Oh, What a Year!

It's been almost a year since my last post! Life has been challenging, downright hard, busy, crazy, sad, wonderful, and full of joy. The challenge now is to document concisely all that has happened in the last year. I'll have to do it in small bites, beginning with just one picture that represents the greatest joy of the year- the wedding of our son Brian David Tanner and Amy Jeppsen in the Bountiful Temple on May 25, 2012. All of our children were with us as Brian and Amy were sealed for time and all eternity. It was one of the most joyful days of my life. All our grandchildren were waiting outside when Brian and Amy came out of the temple and we had a rare moment when we were all together. It felt like a grand preview of what a family reunion could be in the eternities!

Well Done, Thou Good and Faithful Servant

Early Saturday morning, August 13, 2011, a giant of a man returned to His beloved Father in Heaven. Merlynn M. Tanner, died quickly and quietly, just as he had wished. Only two weeks before, David and I had visited him and his sweet eternal companion, Martha, and he expressed the desire to just quietly slip away in his sleep. He said he had a good life and it could be as soon as the next week, although his cardiologist recently joked that since he’d made it to 95, now he was going for 100.

We were in Oregon, staying right on the beach, with all of our children and grandchildren, when we got the call. It was David’s birthday, as well. While it was not totally unexpected, the reality is that nothing really prepared us for the finality of Dad’s death. But the timing for such an experience really could not have been better, with our family gathered all around in a beautiful, comfortable home and the opportunity to tell them of the goodness of their Grandpa Tanner, that his greatest desire for his posterity was for them to live the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to bear testimony of Our Heavenly Father’s great Plan of Salvation. We were quite overwhelmed with the immediate response of our children to all be in Payson to celebrate Grandpa’s life and to support Grandma. They and their spouses have made great sacrifices to allow this to come to pass. Grandpa would be so proud of them and Grandma will be so happy to have them all there.

Merlynn grew up in Payson, Utah, where he had a childhood of one adventure after another and a number of brushes with death. He recently made a CD of stories from his life, which focused on his childhood and which delighted the family and really connected with the great grandchildren. He served in the Navy during World War II, which was ironic because he never learned to swim during his long life. He returned to Payson after his service and spent the rest of his life in the place that he loved and where his roots went deep, the descendant of pioneers who helped settle Payson. He was smitten with a pretty girl from Spanish Fork and they married and built a home in Payson, where they raised 6 children. Two weeks ago, they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. Dad was devoted to his wife and they worked side by side throughout his life, raising their family, making a comfortable home, bottling the fruits of their garden, and always serving those around them. His garden was legendary and much of their produce over the years was shared with neighbors and those who were in need. Each of the grandchildren and many great grandchildren spent time in Grandpa’s garden, where he taught them how to harvest, where they enjoyed lots of fresh tasty samples, and where Grandpa shared important life lessons. Dad and Mom enjoyed traveling and loved seeing Europe, Scandinavia, the Holy Land, among other interesting places. They served a mission in Seattle, Washington, working primarily with refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia, teaching them life skills that they would need in their totally foreign new culture. Following their return from their mission, they served for 19 ½ years as ordinance workers in the Provo Temple. Most recently, Dad was the tender care-giver for Martha, never missing a beat, even with a tired heart that just kept on ticking. We were all amazed that he just kept going and going!

In his younger years, Merlynn was the proud owner/manager of Payson Furniture and was known for his honesty and customer service. For over 30 years, he personally delivered furniture, appliances, and installed carpet and drapes in a multitude of homes in the Payson area and in Utah and Juab Counties. He was involved in his community, principally with the Chamber of Commerce and the Lions Club, and was instrumental in saving the historic Peteetneet School to be used as a community center and in establishing the Tanner Room in the center, which contains Tanner Family history. It was, however, as a member of the Park Ward Bishopric and then as the Bishop of the Park Ward that he had his greatest influence for good in Payson. He was known for his charity and service to his beloved Park Ward. He was also known for helping to start the annual Salmon Supper in the city park as a means to raise money for the Ward budget and his legacy continues today as Payson City later took over the wildly successful event, holding the latest Supper just last weekend. His lifelong love affair with horses began when Dad was 4 years old and he reluctantly gave up his horses only a few years ago when he felt that he was getting too old to ride. One of his favorite sayings was “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” One of his last big adventures was riding into the Grand Canyon, at the age of 86, on the back of a mule named Hoot.

