Surgery and Update

This is going to be short, as I can't sit to the compter for very long and I have been here for awhile already. My neck hurts, and my leg is swollen today as I have been up too long and need to put it up and rest it. Yes today I found out why you elevate the leg!!!! It swells if you don't. So the cast is tight

Surgery: Crutches: Casts

Well it isn't happy news and I haven't posted for awhile. Now I guess I as going to complain at least a little bit! You wouldn't think that an Achilles tendon would take such a long time to heal? I thought just a surgery and then a few weeks in a cast and a few in a walking boot????? Wrong I will be in a cast for 3 months, and then 3 more months of therapy. Wow I will be on crutches and a in a cast for all of the holidays. I asked him what I was going to do about making chocolates at Christmas and he said I could set in a chair and supervise. I don't think I will put a tree up at this point. Oh well maybe it will all be better than I think at this time. I pray that Heavenly Father will help me see a positive side to this. At this point I don't know what I will really face. I was told today that I will not be able to stand on my feet for a very long period of time. We'll see what is going on at Christmas and maybe by some miracle I will heal better than he thinks. I suppose a person couldn't stand on one leg for very long and I will have a walking cast by that time. I will need all of your prayers and anything else you can do for me. I am going to ask him that after the surgery kinda heals a little if I can set at the sewing machine, or a table and do my pictures. On a more positive note the reason I haven't posted much is that I have been really busy, we went to Lizzie's early in the summer and had a blast and loved every minute of it. Then I came home and watched my garden grow, and planted more lettuce and other things. The beans did really well this year I have about 26 quart bags of frozen french green beans, the kind you buy at Trader Joe's and I love them. I also froze Marion berries, raspberries strawberries and jammed marions raspberries and cherries I have cherries in the freezer also. I plan to make strawberry jam later but I may make some now before I go to the hospital so I will have some. I plan to make some dishes that grandpa will just have to heat up and we will make use of Costco and get some of their stuff in the freezer. I have canned apples from our tree, 26 pts. pears25 pts, and peaches 25 pts. So you can see the summer has been fruitful. The beans, onions, garlic, tomatoes, did really well this year, but the peppers and squash didn't so as well as last year. The tomatoes were small this year. I froze 12 apple pie fillings also from our tree. I could never have done all of this without grandpa's help, he worked on a lot of the peeling of things etc. I really appreciate him. He picked marion and raspberries from Cathy's yard and picked a lot of the beans. He picked all of the apples and peeled them all wow what a good job. I think you slow down a bit as you age. At least that is what I have done, but grandpa is just like the energiser bunny he just keeps on hopping along. He does get pretty tired when he works a lot which he has been doing lately. We have all had a lot of things to endure this summer and I am ready for it to cease but alas I know all of these things shall give us experience and we will all be the better for it. I know that our Heavenly Father is aware of even the smallest sparrow, and is also aware and loves us. We just need to endure and look to him for strength and trust in Him. I know he will help us to endure our trials and we won't have to do more than we are able to endure. May He help you all in your trials and bless you with his love. I love and appreciate you all Grams

Too Long Since I Posted!

