Nathan's progress.

We have been in San Antonio now for 4 days.  It has been good but exhausting but exhilarating at the same time.

Nathan is really doing miraculously well.  He is trying to talk, now the tracheotomy is out, and succeeding for the most part but he has some muscles in his mouth that need strengthened according to his speech therapist.  There are sentences that are completely understandable but for the most part but there is often a word that has letters he can't say yet so we have to have him spell that out.  It is frustrating for him because it takes so long for him to get the sentences out.  I can understand why Sara is so exhausted because just trying to understand Nathan is a full time job.  He sounds like my friend who has cerebral palsy so at least I have had some practice.

We were able to attend Nathan's different therapy classes on Monday.  In Recreational therapy they were working on getting the muscles in his fingers working by playing a game of tic tac toe on the IPad.  They also take him outside and work on different social skills. Tomorrow they are taking him to a barbecue.

In Occupational Therapy she was excited to find that Nathan could use the joystick and guide his wheel chair and so despite the fact she had other things planned she took him around the outside of the gym giving him a chance to use this method of guidance.  They had put an assistive device on his chair so he could drive it by turning his head from side to side but he actually did better with the joystick in his hand.  They said that they would probably not need the head guide.  She then took him inside and they worked with a program that helps him to type words and phrases by using his eyes to guide the computer mouse on the keyboard.  This is still hard for him but he is able to type in words to help him communicate. It helps him right now to express things that are still hard for him to say.

In Physical Therapy he practiced moving from his wheelchair to a bed with some help from them and a board. Then they helped him to roll over to one side and then the other.  All of his limbs are working some.  Then they helped him to sit up into a sitting position and then taught him to lean on one elbow and then another.  Then they used that to teach him how to get into the wheelchair again using the same board.  It was really hard work for him I could tell but he did not give up.  It was a common theme in all the classes that the therapists said that Nathan was where he was because of his hard work.  He is way beyond where the doctors thought he might be by now.

He has a psychological session that no one is allowed to attend.  Then he had a speech therapy session.  They just recently decided to move him to afternoon with his speech because he did so well in his session on Monday.  They are teaching him how to strengthen his muscles in his mouth and throat and diaphragm.  He practiced some of the sounds and did a great job.  But it is still hard for him and his assignment is to talk as much as he could and to not use the head shakes to communicate any more.  Again he was commended for his hard work.  They just took the tracheotomy out less than a week ago.

It is hard to believe that he has come so far in about 6 weeks.  When I left then he was just able to turn his head from side to side and blink.  He has surely been blessed as he was promised.  But he gets all emotional when you say that, he says, "No, No, No." Then he starts to cry.  When I asked him why he says that he says wants to be better like he was before. I told him he needs to think of where he is not where he was before the stroke but how much he has progressed since the stroke.  He is extremely frustrated that he is not like he used to be and cannot see the good of the improvement he is making.  I am hoping through prayer to help him see that he is accomplishing a great thing and he will grow from it.

He is also very frustrated by the fact that he has to take medicine and is often refusing to take his meds because he feels like they are giving him things he does not need.  Today he refused to take his antidepressant and by night he was having a hard time controlling his emotions and a harder time talking.  I encouraged him to take it because the doctors said it would help him to think better and be able to concentrated better.  We will see what happened tomorrow.  But helping him to get the issue out in the open enabled him to reemphasize that he wants to be told what he is taking and what it is for.  He is very emotional about this subject.  I think it stems from the fact that he is very emotional about his lack of privacy in personal matters because he cannot do things for himself.  He feels that the meds compound the number of bowel movements he is having and he would like to have none, which is not possible.

He is very childlike and tells me at least 20 times a day, "Thank You" and "I love you".  He says that he is so glad that I could come and be with him.  He does not remember when we came before and does not remember the stroke so I think that is a blessing.  I have often prayed that he would be comforted in his feelings when He was locked in.  It appears that the Lord answered that blessing by putting a cloud of forgetfulness over his mind.  I have often heard that the mind shuts down when the body is experiencing hard things but I also know that he appeared to be conscious and mentally responding to our questions during that time.  Sometimes he becomes the adult and looks like he is very much the same as he was before so I think that the emotions are part of the recovery.

Will post more tomorrow if I can.  Needless to say he misses Sara and the kids very much but he is glad they are having fun.

This post was started 2 weeks ago and I am just finishing it after working on it for the last three Sundays.  Sorry it is late news. 

It has been a crazy two weeks.  On the 14th of April at about 7:50 a.m. our time Sara called and said that Nathan had had a stroke.  At the time he was in surgery to remove the blood clot.  I asked if she wanted us to come and she said she thought they would be fine.  I continued to get dressed for church and then she called back and said that the doctors had said that we needed to get there within 24 hours. I thought she said that he had had a stroke in the main artery of his back just below the skull.  I later learned this was wrong and he had had a brain stem stroke but I continued with the first belief for about 24 hours.

I was panicked I texted all the kids and told them what the doctors had said. I didn't know who the doctors had said should be there but I felt that all the family should be there.  I later learned that Sara had also contacted all the family.  Amazingly, even though she had not talked to most of us for about 6 months because she was saying she wanted a divorce and Nathan was devastated, she invited all of us to stay at her house and to use her extra cars.

Maren, Lexie and Erick around the counter at Sara and Nate's

Larry and I went to Sacrament meeting but in retrospect maybe that was a mistake because after church we were not finding flights that left very early.  While in Sacrament meeting I kept getting phone calls from people in the family trying to find out more and trying to decide what to do.  I called Mom from the empty Relief Society Room and asked her if she could lend me some money to fly down.  She was crying as she said, "Of course I will" I had been hesitant to ask because she was already helping us.  I think I was able to hear only about 20 minutes of Sacrament meeting that day and because I had got up so many times to leave so some people asked me what was wrong.

