My Grandpa

    I realize that this is a book of remembrance for myself.  But I think it is important to include stories about those I love as well.  The first person I want to write about is my Grandpa, Galen Albert Bigler.  I love my Grandpa Bigler, and he really is an inspiring man.  He has always had such a strong testimony of the church, and I admire him for having such faith.  He served in WWII, and I have personally seen how that has affected his life.  I will never forget being at a Fourth of July activity where he openly cried as they played the Star Spangled Banner.  He is a man who willingly fought for the cause of freedom, and he defended it.  I enjoy the freedoms that I have today because of men like him.
     I have always admired how much he loves his children.  He has been there for every baby blessing and every baptism in my (immediate) family.  Including the baby blessing of my own little boy, his 8th great-grandchild.  He drove from Kingman, Arizona to Gooding, Idaho just to be a part of my baby's blessing.  To me that shows what true love is.  He takes joy in his family and wants to be there for each of us.  It means so much to me that he would drive over 13 hours simply to bless my baby boy.  One of the greatest things that I will always remember about my Grandpa is when he bore his testimony one Sunday while he was visiting my family.  He said, with tears running down his face, "I've always been a little man, but that's because God has blessed me with such a big heart."  Now, if you  have ever met my Grandpa, he is very short, and has only gotten shorter over the years.  I'm 5'3 and my Grandpa is shorter than I am.  But it is true, he does have a very big heart.  He shows so much love and compassion, and I have heard countless stories about how he has served and helped others.  He and his sons even helped to build the church that my Dad attended growing up.  I remember my dad telling me about how they worked together to build that church.
     I called my Grandpa today.  I try to send him pictures every once in awhile, but I am not very good at it. It is something that after today I have resolved to do better at. It was nice to get to talk to him and see how he was doing.  I called him to see if he would allow me to type up my Grandmother's journals.  My Grandmother kept a journal through most of her life, and I want to type them so that we will always have a copy.  As I was talking to my Grandpa today, he told me the story behind the stove in my Grandparents home.
     Grandma and Grandpa only had one small electric heater and all the children would fight over who got to stand in front of the heater, so the next year Grandpa put in the stove.  The kids loved it because the stove will heat the entire house.  But because of the stove, he then had to start hauling wood. He used to drive about 40 miles just to chop down the wood.  That is quite a bit of commitment if you ask me!  There is a place now in town that he can get garden rail posts, so all he has to do it split them, and he doesn't have to haul the wood anymore.  He goes down to Central every once in a while to fill his truck up with wood.  Central is where the Bigler family calls home.  It was settled by Biglers and every year there is a great big Bigler Family Reunion.  I have never had the opportunity to attend, but I hear it is a really neat experience.
     I wanted to type this story and post it here because even though it isn't a great big heroic story, it shows enough of a hero for me.  I love my Grandpa and I am so glad that I got the chance to talk to him today, and to hear a little bit about his past.  My Grandpa is a man to be proud of, and I will always be amazed at the things he has done, and the wonderful man he is.  I am proud to be a descendant of his, and that my children will have the Bigler name as part of their heritage.