Dad was a man of integrity who taught by word and deed the importance of living worthy of the great Tanner name. His dry humor was legendary, but he will also be remembered for the many times his voice choked with emotion as he expressed his love for his children and grandchildren and his testimony of the Gospel. At the end of the CD he made in January, his parting counsel to his family was to serve the Lord and keep the commandments. His life-long example of faith, obedience to the Gospel, working hard, and of charity and service is an amazing legacy to his posterity. Elder M. Russell Ballard told a story in the last General Conference of a prospector who patiently accumulated flecks of gold until he had great wealth. Elder Ballard spoke of the flecks of gospel gold patiently accumulated over a lifetime until they grow to be our ultimate treasure- the precious gift of eternal life. Though losing Dad is hard and sad, we are filled with joy in knowing that Dad patiently accumulated those flecks of gospel gold over his lifetime and we know that he has earned his reward of eternal life.

Words to Live By

Last night, David and I attended a lecture by Virginia Hinckley Pearce, daughter of President Gordon B. Hinckley and Marjorie Pay Hinckley. Her lecture was part of a series of lectures, "Women of Conviction," sponsored by the Church History Library. Sister Pearce is a wonderful speaker and the perfect person to give a lecture on her mother. She is wonderfully upbeat and she reminds me of her mother, with her ease in speaking with any audience and her cute sense of humor.

Sister Pearce said that it was hard to narrow down what to say about her mother, but she settled on three themes that reflect the essence of her mother:

Be Content with Yourself and Your Life

Sister Hinckley was content with her life and herself and that led to her always having gratitude in her heart and expressing it often. She was "thrilled" with her life much of the time. She never had a feeling of entitlement, a theme that is being talked about a lot these days and which ensnares many of today's youth and society. She had a practical approach to life and she was known for doing whatever was needed with a cheerful heart. She met life with optimism, was not a complainer, and she had a wonderful sense of humor. She was once asked, "What is the key to a happy marriage?" and she replied, without missing a beat, "Lower your expectations!"

Encourage Others

When you are content with yourself, you can reach out and encourage others and appreciate others. She always found those whom she knew and and those she met, around the world and in many different situations, to be so interesting and she learned from them, encouraged them, and appreciated them. She did what she could and didn't deride herself for what she didn't do. She knew that encouragement touched and entered hearts and made people better.

Consecrate Yourself to the Kingdom

Whatever her situation, the situation of her family, or that of her husband and herself, she joyfully embraced the situation and did all that she could to build the kingdom of God and uplift His children. She jokingly said, "It is ridiculously exhausting to be a member of the true church!" But, she loved every minute! Her whole life was lived to be "one more voice to declare that God lives and this is His work!"

The lecture was so refreshing and uplifting! These truly are great words to live by! Here is a favorite quote by Sister Hinckley that expresses the theme of her life and how she did arrive at the pearly gates! Click on the quote to enlarge it and enjoy more words to live by . . . .

Stood Up

A postscript to the last post, "Back to the Books!" . . . I was supposed to teach the Prenatal Class for LDS Family Services on Saturday (they are held every 2 months). I was doing it solo since both of the other R.N.'s were busy. Since I didn't know exactly who would show up and how far along they were in their pregnancies, I prepared for teaching about the first half of pregnancy/nutrition, etc. and the second half of pregnancy/labor and delivery/postpartum, etc. It was a lot of preparation!

Three birth mothers were signed up and two others were expected. I was there early and got set up and the caseworker who has responsibility for the prenatal class was there early, as well. Then, we waited, and we waited, and we waited. None of the birth mothers showed up! After waiting 45 minutes, we gave it up. The caseworker told me that one of the hardest things about working with birth mothers is that they are predominantly teenagers and they are less than responsible.

Maybe they were all extra-tired on a late Saturday morning, maybe it's summer and a class is not on their summer radar screens, maybe they just forgot. Oh,well . . . The best part of a disappointing situation is that I'm prepared for the next class, whichever segment they want me to teach!

Back to the Books!

