Lisa. . . A Tribute

One of the many truths in my life is the fact that I have been blessed with wonderful sister-in-laws.  All three of my brothers married way up, and I am confident that they themselves would agree with that statement as well. 

On August 12th, one of these women, Lisa Kelly Hatch Forsey passed away at just 46 years of age.  I once heard someone say when a loved one died that they had "graduated"--they had gone to live with our Savior, and had been given the big promotion.  It does ring true, doesn't it?  So many wonderful people seem to be called home way too soon and heaven has certainly received one of these angels in Lisa.

Lisa is the wife of my brother Jerry, who is just 18 months younger than me. They are parents to 4 great kids:  Megan McWhorter (Sean), Melissa, Nathan and McKayla.  Lisa was diagnosed with Glioblastoma (stage 4 brain cancer) 15 months ago.  Unfortunately, her body did not tolerate the chemotherapy regiment well as her white blood counts were usually alarmingly low and she was unable to stick with the preferred protocol.  

Jerry, their children, our large extended family, and her wonderful neighbors and ward/stake members all shared in this difficult journey to the extent outsiders can.  In June, Jerry and his ward family held a "Celebration of Hope" for Lisa.  Here we visited, supported and united as believers in faith, hope and charity.  There was so much love at that event--there really is very real power in love.   Lisa herself wrote some very wise words that were shared with us all: 

"It seems like each person will experience adversity during their lifetime here upon earth.

I know we develop faith and learn as we go along.

I've learned a lot about faith and trusting Heavenly Father,

because I know he knows what's best.

Everyone has adversity, and Heavenly Father is there to help us through it."

When I think of Lisa I will remember kindness, compassion, humble service and love. She never raised her voice, never said a bad word about anyone and was the most patient mother.   She simply lived the premise of the gospel which is to love the Lord and love thy neighbor.  I will always count her as one of the greatest blessings in my life. There is no doubt in my mind that Lisa is with our Savior at this time. I am so grateful for the knowledge of the plan of salvation, the purpose of this earthly experience, and the knowledge of our eternal existence.

I must also say that I have learned so much from my little brother.   I can only imagine how difficult it has been to care for a gravely ill spouse. Jerry has been a great example and is enduring this trial well, even though it is extremely difficult. We love you Jerry and are by your side.

These past 15 months we have learned to serve, to be kinder, more gracious, more loving, more compassionate--to be more like Lisa.  Perhaps that was the plan all along.  Lisa was here to teach us to be more like her.  Now the task is for us to take these lessons to heart.  She fought valiantly with faith and hope, but in the end it was not meant to be. Lisa will be just fine--no doubt she passed the test and has graduated with honors.  

We are so grateful that she is part of our family. 

She is the best of the best and we will miss her immensely.  

We love you Lisa! 

Our New Favorite Vacation

We are a boating family.  We bought our first boat in 1995 when we moved to Spokane.  With the abundance of lakes around here, we knew we would be able to enjoy it alot.  Fast forward 15 years, and now we are on our third boat and our favorite thing to do in the summer is to be on the lake.   A few weeks ago we tried something new.  With all our years of boating, we had yet to experience a houseboat vacation.  Well, we have been converted!  It was such an awesome trip. 

We traveled to northern California to Trinity Lake, part of the Shasta National Forest.  Although it was a days drive, it was worth every mile.  The weather was gorgeous, the water was sublime (warm and flat as glass) and best of all, hardly any other boaters around.  This lake is huge, and each day we maybe saw 2 or 3 other boaters.  Having a houseboat was great.  There were 4 queen size beds, a full kitchen, 1 1/2 baths, and a deck on top.   It was pretty much a "floating hotel" and it was great to not to have to worry about camping or unloading/loading a boat every day.  The perfect situation for a bunch of water sports junkies.

That's Jace on the left skurfing on top and slaloming on the bottom.
Stuart flies on the wake board on the top right, and Russ gives skurfing a whirl on the bottom.

In our family the rule was that you had to learn to ski before you could wake board or tube.  As a result, the kids are all great skiers.  Of course we also have a wake board now and this year we brought along a skurfboard and they enjoyed learning how to "surf" behind a boat.  It's also a fact that both Stuart and Russ had to pass the "boat test" in order to marry our daughters!  No wimpy water sports guys are allowed in the family.  Jace's future Mrs. must pass that test as well--he even says so!

I also admit that personally I'm a really great flag holder/snack distributor/towel giver and most days don't really care if I get in the water at all.  I simply just love being on the boat in the sunshine.  I think it comes from my hatred of being cold.  So, every summer it's a big deal when I make my annual "ski run."  I've never really mastered the slalom ski well (I eat so much water getting up) so I'm content to put on two skis and enjoy the ride.  I have a fear of wiping out and hurting my knees or something, and then there goes my daily run.  Lame excuse I know, but I'm sticking with it.  But, my turn behind the boat was great and I've lived to tell about it!

