Miracle

 Miracle

                            

We experienced a miracle this week.  Our little Yuna, who we joke is made of rubber because she is so lithe and agile, took a fall off the high dive at the Farmington pool onto the concrete.  She wanted to get a running start for her jump, but the board was slippery.  As she began to slip, she tried to grab onto the side railings, but they were also slippery and could not stop her fall. 

As you can see from the  picture, she gashed open her knee and had to have 9 stitches.  3 on the inside, and 6 on the outside.  The doctors were amazed that she wasn't hurt any worse than she was.  I am so grateful that she was being watched over.  

We found out that she's not totally made of rubber--but almost!

Amelia Christensen gets Married

We attended Amelia Christensen's wedding dinner, wedding and reception.  Several of my siblings were present at wedding dinner up in Logan.  Nan asked me if I was staying the night with Crista.  I said no.  She said, "So you're driving all the way back up tomorrow?"  I answered, "I think the sealing is at the Bountiful Temple."  Nan and Bruce had rented a hotel room in Logan, thinking that the wedding was at the Logan temple.  We got a good laugh out of that, especially when she checked her calendar where she had it right.

 After dinner, several of us went to Aggie ice cream.  Christine and Steve declined because they had a lot to do to get Amelia ready for her wedding day.  Nan and Bruce declined because they were going swimming in the hotel pool.  Liz and Korey Moore joined us since they live right across the parking lot.

Amelia's reception was really nice.  It was at Steve's brother's house (Chad).  It was quite the set-up.  It was fun to continue catching up with Glenn and Bruce.  I also saw a couple of my first cousins, Randy and Roger Smith and their wives.  Randy is my age and lives in Farmington.  We should get together, but we mostly see each other at Costco (about once a year 😊)  Roger lives right by Crista in Logan (he is Christine's age).  He looked up the Vances on his LDS tools and found that they are in the same stake.  They are both Elder's Quorum Presidents in their perspective wards, so hopefully they'll be able to meet each other.  I had previously discovered that Becca Groberg, in my stake, is Geoff Smith's daughter.  She is one of my young women leaders.

Andrea and Roger Smith, Me, Randy and Noreen Smith

Other Events of the Week

We enjoyed "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" this week.
Crista and Ruby drove down to be our dates.  It was a lot of fun.  Crista
even recognized one of the actors as one of her high school friends

The Green's used the cabin this week and had great water and lots of sun from Monday to Friday.  That's a little unusual at the Gorge.  In the picture above: Gunnar, wakeboarding, and Ollie, surfing.

Effie had her birthday date with grandma and grandpa
to choose her birthday gift.  She wanted art supplies.

Ori was finally able to complete the puzzle she got for
her birthday.  They've been sick and stuck at home, so she
made use of her time.

Jennie's been babysitting the Dan Rasband kids while Dan and Jieun are in Boston visiting Geok (spelling?) She gave them all haircuts (except Doyeon who is trying to get used to the idea).

Yuli

Yuna; Dojin

Yuli; Hyeji

What a wonderful life!

Caitlyn and I were talking and she was expressing her feelings about gratitude.  I asked her to write down some of her thoughts so I could share them in the newsletter.  

            Caitlyn:

I have been thinking about gratitude a lot lately and what it means to me. It is easy to get overwhelmed in today’s world as we are surrounded by constant noise and pressure to look or act a certain way. I find myself getting stressed about my family's future and surviving in today’s economy and then I catch myself only thinking of the future and not enjoying the present. It is okay to set goals and work hard for things you want in the future, but it is also important to take a step back and be grateful for what you currently have. Something I have read a lot about lately and also seen the effects of is when you are truly grateful for everything around you, you are greatly blessed. When we are grateful, God gives back what we have given and much much more. It is the circle of life, gratitude will always come back in one form or another. I have seen myself be happier, and more fulfilled, and I have seen multitudes of blessings pour into my life. 

As I’ve thought more and more about gratitude lately, I have seen the importance of it and it has made me think of my family. Sometimes things are hard, It’s been a tough past 3+ years for most of my siblings and it has been hard to watch. My family has gone through health issues, personal trials, etc., and as much as I wished to take away their pain. I couldn’t. I’ve seen my family hurt in various ways and it sucks, but then I stop and think for a moment and change my perspective a little. Having a ginormous family can be overwhelming, exhausting, dramatic, and oh so special and unique. I have 7 siblings that I have great, unique, relationships with. Each of them is so special to me. I’ve thought about all the struggles we’ve been going through and how each and every one of them would be there for me if I needed them. We have this small little army that is always willing to band together and fight for each other when we need it. We forget the drama, we forget the hard, and we are just there and that is extremely special. 

I’ve thought about how life is short and I don’t want to wait until my family members pass away to reflect on how much I loved them or how grateful I was for them. I want them to know it now! Know how I respect and adore each of them for all that they offer. To say thank you for being my sibling/parent/friend. I love how close our family always is, even through all the hardships, I hope we can always choose to band together and stay close no matter what. We have a special gift and I can not thank mom and dad more for having 8 children. My siblings are my best friends. I can’t imagine having 8 kids and how hard that must’ve been, but I am grateful for mom and dad sacrificing so much for us so that we could have each other for all eternity. Sorry guys, you are stuck with me. 

But back to gratitude. I’m not going to wait to tell you all, how much I love you and how incredibly grateful I am for each of you and the amazing life I have. It never is perfect and sometimes it’s hard, but I choose to be grateful for every second of it. An apostle once said, “Gratitude may be increased by constantly reflecting on our blessings and giving thanks for them in our daily prayers.” I love being grateful, because it does bring me joy, and I hope all of you know how grateful I am for the family we have. The Rasband Clan is a pretty incredible thing. I never want to lose sight of what is important. I hope my words are portrayed as I wish them to be and I hope you all know how grateful I am for you. Love you all, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Catharine:

I'll just add to her thoughts that I am also grateful that my family love each other and are there for each other. I love the unity that we have. There have been times through Covid, and even since, that we haven't been able to gather as much as before and I felt our unity suffer because of it. However, Everyone has worked hard to rebuild that unity. We are extremely blessed in our family. I echo Caitlyn's words. I am so grateful for all of the wonderful relationships we share.