Christmas Aftermath - Spending Time With Jared

Jared was the last of our family to leave Lancaster. For a Christmas gift, he took me to get a pedicure the day before he left. Pretty cool gift! Most guys would shy away from a pedicure, but not my son! This was his 3rd pedicure. He's such a good sport!

After pampering ourselves, he helped me clear the house of all Christmas decorations, including hauling all the boxes up to the attic. That's a pretty big job. I'm sure Alan is glad he didn't have to do it this year. 

Jared even helped take down the outside Christmas lights.

He was so helpful! With my bad back, it would have been very difficult to do all that work without him. In my opinion, he is worth his weight in gold. Thanks, Jared!!!

Christmas Day - 2017

Another Christmas has come and gone. We were fortunate to have Eric's family, Ryan, and Jared here with us. Sadly, this was my first year to Celebrate Christmas without Cheryl.  She and Parker celebrated Christmas in Utah this year. Kyle's family couldn't come because Emily has been participating in a Christmas show again this year.

Here are some random pictures of Christmas day. I didn't take many pictures, unfortunately.

I guess the only picture I got of Ryan is his foot in this picture. Oops!

I think I need one of these under the tree next year!

Ethan got this special instrument from his parents that is a cross between a keyboard and an oboe. You have to blow into it while pushing the keys to make it work. It was quite entertaining. He and Ella played a duet of "Silent Night" for us.

Grandchildren Fun

I only have 5 grandchildren so far, but the ones I have are pretty darn special. Only Ethan, Ella, and Livi were here for Christmas. It was fun seeing them again. One look at Ella and I knew she had passed me in height. She has grown so much over the past few months since I last saw her.

She is only a little taller than me, but she IS taller than me.

Ethan put his favorite wig on and posed for the camera.

Livi and Ella dressed in their Sunday best for Church on Christmas Eve.

Eric & Nicole's Family

Maybe next year I will have all 5 of my grandchildren here. I can only hope! Even better than that is if we had a 6th grandchild join our family in 2018. That would be awesome!

Mistake Rectified!

Every year I donate a little bit of money for a newsletter I prescribe to called Meridian Magazine. Daily, I receive an e-mail from them with interesting topics - mostly church related. They are dependent upon donations of its readers, so I don't mind helping them out. 

This morning, I made a donation through PayPal and punched in $15.00. When the transaction went through, the confirmation e-mail said I had donated $1,500!!! What??? I immediately called the credit card company to let them know of the error, but they said there was nothing they could do about it and that I just had to contact the company I had donated to and ask for a refund. I couldn't find a phone # to call, but did send an e-mail to them notifying them of the error but didn't hear back.

Fortunately, while I was at the grocery store, the editor of the magazine called and left a message. He thanked me for my "generous" donation, but did ask if there was an error in the amount. I guess the large amount seemed a little suspicious. He said he would refund everything tonight except for the $15. What a relief!!! It is so nice to deal with honest companies. A less-than-honorable company might have given me a hard time. I love honesty. I am a true believer that honesty is the best policy.

Different Turkey Day

For Thanksgiving this year, we decided to go to Arizona to spend some time with Jared. Cheryl and Parker decided to join us, which was a lot of fun. We were a day ahead of C & P so on Tuesday, Alan and I were able to go to the Gilbert Temple. It is such a beautiful temple! My brother-in-law, Scott Bleak, was the main architect who designed it. It is almost identical to the Payson Temple. Both are simply stunning in their beauty, both inside and out.

(We need to practice taking selfies!)

After the temple, we went to visit some friends, the Thorsen's, who moved from California to AZ about a year and a half ago. She fed us lunch. She, also, gifted me with more Lladro that she didn't want - including a nativity!!! It is beautiful and I love it!

The next day, the five of us piled into our van and headed to northern AZ to see some sights for a few days. Some places we saw were Sedona: 

Red Rock State Park:

Antelope Canyon (a favorite spot of mine):

Grand Canyon:

Petrified Forest/Painted Desert:

The family who clicks together sticks together!

On Thanksgiving day, we went to Bearizona. This is a wildlife park with many different animals (wolves, bison, elk, deer, rams, goats, beaver, otters, etc.) and of course bear.

Since we were here on Thanksgiving day, I had to take a photo of this fortunate turkey who somehow avoided being on anyone's holiday table that day

.

