January 23 and before

Today I flew out to Maren and Landon's in Richlands, North Carolina.  The day started out good when I got up but after eating, almost finishing packing and getting dressed Larry came home from his sleep study and I started getting nauseated.  No Larry did not make me sick.  I tried to settle my stomach but nothing worked and finally I was throwing up my breakfast.  I mistakenly took double of my pills last night and I don't know if that is what caused it but I had a bad stomach until about 1:15 p.m.  Larry gave me a blessing and told me I would get better so he took me to the airport and I got to the gate before I threw up again.  I was able to throw up quiet without much notice in the garbage can before I boarded the plane.  When I got on the plane I was able to sit for a while and eat some apple juice and pretzels that got electrolytes back in me and I started feeling better. While flying I was able to finish the Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt and start the first part of The Old Testament made easy by David Bridges.  So it was a fairly productive trip despite my stomach problems. By the time I got to Maren's I was fine but I sure was hungry tonight.  It was hard to feel full and Maren had a great dinner, Brown sugar and Garlic Chicken, cheese Rice-a-Roni, fruit salad and green beans with Girl Scout cookies for dessert.

We ate dinner at Maren's and then they put on the Frozen soundtrack to listen to while they all helped with the dishes and then we got ready to play a game called "Beat the Parents"  it is a Disney trivia game that the kids really enjoy.  Then they had family prayer and we all started for bed.  Ellie came down to sit in my lap while I called Larry so I had a chance to hug her.  It is good to be here with them.  They really had a good spirit in their home tonight.

I got word today that my Aunt Dona died today about 1:30 p.m.  She has been really sick for several weeks so it is really a blessing but I am sure that it is hard for Mom.  Dona is my mom's sister.  I called her tonight and she said that she was sad yet relieved because Dona had been so sick.  I don't know when the funeral will be but probably before I get back.  Hopefully Larry will go to represent us.

Just some highlights of the week.

Sunday was my niece's mission farewell in Bountiful.  Maryn Jenkins is going to the Laie Hawaii Temple visitor's center for her mission.  She gave a beautiful talk about how the spirit had prompted her on several occasions that she needed to go on a mission and that she needed to go now.  It was good to see her with her own testimony and conviction that she needed to go.  After we went to the house and ate way to many sweets and Hawaiian haystacks.  It was fun to see some of my family that I don't see as often as I would like and talk with them.

Monday I was excited to lose 4 lbs again at weight watchers.  It made me feel better because I had several slips with sweets last week like at Maryn's farewell.

Despite the fact that I got up and started going I could not get feeling better and was aching so much that I finally decided that it was not my fibromyalgia but the cold that has been going around.  I went to the gym in the morning for a while but then I went home and took a nap for most of the afternoon trying to get feeling better.  When Larry wanted to go to the gym for Family Home Evening I said not me so he stayed home too and we did some studying on the church website for Family Home Evening.  I went in and learned how to transfer sources from Family Tree to my Roots Magic files and downloaded the sources that I had put on my dad.

Tuesday we slept in but then my fever broke during the night and I felt better so after morning things we went to the gym.  When we got back we called to see if we were still going to close on our refinance loan and they finally said yes at 4:00 p.m..  So I worked on curriculum until we had to go about 3:30 p.m. and we went to sign the papers for our loan.  This will make it so our interest rate is 3.78 and it is a 15 year loan instead of a 30 year loan.  Because Larry has an abatement on the property taxes for the house because of his disability status the payment was actually less than they had quoted us so it did not go up that much more for changing to a 15 year loan. 

Kirsten wanted Larry to give her a blessing after dinner and then we went to the gym in the evening and we ran into the Bishop and his wife after when we stopped at the grocery store.  The Bishop was on the phone so we talked to his wife and told her now it would be wonderful if we got our mission call on Wednesday and she got all excited too but then after we got home the Bishop called and said that when he checked it online it said waiting to be assigned like last week so we were a little disappointed but at least he called so we did not have to anticipate it for one more day.

Wednesday morning we finally got paid and we got up and went to the temple in the late morning.  I don't think that I have seen the temple so busy ever in all the time I have attended the Bountiful temple.  The parking lot was full and we had to use lockers in the back of the dressing room.  They have a new temple film so I suppose that is part of it.  They just came out with a new one in the summer but now they have another one and they said in the Deseret News that they had two so that there would be variety.  It will really give variety too.  This film is different than some of the interpretations of the temple ceremony.

When we got out of the temple I had a text that Taylor was really sick and that Kirsten needed to borrow a thermometer and wanted Larry to give her a blessing.  So we went and got a thermometer at Smith's and went there as soon as we could.  Taylor had been coming down with the cough and cold type stuff.  Kirsten said that the doctor said that he thought it was RSV and that she needed to watch her temperature.  When we took it it was 100.5 but Kirsten had given her some ibuprofen and cough syrup while she was waiting for us so it could have gone down.  She had fallen asleep but Larry gave her a blessing anyway.

Then we went home to buy our tickets to come to Maren's.  We have been planning to come for a long time but because of various things we never had the money to buy the tickets.  We went in and they wanted $707.00 for a night flight but I had promised Maren and Landen that I would get there to babysit on Friday before 8:00 a.m and it did not land until 8:33 a.m.  The next tickets that came during the day were $834 per person round trip.  We decided that we could not afford to pay that much for both of us and Larry said that he would stay home.  I did not want to leave him home but knew that he was right that we did not have enough for both of us so I just bought the one ticket.  We had gone in on Tuesday night and looked for a minute and it was $739.00 per ticket then but we did not have the money until Wednesday so I was shocked when it went up $100.00

Larry had to go to a sleep study that evening so we ate and then got him ready to go and then I tried to pack after he was gone.  I took my pills and then I was going to pack my pills for the evening for today in a bag in my purse in case I needed them before the suitcase got opened.  I got them all in a cup and picked them up and took them again without realizing what I was doing until I had taken another batch.  They are mostly pain pills so I thought I would be okay.  It seemed that I had a hard time sleeping, I woke up every hour and I never felt like I was asleep most of the night, then this morning I got sick so I don't know what to think.

Well it is late her and so I had been get to bed even if it is only 9:30 p.m. Utah time.

