Motherhood, There is Nothing More Important

4 Generations: Leola Pierce Peterson (seated), Carol Ann Peterson Ohms (left),
Amy Ohms Archibald (right), and Emma Patience Archibald (infant)

"Yours is the grand tradition of Eve, the mother of all the human family, the one who understood that she and Adam had to fall in order that 'men [and women] might be' and that there would be joy. Yours is the grand tradition of Sarah and Rebekah and Rachel, without whom there could not have been those magnificent patriarchal promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob which bless us all. Yours is the grand tradition of Lois and Eunice and the mothers of the 2,000 stripling warriors. Yours is the grand tradition of Mary, chosen and foreordained from before this world was, to conceive, carry, and bear the Son of God Himself. We thank all of you, including our own mothers, and tell you there is nothing more important in this world than participating so directly in the work and glory of God, in bringing to pass the mortality and earthly life of His daughters and sons, so that immortality and eternal life can come in those celestial realms on high."

- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "Because She Is a Mother," LDS General Conference, April 1997.

Memory Jogger Monday - August 3

Donald, Grandma Helen, Darlene, Dennis

Janice, Grandma Leola, Carol

Who were your aunts and uncles? Write about any of your aunts or uncles who really stand out in your mind. Give some details about them (names, personalities, events that you remember doing with them, and so on).

Okay, so first off the photos above are really old. They were ones that I thought of for this post.

First photo ... My father (Dennis) has two brothers and one sister. One brother, Ronald, died at birth. The other brother is Donald. Uncle Don is quite the character. I always remember him teasing me when I was younger. He married Peggy and they had two children. He is now married to Linda and she brings out the best in him.

I have the most memories of Aunt Darlene (Dar). I think this is because I lived with her for part of a year after college when I got my first full time job. She is very giving and caring. She married Brent and they have four children. My favorite thing about Dar is that she sends us a birthday card every year - all of us - even our spouses and our children. She is really good about keeping track of all of the descendants and where they live, their cell numbers, email addresses, and all our birth dates.

Second photo ... My mother (Carol) has only one sister; her name is Janice. Janice married John and they named all four of their children with names that start with "J". I remember going to their home in Stockton, California when we were younger and having Easter egg hunts and playing at the park. They moved to St. George, Utah in the early 1990's and I've had many opportunities to visit them and do things with them.

See this post for more information about "Memory Jogger Monday": 

Writing a Personal History or Keeping a Journal

Memory Jogger Monday - July 27

Did your grandparents live close by? If so, describe how they were involved in your life. If they lived far away share some memories of visiting them or of them traveling to visit you.

When I was born both sets of grandparents lived in northern Utah while our family lived in southern Utah.

Grandpa and Grandma Edwards lived in Salt Lake City and I know we went to visit them when I was a few years old because we have photos of that visit. They moved to the Enoch Utah area in the mid 1970's and lived about 2 miles from our home. We would walk or bike to their home. In the summer I would mow their huge lawn. And when they went on vacation I would water the plants and gardens and feed the chickens. They would come to family activities and I remember having them come with us to cookouts in the canyon. In the mid 1980's they moved back to Salt Lake City.

Grandma and Grandpa Peterson lived in Orem for most of my childhood. I remember going to their home on many occasions and often during the summertime we were privileged to sleep outside in the camping trailer. We would go fishing and camping with them. I remember riding my grandma's bike around her neighborhood and down to the park. In 1986 they moved to St. George and they were only an hour away. They came to more of our activities; particularly school events. We would go to St. George and swim in their community pool and walk to the temple.

It was great to have them close to us. I am grateful for the memories I have of knowing my grandparents and actively doing things with them. They were involved in our lives whether they lived far or near.

See this post for more information about "Memory Jogger Monday": 

Writing a Personal History or Keeping a Journal

Memory Jogger Monday - July 20

Raymond Henry Ohms, World Horseshoe Pitching Champion

Share some memories of your grandparents.

Paternal Grandparents

Raymond Henry Ohms (19 November 1912 - 22 June 1963)
I never knew my grandpa Ohms (pictured above). He died 8 years before I was born. He was a world horseshoe pitcher. My father has kept this memory and tradition alive in our family. We all pitched horseshoes when we were younger. Some of my siblings and their children continue to pitch competitively.

Helen Arlene Barr Ohms Edwards (29 December 1913 - 7 May 2003)
When I was a pre-teen I traveled with my grandma Edwards from Cedar City, Utah to Salt Lake City, Utah to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins. I remember us getting in a little car accident; no one was hurt, though I was scared. I also remember the year that we took a family vacation to US and LDS historical sites in the eastern United States and we rented a RV and my grandma came with us.

Tom and Helen Edwards

William Thomas Edwards (30 June 1913 - 21 December 1990)
Grandpa "Tom" married my grandma after my grandpa died. He was the grandpa I grew up knowing. My favorite memories of him were on our birthdays when they lived in the same town as us. He would come over in his pajamas for the birthday party because he knew we would be up all night watching our 8 mm films. I think he also came on Christmas Eve in his pajamas.

