Families Are Forever

Back in September my Grandma and Grandpa passed
away within three days of each other.
Their love story pierces my heart and teaches
me about life and love in a way, I am sure,
I would not have learned any other way.
My gratitude for family has been magnified.
I love my family.
I am so grateful that God allows
 families to be together forever.
What a glorious blessing!
I cannot wait to see my Grandma and Grandpa
again, as well as other family members who have passed.

Here are some pictures that document the time spent with family
in honor of my incredible Grandparents.
First, can I just say how wonderful it was to spend time
with both of my sister's children?!
They are such good mommies, and I love Spencer's smile
in the background of this picture while he is holding
his sweet little son!

I met Bradford for the first time, and I am completely in love.
I cannot wait until Christmas to hug and kiss him some more!

 We walked on the beach every morning.

The beach has so much significance for our family.

My Grandparents fell in love in San Diego while in the Navy.
They spent their dating years at the beach and loved every
second they could soak up the sun in the sand.

 My mother spent summers on the beach as her family
visited San Clemente every year.
Then, her family moved there and built a beautiful complex
on the bluffs above the beach.
I am so blessed to have grown up in this gorgeous place!
So many family memories on that beach.
My brother, enjoying some family conversation.

 We had a wonderful family reunion dinner with both my
Grandparents' families and close friends.
This is my handsome nephew, who is growing up way too fast!

 My Grandparents' uniforms proudly displayed at the funeral
service at the church.

 We spent so much time on the beach.
Grandpa and Grandma would have wanted it that way.
The entire family on the beach,
just like the good old days.

 It is so wonderful to see generations of family
that are enjoying this family tradition.

My cute niece building sandcastles with my Dad.

 I love this picture of the sunset.

This is what evenings at the beach were like with

Grandma and Grandpa.

We would stay all day until after sunset in the summer.

Someone would order dinner, and we would sit on the beach
to enjoy the last few rays of sunshine from a
crazy-fun day with family.
This is my brother and my nephew.

I snapped this picture on the way home from church.
Look at that beautiful ocean!

 We visited the National Cemetery where they were buried.
They only had the temporary markers at the time.
I look forward to seeing their permanent stones soon.

My incredible parents who spent endless hours

caring for my Grandparents. 

What a wonderful daughter my Mom was to

her sweet parents!

 

The cemetery is very new and just so beautiful.

It is in the exact same place where my Grandparents met

while serving in the Navy together.

You can also see the San Diego LDS Temple from the site.

They both served in the San Diego Temple together.

It is just the perfect place with so much meaning.

 We got ice cream cones at McDonald's in Grandpa's honor.
We would always grab an ice cream cone on the way
home from the Tennis Club in the summer time.
I love that special memory him and I have.

My sweet mother has been an example to me of faith.

Her life has changed drastically in the last few months.

She continues to amaze me with her ability to 

remember what matters most, and that is, family.

It was a huge blessing that I was able to go home for a few days

and spend time with my family for funeral services and events.

While the circumstances were not ideal for our gathering,

it was the "silver lining" to be with family and reminisce about

all the memories we had as a family with our Grandparents.

I cannot fully express the things in my heart about that weekend,

and some are too personal to share here.

I can say that I know families are forever.

It is true.

I know I will see my Grandpa and Grandma again.

General Conference

Come listen to a prophet's voice!!

Yes, I believe that God still speaks to prophets today.

He did in times of old, and He still does.

I am so grateful that God loves us enough to

have a prophet on the earth to guide and direct us.

Truly a blessing.

This weekend, the prophet, Thomas S. Monson,

apostles, and other leaders of the church will address us.

Anyone can listen. In fact, I am inviting you to listen.

Click here to listen to a message.

Women from all over the world gathered last weekend to hear 

messages from the Relief Society presidency.

These messages are particularly for women.

The Relief Society is the women's 
organization of the church.

I am so grateful to be a part of it!

Listen to these messages here.

Angels

Two very dear people left the earth last week.

My Grandma and Grandpa Oyler passed away

within three days of each other.

Their love story is one people only dream of,

and I feel so blessed to have been loved

by them as their granddaughter.

Here they are on their wedding day in 1945, 

dressed in official Navy uniform.

They met in San Diego, both serving in the Navy.

My Grandpa survived Pearl Harbor aboard U.S.S. Curtiss.

One of my favorite memories of my grandparents was listening 

to stories of their dating years. 

I did not realize the true love they shared until I witnessed 

the care they showed each other in the last years of their lives.

Grandma was in her late stages of Alzheimer's and Grandpa was

there for her every step of the way.

I love these pictures from my wedding day in 2009.

I am so glad they were both able to attend.

These incredible people stand for so many good things.

One thing that sticks out the most to me is
 the love they have for family.

These books are a compilation of their ancestry--my ancestry.

They researched, wrote, and published each one 

for every family member to have.

What a treasure! 

The legacy they have left behind will always be remembered.

I am overwhelmed by the people who have reached out to me

and to my family in the last week, 

expressing their love for my grandparents 

and sharing special memories they shared with them. 

My heart yearns for them when I think about holding their hands,

talking to them on the phone, 

and reading the heartfelt cards I got every year 

on my birthday and Christmas.

I miss sitting in their ocean front apartment 

with the breeze through my hair,

the waves crashing in the background,

and feeling so grateful that I have the full attention of two 

people that love and care about me more than I could understand.

The example they set for our families will live on.

I am so glad these two angels are together.

I am so glad they didn't have to be far from each

other for too long.

I love you Grandma and Grandpa O.

My Grandpa sang this song to my Grandma on one of their final days together on earth.

NYC 3

On Sunday we headed to church.

We attended the Manhattan 1st Ward.

Church is in the same building as the Manhattan temple.

It was such a good meeting!

 Across the street from the temple is

the Lincoln Center.

 We spent the rest of the day taking it easy.

Here we are waiting for the bus again.

 The buildings in NYC are just beautiful.

We loved the ivy growing on the side of this one.

We went to Serendipity for lunch.

It was delicious.

 

 Of course we had the famous Frozen Hot Chocolate.

 We splurged a little and Dan ordered the

Peanut Butter Frozen Hot Chocolate too.

It was so good!

We walked around town,

 strolled through Central Park,

 and peeked inside the Natural History Museum.

 We walked over to Columbus Circle. 

 

We took the subway to our final destination.

I love the subway decor.

(Dan was getting tired of pictures... 

so this is what I got.)

 

Our last stop was at Levain Bakery.

I am not exaggerating when I say that these are

the best cookies in the world.

They are so so so so good.

We absolutely loved our trip.

We would both go back in a heartbeat.

There is so much to see, so much to eat, and history to explore.

It was a great end to our busy summer!