January 17 and 18

This Friday was one of the first since we were released from our LDS Employment mission that we did not have to go when we were home.  It felt good to have the time to work on the curriculum.  Basically we went twice to the gym and ate three times and I over indulged in ice cream bars and worked on curriculum.

Today we arose at 7:00 a.m. and showered, read, prayed and ate breakfast before we went to the Family Search Center.  We were not busy for people who needed help.  Kate Billings was there teaching a class.  Larry was working on Diane's line and I started out working on Dad and adding sources of City Directories that are listed on Ancestry but then the computer I was on was giving me some problems so I started working on my own computer.  I could not work on Ancestry on my own computer because it does not have the Family History Center portal so I could use it for free.  I decided to put sources on a great-great grandmother Lucy Edwards.  When I went in to look at her on the 1900 census it said that she was a widow and head of household with several children at 40.  Having been a widow in my 40's I was curious when her husband died.  So I looked at him.  It said that he had died in 1932!! so I was hooked.  I had to find out what was going on.  I started looking at sources for him, William Nephi Casper.  I found several censuses for him through the years.  Most of the time he was with a wife named Agnes McFarland or McFarlane.  So I looked at him in 1900 and he was there above listed as the head of household for Agnes and listed as married for 31 years to her.  Lucy was below but she was listed as a widow.  As I got further down on the list of sources there were several sources on Fold 3 for him listed as a file for case 173 for the Territorial Court.  He was charged with unlawful cohabitation.  His second wife, Lucy,  was called as a witness and they were both in jail for about a month before they were able to post a bond of $500 for him and $250 for her.  It was really interesting reading and I learned something because I did not remember knowing that there were polygamists on Mom's side of the family.

We left the Family Search Center and then had lunch.  Then we went to Mom's.  Mom sounded like she had a cold and she said that she had not felt very good for a few days.  Larry did several errands she wanted done and she didn't feel like doing and I vacuumed.  Then Mom said that she just wanted us to visit with her.  She sent Larry to buy some dinner and she was as excited as a child when he brought back her kids meal from Culver's.  She said that she had been hungry for that for a week.  Larry and I got Subway because it was easier to find something to eat for Weight Watchers.  We had a good time talking while we ate and then we decided that we needed to get home.  Grandma needs visitors a lot.

When we got home I paced back and forth while we watched a couple of Bones on TV and recorded my Weight Watchers.  I was worried that I would have high points because I ate a bunch of candy kisses at the Family Search Center but it turned out to not be too bad.

We read from Preach My Gospel in preparation for our mission and said prayer and then Larry went to bed but I stayed up and made a jello salad for Maryn's missionary farewell and made the salsa I have been trying to find time to make all week and of course finished my blog.

Well best go to bed as it is 11:33 p.m.

Jan 16

We went through all the normal things this morning by 11:00 a.m.  We went to the gym and we were working out and all of a sudden Larry remembered that he had a dentist appointment at 12:10 p.m.  So we left quick.  They called him while we were driving there and took him in right away when we got there.  I went with and just stayed in the lobby to read while he was there because it was only a half hour appointment and it would take that long to drive home and come back.  While I was there I continued to read the autobiography of Parley P. Pratt.  I started that now that I have finished Les Miserables.  The dentist and his office help wanted to know if we had got our mission call but we had to report that it had not come yet.  Hope it comes soon.  It seems like we have so many things on hold until we know when we will leave and what we are doing.

When we got home we fixed lunch then we looked at what we had in our temple ordinance lists and in our cards for sealings in the temple as it is ward temple night tonight.  We had 4 cards and were able to print out 4 or 5 others for the evening temple trip.

Then I began working.  Not long into my work Kirsten called and wanted to borrow some money but I didn't have any except the $10.00 that I owed her so we agreed to meet at the Zions Bank by the gym.  I had left my jacket there so I needed to go get it as it is all I have since I left my coat in San Antonio.  So I went and got my jacket and met her.  Kirsten is really sick with a sinus infection and some kind of cold or flu. I hope she can get well soon and that it doesn't go through the whole family. Heavenly Father has really blessed Larry and I with good health lately.

While I was out I decided to go to Verizion to have them look at my phone because it is slow and will not pick up the internet.  They put in a new sim card and then said they cleaned out the junk and it seems to be working better.  I have had problems with people getting my text messages sometimes and it was impossible to see Facebook for very long..

When I got home Larry was watching TV but he probably did some house work also.  I started to work but by now it was after 3:00 p.m. so I didn't have a long time to work.  I spent some time trying to figure out how to write what I had learned yesterday about Social Media.  I was able to make some progress but I was not satisfied when Larry came in and said it was 5:00 p.m. and we needed to get ready to go to the temple.

We were able to have a sealing session with Gary J. Coleman one of the Seventy.  It was cool because we had brought enough of our own names between the others that were there that we did not have to use any of the temple names and had a full sealing session.  Larry was excited because we were able to seal some of his aunts and uncles to his Presser Grandparents.

When we got home Larry turned on the TV and flipped channels.  I was trying to pace back and forth to get more excersize while we watched that.  Larry wanted to watch Elementary but it was a rerun so we read our scriptures and said prayer.  I think he is in bed but I am finishing this and watching the 9:00 news.

Well praying that our refinance goes through tomorrow.

Jan 15

Life has been pretty normal lately. 

Monday we went to weight watchers and we both gained weight because we ate too many indulgent foods on the way home from Texas.  We went to the gym and then I had my hair cut and colored  and finally I spent the afternoon working on our finances.  Larry did a lot of laundry and some cleaning while watching Castle on TNT then he went grocery shopping while I worked on the finances.

Tuesday we waited for a termite inspector to come and check our home for the termites in the afternoon.  I worked on the curriculum for most of the day but we finally went to the gym last night at 6:00 p.m.  When I went to bed and read some of my emails I realized that I had forgotten Relief Society which was supposed to be at 6 or 7. As I had promised to bring a book for one of the classes I was not happy with myself.  Larry cooked a pork carnitas that he had bought that was really good.

