The Atkin Family: July 2016

School started winding down in May and the kids got out on the 26th. Of course that meant that school was winding for Joe and I, too, so it was a pretty crazy time. Joe and I were both out of days off, too. I was really glad that I was only working part-time because I was able to still make it to some school events that were in the morning. The first was Elizabeth's guitar concert.

I thought it was pretty cool that the 5th graders at their school got to learn a few chords on the guitar:

I was really impressed with how they sounded. Some of the songs were really beautiful.

A fun one they did was "Yellow Submarine"--complete with cardboard submarine in the background. It was a fun assembly.

The 5th grade also put on a play about the Revolutionary War. Each class had a section. She got title role of her section (a spirited young girl named Sophie). She worked hard learning all her lines. She was very nervous but for no reason because she did fantastic. Her class seemed to know their lines the best and all did great.

Here's the only picture I have:

Then came Nate's kindergarten graduation. This was our first one. I don't remember any kind of graduation when Elizabeth finished kindergarten, and Natalie skipped it part-way through the year. I was kind of skeptical at first, not really sure what the point of it was, but I have to admit that I LOVED it. It was so adorable and fun. Especially the way they did it, full of cute songs.

Here was our little graduate:

He was really funny to watch. He was really good about singing the songs, even though he didn't want to, until it came to the one he was dreading, "Tooty Ta."

He barely did it and made this face the whole time:

He cracks me up.

Here he is singing some other songs. I especially loved "You Are My Sunshine" in sign language.

I teared up a little bit. Nothing new there, I guess. :)

They had a really cute part where they all said what they wanted to be when they grew up. Nate said he wanted to be an artist. I had no idea!

My boys:

Next year, it's on to first grade!

Natalie had a great 4th grade year. She was in gifted and talented this year and absolutely loved it. She had different teachers for both halves of the year but seemed to like them both, especially the second half teacher, Mrs. Jones. She loved the freedom of that class and really seemed to thrive there. Her teacher told us that Natalie was a leader in the class. We were proud of how she worked hard to improve her math grade, too.

The only picture I have of Natalie is from the end-of-year school carnival.

She and her best friend, Hailey:

It was another great year!

Grandma Mary celebrated her 90th birthday in April. Uncle John arranged for a time for any family that could to come do temple sealings for some family names in honor of the day. Sadly, Grandma had been sick and in the hospital not long before so she wasn't up for attending. Those of us that could make it had a really special time in the temple that night.

I could feel the Spirit really strongly and it was a wonderful night.

(Quick aside: I have to sneak in this picture of the cousins doing karaoke. They sang the most annoying song they could think of over and over. :)

Anyway, not long after that, Grandma took a turn for the worse and it became clear that she didn't have much time left. The amazing thing was that she was lucid and herself right up until the end. She was able to visit with the many, many people who love her either on the phone or in person before she passed. Joe and I were able to have some time with her and I loved it. The special thing about living in Twin Falls is that we were able to be pretty involved. Joe was able to leave work and go over and was there with her when she passed. I know it was a sacred experience for him.

Soon after, the funeral was planned. The night before, we were able to swim with cousins at their hotel. They had a blast taking over that small pool.

Fun Aunt Gina:

Lily's cheerleading tricks:

They all love cute Archer:

The morning of the funeral, Joe was able to go on a beautiful hike with some of his cousins:

The funeral was really beautiful. Emma represented the grandkids and did such a great job. Tom and his siblings all gave really heartfelt, beautiful talks.

Some pictures from the burial:

Sure love these good men:

The big group shot from the luncheon:

Grandma was such an important person in Joe's life.

Especially during his teenage years:

I am so thankful for her faithful influence on him. I know it definitely helped shape him into the man he became.

She and Grandpa Atkin created something really remarkable. As someone coming in from the outside, I could recognize how remarkable it was. They created a truly loving, inclusive, big extended family. I remember my first Atkinder soon after Joe and I were married and all I ever felt from Grandma and everyone else there was love and happiness that I was there joining them. I think this feeling originated from Grandma. As Tom quoted during her funeral, one of her favorite couplets was:

They drew a circle that cut him out

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout

But love and I had the will to win

We drew a circle that drew him in.

