Mom said, “I guess I was just born with a knack of teaching. I was happy to help them have fun learning.”

Keith Auger Hebdon was the one who finally won mom’s heart and they were married June 21st, 1944. As a special wedding gift mom’s parents gave them 2 woolen blankets from the Minnesota Woolen Mills. This was the mill to which her father sent the wool from the family flock.

The subsequent years were spent teaching school, farming, and wishing for children. Thankfully the children began coming in 1949. There would be seven in all.

The love of land and water was too great for dad so in 1955 the family came to the Quincy area to farm. There was no water on the farm they purchased at Royal so they rented land in the Quincy, George are before moving where their home is now.

As many of you know, it takes special people to settle a land and conquer it’s difficulties and progress and prosper when everything is new and different. But, as a testament to mom and dad’s success in this endeavor there are numerous posterity who are grateful they excelled at that attempt.

Mom always kept a journal. She was a prolific writer. Some may remember her column in the Royal City paper, it was named “Prevailing Westerlies” She also wrote a song as part of a contest on the radio. She sent the song to Texas, won the contest, was mentioned over the air waves for her acumen in compositions and was sent a record of her song, sung and played by the radio station singer and orchestra.

Back to mothers writing. Her final journal entry was Dec. 27th, 2011. There were six empty pages after that. She mentioned once, “this is my last notebook.” Perhaps in one of those remaining six pages we can insert the following:

It was a windy day in the land she loved
When mom was called to depart.
Though the sand and the wind, and the wind and the sand
The place had a warm spot in her heart.

Many times she’d speak of this country
And call it a land “Royal”.
Fewer times she’d mention the difficult
And the constant need to toil.

“In my home is where I want to be
To live out the end of my days.”
So she stayed home and she stayed strong
And blessed others in so many ways.

In her final weeks as many here know
Every moment was cherished.
She was true and faithful and strong
Up till the moment she perished.

The Savior said to an afflicted youth
“Take up thy bed and walk”.
Our mother, as we saw her do
Left behind her bed and walked.

Into that realm we don’t recall seeing
But yet we know is there
She’s going to Keith and other loved ones
More good cheer to share.


Thinking once again of mom’s love of words and books and learning and teaching and writing; it may be interesting to know in all her conservatism and economy, she would not abide a malfunctioning or sub par pen. One best not be between her and the trash can when a writing utensil would disappoint.

To conclude - the words of an old time hymn. This hymn was sung at her father's funeral.

“Come lay her books and papers by
She shall not need them more
The ink has dried upon the page
So, softly close the door.
Her tired head with locks of white
And like the winter sun
Has laid to peaceful rest tonight
The teachers work is done.”


In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen


FYI
- The poem above was written by Terry.

- The song, Come Lay His Books and Papers By
"A poem turned song was written in his (Karl G. Maeser) memory. The words were written by Annie Pike Greenwood, with the music by L.D. Edwards. It is titled "Come, Lay His Books and Papers by." This song became an LDS hymn and appeared in the 1948 edition of the hymn book as hymn #338. After the title it states "In memory of Dr. Karl G. Maeser." It is not included in the 1985 hymn book."

A Grateful Heart

The daily posts came to a halt last week because there were just too many other things taking up space in my mind. I was still aware of many many reasons to be grateful, but did not take the time to concentrate on posting them. Those reading the blog may not have missed them, but honestly, I did. I kept thinking about what my grateful heart would post about for the passing day, and each day had something I could have posted. My words weren't coming out very well, and the days were so filled that I decided to omit the posting part of the process. However, I am ready to play catch up.

Our weather has been quite beautiful at times and yet so cold and wet we didn't want to be outside traveling in it and we were very concerned for all who were traveling to come to the viewing and the funeral. So far our travels have been done in safety and we have heard that others have traveled safely. We are grateful for that and pray that it continues to be the same for those traveling home today.

We also worried about the conditions at the cemetery. It is so hard to want to stand out in the snow, the wind, the cold, the freezing rain, the fog, - we have had it all! Our hearts are so grateful that the wind was still, the sun was trying to shine and the temperature was at it's best. It may not have been ideal, but it was wonderful to me.

