A Wonderful Man... An Incredible Legacy...

On September 4th, 2010 the world lost & Heaven gained an incredible man. Scott's grandpa Tom Stephenson passed away at the age of 92. I feel so blessed to have known him and that I was able to spend some time with him before he left this earth. What a wonderful man. Grandpa Stephenson was the type of person who could successfully bring a smile to your face each and every time you saw him. He was the type of person who filled a room with sunshine and happiness. The type of person who, despite significant hearing loss, would always smile and nod, even if he couldn't hear a word you were saying. He was also the type of faithful person who attended church every Sunday, even though he was unable to hear a word that was spoken.

One of my favorite things about grandpa was his love for grandma Bun. It was so obvious to me that he loved her more than anything. It was always so cute watching them interact and seeing him take charge when it came time for the dishes to be cleaned. I was told straight away that grandpa would be doing the dishes and that I was not to touch them. I have heard story after story about grandpa's work ethic, and I believe every work to be true. All you have to do is look at his beautiful orchard and garden to see some of the fruits of his labors. Even though I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked with grandpa, I can just look around at his posterity and see so clearly the type of man that he must have been. We attended his funeral this past Saturday, and that chapel was chuck full of some of the kindest, most wonderful people I have ever met.
Every one of his children are the type of people that you just can't help but love. I feel so incredibly blessed to be apart of his family and for the memories that I have of him. I have always loved hearing stories from Scott about grandma and grandpa Stephenson and I feel so blessed to be apart of such a wonderful legacy. We love you grandpa.

Thomas Ashby Stephenson

August 9, 1918 - September 4, 2010

A Beautiful Couple...

Thanks to Scott and his amazing photography skills, we were able to take some awesome pictures of Liv and John a couple weeks ago. They get married in less than two weeks! Amazing how time flies! And talk about a beautifully photographic couple!

Summertime and the Livin' is Easy...

Goodness Gracious it has been a while...
Summertime has always been a favorite in the Biggs family... Scott and I love the opportunities that open up once all of the snow has melted away. Unfortunately, this summer we have only been able to go camping ONCE. That truly is a sad thing. However, we have still managed to have lots of fun and are planning a SUPER AWESOME canoeing trip this October.
Most of our nights this summer have involved the best card game ever created... It is called 'Up and Down the River'.. We must have played it 50 times this summer with members of my family and Scott has even introduced it to some of his family as well.
We had SO much fun last month because Matt, Brittany, Tamra, Roy, Chuck and Lanea were all able to come out for a visit with their ADORABLE kids! It was SO fun seeing all of them! Scott and I are REALLY excited about going out to Nevada City for Thanksgiving and spending more time with the family.
Of course, with summer, comes the opera season! And this year was one of the best yet. Vanessa, Olivia and Stefan performed in The Sound of Music and my dad, Ben, Vanessa, and Stefan were all in Guys and Dolls. The Sound of Music left me feeling super proud of my sisters every night, Guys and Dolls left me tapping my toes and humming "Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat", La Traviata left me sitting in a pool of tears and Barber of Seville left me with a side ache from laughing so hard. I could have seen each show a hundred times and loved every second of it. We also had the wonderful opportunity of meeting Marni Nixon. She is an incredible woman. You may not recognize her name, but would certainly recognize her voice. She was the singing voice of Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, Natalie Wood in West Side Story, Debra Kerr in An Affair To Remember and The King and I.
As far as our little farm goes... we now have a new addition... A pretty little cat named Persia. She was hanging around our house a few weeks ago, so we invited her in and offered her some food. She was extremely malnourished and in desperate need of some love. And... ever since... she has stayed with us. For some reason she likes being cuddled and fed tuna.... :) I am pretty sure she thinks Scott is her dad because they have the same coloring...
What a fun summer!

Graduation!