Kirsten and BJ in the kitchen

We went home and were able to book a flight for 5:10 p.m.  Kirsten had asked Mom to help her too and so she booked our flight after we both looked for flights.  I was hoping to stay until Monday but she booked it to come back Sunday.  Later that was a blessing because Larry got a job call while we were in Texas that wanted him there on Monday at 4:00 p.m.  He has a job teaching at Eagle Gate College.  The later flight gave us time to think as we packed and several people from the ward time to come and visit.  Marla and Bruce Brinkerhoff gave us $100.00 to take with us.  That really came in handy for the little things that came up.  Several people offered hugs and assistance with the yard until we got back.

Just before we left to go to the hospital I said a prayer for Nathan.  I was hopeful that we would get there before he died.  But the spirit quickly told me he was going to be alright.

BJ is the Perfect Role Model

I finally posted on Facebook that my son Nathan had a massive  stroke and was not expected to live.  At this time I felt that we were going to a funeral.  Condolences poured in from everywhere.  Sara had told us she would have someone pick us up at the airport but then Mike Trolinger, Larry's nephew sent us a message on Facebook that he could pick us up at the airport.  That was a huge blessing.  Maren's flight came in about the same time and so he ended up taking the four of us and all our luggage to the hospital.  He had brought his truck so there was room for all the luggage and Maren and Kirsten took turns sitting on each others laps as we traveled.

Mike took us to the hospital and waited for us as we visited with Sara and then took us to her house.  I was worried about how late we were keeping him up but he said that his usual shift was from 4p.m.-2 a.m. so I relaxed after that. We got to the hospital at about Midnight and wandered around with a cleaning lady who thought she knew where we wanted to go for about a half hour.  She took us to two different places before we found the right ICU that he was in about 12:30 a.m..  Nathan was sedated so he did not respond that night. It was hard to see him with all the tubes and machines on him and I longed to here him say, "Hello Mama" like he had so many times before but he could not have talked if he could with all the tubes down his throat. Sara spent the night at the hospital.  Even though she had told us that they had a bad fight on Friday night to the point that Nathan was taken to the jail by police and when he came home he had a head ache and started throwing up.  She said that she had asked a friend to take him to the hospital and then she had fallen asleep with Maggie.  She woke up to the hospital calling her and letting her know that Nathan had been admitted.  There seemed to be a lot of holes in the story that would later be filled in but for the moment she wanted to be with him.

Maren rolling her eyes because she didn't feel attractive
 enough to be having a picture taken and Max,
Max added a lighter mood to everything
but Maggie was not sure she wanted another baby there.

We went home and went to sleep. We were all hungry so we were thrilled when Sara said that there was food in the refrigerator from the Relief Society.  More than once during this ordeal I heard someone say "thank heaven for the Relief Society".  We pulled out the pulled pork and other things and enjoyed a sumptuous meal at about 1:00 a.m. in the morning. It was the first time that we had seen their new house except on Skype so we took a tour of the house before we settled down.

I was embarrassed that Larry wanted to sleep in Nathan and Sara's bed because Sara had told us her father and his wife were coming.  There were several air mattresses set up in the family room and Maggie's bed was by that.  I felt like they should have the bedroom downstairs so they would not have to be in the middle of our family.  Larry insisted though so we slept for one night.  Luckily Frank and Kay did not get there that night.  So I was relieved but I felt even better when Larry moved all of our luggage up to Maggie's room so we didn't have to make them go there.  I was surprised how good the bed was and I slept well each night until the last night and so did Larry.

Maggie and Sara at the restaurant Wednesday night

The first night it was just Kirsten, Maren with Max and Larry and I.  That morning Jacob texted that he was in a traffic jam in Austin.  Before we got ready to go to the hospital he was texting us to know which entrance to the Hospital he was supposed to use.  So he got there before we did that day and to our surprise he had brought his oldest daughter Lexie with him.  It was fun to have her there as well as Jacob.  B.J. had got a flight but would not be in until later that afternoon.  Erick had stayed home because he did not want to remember him as he was and he said that he would come down for the funeral.

Erick, BJ and Maren  Max is there somewhere

Jake and Lexie

When we got to the hospital room the doctors where there updating Sara on his condition.  They told us to go in and be by her.  They talked about his present condition.  I don't remember much of what they said but when they asked for questions I asked them why we were here.  We had understood it was to tell him good bye before he died but they were painting a picture of recovery.  Also Sara had said that he had an advanced directive that he did not want to be kept alive on a respirator and so she and we were worried about how long before that kicked in. She said that she was not ready to go there. The doctor said that we were there to help Nathan.  That having people there would give him a will to live.  They emphasized that he could still die at anytime but they were not going to worry about the respirator until further down the road.  They also said that the next 5 days would be critical because of the possibility of swelling in the brain and that in two weeks they would know better what to expect.  For awhile they seemed to be kicking around the magic number of two weeks before they would know what to do. Sara had a friend Melinda Steadam that was there also and was asking all kinds of questions of the doctors. At first I was a little resentful of her being there but I soon grew to appreciate her and what she had to offer.

Kirsten and June at the restaurant

After the doctors left we went to his bedside.  I don't really remember everything that happened but I do remember that Sara opened his eyelids and asked him to roll his eyeballs if he wanted something.  I think that he did.  He moved his right hand some but they had it tied down so he would not pull out the breathing and feeding tubes.  At this time he had IV's in his hands to feed him and give him medicine.  When we told him we were there he started to show some emotion like trying to cry and his face and veins were very red and bulged.  Later when we told the neurologist that he was showing emotion he said that was a good sign because that indicated higher order thinking skills.  Even though they kept telling us that he was very critical I knew that he was going to be okay because they spirit had told me so.  At the same time I had claustrophobia at the thought of how it must feel to him.  I prayed often for the spirit to help him endure.

Erick in the kitchen

The Relief Society came and brought lunch for us but it was a lot of things that Larry and I could not eat on Weight Watcher's.  I should not have been so picky but I was trying to be true to my diet at this time.  We ended up drinking a lot of diet doctor pepper that week.  However I complained to Maren and she told the Relief Society President we were on weight watchers and they had a lot of fruits and vegetables the rest of the week I felt bad all week that she had told them but I guess I should have been the one to say something.

Sammy playing angry birds with his angry bird hat on.

