Almost here

Diane and family are on their way; they are probably somewhere south of OKC :)

I let my stake borrow my Christmas tree for the nativity and I wasn't home to pick it up. I have asked around for anyone who might know of its whereabouts and so far no luck in locating it. I think that they must have thought that it was going to be donated and put it in the storage. I haven't seen where the trees are stored at but I hear it is in a classroom at a building in Colleyville and that it is stuffed full. So it looks like we are not going to have a tree this year :( 

I think that this will be a first. I asked Wayne about picking up a live tree but he is so allergic to trees that he didn't like that idea...oh well.

Julie, Caleb, and Jennica will be here on Friday :) YEAH...everyone will be home for the holidays!!

White family

Julie got family pictures taken this month...it was a first for her. Here are a few good ones:

  

Back Home

Wayne drove up to Arkansas Sunday morning after working 12 hours on Saturday. He took a short nap in the afternoon. The plan was to wait until Monday morning to drive home but after looking at the weather report we decided to leave as soon as Rusty got in. That was at 8pm. So we chatted for a few minutes with Rusty, I looked at his incision and asked him a few questions, then we took off. We told them that we were going to stop in Oklahoma to spend the night. Wayne drove to Eufaula and then let me take it over after filling up with gas. I drove the rest of the way in, arriving just before 2am. It was an uneventful trip...we were able to stay ahead of the storm...not the cold...just the storm. When I called to Arkansas yesterday mom said that there was a sheet of ice and she is really glad we left when we did...so am I.

Now I am busy, busy, busy. I have five purses to finish. I got them cut out yesterday and started ironing and sewing. I need to have them done by tomorrow so they can be mailed out. The house is in dire need of a thorough cleaning...after all I have kids and grandkids coming for the holidays. I still am trying to track down my Christmas tree which was not given back to us. I have a message in but I will have to try calling again it looks like. When I get it I need to put it up and decorate it. I did get my Christmas letter written but I need to mail them and cards out. And I am still going through the mail that was received while I was gone and catching up on bills and balancing the checkbook and going through the recordings of my shows and too many more to remember. Wish me luck...our first set of grandkids arrive either Sunday or Monday (I can't wait)

:)

In Arkansas

I am in Arkansas at my in-laws home right now. Luckily we have this tiny Eee PC so I can use the internet (they have high speed although not FIOS) to keep up with what is going on in the world. My brother-in-law had surgery on his neck to remove a large spot of melanoma. He had outpatient surgery on Monday morning. The surgery went well. They removed the cancer with 1 cm margins and took some lymph nodes to check them for metastasis.

The YM and YW just showed up to sing a few Christmas carols to us...so nice...back to the story.

Last evening he came down with the stomach flu although he appears to feel slightly better tonight. Anyway, they decided to put a drain in his neck so I am caring for that (with his help). The good news is that his pathology report came back CLEAR with LYMPH NODES NEGATIVE...woo hoo!!

So right now we are staying close to home until he is feeling better. I will probably be here until Tuesday or Wednesday.

Last weekend I was in Wichita. The boys best friend got married. That was an experience. The wedding was at 5pm. At 4pm Michael (he shaved off his goatee...yeah) was in the shower. When he got out at around 4:10 or 4:15 he started looking for his clothes to wear to the wedding. I didn't remember seeing the garment bag in the trunk but I went back out to check and sure enough they had left it in Michael's closet. It was either wear jeans and a T-shirt to the wedding or make a "quick" trip to Wal-Mart to pick up pants and a white shirt. We got to Wal-Mart at 4:30 and back to Diane's house at 4:50 and to the wedding at 5:10...amazing when I look back at it. Daniel showered while Michael and I shopped. The wedding was nice but we were too late to get a seat so I hung out with Stephanie at the back...but that was ok. The boys talked with Josh McKnight a lot and we got to congratulate Ryan and Emerald. I got to speak with a lot of my friends from Wichita that were there. It was a good trip and really nice to see Ty and Diane and the grandkids.

Time Flies

We spent last week  in Arkansas at Wayne's moms house. It was good and quiet but kinda boring (don't tell her that :)) The boys spent the week at home and I felt kinda guilty that they didn't get a Thanksgiving dinner BUT they didn't even mention it when we returned home so I guess they didn't care all that much. I missed my computer (even though they have one out in the family room AND we brought our little "eee PC") because I felt like if I spent as much time online as I usually do then 'mom' would think I was ignoring her. It is fun going to her house but I come home always thinking that my house is not nearly clean enough and that I don't put nearly enough thought into my cooking. It usually doesn't take me long to get over it though.

