". . . that there shall not be room enough to receive it"

I have been putting this post off because I haven't known what to say. I wish I could express the amount of gratitude I feel at the moment. These past two weeks have been full of blessings and miracles in our lives- it has been easy to see the Lord's hand blessing our family!

My cousin Jared and his wife Cassie welcomed their first, a little boy. He was delivered at 26 weeks weighing in at 1 lb. 15 oz. His delivery came quickly in hopes of saving the life of his mother. Amazingly, mother and son are doing well! Emmett, the son, is two days older than our little Afton.

Afton was our next little miracle. Despite infections both inside and outside of my body, and a fever of 104 at birth, our little Afton is considered just as healthy as any other child her age. To have her in our lives is a blessing- to have her here healthy is humbling.

The next miracle is one that my family has been praying for for the last fifteen+ years. Through the generosity of the Rose family, my dad was able to receive a new liver Saturday night! My sister Lisa tells the story best. . .
"we heard of a tragedy that had happened in the Rose family. Jeremy Rose had been in a fatal construction accident in Hawaii and was a candidate to be an organ donor. Jeremy's family had heard of my Dad's need for a liver transplant and decided to designate Jeremy's liver to my Dad. Many, many miracles took place and my Dad was able to accept Jeremy's gift.

By Saturday evening we were in Salt Lake at the University of Utah Transplant Center. They began the surgery at about 7:30 p.m. The surgery lasted a very long 12 hours. Everything went well and my Dad is doing great. His coloring returned immediately as well as the twinkle in his eyes. Jeremy's gift saved my Dad's life. Our family is completely overwhelmed with gratitude. This has been a 15 year battle for my Dad through which we have all learned to rely upon our Savior. We pray that the Rose family will be given His comfort at this time of mourning for them."

I am overcome with the goodness of others and the Lord. These past few weeks have shown me the power the Lord has to bless our lives. Through all of this, I have gained a greater trust in my Savior. It is only trough the gospel that we are able to experience true joy. My thoughts and prayers are with the Rose family. Their gift is overwhelming and their love is felt. I hope they feel our love and prayers for them at this time.