Maternal Grandparents

Darrel L Peterson (31 July 1920 - 10 December 1990)
My grandpa Pete repaired televisions. I remember playing in his repair shop while he was working on TV sets. I also remember helping him find night crawlers in the lawn with an electric night crawler probe. We would then go fishing on the lake in his boat. My grandpa also had a metal detector and he let me borrow it to have treasure hunting adventures of my own.

Darrel and Leola Peterson

Leola Pierce Peterson (8 July 1924 - 1 April 2012)
I remember as a young child learning how to play card games from my grandma Pete. Her and grandpa would have card nights with their friends and extended family. She had a drawer full of cards. Later in life she taught us how to play dominoes. She collected coins and I was fascinated by how old they were. I started my own coin collection because she shared this love of collecting with me. And I found one of my oldest coins with my grandpa's metal detector.

See this post for more information about "Memory Jogger Monday": 

Writing a Personal History or Keeping a Journal

Grandma's Hug

When my grandma Leola Pierce Peterson passed away in 2012, I asked my mother to save my grandma's shirts and sheets for me. My grandmother was very athletic. She golfed, bowled, and pitched horseshoes in leagues, at the Utah Summer Games and in the Huntsman World Senior Games. She had a lot of sports t-shirts. I received a huge box of t-shirts and sheets. From those items I made 9 small wrap quilts which I call "Grandma's Hug". They are just big enough to wrap around an adult and a little bigger for a small child. I made one for each of my grandma's grandchildren - all 9 of us.

Even though I've washed all the t-shirts and sheets, to me they still smell like my grandma. One day when my children were fighting with each other, my daughter came running in the house crying and went into the living room and immediately became silent. I wondered what could possibly have made her stop crying. When I went to find out, I found her wrapped up in my "Grandma's Hug". I asked her how she was doing and she said, that she just needed a hug from grandma (her great-grandma). And the hug made the situation all better. She has since done this same thing multiple times; as has my son.

This is a great way to link the generations. My siblings and my cousins remember my grandma wearing these shirts and now they have a little part of that memory that they can wrap around themselves and their children in a nice warm hug from grandma.

Leola Pierce Peterson
Huntsman World Senior Games Medals

Memory Jogger Monday - June 8

Have any of your family members died? If so, what did they die from? What do you remember of their death, and what were the circumstances of their death?

When I was born, I had two living great-grandmothers, two living grandmothers, one living grandfather and one living step-grandfather. All of them have died. 

I have a few memories of my great-grandmother Elizabeth Lavon Finch Peterson. She died in 1983 in California and we lived in Utah; I don't have memories of her death.

I have a lot of memories of my other great-grandmother, Alice Alvey Pierce. She died in 1989 and I remember going to her funeral and burial.

In 1990, I lost both of my grandfathers 11 days apart; Darrel L Peterson and William Thomas Edwards. I remember both of their deaths and the circumstances surrounding them.

In 2003, I lost my grandmother, Helen Arlene Barr Ohms Edwards. I have many memories of her (30+ years of memories) and memories of her death as well.

Today, I want to focus this blog post on my grandmother, Leola Pierce Peterson, who died on Easter Sunday, April 1, 2012. I have 40+ years of memories; which I still need to record. But this Memory Jogger asks about death. As grandma Pete was getting more sick in early 2012, I had the opportunity to visit her in the hospital in St. George, Utah. I knew on that day that it would be my last time to see her alive. I was hard to see her so sick. She was always a healthy active woman. She bowled, golfed, and pitched horseshoes and excelled in each of these sports up until a few months before her death at age 87. She expressed to us her love for us at every visit including this last visit when she was so sick. I knew it wouldn't be much longer. When she died on Easter, I was at peace. I know the Savior Jesus Christ provided a way for all of us to be resurrected. The peace that the resurrection provides brought peace to my soul that day.

We took this special opportunity to teach our young children about death and resurrection. We read to them the children's book, "What Happens When People Die?, written by Timothy Robinson. You can see more information about this book HERE. We prepared our children for the funeral. Our son was just 17 months old and we knew that he wouldn't know much about what was taking place, but our daughter was 4 years old. She had her own personal relationship with her great-grandmother; the only great-grandmother she knew. She understood the story we shared about how all things live and all things die, including people; and yet we will live again someday in families just like we do here on Earth. And she understood that her grandma Pete had died.

On the day of grandma's funeral, April 6, we attended the viewing. At the end of the viewing we participated in a family prayer and then it was time to close the casket. At that moment, my 4 year old Emma cried out, "Why isn't anyone waking her up?" There were audible gasps and more tears shed. Yes Emma, someday she will arise again, but not yet today. She had such great faith!

We moved to the chapel for the funeral program and my sister and cousin teamed up to share the eulogy and story of my grandma's life. There were some things shared that day that were new to me and I asked them later about how they knew that information about grandma. My grandma did something very similar to what I am doing with "Memory Jogger Monday". She was given a book by her daughter, my aunt Janice, and she filled in answers to these similar type questions. What a treasure! I hope that someday my thoughts and my history and my memories will be a treasure to my posterity as my grandmother's are to me.

See this post for more information about "Memory Jogger Monday": 

Writing a Personal History or Keeping a Journal