"male and female created he them"

Happy Fathers Day!

I read through the May 2015 Ensign through the month of May and enjoyed every message.  As I read a message given at the General Conference Priesthood Session

Fatherhood, Our Eternal Destiny by Larry M. Gibson

I felt the goodness of it and decided to write a post - and post dated it for Father's Day.

I enjoyed reading it and thought of my father, my husband, and my sons.  This one sentence touched my heart.

"I love being a husband and father - married to a chosen daughter of heavenly parents.  I love her.  It is one of the most fulfilling parts of my life."   

Immediately after reading that line (and hoping that Terry could say that of me) I changed one thing with that sentence - from male to female because it echoed my sentiments as to how I feel about my position in life.

I love being a wife and mother - married to a chosen son of heavenly parents.  I love him.  It is one of the most fulfilling parts of my life.  

We cannot celebrate Father's Day the same as we have the past 34 years, but we can remember the good times.  It is awesome to have good times to remember.

My thoughts continued - We cannot celebrate Father's Day without mothers and we cannot celebrate Mother's Day without fathers.  There just cannot be one without the other.  Adam may have been created first, but Eve was placed at his side and when they became father and mother it was side by side at the exact same time. One could not be without the other.  That's just the way it is.  That's just the way our Father in Heaven, and I might add, our Savior, Jesus Christ, wanted and planned and created it.  "And, behold, it was very good." (Genesis 1:31)

I am grateful for my earthly father.  You can learn a little about him here.  I am grateful for his many years of love and sacrifice on my behalf, his guidance and counsel, his example of all things good, for his testimony and his faith in Christ. I'm grateful that he is my father. I love him!

I am grateful for my husband, who became the father of our children.  I am grateful for everything about him.  I am grateful that he found me and loved me and wanted me to be at his side always and forever, and lived a life that would allow that to happen.  He is a good man. I love him!

This image is from a poem book I created for him eight years ago.  The image includes words I put together for Terry for our anniversary ten years ago, that tried to share how I felt about him.  They help one see the man Terry was and is, but it is not complete.

One of our sons started a list of thoughtful words that others have used to describe Terry from the cards and comments since his passing.  I have tried to continue to add to it as things continued to come in. As I read through them I feel grateful for him and that others saw him as the good man he was.  I am so anxious to see what he is becoming still.  I look forward to that day with great joy and anticipation.

Some of these were said word for word by more than one, but not listed here more than once. 
·       Pleasure to talk to
·       Great neighbor
·       Wonderful man in our community
·       A great example
·       Endure trial with a positive attitude and stay the same purpose
·       Awesome person
·       Good influence
·       Always close to the spirit
·       Confident in his faith
·       Humbly followed the Savior and His servants
·       Steadiness and constant faith
·       A great man
·       So kind, gentle and humble
·       Full of love
·       Righteous example
·       Always willing to share his testimony
·       Quiet confidence and kindness
·       Always had a smile no matter what he was going through.
·       Very caring man
·       Easy going spirit
·       Friendly disposition
·       Competed hard, always put the team first
·       Inspiration to his teammates and coaches
·       Reflective, intelligent person with solid priorities
·       Quiet, compassionate, loving soul
·       Quiet natured generosity and kindness
·       Valiant spirit
·       No finer man than Terry
·       Such a good man. They don’t come any finer.
·       Incredible beacon of light
·       Sweet smile and sweeter spirit
·       Honorable man, a man to be remembered.  Always had a big heart and good soul.
·       Good man with a good family
·       Very good spirit and soul
·       Good man, wise man, good friend
·       Handsome, wonderful man
·       Gentle and soft.  A man of not many words, but was a poet.  He thought before he spoke and spoke with economy of words in manly way.
·       Courage, strength, faithfulness and endurance
·       Exemplary father and great example of a faith filled life
·       Intense inquisitiveness and compassion.  Quiet yet intense concern for and about others was one of his great strengths.  Wonderful friend and example.
·       Generous and kind
·       An example of what is good and right
·       Wonderful, inspiring man

I am grateful for the years Terry and I had together.  And behold, it was very good!

