Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Spring!
We had a lot of winter rain this year so the wildflowers are in bloom. Here are some pictures taken near our house. ENJOY!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Camera
The camera decided to stop working over the weekend, so I guess I won't be posting anything until we get another one. It's always something, isn't it? Oh well. I'll post again in a couple of weeks (or sooner) after we get a new camera.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Anchored
It seems that most everyone we know is either struggling with something themselves, or someone close to them is struggling because of health problems, natural disasters, war, bad choices by loved ones, job loss, financial setbacks because of the economy, poor decisions by teachers at school, angry people all around looking for a reason to sue someone, politicians or other civic leaders who are out of touch with the majority of their constituents, etc. The list of things that negatively impact us seems to be never-ending. And yet, it the midst of it all, the gospel of Jesus Christ brings peace, there are miracles all around us (if one has the eyes to see them) and life continues on with joy as well as sorrow. We have cried and we have prayed; we have rejoiced and we have felt gratitude. It is a difficult time to live, and yet, it is a great time to live. In spite of everything going on in the world, we are anchored by faith and feel optimist and hopeful. Life is still good...families are forever...sweet is the peace the gospel brings.
Don took his scouts out for a day of prospecting and adventure. The boys had a great time. Don is a wonderful Varsity Scout Coach. Below is a picture of some of them climbing an old windmill.
The garden has begun to grow...I'll try to take some pictures of it as it produces veggies for us.
Don took his scouts out for a day of prospecting and adventure. The boys had a great time. Don is a wonderful Varsity Scout Coach. Below is a picture of some of them climbing an old windmill.
The garden has begun to grow...I'll try to take some pictures of it as it produces veggies for us.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Baby Quilts and Grand-babies
You're probably wondering what this is a picture of. It's a table at the end of the gym at Church with about half of the quilts and blankets we made.
Last night our Relief Society finished a community service project in honor of the 168th birthday of the Relief Society. We made quilts and blankets for a charity in our community that works with poor families whose newborn children have birth defects or other serious medical problems. There is a huge team of doctors and social workers that take turns donating their time on behalf of these families. The 32 quilts and blankets were made with love, and will, we hope, bring comfort to the the babies and their mothers. There are also a few large bags of baby cloths being sent their way.
It was a great night! The gym was full of sewing machines and quilting frames with women sitting around them happily chatting as they tied quilts, sewed bindings on quilt edges, or made fringe on the edges of the fleece blankets. It was such a busy night that this was the only picture I took!
We received news today that Nathan is being deployed to Iraq the first week in April to provide dental care for our soldiers who are there. We are so proud of him and will be praying for his safe return to his wife and children. They are, by the way, expecting another boy in July, which we are so grateful for. That will make four children for them (four grandchildren for us): two boys and two girls...so wonderful!
Last night our Relief Society finished a community service project in honor of the 168th birthday of the Relief Society. We made quilts and blankets for a charity in our community that works with poor families whose newborn children have birth defects or other serious medical problems. There is a huge team of doctors and social workers that take turns donating their time on behalf of these families. The 32 quilts and blankets were made with love, and will, we hope, bring comfort to the the babies and their mothers. There are also a few large bags of baby cloths being sent their way.
It was a great night! The gym was full of sewing machines and quilting frames with women sitting around them happily chatting as they tied quilts, sewed bindings on quilt edges, or made fringe on the edges of the fleece blankets. It was such a busy night that this was the only picture I took!
We received news today that Nathan is being deployed to Iraq the first week in April to provide dental care for our soldiers who are there. We are so proud of him and will be praying for his safe return to his wife and children. They are, by the way, expecting another boy in July, which we are so grateful for. That will make four children for them (four grandchildren for us): two boys and two girls...so wonderful!
Monday, February 22, 2010
A Work In Progress
Last year we really struggled with the garden. Between the gophers, the squirrels, the rats, the mice, the birds, and the weeds, we did not enjoy nearly as many vegetables as we were hoping to.
This year we are gardening in the patio. We filled in the old swimming pool and put a field fence and metal screening around it. We built a frame for the shade cloth and the bird netting, and are in the process of completing that (hence the ladders, etc.). We put down cloth to block the weeds and need to finish that. Then we will do the irrigation. We did plant our first seeds, and they are growing in the house in little containers. I want to have all of the garden area done before we put them in the ground.
I also attended a wonderful class that our Relief Society put on about container gardening, so I'm excited to try that this year too. A friend brought over several white buckets which we will use for our containers. We plan to place them all around the edge of the garden.
Wish us luck!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Quick Update...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICOLE!
It's hard to believe Nicole turned 23 a week ago...where does the time go? She's doing well in school and working hard to make enough money to keep herself in school. She's doing a great job. We love you, Nicole!
We had some friends over for dinner....
...and had a fun time with their kids.
