Something to think about

I stole this post from Jennas blog. I think it really gives you something to think about. Thanks for posting it Jenna and for letting me steal it.

A letter to someone who has hurt you recently.

I really don't have a letter to write for someone who has hurt me recently. Or maybe I do but figured this would do just as good - if not better for me and for you!

Have you ever read the story of Abigail in the book of Samuel? Such a great story to read and an even better lesson to learn.

A brief summary:

David and his men do some work for Nabel. Nabel doesn't give them what they asked for and when David finds out - he is infuriated, as well as his men. As David and his men started making their way to Nabels house to start a war they run into a small detour. Abigail. The rest of the story goes as told:

"Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be."
"Upon you be what iniquity, woman?"
"Please my lord, I saw not the young men you sent to Nabal, my husband. But see, I have provided. Please accept of my offering, that this shall be no grief unto thee."
"You take the fool's sins on your own head? You know the injustice and see us coming to right it, and now you beg for mercy upon thine house?"
"I beg for my house, yes, but for thee also, my lord, that this shall not be an offense of heart unto thee, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself. For the Lord will certainly make thee a sure house because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. So it ever may be so, my lord, I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid."

Did you get all that?

Abigail begged David to forgive her all the same- not Nabal, but her, as if she were the one who had done the wrong. She didn't say, Forgive Nabel of his trespass.

*Forgive the trespass of thine handmaid.*

Abigail, the one who didn't need forgiveness nevertheless asked for it - illuminates something very important about forgiveness. It illustrates who forgiveness is for.

Abigail's message was that forgiveness was for the one who was forgiving, not the one who was being forgiven.

The story of Abigail also suggests that the Atonement is as much for the benefit of the sinned against- the victim of sin - as for the sinner.

If you've read The Peacegiver you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you haven't read it - please do. I was reading it for the second time the other day and knew that I needed to mention this story - and how perfect for "A letter to someone who has hurt you."

I think we are all often too quick to blame the other person. Or justify why/how they are wrong in every way and how we are in the right. It's not always the sinner that needs to repent and be forgiven... but its often a lesson for the one sinned against. One might say David did nothing wrong; he didn't make it to Nabel and he didn't start a fight. But the 'war' began when David and his men started seeking revenge in their hearts. Even though we may not say the mean things we want to or act in a hostile way - we are still sinning by putting the thought into it.

I know I'm guilty of it. And it's something I openly have been aware of and trying to work on. So if someone has hurt me - I need to think of what I may or may not have done to influence their feelings and actions.

Well, that's my preaching for the day. I love The Peacegiver. Read it. Enough said.

"Being mistreated is the most important condition of mortality. For eternity itself depends on how we view those who mistreat us."

Update on home in boulder co

A few weeks ago i posted about my friend Lindas home that was caught up in the boulder co fires. My poor kittie was in the home at the time and has never been found. Linda was on a cruise at the time and came back last weekend. Her life has been caught up with trying to put there lifes together. These are some pictures of what is left of her home. Its really hard to see. It was once there beauitul home in the foothills. Over 160 homes were burnt down. We are lucky with the Herriman fires last weekend that it was put under contrul so fast.

Missed Party/Back to work, Visit from Lucy and Update Cory.

Well being in the hospital with Cory everyday i missed our yearly summer BBQ that we do every summer on the grounds of our building. Its when we make the doctors take the afternoon off of seeing there patients and cook us steaks!!!! Sounds like a good deal huh? So i missed it this year but Jodie texed me these pictures while i was in the hospital. The first one is our boss lady Jen, she was giving me an award for taking care of all there important papers!!!!!!!! Hmm my prize was toilet paper!!!!!!!!! Thats Jen for ya!!!!!!! The other picture is our business office lady Karen. My boss Jen texed me this while i was at the hospital telling me that Karen was already partying!!! Not sure of the story about that but it made me laugh when i got it. I went back to work today and it was nice after being off for two weeks to be back working and to be with the great crowd that i work with.
Cory is doing great and is off school of course. The doctor and district have got him on Home/Hospital leave where everyday a teacher will come round at 5.00pm and do school work with him so he can catch up as hes a few weeks behind. She also would have gone to the hospital had he still be in there. So this week i will be getting home early so the teacher can come over. Other then that he is doing great and although sore is feeling really well. I think hed be happy when he can return to school.
The day Heather and Dan returned to Lake Powell Lucy arrived, like within the hour of them leaving. lol. She spent the weekend with us and returned to school last night. It was wonderful having her home for a few days. We had a turkey dinner yeserday and everyone but Heather and Hayley came over. The two grandbabies of course were very cute and are both growing like weeds. It was nice having almost all of us together for dinner.

Life as my parents knew it as small children.