Today was pretty normal too.  We got up and the termite man came to have us sign the papers that need to be sent for the refinance loan that we are trying to get finished.  He didn't find any indication of termites so that was good.  When we call the loan officer to find out when we were going to be signing on the loan, which he told me when we were in San Antonio that it would be on Jan 13th for sure, he now says it will be Friday or Monday.  I am feeling just a little frustrated about the number of times he has told us we would be signing and then we just need one more thing.

Nathan texted me quite a bit on both days be did not text me today.

We went to the gym this morning and I walked for 2.6 miles while I was cleaning out the emails on my Nextel, I also did .7 miles on the elliptical machine and did 5 machines.  We went shopping for a few more things at the grocery store on the way home.

We came home and ate lunch and then I worked on the curriculum again while Larry watched Castle and cleaned the house.  I spent the afternoon trying to find material for the objective, Understand the use of social media tools to communicate with targeted audiences.

We had fresh strawberries and fresh pineapple for dinner along with steamed potatoes and ham.  I love fresh fruit like that.

We went back to the gym tonight and I walked for 2.28 miles while I read from the autobiography of Parley P. Pratt.  Then we came home and I recorded Weight Watchers points and connected my active link while I watched Castle with Larry.  I got 4 points for all that work and Larry got 8.  Life is not fair when it comes to weight lose between men and women.  When I finish writing this then we will go read scriptures and have prayer and go to bed.

Jan 10 and beyond

Taylor, Brooke with Max on her shoulders, Ellie

Friday morning we got up and I called Maren to find out what she had planned for today because it was the only day left before she had to go home in the morning.  She still needed to get dressed and so did I so we agreed to get back with each other.  She said they were thinking of going sleigh riding and she wanted to go to see Mom.

Taylor and Ellie playing, Brooke and Max behind

Larry awoke with a whole list of things that he needed to do.  Not even thinking of Maren.  We had just drove together for 24 hours and he had not mentioned the things he needed to do at the VA and that a lady had been calling him for more information on the loan.  I told him I could take the things for the loan because he thought it had to go to Layton but he said no he could do it.

I got dressed and left to see Maren. On the way I went to pick up the mail. She was at her sister-in-laws.  When I got there my phone rang and it was the lady at the loan office.  She said that Larry had told her I was going to bring the papers in and it was in Draper.  She told me how to fax the papers and what she needed.  Meantime Brinlie and Ellie are running out to welcome me and then they feel stupid because I am on my phone and cannot hug them.

I went in to see Maren and all the kids.  Landon had just left to get sleighs.  It was so fun to see them all.  The kids really seemed excited to see me.  Maren hugged me and said, "Mom, you are so skinny"  I was excited that she could feel it.  I visited with them for about 20 minutes.  Then I told her that I needed to go fax this stuff.  I also wanted to look at the mail to see if we had received our mission call yet but was disappointed that it was not there.

Taylor, Brooke, Brinlie, Ellie and Max in Front

When I got home Larry was home from the VA with his medications.  He had also gone to the county to get a paper verifying that we do not have to pay property taxes because of his disability status.  We worked on getting the things together that we needed after calling the lady again.  I had to type a letter telling what we intended to use the payout money for.

We had it almost finished when I talked to Maren again.  She was frustrated because they still had not gone sleigh riding and Landon was backing out of wanting to take her to see Grandma Jenkins again.  I suggested that I could go get Mom.  She liked that idea.

Kyle

I finished up the paper work things and then I called Mom and asked her if we could pick her up because we had to drop off some paperwork in Draper.  I was surprised that she agreed to come.  I told her that we would be there in an hour.  Then I called the lady at the office and asked if we could bring the papers in.  She said yes.  Then I called Maren and said that I was going to get Mom and I would be back in about two hours and then we would get together and get some food at Olive Garden and visit.  She and Landon agreed to that.  We left to deliver the papers and to get Mom.

Kirsten

We got back about 4:30 p.m.  We were late and so I tried to call Maren.  They were not answering their phones and not at our house.  We had come home to about 5 inches of snow in the driveway and had not thought it was most important to shovel the snow until when we got home with Mom.  Larry suggested that we go to Olive Garden and eat there because of the snow.  Just then Maren called and they were just finishing up with sleigh riding.  I told them to meet us at Olive Garden and we took off for the restaurant.

Landon

At the restaurant we asked for a table and then Maren called and said that Landon did not want to take the kids to the restaurant and he would shovel the snow if we would get food and go home to eat it.  So we cancelled the table and got take out at Olive Garden.  Then we headed home.

When we got home Larry had to shovel the front walk so we could get in.  We went in through the garage because when he got done the door was locked.  Kirsten had called and wanted to come down but did not want to go to the restaurant because of expense.  So I called her and told her to come if she could.

Larry took over and made sure the dinner got on the table while I was trying to clean up some of the Christmas decorations that he had taken down and put in a chair.  Landon had to go to get Ellie from Skylar and Gina and so we were waiting for him but I finally decided we needed to eat because Mom likes to eat early and it was about 7:00 p.m. by then.  I got a few picture while we were waiting.

Maren and Grandma Zina Jenkins looking at Taylor at the last minute

It turned out to be a great night.  We had a ton more food than we needed so it was good that Kirsten came with most of her family.  They kids had fun playing their electronic equipment together and Landon and Larry got the snow shoveled for us.  And Grandma and Maren and Kirsten and I had a great time talking and visiting.

Finally we decided that we needed to take Grandma home because it was getting late.  We got everyone in their cars and said goodbye to Landon and Maren and their kids as we would not see them again because they were leaving in the morning.

On Saturday I woke up to a text from Maren that they did not leave because Max started throwing up at about 2:00 a.m.  They had scheduled their flight for the next day.  I texted her that I had to go to the Family History Center and then to Rob Benton's Funeral and then I would call her.

Sad looking Taylor

Marion Peterson the supervisor for the Family History Center came and had another person with her so that Larry and I could go to the viewing and the funeral.  So, we were only at the Family History Center for about 1and an half hours.  In that time I spent my time trying to figure out how to change the portrait picture for Joseph Thomas Murdock and was not successful.

