I have been thinking a lot about my mom lately as Aaron and I have been preparing for the birth of our baby boy.  I know she would be so excited.  I love hearing stories from family about when she was a young mother, if you have any stories please share them.

Family History paper about Morina

Homesick for Heaven: The Life of Morina Lark Mason Larrabee

“In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage, to know who we are and where we came from.”¹ This same hunger drives me to learn all I can of my mother’s life. This drive has gained strength since my mother’s death.  I have come to recognize a need for healing, one I can receive through acceptance of death; but more importantly through the celebration of life.  Together these are important in understanding life through an eternal perspective.

New life is beautiful; it opens up a realm of possibilities.  On October 26, 1971, a little girl was born.  Succeeding her birth, possibilities seemed endless.  Her name was Morina Lark Mason, and she was born in the LDS hospital of Salt Lake City, Utah.  Deciding on her middle name came about when her mother was watching an old TV show.  Lark was the name of a very beautiful singer in this show, and it seemed like a perfect name for the new baby.  Lark is the name that Morina Mason would be known by for half of her life, and to her family especially. She was born to a loving LDS family and was the first child born to two very excited parents. With this start she had a solid foundation of righteousness, despite the great hardships she would face later in her life. ²

Lark was a sweet girl with a strong spirit.  “Her relationship with the savior was different from most.”³ She had a very intimate relationship and expressed this bond throughout her childhood.  “She used to cry often, and when asked what the matter was, she said she was homesick and missed her big brother (referring to Jesus).  She spoke often of the preexistence and of her relationship with Jesus.”⁴ She used to tell everyone, “I know my heavenly father loves me because Jesus told me so.”⁵ It was her first part in the primary program, and she let everyone know it!  It’s amazing that with that same strong spirit there were times that if directed in a different way, it could cause trouble to her offenders. For example, Lark was very accepting of the handicapped and had a gift in her dealings with them.  One day at school a student was teasing someone who was handicapped.   Lark saw this and told him to stop. The taunting continued until she was fed up with it. She directed that anger at the offender, smashed the bully’s face into the drinking fountain.⁶   Grandma adds to the story and says that Lark then proceeded to throw her shoe at him. Although her intent seemed right, the actions weren’t necessarily ladylike. Crying, Lark called her mother from the office.  She was comforted by the fact that her mom seemed to agree that the initial intent was good.  However, when Lark was collected, it seemed a better opportunity for her mom to explain why the actions weren’t appropriate.⁷

It seems to me that in each girl there is evidence of an inherent desire to nurture.  I found that this was especially true of my mother.  In fact, my grandmother expresses admiration for the way she demonstrated affection towards her siblings, even from an early age.  “Although she didn’t have many toys, she loved to play with her younger siblings and act out life through games which required imagination.”⁸ She listened to them and comforted them when they were in need; especially her youngest brother Alex, who looked to Lark as more of a mother figure than a sister.  When Alex was rushed to the hospital due to a very critical situation, he cried and begged Lark not to leave him.  “It broke her heart when she couldn’t stay in the room with him any longer.”⁹

Life wasn’t always perfect for her family.  There were plenty of fights among siblings, especially the oldest three.  Rick and Candy were the next siblings under my mother, rick being a couple of years younger than herself.  Lark and Rick didn’t get along at times and both felt like they should be the boss.  “Both Lark and Candy loved to sing and were beautiful girls, but for some reason Lark always had it in her head that Candy was prettier and a more talented singer.”¹⁰ This didn’t prove to be her only insecurity.  No one can quite identify why she felt so insignificant, especially because many seemed to look up to her for her various positive attributes.  Some may say that she fell to the tendency of human nature, to be a harsh critic of her personal weaknesses.

Throughout her journal there is evidence of abuse in her life, especially during childhood. The effects of the abuse lasted her entire life and were merely lessened at certain points of her life.  There were multiple experiences where something tragic happened, and she blamed herself for the experience.¹¹ She even blamed herself for the death of a friend she had as a child.  She and the girl had been playing hard outside, they got in an argument and Lark left upset.  The parents of the girl were not home at the time, so the girl was left alone. Later Lark found out that after she had left, the little girl died of an asthma attack.  The way in which Lark handled the load will never cease to amaze me.¹²

 It’s true that one can and should live a fulfilling life despite trials; she and my dad have been my ultimate examples besides that of Jesus Christ.  In fact I am sure that the only way she was able to do as well as she did was because of her relationship with Jesus Christ.  No one but he could possibly fathom the effects of any trials she or anyone else goes through.  She pressed forward and learned that life wasn’t going to be easy, but that there were moments that would cause her to experience true joy if she would endure through the pain.