Don's neck is healing. In this picture he is pointing to the hole in his neck which has scabbed over. The bruising still looks pretty bad, though.
It's hard to believe Nicole turned 23 a week ago...where does the time go? She's doing well in school and working hard to make enough money to keep herself in school. She's doing a great job. We love you, Nicole!
We had some friends over for dinner....
...and had a fun time with their kids.
Don's neck is healing. In this picture he is pointing to the hole in his neck which has scabbed over. The bruising still looks pretty bad, though.
There's not much else to say. We are busy and life is good!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Quiet Hero
A few months ago Don and I signed up to be on the National Bone Marrow Registry because of a young girl in our area who has leukemia and needs a match for a bone marrow transplant.
Don received a call about a month ago saying that he matched someone else here in the United States. They asked if he would be willing to be a donor, and he said he would.
The process involved repeated interviews, questions, and vials and vials of blood that they tested. They gave him some very expensive injections which caused his body to make millions of stem cells more than it would normally have done. The injections amounted to two shots in the stomach each day for five days. The first set of shots had to be done in a Phoenix hospital so that if Don had a bad reaction to the medication they would be able to help him. He handled it fine, so we drove home. The rest of the shots were given here at home by a nurse. They left him very tired and his bones ached, but he handled it all cheerfully.
Last Sunday night we drove back to Phoenix to settle into a hotel. The actual donation began very early Monday morning. That's when we hit the first glitch. The nurses struggled to get a catheter into a vein in his arm. On the fourth try they were able to get one in, but they had to use a vein that is normally used for the actual stem cell donation. Consequently, they had to send Don up to another floor where they inserted an eight-inch-long catheter into his jugular vein in his neck and stitch it in place. That was a little bit scary, but it worked out OK.
They hooked him up to a machine that took his blood out, spun it in a centrifuge, sucked out the middle layer where the stem cells are, and put the rest of the blood back into his body. It took several hours. All in all, it was a LONG day. We were able to come home on Tuesday, and Don has been resting ever since--trying to let his body recuperate.
Today he went back to work, but he'll only be doing desk work. He hopes to have enough energy to play soccer tomorrow night...we"ll see.
These are the nurses struggling with his veins.
The last set of shots.
Hooked up to the machine and happy to finally get something to eat! You can see blood oozing from the hole in his neck where the catheter was. It's still bruised but healing and scabbed over as of today. I'm just glad that the oozing has stopped.
Passing the hours watching DVDs...thanks, Rick and Denise, for loaning us your DVD player.
I watched what Don went through over the last many days trying to help someone he doesn't even know, and I felt so much admiration for him. He's a good man with a big heart, and I love him! I also realize that he is part of a quiet army of heroes who give of themselves so unselfishly in order to help someone else. So many quiet heroes...and Don is one of them.
Don received a call about a month ago saying that he matched someone else here in the United States. They asked if he would be willing to be a donor, and he said he would.
The process involved repeated interviews, questions, and vials and vials of blood that they tested. They gave him some very expensive injections which caused his body to make millions of stem cells more than it would normally have done. The injections amounted to two shots in the stomach each day for five days. The first set of shots had to be done in a Phoenix hospital so that if Don had a bad reaction to the medication they would be able to help him. He handled it fine, so we drove home. The rest of the shots were given here at home by a nurse. They left him very tired and his bones ached, but he handled it all cheerfully.
Last Sunday night we drove back to Phoenix to settle into a hotel. The actual donation began very early Monday morning. That's when we hit the first glitch. The nurses struggled to get a catheter into a vein in his arm. On the fourth try they were able to get one in, but they had to use a vein that is normally used for the actual stem cell donation. Consequently, they had to send Don up to another floor where they inserted an eight-inch-long catheter into his jugular vein in his neck and stitch it in place. That was a little bit scary, but it worked out OK.
They hooked him up to a machine that took his blood out, spun it in a centrifuge, sucked out the middle layer where the stem cells are, and put the rest of the blood back into his body. It took several hours. All in all, it was a LONG day. We were able to come home on Tuesday, and Don has been resting ever since--trying to let his body recuperate.
Today he went back to work, but he'll only be doing desk work. He hopes to have enough energy to play soccer tomorrow night...we"ll see.
These are the nurses struggling with his veins.
The last set of shots.
Hooked up to the machine and happy to finally get something to eat! You can see blood oozing from the hole in his neck where the catheter was. It's still bruised but healing and scabbed over as of today. I'm just glad that the oozing has stopped.
Passing the hours watching DVDs...thanks, Rick and Denise, for loaning us your DVD player.
I watched what Don went through over the last many days trying to help someone he doesn't even know, and I felt so much admiration for him. He's a good man with a big heart, and I love him! I also realize that he is part of a quiet army of heroes who give of themselves so unselfishly in order to help someone else. So many quiet heroes...and Don is one of them.
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