I have been pretty much running non stop since I got home. It took me the rest of Sunday (we just missed getting home in time for church so we skipped) catching up on the mail, e-mail, and mainly bills. Yesterday I went to our stake center to set up my Christmas tree and iron tablecloths. Our stake puts on a nativity display every year and it is this weekend. I have helped most the years I have lived here to set up but have never went. I am going to be gone this weekend so once again I am going to miss it. I hear that it is a really good one and that A LOT of people, members and non-members alike, attend every year. So far what I have seen it is amazing. So if you live in the Fort Worth area it is at the Colleyville stake center Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday. 

Today I had an opthomologist appointment. He says I am completely healed and that my left eye meets surgery requirements so any time I am ready to have it done to schedule the surgery. I think I probably will have it done in January or February. After that I went to work on my bedroom and closet (guilty about cleanliness...haven't gotten over mom's house yet :)) It took awhile but I got it done. I feel so much better now that it is clean. Also today, my friend Sarah, cut my hair. It looks so much better. I also gave her the bags for the nursing covers that I have sewn and she gave me a piece of fabric for making a pocket on a nursing cover...I got that finished. Our newest covers are pink with brown dots...they are SOOOO cute. We have made some of them one layer instead of two for something different. We also sold another one (it was zebra print with blue satin) and got paid for it!!

Tomorrow I am going to go help tie a quilt for a humanitarian project. That should be fun. We also have tithing settlement in the evening but Wayne will already be in bed so that one I am doing alone.

Thursday I have enrichment meeting in the evening. Sometime before I leave I would like to fit in some more Christmas shopping. I am almost done but not quite. I also need to get a gift for the wedding. I would also like to start decorating the house for Christmas.

Friday I am planning on going to the cannery in the morning. Then we will leave to drive up to Kansas for Emerald and Ryan's wedding which is Saturday. Friday evening we will play "Pepper" with Kelly and her family and Steph and whoever else wants to go over to Diane's house. On Sunday I need to get back to Arkansas to Wayne's moms house. I think the boys will probably have to drop me off but there might be another way if it works out...we shall see. On Monday Rusty has surgery on his melanoma. He has a very large spot on his neck and the surgeon is taking that off plus a few lymph nodes to have them tested to see if it has spread. If anyone needs prayers, he does. He is Wayne's brother. I will stay that whole week in Arkansas to help out as needed. If all goes well then Wayne will come pick me up the following weekend.

Sometime I also need to write our Christmas letter and maybe print it out so that I can address them and mail them out in Arkansas but that might have to wait until I return as I already have  a lot on my plate this week.

Thanksgiving time of year

My friend, Lois, has spent all week listing things she is thankful for...10 a day. It has made me wonder if I could come up with enough things to be thankful for in 2 or 3 days let alone a week or two!! It is a great idea, Lois, but I don't want to steal it from you. I just want everyone to know that I am very thankful for my life this year. I am happy.

This past week, on Tuesday, I went to play soccer as usual. Unfortunately I did a VERY stupid thing along the way. AND to make it worse...I wasn't even there yet...I was still walking there. Sooo, I was dribbling the soccer ball and had made it to the school where soccer is held. It is kind of hilly by the school (not because Texas is hilly...at least not where I live at) but they had built up the ground going up to the school so there is a gentle or not so gentle slope going down the side. So I was trying to keep the ball from rolling down the hill and into the fence and tripped over it. I was holding onto a sack (with nursing covers and bags for the nursing covers in it) and a water bottle in my right hand so when I fell I caught myself with my left hand. There was immediate pain but what hurt so badly was my ganglion cyst. I ignored it and played (OK...not really played...only 2 others showed up and it was almost dark so we just decided on when and where to play next week) and then came back home. By the time I got home it was really swollen between by wrist and my knuckles. I have never gotten hurt so bad that I swelled like that. So I took 4 ibuprofen, wrapped it in an elastic bandage, put ice on it, and tried to keep it elevated (typical RICE treatment as I learned in PA school). I kept it wrapped for 36 hours and decided I had enough of that. It has been unwrapped ever since. It is just really bruised now and still very tender. Interestingly enough the cyst is gone. I guess the pressure from the fall made it burst...much better (maybe???) than surgery. Also...I know it is not broken. I suspected it wasn't but when I took Michael in to see the PA on Thursday I had him take a look at it just to make sure he agreed with my diagnosis. I have tried to take a picture but they don't seem to do it justice. OK...I downloaded the pictures...here is the best one:

