Pioneer day

Today we celebrated pioneer day. Alex and Kim came over for lunch and we were able to eat, chat and play a baseball-like game that Alex learned in the Dominican republic. And lena cooperated for most of the time. Was a really good afternoon.

Lena's cute toes hanging out of the car seat

Kim taking her turn at bat

Pioneer

Pioneer: (noun)

1) a person who is among those who first enter or settle a region; 

2) one who is first or among the earliest in any field of inquiry, enterprise, or progress

Today, as we celebrate pioneer day, we think about and remember those who came across on the plains many years ago and first settled Salt Lake City. While we spend time remembering those who sacrificed to come here, I went back through my family history and found the pioneers in my own family.

I found those who match the first definition of pioneer - a person who is among those who first enter or settle a region.

• Martina Concordia Peterson Madsen
• Carl Nilsson Rosberg and Helena Jonsson Eriksson. Helena and her husband Carl came to America from Sweden by boat in 1858 a few months after their twins were born. They arrived in New York and took a train to Missouri to meet up with the saints. As they arrived in Missouri, they were attacked by a mob and almost drowned. They were counseled by Brigham Young to go to Utah, getting there by handcart.

There are also a number of people in my family who match the second definition of pioneer: one who is first or among the earliest in any field of inquiry, enterprise, or progress

• Hans Olson Magleby - baptized in 1855
• Jens Larson Jenson - baptized in 1855
• James Hooper  - baptized in 1868
• James Hayes Hooper - baptized in 1870
• ELizabeth Naomi Parker Hooper - baptized in 1870
• Lena Cecilia Wallin - baptized in 1901
• Richard Wesley McAllister - baptized in 1861
• Thomas Chamberlain - baptized in 1845

Most of my ancestors have been members of the church for quite a while. If we go back far enough in my family history line, I am able to find lots of family members who made the sacrifice to join the church. But, in Lewis's family history, the pioneers are much closer.

• Eugene Vernon Goodrum Jr (Lewis's grandfather) - baptized in 1961
• Margaret Sue Pool (Lewis's grandmother) - baptized in 1960
• Lou Goodrum (Lewis's father)
• Lani Goodrum (Lewis's mother)

I don't know when Lou and Lani were baptized, but they took the first steps in their family to become pioneers and become the first to join the church. Lou's entire family took those first steps. Lani was the only one in her family to make the change.

How grateful I am for the sacrifices that these individuals made many years ago to become members of this gospel and to leave their homes and travel to Salt Lake to join with the rest of the saints. And I'm grateful for the current pioneers that exist in my life and the fact that I can be a pioneer in my own family. A few weeks ago at church, our bishop talked about making the sacrifice to be pioneers in our own families, even though we're all already members of the church. But, to be pioneers, we can make certain changes in our lives to be better than we were before. We can "be the first in any field of progress," making positive changes in our families that can continue to be passed on.

Car accident

Three years ago today I was involved in a car accident that almost took my life. I was driving on I-15 toward the airport to catch a plane home to visit my family and see a cubs game. I don't remember any part of the accident but witnesses told police I was cut off from my left side. To avoid an accident, I merged to the lane to my right only to be rear ended by a semi truck.

poor little Miko

When the hospital discovered who I was, they called my mom and told her to get to Utah as fast as she could - I wasn't in very good condition. My brain was bruised and bleeding. If it didn't stop soon, they were going to have to cut my skull open to give my brain room to continue swelling. Luckily, that didn't have to happen.

I spent a few days in the ICU and then about a week in another floor of the hospital trying to recover before I was discharged to the hospital in Provo to begin a few weeks of rehab.

It's been three years and I still haven't had the courage to take the pictures of the accident off my computer. I keep them there as a reminder. So I don't forget. As I look back on this experience, I realize how truly lucky and blessed I was. Not a lot of people recover as quickly or as well as I did. I have a good family friend currently going through a very similar situation to what I had. She is making remarkable progress but is still in the hospital trying to learn, grow and recover from her brain injury. The Lord is truly on her side in helping her take large steps of improvement.

I don't remember most (or any) of my time in the hospitals but I do remember one doctor appointment I had towards the end of my time there when the doctor said he didn't know why I was healing so fast. And three years later, I still don't know why my time in the hospital was so short.