Let it be known that after a LONG year of three tests a week and two quizzes to top that, with over 400 clinical hours and some of the scariest lab experiences of my life... I GRADUATED from the Licensed Practical Nursing Program! Good feeling.
I don't think a year will ever go by without me getting excited for the coming of June 17th. It's amazing how exciting a date can become when it means you will have accomplished something great.
I feel lucky to have graduated from a nursing program that pushed their students to work hard and do their best, even though sometimes I wanted to pull my hair out. And after the newly developed ulcer and white hairs... I can still feel proud of my accomplishment thanks in LARGE part to my sweet Scott. :) Without his support and love, I never could have done it.
Thank you sweetheart. I LOVE YOU.

SPRING!

Springtime... So much fun! This year Scott and I have decided to try a few new things. #1. I planted about 35 tulips in the fall and they have popped up all over and look insanely awesome! #2. We have CHICKENS! Yes, it's true. We got them as eggs and watched them hatch and grow. They are so much fun. Ginger (Our red-headed Chicken), Buffy (She is very "buff" colored, and our fattest chicken) and Precious (She was certainly a precious baby chick...) are the oldest followed by Samurai ("Sam" for short.. She is black and oh so stealth...), Spice (We decided she looks like many different kinds of red spices), Baby (she is definitely the most beautiful chicken we have ever seen), Victoria (because her wings remind me of some other Victoria wings...), Angel (she is our only white chicken) and sweet little Crutchy ...our most favorite of all... Crutchy was born with a deformed leg and we have been trying to help her grow and survive, but things aren't looking too good. We're so afraid of losing her, but think that she may be happier in Chicken heaven. Poor thing. She's a fighter though... Definitely a fighter. #3. Scott is in an EMT course and will soon be starting his Intermediate class. He is so dang smart. 'Nuff said. :) #4. We bought a broccoli plant!!! Never grown one of those before. We also have a few tomatoes, rosemary, basil, chives and parsley. We're super excited to plant some other fun veggies and herbs. We got so much satisfaction out of our garden last year. #5. Bono successfully ran away 5 times... maybe more. Bless his heart. #6. Bono is now tied up in the back yard and will never be free. #7. I am not pregnant. Sorry. I know everyone wanted to know. #8. I have ONE MORE MONTH of school. It seems ever so far away, and yet ever so CLOSE!! :) #9. Scott and I have been wanting to go camping now for over a month... and every time we plan it.... it RAINS or SNOWS (tonight being one of those nights)! #10. We are currently trying to plan a summer camping trip and are looking at places down by Moab.. It's gonna be super sweet wherever we go! :) #11. We took Ben to his VERY first Demolition Derby. Don't worry... We dressed up like hicks... Belt buckles, cowboy boots and all. It was SO much fun. Ben loved it. :)

Yes... Spring is sweet...

True Love...

What is Love? True Love?
After just over a year of marriage, I know I still have much to learn, but when I look at the relationships between my parents, in-laws and grandparents, and my own marriage to my sweetheart, I feel like I'm really coming to more of an understanding of the true meaning of love.
It's so much more than just hugs and kisses, and the butterfly feeling you get each time they come in the room, though those things still play a part... It's wanting to always do everything you can to make them happy. It's holding them tight when you know they need it, and even when they don't. It's making them breakfast in bed when you know they aren't feeling well. It's cleaning the house and doing the dishes because you want to make them smile. It's taking the time to send a love note, or even just a text that can be as simple as an "I miss you" or.. "I love you". It's holding your tongue because the last thing you want to do is fight. It's not arguing over things that don't matter, but rather looking for positive ways to work things out. It's the look in your eye that screams "I LOVE YOU"! It's telling them they are beautiful, especially when they think they're not. It's the tender touch on your hand that is so soft and sweet that you get goosebumps. It's not needing entertainment or excitement, because just being together is enough. It's the time when you're laying in bed and your sweetheart starts singing "Your Song".. It's laughing until your sides hurt. It's supporting each other through thick and thin. It's offering to do things you hate doing, but for them, you'd do anything. It's being willing to make sacrifices. It's being willing to take risks. It's for never wanting to be apart. For finding joy in just being together. It's being together until the end and being so faithful and in love, that you know death will not part you. It's not being afraid of death because you KNOW you will be together for eternity.
After losing my grandpa last week, I have found myself constantly thinking about Love. I feel like I could learn SO much from his example along with my grandma. Their love story is a true one. The kind that everyone wants. The perfect, pure, incredible love that is so amazingly strong that everyone around you can feel it. That, is what I wish for everyone. True Love. Everlasting Love. Thank you grandpa... for setting such a perfect example.