Yesterday, I had the exciting experience of attending a prenatal classs for birth mothers at the LDS Family Services office in Centerville. After working with the agency for 3 1/2 years as Church Service Missionaries, it has been hard to leave such a wonderful calling. I had told our supervisor that I would love to be involved with the prenatal class, but he indicated that there was not an opening at the time. But, a couple of weeks ago, I got a call saying that they had lost a nurse and would like for me to be involved. I was really excited!

At the class, there were 2 birth mothers, both 16, one who came with an aunt and one who came with her best friend. One was 7 months along and placing her baby boy and the other was 4 months along and undecided at this time on whether to keep or place her baby boy. Since both were past their first trimester, the lesson focused on labor, birth, and postpartum.

The nurse who taught the class was so cute and she did a great job. When I met her, we both thought we knew each other. It turns out that she was a friend from high school of my daughter,Julie. She has not been able to have children and she has adopted two children through LDS Family Services and has been a volunteer for years, in various capacities. The atmosphere was very friendly and casual and lunch was served, so it made a very comfortable experience for the birth mothers. A cute adoption case worker was there, so she participated, and I was able to make a few comments, as well.

I am excited about this opportunity to teach and to serve. It will be a fun experience, but I'm afraid I am going to have to do some studying about obstetrics. My experience has been in Allergy and Urology and it has been a lot of years since my OB/Peds classes and rotations at the hospital. The manual for the class is wonderful! It is very comprehensive, with lots of pictures, illustrations, and diagrams and it is very understandable for the birth mothers.I've also pulled out my book from nursing school and I have a copy of The Mayo Clinic Complete Book of Pregnancy. It would be great if I could attend a labor and delivery sometime. Maybe I will have the opportunity with one of the birth mothers, if they need a support person during labor and delivery. The other part of the assignment involves attending the birth parent support group one or two times a month, to be on hand for questions that may come up and to encourage attendance for the prenatal classes, which are held every other month.

I guess I'm official since they had me listed on the card that they handed out to the birth mothers. Now I'm on-call for questions and issues so I'm serious about getting back to the books and learning so that I can be prepared!

It's Good News!

(Hopefully, the same could be said of all nurses!)

Yesterday, I went for my stress echocardiogram and, while my diagnosis remains the same, everything looks really good. Dr. Fowles said that the results were even better than he expected and he expects me to do really well with the condition. He showed me on the echo images exactly where the thickening is and said that it is in the best possible place it could be and not obstructing the blood flow into the aorta. The stress test did not change things- no arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), no worsening of the flow with exercise, and it ruled out two more serious conditions. He cleared me for exercise, saying that I would not have a sudden cardiac arrest because of my condition. He said I couldn't run or train for any marathons, half-marathons, etc., (Sorry, I can’t run a Wasatch Back!) but I can run a 5K if I stay within the bounds he has set: heart rate no higher than 120 and stay hydrated. He went over the history of how the pericarditis had initially brought me in but was unrelated to the hypertrophy, and he showed me the labs that showed dramatic improvement with treatment for the pericarditis. He also reported that the month-long cardiac monitoring showed no abnormalities, as well. So, it’s all good!

It is crazy to think that I am now a cardiac patient and I am now on Dr. Fowles’ "radar screen." He says that he will follow me closely- check-ups every 6 months and yearly re-evaluations with echos and stress tests. His biggest caution was against dehydration. He emphasized that I would be in big trouble if I became dehydrated. He wants me to “drink enough to pee every hour!” That will be hard since I have never been good at drinking water, but I’ve gotten better since my last appointment and his instructions then.

So, it is a big relief to finally have some definitive data and “a plan.” However, I cannot deny nor forget the absolute peace and calm that I have felt from the very beginning of this experience. What a tender mercy of the Lord! I have felt that I have been in His hands, no matter what the outcome. While I have prayed for the blessing of healing if it be the Lord’s will, I have also felt ok with a “but if not” outcome. I have been blessed by the prayers of my family (What a tender experience to hear my grandsons praying for my heart!) and friends; having my name on the prayer rolls of a number of temples; and having been anointed by my son, joined by my son-in-law, and blessed through the holy Melchizedek Priesthood, by my husband. It is true that my heart is literally enlarged, but it has been enlarged, as well, with gratitude for my many blessings!

Time Out!

