Bye, Sarah Rose

 

Peter and Rachel's baby girl came too soon and was born with a difficult heart condition on November 13, 2025.  Today, we mourned our loss. We joyfully anticipated another little girl. We are to miss this life with her, but look forward to heaven. We expect she is watching over her sweet family and cheering them on.

Grandpa Ray Rowley gave a prayer.  Peter shared some tender words of faith and hope. Grandpa Milt Olsen dedicated the grave.  We all shared our hope, faith, love, and trust that everything is working out.  We sang I Am a Child of God and Families Can Be Together Forever.

So very grateful for family support.  Parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends made the effort to join us, sharing their love.

Sarah Olsen

 Peter and Rachel's sweet little baby girl, Sarah, was not able to spend time here on earth with us.  At 24 weeks gestation, labor began, and her poor little heart defects did not allow her to live.  On November 13 at 5:30 am, Sarah was born. Her heart had already stopped.  I am grateful that they invited us to the hospital. We got to hold her and say goodbye.

Pacemaker

This journey started with finally deciding to drive to the hospital after having passed out on the couch and upon waking, I was unable to find my bpm or blood pressure. We figured all our devices were just not working.  Tried the Oura ring for bpm and our blood pressure cuff. They all came up with errors.  Milt and Isaac gave me a blessing, and then Milt and Elise took me to Gunnison Hospital.  Once they got me hooked up to a monitor, we realized that indeed my heart was struggling. BPM ranged from 25-32.  They did an EKG and X-Ray.  Dr. Larsen arranged for me to be lifeflighted to Utah Valley Hospital.  I felt weak but alert and took pictures from the helicopter to share my view with the grandkids. 

I arrived at the hospital near 1am Sunday morning, and after a long night with a bad stomachache because of the medication to keep my heart going, I received a pacemaker.

I felt love and prayers from family and friends.  Milt and Simeon stayed with me. Elise, Dan, Steph, Julie, Amber, Mark, Korin, and Dad all came to visit and check on me.  

Arrived home Monday morning to work on patience, healing, and figuring out this new situation.  The hope is that there will be no more fainting or lightheadedness. More energy and clarity. I would like to see improvements in all areas.  In the meantime, my body is learning to deal with the strain.

 

Making plans

Today, November 8, we met with a cabinet company in Fairview and had so much fun designing our new kitchen.  Natalya was so helpful and patient.  We have some excellent basics figured out, and I am excited to move forward, work out more details, and see progress.  

After we went to Das Cafe in Spring City for a delicious German lunch.  I love spending time with my sweetheart.

We came home to our own lists of projects and worked hard all afternoon.  I got leaves cleaned up in the front and back yards and a few other needed items.  By the end of the day, we had a simple dinner and headed to the warm basement to watch a movie.  We settled on One Night with the King.  Partway through, I got that dreaded slight tingle feeling and passed out.  Little did we know that would be just the beginning of our night.

 

Kitchen

 After 25 years of good food, memories, family, and friend time in the kitchen, I am ready to remodel in a big way, and I am so excited.  We are gathering ideas, making plans, collecting bids, and taking pictures. 

I plan to accommodate and enjoy my large family.  I am so grateful for each of them and want them to enjoy being here and know they are wanted and have a place.

 

We are going to extend the kitchen onto the back deck, claiming about 8 more feet on this side of the kitchen.  I am also changing the style to a traditional farmhouse kitchen.  We will have painted cabinets that are an inset shaker style with glass fronts in the upper cabinets.  We will have a center island, but it will go long through the kitchen and probably be table height. I am having so much fun collecting ideas and pictures on Pinterest. I am praying that we can get the right people to help us successfully and affordably complete this job.  Right now, I really need someone to design and organize the cabinets and such in a way that helps me be efficient and creative in the kitchen. 

A barn raising

 

John and Elise purchased this half-finished building with plans to finish it into a pickleball/sports court and an apartment.  It's a big job, and they are so ready to get it going.  With all the prep, they planned a big workday and invited family to come and help.  Milt was there with Isaac, Simeon, Peter, John and his boys, and Elise.  He called to say I should come over because they were having a good time, and I might like to see.  The fun part about it all was seeing my family work together.  They were up in the rafters, placing and securing for hours. They worked until dark and got so much done. There was a great feeling of accomplishment. I dare say, there was also a great feeling of love, support, belonging, and satisfaction in being needed, adding value, and recognizing the joy of family.

