Let's Roll

Little did I know that picking up a book from the library on Sept 11 2009 would help inspire me to be a better person and be the woman I know I am/can be. I went to the library with Austin and thought it was so neat they had 9/11 books out in memorial. I picked one up called " Let's Roll" a book by Todd Beamers wife. Todd was one of the men on flight 93 that said the now famous "let's Roll." This book reminded me a lot of my own life in the aspect that they were college sweethearts, had fun loving families, visited nursing homes and so forth. It talked about their lives and how they lived. Some are eerie of the things said the last couple days before Sept 11 01. This woman has faith that could move a mountain. What an uplifting book to bring you closer to God. She not only lost her husband in the 9/11 attacks, she had also lost her father when she was 15 and from that she knew she always wanted to have life insurance when she got married. It is a beautiful book with a standpoint of what is most important in our lives and a review of what happened that day. Many times we think these people are imaginative, or someone you will never connect with,or something that happened in history. These people are real people with lives like yours and mine. So real in fact I emailed her on facebook to thank her for writing it, if for nothing else but for me to remember You are never truly alone, and God does love you.

Oh say can you see....

I used to write in my journal. Every night before I went to bed I would write everything important that happened that day. I wrote between my Jr- Sr. year of high school until when I got married. I wish I hadn't stopped writing in it. It seemed like all the important things happened in my life after I had gotten married and had kids. I would have loved to remember fun times of being a newlywed and being a mother for the first time. I always think I will remember the cute things my kids say and sadly they seem to disappear faster than I can write them down. However, on Tuesday Sept 11, 2001 was when I was a freshmen in college. I had written down all my feelings and everything I had done that day. I need to pick up the goal of writing my history down . I once wrote all my memories of childhood and somehow it erased. Instead of checking email or cleaning the house, I should write down my life.

I remember being in biology at Dixie College when a guy came and told us that the twin towers had been hit. I was so busy that day from going to school to work and back to school that I wasn't able to watch the news. Later that night I used to babysit for my apartment manager and was able to watch the news then. I remember seeing all the people crying in the streets fighting for a turn to ask if their loved one had been seen, the newscaster had to try to calm everyone down and tell them they would all get a turn. That night I went with my boyfriend (now husband) Trent to a candle light vigil. I will never forget Sept. 11, 01. Many people forget important things in history, let's not forget this. The sad thing is look how fast many are forgetting in only 8 years. I just got a book from the library today called "Let's Roll" from Todd Beamer's wife it should be interesting. I think as horrific as it was for me to hear about it (my family is very patriotic and I remember in the 3rd grade standing so proud while singing "Proud to be an American" I would get so mad when others didn't care.) It would have been harder for me had I been a mother. If something where to happen now, I would freak out as a mom

For Some must Push and Some Must Pull...

Trent wanted us to take a picture of how it would have been back then. It took so long for the camera that nobody would smile...

monument of the men who helped others across the river
Martins Cove

Sweetwater River

I had such a good time, I didn't want to come back to reality. We went to Martin's Cove up in Wyoming to visit Trent's parents. I have been on two treks when I was a teenager. However, it was really neat to see the place where so much grief, pain, and strength the pioneers had to endure. On Friday when we got there we hiked up Devil's Gate. We missed Gina, Steph, and Vicki's family. Then on Sat we got in our pioneer clothes and went for the hike with the handcarts. We had to tie Faith's car seat in the handcart and she actually did great!! We hiked up to the handcart parking lot, my kidneys were hurting by then and I didn't want to over do it, so trent pulled me in this little seat looking thing up the cove. Funny but those where harder to pull than the handcart themselves. I kept getting out because I felt bad that Trent had to pull me. It made me wonder how when someone was sick or hurt how guilty they must have felt to make their loved one pull them in the snow. We went to the cove, which for some reason I was thinking would be more like a cave but it wasn't. At that cove, to get out of the wind, the pioneers that left England to come to Zion where in life and death situations. They told us 50 something people died in the cove. They would put the dead bodies on the other side of the cove, and because the ground was so hard they tried to bury them in the snow. However, by the time they started walking back they could hear the wolves devouring their loved ones. One story I really thought was interesting was a lady whose fiancee died and she couldn't bare allowing the wolves to eat him, so they tied him in a tree and hoped by spring that his body would still be there so they could bury him. Going to the Cove at this time of year we really don't understand the hardships of a severe winter storm. We also did a women's pull when the men got pulled off to the "Mormon Battalion" it was good. I really have always thought that everyone should go on a real trek if they ever have the chance. It was different going as a teen than it was now. I will always have good, spiritual, physical, and emotional memories as a teen. I think every Teen needs to go on one. The one I went on was the needlepoint mountains where Brigham Young got really sick on his first time out to the west. It was interesting to take my kids this time, and think of me as being a single mother with her three children and having to try to cross. Many of the men died from giving up their rations to their children, and loosing their strength. I honestly don't know how they pulled through. There were angels on earth sent to help them and help them cross the freezing river. I really enjoyed going and hope that in the future I will have another chance to do it again. On Sunday after church (which I actually loved Sunday school because they taught out of the Heritage Manual. I love history and pioneer stories, it has gotten me so ready to go visit Nauvoo) we stopped to visit the visitors center, and we went to Independence Rock and that was really neat to see all the signatures as well. After driving 6 hours back home yesterday, I had fever blisters pop all on my upper lip. I look like I just had some botox done!