I did not get any photos of the funeral, but if I receive any in the future I'll post them here. I also plan to post the Life Sketch. We were so pleased with everything - the funeral home, the care and concern from friends, the care givers, the family gathering, the food & meals, the kindness of so many, the services, the love and comfort from above, and the list goes on. Compassion was blooming as if it were the first crocus in a snow laden garden.
THANK YOU all for everything!

We will miss the opportunity to see family daily but we look forward to the next gathering. We will especially miss the opportunity to see Mother/Grandma/Great Grandmother Idris daily - it hurts already - but we look forward to that next gathering as well. We missed Dad/Grandpa/Great Grandpa Keith when he left this mortal world. His departure left us with a bit of an empty feeling too.
I was going to write that now we have a complete empty feeling, but it just isn't quite true. There is surely an empty feeling, but it is not a complete loss. We are so grateful that FAMILIES CAN BE TOGETHER FOREVER through Heavenly Father's plan. Hope and Love fills that empty spot.

There has been a different feeling in their house as we have gathered the last few days. It will mend itself in time and life will carry on. We will learn to adapt to the new conditions and we will continue to love our family.

We have a few projects on our To Do lists and we look forward to those being started and completed - these projects will act as a sort of vessel for precious memories and a visual of our family heritage, and they will help fill those holes in our hearts. My heart is grateful for those things that remain to help us along our way, but is even more grateful for the time we spent together for the past 32 years - and the past 54 1/2 years for Terry.

Among the things we have learned from Terry's wonderful parents is that we can do hard things. We are survivors. All is well - My heart is grateful for that peaceful feeling that fills our heart and soul. And so ... we carry on ... we press forward ... we hold tightly, with both hands, to the iron rod - the word of God - 'twill safely guide us through.

Idris Egbert Hebdon Obituary

There wasn't time to get an obituary in the Royal City newspaper, so I thought I'd share this link as an option.

Kaysers Chapel

We are so thankful for your loving service and prayers on behalf of our family.
We love you!
Have a wonderful day!

We Will Miss Her!

Today was a bitter-sweet day ...

Our beloved mother, Idris Egbert Hebdon, left this mortal world and joined other loved ones above.
We are grateful that she was able to stay in her home as she wished, right up to her last day. We are grateful for her caregivers and for all who loved and blessed her life. We are grateful that her pain and suffering is over, and that peace and happiness are hers to enjoy.

A viewing will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Royal Camp, on Friday from 5pm to 7pm.
A second viewing will be held on Saturday at 10:00am, with the funeral at 11:00am, also at the church.

We bid Adieu to a wonderful lady. We are grateful for the plan of salvation, a plan of happiness, provided for us all, and we hope to be worthy to meet up with our loved ones again. We will miss her. We will love her forever and always!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I want to share this poem from Idris' collection.

A little road was straying,
Across a little hill.
I asked, "May I go with you, Road?"
It answered, "If you will."

T'was travel stained and shabby
And dust was on its face,
Said I, "How fine to wander free
To every lovely place!

Oh if you're off to mountains,
Or if you're off to sea,
Or if you're bound across the world,
It's all the same to me."

We loitered in the sunlight
We journeyed on together
The sky was like a bluebird's wing
The wind was like a feather.

We passed a ruddy robin
Who called, "how do you do?"
And daisies shook their bonnets back
And begged, "Oh, take us too."

A squirrel briefly joined us,
A brook came hurrying down,
We wandered through a meadow gay
And by a village town.

When dusky twilight met us,
No feet so slow as mine,
"Why, there's a little house," I said,
"With windows all a-shine."

"Perhaps, since night is nearing
I'd rather rest than roam,
"I knew you would," said the little road,
"That's why I brought you home."

(Author is unknown)

Calendars, Planners, and the like!

Planners and calendars help me remember the upcoming things in my life - a necessity for me that I am happy to have.

The Doctor Was In Today

The doctor was in and we got to see her today.

WBC = 2.2(L) normal range is 4.5-11.0
RBC = 3.65(L) normal range is 4.5-5.90
Platelet Count = 41(L) normal range is 150-400
Absolute Neutrophils = 1/1(L) normal is 1.8-7.8
ALT = 84 (H) normal is 17-63
AST = 90(H) normal is 15-41


Terry has had a bit of a cold, but it seems that this cold is trying to go away on it's own, so we are pleased with that. No new meds or shots - we carry on the same.

