More Pics from Hawaii and Coupons

I have four coupons for diapers at $1.00 off on Pampers and another brand. If you want them, please let me know.

My daughter got back today from Hawaii and a friend of hers posted more pics on facebook. So I thought I'd share a few.





Be still my heart. She's so very brave and doesn't hesitate to try anything.

Medicare, Social Security, Insurance, oh my . . .

I've been trying to find out my status for medicare for about the last month. I was told it had already been filed for and that I would begin coverage sometime this month.

I called a couple of weeks ago and they didn't have a record, so I scheduled a phone interview. When I got the call today he said the dialysis center I'm using is not an authorized medicare facility. Yipes!

I've been rolling along feeling very safe and secure and adjusting to changes. This one really set me off. Sigh.

Follow-up - the social worker spoke with me and they are trying to work it out for me to stay at their facility.

I took Gabby to the vet this afternoon to run her labs. Her kidneys are better, but her liver is failing quickly. Sigh . . . she's such a sweetheart.

Poor Benson is going to really miss her when she's gone, as well as Steve and I. When the vet weighed him he'd gained even more weight. When Gabby doesn't eat her share, he finishes it off for her. He looks like a little sausage.

We love them both though. Its really hard to lose them.

Oh the way the Lord shows his love to his children

My daughter just called me from Hawaii. She's out there until Tuesday and is having a great time. I believe the Lord compensates his children. She's not married and yet the Lord has her in a great job and has given her great opportunities.




She sent me some pics and I am attaching them to view.

Stake Conference - Uplifting, thought provoking, and time to take stock

I really enjoyed stake conference today. Dieter Uchtdorf, one of my favorite men spoke. Every time I see him, I remember when he gave me the blessing last year over at the Allen Stake Center. He is a big man and with a really big heart. I remember when I walked into the room where he was, I was so overwhelmed I held my breath until it was all over. He is also incredibly handsome.



Elder Gene R. Cook, Elder Oswald, and Elder Edgley also spoke.

Some of the thoughts that struck a chord with me were the importance of family togetherness. "We each determine what kind of parent we will be."

We must allow ourselves to be visible in the community, too many members are in camoflage. Excellence and quality - defined by how we feel about ourselves.

Important to be separate from evil.
Don't just be a hearer of the word, but a doer.

We are united by our faith in Christ. In the Church we are never alone.

Study Preach my Gospel. Use as a tool in family home evening. As we study it, we will strengthen our testimony and become better people.

Rely on the Spirit.

Set goals based on what we wish the outcomes to be.

CTR - Current Temple Recommend.

Pitch our tents toward the temple and away from Sodom.

As we purify our lives, the Spirit will speak to each of us individually. Once we receive personal revelation, act upon it.

Each day we should ask "what are we personally doing to increase our faith"? "What are we doing daily to strengthen our families?"

From Pres. Uchtdorf - Three things that we must be doing.

1. Hold a temple recommend - this will increase our faith and strengthen our families.
2. Study the word of God daily.
3. Speak with God daily.

Find out which areas of our lives need course correction.

Elder Edgley spoke about the son of a couple he knew who wound up in prison for the rest of his life. He wound up in solitary confinement. While there, he read the entire Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants. Elder Edgley was corresponding with him and the young man wrote him about how he wished he had read the scriptures earlier in his life. How grateful he was for the Savior.

How do our challenges define our lives? Out of pain and suffering, the Savior gives hope. He will take our yoke and give us peace.

I walked a mile with Pleasure,
She chattered all the way;
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And ne'er a word said she,
But oh, the things I learned from her
When sorrow walked with me.

Robert Hamilton Browning

Elder Oswald spoke about the Whitmer family. With all they had given to them spiritually, because they chose not to follow their leaders, they went into apostasy.

Listen and give heed to the Spirit.
Focus on the spiritual rather than the wordly.
Listen and follow leaders.

Weeds

Its too cold and windy to do anything about it, but my backyard is loaded with weeds. I'm really thinking seriously about digging it all up and putting gravel down. We're going to build my elevated garden box this week to plant my sad indoor plantings.

My brother in law is at it again and sent me a link for his new video on you tube and I have attached it.