Rob Benton has been our home teacher for about 2 years now and he has been our neighbor for 15 years.  We were shocked when Maren called while we were still in Texas and said that he had been killed in a car accident.  Later we learned that he was run over by a truck from the other company that shares a loading dock with his company.  He was run over on Monday morning and died early Tuesday morning.  He had massive internal chest injuries and they said because he was on blood thinners for his heart that they could not get the bleeding to stop.

We went to the viewing at 9:30 and then we went to the funeral at 11:00 a.m.  It was a good funeral.  He was a well loved man and had lots of family there.  His first wife died and the last two wives he had he was divorced from so his married kids were leading the show.  They said that he was coherent for the morning but that they had put him in a drug induced coma when he got to the hospital.  He did not look like himself at the viewing.  There was a lot of swelling in the face. I learned that he had been a great fisherman at one time.

I volunteered, when they called me while I was in  New Mexico, to help with the luncheon because I didn't feel like making food.  I was surprised that I was there helping until about 3:30 p.m.  But I got a good lunch.  Not Weight Watchers approved.

Larry wanted to go to the gym when we got finished.  So we went for an hour and a half.  Then I called Maren to see what she wanted to do.  She asked if we could come over to Evan and Shirley's house.  So we went over there.

We had a good time talking and playing with the kids. Max seemed to be feeling okay now. Maren was frustrated because I kept trying to answer Nathan as he was texting me about a problem so she thought I was ignoring her and playing with my phone.

Maren with all the kids piled on top of her playing.

Larry got a shot of Maren playing with her kids.  They were all on top of her.  They ordered some Chinese food and even though we should not have eaten it we did have some and it was good.  Again we said goodbye to them. Their plane was to leave at midnight so they were keeping the kids up hoping they would sleep.  This time they left and there were notes on Facebook about their travel.

So today was Sunday.  We had church time change for the first time today.  We are now on the 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. schedule.  It was a good three meetings but nothing that stood out to me today.

Our other home teacher came home teaching today as he and Rob would come today but life has a way of being fragile.  It was good to talk to Winston Freeze.  He said that he had lived by Rob for 37 years.  Even knew him before he became active in the church.  He said that he just blossomed when he became active.

It snowed about an inch last night so we went out and shoveled after lunch.

The rest of today I have been trying to catch up on the blog and watching television with Larry.

Jan 9th

Larry and I slept until 8:00 a.m. and then went to the hotel breakfast.  We ate everything we should not have eaten on Weight Watchers and it was fun.  We got ready and left about  9:30 a.m.  we drove for several hours and stopped somewhere for lunch then took off across the desert.  We drove to Shiprock, New Mexico and then headed north.  We had fun being together and we took some pictures of the landscape in New Mexico.  It was a beautiful day.  It was 44 degrees in New Mexico.


We stopped in Price to eat dinner and then we continued on.  It was really dark now and it was getting colder in Utah.  It started to snow some in Price and it was icy all the way down Spanish Fork canyon.


We stopped at Mom's and talked to her until about 9:30 p.m.  We had a good time catching up on our different lives and then we went home.  We got to bed about midnight.

Jan 8

This morning we almost slept in because I did not make sure my phone was off of charging so the alarm did not go off.  Sara had to send David to wake us up so we could tell the kids goodbye.  So we had to quickly hug and then let them run to school.  Maggie even had to go to preschool that day.

Larry and I stayed up and got ready to go home.  We had to pack up and get ready to go soon.  Before we left Sara came home and was looking for some papers for a review of Nathan's status.  We talked to her for a few minutes and packed up everything and then left to go tell Nathan goodbye.

Nathan was in his room and we talked for about a half hour about many things and then we said goodbye.  It was hard to leave but he was in good hands and we had to get home.  We are hoping to be back there soon.

We drove to Ingram to see Judy and John Trolinger, Larry's sister and her husband.  It was good to see them as we did not get to spend as much time with them as we usually do.  We were invited in and welcomed so well.  Judy had gone and bought fruit for us and the kind of soda that she knew we liked and she had a chicken soup in the crock pot. 

John was sick with an ear infection but was getting better.  He had been to to the doctor the day before and had a bad experience of having to wait most of the day because of a problem with paperwork and a lapse in communication but he now had the medicine that he needed to get better.  He had had a bad week because the weekend before they were going to come to San Antonio to visit with us but he had a small stroke called a TIA.  He joked about it but it is still worrisome because that can be a sign of another stoke coming up.  I am sure it is not pleasant for Judy as he has not been in good health for some time.

We had a good time talking and visiting about a variety of subjects and had a late lunch which was wonderful.  Judy is a good cook.  It was really fun to be there but we finally had to go so that we could get on the road.

We drove for about 10 hours.  Larry drove until we reached the New Mexico line and then I drove.  We stopped off and on to eat and get gas.  But finally when we got to Moriarty, New Mexico I was too tired to stay awake and I knew that Larry was not rested enough to drive so we stopped there at a Comfort Inn.  It felt so good to have a bed!

January 7th Nathan's birthday

Nathan all decorated

Tuesday was Nathan's 40th birthday.  Sara got up early and took the kids to school and took Nathan a decoration, some crazy glasses and a dozen donuts.  She came back about 9:30 a.m. and brought Maggie to us.  She had to get some errands done and get ready for the party that evening.

In Nathan's room before the party.  Sara, Maggie, David and Nathan

Maggie was all excited to go to the gym because she had such a good time the day before, but Larry was worrying about getting some things done on the car so we could drive home the next day.  So Maggie and I went to visit Nathan while Larry went to get the oil and tires checked on the car.  Nathan was at the Care Center with his wheelchair decorated with balloons from the care center and the glasses that Sara had brought him.  He said the care center had also brought him a cupcake and sang Happy Birthday to him.  Maggie and I visited for awhile, all the while she was telling me that she wanted to go to the gym.  We finally went to lunch.

In Nathan's room.  Nathan, Larry, Isaac, Sammy behind David

Maggie wanted to go to Chick-fil-A for lunch so I went and bought her the menu she wanted, Chicken nuggets, French Fries and Root Beer.  She tried to get me to take her inside but we went home to eat.  When we got home she did not want the Root Beer.  Said she did not like it! She must be four.