On Friday night I went to see "Twilight". I took the boys. It was "women's night out" with my church but I hadn't told them I was going...plus I thought the boys might think it kind of strange to be sitting with all these women. Unfortunately we got lost...well let me back up. We left an hour before the show started because I hadn't been to this theater before. But I had the address PLUS had looked it up online at their website so I thought that I knew how to get there. Yeah. So we were driving up and down this street that the map said it was on but it wasn't there. Finally about 20 minutes before it started I stopped in at a Dominos pizza because hey...the delivery drivers should know where everything is. So the guy said he knew where it was but started telling me how to get there and all of a sudden says that he knows how to get there but can't tell me how to get there!! How frustrating. So he goes back to ask someone else to help me. There is a lady sitting there waiting for pizza and she says she can tell us how to get there and she does and we find it but by this time it is 5 minutes before it starts...a 7:05 show...so the theater is packed. And I hadn't asked my girlfriends to save us seats so there was NOWHERE to sit except in the front. So...Michael, Daniel, and I sat in the second or third row back on the right side (not even in the middle). Not a very good place...let me tell you. And afterwards Sarah said she would have saved us seats. BUMMER. But...the movie was good. I didn't like it as well as the book but that is probably because I've read all of them and know what is going to happen. But I might go see it again but arrive early enough to get better seats. Daniel on the other hand LOVED it. He hasn't read the book so I thought he would be lost but he liked it better than either Michael or I. So I would say it is worth going to see whether you have read the book or not. I will probably get the DVD when it comes out also.

Ashley again

I got some 5 year old pictures of Ashley...she is looking so grown up.

Ashley

Not only is today Veteran's Day but it is also ASHLEY'S 5th birthday!! Happy Birthday ...I LOVE YOU Ashley!! Some pictures through the years:

newborn 9 months

2 years 3 years

this one is my favorite 4 years

Grandkids!!

Julie posted some halloween pictures of her little ones which I downloaded and will post some of them here. 

 

My Grandpa

I am truly a middle generation and have been for the past 6 years. Since I don't know how much longer my grandpa will live I think it is time to make a tribute to him. My grandpa was born Dec. 4, 1905. That makes him fast approaching his 103rd birthday. He has seen a lot in his lifetime including the Wright Brother's fly their aiplane. That is an interesting story. He says that his dad took him and his younger brother(s) to a horse racing track in Kansas. He was not very old but old enough that it really made an impression on him. He said that they waited all day in the hot Kansas sun for that plane to fly. The plane was inside the track and all the spectators were outside the track. He says it was for safety purposes. Finally at the end of the day there was announcement that they couldn't get the plane to start and to come back the next day. So everyone went home but my great grandpa took them back the following day and he says that the plane took off, circled around the track, and landed back inside.

My grandpa actually missed the wars...he was the wrong age. He married my grandma and had 3 children; my dad is the youngest. When my dad was 4 years old he got polio. During this time period they were trying out new treatments for it and my dad was in the hospital with his legs wrapped in warm bandages. After he was well enough to go home my grandma would care for him. She had been sick with pneumonia the previous winter and had never fully recovered (remember, these were the days before penicillin). Caring for him wore her down even further and she contracted the polio too and passed away the fall before my dad turned 5 (his birthday is in Dec and she passed away in Oct). Fortunately my dad has no residual effects from the polio. My grandpa has now outlived 3 wives (he doesn't count one of his bad marriages). He lived in his own house and then his own apartment until last month when he finally moved into assisted living. I think that he is amazing. Here are some pictures:

Here is my grandpa, my dad (on the left), my aunt Bette, and my uncle Ben.

This is a four generation picture taken about 1984. Grandpa holding Diane (on left) and Julie (on right), me and my dad standing in the background.

This is a 5 generation picture taken in August 2007. My dad and I are standing in the back ground. My grandpa is in his chair and Julie is holding Caleb and Jennica.

This one was taken just a month ago. Diane took her kids to see her great grandpa right before he moved. Grandpa is seated in his chair and he is holding Aaron. Ashley is standing on the left. Elisabeth is standing next to Aaron and her great great grandpa. Diane is sitting in the front holding Callie.

We have many 5 generation pictures with Diane's family but I'm not sure that we have a single one with all 4 of her kids so I thought that this would be fun to put up.

Maybe...

I should post something but I'm not quite sure what. It has been a busy week. I am still very happy with my eye but I have been wearing my glasses quite a bit to see close up. They are progressives and since my far vision has always been good they work quite well. I go back to the opthomologist in about a week and we'll see if I will need new lenses or not. 

On Tuesday we had a Visiting Teaching Conference. It was good. There was a skit with a bunch of farm yard animals and they kept coming up with excuses not to go visiting teaching...like having problems with either their companion or the sisters they visit. Finally the farmer (our bishop) came in and scolded them and they all changed their attitudes. It was cute. We also had a special musical number which was fantastic. I think it was an original by Licy Rodriguez. I went visiting teaching myself on Tuesday and Wednesday so that is out of the way. I like visiting my sisters...especially since there are only 2 of them. It makes it pretty easy.

Sarah got some more fabric and yesterday we worked a little on nursing covers. We are going to start making a one-layer one with just the pocket on the front and maybe a corner with a piece of flannel for a wipe. Then we should be able to charge less for it...woo hoo!! We are hoping to get some pictures taken and up on a blog soon. I'll post when we have that done. I have also made a few more purses but right now am awaiting orders. 