She was the kind of person that took in a struggling teenager and made him a part of the family, that adopted a refugee family from Cambodia and made them family, that loved all of her family unconditionally. The Atkin family is a pretty diverse group but they sure love and take care of each other. I am so grateful for that.

I loved the story that Laura Lee told at the funeral about her mom. She said she asked her at some occasion (an anniversary or something) if she would have gone through with marrying her husband and everything if she knew what her life would be like, expecting a positive response. Grandma, with her typical wit and honesty said probably not! She did not have an easy road. She lost two of her children to tragic accidents.

She wrote this in a stake conference she gave a few years ago about that time after her 15 year old daughter died:

We gathered for family prayer and my husband wisely counseled, We can be angry and bitter, and we will crumble—or we can grow from this experience—THERE IS NO IN BETWEEN. We need to trust the Lord and accept His will. Another of Mother's songs: You gotta accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative and don't mess with Mr. Inbetween.

Hope, faith, patience and gratitude are keys. Elder Hales taught in the May Friend, ”What can we do when hard things happen to us? We were not sent just to be born. We were sent to endure and to return to Him with honor. As we put our faith in the Lord and keep our focus on the eternities, we will be blessed to be able to accept whatever trials we are given. There is nothing that we are enduring that Jesus does not understand. And He waits for us to go to our Heavenly Father in prayer. If we will be obedient and if we are diligent, [and patient] our prayers will be answered, our problems will diminish and we will be close to the Lord and feel of His love and the comfort of the Holy Ghost. I submit that enduring well whatever we are given, brings joy, contentment and peace HERE AND NOW. President Thomas S Monson taught in a CES fireside in 2001: Live with proper perspective. The past is behind—we must learn from it. The future is ahead—we must prepare for it. The present is now—we must live it. (close quote) We are commanded to be of good cheer. HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE. Life is fragile. We do not know when the end will be for any of us. To some, the end comes early, suddenly. Others may have a warning—a long illness, a steady decline. Sometimes, the wait is very long. But there is one who knows the end from the beginning, He knows and cares. And he will walk with you and me. There is nothing which we can experience which he has not felt. HE KNOWS AND CARES. IF WE TRUST HIM, OUR TRUST WILL BE REWARDED. HE WILL WALK WITH EACH OF US TO THE END.

Her mother's songs (that she references) are one of things I remember most about her. Just little poems and ditties her mother sang to her that she'd sing sometimes.

I'm sorry for myself.

So sorry for myself.

I'd go home and end it all, but 14 stories is an awful fall

I'm so sorry for myself.

I'm blue as I can be.

My man walked out on me.

I even lost my appetite, couldn't eat my second steak last night

I'm so sorry for myself.

Pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and start all over again!

Somebody said that it couldn't be done. But he, with a chuckle, replied

That maybe it couldn't, but he would be one who wouldn't say so 'til he tried.

So he buckled right in with a bit of a grin on his face

If he worried, he hid it.

And he started to sing as he tackled the thing that couldn't be done

And he Did It!

There’s so much bad in the best of us
And so much good in the worst of us
That it hardly behooves any of us
To speak about the rest of us

She was a wise woman. You just wanted to soak up her wisdom when you were around her. She was also really witty and caring and a wonderful listener. At the funeral luncheon, I saw a friend from book club helping to run it. She told me that she'd been Mary's visiting teacher for a few years. She told me over and over how much she loved her and how she'd feel so much better after visiting with her. Our friend who was in her ward told us that she was subbing as Gospel Doctrine teacher right up to the end and that he felt like he could always count on her to share insights that would bring the Spirit to the lessons.

We'll sure miss visiting her at her duplex, eating her dried apricots and letting the kids play with her toys, and getting her warm hugs.