Rare white buffalo

This bear was taking a bath in the tub then...

 ...he did a back rub against a tree for the cameras!

We had a great trip to Arizona. The Gilbert Temple and Sedona had both been on my bucket list for a while, so it was nice to be able to check both of those items off. 

My Temple Miracle

In Proverbs 3:5-6 we read:

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and He shall direct thy paths. (I'm pretty sure this was my mother's favorite scripture.) Yesterday I learned the importance of putting my trust in the Lord.

On Wednesdays I go to the temple. I am still our shift coordinator, which puts an extra burden on my shoulders to make sure that everything runs smoothly. Every week I feel like I am putting on a production and I hope that the actors show up, remember their parts, and are on time. Sometimes, however, things can happen that are out of my control.

Things started turning south right from the start of the day, which is 2:30 a.m. for me on Wednesdays. I always immediately check my messages when I wake up. Sadly, I noticed 3 messages from sisters on my shift that they couldn't make it for various reasons, but mostly because of fires and having to be evacuated.  Later, as I was revising the schedule to remove these 3 sisters before I had to hit the road, another sister called and said she was sick so neither she nor her sister (who doesn't drive) could come. I already had 5 sisters absent (no subs) and now 5 more were being added to that list, which made 10 total absences - a new record. Somehow, I was able to revise the schedule in record time (with the Lord's help) in order to leave on time with my carpool (only Adam today). I thought the worst part of the day was over. I was wrong. It was just getting started.

About 8 miles away from the exit to the temple on the 405 freeway, we saw smoke and the hill was lit up. We knew it was a fire. Other areas of California were burning as well. As we got closer, traffic was slow going south, and they had stopped traffic going the opposite way because of the fire. 

We could feel the heat and smell the smoke from the fire as we passed by it. Fortunately, we were able to make it to the temple...although we did arrive a little later than normal.

Each week at 5:45 I meet with my assistant coordinators for a brief planning meeting. The fire was a topic of discussion and we were wondering how the temple could even stay open because of the fire. The freeway was closed. How was anyone going to be able to get there?

I must admit, I was definitely the doubting Thomas among us. Besides the ten sisters who I knew would be absent, I was missing at least 7 other sisters who hadn't arrived yet when it came time for prayer meeting to start, and two of them were scheduled as followers on the first session. Panic was trying to overtake me, but Sister Merrill (the asst. matron) put her arm around me and assured me that everything would turn out ok. The Lord was in charge. I calmed down some and put my trust in the Lord. 

Miraculously, by the time prayer meeting was over, only two sisters hadn't shown up, but they both eventually arrived. The first session went on without a hitch, and all assigned areas were covered. To me, that was most certainly a miracle. 

Amazingly, the number of patrons on each session during our shift was normal or above normal. People were getting there somehow. Even a sweet sister who was coming to receive her own endowment arrived...a little late, but she was there, nonetheless, and it didn't hamper her getting her work done in plenty of time before the 9:15 session.

God is a God of miracles. He certainly wasn't sleeping on the job that day. What could have been a disastrous day turned out to be a testimony builder for me. As I sat at the desk in the coordinator's office and mentally ran through all of the little miracles that occurred so the work could go forth, I was very humbled. I had an impression in my mind that God was whispering to me. He said "This is my house and I am in control!"

I testify that it IS HIS house and yes, He is in control. I wouldn't want it any other way. I am embarrassed that I was such a Doubting Thomas in the beginning, but I have seen the light and I want to always go forward with faith, not fear. I want to trust in the Lord in all my ways and lean not unto my own understanding. I know He will direct my paths if I do, for I will always fall way short on my own. Lesson learned...again!

Answered Prayer

I have long had a testimony that God answers prayers. I have seen it many times in my life. I also believe that God doesn't always answer prayers when you want or how you want, but they are answered.

On a recent trip to Arizona for Thanksgiving, I asked Alan and Parker to give me a Priesthood blessing because of my many medical issues and stress. They were happy to do so. I was hoping and praying that my back problems could be cured. These problems have been holding me back from fully enjoying life for quite a while now. I wanted a cure so when Alan retires in a few years we would be able to go on a senior mission together. I want to continue serving in the temple, but it has been difficult of late because of my hip and back pain.

