After graduating from high school, I went to BYU-Hawaii which I LOVED. I went to one semester of school then just continued to work at the Polynesian Cultural Center for about a year. I also joined the Tahitian Club and learned songs and dances from all the islands. Then we got to go to Tahiti for a month and perform. It was very fun! I then went to BYU-Provo to room with my roommates from Hawaii.
It was there at Pine View Apartments that I met my wonderful husband, John. We married in 1978 and moved to Belmont, California where we worked until we had our first child, Sara. We moved back to Utah and bought a condo in Bountiful and had three more wonderful children boys this time. After 20 years of marriage, John passed away at home of internal bleeding and cellulites after being sick for a year in 1998. We were so surprised and shocked! It was the very hardest but most spiritual experience of my life! My children were listening to a CD soon after he died by Styx and came across the most beautiful song called Dear John. The words were perfect and made us cry tons. I saw how the Lord had prepared my life up until then and since then. John was out of work and had been when he got sick so it was a blessing that I started working for the LDS Church a year before he died and was already supporting the family. I worked in Public Affairs, the Presiding Bishopric's Office, and am now in Family History a total of 11 years. All I ever wanted to do was be a mother and not work outside the home but can see how the Lord blessed me to be able to work in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building where the spirit is so strong and I can help His work go forward each day.
The Lord knew exactly what I needed in every way.
In 2000, everywhere I went, people told me to get on LDSSingles.com so I finally dared to and immediately got a message from Linn Griffith who lived just 5 minutes away from me. People were telling him to get on the site also. It was a great way to meet because we could write all our feelings and really got to know each other very well! We met in person just one week later. He's from Fruit Heights and graduated from Davis also but he's younger so I didn't know him. We dated 7 whole months until he would marry me. Ha ha. I knew he would. He didn't want to marry a widow. I had to bribe him with a cruise on the west coast so we eloped to the San Diego Temple by ourselves. It was very nice! Our family knew but we couldn't take all of them with us.
Linn had custody of his 5 children so we ended up with 9 children which is very fun and normal for my family. Nobody was the same age except the twins so we didn't have problems blending the two families. It's an adjustment for me though! My youngest was 14 at the time and I started over raising 3 year old twins, a 5 year old, and a 13 year old (all boys). He also has an older daughter who lives with her grandma. I was so blessed that Linn was a single dad for a couple of years before he met me. He takes great care of almost everything in the house including our family and me. He cooks, shops, cleans, etc. etc. Lucky for me that he's superman because I've had fibromyalgia from a car accident 15 years ago. It's hard for me to do a lot of things because of my constant pain and fatigue.
We moved from Bountiful to Centerville 5 years ago after we got married and love it there! We found the perfect house for all our children. We have one 4 year old grandson and another on the way in November so we're very excited. We also have a sun conure parrot, a shih-tzu puppy that never barks, a sugar glider, fresh water fish, and salt water fish. We are busy! Linn takes me on a cruise each winter to sunny and warm islands so we can rest. It's heavenly! We couldn't be happier!
Tami