Then the Relief Society ladies continued to stay all day.  Only two people could go into see him in ICU so I began to feel resentful.  I knew that I should not feel that way and I knew that they were just trying to help but it bugged me that they were staying for so long.  I think I learned then that sometimes I just like to be by myself to work through my grief.  One of the ladies with the Relief Society had a father that had suffered a stroke when she was ten and she was not happy that he had lived and refused to die. He wasn't very functional.  I think that helped but it made me anxious that maybe Nathan would live and not be able to do anything.  About 6:00 p.m. I asked Larry to take a walk with me so I could vent my frustrations.  He listened to me and then told me that he understood but they were just trying to help.

Maren talking to Sara's friend Melinda Steadam in the Hospital
Waiting Room outside ICU

John and Judy, Larry's sister and her husband had called and said that they were coming in the afternoon on Monday but they called later and said it would be the next day.

Jacob said that he had cried for him when he came in and told him, "what was he doing in this bed, he was supposed to be showing him San Antonio".  Later he cried about a lot of things that we would say.  I think that was the only emotion that he could show.  He would cry when we told him something good and he would cry when we told him something sad.  At times he seemed to be crying because of frustration but at least he was alive and crying.  It never occurred to me that he would not survive after that even though the doctors continured to assert that he could die any time.

Sara with Kay waiting to go back into see Nathan after they
finished working on him in the waiting room.

He had a fever the first few days and they were constantly trying to get the temperature down so they would put him in various contraptions designed to reduce his temperature.  The first one was a body wrap type thing.  He looked so miserable in it.  He was just shivering violently.  Sara finally asked them to take it off.  They took it off and he quit shivering but they still continued to use other devises to keep his temperature down and he would shiver and then they would stop for a while.

I talked to Erick for a while on Monday and told him what the doctor said about we were there to help Nathan.  One of the reasons he had stayed home he said was because Heather did not feel good so he said he would talk to Heather.  The next thing we know Heather is calling us telling us he will be in on the Tuesday evening flight.  It was kind of bittersweet to have all of my biological children under one roof.  We had some good times but it was also draining emotionally.

Sara's Father Frank Roberts and Kirsten waiting

I had to deal with the fact that I had to trust Sara to take care of him when she had been trying to leave the relationship.  Maren told me that I needed to forgive Sara and I knew that I had to but I was frustrated to gradually learn how much their relationship had deteriorated. The one doctor told me that this kind of stroke can be caused by something as simple as sit ups and  I wondered if something could have happened during the fight that caused it or if something happened when they took him to the police station.  And I still didn't understand why Sara would get someone else to take him to the hospital.  It made me mad that Maren could not listen to how I was feeling instead of telling me to take the higher road.  I got mad and lost it for a while.  Then the boys got back from the hospital so that quieted me for the night.  I realized that Maren was just doing to me what I usually do to them when they call to vent so I learned that I should listen more and quit trying to make them take the high road. We talked an made up the next day.

Lexie and Larry waiting

Judy and John had to go back to Ingram the day we went to the movie so Larry went home with them for the evening.  He had a good time visiting them and going to the Fredricksburg Family Search Center where Judy works.  He did okay but it was a miracle because he did not take his CPAP or any of the medicines that he usually takes.  I was surprised that he did not get sick but he didn't.  I told him it was his fault that I lost it because I did not have him to vent to.  He laughed.

Sara got good news during all of this.  Because Nathan was on active duty military orders she will have a paycheck until he is  better and if he does not get better she will have his retirement.  His medical bills will all be covered and he will be treated as a wounded soldier.  Sara can have us flown down if she needs our help once or twice a month.  Which is great for me because we are short on money right now.


Kirsten and Maren spent a lot of time with the kids and planned a few trips to do fun things while we were there.  One afternoon we went to the movies with the kids and bought treats for them.  I went with them that time.  Another night we all went to dinner with Sara's family and her parents.  One of the last evenings there they all went to the river walk in San Antonio to show it to the kids and Erick as Erick had never been there.  By the time they had done all this the kids were adoring them and having a good time.  Maggie grew especially attached to Kirsten and did not what her to leave the last day.

Nathan made little improvements each day.  He began to be able to open his eyelids for yes instead of someone opening them for him.  They began to not worry so much about his temperature and his skull swelling.  On Thursday we had a meeting with the doctor's.  They explained that Nathan had locked in syndrome.  One of the Dr.s Frey had told me earlier in the week that was the worst case senerio.  Essentially it means that he has a functioning mind inside a body that does not function.  Sara had been prepared for this by a friend at the hospital that had told her that was what was in his chart but I was upset because he had told Sara that because she was upset after hearing that. I felt like he was wrong then here in the meeting after what the doctor said  I was a little shocked because I had been told that was worst case scenario and now they were telling us that is what he had.  They talked about options and heard from several different kinds of doctors.  They talked about how Sara would have to make a decision on where  to take him for rehabilitation.  At the time she was against the VA because Nathan had a bad experience there with his employment and she didn't think that would work for him. But as she investigated it turned out to be the best place for him in San Antonio.  After the meeting I was a little depressed for a few days.  I knew that the spirit had told me that this was for the good of their family but it was a lot to absorb in a short time.

Before we all left we got together as a family and the men all helped in giving Nathan a blessing with Erick as the mouth.  He was told that this was for his good and the good of his family.  He was told that he would not be healed immediately but he would be healed with "some problems"  As time has gone on the spirit has let me know the reasons for the way of healing.  It will help their family to heal and learn to love each other again.

Larry in a bow tie for Nathan

Jacob started leaving on Thursday and we gradually all went home by Sunday.  They started to get the tubes out of his mouth on Sunday when they did a tracheotomy in the morning and put a feeding tube in the next afternoon.  He was breathing on his own but they wanted him to have oxygen still so he had a CPAP type of assisting device.  I did not want to go.  Sara needed so much help but I realized that I needed to let the Relief Society help while they could and that I needed to get home and do what I do at home.