This song has been running through my mind on repeat for the past week and a half.. I think the words are beautiful...

Their first touch at seventeen was in the park
And the moon was full
She was beautiful to him
And her hair was long and her eyes were blue
And her skin was warm
And she turned to him
And he thought he knew what love was

Another touch at twenty-two on their wedding night
And the stars were bright
She was beautiful to him
And her hair smelled sweet and her lips were full
And her skin was warm
And she turned to him
And he thought he knew what love was

And then again at twenty-five when the baby came
And the sun was high
She was beautiful to him
And her hair was damp and her fingers shook
And her skin was warm
And she turned to him
And he thought he knew what love was

Later on at fifty-four sitting on the porch
All the children gone
She was beautiful to him
And her hair was gray and her forehead lined
And her skin was warm
And she turned to him
And he thought he knew what love was

Their last touch at eighty-five was by her bed
And the moon was full
She was beautiful to him
And her hair was thin and her eyes were closed
And her skin was cold
And she turned to him
And he knew that he knew what love was

After sixty eight years of laughter and tears
He knew that he knew what love was.

Grandpa....

Last night I felt as if time was standing still, and yet I felt as if it was moving at a million miles per hour.
Yesterday morning I found out that my Grandpa Israelsen, along with my sweet grandma had made a decision that I hope I never have to make. The decided that rather than have my grandpa go through a very difficult surgery that would most likely result in him having to rely on machines for the rest of his life, that he would instead return home from Mkay Dee hospital in Ogden and live out his last few days amongst family and loved ones.
As soon as we could, we went over to visit him. We were amongst cousins, uncles, aunts and sweet, sweet grandma. As soon as he was alert, we were able to talk to grandpa. He looked so happy and peaceful. It was so hard to believe that he won't be around much longer. That he is on his way to a much better place.
As more family arrived, we all gathered around grandpa and sang songs. "I am a Child of God", "Home on the Range" and "God Bless America" were just a few.. I will never forget that experience. Looking around at all my cousins... seeing the tears in their eyes. We all love grandpa so much. He made each one of us feel like we were his best friend. I can't imagine life without him. He told us that we need to remember to "Seek ye first the kingdom of God..." He also said that he hopes he can endure to the end. He already has. I hope and pray that I can be like my grandpa. I want to be so prepared when the time comes, that I would not be afraid to pull the plug and accept that my time has come.
I was wanting to badly to somehow express to him how much I love him, but when the time came, all I could find were tears. I felt so strongly that I needed to tell him I love him, and then my opportunity presented itself... My aunts needed help emptying his urinal because no one knew how, so I did it for them and walked them all through the process. I think that sort of opened up the door for me and I became his unofficial nurse for the night. I then took out his IV's in hopes that he would feel more comfortable without them. I was also able to oversee his transfer into bed and felt like everyone was turning to me for advice. It was so nice to be able to give them sound answers and feel like I was in some way being of help. After everyone else had left, I was overcome with a wonderful feeling that I had finally told him I love him. I had told him through my actions. I am so grateful I was able to help him. And if I never get another thing out of all the time and money I have spent on nursing school, it will all be worth it for what I was able to do for my grandpa last night.
Before we left, my grandma sweetly asked Scott if he could remove my grandpa's wedding ring. When he told me this, I completely broke down. I felt so blessed to have been able to be there at that time and to be a part of his last hours. I am so grateful for the gospel and knowledge that we all have of the Atonement. What a glorious blessing it is.
I love you Grandpa!