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My name is Jenny Hess. I'm a mom.
I love to rock climb, backpack, and explore with my family.
Being close to nature, you get a different sense
and perspective on life. You just feel more in the outdoors.
I love quilting. I love everything about it.
I've loved it ever since I started.
Russell, he was a funny kid.
There's no other way to describe him;
he was just a funny boy and loved to make others laugh.
He wore different costumes every day during October.
People would point and look, and
some would laugh, saying, "It's not Halloween yet."
But he'd just be so proud.
When Russell was almost five years old,
he was in a sledding accident on our family vacation.
Russell was on Kirk's lap. They got turned around
so they were sledding back- ward, and they hit a path
or something that veered them toward a clump of trees.
Kirk knew the trees were coming fast, so he gave Russell a
big ol' bear hug to protect him
so Kirk would take the impact.
And Russell yelled in Kirk's ear,
"This is the best day of my life!" He had so much fun.
And then they hit the tree.
We went to the hospital, and the whole time
on the way, I kept thinking, "It's going to be OK."
But I was shaking. I couldn't make any sense of it.
The doctor said, "Russell's not breathing.
And his heart's not beating."
I kept thinking, "God can work this miracle.
I've read in the Bible where He brought people back to life."
I had a very strong sense that "God can fix this."
I knew God could do it, but I knew He wouldn't today.
I wasn't calm, I wasn't happy, but I was assured.
I wasn't at peace, but I was ... I was OK.
We were trying to figure out, "How do we react now?"
And everybody shifted. We had to feel our way around awhile.
If it was up to me, we would've sat crying for a year,
and I would've been fine with that: a somber, sad family.
But Kirk said, "No way. We're going places."
And we went on our first campout after Russell died.
It was sad. But it was good because we felt him there.
Life isn't fair, and when it's not fair to us,
that's when we complain about it.
But it doesn't have to be fair, because God offers so much more.
And that's why bad things happen.
This is not forever; this is not the end.
This is not the final product.
My name is Jenny Hess.
I'm a mom of five kids, and I'm a Mormon.