Sunday was an exciting day.  People had got on Facebook and encouraged everyone to fast for Nathan and to wear bow ties in honor of Nathan because he always wore bow ties.  It was so fun to see all the people come into Nathan's ward with bow ties on.  Larry wore one of Nathan's bow ties and I wore a ring and a pair of earrings that were like bows.  Many people posted pictures of them wearing bowties on Facebook for Sara to see.  When we told Nathan he cried.

Kirsten and I had a good talk together on the way home which helped me to understand that Sara was not home when Nathan came home with a headache from jail. He contacted her by phone. She was afraid to come home after the fight so she called around to members of the ward to see if someone would take him to the hospital. I wonder why he did not just call a taxi like he did coming home from jail. She thought he was just messing with her to try to get her home.  She said he had the headache in jail so she wondered if it started Friday night when he got so upset because he had never been so mad.  When he got home he started throwing up but she thought he had just a stomach flu.  She eventually found someone to take him and he went and stayed there until Nathan had a seizure and they admitted him to the hospital.  The ward member tried to get hold of Sara but her phone was on silent so she did not hear it.  The next morning she heard the phone at 5:00 am.  It was the hospital calling asking her if she knew that her husband had been admitted.  She felt terribly guilty then.  Shortly after that was when she called me.  It doesn't matter now and we can't go back but I wonder if he would have been able to go to the hospital sooner if he would have been spared some of the problems with the new drug they have.  Although I feel like this is a blessing given from Heaven in answer to our prayers for Nathan and Sara and their family.

Kirsten rented the "Diving Bell and the Butterfly" a movie about a man who wrote a book about how he felt with locked in syndrome.  She was able to watch it but I continued to have anxiety about how Nathan was feeling.  I could only watch about 3 minutes of it and it gave me anxiety.  I had anxiety all week after we got back.  The only way I could get comfort is to pray that Nathan would be comforted and that he would not have anxiety like I did.  Eventually I had to ask Larry to give me a blessing.  I have felt better since then.  But I knew that I had to go back soon so that I could see how Nathan was doing.  Sara was posting some negative things that were happening in the hospital 

 

and I needed to see him again to see how he was doing.

Monday the 8th of May Sara had me flown down for 4 days.  When I saw him I knew that he was better even though he had had pneumonia all week and was still recovering from that.  His eyes looked better and he seemed to be learning how to communicate.  On Tuesday they transferred him to the VA Polytrauma center about a half-hour northwest of the hospital. 

John and Judy came down to see me and Nathan again.  It was scary the first time I had to drive to the VA but Sara and John and Judy both gave me instructions and I eventually found the place.  As I watched the different types of therapists work on him the next day I felt joy realizing that they could help him bring back what was lost.

As of tonight he can shake his head for no and yes.  He can sit up in a wheelchair.  He is being evaluated to see what he can do.  They are helping him move his muscles hoping to heal the connection that control the things he needs to do like comb his hair and wash his face.  They are getting him outside in the wheelchair and he likes that.  He has a machine that they are trying to help him learn to use to communicate on the computer with his eyes.  He can smile and laugh at jokes.  Definitely simple things and he has a long way to go but they give us hope.  Everyday I now thank my Heavenly Father for the blessing I have that my body responds to the commands that my brain starts.

 

We had a scare this morning.  Mom woke up thinking she was having stroke.  She called the doctor and Craig and craig took her to the Doctor.  The doctor said that he thought it is bells palzy.  We are here at the house and she is looking pretty good.  The doctor gave her medicine and she says she is feeling better.

So it is Easter and we celebrated with our family that is here on Thursday so Larry and I have a few minutes to complete a post about our week.

Kyle with me at the youth conference for Rootstech

Today we had a great lesson on the atonement for Relief Society.  It essentially boiled down to this thought:  He lived, He died, He lives again.  It is so good to have evidence of the atonement and how it works in our lives.  I am living proof that he can help you to become more than you are.  I was so sick and depressed until last July and around the time that Dad died I ask Heavenly Father to help me, because I could not do it alone.  I immediately started feeling better and have progressed to doing many things again.  I know it is through the help of my Savior.

Today in sacrament we also witnessed what a person can do if they are truly converted and learning to rely on the Savior.  All of the talks where good.  But I have had a friend Margarita Tovar who joined the church in 1993.  I met her when I moved out here.  She has always been afraid to do things in the church but has always been active.  She has her times when she is sick also but she has continued to come.  She taught a primary class with me about 5 years ago and she would always prepare wonderful handouts and such but she would not give a lesson if I was there.  Today for the first time she gave a talk in Sacrament meeting in English which is not her native language.  She has also accepted a call to work in the Relief Society and is working hard to do that.  To me it is a miracle knowing how afraid that Margarita has been to speak and do things in the church.

Our crocus are up and blooming

Yesterday we went to the Family History Center in the morning.  I taught a class on adding notes to Family Search Family Tree and Larry helped others.  Then I helped others.  We have often been without people on Saturday but since the First Presidency has reemphasized the importance of finding our own ancestors things are picking up.  We have a couple of people that have been coming every Saturday for a while now and it is fun to help them.  Yesterday one of the High Councilors from our Stake, Kevin Collier came in to learn how to print a fan chart and wanted to know how to find a name to attend the temple after our Family History Supervisors talked to the High Council on the programs we have.  It was fun helping him and I found out he is originally from Vernal.  After I got through helping him I printed out a fan chart for Larry and We have a lot of work to do.  It may be that we just have to add what Judy has found but it will keep us busy for a while.

The plant that we got for Grandpa's funeral is blooming
Great testimony of the resurrection!

In the afternoon we went to help Mom and visit with her.  She is having a hard time right now she is really lonely and needs people to talk to and help her.  Maybe the family that is reading this could call her once a week or send some pictures or go visit her if you are close enough.  We could all fast and Pray for her too.  I think that she is just going through a stage of grief that is hard for her right now.

We worked on the house and then we took a ride to see where the Frontrunner Station is in Lehi.  It was a beautiful day in the high 60's.  The stop is by Thanksgiving Point of course.  I had to take a package back to some people in Cedar Hills.  It was remarkable how the things have grown up along the Alpine road.  It used to be rather rural but now it is a thriving city with lots of homes.  Kathy called and said that they were at Mom's when we were planning to go home.  It was weird because she called from home and used Mom's phone so my phone said that I had a call from Mom and Mom was right there in the car with me!