Well too much has been going on and I haven't felt like posting for so long. We have been trying to get our place fixed up so we can have dad's party on Saturday. I had my throat stretched on Friday, and I thought it would be a piece of cake, because the last time it was. But I really wasn't prepared for being SO tired. I think the anesthesia was hard this time and I just seem to continue to drag around. I had planned to go to Sharon's on Fri. after it was over, I couldn't have rode over to the coast if my life depended on it. I went to bed at 8:45 unheard of for me and awoke at 10:20 on Sat morning. Phew I couldn't believe it. I did the same thing on Sun and Mon, so things are kind of behind. I plan to get some things done tomorrow, and I am planning on not working on Friday. So I should be caught up by then. Dad is working outside, doing too much as usual. Somehow our big freezer didn't get closed all the way one day last week and became a big frosted mess, and yesterday I spent several hours defrosting it. It really had a lot of ice and I was really tired after that. I have my garden planted and it is great the beans are coming up already yea! I need a few more flowers. I will get them tomorrow sometime I think. I have to tell you of my adventure before we went to Lizzie's which was wonderful, we had a lot of fun and the kids are so cute and Liz and Shad were so good to us. We had fun seeing Disneyland for the first time in about 40 years. It was a blast especially Splash Mountain, which Tanner loves. Anyway back to what happened before we left, we had decided to defer our taxes and found out the mobile home was still in the guys name that sold it to us.
Some mix up a few years back when the DMV turned all of the titles to the
State, so I go to the courthouse to get the title changed into our name, which was easy as I had all of the right paper work thank goodness. Spent 2 hours in the courthouse as they are so slow, and came out and started to cross the street on the corner of Park there and this woman in a big SUV was on her cell phone and was just turning the corner driving and paying no attention where she was going!!! I could tell she didn't see me and froze where I was and the man behind her sat on his horn, and she finally stopped about 6 inches from my body, by this time I was screaming STOP and the woman sitting beside her was screaming at her and the man was honking, it was a circus. She rolled her window and apologised, the man honking rolled his window down and screamed at her to get her stupid ear out of the damn phone and pay attention, as she came close to hitting someone. Needless to say I got into my car and thanked Heavenly Father for the man honking his horn and for his watchful eye over me. I felt so blessed that I didn't get hit. Well happy summer to you all I am sure it is just around the corner. I love you all

Life and Other Things.

I have been trying to get to this post for awhile. We have had a few adventures since Christmas started. It was planned for us to go to Ed"s and Judy's for Christmas eve and day. But then it started to snow and snow and snow! It stopped here, but continued in the Portland and Vancouver area for days, all through the holiday. So it was a choice, we could stay home, drive seven hours to Vancouver and maybe not make it. We would've only been able to go about 20 or 25 miles an hour after Salem. Sharon called and said why didn't we just come on down there and spend the holiday with them, so we did. There was some snow in the mountains, but it was just mostly rain. I loved seeing everyone at the coast and all in all we had a wonderful time. We came home, and got rested up and spent New Year's eve and day with Ed and family. By that time all of the snow was gone and the roads were clear and it was back to rain. I spent the day after new years with Debbie and Fairy. We went to lunch and visited. Judy had planned to come, but one of the dogs got chewed by the others and had to go to the vet, so that is where she spent her hours. I got wonderful presents from everyone thank you so much, you are all too good to us. It was a really relaxing new year. Grandpa and I got most of the decorations off the tree and everything is out in the shop now except for a few wrapping items. So we need to organize the totes and get them upstairs. I plan to do that tomorrow, and clean the rest of the house. I went to enrichment and helped to sew receiving blankets for the neo-natal unit at River Bend Hospital. We are donating them for the babies that are going home. They send them home wrapped in a new blanket if they have them. Cathy said that we made 35 of them. Not too bad I think for a small ward. I love making something like that so rewarding. We had a funny thing happen on Sat. morning. The kitty was outside and dad opened the garage door and looked out and he said there under the floor was the biggest rabbit he had ever saw, and the cat was staring at him afraid to move. The rabbit darn him had torn up my planter bed digging for something to eat I am sure. He made a big tunnel and a bigger mess. Grandpa was mad and I think that the rabbit was lucky to live. So he started to talk to the neighbors to find out where the rabbit came from and what he was doing in our yard. Turns out the O'Donnell next to us said that there were two of the rabbits and they had eaten up Chris's garden in the summer, and his wife was crying and upset about it. So we found out who they belonged to and they had escaped at the beginning of summer and they can't seem to catch them. Dad told them they better get them before we plant another garden or they won't be around to catch. I really don't want to do anything to the rabbits, but they need to control them, it is bad enough to keep the garden away from the deer here, now we have two tame rabbits to deal with that are the size of a small giraffe. Brother! I have such a great time with that small garden space planning and planting, it would be so disappointing to have it all dug up by them. I pray they will catch them or I will call the animal control and see what can be done. Well it is late and I need to go to bed and get rested so I can do all of the chores for tomorrow. I love you all and hope you all have a great new year.