We went for lunch and then we decided to go to the gym.  Maggie was so excited and when we got there they told us that they do not have the day care from 1-4 there.  She was so disappointed and so were we because we couldn't go to the gym.  Larry went to get some things done before we left the next day and Maggie and I went to see Nathan.

Sara, Nathan, Melinda Steadam, Bishop Alonzo

That evening Sara bought Pizza for all of us to eat at the care center and they brought the presents that they had for Nathan to open about 5:00 p.m.  They had bought him a bunch of comic books to read.  They were not typical comics however.  One was a book in comic format.  Sara had also got cakes and water and stuff to decorate a little so when dinner was over about 6:30 p.m we started getting things ready for the party that Sara had planned for him.  Nathan's Bishop Alex Alonzo came a little early and helped us carry things to the dinning room.  They party started at 7:00 p.m. It started slow but it was steady all night and there were about 30 people.  Nathan seemed to be enjoying the party.

Lighting the candles on the first cake.

Nathan blowing out his candles on first cake

Second Cake lighted with big 40 candles

Friend from mission brought a Portuguese Calvin and Hobbs

Friend from the ward that Nathan had helped.

Teresa Johnson from the ward with Nathan

The Hoffer's from the ward talking to Nathan

Mike Trolinger giving Nathan a card

Friend from Social Work Master;s cohort

Sister from the ward talking to Nathan

Sarah Christensen talking to Nathan

Jan 6 and before

Maggie and June at Nathan room.

Today was the first day of school for the kids here.  Sara and the kids got home yesterday in the evening.  Sara had lots of errands to do so we volunteered to take Maggie.  Maggie is so much fun.  She has an exuberance that is exciting.  She talks a lot and has a lot to say about my little ponies but it is sometime hard to understand what she is saying because she does not enunciate all things correctly yet.

Nathan standing by himself from his wheelchair

When Sara left at 7:15 a.m. I thought I might get to go back to bed for a while but I had only laid down for 10 minutes when I heard Maggie whimpering.  So I got up and tried to help her with the things that she needed.  We got some breakfast and she wanted to watch a movie called My Little Pony:  Equestria Girls.  While she watched the movie Larry and I got dressed and had breakfast.

We were ready by 9:00 a.m. so we went to the gym first.  Maggie was able to go to the nursery there.  We did not stay long, only an hour, because we needed to go to a weight watcher's meeting at 10:30 a.m. in Schertz.  So we only walked for the time that we were there.  Maggie liked the Barbies and the Barbie doll house that they had in the nursery.

Nathan standing by himself from his wheelchair

I might mention here that it was bitter cold today.  Maggie did not want to wear her big coat when we left so I let her walk out to the car with just a sweatshirt on like she wanted but took the coat.  When we got to the gym she did not fight me about putting it on for the rest of the day.  It was 25 with a wind blowing that Larry said made it feel like 13 degrees.  It was 70 on Saturday and beautiful.  Then it dropped to 44 Sunday with a wind so it was pretty cold that day but today was almost as cold as Utah.

Maggie, Sara, and Nathan enjoying dessert

At weight watchers Larry had lost 8 lbs on the new program Simple Start and I had lost 4.  I was surprised because it seemed to me that we had eaten a lot.  Simple Start restricts you to certain foods though so it is a little frustrating for me.  You do not have to count points but you do have to stay to certain foods.  Sometimes I would like to be restricted to the points and be able to eat from a wide range of foods.  But I liked the fact that I could eat more bread on the Simple Start.  Actually Simple Start is just a marketing plan to emphasize the Simply Filling technique that Weight Watchers has had for some time.

The weight watchers ladies were so good to Maggie.  They let her have a book and a pen so she could write on it and they were passing out samples of the weight watcher's brownies and when she wined for another brownie the gave her two.  They also got her a clipboard with paper to draw on when she got tired of the book.  She thought she was pretty special and I was impressed.

Isaac, David and Sammy waiting for their food

After that we went to see Nathan.  He was excited to see Maggie after a week.  He was also excited to show us that he could stand up from his wheelchair and stand there for several minutes all by himself.  We talked for the hour and then went back to the house when he had to eat lunch so we could eat.

Before we went to the house though we had to go shopping.  We had eaten all the food that we had purchased last week and some of Sara's so we needed to get some.  It was fun shopping with Maggie.  When we started going into WalMart she started to say she wanted another My little Pony.  Then as we went through the isles of the store she wanted something on all the isles.  We made it out with only buying her cocoa, Strawberry Milk, and an apple.

June and Larry waiting for dinner

After we had eaten we went back to see Nathan.  We had decided to take the family out to dinner for our present to Nathan so he could get out again.  As the 7th is Nathan's birthday and Sara has a party planned at the Care Center for him we opted to take them out for Family Home Evening on Monday.  We spent some time at the Care Center looking at the menu for Chili's online as that is where we had decided to go.  That way Larry and I knew what we wanted before we got there.

Maggie and Sammy

Sara and the boys met us at the Care Center and we had a good discussion for a while and Nathan showed them that he could stand on his own by the wheelchair.  Then Sara and David and Maggie left to get some reward coupons that Sara had for Chili's and to get some cash for the taxi.  We stayed at the care center with Sam and Isaac until it was time to go to Chili's about 5:30 p.m.

/We had a good dinner at the restaurant.  We even shared dessert and had the servers bring Nathan a treat and sing to him. Larry and I took the kids home and put them to bed after that.  We watched a couple of episodes of Bones and then we went to bed.  Sara followed the taxi home and spent some time with Nathan before she came home.

Maggie coming out of her castle she got for Christmas

Going back in the week for the days that I did not post these are some of the highlights. 

Isaac enjoying a smoothie

Sunday was special because Nathan bore his testimony at church.  He went to the front and they had a microphone that they could bring to him.  He said that he knew that God loves us and that the church is true.  He said that he knew that Joseph Smith was a Prophet and many more things.  I think that he really affected many at the ward.  Several bore their testimonies after that and mentioned how Nathan had helped them in various ways.  One lady in Relief Society told me that he has been a unifying force for the ward.

Sara and the kids came home in the afternoon.  I didn't understand why they didn't go to see Nathan when they got back but maybe I don't know how it feels to live with the problem everyday.  After we went back to visit, Sara went up in the evening to see Nathan.