Today is Aaron's first birthday...happy birthday Aaron!! Now my grandchildren are 6, 4, 3, 3, 1, and 1. But soon the 4 year old will turn 5. I will put up an updated picture of him on the side as soon as his 1 year pictures are available. He also has surgery tomorrow...I will be praying for all to go well.

I think that is about it for now.

Amazing

That is what I will call my new lens. I had no idea that the colors would be so bright and clear. When I had my patch removed this morning I had a pressure test (which I passed) and a vision test (20/20) with my right eye. I was so surprised. Also...for the first time in years I can sit at my computer and read it with no glasses on. I've got back my mid range vision!! My close up is better than it was but I will still need reading glasses. It will still take time for my eye to heal. I have 3 different kinds of drops that I have to put in 4 times a day. I am still working at getting the adhesive from the tape off my face. But looking back I just don't know what I was afraid of. All in all it was a good experience. Woo hoo!!

Today

I look like this. The patch isn't all that tight on my eye and it keeps trying to open when the other eye is open. This evening I have noticed that I can see light but that is all through the patch. My husband and son have been very nice and helpful to me today. I even got 2 really long naps in and I think I will head to bed soon. I'm still kinda nervous for when they remove the patch in the morning.

Kinda Nervous

To get my new lens tomorrow. Today I had a list of things to do to prepare for my surgery tomorrow. On my list was go to the dentist which I completely spaced. I was thinking about changing dentists anyway...I guess now is a good time. I went to my local pharmacy to fill the prescription for the eye drops (I need to put a drop in tonight before bed). The first one I went to said that they had sold their last bottle 10 minutes before I arrived...no problem...I had running around to do anyway. I am supposed to wear a button down short sleeved shirt tomorrow for the surgery. I am a T-Shirt gal. I did not own one button down shirt. So Michael said he would stop by the Goodwill store in Denton to get me one. He went in there but had no clue what to get. No problem...I can go and pick one up myself. The local second hand store in Keller is called "Bearly Used". It opened at 10am...I got there at 9:50. So far I am 0/2 for my errands. OK...I will go down to Kroger and pick up my Rx there. They were out as well. Now I am thinking "is this a sign???" Not to be outdone I stopped back by the second hand store. I am looking through all the shirts. I finally had to settle for a 2X size...that was the closest to my size. So what if I swim in it...I'm only wearing it to surgery in the morning...I hope it doesn't fall off. Now on to get the prescription. Next closest pharmacy is in Albertsons a couple miles down the road. They actually had it!!! But it was $50...they must use the newest, most expensive drops out there. Our insurance is a 3 tier plan for prescriptions...I have to pay the highest amount possible of course. The rest of the day has gone OK. It is about time to hit the hay (or water as the case may be) as I have to be there at 6:05am. Nighty-night.

Daniel's 21st Birthday

 


I can't believe my "baby" is 21 today. We got him a new headset for his birthday. He is wearing it in these pictures. And this is pretty much how he is all the time...in front of his computer. But he didn't object when I started snapping photos. Right now he has went to sleep. He works nights at Wal-Mart and even though he has today off still sleeps during the day and is awake at night. Maybe he will get up so we can eat birthday cake later...I got him a DQ ice cream cake...the nearest store is in Coppell which is about 15 miles away. I'll try to get some more pictures later with the cake. And a funny picture of Michael I found on his camera :)

I'm not sure why he has grown a goatee but he has. He has started wearing contact lenses and his eyes look really blue here although I always thought they were gray.

Another thought

I was reading some up on facebook and was enlightened to another way that gay marriage would have an effect. If gay marriage becomes legal then if a gay couple comes up to a minister or pastor or rabbi or even bishop asking to be married then they HAVE to perform it or they would be breaking the law. Just another thought about the gay marriage proposal. Now...enough of that.

This evening we had the missionaries over for dinner. One was from Orem, UT and the other one was from Las Vegas, NV. They were both really nice. Interestingly enough the one from LV is a convert to the church and his parents are not members yet. I think that would be really hard to go on a mission and leave your family for 2 years...well it is hard enough anyway...both as a parent and a missionary...but to know that your parents don't really understand and accept what you are doing would be even more difficult. I know how blessed missionaries and their families are though and I hope that they can see it. It was nice having a "good" meal and visiting with them was very cool. Then Michael went with them to an investigator's home and now he is back home. I like to get their phone numbers and give their mom a call to let them know that they look well and are doing great but for some reason I forgot to get their phone numbers. I really liked it when someone would contact me when Michael was out there.

Also this past week I went over to help a sister in our ward who is moving. It was good to be of service and help her out. It is such a good feeling when you are able to do that.

I thought that I might add a picture of some of the purses that I sew. The first one is the one I made for Diane. The second one is my purse. 