Class is finished

I made it thru my second week of class. Today was the last day. Hooray! I had a really good teacher and I learned alot. But I'm glad its done. Between the dialysis, my shift at the temple today, and class, I'm beat.

I am so grateful. The Lord has really watched over us. We're still making it. Steve had his interview today, but we won't know anything for a week or two. My disability starts tomorrow and it will make things alot easier.

I love my husband. There have been nearly 16 years with many challenges. But his sweet nature and loving concern has made it all worth it. He's always been there for my kids without question. I do love him much.

Video of Steve's brother

Steve's brother lives in Idaho and is quite talented. He made a video of him singing and I've attached the video. Its really quite good.



Just finished dialysis and it went well. I'm surviving the 6:00 a.m. thing and finding it nice to still have a full day. Thanks Dyann for the suggestion.

Inside Out

I got up this morning, ate a bowl of cereal, and rushed to change my clothes to get to my hair appointment. Heidi always does a great job and I always look forward to my appointment. Last week when my son had surgery, I came home and forgot my appointment. I thought then she must really think I'm dingy. Well today I proved it. When I got home from my appointment, I looked in the mirror and realized my t-shirt was on inside out!

Several years ago on a BYU broadcast I saw Lucille Johnson speak. She spoke of a time she had a speaking assignment at a womens conference and because she was late and on a phone call, her husband rushed her out of the door. As she was walking into the conference the women were asking her if she was ok. After she got up and spoke and the conference finished, she got in the car and pulled down the visor and saw her reflection in the mirror. She screamed. She teases her hair and it was still all teased up. She had never combed it out. I know younger adults will probably not get the picture, but some of the older will. Although my embarrasment will not match hers at that moment, it was still bad enough.

Steve has a couple of job interviews today. My daughter's gone on another BYU trip to Hawaii. Lucky girl.

Last night I ironed Steve's shirts. I haven't ironed a shirt in nearly 40 years. I was so ambitious I even ironed a tablecloth that Steve's mom used to use. Its been tucked in a drawer for nearly ten years. The most significant thing about this was that I had the energy to do so. If anyone fears dialysis, don't. It makes such a difference in the way you feel.

A Really Good Day

My sister came to Dallas today to see me. She flew to Texas to help her brother-in-law and sister-in-law pack and they drove her up to spend the afternoon here. We had a wonderful visit and I was so grateful to spend time with her.

We fixed a nice dinner and my son and his wife came over to eat with us. We had a really nice time and it was good that they all got to see each other.

A Whole New Day

A whole day today to do what I want. I'm so grateful. No dialysis. No errands. Just time to do with as I want and need. What a blessing.

A little chilly here, but I did manage to get the dogs out for a walk this morning.

Gabby's back

We nearly lost one of our pups last week. Gabby started throwing up and became dehydrated and shut down. I took her to her vet and after a few days they sent her home. She's been very weak and mostly nonresponsive. The last two days she's been bouncing back. Today she was completely back. Yeah! I hope she stays with us for a while longer. She's nearly 14 so I know she's old, but she's been with us since she was a puppy.

I got back from dialysis and took them for a walk and she's did amazingly well.

One more day under the belt. Monday my dialysis starts at 6 a.m.- yikes.

Gratitude

I went to the temple this morning and worked at the family file desk. On the way back, I stopped by a friend of Steve's house to see him. He was doing some electrical work over there. They had a huge amount of patterned concrete work. I couldn't help but think how beautiful it looked and went into the backyard to see the driveway and the work done on it. The lady of the house had nothing to do but complain about the work that had been done. Several years ago her flooring company had put flooring in our house. It was strange to hear her complain and go on about the very feelings I had about the work done in our house on our tile. All these years later I still have grout in places on my floor I can't get out. Anyway, it brought me to think about how I need to be grateful for the things I have and not focus on the negatives.



So I'm attaching a picture of beginning plants I started in the house. I'm going to be curious to see how it works once they're planted outside.



My sister did me a huge thing today. She sent me a sizable check. Totally unrequested. I was so surprised and called her. She just knew that we're struggling and wanted to help. At Christmas we had a surprise on our front porch. Someone had secret santa'd us with gift cards from WalMart and Albertsons. My feelings were similar in both actions. Totally grateful.