Larry, Brooke, Taylor, Heather, Erick and Ryker having fun
at the Birthday Party

Mom took Kathy's family and Larry and I our to dinner at Culver's  We found a great sandwich there that we like.  It is called shaved prime rib.  It was fun to talk with Kathy and Gary and the girls and Mom while we ate.  I think that Mom likes to take us out to dinner just to have something to do.

Michelle called while we were at Culver's and asked us to watch their birds and fish while they go to Caliifornia.  They were going down to see Michelle and Jeff's Aunt Betty on Diane's side but she died earlier in the week so now they will be going down to help go through things so Michelle can get some of the significant things they will give her for Family History.  They are also going down to meet Jeff and his family and go to Disneyland.  It is Spring Break this week so they will be gone most of the week.

Ethan, Kallise, Hailee, Michelle, Jaron singing Happy Birthday

Kirsten got to go to the Conference Center for the Young Woman's broadcast on Saturday.  She took Brooke and Kennedy and they went to dinner with the Young Women in their ward.  She said that they had a good time.

Friday was a day to" rest from our labors" according to Larry.  We had the mission on Thursday and a Family Party the day before so I guess he is referring to the mission.

I went visiting teaching with Kelly Jenkins (no relation that we know of).  She mention while she was giving her lesson that she had learned that she needed to be able to put mistakes in the past and move on.  She said that she has always thought that because she came from a rather dysfunctional family that she had no chance to be otherwise but now she knows that she doesn't have to make the same mistakes that they did and that she can learn from them.  I have  been frustrated ever since I went on a website that helps you to see who you are related to that was famous.  It told me that I was not related to anyone who was famous.  So I have kind of felt bad like maybe I did not have the power in me to do anything great.  Her comments helped me to see that I do not have to be tied to the past.  But I also know that I want to do what Heavenly Father would want me to do.

Brooke and Taylor waiting for birthday cake

While I went visiting teaching, Larry went and got some parts for the Truck so Jon Hayford could finish fixing it so it will pass inspection.  We were both gone for about 2 hours and got back about the same time even though we didn't plan it that way.

In the afternoon I was able to work on my lesson for Saturday and start cleaning off my desk.  Larry was able to spend some time looking for a job.  I was still stiff from going to physical therapy on Wednesday so I welcomed the chance to sit down.

Thursday was our LDS Employment mission.  Larry and I both went in the morning but Larry stayed home in the afternoon to wait for the dishwasher repair person.  He said that they completely replaced the motor for the Dishwasher.  Hopefully it will not have any problems now.  He spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready for the Family Party so just about everything was completed when I got home.

Kallise close-up

We went to Weight Watcher's to weigh in at noon and Larry had lost another 3 lbs and I had lost 2.8.  That finally put me over the 25lbs lost mark.  They give you a little token to go on your key ring when you lose 25 lbs so that was fun.  Larry has lost a total of 43 lbs and is looking great.

Thursday at 6:00 p.m. we had a Family Birthday Party at our house for all the March and April Birthday's.  It was finally warming up and so we were able to barbecue outside and some even ate outside.  There were a few mosquitoes, despite we took our the pond, so Larry go lots of bites because he was outside barbecuing.  He even has one on the top of his head.  It was a fun party.  We just had a good time talking and eating and talking and eating some more.  Everyone was gone by 8:00 pm and then Kirsten called and said that Jon wanted Larry to go buy parts for the truck that night so he could work on it the next morning.  We had Kyle at our house still so he and Larry took off to get the parts.  Larry didn't get home until about 10:00 pm.  I watched TV because I was so stiff from physical therapy the day before.

Kennedy, Larry, Taylor and Kirsten eating cake

Wednesday we slept in a little.  I finally did my hair and got dressed like I should.  I had a Physical Therapy at 2:00 p.m.  They really worked me hard on an exercise ball but it felt good at the time and I think I need to get one of those balls.  Other than that Larry worked on looking for jobs and I worked on finishing the job with Dorius Academy.  I have been writing curriculum on Economic Systems so I have been learning while I do it.

Tuesday I actually was able to get myself to post about already.

Monday I spent most of the time researching information for the curriculum that I am writing.  Larry spent most of the day looking for jobs and cleaning.  I didn't even do my hair.  I did have to help Larry jumpstart the his car and I think that is the day we took the truck to Jon's so he could repair it.

Erick and Heather are going through some tests for fertility and he is having a surgery this week on Thursday I think to correct some vein problem he has so I am sure they would like your prayers.

Our living room with the new carpet.  It looks brighter and
bigger I think!

The new kitchen floor

Well sorry it is so long.  I will try to post more often so they are not so long.

We got new carpet and flooring in the kitchen, utility room and my bathroom.  It looks much better but it was a stupid time to buy it when we have so little money anyway.  But we do have good credit!  We have needed it for a long time as you know but I am embarrassed that we bought it when we did.

The Gibby Fish

The Gibby Birds

Spent most of the day today working on the curriculum for Dorius Academy.  But it was interspersed with a call from Maren to vent and give me a chance to excercise,  my visiting teacher, Carol Harris coming to visit, it was a good visit and making phone calls about my visiting teaching with Larry laying by me on the bed.

I have not done my hair for two days except to brush it.  It is terribly liberating until I look in the mirror.

We also had a person come to sell us a Hepa filter today but we have no money to buy anything.

Larry has worked on several things to try to get a job today and even fixed dinner while I was talking to Carol.

Attached is a picture of Kyle and me at Rootstech last Saturday.

I wrote this post on the 10th of March.  I intended to add some pictures but I got sick the next day and it has taken this long to get back.  Hopefully you will enjoy it with no pictures and I can move on.

Spring has come to Kaysville this week.  Most of the snow is melted except on the north sides and big piles in parking lots.  The sun has been out some days in abundance but we had a few cloudy days also.  When it stormed it was mostly in the mountains.

