Alicia Jo

Today is a hard day. It's Alicia's 19Th birthday and it is hard to celebrate without her. It is strange to think that it has been 10 months since she was taken to live with our Father in Heaven. Time is sometimes hard to grasp. I mostly wanted to post today because it makes me sad to think that my children won't remember my little sister, that makes me cry. So I want to celebrate this day every year with them and share my memories of her.

She is the youngest of my 5 siblings, the baby, the straggler :) She was six years younger than my youngest brother and 9 years younger than me. She was very spoiled (that is what happens when you are the youngest) She was such a beautiful girl and when she was little we loved to dress her up and do her hair. I don't remember a ton of when she was younger, something about the awkward adolescent years and the space between us. But i do remember her puking in my boyfriends car :), and ratting me out when she saw i pierced my belly button (silly thing i did in college and it only lasted a couple weeks). After i was grown up and moved away I tried to come home to watch her dance and go to her competitions. She was there the day Madyson was born I have a picture of her holding both Madyson and Ethan at the hospital, and she let my mom come and help me in Texas when I had Logan even though she missed her birthday. She loved to shop and it was something we always did when we were together. It was always so much fun to have her and my parents come and stay when we lived in Utah. She was moody, and funny, and she loved my kids so much. She wasn't afraid to let you know how she felt. She spent July with us in '07 and i will always cherish that. She did Mady's hair every morning, we went to sea world, and the ocean, rangers games, watched the sunsets in Texas, and the sunrise over the ocean. We laughed and cried about how hard high school can sometimes be and how it would soon be over and how excited we were that she could come and stay with us the next summer. We spent a couple weeks in September '07 in Idaho and i had a great time taking her senior pics, she looked beautiful in all of them, even though she didn't think she did. She was strong. She had an amazing smile. She was the class president and the friend to all the girl's boyfriends. She didn't get invited to her senior prom and i knew she was heart broken but i just kept encouraging her that it would be different when she moved away from the small town. She was so so excited when we told her we were having a girl (10 nephews, only 2 nieces) she screamed for joy and immediately wanted to go shopping! I miss her! She didn't get to meet our Alicia on this earth, but I am sure they crossed paths before our beautiful baby girl was sent to us. I am so so grateful for the time that I was able to share with her! I know that Heavenly Father had different plans for her than i did. She has a much greater work to do than I could imagine and I am so very grateful for my testimony! I am grateful for the piece i felt at her funeral and the knowledge that she is where she is supposed to be, it was time for her to serve her mission in heaven and i know that someday we will be together again. In December Brian and i were outside of the salt lake temple waiting for his good friend and his wife to come out, it was snowing so everyone was crowded in the waiting room anticipating the arrival of the newlywed couples. Everyone was so happy and chatting the room was so peaceful yet so full of life and happy anticipation. I know that is how she was greated when she arrived in heaven grandmas and grandpas so excited and welcoming and i know that she will be there when it is my time waiting with them to meet me and i am excited for the knowledge that i will see her again! We love and miss you little sis, but know that we will see you again someday!