       

I think that this helps with knowing the styles of purses I sew. Diane's is a "Diamond" and mine is a "Topaz". All of our purses are one of these styles (although Kathleen is thinking up new ones at the moment). Please refer to the link to hannahedesigns for more info.

Vote Yes to Prop 8

For more information I will refer you to Seth and Megan's blog which is listed under my blog list. Also my daughter sent me a link to a video which is about a family in Massachusetts (where gay marriage is legal) and their account of a kindergartener coming home with a diversity book bag and what happened when they tried to get parental notification when this subject was taught in school...it is very eye opening. Here is the link:  http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1815820715?bctid=1822459319. 

If this doesn't pass in California (keeping marriage the way it is now...between a man and a woman) then it is just a matter of time until it is all over the United States...no matter where we live. If you know anyone in California make sure to let them know what the church says about this (since when does the church become involved in politics anyway???) That to me is just a clue to how dangerous this situation is turning out to be. If you believe like I do, we don't want our children and grandchildren taught in school that gay marriage is normal and accepted. PLEASE get involved in the effort to say yes to Prop 8.

I got an "I Love Your Blog!" Award from Wonder Woman. I get to answer these questions in one word. (This is challenging):

1. Where is your cell phone? none
2. Where is your significant other? work
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? amazing
5. Your father? spiritual
6. Your favorite thing? grandchildren
7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your dream/goal? celestial
9. The room you're in? familyroom
10. Your hobby? sewing
11. Your fear? lonliness
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? wiser
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? perfect
15. One of your wish-list items? crystalens
16. Where you grew up? Iowa
17. The last thing you ate? PBJ
18. What are you wearing? clothes
19. Your TV? Off
20. Your pet? Buzz
21. Your computer? mine
22. Your mood? content
23. Missing someone? notreally
24. Your car? shared
25. Something you're not wearing? make-up
26. Favorite store? Wal-Mart
27. Your summer? hot
28. Love someone? yes
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? today

And I give you all the "I Love Your Blog!" Award! Really. If you're reading this, then I read your blog, and love it. It contributes to the happiness of my day.

Congratulations to...

My mom and dad who just got called into the temple presidency as second counselor and assistant to the matron at the Oklahoma City temple.

This time...

it was Ashley that surprised me with a phone call. She turns 5 in November and she had to tell me that she had learned how to ride a bike with NO training wheels. That is an accomplishment for a girl her age. After she was done telling me about it then Callie had to talk to me. She turned 3 a couple weeks ago and got a scooter for her birthday but she had to tell me how she could ride her bike WITH training wheels...in other words she has learned to pedal. The good thing is that I could understand most of what she was telling me. Since Elisabeth's picture is on the blog now I have to put on Ashley's and Callie's. Ashley has dark hair and Callie's is blonde.

This and That

Last week was CRAZY. It's not one that I wish to repeat. I am hoping that I and the other people involed have learned what we need to.

I really liked Women's Conference on Saturday evening. I had volunteered to make a dish for the Stake dinner before the broadcast. It was really good...I think that I will have to cut it in about fourths and make it for my family. They also had a short program before the broadcast began which consisted of a narrator and musical numbers. It was very touching.

I have cataract surgery scheduled for October 17. It is an off Friday for Wayne so he can take me there and then is available for my follow up appointment the following morning. I am about ready to be able to see clearly out of BOTH eyes. I will wait for the other eye (as long as the doctor says I can) until it gets to the point that my right one is at now. I am just going to do a regular lens because there is no long term data with the crystalens AND I am such a scrooge.

I should go do my household chores...not to mention I have several purses to finish cutting out and sewing.

Anniversary

Tomorrow is our 30th wedding anniversary. It seems it can't really be true but it is. Diane is 28, Julie is 27, Michael is 22, and Daniel is nearly 21. Wow...where did the years go??? We don't have anything planned...we usually don't celebrate but sometimes I wish we would. Wayne would always say that if we forgot our first anniversary we could celebrate the 2nd one...our temple one...November 7 I believe. That one will be 29 years this year. We shall see if we do anything...I doubt it since it is mid week. Maybe I will get some flowers...although we already have a pretty bouquet of daisies.

The daisies...here is a story. On Friday night...after dark the doorbell rang. We weren't expecting anyone. It was the Montierth's and Montgomery's. Kirsten had hurt her wrist playing football with the guys. It ends up the story was that she had gotten tackled (I think by her cousin, maybe her brother) and fell forward on her hand. She was really crying and in pain. I thought it might be broken but I don't have x-ray vision. So I told her parents (they had to be called and came over very quickly) that if it was mine child I would do the RICE (rest, immobilization, compression, elevation) treatment and if it wasn't better by morning to take her in then. I sent her home with it wrapped, in a sling, and with a medibear. The next evening she rang my doorbell and gave me back everything that I had sent her home with plus a bouquet of daisies...VERY NICE :) It ends up it was a buckle fracture and it was splinted when I saw her. Today she was going in to get the cast although I have not seen her today. So I do have very pretty daisies!!