Top Left:  Playing Ticket to Ride (family favorite)  Top Right:  See, I'm actually in the water!
Bottom Left:  The boys performing their synchronized swimming routine to Pavarotti's "Nessun Dorma" -- way funny!
Bottom Right:  Packing up to head home . . . vacation almost over.  Sad :(

Brent's parents came up and spent a day with us.  We enjoyed having them there to celebrate my July 24th birthday and Brittney's August 11th birthday with a steak dinner and fresh peach cobbler--so yummy.   I was surprised with a Kindle Reader from the kids.  I love to read, and have stubbornly said I didn't need an electronic reader, but I know I will really enjoy it.  When we weren't out on the boat, we played games and watched movies on the projector.  Trust Brent to have all the right equipment to have a "big screen" movie set up on the houseboat. 

Our Trinity Lake Vacation was superb.  Vacations are something that I believe in wholeheartedly.  I'm so glad we have always made it a priority to plan something at least once a year.  I think it is even more important now that the kids are all grown up and living on their own.  It's one of the reasons summer is my favorite time of year.   See you next year Trinity Lake!

Brittney Justine

You know that old axiom "time flies"?  Well, I believe it.  July was over so quickly, and it was a busy awesome month.  Now it's already August, and today is a special day because it is Brittney's birthday!  I can hardly believe that my eldest daughter is 28 years old--I think my head is spinning--I feel like I live in a time warp.  I have always been a big believer in the whole science of birth order--when you were born into your particular family.  Brittney is our first born, and has truly paved the way in so many respects.  Like many first-borns, she is a leader, a teacher, a trail-blazer. 

Picture on the left is when she was just hours old.  On the right she was about 18 months.

She was a beautiful, chubby, and content baby.  She quickly figured out the way to happiness and comfort was eating and sleeping.  She was sleeping through the night by 3 weeks old.  In fact, we tease to this day that one of her greatest God-given gifts is her ability to sleep well--easily and anywhere.   She skipped crawling and started to walk at about 10 months.  She also pretty much potty trained herself before she was 2--this little girl was simply ahead of her time.  As a toddler she had a head of very blond wavy hair--she was pretty darn cute.  Many asked where she got her beautiful blond hair and blue eyes because it was obvious it didn't come from me or her Dad.  

Brittney at her 5th birthday party opening her presents,
and performing in a singing group called "Sunshine Generation."

Because of our knowledge of the plan of salvation and knowing that we were all spirit children before this earthly experience, I've often thought that just perhaps Brittney's spirit, her soul, is older and wiser than anyone I know.  She has always been so very smart, sober, and mature.   In fact, I just love that picture above because her excitement is "off the charts."  Normally she is relatively mild and reserved at these times--just a smile and a "Thanks, this is great."  It's so fun to get a huge reaction from her, and every once in a while it happens!

Growing up she enjoyed many things--swimming, dancing, piano, soccer, and friends.  She excelled at most, but was particularly devoted to swimming and piano all through high school.  I've often thought she was a bit of a enigma because while realistic and practical, she is also very creative and artistically talented--a wonderful combination of brains, artistry and beauty.  Her work ethic and discipline are exceptional--we never had to push or remind her to get something done.  Brittney is simply a doer.  She also is an excellent writer--a true wordsmith.  Don't even try to beat her at Scrabble or Boggle! Currently she is in charge of Public Relations for VitalSmarts, a large company in Orem.   


In 2006 Brittney and Stuart married on a beautiful sunny January day.  She was such a gorgeous, elegant bride. I would venture to say that they are a perfect match--not because they are just alike in every way, but because they compliment each other so well.   She is a wonderful wife, a faithful fan and supporter, and a patient companion.  She is an anchor for him.  I have admired her patience, love and loyalty so much.

 

These past few years have been particularly trying (you all probably read her blog) and as always, she is once again proving to be wise and inspirational.  While we are unable to take away the heartache and frustration, I'm so amazed at the grace, determination, and strength she has.  She is a woman of action and truly understands that principle. She does not give up.  She will be a wonderful Mother soon and will be light years ahead of many with the vision, compassion and understanding she has gained. 

Many years ago she wrote a beautiful poem for me called "Mommy's Girl." (Poetry is another one of her humble talents.) Our family knows that Brittney and I have similar personalities (what's even crazier is realizing just how similar Stuart and Brent are!)  I've kept this poem in a frame and there is one stanza which reads:

 You taught me to have confidence,

You taught me to be strong,

You taught me to persevere,

When the road grew long.



She is learning many things that I in turn am learning from her.   I could have wrote this stanza about her during these last few years.  This is one of the secrets of motherhood--you learn so much from your children.



I am often humbled when I ponder the great people

my children have become. 

Thank you Brittney for being an awesome daughter,

sister, wife and my friend. 

I love you dearly.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!