Grandma Ida...

PRESTON - Ida Lorene Robins Fuhriman, 95, passed away Monday, April 18, 2011, at the Franklin County Medical Center in Preston. She was born March 6, 1916, in Plain City, Utah, the daughter of Ira Joseph and Irene Folkman Robins. She married Darvel Miller Fuhriman on Dec. 22, 1936, in Preston, Idaho. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Logan LDS Temple.
She was a beautiful seamstress and an excellent cook. She made the best cinnamon rolls ever. She enjoyed sharing her sewing and cooking talents with family, friends and neighbors. She was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She enjoyed serving as a visiting teacher and as Sunday School secretary for many years. She also served as a temple worker.
She is survived by her daughter, Janet F. Maughan of Scottsdale, Ariz.; her son, Scott D. Fuhriman of Key West, Fla.; five grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband and by three brothers and one sister.

Grandma Ida would have been a hundred years old yesterday. Oh how I miss her. The above obituary forgot to mention that she loved her family dearly and they meant the world to her. That she was their rock. That she was the kindest women. That she loved to tell stories - over and over again. That she spent most of her life caring for her sick husband or daughter. That all of her posterity (it's grown by 10 since then) loved her so much that they were all in attendance except the two great-grandsons on a mission. That she was a perfect example of how to love with patience and non-judgment. I am who I am today because of this great lady and will be eternally grateful for her love and example. I only pray that I can be the kind of sister, wife, mom, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great grandmother that she was to her loved ones. Because we are an eternal family I get to be with her again someday and it will be awesome! I love and miss you Grandma Ida. Thanks for everything.

What is your love language?

According to Gary Chapman the five languages of love are:

• Quality Time
• Words of Affirmation
• Acts of Service
• Physical Touch
• Gifts

If you go to 5lovelanguages.com you can take a test to find out what yours are. I wasn't surprised to find out that my top two were quality time and acts of service. I love spending time with Chad. It really is the very best. He is my best friend and so much fun to be with. It doesn't have to be exotic and expensive either. A Jeep ride with the music blasting; banana grams; rock band; a walk around the block; or even running errands. Time with Chad is my love language and avenue to happiness. Chad has never backed away from telling me he loves me. In fact, once I actually told him he tells me to much and to stop. Boy was that a mistake - I truly missed it. But one of the best ways he shows me he loves me is with acts of service. Doing the dishes if they are in the sink; sweeping and vacuuming the floor if it needs it; letting me have the towel closest to the shower so I stay warm; letting me lay my head on his shoulder when sad - and letting me cry, just to name a few. This next two weeks I will be working on learning Chad's love language and trying harder to use it. I will keep you updated on the progress but am actually looking forward to showing greater love to Chad so he too can feel as loved as I do.

The Temple is all about Families - Eternal Families...

I have the wonderful opportunity to serve in the Chicago Illinois Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints twice a month. I love working anywhere in the Temple but one of my favorites is the Baptistry. Here baptism is performed, by proxy, for those who have passed on before. I especially love it when a youth group comes to do the baptisms. This past weekend we served with two different youth groups from local wards. The first was smaller and they were baptized for Temple names. Names given to them by the Temple. It was a sweet experience. The next group was larger and they had brought family names with them. Everyone had at least 9 names that they got to do. The spirit was so strong. One of the sisters that had come with the group to assist them had brought her grandmother's name to be done. She quietly asked if she could be the proxy for the confirmation if it wasn't a problem. She didn't want to cause any trouble. Trouble? How could the opportunity for you to do your grandmother's work cause trouble. Of course we will make that happen. So after all the other work was done she was escorted into the confirmation room where she started the work on her grandmother. In time this beautiful family will be sealed for time and eternity. Eternity. Forever together. How awesome is that? Another time during the day I was walking in the hall and noticed a young man all dressed in white walking towards the sealing room with the temple workers. He too was going to be sealed to his family for all eternity. It really hit me that temples are all about families - eternal families. And I am truly grateful for mine! 

Can't Believe It's Been Two Weeks Already!

