In Memory of Victoria Lily Graham

Please scroll to the bottom and pause the "playlist" music to listen to this video.

Getting Back to "Normal"

Dear Readers,

Thank you so much for your heartfelt prayers and support! It has meant so much to our family.

Today has been the hardest for me since Victoria left our family, since Ken had to go back to work. I am very grateful that he has a job that allows him to take off time to be with his family when he needs to, but I pray that the Lord will open the way for him to have a business from home, so he needn't leave at all. How grateful I am also that I have not had to send the girls back to school; my mother's heart couldn't take it!

We have had such a peaceful, reverent spirit in our home, that it is hard to let that time go. That is such a big challenge, not wanting to leave the special experiences we had in the past and go forward, being afraid that we will not feel that spirit again. Life is not meant to be lived in the past, but in each day that happens. Our new challenge is living our lives in harmony with the Spirit, so that each day will be filled with peaceful moments amid its chores and afflictions.

May I hold my children closer, and treasure them more, while knowing that if the Lord called them Home, they would not be far away. Let me be worthy of being their mother, and of any others the Lord might wish to bless us with, whether or not they are meant to be with us for this life.

Oh, dear ones, do we know what treasures we hold in our homes? Do we really appreciate the sacredness and brevity of this mortal existence? May we all live in awareness of the closeness of the other side of the Veil of Forgetfulness; that it is indeed in our homes, and everywhere we go, if we allow it to be.

May I share the poem I read at Victoria's graveside service?

"Faith"

I will not doubt, though all my ships at sea

Come drifting home with broken masts and sails;

I shall believe the Hand which never fails,

From seeming evil worketh good for me;

And though I weep because those sails are battered,

Still will I cry, while my best hopes lie shattered,

"I trust in thee"

I will not doubt, though all my prayers return

Unanswered from the still, white Realm above;

I shall believe it is an all-wise Love

Which has refused those things for which I yearn;

And though at times I cannot keep from grieving,

Yet the pure ardor of my fixed believing

Undimmed shall burn.

I will not doubt, though sorrows fall like rain,

And troubles swarm like bees about a hive;

I shall believe the heights for which I strive

Are only reached by anguish and by pain;

And though I groan and tremble at my crosses,

I yet shall see, through my severest losses,

The greater gain.

I will not doubt; well anchored in the faith,

Like some staunch ship, my soul braves every gale,

So strong its courage that it will not fail

To breast the mighty unknown sea of Death.

Oh, may I cry when body parts with spirit,

"I do not doubt," so listening worlds may hear it,

With my last breath.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

May His blessings be poured out upon you this day, whether your day brings trials big or small,

Love,

Marqueta

Heaven Has a Brand New Angel

My Dear Friends and Family,

We had a bittersweet experience this last Monday, with the birth and passing of our sixth child and fifth daughter, Victoria Lily. She was born three weeks prematurely, with a birth defect so rare that the doctor said it only occurs in Idaho once every twenty or thirty years. Although it was very sad to not come home with a babe in our arms, we all felt such a strong spirit of peace through the whole experience, that we feel more relief than anything to finally know what the Lord's will is for this child, and that she is safely Home. We are thankful to have birthed her for Heaven's glory.

Here are the words to a song that came to me the night after she died:

“Victoria’s Song”

Dear one, my child, my precious child of God,
For so long you were a dream inside my womb.

Then you came, your body I had caught,
But angels came and carried you back home.

Too good, too pure to be long in this world,
But always you will be inside my heart.

The Father knew we needed our sweet girl
To help us always choose the better part.

Victoria! Victoria!
Your name means “victory”,
And you have gone to where there is no harm.

You are free! You are free!
You have won the victory
Now you rest in the Savior’s loving arms.

To my sweet baby
Love, Mami

Blessings to all, and thank you for your prayers,

Love,

Marqueta

p.s. I've put on a song for Victoria on my playlist (I am a Child of God), if you'd like to listen.

Happy Birthday to my Sweetheart!

To my hard-workin', Elvis-singin', fence-buildin', Cowboys-rootin', best friend and Eternal love,

May you be blessed and strengthened throughout this year and your whole life.

Thank you for making my dreams come true!








Love you so much

A Time to Reap. . .Herbs

Happy "Windsday" morning, my dear readers!



The chickadees and flickers have come back from the hills, signalling the end of summer (so have the yearly plague of houseflies, but that's another story!). I'm glad we have lots of sunflowers for the little chickadees to feast on, and a nice dead spruce tree for the flickers (flickers are large woodpeckers)!




This is the time of year to harvest herbs for teas to use throughout the winter, as our great-grandmothers did before us. If you're lucky enough to have raspberry bushes, be sure to harvest their leaves (but not all off of each plant!) to dry and use during flu season (although at our house, flu season seems to have been year-round this year!).


Raspberry leaves are high in iron, calcium, chromium, fiber, magnesium, niacin, pectin, selenium, thiamin, and zinc, to name a few. That's quite a vitamin pill! We like to mix the leaves with peppermint when making tea, to make it go down easier. Dr. Christopher recommends that girls who are entering puberty (or before) drink three cups of raspberry tea each day, since raspberry is a specific for the female organs. It's also a wonderful pregnancy tonic.


Be sure to harvest any strawberry leaves you might have, while you're at it, since they are very high in vitamin c, and are an old folk remedy for loose gums. In fact, any berry leaves (except nightshade, of course!) are good to dry and use for tea.


Yarrow flowers and leaves are a real blessing for breaking up a fever, and if you have comfrey, be sure to dry some of it, too (Use gloves when handling the dried leaves, as they are prickly.), for use for burns, bronchial problems, etc. Also, most culinary herbs have medicinal uses, as well.

Here are some yarrow plants in our yard (yellow flowers).

The best way to dry herbs is either on a screen in a warm place out of direct sunlight, or hang them from a rafter somewhere out of the way. When they are dry and crumbly, put them in a glass jar, out of direct sunlight. Use them as you would any other tea, about a spoonful of herb to a cup of water (or just dump a handful in a teapot, according to your taste).

This would be a good time of year to begin a study of medicinal herbs, when summer's busy-ness is over. I would recommend a few classic books like Jethro Kloss' "Back to Eden", and "The Herb Book", by John Lust. The internet also has a host of informational websites to peruse.


May we all experience the best of health this coming winter, for it is indeed our greatest wealth.

Love,

Marqueta

"The fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine."-Ezekiel 47:12