As i use this blog as my journal and not so much as a blog i have been meaning for quite a time to start recording memorys of my childhood or stories told to me by my parents and grandparents of there memorys of there childhood. It will come at different times whenever i have time or whenever a memory comes to mind and so might not always been in any correct order. But i though it might be nice to record it before i get too old and forget it all. lol.
These memorys are what most london children were raised to know about during the era i was born into. My parents always would tell my brother and i about being small children in world war 2 and what life was like for them to be small children during that time. Both my parents were around a year old when the war started and both lived in the east end of London which was heavily hit during war time. I will record a story that both of them told me at different times, there were many more but these ones were the ones that i remembered the most from my childhood. My mum was born in Bow, East London on june 18th 1938 so was very young when the war started. For some reason she never did until a year ago admit to me that she had been sent to the country as a baby like other london children to protect them from the bombing. And then she wouldnt tell me anything about it, said she couldnt remember, her sister Joyce told me more about that after her funeral this past jan, i will record Joyces account of that at the end of this post. The story that i always liked to hear when i was a child from her happened when she was around six years old. She would always tell me how lucky we was to be living in a safer time and that we never had to worry about anything when we went to bed or went to school. Her memorys were of going to bed in her home and then in the middle of the night having to be dragged out of her bed, carried thought the house out into the backyard, down into the air raid shelter underground in there backyard and sleeping there till morning. Its hard to imgine isnt it. She often would tell me about her friend who was around 7 years old, i cant remember her name but she would tell me about how they were in a corner store one day, her and her mum and her friend and her mum and the air raid siren went off. They were told to stay in the store. Her friend in a panic ran out and ran across the street onto the other side and my mum watched in horror as a bomb landed near her friend and her friend was killed. My mum told me this story more then once when i was little and i knew it was something that had affected her deeply. Its just hard to imgine in our safe world isnt it? My dads story that sticks out in my mind has more humor in it. He has always told me that as a baby of around 18 months he was shipped out to the country and was there for around four years (like most children were), he was born on feb 21st 1938. The children never saw there families and parents during that time and some children were not treated very well by the families that took care of them. But my dad has no bad memorys of that time. When he came back he was living in stratford east london (where i grew up and where the olympics will be in 2012), he was the 10th child out of 11 but four of his older brothers and sisters had passed away before age 5 due to the hardships in those days that affected small children. His mum was rasing them all alone as his father was away fighting in the war. He says he remembers going to bed in his house and also waking up in the air raid shelter in the backyard but dont always remember the rush to get there, he must have been a deeper sleeper them my mum. lol. He does remember one night that had the whole of london in deep terror. The radio had been full of horror stories about how the germans were planning on landing from airplanes that night and everyone had been told to go into there air raid shelters and stay there and not open them for anyone. Imgine how my poor grandma must have felt all alone with all her kids down in the shelter, terrified that the germans were going to get them? Well unknown to them my grandad had been shifted around and was in fact close by that night. He did something he shouldnt have done and would have gotton in serious trouble for had he been found out. He hadnt seen his wife and kids for almost a year and just wanted to see them and check on them and make sure all was well with them, (no computers, phones or cell phones in those days!!!). So he left his base and went to visit them in the middle of the night. My dad and my grandma told me as a small child how they had heard all day and night about the possible landing of the germans (which never happened luckily) and had stayed awake all night because of it. Imgine there fear when they hear in the middle of the night big heavy feet up above them walking in the yard!! They huddled together terrified as the feet got closer and then started pulling on there shelter door. They must have been totally terrified, and then all of a sudden and i can still hear my grandmas voice saying this.
We heard a voice saying. You down there Rose? And it was the bloody olde man and i wanted to kill em!!!! lol lol.
I always loved that story as a child and would make my dad and grandma tell me it over and over just because i loved to hear it. lol. My grandad did manage to get back without being noticed and was in fact a war hero and recd many war medals inc one of the highest awards you were able to earn during world war 2. My cousin Gary has them to this day. My dad had half and his brother Ted had half and my dad gave his to Ted as he was the oldest brother and then Ted gave them to Gary a few years ago. But i remember always being shown them as a kid and my grandma and dad telling me what they meant. I always knew then how special they was.
Okay the story Joyce my mums sister told me. She told me and my dad in Jan and my dad said he had never heard this and he was married to my mum for 53 years. My mum had been sent to the country when she was 15 months old and returned when she was 5 years old, she didnt see her sisters or parents during that time. Joyce is about five years older then my mum and said that there mum didnt want to send her but people scared her so much telling her that her baby would die if she stayed that she sent her. When she returned she was a very anixous child and was terrified of being alone, she would never talk about her time there and would sneak in Joyces bed in the middle of the night so she wasnt alone. She always refused to talk about her time there so no one really knows much about it but Joyce said it took a long time for my mum to feel secure in there home. My mum always told me as a child that she never was sent away, only my dad was and then like last year when we was at dinner, she told me, Oh no i was sent away too, when i asked her about it, she closed up and said she didnt remember. I guess weve never know what happened to her now. My aunt Joyce told me she would tell me more about my mum as a child when she saw me again and i hope she does.
Anyway thats my first account of old time memorys. I was taught even then to feel so grateful for the time i lived in and never to take what i had for granted. That generation is getting old and wont be here for ever and so i felt it important to write about it so its down in print somewhere. Above is a picture of life during that time and below are some more. Its hard to imgine living with that on your doorstep isnt it?

Grandbabies Are Awesome

Above is Jay with his three month old son Jayson.
Above is Lee with his 21 month old son Leland.

Grandbabies are the reward for being parents thats for sure. We love these little men very much. And in Janurary we have a little princess to look forward too. Her name will be Leanna. She will be Lelands little sister.

A Big Thank You

Just wanted to say a big thank you for everyones support the past two crazy weeks. It was pretty intense. We were leaving our home at 7.00am in the morning and not getting home to close to 11.00pm every night. We are very very grateful yet again for everyones support. Our neigbours, friends, co workers, our other kids, my dad from overseas were all pretty amazing making sure everyday that we were all good and didnt need anything. We felt very loved and cared for. Heather and Dan jumped in the car and drove 7 hours as soon as they heard Cory had gone into surgery and went straight to ICU to see him on there arrival. We are very grateful for there support during such an hard time for us. Your life can really change very fast and i know ive said that many times on my blog with different posts and its always nice to know we have some sincere people that care for us and will always be there for us to support us in the right way.Help came in many different ways, too many to mention but a few were the phone calls every day, Heather and Dan being there, text msgs to make me smile, Lee and Carole getting my van home from Riverton Hospital when i went in the ambulance with Cory to travel to the Murray Hospital as they were waiting to do his surgery right away, Leland just for being there and making us smile!!! Lucy, Hayleys and my dads phone calls, Jay comming to play Halo with Cory to cheer him up. Corys friends having a sleep over at Riverton and having a halo party overnight there with him, neigbours dropping by with candy etc etc and offers of help. Co workers offering to drop me off beans and brew smoothies to keep me going, (i declined as i felt they needed to go home after work and be with there kids, lol) but the offers and help was amazing. I was very touched by it. Oh and our bishop dropping by murray hopsital to see if we needed anything. And our neigbour Will who dropped everything (inc his 2 yr old twins) at 11.00pm at night to go over with Ralph and give Cory a blessing. And the men in our ward who took over Ralphs scouts for a planned camp out last friday night when Ralph was unable to take them. So many many areas of help and weve always remember the people that were there for us. (oh and the msgs from our friends on facebook, thank you). Its nice that people take the time out of there own very very busy life to send a msg or help in whatever way. Like before with my surgery and my mums illness and passing away, they were there when we needed them and we wont ever forget who they are. We are so blessed to have so many sincere people in our lifes.
The past two weeks ive wanted to talk to my mum more then anything, she was always the one i would call when going though hard times, it was very hard not having that support anymore but i know she was there with us and helped get us though this. But my dad really tried to be there for me and he was. Even tho he was going though echos himself this week to find out whats causing his stokes he still made sure to call and see how we were all doing. We spoke to him everyday. Cory is on the mend and is doing good, tho very sore but hopefully in a week or so he will be back at school, he will have to do home school until then. He follows up with his doctor in three weeks and we will talk about surgery on his other lung at that time. I must say i was very impressed with the care with got at IMC. We have always used jordan valley hospital and without going into details i have always felt like i was neglected when there twice for surgerys (inpatient) and once in the ER. Each time i was brought to tears in pain over something why waiting forever for them to repsond to my calls to come in for whatever reason. After surgery i asked for water so many times and was told in a minute that Ralph finally went and brought me one from the vending machine. (ok i guess i did go into some details, lol). I went to ICH as it was closer and we have BCBS so can use both. And i have to admit the care was excellent in both hospitals (food wasnt as good tho) and far above what i have recd at other hospitals. I certainly would pick them over jvh when needing care again if my insurance allowed it. To be honest if Corys other lung goes before he has surgery i wouldnt go to Riverton as when it came down to it they just dont have everything there yet to do surgery on it but they are opening more units all the time. But the heart and lung center in murray was just amazing and there ICU there was just for lung and heart and one of its kind. We are very lucky to have it so close to us. I certainly would want to be there if heaven forbid i ever needed it. Anyway thanks again and its wonderful to be home today. My house is a mess and im glad to have a few days to get things together. And im very grateful that Cory is doing so well today. (oh and thanks to Judy for putting his name down at the south jordan temple these past few weeks).