David, Sammy, and Isaac playing after returning home.

Nathan has been trying to learn to write again.  This is one page from therapy

Friday and Saturday I cannot remember anything that was special except that when I went to WalMart on Thursday night I must have dropped my Visa Card.  I got a notification on Saturday morning that my bank account wanted to know if some charges are valid.  When I first looked I thought that they were things we had purchased but then we realized that there was a $200. purchase on Saturday at WalMart and we had not been near WalMart.  I still thought I had my card so I went to look for it to call customer service and realized that I did not have it.  Anyway there was about $500.00 in purchases that had been made since Thursday night on my card.  So I had to cancel it and call the police that evening.  It was the third time that week that we did not make it back to the care center to see Nathan because of some problem.  I told him that I was not making this up.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

New Year's Eve started by Larry and I turning off the alarm and sleeping in until 8:00 a.m.  Then by the time we had showered, prayed, read, and eaten breakfast it was almost 10:30 a.m. so we decided to go see Nathan before we went to the gym.

Nathan was in Physical Therapy.  He was doing a leg exercise when we entered.  You could tell he was not happy.  He stopped and just sat there.  I asked him if he needed to do more.  He told me that he didn"t know that he was waiting for her (the therapist) to tell him.  She, of course, was waiting for him to do some more leg moves.  Then they took him to try to walk.  He got really agitated because they wanted to hold onto him and he told them he could walk 196 ft at the VA and did not need someone to hold onto the walker and him so tight.  They have a belt that they put around him so that if he falls he will not crash that they hold on to.  I could tell that they had only planned for him to walk across the room but they revised the plan when he told them how far he could walk.  He is walking really well.  He is able to hold up his body much better than three months ago.  He walked to his chair and then they all closed in on him again when he wanted to sit down and he got angry with them.  He was ranting about how they do not need to help him.  I reminded him that he need to talk to them politely.   He then started ranting about how they do not tell him when they want to have therapy and that he needs a schedule.  He was very belligerent.  And told them this several times although it seemed to me that the original reason was that he didn't want them to get so close.  He repeated himself several times and Larry and I tried to calm him down and explain that he could talk to them instead of yell.  He told me the day before that people think that he is yelling when he is just talking.  I told him to remember that and that this was one of the times that he was yelling.  He finally started to calm down.  I said to him is therapy over or are you going to try to do something else?  He sat there for a few minutes and decided that he wanted to do more.  So they took him to stand by a table device to help him stand.  He calmed down there and began to ask questions about the view he could see from the window and to talk about his hands and their limitations.  When he finished standing he apologized to the therapist.  She told him that she was sorry also but that he had to realize that this was her first time with him.  I think that he is just having a hard time adjusting to the change of facilities and he wants everything to stay the way it was at the VA.

We went back to the room and talked for a while and then Larry and I went to the gym to exercise and to get lunch before we got back to the care center to celebrate New Years Eve. Nathan went to lunch.

I have been reading the book Les Miserables as I walk on the treadmill at the gym.  It is fascinating all the things that happen in the book that did not get included in the play and movie.  On this day I read about how he confessed and left but unlike the movie there were consequences and he was caught and tried and went back to prison at Toulon before he got Cosette.  He had to escape from prison again before he could go and get Cosette.

Nathan snacking and playing monopoly

We have been trying to do the Weight Watchers Simple Start.  It is different from regular weight watchers in that you can only eat certain foods but you can eat all you want.  I like that I can eat all I want to but it is very restricting on the foods you can eat.

We got back to the care center at about 3:30 p.m.  After talking with Nathan some and getting help from the Dietician at the care center, so we could have a table to play on, we began to play "Dr. Who Monopoly".  That is the version that Nathan and his family own.  I asked him if it was he or Sara that first got so excited about Dr. Who.  He said that he had started watching it when he worked on the border with the immigration fence.

Larry waiting for a player to move

We played for about two hours before it was time for Nathan to eat.  We had brought our own food because we became aware that we could not eat with Nathan because of calories.  We ate some of our food while Nathan ate his.  He has a man that sits at his table and every time we have been there he is on the right side of the round table from Nathan.  We had positioned the Monopoly table so that Nathan could just turn around and eat where he usually does.  This older man began inching into where Nathan normally sits.  He was making it so that Nathan could not sit at the table without going completely around about 4 tables.  I asked him if he would move back so Nathan could sit at the table.  He said nothing and did not move.  I had to leave for a few minutes and Larry said that while I was gone the CNA had asked him to move and he started shouting that he had been at the care center for three years and he was not going to move for anyone.  I got the impression that unknowingly Nathan had taken over his position at the table when he arrived and the man was upset because of losing his territory.  Fortunately the other man at the table moved to the right and Nathan was able to move in there and eat.

Larry rolling the die

Shrimp is one of the foods that we could eat so Larry got us two shrimp rings.  We ate one and shared one with Nathan.  He said that it was fun.  We also had popcorn but that seemed to cause Nathan some problems.  We had fruit like apples and pears and bananas and Dr Pepper diet caffine free for all of us and Nathan ate some of his after eating dinner.

We resumed our game and played and watched the ABC Dick Clark's New Year's Eve party with Ryan Seacrest on the big screen in the dining room.  I got ahead really soon and seemed to have lots of money.  I was even able to buy houses for two different monopolies before Nathan got tired at 8:30 p.m. and wanted to go to bed.  He always gets up about 6:00 a.m. so he is tired by 8:00 or 8:30 p.m.  We cleaned up and told him good night and went home to the house here.  We watched a Bones and then went to bed ourselves.  We are getting in a rut but we like it.

Wednesday started about the same and continued for the morning into the afternoon.  When we got back after lunch Nathan had just got out of the shower.  He had been on a walk earlier with the Bishop of the ward trying to figure out if he could ride in his wheelchair to church.  There is sidewalk about 1 mile of the 2 miles it is to church.  They had surmised that he could turn into the Residential neighborhood that was across the street and find side walks there.  Later Larry went and drove through the neighborhood and found that there were not more sidewalks and that it was further that way. But Nathan says it is not so busy in the residential and he could ride on the street so he is still considering it.

