Just in case I die young.....

OK, maybe it's too late to die too young, but you get the drift. So, a few weeks ago Jeremy and I were talking about something he had heard in a conference. The speaker said to the group: "People always talk about if they only had a year to live, or a day to live. What if you only had 30 seconds to live? What would you say?"

I thought about that quite a bit. And in pondering it, I decided to write in my journal about it. I would like to share that journal entry with all of my friends and family.

Here it is:

What would I say?

To my husband I would say~ You are my life. I love you more than words can say. I thought I knew what love was before I met you...I was wrong. You are wonderful, wonderful, wonderful and even more wonderful and wonderful yet again.

Thank you for making me laugh every single day. Thank you for putting my needs before your own so many times. Thank you for carrying the stress of supporting our large family. And thank you for being the best dad I could imagine our beautiful kids having., Thank you for throwing them up in the air and making them laugh. Thank you for doing Liesel's hair in little ponies when she was little. Thank you for teaching Mitchell and Seth "how to build a watch" and everything else in the world. Thank you for being buddies with Logan and Jorgen while the other kids are at school.

Most of all, thank you for being my split-apart.

Mitchell~

You are the sweetheart that made me a mom. When I first saw you, I was smitten. As you have grown, I have watched you learn everything. EVERYTHING!! You are so smart! You are so kind and sensitive. When you went to nursery and before you were even 2 years old, you wanted to hug every single child before you left for the day. Watching you learn play the piano and read everything in the house has been joyful! I love you! You are the best son a mom could have!!

Liesel-Lees!~

What a funny girl you are! When I was little, and I dreamed of having a daughter, she was nothing like you. I must have had NO imagination. You are so funny and spunky! You have enough personality for THREE daughters! When you were little, you had the cutest lisp. you would say, "Mommy, I am going to take a thsnoothie." (Snoozie) And you would take your blanket and march up the stairs to your room. What a princess you are!! You are such a good sister! You are so good to your brothers and you are a great babysitter.

I love that you can tell stories and that you have your life all mapped out at age nine. Move to France, live in Paris and marry a Frenchman. Open an art academy and teach art. I love you and love being your mom!!

On to the boys:

Seth~

You are my little man. You try to solve every problem without help. I love you so much, I just can't stand it! When you were a baby you were the sweetest thing. Even when you were weeks old, when you would cry at night I would only have to turn on the light and you would calm down. When you began to crawl you turned into a TERROR!! You loved to get into EVERYTHING! Please check the photo of you eating the green marker as proof!!

You are so smart! I can see you trying to figure out every problem! You have an engineer's brain, just like your dad. But what you also have, is a tender heart. You are my favorite, favorite Seth! I love you!

Logan~

You are a joy! Bless you, my little man, for looking like a Jorgensen kid, just hatched in our back yard! Not only do you look like a Jorgensen, but you act like Randy and my dad, Grandpa Jorgensen. Sometimes, I just want to hug you! Right now you are 5 years old, the same age Grandpa was when his mom died. I want to pick you up and love you AND the little boy he was.

You, Logan, are a sweetheart! The ladies LOVE you! You have girlfriends as young as 3 years old and as old as grandmas! You are so relaxed about life that it makes me laugh! Seth is just like dad, and you take after me! I love it! I love you so much!

(And I love that you and Seth are buddies. What a blessing from heaven!)

Caleb~

My sweet, tiny, itty-bitty angel! I know that I only knew you for a split-second, but you are mine! I am so joyful that you get to wait in Paradise for me. I think of you as that tiny baby only for a moment. I know that your glory is greater. That you have a grown, beautiful, radiant spirit. I can not wait to meet you again!!

Jorgen!~

You are the sticky glue that holds our laughs together! I have NEVER seen a boy more spoiled! I love you. You are a sweet, cute, smiley boy. Everyone wants to hold you, play with you and tickle you! You love trucks, light switches and your Monster Book. You are a tiny, pale joy! Thank you for joining us. We KNEW there was someone missing.

FAMILY, I love you all. You are my world. And it would stop spinning without you.

Finally, my parents. Mom & Dad, your are the best parents anyone could have hoped for. Fun, funny, loving and accepting and very wise. You love everyone, forgive quickly and truly LIVE the gospel. What an example to follow. I try to be like you. I love you.

And my sibs: LOVE, LOVE, LOVE you all. What a crazy, funny family we have! When I was in college Trina was afraid to come home with me for the weekend because of our loud, sarcastic humor. But after one weekend, she loved it and wanted to come back.

My life has been so blessed. There is absolutely no way to repay the Lord for such blessings.

So, if I were to die right now....(you know, if a cartoon anvil fell on my head) I would say to all of
you:

Live the gospel. Keep the commandments. Have faith. Love. Forgive. Serve.

Because I want us all to be together for eternity.

~Mary