Day Eleven of Cory in Hospital and FINALLY HOME AGAIN

Today went really slow but its because we were waiting for Cory to be released home. It was made easier by having Tom Cruise as his nurse!!!!!!!!!! Im serious yeserday when i arrived at the hospital i was surprised at first to see that his CNA was a male with long messy hair and was wearing a scrub top that had pink faires on it (for real). We were so worried when Heather first spotted him that she was going to start laughing!!! Luckily she waited for him to leave the room!!! But anyway while i was thinking about what a long day it was going to be yeserday with the sugar plum fairy as his CNA his nurse walked in and WOW! He certainly made up for it. He was Tom Cruises double, in looks, build, height and even his smile. It was un canny. So anyway that was a story i was too exhaused to tell in last nights posts. Imgine my delight today when he had Tom Cruise for his nurse once again but luckily sugar boy was assigned a different room. Tom (i mean Steve) was a very good nurse and very very good on the eyes!!!!! So today was just doing all the last things, like a xray before tube was pulled, then wait two hours, then another xray and then discharge stuff. So Tom (steve) was in our room most of the time going though everything with us. We had some confusion for awhile with one doctor telling us Cory should stay off school for six weeks and then another comming in and saying he could return next monday!!!!!! Finally was resolved thanks to Tom!!!! (oh i mean Steve!!), Cory will do home school till Oct 4th and then return. He also needs to follow up with the heart sugeron in three weeks for follow up and also to talk about the course to take with his other lung. So the morning went fast but couldnt go fast enough as we both wanted to get out of there. The bishop came and visited with him for awhile which was nice. Our whole ward has been super nice the past few weeks. Anyway just when we were getting ready to leave Heather and Dan were getting ready to visit so instead we met up with them as astro burger. Cory was thilled to be in the real world again. Comming home we had a driver in front of us that suddenly with no warning slammed on his brakes as he had figured out he needed to turn off, that was a close call as we came pretty close to him when he flew into another lane in front of us with no warning and with his tires screaming.
Thanks buddy!!! That not only really hurt Corys chest when i had to hit the brakes to avoid hitting you, but also could have put him back in the hospital if i had!!!!!
Anyway after that eventful ride home we are home and i dont know about Cory but it just feels nice to be home. My house is covered in dust, but that i will get to tomorrow. Today weve just going to enjoy the fact that we are home. For the past 12 days ive only got in around 10.30pm or so to sleep and then straight out the door first thing in the morning again. So it feels wonderful!! My boss told me to take tomorrow off work and just go back monday after a good rest. Must admit i really do need it. Cory i know if just thilled to finally be home, however long it was for us it was ten times worse for him. Heather and Dan are heading back today but im really grateful for the support they have given us and there rushing to be here with us during this time.

Day Ten of Cory in the Hospital

The suction got clamped today and tomorrow if the xray is good then the tube can come out and he can go home. The xray today still show a slight problem but it hadnt got worse since yeserday and its something thats expected after surgery and so isnt a bad problem if that makes sense, its just like a slight leak. All in all its been a slow day here just doing the waiting game again and letting Cory recover from surgery. Heather and Dan came and made a lot of noise for awhile but other then that it was quite. Hes doing great and is moving around and isnt in as much pain today at all.
We are really really hoping everything looks good tomorrow and he can come home. When the doctor told him he could come home tomorrow, he just kinda said, yeah okay, lol. Poor kid, hes been hearing that for the past 10 days.

A funny story, Dan was looking at the DVD that you can lend there to watch and he saw the Bucket List, he though that was really funny that they would be handing that out to people to watch in a hospital. lol. I didnt know what it was about so for anyone else like me, its about a bunch of people that are going to die and they have a list of last things they want to do. lol. Is kinda strange to let people watch in the hospital and moreso the ICU. lol.

Day Nine of Cory in Hospital

Today was a very good day. We arrived this morning to find Cory still in tons of pain and unable to move without help. He was still in ICU and in fact these pictures were taken in the ICU today. As the day wore on tho we could still a wonderful change in him every hour and by three pm they were able to transfer him into a regular room in the Heart and Lung center. We wanted the room he was in yeserday but someone had already taken that and it was packed and we got this sucky room under the stairs, its smaller then the others. lol. I joked that its a closet really. But it has everything he needs, just alot smaller then the rooms weve had before so was a surprise. Plus the guy next door has had his toddler kids in his room all day screaming and crying. We left after nine and they were still at it. I hope the mother has the sense to take them home soon and lets her hubby as well as other patients that cant sleep because of them sleep. I cant believe she hasnt figured it out herself. lol. But hes doing better by the minute. They did have to turn the suction on again this evening as the xray was showing just a small problem but its not anything to worry about at this point, its a normal thing, so hopefully tomorrow the xray will be better. But he said other then the pain of surgery hes feeling better then he has since his lung collasped for the first time so thats great news. He even said (this soon after surgery) that he wants the other lung done next summer so he can hopefully have normal lungs so thats a good thing also. He also wanted astro burger for dinner (hes sick of hospital food and im not impressed with IHC food at all) so we went and got him that and its the best ive seen him eat since he first got to the hospital. So it was a great day. Heather and Dan were so sweet and brought him gun mags, cards, and a neff gun that Cory almost took my head off with. They have both been so nice and supported of him, driving seven hours yeserday as soon as they heard he had to have surgery. Cory told me after they left.
Heather better freaking marry him one day, hes freaking awesome!!! lol. How cute is that? I must say we agree a hundred per cent with Cory on that one.
Anyway so today was a very good day and its nice seeing him look better then he has since before all this started.