Other than not updating the blog last week the past two weeks have been awesome. Don't get me wrong, every time I picked up the phone I would go to click Facebook and then I would remember don't do it. The biggest thing that I have noticed over the past two weeks is that I am happier. I haven't read anti-stuff. I haven't read ugly comments. I haven't been bombarded with politics. And not one person has asked me to play a game or help them win stuff. It's actually been quite heavenly. While at work yesterday I actually noticed that I was carrying on a very nice conversation with one of my co-workers. What a novel idea. I am hoping to keep this going. I think I can live without knowing everything about everyone. I can live without the meme's, although many are very clever. I can live without the negativity. But one thing I can't live without - pictures of the grandkids. So, for now, I will not be deleting Instagram. One step at a time, right?

How will I ever make it without Facebook?

Today was the first day of the Provident Living #4 - Media Management. I set a goal to not look at Facebook for 2 weeks. It has been about 24 hours since I set that goal and it has been harder than expected. In the last 24 hours I have realized how many times I look at Facebook on my phone. This is quite often BTW. I have decided to delete the app from my phone because every time there is a comment or post related to our Facebook I get a notice on my phone and I am tempted to check it out. Several years ago my husband taught a Dale Carnegie class. One of the human relations principles taught was Don't Criticize, Condemn or Complain. This left a lot of time on your hands so you were suppose to replace it with something good. So now I have more time on my hands by not looking at Facebook so what shall I replace it with? What if I read the scriptures on my phone instead? How far would I get? What if I read general conference talks instead? How uplifted would I be? What if I didn't pick up my phone at all and carried on a conversation with a co-worker? How much missionary work could be accomplished? What if I called one of my children to tell them of my love? How much joy would that bring to both of us? What if I wrote a letter of thanks or called a friend in need? What a novel idea! What if I sent a text to my young women to let them know I was thinking of them? How much closer could we become! All of these will be great replacements and bring much good to me but the greatest blessing that will come from not looking at Facebook will be peace and happiness. Why? Because I will not be reading angry comments, anti-Mormon posts from old friends, or scary news reports. I will not be wasting time on game invites or silly surveys. I will be less frustrated with politics and more in tune with the spirit. All in all I have to say this may be the hardest but most rewarding 2 weeks in a long time. I will keep you posted on how it goes!

Family!

There is nothing that brings more joy than family! I am blessed with a wonderful family. It seems that this family started out with just the two of us a few years ago and has grown to 18 in no time flat. These are 7 of the 8 incredible blessings in my life. You can tell by the looks of things that they were done with having pictures taken. The oldest will be baptized next summer. I am grateful for their parents that are raising them in the gospel. That are teaching them correct principles and preparing them to make and keep sacred covenants that they will someday make in the Temple. I am grateful that their parents made those sacred covenants with each other and strive daily to keep them. When I look at this picture I am reminded of my Heavenly Father's plan and His love for me. I can't wait to be with these guys forever!

Covenants

This week in class we studied Gospel Ordinances and Covenants. I was reminded of the importance of these in my life. I am grateful for the Temple and the covenants I have made with the Lord. I was especially grateful for the covenant of marriage and that Chad and I can be married for not only time but for eternity.

Friday as I was driving to work I was listening to my favorite radio station. It was a couple of days before Valentine's and they had put together a "No-Budget" wedding. It was 7:30 in the morning and a couple was getting married at the radio station. Their family was there to enjoy the morning. They had only learned a week before that they had won this prize. As I listened to this wedding being performed on the radio it was fun to hear the mothers cry, the groomsmen joke, the bridesmaids cheer, and the couple make vows with one another. I was grateful that in our crazy world that people still felt it necessary to make these vows with one another. It made my heart happy. The radio DJ mentioned that she is getting married again and her mother is upset that it is not in the Catholic church. She explained that in order to do that she would need to get her first marriage annulled. She was not willing to do that. She did not want to say that her first marriage never happened. Her first marriage was a big part of her life and she had wonderful children because of it. I was saddened that her first marriage ended in divorce but grateful that is was a good memory.

These two stories made me contemplate the things I had learned in class this week. Marriage is ordained of God. It is between a man and a women. The covenant that we make with one another is for eternity. We can be together forever if we live up to that covenant. I will be eternally grateful for this wonderful blessing in my life. I am grateful for four children that have chosen to enter into this covenant of marriage. Here is a picture of our last one - in the Gilbert AZ Temple - where there were no empty seats!