Oh how great was the joy she was able to experience, partially due to her understanding of heartache.  When Lark was young she loved to learn; she excelled in school and put in extra effort to study books of every kind.  She appreciated beauty and loved to live life to the fullest. “Lark learned to appreciate expressing herself creatively, especially through art and writing.  She was fascinated with the body and the way that it worked.  She loved to learn about the mysteries of the body and was aspiring to be a nurse or doctor.” ¹³ “More than this love she loved the idea of motherhood and selfless service.”¹⁴ All her talents and aspirations proved to be important to the rest of her life.

As Lark got older she came to realize that it was easier, especially in the school system, to go by her first name.  From the time she started school, she was known as Morina to everyone, excluding her family.  Even her nick-names changed.  She became known to many as “Mo,” or even “Boat Dock.”   Even her brother Rick called her Mo, which continued for the rest of her life.¹⁵

Morina went on to high school and became quite popular because of how friendly she was.   She had a boyfriend the majority of high school, he seemed to understand her needs and even of her fears. These same fears seemed to be results of the abuse in her childhood.  From this relationship with Ty, she learned positive and negative things that could affect marriage, had she married him.¹⁶ During this time she learned to appreciate good health and keeping herself beautiful and well groomed.  She found that she really enjoyed color guard, and because of the determination and hard work factor that ran in her blood, she did great in competitions.¹⁷

Morina was envied by many because she had long, dark, curly hair, a gorgeous eye shape, and clear, olive skin which tanned easily.  Despite what others said, she was severely critical of herself.  While she was getting ready in the mornings she would get so frustrated with her thick, curly hair that she would hit the mirror, bite the brush, and scream.  It was pretty hilarious to her siblings, and this wasn’t the only biting habit she had. Her dad tells of a time where she was changing a tire and became so enraged with the process that she bent down and bit the tire.¹⁸

During these years her talents continued to flourish. When Morina was in high school the special education program was new, but through this program she learned to love being a peer leader. “She had the ability to get down on their level and to really understand them.”¹⁹   They seemed to understand her as well as she did them, and the connection was obvious. Many times throughout the week she was called out of class to help calm some of the more difficult handicapped students. When they saw her, almost immediately they collected themselves.²⁰

Morina had an opportunity to be a student ambassador in Russia.  She even took an opportunity while she was there to do some missionary work through example.  When she returned, she seemed to be full of more knowledge and excitement for life. She learned to appreciate her family and the gospel.²¹

Not too much later she met a man by the name of Craig Larrabee. They were in the same ward but met through a fireside upon the return of Craig’s mission. They dated, and as their admiration for one another grew, eventually their love led to marriage. Craig loved her beauty both inside and out.  He loved the great example of service she displayed and for her obvious characteristics of a wonderful wife and mother. They were married on May 5, 1990 in the Salt Lake Temple.  Morina was a senior in high school and continued her education until graduation. After graduation she worked with the mentally handicapped in an apartment complex.  She absolutely loved it. It wasn’t long until Craig and Morina discovered they were pregnant. This was an exciting time for them both. There was some emotional adjustment, but overall, their faith grew as they discovered ways to prepare for the birth.²²

Craig joined the air force, which proved to be both a blessing as well as a great hardship. It was hard during the times that he was away, but it proved to be a blessing to have the military benefits available. They enjoyed meeting new people and moving to new places.  There were missionary opportunities for them both with each move. They had 3 girls while they were in the military, I being the oldest.  “As a family we enjoyed seeing all of the sites in each place we lived.”²³ One of my mom’s favorite places we lived was Korea. She made friends fast there and loved the people and their culture. Mom loved to learn about their culture and enjoyed working with my dad in the Seoul Temple.

My mom was an incredibly strong person. She loved us kids more than anything. She had 4 kids in all. From oldest to youngest our names are, Carma Chanelle, Alexis Marie, Sariah Noel, and Jacob Ecker.  It was evident that she loved us. My dad reminds us that we truly brought her the greatest joy.²⁴

I am grateful for the memories of the good times with my mom. I loved when she would sing to us every night, she sang primary songs, but our favorite song that she sang was one we called “The Angel Song”.²⁵ Even to this day I love that song, but it has even more meaning to me now that she is my angel. Along with singing, she loved making crafts with her friends and sisters. She made beautiful scrapbooks and had incredible handwriting, which makes her journals especially fun to read. Mom seemed to have endless energy when it came to doing things with us kids. She loved to read to us, and because of this, it contributes to my love for reading.