He also was wanting to get registered with the Viatran a bus for handicapped that only costs $1.75 one way to ride.  He looked it up on the Ipad and showed us the application.  It sounded like a good alternative to the taxi but then Larry noticed that it does not operated in Windcrest and that is where the church is.

We talked for about 2 and a half hours about this and that and finally it was time for Nathan to eat(6:00 p.m.) so we told him we would go eat and come back after we ate.  Sometime during the afternoon we noticed on Facebook that Maren and Landon were flying out to Utah on Thursday.  So we decided we will have to go home a little faster so we can see them.

When we got to the house the door would not open and anything we tried did not work so we texted Sara and asked her what she thought we could do.  After offering us several suggestions all that did not work she said that she could not help us.  Somehow we had looked the doorknob lock and the security alarm will not work to unlock that and all the keys she had left were locked in the house.  We had no choice but to call a locksmith.  Larry found one on his phone and called they said that they could be there in 15 minutes to a half hour so he told them to come.  In the meantime I went to Wal-Mart because I had to go to the bathroom and it was the only place I could think of.  I was also hungry so I bought some bananas and Dr. Pepper and Clementines and then went back.  This way Larry did not get low blood sugar and I was not hungry.  They finally showed up but by the time we got in and had eaten it was 8 :30 p.m.  I tried to text Nathan to tell him what had happened but decided that he was in bed.  He saw it in the morning but I felt bad that twice now I had told him we would come back and then did not make it.

This morning started out just like the last two days except that we got up at 7:00 a.m. and it was colder and windy today.  We got to the care center about 9:30 a.m. and Nathan was talking with the Speech Therapist.  Apparently she is working on helping him to pass the swallow test for thin liquids and she had given him some water.  He told me before that they had determined that he could drink milk without the thickener.  Larry and I were worried about who "they" were so we were relieved to find out that it was someone who knew what they were doing.  She also mentioned that they had talked in meeting about Nathan wanting a schedule and not wanting therapy after dinner.  Nathan said that he would give them until Monday to implement it before he talks to them again.

We talked to Nathan again for awhile about a lot of things.  He is getting very articulate and bringing up a lot of bigger words.  Before we knew it it was time for Nathan to eat lunch so we headed for the gym.  I ended up reading a lot more from Les Miserables today and so I did the elliptical longer and walked longer on the treadmill.  It was the part where they explain why Marius was with the rebels which is not explained in the movie.  Then we went home and ate and watched an episode of Bones.

While we were home Judy called and said that John had had a mini stroke called a TIA and so they would not be coming over tomorrow to stay with us like we had planned.  It is worrisome because when Larry looked it up online it said that often it is a precursor to a stroke.  This time his face became numb but he was not damaged in any way.  Too close to home for comfort.  We will stop on our way home but we will miss visiting with them here. 

When we got back Nathan was reclining in his chair and watching an episode of Dr. Who on his Ipad.  He sat up and we began to talk.  I was tired and started to yawn and pretty soon he was yawning too.  I suggested we go for a walk outside even though I did not want to go far because it was still cold and I had left my jacket home.  Larry said that he was going to go and wash the car.  So, Nathan and I went out the front door with him.  It wasn't too bad in front so we determined that we would go around the care center.  We went to what I think is the south and when we got to the end of the building it was much colder.  As neither one of us had jackets on we decided to be whimps and go in.

We began talking again and Nathan kept yawning and I kept wanting to lay down on the extra bed.  After a while I suggested that we both rest for a few minutes.  He leaned back in his chair and started his movie and I lay down on the bed.   A little while later I heard Larry come in and Nathan began talking to him about getting him some restaurant food for tomorrow.  I listen to that for a while and then I hear Larry say you should show that to your mother so I sat up and asked what.  They showed me that they had figured out that Nathan could practice standing by standing up to the dresser or standing up to the bar in the bathroom.  They had a good talk.  I thought it had been about a half hour since I laid down but they informed me it was an hour and a half and that it was time for us to go home and eat and Nathan had to go to dinner.  I was thinking I should go to sleep more often as that is the most Larry has talked to Nathan in all the trips combined probably.

On the way home I noticed that Kirsten had messaged me on Facebook, about the time I had gone to sleep, wanting to know if we wanted to skype .  I talked to her for awhile there and told her to message Nathan.  Then about that time Nathan texted us to let us know that he had found Larry's phone still there.  I told him that Kirsten wanted to skype and had probably messaged him on facebook so he said he would contact her.  He did and he said when we got back that they had a good talk.

We went home and had a yummy dinner, watched Bones and then went back to the care center but Nathan was already in bed.  He had his Ipad on his lap and I asked him if he wanted me to move it.  He said that he always sleeps with it so he can play games in the morning while he is waiting for help out of bed.  He has been saying that it is hard to roll over in bed.  Now I know why.  It has nothing to do with his limbs being stubborn. It is his Ipad lol.

Sunday and Monday

Sara left early in the morning before we got up.  They always as so quiet when they leave.  We got up read our scriptures, said prayer, ate breakfast, took showers and got ready for church and by then it was past 11:00 a.m.  We left for the care center to see Nathan and to take him his shoes.  When we got there at about 11:30 we realized that we had forgotten the shoes.  Larry went back to get them.

We had asked Nathan to see if we could eat lunch with him and they said yes.  So after a few minutes Nathan and I went down to the dining room and ate lunch a little early.  It was a good lunch.  Dressing, turkey, gravy, green beans, and pumpkin pie.  Nathan said that he had to tell them no tea or coffee when he came and I had to tell them no tea that day.  At first I thought it was juice but it wasn't juice.  Everyone in Texas drinks ice tea so they thought I was weird when I ask for something else.  We finished before Larry got back so we got his meal for him and took it to the room.  He got back just as we were leaving the dining room.  We got Nathan's shoes on him and by that time the taxi was there to take Nathan to church.