Ironically, I look back and am actually grateful for this experience. While I did lose my precious car, Miko, I'm glad that the lord trusted me enough to have this trial. There was so much that I learned in the hospital and as I went home to recover. In no particular order, here's what I learned from this trial:

• I learned how many people really loved and cared about me and my family. There were people all over the nation who were praying and fasting for me and my family. How grateful I am for their love and concern. Without those prayers and constant thoughts and well-wishes, I don't think I would be where I am.
• I learned how much my family truly, honestly cares about me. My mom flew out to Utah as soon as she heard. She found a plane coming to Utah that night, and she made sure that she was on it. My dad came out early the next morning. When Todd found out, he had just landed in Dallas, returning from a business trip. As he heard the news of my situation, he turned around without even leaving the airport (or picking up his bag from the baggage claim), bought a ticket to come to Utah and flew here with nothing but the clothes on his back. Clark and Alicia, my family living here in Utah, were at the hospital as often as their schedules would allow. Even with me yelling, screaming, and telling Clark that he didn't know what he was talking about when it came to medicine (I don't remember any of this), they still came to support me. And Steven was there, too. He came out with my dad one of the times my dad flew out. I don't remember how many times my dad came out, but Steven was right by his side during one those trips.
• I learned how much Lewis, my boyfriend of 10 days at that point, cared about me. He drove to the hospital almost every day. Even though it was an hour a way from him and he was still in school and working part time. And even though he wasn't sure if I'd even remember who he was. But he was there through it all. Apparently, one time he came and I asked him for a kiss before he left. And according to my mom, I was always in a better mood when Lewis either called or stopped by.
• I learned once again of the power of the atonement. As I went through all the pain of trying to recover, I had to keep reminding myself that Christ had already felt all of this. He had suffered for this accident. He knew what my constant headaches felt like. He knew of my inability and pain to sit up on my own. He knew of the burden I felt to my friends and family as I went home and tried to live a normal life again. He had felt it all. And I knew I could rely on Him to get my through this trial.
• I learned, also, of the power of fasting and prayer. There were hundreds (maybe) of people, like I already mentioned, who were praying and fasting for me. God heard and answered those prayers. He helped heal me quickly than I probably deserved. But those prayers were answered and I was given another opportunity to enjoy and (hopefully) appreciate life.

There were many times after the accident (and still now) that I wonder: 

why?

Why did this have to happen? And why did it have to happen to me. When I drive on the freeway, I'm still afraid to drive next to semi trucks. I had constant headaches everyday for about a year. My short-term memory had been affected and it was affecting my ability to do well in school. So why did this have to happen?

I still don't think I know why this happened. I don't know what it's ultimate purpose was. But I hope that I remember those large lessons that truly made an impact in my life: that I'm loved beyond anything I can imagine. That the atonement, prayer, and fasting are real. Heavenly Father and Christ are truly on our side and looking out for us, no matter what situation we're in. And even if I hadn't healed as fast or as well, I know that they would still have been on my side, cheering for me to continue to get better.

And this life is something that we should never take for granted. We've been blessed more than we know. There's beauty all around us, beauty that we should always be aware of. There's beauty in life, love, nature, laughter. And even beauty in the trials that we face. For it's truly in those trials, when we reach for our Savior's hand, that the veil is as thin as it could be. And we can feel the love of our Heavenly Father and Savior. And we can feel their arms around us.

So while I'm still facing the side-effects of this trial, I'm grateful that it happened. I hope to see the answer to the "WHY" as my life continues. But maybe the answer is just so I would learn those lessons. And each year, I look back and remember, and hopefully continue to learn.

with my dad

with Toby, the dog they sent in to help with emotional stability of the patients in ICU

with Lewis

my mom, stealing my bed. there with me every day for weeks

clark, alicia and grandma

lewis, helping me with rehab

Lena's name

While doing family history, the name Lena always caught my attention. I've always thought that it was beautiful and wanted to use it for one of my girls. As my Lena's birth approached, I knew that the name Lena had been in my family, but I couldn't remember where it belonged in my family line. A few weeks before Lena was born, Lewis and I were at my grandparent's house celebrating mother's day and my grandpa's birthday. My cousins were asking me what names we liked and I mentioned Lena. It was then that my grandpa said, "that was my grandmother's name."

Lena's presence in our family line was closer than I thought. That day, I went home, logged into my family history account, found Lena's information and tried to do some research on Lena Cecilia Wallin. There was nothing on google. Or ancestry.com. I was starting to get discouraged.