My sister-in-law had a baby girl last week on the 10th. She was 29 weeks along and the baby was 2 pounds 9 ounces. They had to take the baby early because Ritzzy had such high blood pressure. She was having vision problems and is still having them. She is still in the hospital (as of yesterday at least). The baby's name is Mischa and she is in the NICU and doing well for the circumstances. Please keep them in your prayers.

Thanks for the input on the cataract surgery. We have made a decision and I will post about that later when I know when the surgery will be. It has to be soon (probably in October) as I am nearly blind in my right eye. That is all for now.

Something new

When we moved here we bought a new washing machine. It was the first new one we had ever bought...all of our other ones (2) were hand me downs and they lasted for 25 years. So we bought this new GE thinking it would last for 20+ years...WRONG. About six months ago it started leaking water. Wayne (my Mr. fix it man...he can fix ANYTHING) ordered parts for it and went to work on it. Unfortunately he found out it was a bad transmission (after buying about every part except that) and was going to cost $200+ to fix. So...we decided to look at buying a new one instead. He was dead set against a front loader although I really wanted one having used my parents before. After reading tons of reviews and being determined to buy an energy saver he decided a front loader was the way to go. He got on consumerreports.com and ordered the best one there for the price. It is a Frigidaire GLTF1940F. It was delivered on Thursday. I have done laundry in it twice (well more than 2 loads...i mean 2 days of like 3-4 loads each) and LOVE it. It is not that big of a tub (if I had more kids at home I would recommend a larger tub) but works great for our family of 4 (which I keep expecting to shrink). 

Other than that not much is new. I played soccer (as did Michael) last Tuesday and probably will again this week. I think I am a detriment to whichever team I am on but something pretty cool happened last time. The ball was flying through the air and the really good Brazilian dude on the other team tried to head it but it flew right into my head. I closed my eyes but they told me later that I had headed it right to my teammate and he made a goal. It was my first assist (and I didn't even know it)!! So sometimes I guess lucky things do happen :) I was so sore afterwards (not my head...just the rest of me) but a couple days rest and I am good as new. I can't wait until Tuesday.

I have a medical dilemma. I am 47 years old. I do not mind people knowing how old I am...I after all have a 28 year old daughter so I have to be in my upper 40's. I found out back in December 2007 (yes...nearly a year ago) that I have cataracts. It is kinda a mystery why I ended up with them but I have them and have to get eye surgery. For the cataract surgery they remove the lens and replace it with a new lens. I am kinda scared to have it done because I have watched the surgery a lot while on my rotations for PA school. I did a rotation at the VA hospital in Wichita KS and a local opthomologist came and performed the surgery once a week. I would assist. Hence...the reason that I have not had it taken care of yet. Anyway...that is not my dilemma...just a little background info. I can get a regular lens which will make it so I can see far away but not mid range or close up. This surgery is completely covered by my insurance. I can get a crystalens which is a new lens and the muscles from your eye moves it so you can see clearly at all distances. This lens costs $2650+ per eye. Insurance covers the surgery but not the lens. If I get the regular lens I CANNOT go back later and get the crystalens. If I get the regular lens I will have to wear reading glasses (or the progressives like I do now) for the rest of my days. I have always had perfect vision until around 43 years of age when I had to get progressives as my near vision left. Do you think it is worth $5300 to get crystalens? We have the money but we are also wanting to retire sometime. That is my question and I would appreciate your input.

A Surprise Call

Tonight I got a call from Elisabeth, my 6 year old granddaughter. It was a surprise. I'm still not really sure why she called but I asked her questions and she could answer so we carried on an intelligent conversation. I think that can really only happen with my 2 oldest grandchildren. We talked about school (she is in a class with 16 students and is the youngest in her class and has the only August birthday), family home evening tonight (she gave the lesson about weather and she made coloring sheets about tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes after they talked about them), and her primary class (she says that there are more than 5 but less than 10 kids). Then all of a sudden she said bye and she was gone. Cell phones with grandma on the "faves" list are so cool!!

Other than that there isn't much happening. College started so things are busy again. I'll post more in a couple of days.

Our Vacation

We are back from our vacation now. I will post some of the highlights:

On Friday 8/8/08 Michael and I rode the Amtrak train from Fort Worth to Oklahoma City. That was interesting. All was good except the food from the cafe car...note to self...next time bring own food!! We got into OKC around 9:30pm and was picked up at the train station by mom and dad. We loaded into their van and drove straight through to SLC. We got in there around 5pm on Saturday afternoon. We were pretty exhausted but still chatted with Dean and Julie for awhile and gave the grandkids hugs. Julie pulled an all-nighter Saturday at Savers.

