Fall Colors

1 daughter
1 dog
2 cameras
1 full tank of gas
1 beautiful road trip

Patience

The lessons we learn from patience will cultivate our character, lift our lives, and heighten our happiness. ~DIETER F. UCHTDORF

And patient we are trying to be!

Dad is still in the hospital. Going on the third night. The Doctor is keeping him for another night. Both the Cardiologist and the Neurologist have given him the thumbs up, so once they get a handle on his heart rate it should be go time.

The most difficult part for dad is the fact that he feels fine. Other than his “episode” he has felt strong and healthy. It is difficult to understand and determine what it is that his body it trying to tell him.

As I was visiting with mom and dad in the hospital today, he admitted that he is impatient. Perhaps there is some spiritual growth that will be gained in this experience… for all of us.

…patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace. ~DIETER F. UCHTDORF

Oh, what a week (and it is only Wednesday)

Sunday: received a phone call from my mother-in-law at 7:30 am. Highly unusual, so I answered it right away.  She had fallen and hurt her shoulder. Evan was had already started his day at the church,  so I called him to arrange to pick up her house key. He ended up driving over with me.

After some untrained diagnosis, and a little inspiration, we drove her to the ER.

Broken shoulder.

Monday: took the day off to make sure she could manager her pain and take care of her basic needs.
Being as strong and independent as she is… she managed just fine and insisted on sleeping in her own bed.
(Can’t blame her!)

Tuesday: I was back at work. when the call from my mother came in. My father passed out at work and was being transported to the ER.  Back again, to the same place I was, just 48 hours earlier.  After some basic tests, it was determined that he needed to be admitted.

Wednesday: still at the hospital, still running tests and still hoping for answers.

What we do know:

• it was NOT a seizure
• is was NOT a stroke
• his resting heart rate is too low and not improving
• there is a hole in his heart (the kind that is common, and is most likely insignificant)
• there is a “mass” in/on/near his brain that seems to be unrelated and not much to worry about

He feels fine and want’s to go home.
(Can’t blame him!)

Thursday: hoping that we get answers and a plan of action!

Then we can look forward to General Conference this weekend and loads of nourishment for our souls!

In case you were wondering…

If a dog finds a staple on the floor and tries to eat it,
there IS a chance that the dog will end up “stapling” the roof of his mouth.

What are the signs of this happening?
The dog will continually lick the roof of his mouth in the same fashion as a dog eating peanut butter.

Can you remove this staple yourself?
Yes, but it takes two.

Forget Not

As expected, President Uchdorf did not disappoint as he spoke at the General Relief Society broadcast.
I cannot wait to listen, read and watch him again. You may want to do the same.

He used the flower, forget me not, as a metaphor.
I took some artistic liberties…

Read some of his words HERE

Emotions

It has been an exhausting week, emotionally speaking.

• BYU suffered a painful loss in football to the University of Utah. Sorrow (for Evan).
• My lesson in church received many compliments. Surprise.
• I have 4 more weeks until my next lesson. Relief.
• I ONLY have 4 weeks until my next lesson. Panic.
• Kylee received kudos from one of her teachers. Pride.
• Taylor started to experience uncomfortable, nearly unbearable, back pain. Worry.
• A call to her doctor produced a prescription for Physical Therapy. Hope.
• Mass mailing for the bridal shower that Kylee is giving for her best friend. Anticipation.
• Circumstances at work that created more (and seemingly unnecessary) projects. Stress.
• Taylor announced that she and her roommates will be in town for Conference. Excitement.
• Overheard Kylee turn down fun for homework. Impressed.
• 3 times this week: up at 4:45 am , to the gym by 5 am. Fatigued.

Quotable

(found here)

Patience

“I believe that a lack of patience is a major cause of the difficulties and unhappiness in the world today. Too often, we are impatient with ourselves, with our family members and friends, and even with the Lord. We seem to demand what we want right now, regardless of whether we have earned it, whether it would be good for us, or whether it is right.”

~Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

“Patience is tied very closely to faith in our Heavenly Father. Actually, when we are unduly impatient, we are suggesting that we know what is best—better than does God. Or, at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than his. Either way we are questioning the reality of God’s omniscience [knowledge].”

~Elder Neal A. Maxwell

On Tuesday, Evan and I volunteered to provide FHE at Atria, the retirement center near our home.
Let me rephrase, Evan volunteered us to provide FHE. It was a stressful week and I was not looking forward to it. I had too much to do. I didn’t have the time. I wanted to do what I wanted to do!

While sorting through lesson ideas, I stumbled upon a lesson on patience. It clicked. What hooked me was a statement at the end of the lesson. It really put the quality of patience in perspective.

Patience was required of Noah and his family. We talk about “forty days and forty nights” as though they had to live in the ark with all those animals for a month and a half. Well, forty days and forty nights was only a fraction of their endurance. For instance, do you remember that after they went into the ark and closed the door, they were inside the ark for seven days before the Flood began? Now, would that be a test of faith or what? Would you decide, about the fifth day, that it would be awfully nice to spend the weekend picking buttercups in the meadow rather than cleaning the elephants’ stalls and that maybe Noah had made a big mistake?