We have an appointment at SCCA on February 2nd, and today our doctor asked if we were prepared for the possibility of them telling us that he needed another stem cell transplant. We are aware of that possibility and are trying to prepare for whatever they may tell us.

We will continue on with whatever plan they think is best and we will continue to trust their judgement - even when it seems to make us wonder in some ways. Obviously we have had some first hand experience with this disease, but they still know so much more about this disease than we do. Mostly though, we will continue to pray and turn things over to the Lord. No one knows more, nor can do more than He can. We trust Him! He is our strength and He has carried us through life this far. With Him on our side, we cannot lose.

A Monkey Puppet

This Monkey Puppet may seem like a strange thing for My Grateful Heart, but it represents Terry's childhood - it is his from long ago. I am grateful that it was saved for him and that we have it, but I am mostly grateful for the loving family he comes from.
His parents taught him well and I am so grateful for them and his family. I am so thankful that I found him - or he found me - that we found each other.

~~~~~~~

These last two posts for A Grateful Heart were inspired during my several days of working to get my decor put back up after Christmas decor was taken down. I love the Christmas decor, but I also love these special items in my everyday decor.
I think I'm finally getting to the end of setting it all back up. I'm trying to de-junk as I do. That's so hard! I'm planning on de-junking my whole house one room at a time this year.
I think I can!
I think I can!
I think I can!

A Grateful Heart Post

I am so glad that my mother saved the dress I was blessed in.
It brings joy to my heart as I see it daily - displayed in my cabinet.
It is the first of my three white dresses and I cherish it.

I am so grateful for loving parents and for the family I grew up in. I cherish them, the memories we created together, and even those yet to come.

My Heart is Grateful for Ancestors!

"Every Human being who comes to this earth is the product of generations of parents."
(Russell M. Nelson)
I love each of my ancestors and I'm so thankful for the lives they lived - they made it possible for me to be here. I look forward to meeting them someday.

Love

I'm grateful for
LOVE!

Love makes
life enjoyable!

Love of Family ...
Love of God ...
Love of Friends ...

(Image from google)

Shout Out!

Happy Birthday Tawnee!
We Love You!

Photo Update / Family Gatherings

Here are a few (long overdue) photos from the past week.

Idris and her doctor - who made a house call on Idris' birthday. Awesome!



Gregory brought his family up to visit - and what a sweet visit we all had! They are on the road home and we will miss them.



More Family Gatherings





Our family matriarch is holding her youngest great grandchild.




Terry and his mother, Idris



Idris with her mailbox filled with letters from friends / sisters in our ward.



Ethan's new ride



Brayden, Chase, Auger, Tawny playing wii


(I wasn't a very good photographer this week, and some photos are on other cameras, so I apologize...!)

Glow Sticks

I like glow sticks!
We got some out to help the kids have a little fun on their way home.
We enjoyed our visit and can hardly wait for the next time!!!!!

I'll try to get photos up soon!

Lights / Lighting

I really love lights, and I really miss the Christmas lights.
I love the little bit of light that is left in the room as I walk back to bed. I love the little bit of light that is in the family room as I came out in the morning.
I have always liked having a night light on, and have several "runway lights" down the hallway. But those lights don't light up the room, and really don't work too well at all anymore, so I'll probably get right up and remove them.
I miss the tree lights enough this year that I decided to leave a light on somewhere to make up for the light I had taken down. I choose to put a 25 watt bulb in a lamp and I'm loving that look.


(My decor isn't done yet, but the light is on anyway.)

A New Vacuum

I got a new vacuum a last week and was finally able to use it the other day. It was so awesome! It cleaned! The carpet looks so much better after using this new vacuum. It was long overdue!
It makes me happy!
(Image from Google Images)

SNOW!

I know - we don't have snow, but I have missed it this year, and feel quite grateful for the snow we've had other years.
There is something beautiful about the snow and I love it!
It's kinda too late to enjoy it this winter season, but I'll be looking forward to another winter with some beautiful white snow.
(Image from Bulletin)

My Testimony

I am so grateful for my testimony!

(Image from Google Images)

I love my Savior!
I love my Heavenly Father!
