9 years

It's been 9 years since my dad passed away. I've been thinking about him a lot lately. Thinking about what was happening in our lives when he died. Bryan and I had just attempted our fourth and what would be our final artificial insemination that Sat. morning, the day before he died. We almost didn't even go to Idaho, but I am so glad that we did. It was conference weekend. My brother Jack was a little over a month away from getting married. My sister was two days away from turning 19. My soon to be sister-in-law had just lost her mom to cancer almost exactly a year before. It was all just horrible!

I've also been thinking about what he has missed, what I miss about him.

Some of the things that he has missed: Seeing both of his sons married in the temple. The births of all 7 of his grandchildren. Seeing his children as parents and his wife as a grandma. Seeing three of his children buy their first homes. Plus all the birthdays, holidays, trips to Bear Lake and other family gatherings.

Some of the things I miss about him: Watching Sunday football games with him. He was a HUGE Denver Broncos fan. Part of his mission was in Denver. He was also a HUGE Jazz fan and I loved going to and watching Jazz games with him. The way he smelled. His hands. They were the hands of a man who worked hard. The scar on his index finger from the time he almost cut it clean off! His scratchy beard he would grow in the winter and then shave off in the spring. Playing games with him. How handy he was. He could fix most anything wrong with a car and could build/fix pretty much anything around the house. Him cooking/barbecuing Sunday dinners. He could grill a mean steak!

Likes family 1979 Mom, Dad, my brother Jack and me. LOVE the hair Dad!

Some of the things I am so grateful he was able to experience: Watching his children grow to adulthood. His sons serve missions. Seeing me graduate from Ricks College (I know, how old am I?) and get married in the temple. We enjoyed a few family vacations growing up, but I am extremely grateful for the last family vacation we took to California right before he got sick. I will never forget the time we were able to spend together as a family. The forever long horseback ride and how he calmed my fears, attending a session in the San Diego temple and playing basketball on the beach are just some of the priceless memories I'll always cherish.

Horseback riding in California

Likes family 2000

I've also been thinking about how I really need to get his scrapbook/life history finished. I started collecting pictures and things that remind me of him years ago. I don't have very many actual pictures. There are a TON of slides that I need to go through. I started a scrapbook years ago so that his children and grandchildren would have something to help us remember him and learn about him. Now I want it to be more than just some pictures in a book. I really want his parents, sister, my mom and siblings to contribute memories etc. The whole thing seems very overwhelming to me. I'm going to try to make it one of my Personal Progress projects. If there are any scrapbookers/family history peeps out there that have ideas on where to start and how to go about completing this project please share!

I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father and my Savior for the opportunity I have to see my dad again. It gives me great comfort knowing that he is anxiously engaged in the work on the other side of the veil. I love and miss him so much! I want his grandchildren to know him. I tell Parker about Grandpa Bruce all the time, but I am hoping to give him something more than just a story here or there. I'm hoping to give him a true history of Grandpa's life so he can really know who he was. If your parents and/or grandparents are still living, please take the time to get as much information as you can from them before they are gone! And those family members who are reading this, please start thinking about things that I should include in this book. I will be calling/visiting you soon! Thanks!