Sunday Julie slept for a few hours then we all got up and went to church. They have 1pm meetings. Julie and Dean are in the nursery but Michael, mom, dad, and I went to gospel doctrine then relief society or priesthood. Julie came to get me at the beginning of RS and said that Caleb wanted "ga ga" So I went with her back to nursery and then on to Caleb's nursery after a bit. I didn't really mind as I really enjoy being in the nursery.

On Monday the day was planned and we were going to work on the basement all day and then go to a Burke family picnic that evening. Dad made a contraption out of 2X4's for holding up the sheetrock on the ceiling. We got the ceiling of both bedrooms done. They are going from a 3 bedroom 2 bath house to a 5 bedroom 3 bath house with an extra office down in the basement (besides the already finished family room). It will be really nice when it is finished. We worked until about 5 or so then cleaned up to go to the picnic. It was in Mapleton at the park there. It was nice to see everyone again but we really missed Megan (I hope she is feeling better now) and Heather (I hope the little kids are well now). We will have to get together more often when I go to Utah.

On Tuesday Michael and I headed up to Ogden. Our first stop was the mission office. He expected a lot of people to be there but the temple was closed that week so the only people there were the office staff. He was pretty disappointed that he didn't get to see President and Sister Joyce or any of the other missionaries. After that we went to the mall to go to "Quilted Bear". It was in the process of moving and both stores were closed...bummer again. We went to try to visit a few people. The first one we found home was a lady. When Michael had taught her she had a husband too but they had since split up. It seems that when Michael taught them they didn't have the kids (they were in foster care) and in order for her to get them back she had to get rid of him. Kinda a complicated situation but she seemed to be doing fine. She lived in a VERY poor section of Ogden but the kids seemed to be happy. We then went back to the mall to get some cash (the only BOA ATM in the mission is in that mall) and went out to eat for lunch at Maddock's. That was my favorite meal of the trip...it was delicious. I highly recommend it if anyone is up in that area...it is almost up to Brigham City. After lunch we went down to visit another family. This was a member and Michael (and a lot of other missionaries) had spent a lot of time with a pick ax and shovel digging out his basement. He had nothing but nice things to say about Michael...but everyone we ran into said the same thing. It was good to know that the members there loved him so much. After we got done at this house we went down to Syracuse. There was a family there that Michael wanted to take out for dinner. We got to their place and they were actually home!!! They had a family thing planned but after talking with us for awhile she decided to call and cancel with her family and spend the evening with us. That was really great...I loved visiting with them. Interestingly enough...I found out she works with people in the adoption process so we had a lot to talk about since the Jossie's have experienced it. She always wondered how it worked out after the placement process so I was able to tell her how it had worked out with the Jossie's...at least the ups and downs I know about. We went out to eat at a little restaurant in Eden...over on the other side of Ogden...through a canyon. It was a beautiful drive. Michael got ribs...they were delicious...much better than my steak.

On Wednesday Julie had a dentist appointment in the morning. I babysat (they slept a lot of the time) until she got home. Then in the afternoon we all (except Dean) went with mom and dad to temple square. I went to the SLC temple last time I was there and have recently been to the genealogy library but haven't really spent time in temple square since I was a kid. We toured the Conference Center, Tabernacle, Assembly Hall, and 2 Visitor's Centers. Well, some we toured, some we just went to. We also went to the Legacy theater and saw the Joseph Smith movie. It was so good to see all those things. I didn't realize there were gardens on the roof of the conference center. All the things we saw strenghtened my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

On Thursday Michael and I headed back up to his old mission stomping ground. Julie wanted to come too since that was our last day in town. So we traded Julie's car for mom and dad's van and headed up to Logan this time. We stopped in Ogden to look for a well that we could fill up Julie's 5 gallon water containers with. It was the best water and free...definitely better than PG water. It took us awhile to find it but we finally did. By the time we made it to Logan we were hungry. We stopped to invite a family to lunch with us but they were not home. We ate lunch and it was good but the kids were pretty restless so Julie and I left with the kids to go across the street to the tabernacle while Michael got boxes and paid for the meal. He met us there and we went on a tour. We got to see the baptismal font too...it was tiled in different shades of green...different than I expected but beautiful. We also saw the statue on the grounds. It was kinda cool...there was the father of the family pointed out the Logan temple to his son and we could follow where he pointed and sure enough...there was the temple. I had not been to Logan since Wayne and I were sealed there...it was good to see it again. After the tabernacle we got back in the van to see if we could visit people. We stopped at about 6 houses but only found 2 home before it was too late to visit more. The first family we visited lived in a house in town but also had a farm that Michael would work at. They were a very nice family. The other family we went to see was one that had lived in Virginia when 9/11 happened and he had lost his job because it was in the towers. So they couldn't find another one (he kept getting told he was over qualified for everything he applied for) for 1 1/2 years. That was when they decided to move "home" to Utah but she admitted that she likes it better in the other places they had lived. It was really enjoyable talking with all the families we visited. After this house we drove by the temple...it was dark so lit up beautifully. Then we went to Brigham City to Dean's parents house to visit them. By the time we got there it was after 10pm and they thought we had decided not to stop. But they were up watching the olympics so we visited with them for awhile. We finally got home around 1:30am.