Day Eight of Cory in the Hospital, an ambulance ride and surgery.

Well today certainly was a roller coaster of events. We arrived at the hospital for the 8th day and they did an xray and the doctor came in all excited and told us, Yay it looks great, lets pull the tube and get him home. They pulled the tube and he wanted to repeat xray in an hour to make sure all was good and then we could go home. So Ralph went to work and Cory and i talked and made plans on where to go for lunch and our excitement for him to be able to leave. They repeated the xray but then Cory was starting to tell me his lung felt strange again, i told him that hopefully it was just where it was starting to work without the suction. Anyway doctor came in with a sad face and told us that no, his lung had collasped for the 4th time in a week and enough was enough and that surgery was the only way to go. So they had to arrange for him to be transferred to the Murray IHC as they have a heart and lung center there and heart doctors, while they were doing that, Lee, Caroile and Leland arrived and i called Ralph and told him to come back to the hospital. Cory was not happy and i felt so bad for him. Anyway they transfered him by amblance and they let me travel with him, so Lee drove my van home for me with Carole following her and Ralph in his work truck. (confusing i know). The ambulance people were real hoots and had us laughing all the way there, for an example while lifting Cory up into the ambulance one said to the other. Remember the guy we were lifting last week that fell out!!! And the other one said, Yeah too bad he got a bloody nose!!! lol. They also told Cory that they felt that they had a bad problem and that he might be too long for there ambulance, lol. They said they might have to leave the back door open and would he mind. lol. Anyway off we went and i told them that my daughter Lucy was going into that in school and had she been in town she would have stole my spot in the ambulance for sure. We arrived at the hospital and the heart surgeon was waiting for us and they got him ready for surgery in no time. And off he went. It took about three hours and now hes in the ICU for the night and recovering. We got kicked out during shift changes but am going back in ten mins for the rest of the evening. Hes doing well, of course is in tons of pain, they had to scrap his chest wall, open his ribs and fix the lung. There was two huge bubbles in there waiting to blow (docs words) so if they had sent him home they could have gone at any time. Pretty scary. Thing is they are seeing some in his other lung so that part is not good. They said it would be too dangerous to do both at once. But now he just needs to recover and get well and come home. Its a relief to see an end at least to this lung problem. As we were leaving for change of shift, Lee, Carole and Leland arrived but wasnt able to see him as they close it down beween 6.00pm and 8.30pm and also same time for am but they will try and come back later or tomorrow morning. Heather my sweetheart and Dan also jumped into the car as soon as they heard the news that he was going to have surgery and have been driving down from Lake Powell all afternoon and evening. They should be here anytime so will go back with us this evening. Heathers always my rock in times of need. Always there when times are bad. Anyway thats the news for tonight, like i said we are going back in a minute for a few more hours and hopefully he will be in a regular ward tomorrow so we dont have to be kicked out. lol. Thanks everyone for your calls, msgs, texts and emails today. Its nice to know weve so loved by everyone and so many people are concered for Cory. It certainly wasnt the way we wanted things to go but we feel it was the best thing for him as the other way just wasnt working like it should have.
Add on!!!!
Just got back from the hospital with Ralph, Heather and Dan. Cory is very drugged up and in a lot of pain but is doing really well and we hope he will be able to leave ICU tomorrow and go to a regular room.

Day Seven of Cory in the Hospital and Herriman Fire

Above some drawings Cory got from some kids from church to wish him well and below the Herriman fire.



Below picture was taken from a window in the hospital and above were taken at the park by our home.

Wow i cant beleive that we have finished day seven, its gone fast but at the same time very very slow. Moreso for Cory. I hope im not totally making everyone that reads this bored with all these updates but i am trying to record our familys ups and downs as i do treat this like a journal not a blog. So if its too much blah for ya, then just skip all these updates i guess. lol. I really dont do this with people reading it in mind but more for myself if that makes sense.
Today was pretty un eventfull really as weve just playing the waiting game to see if his lung will seal itself up. He had som visitors from our ward which was really nice of them and some little kids drew him some pictures in church and brought them to him and gave him a hug and a huge bar of chocolate. There names are Jack and Herber and they are two and three years old. Very cute! Ralph had to tell another family a very firm no to a choclate cake they wanted to bring over for him, lol, as hes really not in the mood to eat it, tho i told Ralph, Hey i would have ate it, lol. But its nice to have some many families that are so concered and care for him. The doctor did say today that he wouldnt let him go longer then tomorrow without one of two things. One, the lung is sealed and he can go home or Two, okay its not going to happen, lets talk surgery. Sooo we are really going to pray tonight that his lung has finally sealed and he wont need the surgery. I spoke to my awesome boss Jen and of course she told me not to worry about work and to do what i needed to do and take what time i needed. Its really nice of her as im on a time frame at work right now to get all the charts scanned by christmas as they need me to take over the dailys scanning at our Riverton office as well as ours and thereve been putting pressure on me to hurry and do them. So i know its a hardship for them to have me gone but am grateful for there support so i can be with Cory. So we are hoping for good news tomorrow and really hoping he can come home.
Another bit of news was the wonderful view we got of the Heriman fire from the hospital windows, just amazing. Ralph took some photos of that also which ive inc here. Hopefully that will be able to get put out soon and everyone can return to there homes. Corys CNA came and watched the news with us as her home was up there and her hubby and kids are waiting to see if they need to get out of there homes. It was hard for her being at work this evening. Its kinda sad that Corys had so many nurses and CNA that we now pretty much know all of them on the med surg. But yeah i have a friend from work that lives right close to 5600 West so i really hope she and her family are safe tonight. I cant help thinking of the pets too having just lost one of my kitties in a foothill fire in Denver two weeks ago.
Ralph just told me that there sending in the National Guard, hmm wasnt they the ones that started this!!!!!!!!!!
Keep Cory in your prayers tonight that he wont need to have surgery tomorrow.

