Happily Ever After...

My dear little "Pookie",

That's one of my favorite nicknames for you. Your auntie Tam came up with it and it just kind of stuck after that.
Your birthday party was a week ago and turned out great! Well....as great as it can get without the main star there...you. I was hoping that your headstone would have been in by then. I just got an email a couple days ago saying it was in on Wednesday. 4 days late, dang it! If I didn't procrastinate and do it when I first thought about it, it would have been in. At least it's in before the snow came; we would have had to wait until Spring in that case, so that's a good thing. It looks beautiful though, turned out very nice. I like having your picture on it, helps to have a visual.
Your daddy and I were excited to see how it turned out, so we went right to the grave after eating out on our anniversary. Some may say that's a depressing way to spend an anniversary, but I think the complete opposite. It made me happy. New York was our big shabang for our anniversary, so it was nice to just do something simple....and meaningful.

Can you believe your daddy and I have been married for 5 years? It seems like a lot longer than that. The newlywed stage seems like a lifetime ago. I'm sure that's how you feel about this life now that you're in heaven. Hopefully you have good memories of your life here. Even though I can think of so many things I could have done better, we did try our best.

The other day I was reading Your Happily Ever After, it inspired me. I like the part,
"For a moment, think back about your favorite fairy tale. In that story the main character may be a princess or a peasant; she might be a mermaid or a milkmaid, a ruler or a servant. You will find one thing all have in common: they must overcome adversity.
In each of these stories, Cinderella, Belle, and the miller’s daughter have to experience sadness and trial before they can reach their “happily ever after.” Think about it. Has there ever been a person who did not have to go through his or her own dark valley of temptation, trial, and sorrow?"

Adversity is inevitable. It's comes to us all.
"It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how your life’s story will develop. Enduring adversity is not the only thing you must do to experience a happy life. Let me repeat: how you react to adversity and temptation is a critical factor in whether or not you arrive at your own “happily ever after.”
"You are truly royal spirit daughters of Almighty God. You are princesses, destined to become queens. Your own wondrous story has already begun. Your “once upon a time” is now."

To think that our "Once upon a time" is right now, that we are writing our story right now, living it each and every day.... it makes me want to change the way I do things, the way I view things. I want my Once upon a time, trials and all, to make me a better, stronger woman and that I will be able to have my "Happily ever after". Nothing, absolutely nothing could make me more happy than to make it back to my Heavenly Father and you, my little angel baby, and the rest of our sweet family.

When you look at trials for what they really are, tests to make us better people, to mold us into who God wants us to become, they don't seem as bad. They're definitely not fun to go through, I'm not saying that I want more, but since adversity comes whether we like it or not, ready or not, we might as well let it affect us in a good way.
I don't know if you know this, but about 2 weeks before Bear Lake, I was praying for some testimony building experiences. I joke to your daddy that I shouldn't have prayed for that. I think I had a distorted view about adversity, not that it's crystal clear to me now, but I'm understanding more the need for it. If we didn't have adversity and we all lived happily and comfy and cozy....what would be the point of this life? I think about that and am reminded of the scripture that says "..there must needs be opposition in all things, for without it we could not discern the sweet from the bitter."

I hope that I can let my trials shape and mold me into the person I'm destined to become. I want to reach my full potential and always strive to bring out the best in myself and others.

“Your adversity and your afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if you endure it well, God shall exalt you on high.”

I am determined to endure this life well. It's nice to have a companion, your daddy, who is on the same page and helps encourage, uplift, inspire and love me every step of the way. There is no one else that I'd rather have by my side. You have a pretty amazing daddy, Mikkie. How he ended up with me I don't know, but I'm sure glad he picked me. He is my knight in shining armor and is continually rescuing me from anything. I hope to make my Once upon a time a good and memorable one. Thinking about my Happily ever after helps me get through the drudgery of this life.

I love you very much sweetheart.

With all my heart,

Mama