I got there with homemade buns. Elise had prepared a great lunch with bbq chicken for sandwiches, grapes, chips, and her girls had made chocolate chip cookies.  Kianna and her boys, Eddie and Ollie, came to enjoy lunch with us. Henry and Que were there with Peter, too.  It was a beautiful day to be working, and there was such a spirit of goodness.

I am so very grateful for the heritage of hard work we have been able to pass down through our family. To see a big project made easy with lots of real help was so satisfying. My boys have a fear of heights but that does not keep them from doing what needs to be done, and doing it well.  A sense of refuge and safety from an ever-changing world is what I feel when I am surrounded by my family.  I love seeing them choose each other and generously give their time and skills to help one another.

A Family Church

 

The Family-Centered Gospel of Jesus Christ

By President Dallin H. Oaks

President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles 

I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We are Christ's church restored to the earth on April 6, 1830.  We are led by prophets called of God who are given priesthood power, authority, and keys to lead.  Our prophet, Russel M. Nelson, recently passed away at age 101.  Our new prophet is President Dallin H. Oaks.  I believe he is called of God to serve in this time.  Above is his conference address given in the interim of President Nelson's passing and President Oaks being sustained and set apart as our prophet.

I am listening to his biography, In the Hands of the Lord, and am very grateful for the many life experiences he has had and the choices he has made throughout his life.  One of the glorious truths of God is that of family.  We have The Family Proclamation, which teaches what family is and the importance families have in God's plan for his children.  

As I studied this talk, I was aware and mindful that this is good news and beautiful teachings, but some may find it difficult if they feel they have not been able to experience the ideal family life. I have been blessed to marry, have children, raise them, and see them with families of their own.  It has not been without its own difficulties and hard work.  And we are never done.  The thoughts I have are that God's purpose is to enable all his children, all people, to return to his presence.  His plan does not exclude those who are unmarried, or who don't have children, or who don't get along in their families.  He loves and wants each of us.  

The Church of Jesus Christ is sometimes known as a family-centered church. It is! Our relationship to God and the purpose of our mortal life are explained in terms of the family. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the plan of our Heavenly Father for the benefit of His spirit children. We can truly say that the gospel plan was first taught to us in the council of an eternal family, it is implemented through our mortal families, and its intended destiny is to exalt the children of God in eternal families.

Everyone belongs to a family.  It is where we begin. The church helps us have the best families possible, but God knows we are all imperfect.  We won't do it all just right.  Prayer and righteous desires help, but won't change the choices of people.  So God gave us his church.  I have heard some complain about the church emphasising family too much, but that is only if you limit your view of family.  It is a family church, not a church of families. That is where I am seeing the difference.  We share our families with each other, but the church itself is God's family. We call each other brother and sister.  We celebrate, worship, work, cry, mourn, serve, socialize, and do all the things that the ideal family life would include.  We are organized into smaller units, called wards, where we can get to know each other. We have a bishop who is the father of the ward. The relief society president (a woman leading the women in learning and serving) is a lot like a mother.  She is not seen and recognized in the public eye, but quietly works to help the ward run smoothly, nurturing the women as they care for one another and their stewardships.  We take care of each other. We watch out for one another.  We minister to each other so that no one gets left behind.  When a member (ward or family) is going through a difficult time, we provide help with food, offer services, offer financial assistance, and provide a listening ear.  When we possess a skill or knowledge that could help, we share it.  We each are needed.  Life and families are imperfect. Wards are imperfect.  We don't choose our family, but we can choose to love and to nurture those relationships.  We also don't choose our ward.  Sometimes there are disagreements, misunderstandings, difficult people, and hard burdens in our family and in our ward.  It is our choice to be an asset, to bring value, to love much, and to point to God.  Our goal is not a perfect life here.  It is to return to our heavenly home, bringing as many brothers and sisters with us as possible.  It really is beautiful and possible.  

I testify of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Only Begotten Son of God, our Eternal Father. He invites us to follow the covenant path that leads to a heavenly family reunion.