Sunday

Beth Here Again...

It seems like each Sunday for the past few weeks, I have been too sick to go to church.  It all started with a very bad cold that lasted for a few weeks and then following the tail end of that, I got strep throat a few days ago.  Whew!

I have been working on healing my sore throat with natural remedies (and a little bit of Advil) and so far, I am recovering.  But today, Glen took the kids by himself to church and I am here at home alone.  Because I have been sick so much, I am trying to learn as much as possible from this.  Eating better foods are helping my body to heal and I am still working on getting better sleep.  It will come...

And I know that Glen is a very capable father.  :)  I have seen lots of evidence of this lately.

Last night, I thought about my own father.  Many years ago, he started to get sick and had a lot of fatigue.  He was getting lots of headaches.  He and my mom started to see different doctors so they could find out what was wrong with him.  After a ton of tests, 17 doctors, a job loss, and lots of heartache and prayers, they found what was wrong with and what could be done to help him.

He has fibromyalgia, the same thing that my grandma (his mom) has.  That, along with some other things, were causing his body to break down.  He started eating better foods, exercising, taking a few supplements and some medications and his health has improved significantly.  In fact, his health improved so much, that he was able to go back into the Army a few years ago.  It was a lot of work, but he did it.

And it is still a lot of work now.  He has good days and bad days.  He has a very busy job as an Officer and oftentimes works from early in the morning to late at night, just like other people in the military have to do.

My dad is my hero.  Not only is a hero in how he has handled his adversity with his health, but he is my hero in many other aspects.  He always stands up for what he believes in, even if it isn't popular with others.  He was a convert to the Church and has always served in his callings and attended church.  He has a strong testimony of the Gospel and his faith is strong.  He is forgiving and kind.

One of My Favorite Pictures of My Dad, When Joseph Was A Newborn. 

 Joseph Had Jaundice and Needed Sunlight.

He is loving too.  He shows his love to me every time I see him and is a loving grandfather to my two children.  He hugs them, plays with them, laughs with them, and shows them his super-cool computer games.  And he listens to them as they talk to him.  My children are blessed to have him as a grandfather.  And I am blessed that he is my father.  There is no other like him.

I am blessed to be a part of my family.  While I realize we are all different, and sometimes we can't see each other as often as we'd like, they are really awesome people.  It is fun to be able to call my siblings and parents or to text them.  Their support, their love and their acceptance of me gives me a lot of strength as I fight my battles.  My grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins...they all are wonderful.  

And, even when I am sick, they love me and pray for me.  It's just perfect.