what a wonderful mother i have

Molly Jo Sullivan Cox
Feb. 12, 1959 - May 21, 2008

This past two weeks is hard to write about, but also gives me time to reflect and to be thankful for what i have.

May 15- My mom has not been doing well the last few weeks and is now at the point where she can't walk on her own and move around. My sister comes out to the house daily to help take care of her along with my dad. They have called in hospice and for those of you who don't know what it is, it's a nursing care business that helps patients who are about to die. They came in and did an evaluation and suggested that my dad get me and my sister stephanie home asap. They said that they didn't think she had long to live and based on her quick progression of the tumor that he should get us home so we could spend some time with her. He called me this day and we booked me and the kids a flight out the next day on friday.

We got in and it was hard to see her lying in the bed unable to move. She could barely talk and it came out in whispers. It's been a few days now that she has been unable to swallow and the tumor is cutting off signals to parts of her body and basically shutting down. I'm able to talk to her, but she sleeps alot now and just doesn't have the energy to have a full conversation. She is pretty much wasting away and there's not much we can do about it. She weighs about 80 lbs. now and it's hard to see her like that.

Sunday night my sister gets in from africa where's she's been doing a research project for school. We're able to spend time as a family and then aaron's flies in the next day.

May 21, 2008 at 12:17am my mom passed away. My dad was by her bedside as she took her final breath in life. I had gone to bed about 15 minutes before that and was upstairs in my room lying in bed crying. I didn't know what was happening downstairs, but I think the spirit let me know that she had left this frail existence and was up with our heavenly father and the many other relatives that where there to greet her. My aunt knocked on the door and I knew what she had to say. I rushed downstairs to find my sisters and dad kneeling by her bedside. To say the least, it was something i'll never forget and I'm so glad all of us where there to be together.

Over the next few days we made arrangements and tried to get everything together for the funeral. Many people where there to help bring food and clean up and it bore witness to me of the importance of the relief society and the help that we can be to those around us.

We decided that since she was going to be burried in texas, where she's from and where they have plots, that we would do 2 services (one in KY and the other in texas where all my family was going to be).

We drove down to texas for the second funeral and since then have driven to utah and will continue on home to spokane tomorrow. I can't possibly try to write everything that has happened this last two weeks, but what I do know is that the spirit of the Lord is there and without his comforting power, we would be lost to grief and despair. I know more than ever now, that God is real and that I don't just say that he has a plan for us, but know that there is a plan set up for us if we but live righteously that we will one day get to see her again.

It still doesn't seem real. I don't think it will until I go to call her one day and remember that she won't be there to pick up the phone. She used to call me at 6 in the morning cause they're 3 hrs. ahead of us and I guess she'd forget that it was still early for me. The phone would ring and i'd jump out of bed and know that it was her everytime. I got annoyed sometimes that she wouldn't remember that it was so early for us, but now i'd give anything to hear her voice one more time. Even though it's been sad and rough for my whole family, I have felt peace and comfort. I know there are alot of people out there praying for my family and I thank each one of you. They do help and I have felt them all.

We plan on getting her head stone done sometime this next year and getting it placed. Not sure what it will look like, but something nice. Maybe the salt lake temple on there since that's where they got married.



Dad and his girls. We love you dad!!!