I love that I can feel Their love for me!
I love that They have done and continue to do so much for me and for each one of us!
I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!
I love the fact that living the gospel of Jesus Christ brings blessings into our lives daily...I love those blessings...It is so worth it!
I love the scriptures!
I love the peace that comes from living the gospel and reading the scriptures and being obedient!
I love that we have a living prophet to lead, guide, and direct us today - President Thomas S. Monson! I love the prophets past and those of old - we learn so much from!
I love the blessings of the Holy Temples - that families can be together forever!
I love that my testimony continues to grow, and that it can always continue to grow!
...

I hope to be found doing things that will be pleasing to our Father and that will bless my life, my family, my friends, and all I come in contact with. I want to be and do better each day!

(Image from Google Images)

Shout Out! and A Grateful Heart

Today's posts combine into one beautiful thought -
A Shout Out:
Happy Happy Birthday to our beautiful 91 year old mother, Idris.
And A Grateful Heart:
We are very grateful to be able to share this special day with her this year.

FYI:
We had a bit of a scare last night (or this morning around 1:20am) as we were awakened with a phone call that summoned us to her side. She was feeble and weak, but soon gained her strength and we sat there with her for a couple hours listening to and sharing experiences and memories, and had a family prayer, and a bit of a slumber(less) party. Terry and I came home about 5:30am and tried to get a couple more hours of sleep, and will head back over to share some time and visit with Idris' doctor who is coming today. House calls still happen - this one time anyway.

(Awesome doctors is another thing my heart is grateful for, and I know I mentioned it before, but I say it again, because this one is making a house call - coming from the Tri Cities. How's that for medicine in our day and age?)

Here is a photo from her birthday last year - this year photos are yet to come.

A Handy Husband

Sometimes the To Do list can get pretty long, and sometimes I don't even make a list, but there are still several things that need done. I am so lucky to have a husband that can do the little things (and big things) that need done - almost daily it seems.
All three of our bathroom fans are now working in great condition. After almost 20 years they were getting pretty slow and noisy, or not even working. They have all been cleaned and/or motors replaced. Maybe this is a post about working bathroom fans??? I'm grateful for them too, but ...

It's so exciting when To Do becomes Ta Da / or Ta Done!

I am afraid that the To Do list for Terry is harder than the To Do list for me. Sorry Terry!



(Image is from Oh So Beautiful Paper)

My mental To DO list is pretty large, and the note paper above seems to be my thought on occasion. And, sometimes the Not To DO list wins!

Feeling Better is Good

My heart is grateful that Idris (Terry's mother) is feeling better. She has been so sick for the last few days, and we have all been very concerned.
Yesterday's visit gave us encouragement. She was doing so much better. We hope today will bring the same good news.
We are grateful for her caregivers. She is in good hands!


FYI - She will be 91 years old on Saturday.

(image from HERE)

Kleenex Tissue

I love a good tissue -
I'm always in need of one ... or two ...

It's much better than a sleeve

(image from google)

or a roll

(image from HERE)

Medical Report

It's been awhile, but we went to the oncologist today, and here is Terry's report -

WBC = 1.5, since it's that low and he is not on an antibiotic anymore, Terry got a Neulasta shot today. He will be aching for a few days, but I guess it will be worth it. Right?

Platelets are staying low, at 46 today. They are just maintaining that low.

There is no other info to report - I don't have the print out of the other counts, but things are going okay for now. We have one more appointment with Dr. Smith before our appointment at SCCA in February.

Chapstick

This is good stuff!

I'm glad they make it, and I'm glad I found it!
It's all I've used for dry lips for several years now.
It works and doesn't crack your lips putting it on!

Faith

I am thankful for my faith!

Joseph B. Wirthlin talks of faith:
What is true faith? Faith is defined as “belief and trust in and loyalty to God; … firm belief in something for which there is no proof.” We believe that “faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true … , and must be centered in Jesus Christ.” In fact, we believe that “faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel.”

Happy New Year!

Well, this day I am
grateful for
a new year!

Welcome
TwentyTwelve!

(Image from
Pinterest)