Then the rains began. It was not until the fortieth day of this torrential downpour and flooding that the water was deep enough to “lift [the ark] up above the earth.” And then “the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.” We’re up to 197 days so far.

The scripture doesn’t tell us how many days it took for the waters to recede, but it says that the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat on the seventeenth day of the seventh month, and it took until the first day of the tenth month for the tops of the mountains to become visible. If we hypothesize a month of thirty days—then we need to add another seventy-three days.

Then they waited forty days to send out the raven and the dove, seven more days for the second flight of the dove, who returned with the olive branch, and a final seven days for the third flight. It sounds as if it then took another month plus twenty-seven days before they received the command of the Lord to go forth from the ark. This comes to a total of 401 days. That’s a long time to be cooped up in a floating zoo—a year, a month, and six days!

So the story of Noah teaches us that there will be adversity, that it will last a long time, and that it will require reserves of patience that seem superhuman.

After all was said and done, it ended up being a perfect evening. Somehow, the stress of service is what reduced my stress. I still had the time I needed to get everything done. I am, however, a little stressed about what the Lord has in store for me that will require superhuman patience.

(Original lesson HERE)

the 40 something college student

First it was Kylee and her photography class at the U.
I loved it.
Learned a little.
Hung out with Ky a lot!

Flash forward to Monday… BYU-Idaho stated it’s Fall 2011.

Twice, already, I have been called to assist in some math homework.
I love it.
Remembering more than I expected.
Warned Taylor that it won’t take long to reach my limit.

I guess that means, I have been officially enrolled in Fundamental Math 108.

I’ll take it!! Any excuse to chat with my Tay.

Overwhelming.

I walked into church alone today.

Evan was busy with a Ward Conference.
Kylee is a member of a singles ward.
Taylor, has been gone (for three days now).

Our dear friend Gale F. spoke today.
As a result, his wife Joan, was in the congregation.
They are the parents of McKay and Drew…
the two men that are looking after Taylor while she is in Idaho.

I was overcome.

An overwhelming sense of gratitude fell upon me.
Gratitude for great friends, who are great parents.
Gratitude for their sons, who treat my daughters as sisters.

An overwhelming sense of peacefulness was with me.
Peaceful with the spiritual progress both of my daughters are making.
Peaceful with their decisions and where life is taking them.

On overwhelming sense of love overtook me.
Love for my eternal companion, and the new opportunities this stage of life brings us.
Love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the opportunities for growth it brings me.

I just took my daughter over state lines and left her there.

I went to work early and was home by 10AM.
Taylor was a bundle of nerves and anxious to get going.

We packed the car full of boxes and started our journey northward.

First stop… my grandparents gravesite.
The grave marker for Uncle Richard was in place, it was not here the last time I was.

Next stop was the home of our hosts for the night.
When McKay & Carlee invited us to stay with them, we quickly accepted and canceled our hotel.
Taylor’s reaction was priceless!! She could not wait to go play with their sweet daughter.
I loved watching McKay and Carlee interact with their child. They are great parents! No doubt about it.
I also loved receiving the reassurance that Taylor has them nearby and that she will be loved and welcome in their home if she needs some TLC.

The next morning we were on the road again, heading to our final destination.
A quick line for keys, and then it was moving time.
A new list of “things we need” was created as we unpacked and organized.

Evan had a business lunch with a client and a colleague,
so Taylor and I teamed up with her roomie Kiri and her mom for our errands.
First stop – campus for ID cards and books.
Next was Walmart for some necessary shopping.
More unpacking and organizing followed.
Lunch and grocery shopping, then meeting Evan back at the apartment.

More roommates were arriving and it was nice to meet them and some of their parents.
I was busy trying to resolve issues at work and was not very gracious. (A regret.)
These parents, however, were reassured by Evan that Thanksgiving at our home
is an open invitation to their daughters.
This is a family tradition I am excited to carry on.

With all of the hustle and bustle of moving, and the many campus activities available for the students,
Evan and I decided it was time to leave our little girl behind.
Hugs, kisses and love you’s. All tearless. We were all brave and strong.
It was easier than I anticipated and I am so excited for her and this new adventure!

See you in 76 days. (Skype me!!)

The first last.

Today was all about Taylor.

Her last Sunday dinner before leaving for school later this week.

Her dinner of choice,
Spaghetti.

Surrounded by our usual Sunday crew,
she was loaded up with advise and well wishes.

Dinner was topped off with cake
and a very special message…

A way to display…

This week I found myself the proud owner of updated photos
of some of my nieces and nephews!
A new school year and updated photos seem to go hand in hand.

Too often, these photos remain in their protective envelope,
waiting for the day I climb on a stool, pull the frames off the wall,
take apart the frame, exchange photos, replace the back of the frame,
hang it all back on the wall.

Seems easy enough.

I finally had enough and decided to put a new plan in action.
What I needed was a better way to display!
Better, in the sense that it is quick and easy to get each updated photo up
immediately!!

After a quick Google search for some ideas,
and a little gratitude for creative minds that are not afraid to share,
this is what I ended up with…

(the jury is still out on which display I like more.)