I am grateful for my 8 sons.  My desire for these sons is that they recognize their eternal destiny and fulfill it well.  I am grateful for the men they are becoming.  We spend a life time becoming, and it doesn't end there.  Improvement and progression is one eternal round.  Each of us has a divine nature.  Wonderful isn't it!

There is a young man out there somewhere that will join our family someday, becoming our only son in law, and I am grateful for him, even though I do not know him at this time.  Most likely BrittanyJo has not yet met him, but he is out there and I pray for him, that he will be the husband and father and son of God that God intends him to be, strong and steadfast in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am grateful for good men everywhere - Our Prophet, our Bishop, Priesthood leaders that have blessed our lives and help us become who we are today and encourage us to become better.  Friends and neighbors who share and serve and spread love and kindness.

I am grateful for our loving Heavenly Father.  He and His Beloved Son are One in purpose and together They know me, They love me, They help me, They guide me, They comfort me ...   I love Them!  They make this life so very good!

Father's Day

We had a nice Father's Day yesterday ...

Thomas & Dana and Michael & Tawnee and grandchildren came for lunch and a visit.  We did enjoy our visit, and lunch was wonderful too.

Last week I asked Terry what he might like to eat for Father's Day meal and of course he said whatever I wanted to do would be fine.  I encouraged him to help me decide on something that he might like since I know his taste buds don't work very well (due to meds).  So after some thought he shared his meal plan with me, and this is what it was -

meatloaf in cupcake tins
mashed potatoes (with butter and sour cream)
creamed carrots
grape salad

 

I mixed up the meat loaf ingredients and prepared the carrots and grape salad on Saturday, so Sunday was pretty easy just putting the meat in the pans and cooking them and peeling the potatoes and cooking them, and then warming the carrots.   The girls brought their husbands favorite or chosen desserts and we had a lovely meal.  Michael chose a graham cracker pudding dessert (don't know the name of it) and Thomas chose brownies.  Yum!


It is always fun to be with family.

And, for me,  it's always fun to set a table with the mismatch china and stemware. 
I purchased nothing new for this meal and tablescape.  I had everything already, though some of the items had not been used before. 

 

I chose the table cloth from my limited supply and then used some linen napkins that I had purchased a while ago but never used.
I set the plates on and then chose the stemware to go with them.  I was trying to keep it masculine so I stayed away from any pink and purple, and I tried to use plates without flowers.  I did make an exception with my plate ..., it did have a pink flower in the center of a grey/blue edge. 

I loved using the colored bottles for centerpieces, and tried to keep those colors in the same hue of the stemware I had chosen.  Everything was earth tone and I was pleased with the final results, especially since it wasn't pre-planned.

 

I thought I was done, but then remembered I had purchased some Chick-o-Sticks for something - maybe it was for Easter, but I forgot to use them, so knowing that they have been among Terry's favorite candy in the past, I got them out and put one at each of the plates.

It seemed then that my table was complete, and I liked the look I had created, but it was all for not until family came to be with us and Terry sat at the table ..., and then it was beautiful.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

LIFE AS A FATHER   
by Terry Hebdon 
written May 1984


A father is born on the self same day
As his first born child, together that way.

They start new life, so scary to ask,
But together they grow to meet the task.

And with a mother come to be
What we all know as a family.

So through the days and span of years
They calm each one, the other's fears.

Until behold the father looks,
He isn't looking, he's reading those books.

And many other things does see,
"This child of mine is just like me!"

So time has flown, the child once small,
Is grown up, not young at all.

At last the father in quiet does confess,
I'm slower than he, I didn't progress

Nearly as fast, nor as much as he,
For look at him now, a father he'll be.

So he seems disappointed but still he can say;
"We both were born on the self-same day."



We send our love to all the fathers in our family and in our lives. 
WE LOVE YOU!

Terry doesn't read this often, but I still want to express my love for him ...
I LOVE HIM - THE FATHER OF OUR CHILDREN - MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE!
It's as simple as that ..., yet so very complex.  I don't know what more to say ....

image found on pinterest

Father's Day Report

 We had a wonderful Father's Day, and hope you did too!

I have a really hard time with photo shots of sitting around the table. It seems that someone is always caught in a position they would rather not be in.  I tried it anyway.
(But it looks like Akleigh got down too soon, or I took the photo too late - she's MIA in this shot.)