I woke up this morning and had a gruff voice.  That has escalated through the day to a really gruff voice and being extremely tired.  I guess I might be coming down with something.

It has been a busy week.  Monday we got the fan charts that I had printed for my kids packaged and sent most of them to the kids out of town I didn't have BJ's new address so I had to wait to send his.  Larry did not want to do them for his kids yet because there is hardly anything on nfs about Diane's family so he decided to work on that for a while before he printed them.  That was my birthday present for them.  We sent them all though regardless of when their birthday's are because I didn't want to lose them or have them get messed up.

We went grocery shopping in the afternoon and got some more fruits and vegetables and milk.  We eat about 20-30 lbs of fresh fruit since we are on Weight Watcher's because they are 0 points.

Larry was frustrated that his computer was not being repaired so he started to set up the desktop computer and he could not get that to turn on.  So then he was more frustrated.  He has not been able to get into his email all week even on my computer and so he has been doing a lot of cleaning and fixing up.
 
I also got mad at my phone in the evening and went to the mall to see if they could get it to have sound.  I had no sound on speaker phone when I was listening to my messages.  Note to self:  Do not buy another Samsung Stratosphere!!!

 Larry went to the endocrinologist on Tuesday morning  the doctor was very impressed with his progress on losing weight and getting his blood sugar down but Larry was disappointed to find out that the monitor that Medicare had given him could not be used to record his blood sugar at the doctors for a read out.  They gave him a new one to use but he is still waiting for the test strips to come for the new one.

 I got a message that I was not going to considered for the job at Salt Lake Community College on linked in.  It was a job I thought I had a chance at so I was really bummed.  I thought that maybe I did not have a good resume because I did not even get a chance to interview it kind of put me down.

We went to Kirsten's at 12:00 p.m. and I was going to tend Taylor so Kirsten could work and Larry was going to help Jon bleed the breaks so he could get his truck registered.  They got that done pretty quickly and Larry went to get the truck registered but then they would not pass the steering mechanism so he still could not get it registered.

I played with Taylor.  She likes to play games right now and as soon as you get it out and set up and play a couple of rounds she walks away.  It is nice that she does not have to wear the oxygen anymore.  They had the steri strips off her face and she has to wear a salve so she doesn't get scars.  She was cute.  She lifted her dress to show me that her surgical scars are healing.

Tuesday I worked most of the afternoon on trying to find jobs and applying for jobs.  I joined the U of U Alumni association so I could get the six months of Job search help and it took me most of the afternoon. to figure that out.  I also went into Simply Hired to sign up for a job they sent me and now I am signed up for about 3 other websites for job search including some Engineer's site!

Wednesday I went to the Dermatologist and they burned off two spots of pre-cancer, a wart and told me that a spot on my leg was just a patch of dry skin even thought it is round.  While I was at doctor Larry went shopping at Bowman's and went to Pet's Co and bought a light for the fish tank and then he let himself watch TV and relax which he does not do very often.

Wednesday afternoon we also spent looking for jobs.

Thursday we went to our mission.  I was a little down because I had read an article on saving for retirement in AARP's website and realized that we have done everything wrong lately and so now we are having to find jobs.  We went to lunch and went to weigh at Weight Watcher's and I had lost 2.8 lbs and Larry had lost 4.6.  That raised my spirit's some because we have been in a funk on losing and gaining.  I had finally made it past 198!  But then we went home to lunch and DATC called me for an interview the next day!  I was really excited!!! At least they liked my resume.  It helped me feel better all day. I spent the evening preparing for the interview.

Friday I had the interview at 9:30 a.m.  It went well.  I did the best I knew how.  If I don't get it is because there is someone more qualified or my personality did not click with theirs.

Friday afternoon we went down to Mom's to help her.  We went down to Modern Shoe in Provo and she picked out some shoes for church occasions.  I thought they looked nice and they are a comfortable brand that supports her foot.  That was all she wanted us to do. I am beginning to believe what Dad used to say, "Mom does not like to do things that mess up the house"  That includes deep cleaning right now.  But it is good to go and visit her each week.  I realize that Mom has been in Dad's shadow for so long that it is good to have time to spend just with her.

We went home and ate and watched the Mentalist on TV and then I had to work on a class that I had to teach for the Family Search Center the next morning at 9:00 a.m.  It wasn't a class that was all planned out in the reference book for Family Tree so I was up until about midnight. I still didn't feel good about the class when I went to bed but with the Lord's help I was able to do a good job.

Today is a rainy day but that is better than snow.  It might melt some of the foot of snow we still have in our yard.  Yesterday was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine and it got to 53 or more degrees.  The scent of spring was in the air.  I am certainly looking forward to spring coming.

Monday I had to take my new phone that I got from the insurance to get it reset with my contacts.  They did something to sync all of my Facebook friends to my contacts so I was frustrated with that but I have figured out how to not have them show.  They also got all the contacts from Backup Assistant.  So now I have all the old contacts that I had deleted and all the old phone numbers for those of you who switched phones and I now have to determine which ones are the current numbers again.

Sunday our dishwasher started leaking all over the floor after dinner and then it shut off and would not go through the cycle.  I called Sears to see about getting it repaired and the soonest they could come was Saturday.  It is under warranty and it will not cost us anything but I thought that was pretty slow response time and told them so but they said they had to give priority to people who did not have heat or needed something for survival.  I guess they do not understand that a person needs a dishwasher for survival.

Erick and Ryker in the big train

We spent the rest of the day doing things to get jobs.  Networking, filling our applications, calling people about the application to find out the hiring manager etc.  I applied for a position at DATC that would be good because they are just through the field so I wouldn't have to drive very far.  Larry also is applying for jobs.

Tuesday we spent most of the day also looking for jobs.  I had a Dr. appointment at 1: 45 pm because I have this feeling that comes to my neck every so often that feels like someone put a vise clamp by the right shoulder and then it lets up and radiates out down my arm and chest and back.  The doctor x-rayed my neck and said that I had a lot of vertebrae that are too close together so he sent me to physical therapy for 2 months and then I am supposed to go back.  I thought maybe it might be a symptom of my Fibromyalgia but I guess I was wrong.

