The first is my very dear friend Grace Snidow. Grace has been a very special part of my life since I was about 12 years old when she and her then husband Steve moved near my family in Jarales, NM. Grace has an infectious personality. She is one of those people you feel like you've always known the very first time you meet her. Her sense of humor used to keep us in stitches and she has a way of telling stories that was like a front row ticket to the theatre. I don't see or talk to Grace that often anymore but when I do it is always just like old times. Just the thought of her puts a smile on my face and she always makes me laugh!
Laughing is one of the things that inspired me most about Grace this year. She was diagnosed early last year with a very progressive cancer and went through just about every treatment and surgery to fight it. It was an uphill battle, but she won! ( She is nothing if not a fighter, this is a girl that fouled out of every high school basketball game she ever played. I never had any doubt she would beat this thing... ) My mom kept me updated on her progress this summer and told me that she had been really sick and exhausted from the chemo therapy treatments. One day I was thinking about my Gracie and decided to call and tell her how much I loved her. I expected to have a short conversation and not keep her too long, knowing she would probably not be up for a lot of visiting. I could not believe it when we ended a long conversation and I was still laughing and smiling for hours afterward. Even in the most difficult circumstances Grace still had her sense of humor and was still the same positive cheerful wonderful woman I had always known! She never uttered a negative word when she had every right to do so. Not once did I feel sorry for her during that conversation.; I could feel her magnificence as a person more than ever. When I finished my conversation with her I recognized the insignificance of my own "problems" and felt ashamed for thinking I had any problems at all. She showed an unbelievable amount of strength and courage in the greatest adversity.
Grace you inspired me then and you inspire me now! Thanks for being such a significant part of my life all these years!
Another friend who has greatly inspired me this past year is Jayne Cluff. When Jayne found out she was pregnant last spring it was bitter sweet. She was getting the baby she and her husband had been praying for and then some... four babies to be exact! For seven months Jayne courageously carried these four little angels and it was not easy. She had to eat constantly to try and gain enough weight to sustain all four babies and stay relatively inactive and eventually completely inactive. Now this might sound great to a lot of us but after seven months of it you can imagine how maddening it would be. Pretty soon there is no food that sounds appetizing and there are only so many movies a person can watch or books you can read. As I recall one of the count down methods was to see the Suns through the playoffs until the blasted Spurs knocked us out!
Jayne had to spend the last three of those months in the hospital on absolute complete bed r
est. If you think it would be bad to be confined in your own home try residing in a tiny hospital room for three months! She and Jeremiah had a calendar on the wall that was marked with different dates of progress for the babies. She was trying to carry them to 32 weeks to get the absolute most development for them possible. She had them at 30 weeks and all were exceptionally strong and healthy. So much so that the team of doctors and nurses working with them were surprised at how quickly these little ones got to go home. I know that it was all because their Mom loved them so much that she sacrificed everything, even her own sanity at times to make sure they got everything they needed while she was carrying them.
est. If you think it would be bad to be confined in your own home try residing in a tiny hospital room for three months! She and Jeremiah had a calendar on the wall that was marked with different dates of progress for the babies. She was trying to carry them to 32 weeks to get the absolute most development for them possible. She had them at 30 weeks and all were exceptionally strong and healthy. So much so that the team of doctors and nurses working with them were surprised at how quickly these little ones got to go home. I know that it was all because their Mom loved them so much that she sacrificed everything, even her own sanity at times to make sure they got everything they needed while she was carrying them. Those sacrifices have not stopped either. Addison, Weston, Brynlee and Cambria are as happy, healthy and strong as any babies you have ever seen. Jayne is the most organized and energetic Mom and she devotes every second of every day to these beautiful babies and it shows.
I don't want to leave out that she has a phenomenal husband who was there encouraging her every step of the way and also devotes all of his time to his family. I think Jayne would say is her inspiration. They make the perfect parents for these four precious gifts from Heavenly Father!
Jayne, none of could ever really know what a struggle this past year was for you but then again we will also never know the absolute joy of mothering these four perfect angels. Thanks for your inspiring everyone who knows you!
I have drawn a tremendous amount of insight from these two amazing women! This year, I hope to apply what I have learned from them and exercise just a small particle of the faith and strength they have shared with me and so many others this year.
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