“Oh what a beautiful morning” or Ode to my Mother

Sunday as we were waiting for our teenager to finish getting ready so we could go to church, I had one of those “moments”. You could call it a flashback or you could call it “I am my mother”. We were hoping to be on-time or even a little early. . . well, we did get there, but it was just after they had started.

While I was waiting, my mind began to sing the hymn “Welcome, Welcome, Sabbath Morning”. FULL STOP!!! That was not me-that was my mother singing. Literally, it was her voice!!

If you ask all 10 siblings, they each could tell you many times when our mother would start singing. But she didn’t just sing any song. She sang a hymn that was chosen specifically to apply to the situation. When she would sing, I remember acting just like my daughter. Expelling a loud huff, turning my back and stomping away loudly; I went far enough away to not have to hear the musical reminder.

Love At Home – when we were fighting
Welcome, Welcome Sabbath Morning – when Sundays were more difficult than they needed to be
E’rr You Left Your Room This Morning, Did you Think To Pray – her way of letting us know that she could tell we hadn’t said our personal prayers that day
Have I Done Any Good In The World Today – when we were not willing to help others, or be nice
You Can Make The Pathway Bright, Fill The Soul With Heaven’s Light, If There’s Sunshine In Your Heart – when our moods were too negative or angry or. . .

I could go on with each hymn, but you get the idea! Those musical reminders did a number of things for me and to me. (Now that I’m over 50, I can admit that.)

First, it did exactly what she intended it to do. It helped me realize that the Gospel of Christ extends into all aspects of my life. Those lessons were taught by a few musical notes with an appropriate message attached.

Second is that she taught all of us the Hymns of Zion. We knew she loved them. She sang them more that just as instruction (and so she didn’t yell at us in those situations). She sang them as she worked and as she rocked each child.

While I was growing up, it didn’t really dawn on me that she knew all the words to all the verses. But she did! I think that is one of the treasured legacies we have from her – the knowledge that the Hymns of Zion are more than just little songs; they are prayers, pleading, advice, lessons, praise, thanks and much more.

I still can’t get far enough away to not hear those musical reminders, and I am very grateful for that.

You can't have one parent without the other, They just go together.

To see the hymns for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints go to this link.

http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/

New Temples in Arizona

It has been announced by the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that there will be 2 new Temples in Arizona. They will be in GILBERT and in GILA VALLEY.

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we attend the temple often and we do vicarious work for our ancestors. This is a very important aspect of our beliefs.

We believe that families can be together forever, if they have lived righteously and have the ordinances of the Temple. Some of my ancestors lived in places that did not have the Church or in times when there weren’t Temples on the earth. I want to be with ALL of my ancestors, not just a few, not just those I have known in my short time on earth. I believe that in order to be with them I need to live to a high standard in my own life and do my own ordinances. I also believe that any of my ancestors that have lived a good life and might even remotely believe in the same things I do, also need these ordinances. So TK and I help that happen.

Now, I have no control over how some of my ancestors lived, or what they believed in. I have no control over if they choose to accept the ordinances done for them or not. That is their choice! But I have done as much as I can to assure that I can be with them after this life on earth.

There are some that might think that once we do work for the dead, they are then considered a member of our church. Not so. It is their choice to accept or reject the work done in their name. But how can they make that choice if their work is not done?

Just as I believe that everyone has the right to make a choice about their own lives while living it; I also believe that their Spirit also has the same freedom. That is probably one of the most misunderstood things about the Temple and the work done there. Everyone gets to choose; but you need to have a body in order to do the ordinances.

Visit www.mormon.org to learn more about the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Finished Projects

I finished 2 more projects.

The afghan is for the back of the couch, at my oldest daughter’s home. This is a large Granny Square Afghan pattern, done in the colors of her family room.

The second is the first bag I have made for myself. It is done in Peaches N Cream cotton. I love it!

It holds all kinds of things. It even takes some really heavy stuff and doesn’t stretch out (because it’s cotton, not regular yarn).

Here is close-up of the stitches on both of these.

Powder Puff

I needed a powder puff. I have been watching at the stores to see if I could buy one without getting the powder. As far as I can tell, such a thing doesn’t exist!

So I made my own. I even figured out the pattern as I went. Works great!

New Glasses

I tried to get a good picture of Dear Daughter in her new glasses. Apparently she was too tired to smile, or even turn her head! At least she glanced toward the camera.
At least I did get pictures!

LDS World General Conference

If you don't know already, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. One of most wonderful things about this church is that we have a Living Prophet of God on earth now.

Every 6 months the church holds a General Conference. On these weekends, we don't have our regular church meeting, but have the opportunity to listen to our Prophet and other leaders. The easiest way to do this is to just turn on the TV to BYUTV. There are 2 meetings on Saturday and 2 meetings on Sunday. These are for anyone to listen to or attend.

I AM ISSUING A PERSONAL INVITATION TO YOU TO WATCH ONE OF THESE MEETINGS AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. General Conference is held on the 1st weekend of April and October, every year.

Surgery Synopsis

TK’s surgery started a little late and went the scheduled 2 hours. Dr Fucci is the best! Since the full story has come to us in little snatches, I will just give you the full story and not waste time with when we found out what!

Dr Fucci said that there was a “massive amount of disease” that had to be removed. Because there was so much, he also had to remove all of the inner ear. However, he did NOT remove the part that helps with your balance.

During the surgery, TK’s lungs started to fill with fluid and his blood pressure went down to 60/40. This is called “congestive heart failure”. The doctors were able to get his stabilized and finished the surgery. But now they were also worried about his lungs. After he woke up (from a good dream, he says) they did a chest x-ray. Yes, his lungs were “wet” and there were some “spots” on them. Thus followed a breathing treatment to help empty the lungs-via the bladder. Then came another problem, but is will only touch on this briefly.

After having the nurses try 3 times to put in a catheter, without using the normal numbing agent, the 4th time (with a different model) finally worked. RELIEF- about 2 quarts worth!! Thankfully the catheter was removed immediately.

Because of the “heart” incident during the operation and the fact that they lungs weren’t clear, they decided to keep him overnight.

The next huge hurdle was getting him a room! The wait was made easier by the fact that we had a great recovery nurse and he was the only one left in that recovery area. Finally I left so I could get a reasonable amount of sleep, since I was already dragging. Thankfully, our 14 year old and I were able to stay at my parents that night which made everything much easier.

This morning he had another chest x-ray to see how his lungs were doing and they were fine (yeah). So when all was said & done, we finally got home this afternoon about 4 PM.

We are SOOOO glad to be at home.

We are SOOOO grateful for everyone who has been praying for TK. We couldn't’ do it without all of you.

We are SOOOOOO grateful for the blessings we have had the last 2 days. Without the blessings from our Father in Heaven, we would have had a much harder time.

What is the surgery?

I really thought that we had explained the surgery that TK is having on April 3 to everyone, but since so many have asked about it; they must not remember what we said. So here is the short version:

He has a mass (Cholesteatoma) in and around his right ear. Also the bone behind the right ear is infected (Mastoiditis).

They will be opening up his head and removing the mass and drilling out the infection. The void will be packed off with bio-degradable foam, which will be absorbed over the next 2 months. He will lose hearing on the right side, but it is uncertain how much. He will also be very dizzy so he won’t be alone until he is able to maneuver steadily.

He will need reconstructive surgery in about 9 months. They haven’t explained what they will be reconstructing! We just know he will need it.

He will only be kept in the hospital if there is some type of problem.