My daughters are all busy moms, right smack in the middle of raising our 12 grandchildren. Each of them have 4 busy, amazing kids. As in most families, on occasion, the kids get a little challenged and need a some personal time out for their own good and for the good of the mom and the family. What's true for kids is true for moms, as well- sometimes in the midst of busy, challenging lives it's good for some personal time out for the good of the mom and the family. So, that's just what happened last weekend. My daughters came from Portland, Los Angeles, and Seattle, and I came from Salt Lake to enjoy a time out experience in Seattle.

The whole idea started "cooking" back in November when I attended Time Out For Women in Salt Lake with friends. As I looked around, I saw so many moms with their daughters. Having experienced many BYU Education Weeks and BYU Women's Conferences, I had always hoped that someday I would be able to attend a Women's Conference or Education Week with my daughters, but having a baby in tow is problematic. But, at TOFW, there were lots of nursing mothers in the group. I sat there and thought, "We could do this!" I checked the locations for TOFW and found one in Seattle.Perfect! So, for Christmas, I gave my daughters an experience rather than a tangible gift. Each received an invitation to Time Out for Women as her gift. Judging from one daughter's reaction (She was visiting us at Christmas.), it was a pretty exciting gift. She had tears in her eyes as she read her invitation. We have all been excited for 4 months and it really did happen- last weekend! Of course, lots of arrangements had to be made and, it never could have happened without the help of our awesome sons-in-laws and cooperative kids. I owe a huge "THANKS!!" to husbands/dads, Lance, Brad, Tom, and husband/grandpa, David. THEY made it happen!

Emily had the great idea of going up on Thursday instead of Friday morning, so we met Julie and Amy for lunch at an Italian restaurant, before Amy got a new "do" for her birthday and, later, Emily got a new look at the Olson "salon," while I taught my daughters and granddaughters how to make organza flowers, just for fun.
Friday morning, Amy had a "gig" at Julie's daughter's first grade class doing a dramatic re-telling of "The Real Story of the Three Little Pigs." Amy was famous for her rendition in her younger years. What a fun flashback for all of us and the first graders loved the story and the popcorn we brought for the show.

We met my sister, Jennifer, for lunch at a fabulous Vietnamese restaurant in the Asian district of Seattle. The food was incredible, as well as beautiful,and it was so fun for Jennifer to visit with all my daughters at one time. What a GREAT memory!! After lunch, the girls and I went shopping at our favorite spot in Seattle- Goodwill. A trip to Goodwill to do school clothes shoppping was always a highlight of our summer trips to Seattle, so this was a trip down memory lane, plus Emily really scored this trip. We used our Marriott rewards points to stay in downtown Seattle- very convenient for the TOFW events Friday night and Saturday. After the session on Friday, we went to the hotel for a chocolate fix and surprised each other with Mothers' Day gifts.
Though the best part of the weekend was just being together, the TOFW events were great. The speakers were wonderful and the music was fun- Saturday especially, since none of us are big fans of the Friday night music guy. We all took away significant thoughts and impressions and we all were "recharged" and ready to go back home and implement things that we learned into our real lives. The theme of the conference was "Choose to Become," based on the scripture in Mark 9:23, "All things are possible to him that believeth." Each speaker took a different "take" on the theme. Michael Wilcox was one of my favorites and he spoke about learning and knowing as the key to becoming. He recently lost his wife and he shared some tender thoughts and told us that the only question that the Lord has answered about his wife's experience in the Spirit World is about what she is doing. He has gotten a definitive answer- "She is learning." She is doing more of what she was doing on the earth- learning and becoming. My other most favorite speaker was Emily Freeman, who challenged us to choose to become closer to the Lord; choose to become His. She wove Mosiah 5:12 and Isaiah 49 together, speaking of taking upon us the name of Christ and having His name written always in our hearts and never forgetting the promise that the Lord will never forget us, for we are graven upon the palms of His hands.

The whole weekend was non-stop fun and full of great experiences with my daughters. Here we are enjoying another great meal, this time at the Seattle Art Museum Cafe, during our lunch break on Saturday. Notice that Amy's Jack was having a great time, as well. He was awesome!It was great that the weekend was so close to Mother's Day, as well. It was the best gift I could have ever given them AND myself. We all agreed that it was an awesome "time out" experience and that we'd love to do it again. Yeah for TOFW!