On Friday we decided to leave around noon. But we were hungry so ate at Village Inn with Julie, Dean and the kids before we left. We ended up leaving around 1:30pm. I asked if we could stop by 4 corners as Michael had never seen it and wanted to. That was about 20 minutes to get to and 20 min back so ended up being an hour out of the way but it was nice to see it again. I was pretty small when I had seen it as a kid. We took some pictures (hopefully one of the ones that I took of mom and dad will be good enough to use for the 50th). We drove all night again and got here to Texas around 10:30am Saturday morning. Wayne was at work but Daniel was up so mom and dad got to see him. It was a good trip...mom and dad...THANK YOU SO MUCH for taking us.

Soccer

I have always been a soccer mom...never really played before. But being a soccer mom made it so that I knew the rules and I did practice with the boys if they wanted me to. My friend started an activity for playing soccer on Tuesday evenings. Let me tell you...that is a struggle in the summer in Texas heat. Anyway...the first week I went I drug Michael with me. On his mission he got the whole get up for playing soccer...shorts, shirt, fancy shin guards, socks, and shoes. Me...I have NOTHING. I wasn't going to play the first week there but they talked me into it and it was FUN!!!! So last week I went back and played again...they didn't seem to mind that I was pretty lousy. This week I think that I actually improved BUT I have come to one conclusion...I have to get shin guards. AND while I am at it...I might as well get the shoes :) I am by far the oldest person there but no one really seems to mind and we are just doing it for fun anyway. It started as a group of us from church getting together but it has grown to neighborhood kids and adults playing too. I will miss playing next week but I would rather be in UTAH!!!

Other than that I have been bored. I need to start packing for the trip. I need to buy the train tickets. Michael needs to call people he wants to visit. I need to start a list of things to take. Can't wait to go!!!

Hmmm...What to do now

I finished "Breaking Dawn" last night. It was SOOOO good. And pretty unexpected. Michael is reading it now. I think that he stayed up half the night (or maybe all night) reading it because he says he is half way through it now. Talking about Michael, he has orientation today at the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton. Typical Michael, he called home (on a pay phone since we don't have cells) saying he was lost. And this was an hour after it started. So I had to get on Google maps to see if I could help point him in the right direction. I finally found where he was supposed to be (it was a little off campus and he was on campus) and told him how to get there. He hasn't called again and hasn't come home so I am thinking that he must have found it. It is always so hard going somewhere the first time and having NO idea where it is. I'm sure he'll have no problem with UNT once he gets familiar with campus.

Daniel is just Daniel. He worked last night after getting like 2 hours sleep yesterday. BUT at least he went to church (I think he has went every week for the past month...YEAH) and still got up for work. He works at Wal-Mart as a night cashier.

Michael and I are heading to OKC Friday on the Amtrak train and then hitching a ride with my mom and dad to UTAH!!! I can't wait to see Julie, Dean, Caleb, and Jennica. We will be gone for about a week. Michael is looking forward to seeing the people he met while out there in the Utah Ogden mission. If any of you would like to see us then comment here and I'll see if we can fit you in.

Reading

I got up this morning and went to Wal-Mart in search of "Breaking Dawn" and also to buy a few groceries. They did not have it so I went to Albertson's...still no luck. Finally I went to Kroger and hit the jackpot...plus it was 40% off!!! I finished the first book "Bella" and am ready to start on the second book "Jacob". So far I have had the book to myself as Michael has not gotten up yet...WOO HOO!!

Back to reading :)

Welcome...

to the first edition of the Burke-Works blog. I hope that you enjoy your visits to our little website blog.

Today was a busy day for me. This morning Sarah Reed and I went over to the Kinneer's home and helped with the 7 week old twin boys and also did a little cleaning around the house. It felt so good to be of service to someone in need. The twins are so precious.

Then this afternoon I had an appointment at Diagnostic Health for a follow up mammogram. This ranks high on my list of LEAST favorite things to do but when the one I did a month ago came back abnormal I knew that I had to have it done again. They took three images of the left side and then did an ultrasound. It hurt much more this time that last time. Results will follow as I get them.

I am trying to decide if I want to stay up and go buy "Breaking Dawn" at midnight or go get it first thing in the morning. I will probably opt for the morning option. I can't wait to read it. The only problem will be having to share it with Michael. He is looking forward to it just as much as I am :) We are still trying to convince Daniel to read it. I know he will like it if he will only read it.