Tuesday evening we spent teaching career workshop.  It was the last class.  We had 7 originally last week but we only had three come back so it was a small ending class.

Wednesday was a crazy day.  We started out working on jobs but I had consented to a free in home estimate for flooring from Sears when I called about the dishwasher.  They came at about 11:30 a.m. and finally left at 3:30 p.m.  Kirsten called me to go get Kyle from school because they were coming back from Primary Children's Medical Center with Taylor.  So I went to get Kyle.  I had had a prompting to look at my calendar but ignored it twice.  When I looked at my phone when I went to get Kyle I realized that we were supposed to be at the Ogden Cannery at the same time I was picking Kyle up.  I panicked and called them to see if we could come in late and they said that would be okay.  Kyle came to tell me that he did not need a ride only one of the girls in their car pool.  I told him that was fine and then just as the girl comes to get in the car a person from the DATC job that I had called a couple of times to find out about the hiring manager called me back.  I motioned for the girl to get in and she basically sat and listened to me have this phone interview over the phone when we hadn't even met.  She was nice enough about it when I got off the phone but I certainly had adrenaline pumping.  Then I went home and the flooring people had not left yet and it took about a half hour to get them to finish up.  Then we went to the cannery.  They were starting to thaw turkeys for turkey chunks but we got there in time to clean up.

Kirsten and Taylor
If you look closely you can see the steri-strips
 on Taylor's face from the dog bite

Kirsten stopped on the way home from Taylor's check up to visit John's sister and Taylor was playing with the dog and it all of a sudden bit her on the cheek.  Kirsten was pretty upset after all that Taylor has been through.  They were able to get her into a plastic surgeon at Tanner Clinic and so they feel like it should heal okay.  The Doctor said that it was cut in ways that should not show as she grows.

Thursday we worked at LDS Employment all day on our mission.  We also leave at about 10:45 a.m. to weigh in at weight watchers and have lunch.  I was happy to have lost 2.4 lbs.  Larry left his shoes on so he can weigh with his shoes on after this so he gained 1.6 lbs. but considering that his shoes weigh 2 lbs he probably lost weight from last week.

Friday we went to Mom's about 9:00 a.m.  The idea was to take her shoe shopping in the morning but when we got there she didn't want to do that so we went to buy bird seed and food at the grocery store before the Senior Lunch started.  Larry went over early when we got back because he wanted to play pool.  Mom and I and her friend Eula went about 11:20 a.m. so we could get there on time for bingo.  I won the first game again so that was weird. Maren called me just as they were playing Black Out so I didn't get to finish but it was better talking to Maren.   It was a good lunch and we had a good time with Mom and her friends there.

Heather, Erick and Ryker with Thomas the train 

Mom had to go get a perm in the afternoon so we visited with her while we worked and sent her to get her perm.  She said that she was too tired to go shoe shopping and not to wait for her so we went home about 2:30 p.m.

I spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready for a Family Tree class on Merging Duplicates that I had to teach the next morning.  Larry went and got the plastic covers for the lights in the kitchen that I have needed for a year and put those in.  He spends time everyday now trying to find things to fix up in the house.  It is looking better everyday.

We got up early on Saturday and were to the Family Search Center by 8:30 a.m. so we were able to set up well and have some time to breath.  The class went well and then I spent about an hour and a half helping a lady in the class figure out to merge duplicates and add and correct information for one family.  Just as she left a man came in wanting to learn how to find a name to take to the temple.  I showed him how to find people that need ordinances on Family Tree and what he would have to do to qualify them and so he was completely overwhelmed when he left but knew what he had to do.

Erick and Ryker getting ready to ride the train

We spent the afternoon waiting for the dishwasher repair man to show up.  They said that he would come from 1-5 and of course he got there about 4:30 p.m.  There was a hose clamp that had broken so that is why it was leaking and would not run.  Grateful to have it under warranty when I saw the bill.

Yesterday was Erick's birthday so we went over to take him his present and see them for a few minutes.  They had gone to the Hostler's train show in Ogden at the Train Depot so Ryker was excited about the trains they had seen.  They had some cute pictures of Erick and Ryker riding a little miniature train and of Ryker and Erick in  the big train exhibit they had there.  They even had a G size Thomas the train that they let Ryker hold one of the cars from.

Last night we watched a couple of "The Mentalist" shows on On Demand with Xfinity.

Today is Fast Sunday so we are fasting and waiting to eat until we get to dinner because that is when we ate last yesterday.  We had a good Fast and Testimony meeting today.  It seemed to me to center on the blessings of the Atonement in helping us not only overcome sins but in helping us with our weaknesses in life. I am so grateful for the Gospel and the fact that though faith I can obtain the help I need to overcome obstacles and challenges in this life.  Just recently I experienced this blessing in trying to work our some feelings I had about looking for work.

Tonight for supper we made Grandma Christiansen's Cabbage soup.  This is one of the first things that she taught me how to make of her dishes.  It is typical of Danish cooking in the Christiansen family.  Here is the recipe:

Grandma Christiansen's Cabbage Soup

2 pork hocks covered with 3 quarts of water

1 medium large potatoes cut in 1 inch cubes

3 carrots peeled and cut in slices

1 onion diced

1/4 head cabbage if large 1/2 if small

1 Tbsp. Salt

Put Onion and Carrot in with Pork Hocks and cook for 2-3 hours until meat is tender.

Add potatoes, cabbage and Salt and cook until tender.

It tasted so good.  The secret is to get the meat juices into the water for flavor.

Well hope you all have a great day tomorrow.  We already have more scheduled than we have time to do.

Today is a sunny day after snowing for 2 days again.  It is cold though as it is 29 out side.  Our Bishop's family came after church to clean our driveway before we realized that they were there.  Said they needed a service project.  It snowed about 4 inches last night.

Some of the snow is melting

Even though Monday was a holiday we were surprised when the Northridge Learning Academy called and wanted to know if I would be able to come in and talk to them about writing some curriculum for them.  I was able to get the job and now have five books to write on marketing.  It is a good thing that I have a Subject Matter Expert living with me to help me write them.