When we got to church the person driving the taxi said that we would have to call in for a pick up.  So I initially texted Sara asking her if she was going to call about the pick up.  I realized later that I was saying will you call but at the time when I did not get a call I called and ordered a pick up at 4:30 p.m. when Nathan said he wanted it.  Later in church Nathan got a text saying that Sara had called an ordered a Taxi for 5 minutes after 4.  I realized that we had two calls in for the same place and so I tried to call in and change it but until 3:30 p.m. my phone was not making the call.  It was so frustrating.  But I finally got through and cancelled the taxi for one of the times.

Nathan had lots of people from the ward come up and let them know how happy they were to see him.  One couple even told them that they would be coming over for Family Home Evening if it was okay with him.

It was good that we took the later time because a girl in Nathan's ward spoke the last few minutes of the Combined 5th Sunday meeting bearing her testimony of the gospel.  In that she mentioned that she had fallen out of a helicopter and had brain damage.  She was now up doing things normally.  Immediately after the meeting Nathan went up to talk to her.  He seemed to be encouraged by the fact that she was now "normal" after a brain injury.  She said it took her 3 years to recover.

We went back to the care center and began to try to Skype with Kirsten.  For some reason it would not work on my computer so Nathan brought it up on his Ipad.  We had a really good visit with Kirsten and Taylor.  Nathan was talking well and we had a good time.

We had decide to stay for dinner with Nathan rather than go back and fix something so we did.  Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and a bowl of potato soup with bacon. Nathan also got pears but we did not but when we went to pay the kitchen help just said not to worry about it.  After that we decided we could not complain about the food.

Then we contacted some of the other brothers and sisters and Nikki replied back on Skype and we had a good talk with Lexie, Ashton, Abbie, and Myles for a while.  In the meantime Nathan had got tired and so he did not talk as well as he did with Kirsten.  We went home and finished up the nightly ritual of having to watch Bones at least once.  Not a good Sunday activity.

Today we went to Weight Watchers after the regular rituals.  It was a new meeting place so there was just us and one other person that stayed for the meeting.  We both gained weight so we ate too much for Christmas or their scales are different.  The talked about the new Simple Start program where you do not have to count points so Larry got really excited about that and decided that is what he wanted to do.  Later in the afternoon he went and got the foods we needed to eat on that plan.

We went home to eat lunch so we would stay on plan.

By the time we got to the care center it was about 12:45 p.m.  Larry decided that he wanted to go to the AAA office and get a map and stuff for our trip home so he left me to go with Nathan on a trip to the doctor.  The mobile ambulance that was supposed to pick him up was late.  They were supposed to come at 1:20 p.m.  They did not come and finally I went to the nurses and asked if they knew if we were supposed to come and be in the lobby and if they were there.  They called the company and they said that they were in transit.  I went back to Nathan's room to wait.

While I was waiting Nathan was working on his blog.  He had been working on it since we got there.  I could tell he wanted to work on it so I just sat there and watched him as he typed out his blog one finger at a time.  I wondered if anyone could possibly realize how much work he puts into the blog.  I wonder if anyone knows how hard it is for him to keep going when everything is so hard to do.  He works so hard everyday just to keep going.

The mobile ambulance finally came about 2:00 P.M.  The driver was all apologies, said he had not received the call until 1:28 p.m. so I am assuming that he didn't get the call until the care center called.  In the morning they had said that maybe Nathan would not get to go in his electric wheelchair.  He was upset about that some but when the nurse called she told them they needed a wheelchair unit.  I might be wrong but it appeared that initially who ever ordered the transportation did not bother to order a wheelchair transport.  But when it came that is what it was.

We got to the VA a little late for his appointment.  Maybe 5 minutes but they said he was okay.  I was expecting maybe a 5 minute appointment because the last time this doctor had examined him in the VA he came in asked him a few questions and was gone before that time was up.  But I forgot this is the VA outpatient.  We went in and sat in the waiting room for a while.  Then they took him back to a room and had him read some lines.  Then they took him to a wheelchair accessible room to have him read some more lines.  I kept asking if they needed the papers that the care center sent but they said when he sees the doctor.  I finally figured out that this was not the doctor.  Then they said that we would have to go to an area to wait to see the doctor.  While we were there a man brought Nathan a piece of paper with his sons name and telephone number on it.  He said that his son was in the Polytrauma center with Nathan.  Finally he got in to see the doctor.  I recognized him as the doctor I had seen before.  I was surprised though that he recognized me as Nathan's mother. 

The doctor said that Nathan's eyesight was doing very well and that it had not changed much in the last while meaning it had stablized.  He said that his eyesight was 20/20 with his glasses and he really does not have much of a problem because he only wears his prescription glasses occasionally.  Most of the time he wears the sunglasses that help to protect his eyes from the glare and I found out those are not prescription.  He kept telling Nathan he was really impressed with his progress and actually I was too.  He could talk so others can understand him and he took care of the whole visit himself.  I would not have needed to be there but he told me he has glad I came.  The doctor explained that Nathan is missing some vision in the upper right section of his vision but he said that the eyes are making good accommodation for it.  After a few minutes more the doctor took us out to the waiting room again and it was empty.  The nurse called the mobile ambulance and he was finished about 4:00 p.m.  By the time they picked us up and got us back to the care center it was about 10 minutes to 5:00.  I told Nathan I was going home to fix dinner and would be back later.

Because Maren had bought us a Bountiful Basket for Christmas and part of it was a Mexican basket we had about 10 tomatillas to use.   Larry loves Chile Verde and I had found a recipe for pork chile verde online when I had googled how to cook tomatillas.  I knew he would like it and he had gone and bought some pork so I could make it.  I started to make it and everything was fine until I realized that Sara's food processor had not worked for me earlier.  I put the food in and it still would not work.  So I took it out and looked up the book for the food processor on line.  I could not see that I had put it together incorrectly so I was frustrated when it still did not work.  I saw a number on the booklet that you could call for service.  I called and explained what I had done.  The person had me test some different parts of the food processor and each time the engine worked.  However when I put the lid on it did not push the lever down that was supposed to make the thing work.  I figured out I could work it with a butter knife holding down the part that was not pushed far enough.  But by the time I had figured this out and finished the Chile Verde it was 8:30 p.m. and Nathan gets tired at 8:00 p.m. so I texted him and told him why we did not come back.  He saw it the next morning.  He did say that the family from the ward came and played the game with him and they had a good time.