The Story OF The Winter Easter Lily

Sometime around Easter Ed bought me a beautiful lily, it was covered in blooms and buds and really lifted my spirits. It bloomed for a month or more and like most house plants that I get I enjoyed it a lot. But it finished blooming and I watered it and one day I noticed that it was really wilted and I thought I think I'll throw it in the planter in front of the window in the planter box. I planted it there and chopped it off at the bottom of the stem. I haven't thought much about it for a long while, as I thought it was supposed to bloom in the spring. Now there are lots of plants out there Rosemary, Roses, Sage, and others so we water and feed those plants, and the lily has grown up over the height of the window and now it has 2 beautiful white blooms, and 4 buds, as if it doesn't know that it is Fall and almost winter. Since it is protected by the house the two freezes we have had haven't bothered it and it continues to look lovely. I can't believe it really, it has to be totally confused about when it is supposed to bloom, or maybe it thought I'll bloom now to give Janell a lift. It smells really wonderful too. I think it is wonderful how sometimes Heavenly Father creates something that does something unusual, and does something that it is totally out of character as is the case of the lily. I don't know why it chose to bloom at this time of year, but I will enjoy it's loveliness and be grateful for it blossoms. I have really enjoyed the fall this year, as it has really been beautiful, the trees have really had dresses of red and gold. The sun has been out most days, and it usually rains on Halloween, but this year it was pleasant. It wasn't cold as in past years, quite unusual also. I hope you all enjoyed the Autumn this year at your house. I have had my flu shot, and then one of my old crowns broke, I really shouldn't complain as it has lasted for thirty five years or more. Tom Elliott the first dentist I had here put it in and it was the first one I had. I hated losing it as it is so expensive to replace. I have to do it though, as it braces and supports my partial, and without that I wouldn't have any teeth to chew with. I tell you all don't get any older as it brings on all kinds of troubles, and pains. Not that I am complaining as I have it a lot better than most of the people with my problems. I can walk and do my own house cleaning and laundry, so I am thankful that I don't have false teeth like some of my friends do. I am grateful for all of you and your sweetness and love you all show for both grandpa and I, we love and appreciate you all. I especially appreciate my own children and their spouses ( I have had them the in-law children so long that they seem like my own) I am so blessed to have such caring and loving children. They have always been so good to me. I love them so much. It is a wonderful blessing to have been their mother. Well I need to go to bed so I can get up in the morning for church. Ed went to the Temple to do the spanish today, and he enjoyed being there, that is another thing I am grateful for. He rides with Brother Nebecker and his wife, and Pres. Jensen. He is fortunate to be able to go and not have to drive, as I don't think he would make it if he had to go by himself. It would be too hard and dangerous, as he would fall asleep. I went to Time Out For Women with Sharon, Judy, Debbie, and my friend Cathy. It was wonderful and I loved every minute of it. It was my birthday gift from Steve and Sharon. It was truly a special one and a lot about Joseph and the pioneers also on Friday night. Really wonderful! Catch all of you later.

