Legacy & Tradition

July is a good month. Starts out with talking about freedom for the nation and then, for Latter-day Saints, ends with talking about freedom for our religion.

For our family, this year it has also provided a time to talk about where we come from. First, a reunion for all of the descendants of Oliver’s father’s parents. Second, a reunion for all of the descendants of Oliver’s mother’s mother’s parents. We have seen a lot of wonderful family members. Faithful, loving, kind family members. Two are heroes in my mind this year. Thank you Deanna and Randy for keeping our Evan safe.

We have learned more about those we’re related to. We’ve had fun with them. We took the boat out on the reservoir. We sang “Grandma, We Love You”.

We also sang Happy Birthday for the same Grandma’s 90th birthday. We played hard with newfound friends.

We built a dam across the creek.

We got burnt.

 

We were given a book documenting stories from Grandma & Grandpa’s life.

We played games.

We talked a lot. We listened to family members perform. We heard stories about ancestors. We played Spite & Malice.

We were glad to see each other.

We also got to see my family a little bit during the week. Thank you Nat for watching the boys and for taking us to the Car Show. We love you!

Between all of the family gatherings, we also had some sadness. A wonderful man, husband, and father passed away on Monday after battling cancer for 5 years. He was Oliver’s age. His second child is just a few months younger than Ryan. He and his wife have been wonderful examples of faith, love and friendship. Through his death, I learned one thing. He has always been a good friend, a kind soul and a faithful man. Wes Truman, you will be missed, and I hope that your legacy will continue to inspire others through the examples of the family now missing you.

I know that families are an eternal entity. I know that we can leave a positive legacy for our own family by being true to our beliefs and by starting positive traditions for them. The Family: A Proclamation to the World states “Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.” We have had our fair share of love and wholesome recreational activities these last two weeks. I’m blessed to be married to my Oliver and to now be a part of his extended family as much as he’s blessed to be part of mine. Now we’ve just got to work on building legacy and tradition for our boys.