Years ago, I had Bell's Palsy when I was in my last trimester with Kyle. I was cured of that through a Priesthood blessing. I KNEW God healed me. There was absolutely no question in my mind that God blessed me with a cure. I was healed almost instantly instead of the long, almost imperceptible healing the doctor had predicted. This cure surely strengthened my testimony that God does know us. He knows our wants and our needs, and he wants to help us.

I know that God is aware of my back and hip problems. I know that he can instantly heal me from those issues like he did with my Bell's Palsy. However, He knows all. He knows things that I don't. He knows what trials will make me stronger, so He will do whatever is best for me...not necessarily what I want him to do. 

Although I wasn't healed miraculously after my recent Priesthood blessing, God still answered my prayer. Since those injections, I have been basically pain free...which is almost as good as a cure. I am able to do things around the house that caused much pain before (like cleaning toilets). I went Christmas shopping for 3 hours yesterday with no pain. Normally, I would have to quit after about an hour because of pain. I am so pleased with the results of the injections.

I know that these injections are temporary fixes for my aging body, but I am still grateful for any kind of relief.

God does answer prayers! God does know us and is involved in the minute details of our lives. These things I know are true!

UPDATE (1-5-18): Unfortunately, the injections only helped for a couple of weeks. I really appreciated those weeks with little or no pain. They were a true blessing. Although the injections didn't work as well for my back as they did for my hip, I am disappointed, but I'm not going to let that get me down. I am moving forward with no regrets. I am grateful for trials that make us strong. 

I don't know where to go from here for my back. I am now in as much pain as I always was. I am trying to decide whether to continue to manage the pain with medications, redo the steroid injections in a few months, or to opt for surgery. Dr. Misra said that the type of surgery I need would be very painful with a long, difficult recovery of about 16 weeks. He said he would fuse my spine and also put some kind of a plastic spacer between my vertebrae that are bone on bone. He said there is about an 85% chance that it would be beneficial in the long run. Hummm, not sure I want to go through Hell in hopes that the surgery is successful. I'm really going to have to ponder and pray about what to do. For now, I'm managing my pain with medications, but I hate taking medications. Quite the dilemma.

Dropping Sizes

Alan has worked hard at watching calories for the past few months and because of that, he has found success. He went from a 38" waist to a 34" waist.

Here are some before and after pictures wearing the same shirt and pants:

I think he looks great! I'm a little jealous of how easy it was for him to shed the weight. He must have a very high metabolism. He did it all through diet, not exercise. I have tried to follow his example of eating less, plus I exercise fairly regularly, but have only lost about 5 lbs. It doesn't seem fair, but that's the way the cookie crumbles, I guess. My metabolism stinks!

One reason he wanted to lose weight was to stop his mother from saying "when's the baby due" when she sees him. Haha! He reached 190 lbs. this morning - 5 lbs. below his goal, but he wants to keep going. Who knows what his final weight will be.

Alan, I'm very proud of you.  Now, get busy losing some for me!!!

Hurtful Statement

Yesterday I had to go to the Antelope Valley Hospital for a procedure on my back to inject a steroid into my spine. I was put under anesthesia even though the procedure took only about 5 minutes to complete. I was asked to arrive at the hospital at 11:15 a.m. I was told that I shouldn't be there more than about an hour and a half. Wrong! I was there over 4 hours. My friend, Carol, drove me there and back. She stayed with me the whole time. I felt very bad for her because it took so long. Anyway, once I got into a room where they prepped me for the procedure, I was asked many medical questions by the nurse and anesthesiologist. The male nurse, named Robert, asked me how tall I was and how much I weighed, so I told him. He looked me in the eye and told me that if I lost weight, my back wouldn't hurt any more. I couldn't believe he said that. My response: "So, will losing weight straighten out my scoliosis? Will losing weight put space between my discs where I am bone on bone? Will losing weight fix my bulging discs? Will losing weight remove my arthritis? Will losing weight guarantee no more pinched nerves or neuropathy in my feet?" He just looked down and didn't respond. I think he knew he had put his foot into his mouth. He didn't even have a clue as to what my back problems were when he made that statement, so that statement should never have been made. I agree, losing weight could maybe alleviate some of my pain, but it definitely won't cure my back. Nuff said!

On the bright side, he found a vein for my I.V. on the first try. He is definitely my hero in that respect.

(Disclaimer- Not my actual I.V.)