a special thanks to the women in my life

It is Mothers Day today and I am reminded as I look into the smiling eyes of my beautiful wife how fortunate I am and how blessed our family is to have Kathy in our life. Kathy is the most positive and confident leader I have ever known. Kathy's spirit has guided me through the most daunting life experience I have had in my life. She is tireless in her effort and yet carries herself as though she just woke up. Kathy never showed fear and always believed in me. Kathy's testimony was the foundation from which we built a new vision of how life could be and wouold be.

I often think about how someones actions belay who they really are and what they believe. Immediately after I was hurt and was laying unconcious on the beach Kathy showed who she was and what she knew. Kathy called some freinds in our Church back in Arizona and asked that they contact all of our freinds to pray for me. Those prayers and the blessing I recieved from a local Bishop in LA sustained me for the next few critical hours and I believe for my entire recovery period. Kathy, acted on her testimony and called on our Heavenly father to assist me in my challange. From that moment to now our family has been blessed in so many ways. We have had the peace of knowing everything will work out and we have had the common knowlege that the gospel is true.

Kathy's influence has been so important for all of our children but the girls have had the benefit of seeing their mom lead out with courage. My girls are so sweet but also so strong. The girls have seen how kathy can be strong but also sensitive, confident but also humble and teachable, self reliant but also give and recieve service. My Girls have a special place in my heart. My daughters will be a great source of strength or their husbands and their families because of the example they have seen in their mom.

The other women who have sustained me and been an example for me are my mom and my stepmom. both have inluenced my life in so many ways and have ben there for my family.

Then there is my grandma, my memories of my grandma our special. She raised four boys one of which was my dad. She was quiet, humble and as tough as they come. My dad and his brothers were big, my grandma even resorted to a frying pan to get their attention at times. But all my life I could tell with respect to my grandpa, my uncles and my dad showed to my grandma that she was special and that their lives had been blessed by her leadership and your heart.

Mother's Day is a special day to reflect on how lucky we are to have a special women we have in our lives.

Grandma Janet