Day Six of Cory in Hospital

Well last nights Halo party was a great sucess from what we heard. It started at 5.00pm last night and went onto 11.00am this morning (give or take a few hours of sleep). Halo, two cases of moutain dew and vital signs every once in awhile and it was quite the party!!! Cory was pretty sleepy today from his lack of sleep last night but it did him a world of good.
This morning brought the doctor in very pleased with his progress. He said he felt like everything was heading in the right direction. When he saw the xbox he told Cory that he was glad he had decided to move in at last!!! Cory is the longest running patient there right now, the rooms next door have had three different people in since he arrived, not something that makes Cory very happy! And the food service people telling him they should put his name on the door didnt help much too!!!! But today Cory was put on a portable suction machine and he was able to walk around the floor for awhile. But at the end the battery went dead and it turned off, he was only off it for a few minutes but it caused a mad rush for his nurse who rushed to hook him back up to his other one thats on the wall of his room. We dont know if it was that or his walking around or then starting the other suction up again but it pushed his pain level up from a 3 to a 9 for an hour or so and he wasnt very happy. He told me he felt like he did when his lung collaspes and he was totally stressed that it had happened again. So alot of checking him over and it was decided that all seemed well and that his lung was still working well on the suction and no problems. Around that time too his pain started to ease so we dont know what caused it but we were glad it didnt last long for him. He also got his IV changed out today, it had been in so long it was starting to come out so time for a new one. Jay stopped by this afternoon and was thilled to see halo hooked up in the room, lol. So another round of halo was in order for them both. He enjoyed having Jay over and it really does lift his spirits when he has fun visitors other then his mum and dad all the time!!!! His friend came over again this evening so Ralph and i left around 8.30pm tonight. Im sure there be playing halo way into the night!!!!!!!!!!!
So the aim is to be comming home on day eight! Please keep him in your prayers that that will happen and he wont be needing to have surgery after a week of being in the hospital.

Day Five of Cory in Hospital

Well weve jump in with the bad news and that is that his lung collasped again, for the third time this week. He was very very very down about this news as we all were. He had been hoping so bad to be able to go home today and everything would be okay. The doctor said that usually when this happens he goes in and does surgery and just dont mess with it anymore, but due to the fact that the doctor wasnt happy with the way the first chest tube was put in, hes not going to count that try and so will give him one more chance. So the plan is to start over yet again for the third time and get the suction going and clear the lung of air and see if this time it will do that and seal itself, rather then collaspe as soon as the suction is turned off. Of course its a 48 hour process to suction it out and then a 24 hour process after that to make sure that the lung is sealing itself and working normal. Something weve yet to see happen. But the doctor feels that although this is a set back, that it really has a good chance of sealing itself and wants to give it one more shot. He said surgery would be really hard on him and wants to give him this chance not to have to go though it. So as of right now maybe discharge will be on monday if it goes the way we want it too. Cory of course is totally bummed and not happy about it one bit. Above he suggested i took some pictures when we were getting him ready for his shower. I tell ya, its an ordeal getting him ready, the nurse has to take off all the padding and replace it with plastic, that takes 15 mins as you have to be careful with the chest tube. Then he can shower. Then of course it starts over when hes out with padding it all back again. Insane! But you can see where the chest tube is sticking out of him and just below you can see stitches where the other chest tube was that didnt work on him at all. The plastic is just what they cover his iv and chest tube with when showering. But he was feeling a little better this evening and more postive. He got the new halo game in the mail the other day and of course hasnt been able to play it, but tonight hes having a halo party in his room. His friends all show up with a case of mountain dew and stuff and Ralph took in his xbox and computer. That way hed have his games to keep him busy and the computer so he can log into our netfix and watch movies. He also has a dvd in his room but he hasnt used it yet but we took in some of his fave movies for him. So hopefully he wont be too bored. Ralph and i have been getting there at 7.00am in order to catch the doctor during rounds and hearing what he has to say and then not getting home until 10.30pm so it was nice to be able to get a few hours off this evening while hes having his halo party. lol. Being around a hospital setting dont bother me at all as its all i really know anyway lol, but for Ralph he finds it very boring. lol. But its been a very exhausting week and im glad to be home for the evening to catch up on washing etc. House work will just have to wait. lol. So anyway thats his day today, right now the halo party is in full swing but we plan on going over there for an hour and maybe watching the news with him later before he goes to sleep.
Update, We dont have to go back tonight. His friends are having a sleep over there at the hospital with him! How funny is that!!!! lol. But really cool of his friends to do that. Its really cheered him up when he was feeling like it was the end of the world today. Im glad he has such cool caring friends.

Day Four of Cory in hospital, and Lee on channel 4!!!!!!

Today saw us up at the hospital bright and early by 7.15am so we could catch the doctor on his rounds. We knew it was decision time. It went really well and the doctor was pleased with his lung and so turned off the suction on the chest tube. He didnt take it out but he turned it off to give his lung a chance to work without it. They then repeated chest xays a few hours later to make sure it wasnt filing up again. So far so good. We did have a few scares when Cory had quite a bit of pain in his lung and felt some popping feelings but that seemed to ease up as the day went on. Other then that it was just a day of sitting around and waiting and hoping the worse wasnt going to happen. Luckily it didnt and the doctor decided this evening that if all contines to go well hes going to take the tube out tomorrow morning and see how he does with that. Of course they will do another xray in the morning to make sure his lung looks good before they do that. He said that he wanted him to keep it in overnight as he has seen some lungs collaspe again if the tube is taken out too early. We are really praying that he contines to do well and that he can come out tomorrow. Of course we know this isnt a total fix it and that both lungs can collaspe for no reason at any time, but, they also may never do so again. If they do he will im sure be having surgery to fix them next time rather then go though this all again. Cory is really very very fed up and bored and very very ready to come home. He did get quite a few visitors today tho from his friends and neigbours from our ward so that really did cheer him up. We want to thank all of you that have taken the time to come and visit him and cheer him up, it really did mean a lot to him. Thank you so much.
So tomorrow will be day five and we hope that all will go well overnight and he will be able to come home early evening tomorrow.
Off topic, but while we were watching the news tonight at the hospital with Cory, they started reporting on a jewerly robbery at the airport. It went on to say it was at a rental lot and of course Lee works for alamo there. I was just saying i wondered if Lee had seen it and wham, there Lee was on the news giving a report of it. lol. How funny is that? It really cheered Cory up no end and had him laughing about it. I called Lee up and he said that yeah he had been involved and had in fact had to chase them down after the robbery, he said he was pretty shook up and he certainly sounded it on the phone. Im glad he didnt get hurt as i know there was a knife involved. I certainly would have been put in the mommy crazy house if i had two sons hurt and in hospitals!!!!! But anyway im sure he will have a story to tell next time we see him. It gave us all a good laugh in the hospital to see him spring up on the tv like that. lol.

