From Linda:

It's great to have family close by. Looking back on growing up I didn't have a chance to know my grandparents on either side of my family. I remember one occassion of seeing each grandmother in a certain setting, but I was too young to remember the voice that went with them. My grandfathers had passed away and so there was never a chance to get to know them, only pictures to look at. Now that our childrens two sets of grandparents are getting older with more health problems, I am grateful that I shared them with their grandparents and that they did get to know them.

This past January my dad came close to dying, but has progressed enough to get to come back home at the end of the month. He has alzheimers and hasn't known me for the last two years. I will always be thankful for the time he worked to support our large family (11 kids), take us on vacations, and make sure we were able to go on youth temple trips. (We had to go to Oakland, California - 8 hour drive one-way.) It seemed to me he was always working at 2 jobs and sleeping. I can remember when he was in a major car accident where a drunk driver hit him (I was maybe 9 years old). For the first week they didn't know if he would live or die. It took over a year for him to recuperate, but he still bounced back, supported his family, and made sure we were taken care of. It was great to have my parents be there for us when Mark & I were married in the temple. His life won't be much longer here, but my kids got to know their grandfather. Families are great blessings!