Monday I also went to Kirsten's to help her figure out a pattern layout for a dress she is making for Taylor.  Taylor was feeling pretty good and we played a game of Candyland and some dice game she had so she would not have to sit on Kirsten's lap while she was cutting and pinning.

Larry went to an interview with Primerica.  He said they would hire him but it was strait commission and he would have to get his insurance license and security and exchange commission license and that is not what he is looking for.

Such a sunny day but about 20 degrees

Monday night we worked on some of Larry's Family History for Family Home Evening.  We are finding that there is a lot of information that Judy has that is not on the new Family Tree at Family Search so we have our work cut out for us.

Tuesday we both spent the day networking and applying for other jobs.  We have some good possibilities in the works but it takes a long time to get answers sometimes.  We watched a webinar from the University of Utah last week that helped us learn how to use linked in and other social networking sites for helping in our job search and that has been helpful.  And of course we teach the career workshop at LDS Employment so we have been teaching techniques for getting employment for a year.  In fact we had to teach the workshop that evening.

Wednesday Maren called and we had a good talk.  She is enjoying being in Young Women's in her ward and she always has some fun things to tell me about her kids.  I have also learned to pace while I talk on the phone at home and I got 40 minutes of walking in that day for Weight Watcher's points!

We worked again on job searching and networking but in the afternoon I went to Kirsten's to tend Taylor while she went visiting teaching.  Taylor fell asleep while I was there and so it was an easy job.

Our Clear Driveway

Kyle had to go driving that afternoon also.  He will get his license on the coming Tuesday if he passes the test.  He is excited because he will probably get his license before many of his friends who have been in a competition to be first.

We taught our career workshop class again on Wednesday.  We have a good group.  There is a man in there that is sold on RootsMagic for family History.  He says that you can upload things to FamilySearch Family Tree with it but I don't believe him from what I learned in my mission for Familysearch so he is going to spend some time with us showing us why we should update to RootsMagic 6.

Thursday we worked at LDS Employment with our mission.  It is always a good experience to try to help those who are out of work
.

Sarah, Lauren, Steven, Larry and Leslie Jenkins at
Bacon Park Family Reunion 1986

Thursday night we collapsed and enjoyed a TV marathon of detective TV shows while I cleaned out a box of things from my office that needed to be organized.  I found some old pictures of a reunion we had at Bacon Park by Roosevelt, Utah when our children where smaller.  I also found some pictures of the trip we took to Yellowstone the year before Maren was born.  There were also some birth and marriage certificates for some of my ancestors and a lot of other things that I needed to organize plus a big pile of trash.

John, Cory, Corrinne,, Kirsten, Craig, Kathy
Bacon Park Reunion

We decided on Thursday to go to the temple on Friday.  We wanted to go to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple but when it was snowing in the morning we decided to go to Salt Lake City and then maybe the snow would quit as the radio station was telling us.  We had agreed to meet Mom for lunch at the Senior Citizen's luncheon at 12:00 p.m.  When I got into the dressing room I had no dress to do endowments.  After going out to talk to the women helpers about what to do and communicating across the barriers to the men's dressing room with the help of the women helpers we decided to do initiatory work because it would not take as long and it did not require a dress.  It was a good experience doing initiatory and the snow did slow for the afternoon.

We made it to Mom's just in time to go with her to play bingo which is earlier before the lunch.  Larry found out they have pool on Friday's there and the lunch while being 18 weight watcher's points was delicious.  Therefore Larry thought we ought to go again next week.  We even won prizes in bingo.  So we are planning on going to help Mom again on Friday and enjoying the luncheon.

Back: John, BJ, Nathan, Erick, June
Front: Kirsten
Yellowstone 1987

We spent the rest of the afternoon helping Mom at the house.  It is always fun to spend the time with her and learn from her.

Back :Nathan, BJ, Jacob, June
Front:  Erick, Kirsten
Yellowstone Summer 1987

Saturday morning we did not have to teach a class at the Family Search Center so we did not have to be there until 10:00 a.m.  I was glad that we did not have to go to Mom's on Saturday.  It was a beautiful snowy day but it was really snowing.  We did not have any patrons at the Center but I was able to teach one of the consultants that comes on the 4th Saturday how to recover his username and password for his LDS Account and show him the training's for learning how to use Family Tree.  I was able to look up references for a class I have to teach on notes in Family Tree and Larry was working on his family history.

Erick and Heather looking at old photos

I felt really awful when I got home.  We ate and I tried to do some things and I just could not get feeling better.  I finally laid down and slept for 3 hours.  I do not know what Larry was doing during that time but I know I had more clothes in my closet this morning.  I woke up and tried to do some of the work on looking for jobs and did not feel good.  I spent sometime praying to Heavenly Father about my frustrations and later felt some peace about things that had been confusing me.  I got up and was able to work and worked for about 2 hours.  Larry made a wonderful dinner and that made me feel better also.  I think it was my Fibromyalgia.

Last night I took the new phone I got from insurance on Wednesday up to the Mall to get Verizon to help me set it up.  I spent the rest of the evening and sometime today working on downloading my apps.  It will be nice to have a phone that is not broken but it is always a challenge to reset the phone with what you use.

Ryker loves Grandma's Computer especially the
Yappy puppy on Blue Mountain

Today was a wonderful smorgasbord of teaching at church.  Sacrament Meeting was about Tithing and it's blessings.  Sunday School was about Faith and Repentance and we had a special women's meeting from the Bishop for all the women helping us to understand how the Atonement can help us overcome the feelings of discouragement and depression that many women feel because they are not perfect. Larry taught the High Priest lesson from talks from the October Conference.

Erick and Heather came over for dinner in the afternoon.  We had a good time looking at the old pictures and Ryker had to view all the e-cards on Blue Mountain.com.  He loves watching them and we always have to start with yappy birthday.  Erick also showed me how to do use Google Sites so I can make a website for my portfolio for job hunting.

Well I have learned how to get my scanned older pictures into this blog so I am feeling good and need to finish for the time.