 

This photo at the table turned out sweet (well, except it could have had better focus) - Akleigh loves Elsie and after dinner was sharing her blanket with her sweet cousin.  (Maybe that is where Akleigh was during the last shot - finding her blanket to share with Elsie.)  Elsie loves it when Akleigh plays with her.  It's going to be fun to see how these cousins interact as they get older.  I know I'm gonna love it when all the cousins get together!  Happy Days!

BrittanyJo took a few photos of the table before we sat down to eat.

 

 It was a great day, but then, when we are celebrating Fathers it can't help but be a great day.
I have a wonderful father, Terry has a wonderful father, and our children have a wonderful father - so ..., a wonderful Father's Day just had to happen!  and did!
 

Father's Day Bonus Photos:

 

Gregory and Terry - April 1982

 

Gregory, Brandon, Terry - July 1993

 

Terry, Thomas, Gregory, Brandon - Oct 1986

 

Brandon, Skyler, Thomas, Michael, Chase, Terry - August 1993

 

Terry and Michael - December 1992

 

Terry and Anthony - June 2003

 

Terry and Connor - April 2003

 

 

Michael, Chase, Terry - August 1994

  

 The daddy days are over - it's only dad now!
Lovin' the seasons!

 

 

 

Happy Father's Day!

"Fathers, yours is an eternal calling from which you are never released.... a father’s calling is eternal, and its importance transcends time. It is a calling for both time and eternity." Ezra Taft Benson

“Fatherhood is not a matter of station or wealth,” said President Ezra Taft Benson. “It is a matter of desire, diligence, and determination to see one’s family exalted in the celestial kingdom. If that prize is lost, nothing else really matters” (Ensign, May 1981, p. 36).

“The most important of the Lord’s work that you [fathers] will ever do will be the work you do within the walls of your own home." Harold B. Lee

Fatherhood is a relationship of love and understanding. It is strength and manliness and honor. It is power and action. It is counsel and instruction.
“Most fathers concentrate on material security for their children. Security stored up for this lifetime with the world’s situation as it is, could, and probably will, vanish. To really secure one’s children, give them the memory of a happy home life. This is a pattern, a blueprint for them to follow, an image for them to create, an ideal for them to realize.” Elder Packer

I send out a thank you to my father this day, and to Terry's father. We love you!
I thank all men everywhere who have blessed our lives in many ways.
I thank Terry, the father of our children - my best friend for over thirty one years. :)
I thank my sons, as they are becoming men of honor and full of faith, righteous husbands and fathers in their own families. There is no greater call!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY to all of our favorite fathers!

Our day was great! It started Saturday evening when Thomas, Dana, Auger, and Chase came to visit. They visited and spent the night.


Sunday afternoon Gregory, Adena, Brayden, Tawny, BrittanyJo, Anthony, and Connor came.


We did some more visiting and checked out the roof top to see the SCCA building and the space needle from our apartment.




Later that afternoon Skyler came. We didn't get a picture of him
:( but we enjoyed his company.
He had a nice visit with his dad, sharing his plans for his future and catching up on lost time, (or trying to anyway).
Brandon called to wish his dad a happy day and we emailed Michael.
Thomas and family, and Skyler and Chase had to go home Sunday night and Gregory and family, and our other 3 children spent the night.

We have plans for a couple days of more enjoyment. We'll try to keep you posted.

Happy Father's Day!

Fathers are so special. I love my father. I love him for being the father he is and for being an awesome grandfather for my children. Each of my children feel loved by their grandfather, and that is a special thing.We have lots of memories to cherish forever and we have some traditions that we will continue to look forward to, like the m&m tosses.

I must now take the opportunity to express my love and appreciation for other fathers that are important in my life. I am grateful for Terry's father, he is a good man. He has surely played a large roll in helping Terry become the man he is, and I am grateful for that.

One more father - the father of my children. I love Terry so much and feel so blessed that he is part of my life. I wanted to write of him each day too, but held back because it was father's day, not husbands day or best friend day. I'll find an opportunity to do something similar for him sometime in the future.

Happy Father's Day to everyone, especially to my favorite fathers!