Day Three of Cory in hospital

Well Cory is good and bored in the hospital and ready to go stir crazy if he dont get out soon. He really cant walk around much due to the chest tube and so has to sit or lay in bed, not fun whichever one he chooses. The pain pills also make him sleepy so he is sleeping most of the day also. Today he had to go and get a Cat Scan on both his lungs to rule out any problems and sadly we didnt get the news we wanted. It seems that his chest wall is deformed and because of that it has caused his lungs (both) to be deformed also. It is also im sure why his heart had problems at birth and why he had open heart surgery by age 4. Pretty much what it means is that his lungs (one or the other) can collaspe for no reason at any time. They might not or he might go many many years before one of them does. But it could also happen sooner then that. Theres really no way of knowing one way or the other. There is surgery to fix it but as a rule they dont do that unless it becomes a problem. The doctor said that some doctors will wait until the lungs collaspe three or four times before they do surgery, but he as a rule wont let a lung do it a second time. On the second time he will go in and do surgery rather then try and fix it with the chest tube a second time. He also said if it dont fix itself this time then they will have to do surgery. He told Cory that if it fixes itself this time that he can lead a normal life but of course theres always the risk and worry that something could happen again. That will always be with him now. Its not something that will fix itself. He said that he can never do scuba diving or sky diving and when we mentioned that Cory wanted to join the miltary and do sky diving he said thats theres no way. Cory is very sad about this and he told me thats all he wants to do and i feel very very bad for him tonight. The tube is still working which is great news, they are still seeing air come out of it which means it hasnt sealed itself yet and the doctor said if theres no air by morning they can try capping off the tube (without removing it) and see if the lung can work okay. If theres still air he might have to have surgery. So, its a very sad evening tonight and so many decisions will be made tomorrow morning that are so important. We are praying that he can have the tube capped off in morning and by some miracle his lung will have healed and will work and he can have the tube out tomorrow night and come home. Jay and Ralph were going to do a blessing tomorrow, Jay lives in AF and with tending the baby and school cant get down till tomorrow evening after school, so we made the decison to have our neighbour go back to the hospital with Ralph tonight to do a blessing. We feel very strongly that we shouldnt wait till tomorrow, that so many decisons will be made first thing in the morning and Cory is so sad tonight that we feel he really needs this blessing tonight. We are just waiting for Will and they will head on over to the hospital. Luckily its just three minutes from our home. Myself? Well i held it together all day and for the past three days but did have a cry when i got home this evening. One of the worse things for a mother is seeing there child hurting (in all ways) and not being able to do anything about it. He had so many dreams to go into the miltary ( i admit not something i wanted him to do) and this has really hit him hard. That plus all the fear of whats happening to him and being totally bored out of his mind there. I really am hoping that tomorrow brings the news we want to hear. Im not going to go back tonight with them for the blessing for the main reason i dont want Cory to see my red eyes. I dont want him to worry that there might be something we havnt told him, which isnt the case, he knows it all, the good and bad, but i just dont want him worrying more during the night then he might be already.
Anyway keep him in your prayers. We are postive that tomorrow is going to be a good day and things will go the way we want it too and Cory can come home.

Day two of Cory in the hospital

Today started off bad but has ended better. We arrived at the hospital early this morning and things were not too good. It seems that his lung had collasped again and was in fact in worse condition then when he had first arrived at the hospital. For whatever reason the chest tube wasnt doing his job and opening his lung. Sooo for the second time in 12 hours Cory had to have another surgery to put one in. They took him to the OR and because he had just eaten breakfast couldnt do a general like they wanted so just did IV sedation. They took out the old tube and stitched up the hole in his side and put in one double the size higher up into the lung. It was very scary as parents seeing him having to go and do this again so soon. Anyway the good news is, is that this chest tube (which you can see on the left in the picture above) is doing what its suppose to do. He is breathing much better and although still in pain is feeling a lot better this evening then he has for the past 24 hours. Jay came and visited him earlier and tonight his friends from our neigbourhood came and visited with him. His sisters who are in Hawaii, Az and St George have been calling him and Lee has been calling him also. My dad also has called him and spoken to him and has been very worried about him. But he enjoyed having the visitors and it really cheered him up. We stayed with him from 9.00am to 9.00pm, leaving only to go eat dinner for an hour this evening. And once again my co workers kept me laughing with there funny msgs and texts during the day, like they always do when things are crazy in my life. I love them tons.
I guess what happens now is that we have to wait 48 hours to see if the hole in his lung will close and it will be able to do what it needs to do. After 48 hours they will clamped the chest tube so its now working and see if his lung can do the job by itself. I guess thats another 24 hours. If that works then they will take the tube out and he can come home. So he will be in the hospital awhile yet it seems as they cant let him come home until they know for sure hes okay. He also has to have a cat scan to check his lung more and see if theres a reason that this happened that they cant tell from the xrays. That could result in surgery on the lung depending on if they find something. Hopefully they wont. Anyway thats the update for today. Luckily i have long term sickness leave that i can use this week that dont come out of my normal apl vacation time and a great boss that is very supported of us.

Yay! My Blog Book Came.