Then I remembered that my grandmother is an avid historian, and she had just given me a binder full of stories from her's and my grandfather's family history. So I pulled it open and began digging through until I found the recap of her life. My grandmother typed up and saved a personal history written by Lena herself.

She wrote of special experiences in her life that had stuck out to her:

• tracing through the snow to get home
• trying to care for a wounded blue jay her father had given her
• getting up early in the summer time to go pick berries
• gathering and roasting nuts by the fire with her family
• avoiding the animals around her house that she and her siblings were afraid of: wolves, snakes, and owls
• working the the fields planting potatoes, corn, and pumpkin
• going boating with friends at White Bear Lake in Minnesota
• lots of spiritual experiences where she felt she had been led by the spirit of Heavenly Father

Then she told of significant life events:

• Her parents came to America from Sweden and lived in Rockford, Illinois. They met and were married in 1870. Lena was born in 1871
• When Lena was 13 years old, her mother passed away from cancer
• She moved to the city to work in a knitting factory trying to help raise money for her family
• Eventually, she found work in a shoe factory in Omaha during the great depression
• On December 31, 1895, she married my great-grandfather, Magnus A. Herlin.
• They didn't have much money and she said, "we were happy, the hard times were still with us."
• Two years after they were married, Magnus contracted typhoid and died, leaving her alone with their two young children
• She moved back to Rockford to be near family.
• While there, her 6 month old baby, Floyd Anton, died in 1898.
• She and her other son, Mauritz Arnold, moved to Dixon so Lena could work in another shoe factory
• In Dixon, she met missionaries for our church
• On June 25, 1901, Lena and her sister, Ella were baptized in the Mississippi River
• In 1913, she made the trek to Salt Lake City
• She did temple work and was a relief society teacher in her ward
• She sewed in the Red Cross during World War I
• Eventually, she lost her hearing and had to stop volunteering where she was able. She couldn't hear what was being said at her church meetings

She sounded like an amazing lady, who went through a lot of trials but still managed to have a positive attitude throughout it all. My Lena wasn't named after this Lena. We liked the name Lena so that's why we decided to use it. But I am glad that another woman who shared her name was such a wonderful example.

newborn photo shoot

A few months ago, I won a free photoshoot with Tami Chandler Photography. Her photographs are beautiful! I fell in love with them almost immediately and was just so excited when I found out that I won the free photoshoot! Here are some of the pictures that she took. We love them.

love the puckered lips

bubbles!

love her almost smile!

baby blessing

A couple weeks ago, we were able to give baby Lena her blessing at church. I am glad that I didn't have to go out and find a dress to Lena to wear during her blessing. She was able to wear the dress that I wore in my blessing 23 years ago. I thought that was really special. Maybe her daughters will be able to wear it, too. Plus, the hat had a bonnet that came with it, and she looked so adorable in it! I was a happy momma.


Most of our family members were all able to fly in for the event. We missed having Todd, and Eric and Anne-Marie's family. But I think it was special to have all those who came. We had a lot of family members in the circle:

• Lewis
• Lou
• Alex
• Dad
• Grandpa Herlin
• Clark
• Steve

It was a beautiful blessing. It was a special moment that Lewis and I were able to share together. And a special moment we were able to share with our siblings, parents, and grandparents.

the cute little bonnet!

happy family

with our parents

4 generations on the Herlin side

4 generations on the McAllister side

us and my parents

tummy time with dad

There are two things that Lewis has claimed as his own: tummy time and bath time. He is so good at both of them. And I'm not so good at either of them. So it's a good things that I've got my other half to take care of those.

It's so fun for me to watch Lewis interact with little Le. He loves her and always makes sure she's happy and healthy. And if I don't do tummy time, Lewis always makes sure it's done before bed!

the many faces of Lena

Had a fun photoshoot today. Trying to catch a smile.

loving the bubbles

love this adorable face when she wakes up from her nap

smile!

playing with dad

smile!

love this little face :)

It's been so fun to watch her reaction to me as I come into her room when she wakes up from her nap. When she sees me come in, she'll put on that smiley face! (it's probably because she knows her meal is there. But still. A smile's a smile and I'll take it!)

Smiles

The fun has started. This morning I got a half smile.

And this afternoon I got this toothless grin!

Love my little girl