Kjerstin's and Steve's Answers

Kjerstin’s answers

Steve’s answers 

1.  What do you know now that you wish you would have known years ago? 

       I wish that I would have learned to manage my money better. I don’t necessarily think that I’m a money waster, but with all of my health problems, those bills add up to between $5-6,000/year. We really need to listen to the prophets when they tell us to stay out of debt.  

      I wish that I had more work ethic when I was younger because I would have been better prepared for adult life. I also wish that I would have known how to budge my money. 

2.  What is the greatest lesson you learned from Mom and Dad? 

      I have always been amazed at the communication skills that Mom and Dad have. For example, I remember during high school, there was an exchange student from Sweden, named Anna. I remember Dad having conversations with her, knowing where in the country she was from and making her feel welcome. During college right after I got sick (Fall 2001), Dad drove the 1990 Honda Accord out to Rexburg for me. We had the opportunity to go to a live taping of Music and the Spoken Word that morning. He came to church with me. As we were walking home, he told me that only 2-3 guys in my ward were “worthy” of me and other trivial information. That’s not what amazed me though. There were people who met Dad for 30 minutes. Those people would ask me week after week how my dad was. He had made a connection with them; he made them feel special.

      It’s typical of Mom to want to know everything about everyone’s lives. (I’ve discovered that I’m much like her). She has the ability to put anyone at ease and to comfort and love them. Still to this day on the rare occasion that I am home, and my friends are visiting, she’ll pull them aside and ask about their love lives and their families, etc. I’m amazed every time that people just “spill their guts to her”. My mom has also taught me how to be sensitive to others needs and to find the good in others. When I called hysterically after finding out I had run out of sick days (February 2007), she calmly said, “What can you do Kjerstin? We’ll make sure you’re taken care of. You need to take care of your body and listen to your body”. As an adult, I still need the tenderness of my mother.  

      I hope that I can pick up on these great communication skills. It’s a very admirable quality that both Mom and Dad possess.  

      My parents always taught me that God’s hand is in everything. That has always stuck out to me.  

3. In what ways are you the same as Mom and Dad? 

      Dad is an organizer and likes to compartmentalize everything. I do this! I am also left brained, and a very logical thinker, like my dad.

      Mom is “border-line OCD” with cleaning; so am I! I am right brained, crafty, and creative, like my mom.  

      I am like my mom because we both share a passion for family history and nature. She is also easy going, like me. I am like my dad because we are both interested in scientific things like electricity. We’re both good with our hands and enjoy fixing things.  

4. What do you miss from our childhood days?  

      I loved growing up in Texas and playing outside; climbing the trees, jumping on the trampoline and playing in the rain storms. We always had time as a family to bond and to grow and share our talents. I’m grateful that we had so many opportunities to experience so many things. We had fun family vacations, and fights which lead to us sitting on the stools and singing “Families Can Be Together Forever” until we weren’t mad at each other. I loved going to church and learning about the gospel.  

      I miss my freedom. I loved growing up in Park City because of the mountains and the yard. I planted trees there and enjoyed taking care of them and watching them grow.  

5. What is one of your best Christmas memories?  

      I don’t have any particular Christmas that sticks out. When we moved to Ohio my parents started having me participate in a Swedish tradition, Santa Lucia. It’s always fun to dress up and prepare for my family. Dad always taught us songs in Swedish at our annual Christmas talent show. I just love being home with family and that warm feeling you get. I feel like nothing can go wrong when I’m home for the holidays (except for that Christmas when we all argued about how to fix the kitchen.  

      My mom took me to West Valley City, to get my first motorcycle, a Honda CR-80 dirt bike, in 1996, when I was 15. She helped me make the first down payment. It was exciting to me because it was my first vehicle.  

6. Which traditions do you want to carry on for your own family?  

      I like all the Swedish traditions. I like decorating the tree together as a family. It seems like every year Mom would buy or make new ornaments for the tree. I like the Christmas baking and the giving to others when we’re able. It always made me feel good to give what little I had to others.  

      I liked setting our tree up the day after Thanksgiving. We would always put our stockings out on Christmas Eve, and my mom made wassail. We would always set the cookies out for Santa to eat.  

7.  Share your testimony. 

      I know that Heavenly Father gave us His son to live and die so that we might return to live with him again someday. It brings me great comfort to think of the Savior when I am in agonizing pain. I know that what I have experienced in life has only made me stronger. I am a prideful, stubborn person, so I am grateful for those times when the Lord humbles me and teaches me how to be more like him. I am grateful for modern day revelation and a prophet to lead and guide us. These apostles are truly God’s messengers; they are capable of accomplishing so much! I am grateful for Joseph Smith and for his great sacrifices to restore the Gospel back to the Earth. I am grateful for the temple and the work that takes place inside its walls. The Holy Ghost is a wonderful companion that comforts us and helps us to make good choices. The scriptures contain many great stories that teach us and testify of Jesus Christ. The gospel brings me so much happiness and I am grateful to be a member.  

      I know for a fact that the Church is true. I know that the Savior lives and that He is the Son of God. I know the scriptures are true. I know that if we pay our tithing, say our prayers and have faith in God and Jesus Christ, the Lord will bless us and provide for us.