My 2009 Blog Book came today and we are just thilled with it. It really is a great way to have a journal every year of all the events in your life. Weve never kept a journal before so figure this is a great way to do one. Im going to make sure i order 2010 in jan 2011 so i dont get too far behind.
We figure one day it will be a good thing to leave our kids with a record of our lifes. On the funny side of it we have always joked about how generations to come are going to think im this terrible horrible person based on the journals of extended family members that have always treated me very bad. So we joked that this at least will hopefully give any generations to come that may be interested a view of me thats more of who and what i am and what other people around me are getting.
While weve on the topic ive had a few emails from people asking about the various comments left on facebook that have applied to me it seems and a few that even had my name to it. The funny thing was the ones that had my name to it and had made suggestions that someones bad day or whatever had something to do with me, of course had nothing to do with me, lol .So funny people are so ready to jump on the band wagon for nothing. (But certainly a refection on them and there lack of letting things go, and being so ready to hurl blame without even knowing what anyone is even talking about, lol). All im going to say on the recent comments are, let the comments reflect the people that left them. Sadly a person that tagged my daughters things about me last year is now working on other family members. It kinda would be like me doing the same to there kids and families one day!!! Totally something you wont see happening from out side. But weve a firm beleiver in Karma and know that if not in this life, they will have to answer to a higher power one day, all that they do and say down here. Maybe one day they will figure out the LOVE THY NEIGBOUR! tho we wont hold our breath on that! Ralph has never felt that he should sit anyone down and tell them our side of things as we feel its old news (25 years worth) and no ones business. Tho he certainly would if asked. But like he has told the people involved this week. If you ever wonder why we dont attend your events, then let this be an example why!!!! Of course after 25 years it wont stop now, they dont have it in them to ever admit when there wrong and use the word sorry, that was an example that was passed down to them so nothing they can ever do about that. They im sure will contine it in public and anywhere else they want, but it has cost them a relationship with Ralph. I guess thats the way they like things. We do see the humor in it tho that even that they dont see as anything they are doing.
But back to the blog, weve excited to have a book made every year. Hopefully we can contine to record the happy and not so happy times in our lifes in there. And when weve gone, whoever is interested in it will have it. It wasnt expensive it was like 64.00 and has tons of pages so well worth the money in our eyes. And the more pictures you put in it, the better the book looks.

Corys in the Hospital

Today has been a very stressful day. Cory called me when he got home from school telling me i needed to come home right away and get him as he was having trouble breathing. I could tell he was freaking out and so i left right away to rush home to get him. Usually as i work at a doctors office if one of the kids are sick i just take them right back to be seen. But i called him from the cell phone during the ride home to make sure he was okay and i could tell this was something totally different. When i got home i made the decision very quickly to take him to a Hospital instead which is at the back of our sub division and takes about three mins to get too. I could tell he was in a lot of pain and i wasnt sure what was going on. I figured i could drive there in the time it would take to call for help. We rushed into the ER and they rushed him back to a room right away and hooked him up to heart machines and all that fun stuff. Ralph in the meantime was also on his way to the hospital. His EKG looked good but then they did a chest xray and found out that his left lung had collapsed. Poor kid, no wonder he couldnt breath well. They did minor surgery and got it hooked up to a chest tube to keep it open and then offered us two choices. One was to transport him to primarys downtown and the other was to admit him here at the local hospital. The reason they suggested the transport was because they are concered he has some condition that affects tall, think framed people. He is 6ft 5ins and 149lbs. It can cause the lungs to collasped for no reason it seems. They said its totally un related to his open heart surgery at age 3. Being at primarys they could run all the tests needed to check for this condition. After talking about it, we decided to have him just admited for now to the local hospital and to follow up at primarys when hes over this for the tests. They said there wasnt a time frame on it and it seem silly to run up transport charges if it wasnt an emergency situation. Hes doing well but not very happy at having to be stuck in a hospital for a few days while it all fixes itself. Hopefully if all goes well he will be out wednesday evening. He had so many phone calls from all his brothers and sisters and sisters in laws that he feels very important now. lol. Everyone was ready to rush home from st george (Lucy) and Az (Heather) for him. Tho Hayley didnt offer from Hawaii, lol. But she did call, lol. But its nice that so many people care for him. Hes going to be okay but for now hes just mad hes in the hospital. Hes already bored out of his mind just sitting there with a big nasty chest tube stuck in his side.

Big Brother Leland

Lelands smiling because hes going to be a big brother come Januray. Hes going to get himself a brand new baby sister. Hes going to be a very cute big brother. Its hard to believe hes almost 21 months. Time sure does go fast.

Very cute Jazz dance by the no name drill team

We had a very very fun day yeserday. We drove to St George and took Lucy and her friend Ruth to dinner before the football game. Of course i gave both girls plenty of entertainment by walking smack into a revolving door on the way out!!!! What can i say!!! Sometimes i have to show people that i was indeed related to my mother!!! The game followed and the girls danced great. Its such a new challange for Lucy to have a week to throw a dance together after having a year and shes loving the new challanges this team brings. I totally loved it. Afterwards they did an Introduction of the girls and where they were from. We laughted as they said Lucy Powell from South Jordan Utah. She did that instead of Riverton as she didnt want people to think she was from the riverton drill team. lol. But i totally loved the dance. I have posted them on facebook if anyone wants to see them. We then drove home straight after the game and got home sometime early hours of this morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But it was a fun day and we now get a months rest from going to St George. lol.

What this day is really all about

When we go about our days today, lets remember what this day is all about. So many people went to work that day and never came home. Lets remember not only them and there loved ones but also remember to always let our loved ones know how much we love them. You never know when it might be the last time your see them. Today should also be a day to remember how quickly lifes can change forever. Be grateful for everyday you get to spend with the people you love.
I am glad i got to visit ground zero in feb 2009. Before then it was just something on the TV like everything else you see. Seeing it and hearing our tour man who witnessed it first hand really brought it to life for us and the terrible thing it was. He watched as people threw themselves out of the buildings that day. So many children loss there parents that day. Never forget it and never forget how lucky you are to have your loved ones come home.

3 MONTHS ALREADY!!!!

Jayson turns three months old this weekend. I cant believe how fast time has flown this summer. It just seems like yeserday he was born and here he is, so big already.
He really is a very cute and good baby. He smiles and does all the cute little things that babies his age does. Just adorable.
Happy three months old Jayson.

Proverb to live by

What you don't see with your eyes, don't witness with your mouth. ~Jewish Proverb

Just think if everyone took noticed of above, we would live in a whole much better world. Gossip can change so much from person to person that it becomes a whole new story by the end of it.
A lie if told often enough becomes so even the liar comes to believe its true.

ONE OF THE STRIKING DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A CAT AND A LIE IS THAT A CAT HAS ONLY NINE LIVES.
-MARK TWAIN.