I Love The Gospel Of Jesus Christ

We had an area Stake Conference broadcast for Oregon today, and I really got a lot out of it. I enjoyed Elder Uchltdorf"s talk and it started me to thinking of my roots in the gospel. As some of you know I joined the church when I was 11 years old, and was the first of my family to see the light so to speak. If I hadn't of seen that light I don't know where we would all be at this time. It is sobering of me to think about. I started to go to church with my great uncle Jeff Ricks, and his wife Susie my grandmother's brother on my mom's side. My sister Leona went sometimes, but she was 4 years younger than I so it was harder for her to be committed. Also I was the oldest of all of the children in my family and that makes you a little more mature than the others sometimes. I loved to go to church and we met over the union hall upstairs. It was just a small place as the church wasn't built at that time. It must have been in the works, as I was one of the first ones baptized in the new ward building. I just don't remember that part of it, and I don't know the year that it was finished. I had a teacher named Annabelle Jackson for SS and I truly loved the stories about Daniel in the Lion's Den, Adam and Eve and their Sons Cain and Able, Moses, Abraham, the book of Mormon stories, of Samuel, Alma, and all of the others she told. She had a big flannel board and told lots and lots of stories. Sometime later the missionaries started to come out to our house and teach the folks, I am sure uncle Jeff put them up to it, but I suppose they could of come because of me. They went through a few missionaries before they started to really get interested. We lived in a small house at Spicewood Springs( wish I had that 10 acres of land today, it is worth millions.) We moved to a place on Herrigot lane and the missionaries still came and taught the folks. My mom had a hard time quitting smoking, and for Dad it was the coffee. Dad worked most Sundays at that time as he worked 7 days a week at the Tally Ho restaurant. After we moved he went to work for Arkies's Grill and only worked 6 days of the week. All of this time I am coming to know more and more of the church and it's teachings. I am getting older and I watch someone get baptized and I think of it for myself. I start to pray for me to have the opportunity to get to know more, so I start to read more of the Bible stories myself. I don't have a Book Of Mormon at this time, I don't know why, maybe the missionaries thought I couldn't have read it? I become really more and more interested, and at about 10, I start to bug mom about getting baptized, each day my testimony grows stronger, and I continue for the rest of that year to ask mom if I can get baptized please, please. She always says the same thing, that she will talk to dad and they will decide, and once she said I could wait until I was 16, and I told her that I wouldn't wait that long, please talk to dad about it. By the time I was 11 I know the gospel is true and that I am a Child Of God(even though that song had yet to be written) I save my money to buy a white dress and mind you I didn't have much money at the time, I save anyway and continue to pray for the folks to let me join the church, as I knew that it was the only true church upon the earth and that Joseph was a prophet, I knew and no one was going to tell me differently. I was so positive I continue to talk to my mom, and she says she will speak with dad. One day I was walking with daddy or at the store with him, and I decide to take matters into my own hands and ask him myself. He asked me if I believed it to be true, and I said that I was positive it was. He then said he would speak with the missionaries and uncle Jeff and as far as he was concerned I could. I couldn't believe it!!!! I felt it taken so long for me to be baptized, however I had only been attending for two years. Time goes so slowly when you are that age, I wish it would go more slowly NOW! I have a great respect for time and how it is spent in our lives and I feel we need to use our time here on this earth more wisely and enjoy all of our moments. Savor all of the joyful moments, and the ones of trial also, as you will not pass that way again. I know that when the children are small or you are waiting to get some, it is hard. Stop and enjoy, as time goes by on wings of lighting and enjoy to trip. I can truly say I have loved my life and I would not change anything or the way I have grown from my trials and all of the joy I have experienced. I will say that I don't think it would have been as wonderful without the gospel in my life. I joined the church of August of that year and I have been going in it ever since. Just 3 months after my eleventh birthday I joined The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints. What a memory that is to me and as I said in the beginning, think of all of my family, it is the most wonderful thing in my life. I am so grateful for all of my four children, 19 grandchildren, and now the cute little 8 great ones. Not to mention my good husband without whom none of this would be possible. My parents joined about 2 years later and all of my sisters and my one brother. Four of my sisters have temple recommends and are active in the church. Of these my sister Leona has a daughter that will be married in the temple she has 5 sons also that were raised in the Catholic faith. Marie has 7 children of these 5 have been sealed in the temple and 3 of her boys served missions. Sherry has 4 boys one deceased and one single holding a temple recommend one sealed in the temple and 2 that served missions. Linda has 7 children and only one has really embraced the gospel and she has 8 children and of those 7 are sons and will probably serve missions and be sealed in the temple, my other siblings aren't active in the church. I have one son that has served a full time mission and all 4 have been sealed in the temple. I have several grandsons that have served full time missions and 8 grandchildren that have been sealed in the temple. It is a great blessing to me to look at all of you and think that it all started with a 9 year old's dream of getting baptized. I think also of all of the converts that have been baptized by all of the missionaries that have served in our family and I am humbled by the work of a wonderful Heavenly Father who knows and sees all and his Son Jesus Christ who gave us the ability to repent of our sins through the Atonement and become like Him. What a blessing and a privilege it is to have lived in this time when so many wonderful things are happening on this earth. How richly blessed we are to have this most precious thing in our lives and to be able to know that He Loves Us and Cares For Us. On another note Mike and Amy came to our house today and had dinner after the broadcast and we so enjoyed having them. It is a wonderful blessing to have grandchildren. I appreciate them so much and I love how they are so interested in the things that are happening in our world and the sane way that they all look at it. Abe came yesterday and took his voting ballot with him after he took the time to vote. I love you all and pray for all of you that you may have all of your needs met. Love Grandma aka Nonnie