Mom was one of the best examples to me of enduring to the end. Later in her life she struggled with Bipolar disorder, and the trials that came with it.  After the adoptions of three kids fell through she seemed to take the brunt of the hardship.  What she failed to realize is that her love for serving is what brought them to America in the first place. When they made a trip to Haiti and met the 3 kids, she made a point to bring as much food as possible. She gave the food to the orphanage to help with the poor health conditions of the children.

This among many other trials was overcome through the dedication to the gospel. Even after experiencing some strong doubts my mom was always able to pull through.  What she failed to realize was that her good intentions and love outweighed the hardships by far.  I remember so many times where she taught us to love life and laugh through the hard times.  She faithfully served for her entire life; I remember a time where she literally gave someone the coat off her back, on a cold winter’s day, because she thought he needed it more.  In actuality, her dedication to service could mostly be attributed to her love of the savior.

The song that best sums up my mother’s life is “O My Father.”²⁶ This was her absolute favorite Hymn, and after studying her life I can see why.  Even from infancy she showed signs of being home sick for heaven and her heavenly parents.  Although she never wanted to leave her children, it was evident that she never was quite content with life on earth. I especially get this impression from her final journal. It’s hard for me to record some of the things that were said in this journal, but I know that she had endured her fair share of trials.  She knew that there was something greater in store on the other side of the veil.

When I was 12 years old my parents took me to do baptisms in the temple for the first time, it was only a few days before she died.   My mom cried the entire time we were in the temple.  We weren’t sure why she was so overcome with the spirit at the time; it wasn’t until after she died unexpectedly that we tried to understand her tears that day.  Perhaps the tears came because of her spirits readiness, but no one can know for sure.  She must’ve felt like “a stranger here on earth”²⁸ and it was time for her to progress.  The closest assumption the doctors had is that she died from the combination of a couple different medications.  We may not ever know the physical reason for her death. However, I am comforted by the knowledge that she leads me from the other side.  I know that one day we will be reunited, but for now I feel that it is my duty to continue learning about her life and compile a complete history of her life, so my children will someday come to know Morina Lark Mason Larrabee for who she was on earth.  

Desire to nurture

It seems to me that in each girl there is evidence of an inherent desire to nurture.  I found that this was especially true of my mother.  In fact, my grandmother expresses admiration for the way she demonstrated affection towards her siblings, even from an early age.  "Although she didn't have many toys, she loved to play with her younger siblings and act out life through games which required imagination."  She listened to her siblings and comforted them when they were in need; especially Alex, who looked to Lark as more of a mother figure than a sister.  When Alex was rushed to the hospital due to a very critical injury, he cried and begged Lark not to leave him.  "It broke her heart when she couldn't stay in the room with him any longer."

I Cannot find the electronic copy of the paper I wrote on her life, hopefully after I move it will show up so I can post it on this blog.

I found some of the hard copy so I will post a few of the stories and feel free to comment.

"Lark was a sweet girl with a strong spirit.  'Her relationship with the savior was different from most.'  She had a very intimate relationship and expressed this bond throughout her childhood.  'She used to cry often and when asked what the matter was, she said she was homesick and missed her big brother (referring to Jesus).  She spoke often of the preexistance and of her relationship with Jesus.'  She used to tell everyone, 'I know my heavenly father loves me because Jesus told me so.'  It was her first part in the primary program, and she let everyone know it!  It's amazing that with that same strong spirit there were times that if directed in a different way, it could cause trouble to her offenders.  For example, Lark was very accepting of the handicapped and had a gift in the way she dealt with them.  One day at school a student was teasing someone who was handicapped.  Lark saw this and told him to stop.  The taunting continued until she was fed up with it.  She directed her anger at the boy who had offended her, smashed the bully's face into the drinking fountain, and proceeded to throw her shoe at him.  Although her intent seemed right, the actions weren't necessarily lady like.  Crying, she called her mother from the office.  However, when Lark was calm and more collected, it seemed a better opportunity for her mother to explain why the actions weren't appropriate.

              Well there you go, this is a excerpt  of the paper I wrote. comment as much as you'd like on it :) I want to hear more stories!

My purpose in creating this blog

Hey everyone!  Some of you may know that a while back I was planning on writing my mother's life history.  Well the good news is, I'm still planning to do so.  This means that I will really need help from every one who knew and loved Morina Lark Mason Larrabee.

 I've been struggling in my efforts to get a variety of information and complete stories to write her history, and the thought came to me that I could do so through this blog.  Through the blog I am hoping to have stories recorded and  gain insight from each person who was there when they happened, or from those who have heard a different perspective on the story. 

I have a paper that I have written on my mother's life- which is from my interpretations of what my dad and Grandma Ruby have told to me- which will be posted.  Feel free to read this and add insight.   Otherwise, please start by leaving some of your favorite memories and we'll go from there!