A Tender Mercy In The Form Of A Purple Butterfly Window Decal

This was a good week to be in Utah, b/c Grandpa Johnson went in for hip surgery this morning.  Dad was able to go over to his house last night and give him a blessing w/ his home teachers.  Then he took him to the surgical center at 5:30 am.

It was cloudy and we couldn’t see the mountains yesterday, but when I got up this morning this was my view!  I just LOVE the snow covered mountains against the bright blue sky.  There are so many things I miss about Utah, and these mountains are for sure one of them.

We had breakfast and then the sisters figured out what they wanted to say in Rufio’s obituary.  I typed it up on my computer while they dictated what they wanted it to say.  We finally got it just right and I emailed it off w/ a pic of Rufio to the mortuary.

Jana was cleaning out her truck so we could ride down to the funeral home together and she found this purple butterfly window decal.  There is a neat story that goes along with it.  Jana had told Grandma Ruth before she died, that every time she saw a butterfly or something purple that she would think of Rufio.  Purple & butterflies have always been Rufio’s “thing.”  So, for Jana to randomly find this on the floor of her truck, she’s never even seen it before in her life, and she has no idea how it would have even gotten in the truck was a huge tender mercy.  It let us know Rufio was with us and happy with what we were doing for her.

Aunt Jeri had to leave to go home to a doctor’s appointment.  The rest of us got cleaned up so we could take Rufio’s funeral clothes down to the mortuary.  The temple dress that had been picked out wasn’t going to work b/c of a few stains so we hurried and ran to “Dressed In White” to get another one.  The one we wanted had a little tear on the shoulder, and the sweet ladies at the store gave us a needle and thread so Mom could fix it in the car really quick on our way down to the funeral home.

We got her funeral clothes turned in and then it was lunch time.  Aunt Jana really wanted some “Italian Place” sandwiches so we drove up to Orem and got some and brought them back to Rufio’s to eat.  After we were stuffed to the gills, everyone went their separate ways to get some things done.  Mom took a nap & Jill had to get some stuff done for work.

I decided to go w/ Jana & Keith to Sam’s Club.  They are staying at Mike & Melanie’s house, but all they have is a blow up air mattress and it’s too hard on Keith’s hip to be that low to the ground.  So, they were testing out mattresses to see about getting one for the guest room.  We also got a bunch of groceries while we were there.

They got the mattress & box spring & bed frame and as we were going out to the truck, some random man asked us if we needed help loading it!  We were so thankful that he offered.  I told him that Utah people are just so nice and wonderful.  We got to Mike & Mel’s and I got to love on their 2 month old baby boy.  He has the fattest cheeks and is a total snuggle bug.  Then I helped Uncle Keith unload the truck and take them downstairs and set them up in the guest room.  We were going to wait for Mike to get home from work but figured we’d just get it done so they didn’t have to do it later.

Then, as we were leaving Mike & Mel’s neighborhood, Uncle Keith pulled over really quickly in front of a random house.  I looked and saw an old man trying to wheel a fridge down a big snowy hill at the side of his house.  The fridge tipped over before we could get there, but all 3 of us jumped out of the truck and ran over to help.  We got it down the hill, into the backyard, across a muddy garden, and up onto their porch.  We waited while his wife ran and got some cardboard to put down on the floor in the house so we didn’t get their carpet all gross and muddy.  The wheels of the dolly were caked in mud!  We got it in the house, but couldn’t go through the doorway to the kitchen w/out taking off the doors of the fridge.  The old man said that he would do that and thanked us over and over for our help.  As we were getting ready to leave he told us to wait and he ran into his house and come out w/ a loaf of homemade bread he had made that morning!

I am so thankful that Uncle Keith saw him and that we were able to stop and help.  Aunt Jana was joking on the way home and saying that she bets I wish I had stayed home and taken a nap instead of going on this crazy trip w/ them.  I was glad I went, b/c it was a fun adventure and now we have some fun stories and memories we get to share.

We came back to Rufio’s and made spaghetti & garlic bread for dinner.  Dad got back from spending all day w/ Grandpa Johnson & his side of the family.  His hip surgery went great and he’s recovering nicely.  I’m so glad we happened to be here so Dad could be there for all that.  After we ate, the sisters worked on the program for Rufio’s funeral.  The rest of us watched the Monday Night Football game.  Nate had been snowboarding all day and he was sore when he got home tonight.

It was so good to talk to my little love bug tonight before she went to bed.  She is being so well taken care of that I don’t even have to worry about her at all during the day.  They were making gingerbread houses after school at Karri’s school where she teaches and Autumn got to be included in that.  She said it was super fun and that she loved it.  It’s such a huge blessing to have such amazing friends who are like family to us!