A very sad day

It is with a very heavy heart that i post today to let everyone know that my beauitful Sego Lily was in fact not taken out of my friends home in Boulder Colorado before the fires took her home to the ground. She is on a crusie and had a cat sitter and Sego not knowing her hid (the smell of the fire and everything scared her). The sitter sent animal rescure back for her after taking the other animals out but they couldnt get in there as the fire was so bad. I cant even express the sorrow i feel about this loss. She was six years old and had gone to my friends on July 24th to breed with her male one more time before we retired her. We was going to pick her up next month when they got back from the cruise. She was a sweetheart and will be greatly missed by everyone that knew her.

Update on Lindas home in Boulder Co

A sad update this monring is that Lindas home is gone. She sent me an email this morning and i can just hear the grief in her words. She said she has no idea what there going to do. They are on a ship for a three week cruise and had just left saturday. There really are no words to express how sorry i feel for them right now. From what i understand the whole area has gone. Soo sad.

Counting my blessings once again

Tonight weve counting our blessings once again that we have so many good things in our lifes. We certainly have had our share of sadness the past year and know how quickly life can change and tonight our prayers are going out for some friends of ours. Two separate families that dont know each other. One family had to bury there 14 year old son today who had passed away from CF last thursday. He had been a fighter and had given this illness a fight to remember. Sadly he lost and today was his service. No one should have to watch there child go though what he did and have to bury there child. Our hearts go out to them and hope the raw pain will someday fade. This link if it comes out is a poem for the family. It was first given to my friends may years ago whos baby passed away of sids while i was tending him. I have since given it to Ralphs sister when she lost a baby many years ago and today i gave it to my above friend. It may not work you may have to paste it.
http://tgtruman.20m.com/WFTH/GodsLentChild/Poem.html
The second set of friends are our friends from Denver who we always meet in Grand Junction and have lunch week. They live in Boulder Co. They have been planning a trip for a long long time and were so excited. Right now they are sitting in the middle of an ocean somewhere on a ship waiting to hear if they still have a house. The boulder Co fires went right though there street and they are waiting to see if they have a home to come home too. Yeserday friends went in and got her kitties out. She has maine coons like i do and in fact has one of my females there right now thats waiting to breed with her male. Althought im worried about my kittie i know that her friends are taking great care of them all and my kittie will be okay. But i cant imgine how helpless she must feel sitting on a ship waiting to hear whats going on with her home with everything she owns in there.
Our hearts go out to both these families and hope that there pain will ease.
It really helps you be grateful for the things you have in your life and how silly all the small stuff is.

Labor Day BBQ

I cant belive its already Labor Day and the summers on its way out! I always hate labor day because its always a reminder of just that.
Today we had enough food for an army which was good as both Jay and Cory were here eating with us. lol. I think baby Jayson really wanted to tuck into a hot dog also and belive he would have if he could have. Its always amazing to us to see how much hes grown everytime we see him. It was a relaxing day after our last few crazy days but lots to eat and good company.
Oh and Ralph just pointed out to me that i was speling Labor Day the British way, i had put it as Labour. lol. I really never knew that. I had been doing it that way for 25 years. It always amazes me how americans have taken out the u in so many words. lol. It was fun seeing the kids and Jayson again, he looked so dang cute sleeping on Lucys bed.

The Now Charmed Life of Cory

Well since all his five brothers and sisters have moved out in the past five years Corys life is now very different. Hes gone from being the youngest of six children at home too the only child!!! A role i think hes enjoying quite a bit. For starters he now has the choice of four bedrooms to choose from instead of having to share a room with Jay. (Tho he misses jay and claims Emmalee has runied his life by taking jay away and marrying him!). He moved this week into the largest of the rooms down in the basement. It also has a nice queen size bed in it, with his 6ft 5in and still growing frame, he really needed that bed. So that was a nice plus for him. lol. He also really likes the fact that when i go shopping and stock up on all his fave drinks, snacks and food, that he dont have to share or worry about anyone else getting into while hes gone. He also likes the fact that he gets all our attention and dont have to share with another five demanding people! And i think the part he likes the most is that when Ralph and i go out to dinner we will suggest he comes with us. He has discovered Texas Roadhouse and boy does he like that!!!!! We took him there the night before we left town to go and see Lucys first Rebelette dance. We had a really nice evening just the three of us. Food was yummy and we had a lot of laughs. Yeah he really likes the perks of now being the only child!!!!! Hes still got two more years of Riverton HS left and has a bunch of really cool friends in our neigbourhood that he hangs out with every day. Life is good for Cory these days, he is an amazing young man and weve happy to have some one on one time with him. He enjoys being able to invite his friends over when we go out of town overnight to do Lucy stuff. Although we always invite him along, its not something he wants to do. Hes never enjoyed the dancing stuff his sisters were involved in. He prefers to stay here and hang out with his friends. On most weekends him and his dad are out doing there fave hobby which is shooting. He has the best aim in the neighbourhood, just ask any of the men in our ward. lol. The men in the ward often go out together to shoot and have shoot outs. Anyway that is Corys new charmed life. One that hes really enjoying. Another very cool perk is that hopefully hed be able to come to England with us next year and also to Hawaii. Alot easier when just one kid at home. Anyway again, thats the latest on Cory. He hates having his picture done so very rare if i can ever get a picture of him on here.

First Routine of the Year at Dixie State

Yeserday was the first dance of the year from the former Rebelettes. I guess for now until someone can figure out what there name will be they are going to be called, The Red Storm Dance Team. Going to be very confusing as theres also a Red Storm Dance Company at the school. lol. Anyway they did a 70s mix and it was a very cute routine. They did great. I didnt know what to expect. Having been used to a team that spends a year pefecting one dance for competion so as no ones foot even goes out of time. lol. And here we are where they get two weeks if lucky to throw a dance together for the game. The crowd loved them, crowd pleasers routines are very different then competion routines but oh so much fun to watch also. We really enjoyed the routine and the crowd around us loved it too. When it finished quite a few people around us was saying. Oh its over, i wish they would do another one. It was a great success. It seemed very odd being in a sea of Red and not Blue, lol, but we both brought Dixie football T Shirts so weve set for the games. Theres only four home football games so we should be able to make all of them, even tho the others i belive weve just be driving down for game and then driving home. Im glad weve in a positon where we can still support her. Im glad she was able to do this still as she loves to dance